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Friday’s free play comes in the NFL Network telecast of the Patriots vs the Eagles. You typically do not see this type of depth at quarterback on teams anymore. Philadelphia has Matt Barkley as it’s third string quarterback. Many believe he would have been a top ten pick if he would of declared for the NFL draft as a junior. The battle for the starting job will be between veteran Mike Vick and last year’s Eagles backup Nick Foles. Over in New England they still have the safe backup in Ryan Mallet along with the media tabloid sensation Tim Tebow. Brady has no worries there, but the spotlight will be on his backups after Brady’s limited action.

Vegas has the Eagles as a three point favorite, and I’m going to take the opposite of this. New England’s backups are in a non-stress type of situation. Sure Tebow will have his performance glorified good or bad, but just a few years ago he was getting the same scrutiny as a starter in Denver. He knows how to handle the situation and should perform fine against the Eagles second and third stringers. Mallet has had good preseasons and should carry that over.

Where I put my focus on is on the Eagles quarterback situation. There is pressure on all three to showcase Chip Kelly’s offense. They know that they are being rated on each snap and the way they move the football. Vick knows this could be his last season in Philadelphia and Foles is trying to win a job. Barkley will likely get the last quarter and a half. He has just as much to prove after USC’s humiliating season that ended with Barkley missing the final few games to a shoulder injury.

Three points is plenty for me to take in this situation.