FOXBORO, MA -- It's been quite a while since the
Patriots have faced a must win game, but Sunday's game against the
Denver Broncos certainly fits that criteria.
Make no mistake, it may be one of the biggest games the Patriots will
play all season.
Head coach Bill Belichick has had plenty of time to look back on all
the mistakes his team made over the course of New England's three-straight
losses, and the players have also likely thought about what they've done
wrong and what they'll need to do better, and now it's finally time to
get it done on the field.
A loss will put them in tough shape, with a record of 3-4 and facing
a road trip that takes them through Buffalo, Chicago, and Oakland.
It's not going to be easy to go on the road and win three straight games
against three very good football teams, and as it stands right now it will
probably take a 7-3 finish just to end up with a record of 10-6, a record
that may not necessarily get them into the postseason.
So for now it's all about Denver, a team that is coming off of an overtime
victory over the Kansas City Chiefs and is playing very good football.
Belichick has had plenty of time to prepare for this football team, but
now the big question will be how the team bounces back from their three
game skid.
"What I am looking for from the team in practice this week is the same
thing I look for every week, which is a team that is attentive, that is
paying attention to detail and that is trying to execute the game plan
both from a fundamental standpoint and a team communication standpoint
the way it's designed to go," said Belichick on Wednesday. "If we
can do that and prepare and understand our opponent, what their threats
are, and how we can best handle those threats, then it will come down to
execution in the game and that's really what our challenge is every week
during the week."
One of those challenges is that they'll be facing a Denver team that
is able to run the football, an area where the Patriots have struggled
recently. They have rookie runningback Clinton Portis who rushed
for 70-yards on 15 carries including a touchdown last weekend against Kansas
City, and leads the team in rushing with 451-yards on 88-carries.
Playing behind him is Mike Anderson who has carried the football 43-times
for 210-yards.
With the way New England's run defense has been playing the Broncos
are likely looking forward to facing a defense that has allowed over 100-yards
rushing in each of the last four games. That isn't exactly encouraging
considering the Patriots are facing a Denver team that is fourth in the
league in rushing yards per game, averaging 133.4 yards on the ground per
contest.
That being said Denver has won their last 18 games each time they've
had a runningback break the 100-yard plateau. New England will need
to play like the team that held Jerome Bettis and Curtis Martin in check
in their first two wins if they hope to not end up as Denver's next victim.
The game also has even more importance from a playoff standpoint.
Denver is battling with San Diego who is 6-1, and Oakland who is 4-2, and
if these three teams continue playing well the two teams that don't win
the AFC West will also likely be in the running for the one AFC Wild Card
spot. Should the Patriots end up being in the hunt themselves if
they can't win the AFC East, head-to-head results could make the difference
of whether or not they earn a post season birth.
Which only makes Sunday's game even just that much more important.
"They have a real good scheme and a lot of fast players," said Belichick.
"They're just a good football team all the way around. That's a big challenge
for us this week and we'll need to be at our best. This is a real impressive
team coming in here."
INJURY UPDATE
Despite the time off the team's injury report hasn't changed very much,
with Joe Andruzzi (Knee), Troy Brown (Knee), Daniel Graham
(Shoulder), Rick Lyle (Back), Anthony Pleasant (Shoulder),
and Grey Ruegamer all listed as questionable for Sunday's game.
Meanwhile Belichick announced that Steven Neal has been placed on
injured reserve with a shoulder injury, an injury that likely took place
in the infamous lateral play during the Green Bay Game when Neal was the
only Patriot who dove on the loose football. "He had a shoulder problem
and is going to have surgery on that," said Belichick. "That unfortunately
will put him out for the year. I thought [he] was really making some progress
and doing a lot of good things. It's an unfortunate set-back but hopefully
he will be able to get [the surgery] done early enough where he will still
be able to have a good off-season and work on his personal progress that
he has done so well with."
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