{"numbering":"asc","slides":[{"index":1,"title":"Five preseason opener storylines","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/archive/assets_media_gallery/boston/2018/08/09/new-england-patriots-preseason-bill-belichick-80918.jpg","caption":"

FOXBORO - This is just one piece of that "mosaic" Bill Belichick is always talking about.

As you watch Thursday's preseason game between the Patriots and Redskins, keep in mind that what you see is just a fraction of what players are offering up to their coaches. Practices matter. Workouts matter. What goes on in meetings matters. Of course, the benefits of playing a game against a foreign opponent, where the personnel is new and the hitting is live, are many. And by the time the thing is over, we'll have a different angle from which to approach some of the storylines we've been tracking all summer.

Here are five of those storylines that could come into clearer focus based on what we see...

"},{"index":3,"title":"1) Will the Patriots continue to pace Tom Brady? ","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/archive/assets_media_gallery/boston/2018/08/09/brady_patriots_122417.jpg","caption":"

Throughout the early portion of camp, it's been relatively clear that the team has gone out of its way to manage the reps of its quarterback (as well as some other key veterans). Odds are that will continue against the Redskins. Brady hasn't played in the last two preseason openers. He took only a handful of snaps in Wednesday's practice, which served as a glorified walkthrough. We know the Patriots analyze player workloads from year-to-year, week-to-week and day-to-day. We know they place significant value on recovery. And we know Belichick is open to approaches that may improve what he regularly highlights as a priority. There's nothing more important than the health of the players, he'll say. Availability is more important than ability, he'll say. The approach with Brady seems to be a nod in that direction. It makes sense. The Patriots have managed Rob Gronkowski for years with mostly positive results. If the health and wellness of every player are important, why not, within reason, adopt a similar approach for others?

"},{"index":5,"title":"2) How does Brian Hoyer look at the helm?","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/archive/assets_media_gallery/boston/2018/08/09/new-england-patriots-brian-hoyer-80918.jpg","caption":"

Brady typically doesn't miss time, even when he's injured. We know that. But insurance at that position is important. It's part of the reason the Patriots didn't deal Jimmy Garoppolo sooner than they did. Right now Hoyer is the insurance plan for a team that many consider the favorite to repeat as AFC champs. Taking care of the football should be Hoyer's baseline, and he's had trouble with that this summer, throwing five picks in his first 96 competitive throws in camp, with a couple of fumbled snaps mixed in. To be fair, Garoppolo was an erratic training camp quarterback, but Thursday will give us a better idea as to just how well Hoyer does in terms of playing keep away.

"},{"index":7,"title":"3) Do the rookie linebackers make the most of their live reps?","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/archive/assets_media_gallery/boston/2018/08/09/new-england-patriots-christian-sam-80918.jpg","caption":"

Both Christian Sam and Ja'Whaun Bentley fit the profile of what the Patriots want in their 'backers. Smart. Big. Physical. The last of those traits has been shelved for the most part this summer. It's not their fault. There are simply very few opportunities to body up an opponent when players are banned from tackling to the ground. If either player shows up as a physical presence in the middle of the Patriots defense, he could be on track to claim a roster spot.

"},{"index":9,"title":"4) Who's looking like the lead "big back?"","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/archive/assets_media_gallery/boston/2018/08/09/gillislee_122417.jpg","caption":"

Caution: Beware of making grand proclamations on running backs in the preseason. You don't have to go all that far in Patriots history to find backs who've lit it up in August only to be elsewhere come the fall. Tyler Gaffney, DJ Foster and Jonas Gray were all preseason darlings who had short or non-existent regular-season runs as meaningful offensive pieces. Still, Jeremy Hill and Mike Gillislee look like they're locked in an interesting battle as the top thumper in running back coach Ivan Fears' room. Neither Gillislee nor Hill is a lock to make the roster, but if Belichick wants a short-yardage battering ram -- as he's always had -- it will likely come down to one of those two.

"},{"index":11,"title":"5) Have second-year defensive linemen made the leap?","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/archive/assets_media_gallery/boston/2018/08/09/butler_wise.jpg","caption":"

Back in 2016, Trey Flowers was coming off of a rookie season lost to injury but used his preseason snaps to re-establish himself as a legitimate contributor up front. He ended up being one of the team's most important defenders all the way through their run to winning Super Bowl LI. The Patriots have a trio of second-year defensive linemen whose development could turn them into critical disruptors in 2018: Deatrich Wise, Adam Butler and Derek Rivers. All should see action against Washington. Is Wise the kind of every-down defender that his build suggests he can be? Can Butler, who looks slimmed down from his rookie year, flash in a game situation the kind of get-off he's shown during one-on-one drills in camp? And how is Rivers, who missed his rookie year thanks to a torn ACL, deployed by Belichick and Brian Flores? We've seen him rush off the edge as an outside linebacker, but he's also played as a hand-in-the-dirt defensive end, and he's even rushed from the interior at times.

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Five storylines to track as Patriots open the preseason