Over the last two days of the Patriots' joint practices with the Eagles, there has been a lot to take away from how both teams have fared. Although naming a team as the "winner" of a practice is a bit silly, most analysts came away with the same reactions: the Patriots outplayed the Eagles on Day 1, and it was much closer on Day 2.
Considering there has been a lot of talk about just how good the Patriots really were, or weren't, last season despite making it to the Super Bowl, the fact that they are having good practices against a consistent NFC contender says a lot about where this young team is at.
Even better is when you hear some of their most respected and experienced players speak highly of their rising stars, particularly when that young player has been widely criticized for his postseason performance, and the idea of moving him to a different position has dominated the conversation this offseason.
Among the most notable quotes of the week comes from 6-time Pro Bowl tackle Lane Johnson, who had a lot of positive things to say about Will Campbell.
The second-year lineman worked with Johnson and other veterans earlier this offseason, and based on what the Eagles' starter had to say, it looks like Campbell is on the right path, and that couldn't be better to hear for Patriots fans.
Lane Johnson sees a bright future for Will Campbell with the Patriots
While speaking to reporters after practice, Johnson went as far as saying that Campbell reminds him a bit of himself, which says a lot when you consider the kind of player he's become during his career.
Although they play different positions, since Johnson is a right tackle and Campbell plays on the left side, it's never a bad thing to hear this kind of compliment from someone as accomplished as Johnson.
"Will just kind of reminds me of myself in a way. Country kid, drafted first round, saw the kind of pressures that are on guys like that. For me, I thought he had a really good rookie season. Just for me, talking to him, our lives are similar in a lot of ways, just what we're doing.
You can see him just getting better. I was watching some of him today, he looks thicker, he looks bigger, he's healed up from his knee injury."
From what we've seen so far this summer from Campbell, he looks more consistent and solid than how he ended his rookie season, and that could take him a long way.
He is far from perfect, and there are certainly lingering concerns about whether he is a legitimate left tackle or if he should maybe be moved to guard, especially ahead of a schedule that looks quite brutal.
But getting this kind of review from someone of Johnson's caliber holds a lot more weight than those screaming into the void on social media about what kind of player he is, or isn't, and it's likely what Vrabel and Co. see in Campbell, too.
Obviously, we won't know exactly how far he's come until the season begins, and we hope he's healed from his previous injury so it won't affect his performance as it did in last year's playoffs.
Knowing now that he was much more hurt than we thought at the time puts his performance in a new light, and he should be able to return to the player he was before he hurt his knee. That's the kind of output the Patriots' offense needs, and Campbell will have to show that he's put in the right work to get back to that point.
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