BradyManny

Madden sounded off recently on how he would try to stop the Pats (btw, is it just me, or is Madden getting back to being a good commentator as opposed to a caricature of himself?) - basically, and I think I've heard this elsewhere, the idea is "get a good rush with 4 and put the rest in coverage", and he adds that he'd be ultra-aggressive on offense.

Brilliant Gregg Easterbrook thinks man coverage is the solution to stopping Moss (and then in turn the Pats).

What say you? How would you try and stop this offense? Honestly, I have no idea. No matter what a D does, the Pats have a way to counter it. The only hope is having a defense fast enough to execute a sound game plan to somewhat slow the team down (Colts), and there are only a few teams that can do that.

BradyManny

Also, for those that say running the ball is a weakness of ours, let me point out that we are 5th in rushing yards per game, 6th in rushing TDs, & 10th in YPC. Not bad for a "weakness".

danny88

Most of those stats are garbage time running stats. Or when we are up by a large margin. It should concern you. This team has not ran the ball as the main offensive focus at all. Which is fine. We should stick with what is working.

When the weather gets bad we will see how it goes.

JoeSixPat

Word has it that Al Davis is engaging in some ethically questionable cloning technology that would bring back Red Grange from the dead as well as other football greats.

It's slightly premature to know for sure, but I'd say this approach has as good a shot as any of succeeding, though Davis reportedly won't have his players fully grown until the 2008.

So for 2007, there's really no stopping the Pats.

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Tunescribe

On defense: The only solution is man coverage and pressuring Brady. Period. Problem is, no one can match up. Colts and Cowboys have come closest to making it work so far.

On offense: Strong running game and passing attack that picks on the linebackers. Colts and Cowboys again ... maybe Steelers.

BradyManny

As discussed elsewhere, there truly is no garbage time for this team. The "60 minute men" are playing hard all game, and thus I'm not going to discount things that happen when the game is out of hand.

Satchboogie3

Best way to stop the Pats? Either break the cap rule and try to get lots of tallent, or don't show up and just forfeit the game.

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This is the year. We put our failures in the past, it's a new year, a new defense. It's time to prove to the league that the Patriots are back and aren't going anywhere and they will be the last ones standing in Feb.
Update: Well that didn't work out as I had planned. Next year baby, next year 19-0 we go. Next year.

BWareofDWare

The best way to stop any team is by being able to rush 4 and get pressure with it. When you think about it, that means you've got 4 guys on defense beating 5 offensive lineman, and them plus the quarterback means 7 guys on defense covering 5 receiving options. You'll pretty much beat any team if you can do this, the only problem is it's a lot easier said than done, especially with the Pats offensive line.

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BradyManny

Yeah, except I don't even think the Cowboys were that close. And the Colts did a damn good job, but even then, they were only that close b/c of great play-making. Two otherwise successful drives were stopped by great plays by them, and poor plays by the Pats (the two INTs). You can't discount them, but you also can't discount the fact that the Pats were driving well both times.

AndyJohnson

How are they garbage time stats? Do you have a breakdown, or are you guessing at that?
What is our yards per rush in the first half vs the 2nd? Behind or ahead by 14 or less vs ahead by 14+?

This team has not TRIED TO run the ball as the main offensive focus. That is not a negative. We have run the ball very effectively. We are on the way to being the highest scoring offense ever. To say we should be concerned about the 5th ranked running game, because you want us to be, with nothing to back it up, is lame.