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 Patriots at Giants TEAM TALKAndy Hart gives us six things to watch at Giants: 2. Battle for the final one or two backup offensive line roster spots.Angelique Fiske reports the Patriots Premiere is the biggest fundraiser for the Patriots Foundation Womens Joe Thuney Jersey , and every year, the guys put their sense of style on display.Press Pass: State of the defense. Brian Flores, Josh Boyer and Brendan Daly talk about the progression of the defense during the preseason. (1.55 min. video)Highlights: Make-A-Wish kids from across the country meet Tom Brady. (1.43 min. video)LOCAL LINKSKevin Duffy suggests five things he’ll be watching for tonight. 1. Who’s playing and who’s sitting out.Oliver Thomas (Forbes) Five Patriots to watch in final preseason audition. 1. QB Danny Etling.Andrew Callahan picks 5 players to watch, 3 questions to answer and expected player absences.Steve Balestrieri (PatsFans) Patriots-Giants preseason finale, 5 things to watch: Who’s starting offense, defense.Zack Cox gives us eight players to watch vs. Giants tonight.Ryan Hannable notes Bill Belichick seemed to indicate that for some players a strong showing tonight could go a long way.Mark Daniels will be expecting the unexpected when the Patriots finalize their roster.Matt Dolloff wonders about the Patriots adding a potential impact receiver before finalizing their 53-man roster.Matt Dolloff talks about the battle at punt returner, a tough decision that could come down to the candidates’ ability to do things other than return punts.Rich Garven profiles second-year DE Eric Lee and his efforts to earn a spot on the roster.Jim Hackett points to the Patriots acumen in finding great value in others’ trash, for clues on how they will approach finding the QB of the future.Michael Hurley says the Patriots’ uncertainty in 2018 is somewhat of a welcome throwback to the 2008 season.Mark Daniels writes Patriots receivers coach Chad O’Shea loves a challenge, and he’ll have a big one when the regular season starts.Ryan Hannable looks at some recent Twitter comments from Dez Bryant that show he won’t be coming to New England (or any city) any time soon. “I just have to take care of me first.” “I will play ball this year just might be a lil bit later in the year.”Mike Reiss tells the story of how Jacob Hollister turned an ex-Giant into a Patriots fan.Alex Reimer is worried because even the Jets have a long-term plan at QB but the Patriots do not.Steve Buckley tells everyone not to get so hung up on ‘old-man Tom Brady being a little cranky’.Kevin Duffy Patriots Notebook: Rookie RB Sony Michel returns to practice field in limited fashion.Doug Kyed Patriots Mailbag: Would acquired wide receiver actually make sizable impact?NATIONAL NEWSAustin Knoblauch (NFL.com) What to watch for in Week 4 of NFL preseason. Patriots: Jason McCourty’s uneven play, Mike Gillislee odd man out, Brandon Bolden on the bubble, Nicholas Grigsby could cost Marquis Flowers his job, Cyrus Jones trying to earn his spot.Kevin Patra (NFL.com) Trent Brown’s ‘dynamic skills’ secured starting LT job.Charles R. McDonald (SB Nation) There’s a secret sauce to creating big plays: Antonio Brown, Rob Gronkowski, and more of the biggest playmakers tell how they get all that yardage.Gregg Rosenthal (NFL.com) NFL roster bubble watch: Potential cut candidates, trade targets. Mike Gillislee and Malcom Brown mentioned.Mark Inabinett (AL.com) Cyrus Jones aims ‘to make the most of’ Patriots’ preseason finale.Albert Breer (SI) The Bridgewater trade showed that the Jets’ QB strategy worked; MMQB Mailbag.Adam Wells (Bleacher Report) Jalen Ramsey criticizes Rob Gronkowski Womens Malcom Brown Jersey , More, Praises Tom Brady, Antonio Brown.Analysts (NFL.com) 2018 NFL season award predictions. MVP: Brady gets 2 out of 22 votes. Coach of the Year: Belichick tied for first with Pat Shurmur with 3 votes.NFL Media experts (NFL.com) Record projections for all 32 NFL teams in 2018. (17 min. video) 3 pick 12-4, 2 pick 11-5.Jonathan Jones (SI) The Morning Huddle: Examining Jerry Jones’s argument to adjust the length of the NFL preseason and regular season.Adam Stites (SB Nation) How the NFL can help save itself from itself.Jonathan Jones (SI) Packers make Aaron Rodgers the NFL’s highest-paid player.Michael McCann (SI) Explaining the insider trading case against Mychal Kendricks.Week 5 Patriots vs Colts snap count report: New England’s wide receiver position is taking shape with Julian Edelman back The New England Patriots had another solid performance during their victory over the visiting Indianapolis Colts on Thursday night. While the team showed some inconsistencies, it again saw contributions by every layer of its depth chart. Let’s take a closer look at the snap count numbers from the Patriots’ 38-24 win:Julian Edelman had an eventful return...After missing the Patriots’ last 23 games due to injury and suspension, Julian Edelman returned to the field on Thursday and had a busy night: the veteran, who finished the game with seven catches for 57 yards, was on the field for 70% of New England’s offensive snaps (48 of 69). With Edelman back in the lineup, the Patriots’ wide receiver group is finally starting to take shape. The 32-year old will serve as one of the top options at the position with Chris Hogan, Phillip Dorsett, and Josh Gordon also regular members of the rotation....while Cordarrelle Patterson was used as a role playerMeanwhile, offseason acquisition Cordarrelle Patterson appears to have been given a more specialized role within the offense: New England is trying to take advantage his speed and vision as a runner in the screen game and on misdirection plays. On Thursday, Patterson was therefore on the field for just eight snaps (of 69; 12%) but finished with two receptions for 11 yards and a touchdown. He will likely be a package-based option moving forward, and not the 40% wide receiver he was prior to Edelman’s return.The defensive tackle rotation is in full effectNew England is deep along its defensive line and the interior spots are a perfect reflection of that. Against the Colts, the Patriots rotated its four top tackles on a regular basis with none of them playing more than half of the defense’s 83 snaps: Lawrence Guy led the group (40; 48%), with Adam Butler (37; 45%) http://www.newenglandpatriotsteamonline.com/rob-gronkowski-jersey , Danny Shelton (35; 42%), and Malcom Brown (22; 27%) also seeing considerable playing time. Brown’s likely would have been higher if not for a second-quarter injury.Kyle Van Noy continues to be the Patriots’ number one linebackerWhile Dont’a Hightower is the defense’s on-field signal caller and one of its leaders, he currently is not the number one linebacker in terms of playing time: Kyle Van Noy is. Hightower was on the field for 67% of the team’s defensive snaps (56 of 83) against Indianapolis, while Van Noy played 88% (73 of 83). The duo will continue serving as the one-two punch at the position, with Elandon Roberts the first player off the bench (41; 49%).The rookie cornerbacks saw limited actionOne week after J.C. Jackson recorded his first career interception, the undrafted rookie was on the field for just five defensive snaps verus the Colts. Seventh-round draft pick Keion Crossen also saw only limited playing time as New England opted to extensively use its top three at the position – Stephon Gilmore, Jason McCourty, Jonathan Jones – against a usually potent but injury-decimated Indianapolis offense.Seven players were on the field for 100% of the snapsOn offense, six players did not leave the field on Thursday: the five starters along the offensive line went wire-to-wire, as did quarterback Tom Brady. On defense, meanwhile, safety Devin McCourty was the lone player not to be given a break. Despite forcing and recovering a fumble, the team captain had a poor performance against the Colts – and needs to bounce back on Sunday versus the high-flying Kansas City Chiefs.