This week the Las Vegas Raiders hosted the Patriots for a week of practice prior to their preseason game on Friday night. The two teams will meet and play for real on December 18th, on Sunday Night Football. It could very well be a very important matchup with both of these teams competing for a playoff spot. But first, let’s take a look at how the practices have been going down in Vegas.
Change of Scenery in Vegas
I think it was a great call by the Patriots to fly out to Vegas and get a week’s worth of practice down in the hot Vegas sun. The heat wave has already passed in New England and the fall weather is already coming quickly. I believe getting just a few extra days of work in the heat of the desert will work wonders and pay off once the winter has arrived.
Wide Receivers
Jakobi Meyers is supposedly having himself a week. According to Patriots Staff Writer Evan Lazar, Meyers has become Mac Jones‘ number one option. He is going under the radar this year because of the addition of Devante Parker. I believe Parker will be a great addition, but I don’t see him taking over the number one spot. I’d like for him to be more of a big play in big moments guy.
When Mac was asked about Jakobi Meyers, he stated that he and Meyers “see the game the same way, sometimes without even talking about it.” This is exactly what you want to hear from a quarterback about his receivers.
Speaking of receivers, what better receiver for our team to be practicing with than Davante Adams? Getting one-on-one reps with Adams is a luxury for our DBs. They are getting reps with the league’s best before the season even begins. From the looks of it, they held their ground and even had some success against him.
Looking Ahead
I think these two teams are a perfect match when it comes to joint practice. Obviously, with Josh McDaniels as the head coach, there is already a deep understanding between the coaching trees, the two teams are relatively evenly skilled across the board, and lastly, there is a lot of familiarity between the players of Las Vegas and New England.
There seems to be a bit more respect between the Raiders and Patriots that was obviously not the case with the Carolina Panthers.
I think that this may be a new beginning for the Raiders and Pats, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them have another joint practice next year.
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