In the Red Zone 

This Week

Philadelphia Eagles @ New England Patriots

The New England Patriots host the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium on Monday at 8 p.m.

The Eagles (2011)                        The Patriots (2011)

Overall          8-8                        Overall          13-3

Road record   5-3                        Home record  7-1

AFC East       2-2                        NFC East       3-1

AFC Conf       2-2                        NFC Conf       3-1

The Eagles are 1-0 and the Patriots are 1-0 in the preseason.

The Line/Prediction

As of Thursday the line on the game from Yahoo Sports has the game as a PICK ‘EM.  The OVER/UNDER is 40.5.

My Prediction is Patriots 17, Eagles, 13.  Take the Patriots in the pick ‘em and take the under.

Tickets

The Patriots are reporting the game as a sell out. It is the 195th consecutive sell out dating back to the 1994 season opener.  The record includes preseason, regular season and playoff games.

Tickets to the game, if available, can be purchased through Ticketmaster.  You can check the availability here.

After market tickets are available through the Official Patriots Ticket Exchange where season ticket holders can sell their unused seats to fans on the season ticket waiting list.

Getting to the Game

If you’re lucky enough to be going to the game in Foxboro make sure you check out the links.

Here is the up to date weather forecast from the Weather Channel for Foxboro MA.

Click for all the game day information including stadium directions, parking information and map and a Gillette Stadium seating chart.

Tailgating

Here’s a bunch of different tailgating recipes from Tailgating.com.  There’s something there for everyone and every type of meal or snack.  I’ve tried some of the recipes and they’re very good.

And with tailgating many people enjoy some adult beverages.  With that in mind check out Drink Nation for how to make all sorts of great drinks.  You can look things up by name, ingredient(s) or theme.

Whether it’s at the game, a bar or a friend’s house moderation is always the key to a great time.  Please don’t drink and drive and designate a sober driver.  Remember You Drink, You Drive, You Lose.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Television

ESPN is televising the game nationally and Mike Tirico will do play by play while Jon Gruden will provide the game analysis and Lisa Salters will cover the sidelines.

Here are all the rules on NFL TV broadcasts including explaining the blackout rules, flex scheduling and commercial breaks.

Radio

The Patriots Radio Network broadcasts the game from flagship station WBZ-FM, 98.5 the Sports Hub in Boston. Gil Santos handles the play-by-play, former Patriot Scott Zolak does the color. It all starts with Gary Tanguay and Andy Gresh with the pregame show at 5 p.m. along the network. The post game starts after the final gun and continues for three hours along the network.

The Patriots radio network call is available on Sirius Channel 88 and XM Channel 88 and SiriusXM Internet Channel 818.

To continue reading the Philadelphia Eagles @ New England Patriots preseason week 2 preview, please click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Last Week

Both teams won tight games, the Eagles beat the Steelers, 24-23 while the Patriots defeated the Saints, 7-6.

History

  • This is the 20th preseason meeting between the teams but the first since 2009.
  • The Patriots won the last preseason meeting in Philadelphia, 27-25 in 2009.
  • Patriots lead the Preseason Series, 10-9.
  • The Eagles last played a preseason game at Gillette in 2008 and won 27-17.
  • New England has won 8 of the last 10 preseason meetings between the clubs.

Game Notes

The Eagles are playing their second game since the death of head coach Any Reid’s son, Garrett.

Philadelphia did not make the playoffs in 2011 despite finishing second in the NFC East.

The Eagles were 8th in points per game last season with 24.8 and the Patriots were 3rd with 32.1.

The Eagles defense finshed 10th in points allowed in 2011 with 20.5 while the Patriots were 15th with 21.4.

Philadelphia is my preseason pick to win Super Bowl XLVII.

Bill Belichick is 39-36 in the preseason, he is 28-22 with New England.

Eagles T Thomas Welch is a former Patriots 7th round draft pick in 2010.

Patriots WR Donte Stallworth (2006) and LB Tracy White (2009) each spent one season with Philadelphia.

The Patriots have scored the second most points in the NFL since 2009.  The Eagles have the 5th most.

Next Game

The Patriots visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Thursday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa FL.  Kick off is at 7:30 p.m. on the Patriots Television Network.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII