shmessy

I agree with the "Time of Possessioners" - - this is the O to pull that off and this will make it much easier on our D.

NEM's strategy?........well, some things are better left unsaid.

__________________
"They (Patriots) may be the greatest team ever" - Chris Mortenson, January 18, 2005 on espn.com

Ochmed Jones

Offensive Strategy for 2006 - Create and exploit favorable matchups. Put your offense in favorable down and distance situations. Secure the ball. Finish Drives.

Defensive Strategy for 2006 - Take away the running game of the opponent. Make them one dimensional. Create turnovers. Scheme for exotic looks.

chowder

Strategy for '06 - Score more points than the other team. lol

shakadave

This one says it best.

__________________
Please, God, don't let us ever suck as bad as the 2011 Cowboys did in the Jets opener.
* * * * *
"I got a little shine on and showed you guys a little taste of my speed."

----Vince Wilfork, Jan. 7, 2007

T-ShirtDynasty

I haven't had time to read the whole thread yet... did anybody mention the no huddle and quick slants yet? This is the year.

PatsFanInVa

Offense - somebody said New England creates receivers like Shanahan creates running backs. They're right. Five guys grabbing 300-700 yards' worth, plus six or seven other guys who catch passes in a season, equals Tom's 3500-4000 yards, and 24-28 TDs, year in year out. I don't doubt the passing game can earn the Pats enough respect to open up the run (i.e., prevent the eight-guys-in-the-box gambit.) Dare TB to beat you through the air, and he'll still do it. Most teams will choose to address the balanced attack by playing a balanced D, and we've got the running game to wear down a balanced D to a bloody nub. I'm a time-of-possession, grind it out on the ground partisan, but the STRATEGY is to dictate that they pick their poison. When they show their hand, be ready to beat them with some other aspect of what will be a versatile, balanced, and innovative attack (i.e., do you cover run or pass for four tight ends who can all catch, and any number of running backs with different styles [1-2 in the backfield at any given time]?) A lot of toys for BB to play with here.

Defense - LB is still thin. Secondary quality is still middling. D Line is still the best in the league. If we get lucky, front 7 can be THE best in the league, bar none; if not, they will be good but not great. If we get hit with a couple injuries to the wrong guys, the LB unit could end up in the hands of the Roaches and Alexanders of the world... please, God, not yet.

The D will be much better than in 05 however:
1) Bruschi, Harrison, defensive backfield back (at least temporarily)
2) MUCH MORE REST every game. Defenses with healthy rushing games suddenly become superior units, even with the same personnel that stink up a joint WITHOUT a healthy rushing game. This will be a night-and-day difference.
3) A lot of guys got thrown into the fire last year, and they're now fire-hardened. There are some mistakes they had to make, which they have made and learned from.

I see this as a top 5 unit with luck, a top 15 unit without it. I don't see our D piddling around in the bottom half of the league like last year, but we can't be TOO homer about it... we love a strong D, but I think this one has a ceiling -- still a work in progress.

.02,

PFnV

patsox23

I may be nitpicking, and I certainly acknowledge that this offense has the most potential of any in the BB era, but -

The offense in 2004 was a top 4 offense. That, to me, is an authentic A-1 offense.

shakadave

One of the best posts of the Modern Era here! Especially the parts about "pick their poison" and the "MUCH MORE REST." I've never thought before about how if your running game is good and you run a lot of clock, the rest of your team --- defense AND offense --- play fewer plays, which gives them fewer opportunities to get injured!

__________________
Please, God, don't let us ever suck as bad as the 2011 Cowboys did in the Jets opener.
* * * * *
"I got a little shine on and showed you guys a little taste of my speed."

----Vince Wilfork, Jan. 7, 2007

Box_O_Rocks

Nice and concise, though it could use a Special Teams field position line.

I see one of the operational (vice strategic) goals on offense to be development of a close rapport between Tommy and his wide receiver crew.

On defense I see the key operational issues to be two-fold:
1. Develop Gardner at MLB in the 4-3 look (appeared to have good reads in the preseason games and is speedier then Bruschi and Seau).
2. Develop Pierre Woods and Monty Beisel at OLB and ILB respectively. At the moment, these should be the second tier reserves we'll be calling on if one of the starters goes down putting TBC in the line-up. Which we may see right away while Bruschi is healing.

For those having difficulty visualizing the LB situation:

Our openers look to be Vrabel and Seau inside, Colvin and TBC outside. That means we have no experienced third OLB behind Rosey and TBC, which is were Woods comes in. To my mind, he has done the best job between him and Roach. His major weakness are his reads and awareness in the passing game. Inside, Gardner is the next level behind Seau and Vrabes, which could allow Vrabes to slide back outside in case of injury. The problem with Gardner is his strength training on the Jets was not designed to optimize him for taking on OL in a 3-4, he'll need to develop that in the off-season with Woicik and Nash. Beisel didn't look too bad taking on OL in the Atlanta game; where he needs to improve are his reads. It looks like there has been improvement, but one partial year with some MLB time in Kansas City and one partial year as an ILB in New England aren't going to be enough to develop him to Bruschi standards.

The LB situation improves when Brown and Bruschi finish healing, but for now, the kids are the key back-ups.

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PatsFanInVa

How's his tackling look to ya, cheerleader?

PFnV