PATRIOTSFANINPA

Our chances of beating San Diego don't look extremely bright as SD is the NFLs best thus far unless someone proves they can handle them,so I think there are critical areas of concern we must overcome to win this game....

LINEBACKER - Tedi just played an awesome game and Vrable played hard too,IMO these 2 guys must be able to contain LT as he breaks thru the first line of defense which he will frequently as he usually does,if LT is not stopped after the second wave of D he usually is gone and that spells doom for the Defense,TBC and Colvin must protect the edge as well,Turner can break a game open as well as LT so Turner may be a problem to deal with and OLB will play a big role here too.

Front 3 DE - Instead of just focusing on LT I think it is just as important to pressure Rivers with blitzes to confuse him and usually rookie QBs get frantic when D linemen get in their face and many times will make mistakes...If our pass rush is non existent,much like it was against the jets (Pennington had too much time to throw) then Rivers will play much like Rothlisberger and manage the game well and Gates will have a monster game and hurt our chances,Yes Rivers is only a rookie but if you give him time he will destroy a secondary as he has done many times in his first campaign enroute to 14 wins.

O Line - Played O.K. against the Jets,but Vilma is no Merrimen so Light and company will not only have to protect Brady,but also open holes for the RBs -Not going to be an easy task but D pressure can be kept under control and sacks must not happen too often or Brady will get killed and we would have to play Cassel (Gulp!),Regardless of how well our O-Line plays I still expect Brady to get sacked about 3 times in this game..Any more and we may be in trouble-The receivers are just not going to get in rhythm with Tom if he has no time to throw (check our losses this year to see that it was a big factor as to why we lost those games,Brady must have time) .

Special Teams - Fortunately the Chargers have no Justin Miller so field position should be kept down to where the Chargers start on average at their 20 yard line,We cannot afford to give a 14 win team a short field to work with-Tackling must be at its finest and Sauerbrun must improve off the Jets game,I did not think he performed well in kickoffs. - On the other side of ST I think Maroney gives us our best chance to break open a TD return on a kickff so I say Maroney should get the reps there.

So these areas are major things to count on as a factor in the outcome of this game - So don't just say they wil be fine just because we have BB and Brady - We need to play our BEST EVER Playoff game in the Brady BB era to win this game,Thats the bottom line.

I do think the winner of this game will not only get in but win the Super Bowl . . Indy has Manning (A.K.A. playoff choker) and Baltimore (Offense scares no one) - So playing either of those teams should be easier for either SD or NE.

BelichickFan

Slow down the SD run game. We won't stop it but we need to control it.

Protect Brady. Duh.

Red zone defense. I have no numbers but the Charger Red Zone offense must be spectacular for Tomlinson to have so many TDs.

Those are my keys, if we get them done everything else will take care of itself.

chris_in_sunnyvale

Pats are going to play this like their 2001 & 2004 games vs. Pittsburgh...load up in the box to stop the run and dare the QB to beat them. If Rivers is up to the challenge and wins it for them, then I'll tip my cap to Marty and hope San Diego wins it all.

I just hope the Pats don't turn it over multiple times like in Denver last year.

Regards,
Chris

JoeSixPat

If the Patriots can score more points than the Chargers, I feel like we have a pretty good shot at winning the game.

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Oswlek

I wish I had been quick enough to put this down first. The Pitt game plans are the ones that are the most similar. On defense it is even more so. It is the success that NE has had in neutralizing Pitt's pass rush that gives me confidence going into the game.

Patriotic

Where's your evidence? Just because the Pats score more points does not guarantee victory. What a homer.

JoeSixPat

In some ways this is how I think SD will play us - though they will be challenging the receivers to beat them rather than Brady, as one knows he has their respect.

The problem is, ever since the Miami game, the Patriots have shown they can spread the field, go with the no huddle, hurry up offense and keep defenses off kilter enough to ensure that the passing game remains effective

Eventually I think the Chargers will have no choice but to give up their pressure on Brady and play more conservative defense - even though that will allow the running game to be more effective as well.

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All_Around_Brown

My key to victory would be keeping LT off the field. Our defense will not stop him, but may only hope to contain him. We will need total ball control to win this game. Our matchups are pretty good in this regard now that LoMo and Faulk are both healthy and our OL is playing top shelf.

Faulk and LoMo will catch boatloads of passes on Sunday.

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chris_in_sunnyvale

San Diego's secondary is "meh" when it comes to covering. If the Pats can slow down Phillips (I'm putting him first for a reason - he'll be the biggest matchup nightmare), Merriman and Castillo like they have with Pittsburgh's good pass rush in 2001 & 2004, the Pats will be able to move the ball. If they can move it enough to at least win a field position battle, it might be enough.

Regards,
Chris

chris_in_sunnyvale

I was thinking this as well, although Castillo will be a better pass-rushing DE than the Pats faced against Pittsburgh. Phillips and Merriman are about the same (probably slightly better) than the 2004 Porter/Haggans pair and 2004 Farrior is better than 2006 Edwards. It will be intesting how the Pats take on SD's NT...the guy is a monster in the Ted Washington mold.

Regards,
Chris