strongside

As the Pats formulate their game plan for Sunday, what are you expecting:

BB loves to screen teams who have pass rushers that get up the field. Look for a little more Faulk this Sunday.

Do not allow Tomlinson free release off of the line.

Same thing for Gates. 3rd down he is an absolute killer and must be accounted for. I know AD will help, but the bears have excellent linebackers and he was wide open numerous times

Put the game in rivers hands. Norv can't help slinging the ball around. Rivers is a good QB but prone to make the big mistake.

Get off the field on 3rd Down!!

BelichickFan

I mentioned this a few weeks back.

I'd play a 3-5-3 base.

Warren, Wilfork, Green on the line.
Vrabel, Bruschi, Thomas, Seau, Colvin at LB.
Samuel, Wilson, Hobbs in the secondary.

Thomas takes Gates all day. The other 4 LB stop Tomlinson. We take our chances with their average WR with S,W,H.

Of course another DB comes in on passing downs, etc, but in standard 2 WR sets that's what I'd do.

JoePats

I think they're going to get to Brady this week, maybe not every time, but obviously a lot more than the Jets did, which was never. To me that means a lot of screens and checkdowns...Wes Welker will catch 9 or 10 in this game and I don't believe that we will be able to run the football.

strongside

I was in that "can't run on SD camp" before I watched the SD/Bears game again. SD had zero respect for the passing game and went full tilt stop the run. Pats passing game should loosen things up enough to keep the run game a factor. Rushing attempts will be a key stat for the Pats as the need the threat of the run to be there. Also, BB loves keeping teams off balance by running on passing downs.

mdhprime

I think the key on defense is to contain Tomlinson and Gates. I do not worry too much about SD's receivers but who knows...they could be a surprise. On offense I believe they just need to execute and take adavantage of SD's aggessiveness. Ball control and the least amount of mistakes (turn overs, broken plays, etc.) wins the game.

cblesz

I like it. I agree that we need to take away Gates on third down. The guy was open all day on third down against the Bears. Someone needs to shadow him. LT is a great back and we need to keep him inside (and watch the damn halfback pass).

We need to make Rivers beat us. I agree that he is a good QB, but not so sure he can beat us himself especially since his best receiver is a tight end.

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"Best coach in NFL history" - Tom Brady

TomBrady'sGoat

I don't like having to defend both Gates and Tomlinson. Of the two Tomlinson is much more dangerous, as he will get the ball a lot more and doesn't require Rivers to get him the ball. He's also more dangerous in the open field. Stopping Tomlinson should be the #1 goal.

This is the game where Adalius Thomas's impact will be seen. He is NE's best chance to keep up with and bring down Tomlinson. I expect to see him shadowing Tomlinson on some plays, and making a difference in pursuit on others.

The best thing NE can do defensively is to get SD to pass more, by either limiting the effectiveness of running or by getting out to an early lead.

NE needs to make SD earn each score. No big plays, like the Tomlinson catch-and-run in the playoffs last year. Hold them to FGs instead of TDs.

On offense, tire out those pass rushers. Throw screens and short passes so the rushers don't have time to get to Brady. It worked pretty well last year. Use their aggressiveness against them whenever possible.

BelichickFan

Very true, if you look at Football Outsiders' rankings from last year - while Tomlinson is ranked as the #1 RB he was only 13th on "successful runs" which means he was just a little above average on the median runs but the big plays move him way up. He has a lot of mediocre, nothing runs in there too. Stop the big plays - which is easier said than done - and he's just above average.

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/rb.php

1BoltFan Here4Fun

All correct except for the bolded quote. Rivers greatest strength is in taking the sack or throwing the ball away. He may struggle, but he's not prone to a lot of turnovers.

Not sure if you saw the Bear game last week, but Norv stuck with his game plan of running the ball in spite of LT's 1 yard per carry average. Last year, Marty and Cam all but handed the Pats the win by failing to give LT the ball in the second half. He was averaging 6 yards per carry in the first half and touched the ball 7 times in the second.

Now, based on those two concepts, why in the world would Norv choose to throw rather than run? Fuggetaboutit. Get ready for smashmouth football.

As for running screens on offense, this may work AFTER you establish a ground game or the ability to protect Brady so he can get down field. The Chargers are coming after Brady - hard. They'll be looking for screens... Your offensive line looked REALLY good protecting Brady. The question is: are they super great, or do the Jets suck that bad?

letekro

Enough with this, AD cannot cover Gates one-on-one. He may be called on to impede his release, but he will hopefully always have safety help.