What To Watch For: Possible Return Of Collins, Amendola -- And More Bad Officiating
BOSTON (CBS) -- You kind of have to feel bad for the Eagles in this one.
Chip Kelly and his team are a mess, losers of three straight. He went all mad scientist this offseason, trading away fan-favorite LeSean McCoy. He made up for that trade by signing last season's leading rusher in DeMarco Murray, but he's tried to turn him into a McCoy-like running instead of the pound-it-up-the-middle back he is. He also traded Nick Foles for Sam Bradford. Nick Foles isn't great, but Sam Bradford isn't good. His backup plans under center? Mark Sanchez and, for the preseason, Tim Tebow.
Oh, Chip.
What he has now is a 4-7 football team and a very hot seat to sit on. Perhaps the wildest part of this all is that even at 4-7, the Eagles are still in contention in the NFC East. Gotta love the NFL.
But now they come into Foxboro to face a Patriots team in a pretty sour mood after an overtime loss in Denver. They're going to take out that frustration on Sunday.
Aside from something crazy out of Chip, here's what we'll be watching for when the Patriots square off against the Eagles.
Injured Patriots Returning
Jamie Collins professed Friday that he's ready to go for Sunday after missing four weeks with a stomach virus (he's listed as questionable). Collins was having an All Pro season before the intestinal turmoil hit, so his return to the D will be a welcome sight come Sunday. But after missing nearly a month, we shouldn't expect him to be the freakish athlete he was before he first missed practice on November 7. That illness kept him from eating for a few weeks, causing him to lose weight and strength.
But Collins' return is even bigger if Dont'a Hightower sits this one out, as he's listed as questionable after suffering a knee injury last Sunday in Denver. It'd be great to have that gruesome twosome back in the fold to make Murray's life difficult, but it's the Eagles and there shouldn't be much of a need to force things this Sunday. Both will likely be on a bit of a snap count if they do suit up, so we'll see what they can do when/if they're on the field with their different ailments.
We'll also be keeping an eye on receiver Danny Amendola, who missed last Sunday's game with a knee injury he suffered against the Buffalo Bills back on November 23. Amendola's absence, along with Julian Edelman's, left Brady with mostly a bargain-bin crop of receivers, and that was further exacerbated when Rob Gronkowski went down late in the fourth quarter last Sunday. Amendola was limited this week in practice and is also listed as questionable, so we'll see if he too is on a snap count this weekend.
But please, everyone come out of this one healthy. That's not too much to ask for, is it?
Someone Needs To Step Up On Offense
Even if Amendola is back, Tom Brady is still missing his top two targets in Gronk and Edelman. Amendola isn't going to be 100 percent (who is at this point of the season?), so someone else has to step up on offense.
That someone could (should?) be Scott Chandler. The tight end has been very underwhelming in his first season in New England, catching just 19 of the 34 passes Brady has sent his way. He had a season-high five receptions Sunday in Denver, including his third touchdown of the season, but also didn't catch six other passes he was targeted on.
That's not saying all of those missed connections are on Chandler, but he and Brady have to get things straightened out, especially while Gronk is on the shelf.
If he's not up to the challenge, the Patriots can give the ball to LeGarrette Blount. The Eagles run defense is near the bottom of the league, allowing 4.4 yards per carry (24th in the NFL) and 126.6 yards per game (tied for 27th), so this could be a good game for the Pats to unleash their big back.
Lots And Lots Of Turnovers
If there's one thing the Eagles may be pretty good at, it's turning the ball over one way or another.
So far this season they've forced 21 turnovers, which actually ranks fourth in the league. That's pretty good, but doesn't mean diddly squat when you see they've also turned the ball over themselves 21 times. But that's what happens when you have Bradford at quarterback, who in nine games has thrown the ball to the other team 10 times and fumbled it away three others. He says he's ready to return this weekend, and there's a good chance he adds to that total against a Patriots defense that has forced 15 turnovers (10 picks, five fumbles) through their first 11 games.
If not Bradford, then Mark Sanchez will be under center. We'll leave it at that.
Sorry... The Officials
Yes, we're alllllllllllllllllllll sick of talking about the officials. They're terrible, horrible, no good and very bad at their jobs. They've proved that point every Thursday, Sunday and Monday this season.
But Sunday at Gillette, we'll have the cream of the ineptitude crop blowing their whistles and throwing flags all willy nilly, as Pete Morrelli and his notoriously terrible crew have been re-assigned to this game as "punishment" for creating another level of sucktitude to the horrible officiating scale last Sunday in Santa Clara.
How nice of the NFL. If we're lucky enough, Morrelli and his gang of misfits may even forget what down it is -- again. Let's hope if that happens, it doesn't take them 10 minutes to count to three.
It would be wonderful if Sunday's game comes and goes without anyone having to give much though to the guys dressed like zebras. But if not, you can at least have some fun with a nice Bingo! card we've prepared.
Tune in to Patriots-Eagles Sunday at 4:25pm on 98.5 The Sports Hub — the flagship station of the New England Patriots. Pregame coverage begins at 1:30pm, with full reaction and analysis following the game. WBZ-TV kicks off their coverage at 11:30am with Patriots GameDay, and after the game switch over to myTV38 to see Bill Belichick and Tom Brady's postgame press conferences on Patriots 5th Quarter.