BelichickFan

What I mean by that is I think it's a bad idea to play 8 in the box like I'm sure a lot of teams do to stop Tomlinson. I would play a standard 3-4 with two normally spaced Safeties. Why ? It's not the 12-15 yard runs that'll kill us, it's the 62 yard TDs. Play our standard 3-4, contain him as we can, and allow the DBs to do their job of stopping the 15 yard run from becoming a 62 yard run. By doing this not only do we hopefully contain (not stop) Tomlinson, we don't run the risk of a deep ball against an undermanned secondary.

As weird as it sounds, the way I would try to stop Tomlinson also plays to have a full complement of DBs. I think teams have a double edged sword against them if they bring a Safety up to stop the run by enhancing the chance of both a long run and long pass by removing a normally placed Safety.

cblesz

I agree. Let's remember people...the game 2 yrs ago was tied at 17 at the half. We lost Seymour and coach said it was the worst half he had ever coached. If we bring up a safety, LT jukes him then there is nobody back there to stop him from taking it to the house. Just play our game and do not give up the 60 yard run/pass...

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"Best coach in NFL history" - Tom Brady

SaCaCh

My feeling is we will play to stop the pass and not the run, BB will play the run straight up like we have all season. He will want to stop passes to Gates and LT in the flat and short. BB will want Rivers to have to look for the open man instead of making an easy read. Look for someone to spy LT coming out after he blocks, but we will not crowd the line.

SVN

the pats will game plan like they are playing michael vick which wont mean 8 in the box but some sort of 'spy' thing...
gates worries me more today because his success means LT can get it going...
big thing to see today..how much the 1 week bye or lack of effects our D ..physically...i know its the playoffs and all that but teams wear down towards the end especially if they are behind...we saw that with the eagles last nite ...to me the extra week is huge deal

BelichickFan

I don't care about the bye, adrenaline will take over. The reasons I like a bye are : 1) a bye can't beat you and 2) a bye can't cause injuries.

Neither happened, last week was just an extra shot of confidence for our team.

wdkantro2

I agree- need to exercise the classic "bend, don't break" style of defense.

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The Predator

I agree with your idea, but would like to add one thing. Bruschi & Vrabel need to make more tackles than the DBs. I am sure that is assumed in your post. LT is a talent that we have not seen this year, and the DBs needs to be the ones getting the second and third hits on him. If he makes it 7-10 yards downfield and the DBs are the first to touch him, it will be a long day.

I am not worried about LT running up the middle on us consistantly. The stretches and pitch outs are what make me nervous. The last guy that I want to see hitting LT first is Hobbs. Bruschi will need to call the stretch pretty quickly so the defense can get outside as well.

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Pucker up Peyton

cblesz

Exactly. Hold them to three points. They can kick field goals, just keep them out of the end zone.

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"Best coach in NFL history" - Tom Brady

oldskool138

I think the Pats won't crowd the line. I think the way LT beats you is if you overpursue him. They need to play back. Be aware. Make every tackle. And play to the whistle. If they can do those things they can contain LT.

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"You're all a bunch yahoos, hero worshipers and gutless suck-ups." - Tony Massarotti

SVN

i wouldnt do that much because chargers are very good in the red zone and LT and lorenzo oneal are difficult to stop in the redzone..intentionally doing bend not break may not be most effective like last week when the jets had no running game to speak of