Assuming We Get Jax, What is Our Strategy?

[PatsDeb]

I think it will be as follows:

Offense - as others have pointed out, when the Steelers used a pass-heavy, hurry-up offense (on the 1st drive and in the 4th quarter) with lots of underneath stuff, Jax couldn't cover them. Therefore, I think Welker & Faulk should have big days, with Brady taking the occassional shot at Moss if he is single covered. Jax has some big (and pretty quick) bruisers up front, so Brady better get rid of the ball fast. One thing was clear - you cannot run up the middle on Jax, so I don't see Maroney having a big day. I bet they use Faulk more, both for his blocking ability and his great screen pass moves.

Defense - stopping the run is at the top of the list, esp. Jones-Drew, who seems to be better at shaking a tackle than Taylor (this goes for J-D on special teams too). Then, I am not sure. I wonder if playing coverage on their average WRs is a better strategy than blitzing. Garrard is pretty elusive, but Pitt did get him to throw 2 ints into coverage (when he was touted as a guy who doesn't throw INTS). That QB draw out of the shotgun on 4th down was a thing of beauty. When I saw them lined up for the play, I said to my hubby - What the hell is he doing in the shotgun? He should be running it! Jax fooled me and the Steelers!

What do you think?

 

[Patriot_in_NY]

Get a 2 TD lead with the hurry up, limit the run, and watch Garrard meltdown trying to throw his way to victory.

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

Is there any other thought than spread them out and throw on them all day? I can see some Faulk and Maroney draws since there is no marcus stroud and john henderson has a broken hammy.

I think defense just needs to tackle well and wrap up as witnessed with MJD last year.

 

[BradyManny]

The Jags defense isn't great against the pass, and statistically, they are really middle of the pack. What chance does a team with that kind of D have against the Pats?

 

[BradyManny]

Is there any other thought than spread them out and throw on them all day? I can see some Faulk and Maroney draws since there is no marcus stroud and john henderson has a broken hammy.

I think defense just needs to tackle well and wrap up as witnessed with MJD last year.

I still think staying primarily in the 3WR-1RB-1TE is the way to go here. Jags pass rush isn't lethal, but K. Brady or even Watson at the line or to chip rushers has been successful. Faulk/Maroney out of the backfield to dump it off, plus the 4-wide spread was having less success as the year went on.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

Let Garrard, bet us.. I know people are saying who would we rather face Vince Young or David Garrard, we would hope for young.. To me both are even, and I think we could beat Jax very handly..

 

[patriot lifer]

our interior linemen will have no problem against their tackles. pressure on Brady will be minimal. they will be picked apart defensively.

 

[PATSNUTme]

Go with the spread and see if the OL can protect. If they can it will be over quickly. I also look for Maroney to break a few nice runs.

Maybe put Rodney playing a LB/S position to limit the run. If we can limit the run then Gerrard will not be able to beat us.

Assuming that we play them instead of the Titans. But the same would apply to both.

 

[ShrewBeer]

pitt showed us last night what happens when you take away the jags running game. david screws up. we will thomp their skulls easily

 

[oldskool138]

This is an easy one. Stop the run and put the ball in Garrard's hands. Make him beat you...which he won't do, IMO.

On offense, the Jags are vulnerable to big plays. Brady to Moss, Brady to Moss.

ST- Play mistake free and a hell of a lot better than against the Giants.

 

[PATSNUTme]

Your offense is much more scary than your old defense. Our O-line, Mojo and Fred are going to have a field day running on you. I am actually looking forward to what Bellicheck has up his sleeve to stop the run.

We will have a huge problem stopping Brady, and I agree that a 2 TD deficit may be too much to overcome. I pray Del Rio does not abandon the run like he did last night.

It is going to be a better game than most of you Pats fans think it is going to be.

Do you know what the weather is going to be like? Hopefully 20 degrees with a blizzard

those 4 words show that you are a clueless troll.

Your second sentence show that you are more clueless than I thought. Also, you need to go back to 4th grade spelling class.

 

[Patriot_in_NY]

Your offense is much more scary than your old defense. Our O-line, Mojo and Fred are going to have a field day running on you. I am actually looking forward to what Bellicheck has up his sleeve to stop the run.

We will have a huge problem stopping Brady, and I agree that a 2 TD deficit may be too much to overcome. I pray Del Rio does not abandon the run like he did last night.

It is going to be a better game than most of you Pats fans think it is going to be.

Do you know what the weather is going to be like? Hopefully 20 degrees with a blizzard

Not if you play remotely close to the way you played last night.

 

[patriot lifer]

Your offense is much more scary than your old defense. Our O-line, Mojo and Fred are going to have a field day running on you. I am actually looking forward to what Bellicheck has up his sleeve to stop the run.

We will have a huge problem stopping Brady, and I agree that a 2 TD deficit may be too much to overcome. I pray Del Rio does not abandon the run like he did last night.

It is going to be a better game than most of you Pats fans think it is going to be.
Do you know what the weather is going to be like? Hopefully 20 degrees with a blizzard

perhaps the game will be closer than what most believe, but it is hard for most to think that such a one-dimensional team can have success against the Pats. at least the Steelers could catch-up when in a deficit, but I just can't see the Jags doing the same, no matter how I look at it

 

[Doctor DDS]

Early read on the weather is mild (upper 30's at game time) and a low chance of precipitation. It is New England so it could easily change. The main reason the Pats numbers against the run are spotty is because they play a bend but don't break defense. They do wherever they can to limit big plays and are willing to concede plays underneath to avoid them. They do not send all out blitzes very much and usually do not play 8 in the box. They can usually stop the run if they choose to (Giants first half) but then become easier to pass on. I'm sure they will start out scheming/planning to stop the run and seeing if Garrard and your receivers can beat us. I respect ye Jags and do not look at the performance last night as any sort of guarantee for next week. They will need to play much better though. Any word on how serious the injury to Henderson is?

 

[patriot lifer]

No word yet. The fact that he went back into the game for a few plays and was on the stationary bike gives us a little hope.

Garrard can also throw the ball too, so don't convince yourselves that we are a total one-dimensional offense.

On a side note, I think the Jags actually play better when they are a total underdog, so at least we have that going for us, lol

if they aren't a one-dimensional offense, then I don't know who is.
As for Henderson, he looked like he really wanted to jump back in the game. I wouldn't be surprised if he was active next week. He'd probably play with a little pain.

 

[oldskool138]

Garrard can also throw the ball too, so don't convince yourselves that we are a total one-dimensional offense.

9 completions and 2 INT. Yeah, that passing game sure lit up the Steelers.

 

[patriot lifer]

So I am assuming you consider the Pats a one-dimensional offense as well?

for one, NE can run the ball better than the Jags can throw. The pats average something like 4 yards per rush. but what I actually meant to say was that the entire Jags team is one-dimensional, my bad.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

The screen pass will be featured against the large but less mobile Jagwads DL.

 

[chrisfx811]

The Jags didn't play well last night, but they still pulled out a win on the road, against a playoff experienced team. Kinda reminiscent of Denver/NE in the 05/06 playoffs.

The Pats have played some bad games this year, NYJ, Phi, Balt all come to mind, as well as a dreadful defensive 3 quarters against the NYG, but they pulled all those out as well.

Pitt's crappy field helped to slow down the Jags running offense a bit as well. It's always an equalizer to have everyone on bad footing.

I don't really see Jax utilizing a TE or slot guy much, which normally can give our older lb's trouble.
Jax's offense just seems so elementary, that I trust BB will have a solid scheme for getting our guys in the right positions to control the run game, and make Garrard work the field until he makes a mistake.
It seems key to pressure Garrard up the middle, so he doesn't have an easy escape route, where his 250 lb frame becomes tough to bring down. Wilfork will need a big game next weekend.

On offense, I think the Pats matchup very well against the Jags. We won't pound Maroney up the middle, it's not our game.
Hopefully, they'll work the rb screens, as well as the wr screens to make Jax's front 7 chase all day and wear down.
Delayed draws should keep them guessing as well.
They'll mix that in with Stallworth, Gaffney, & Welker on mid range, crossing routes with opportunities for YAC.

Most of this will be available because the Moss threat will keep Jax concerned with not giving up deep balls.

The health of K. Brady & Watson will be key to mitigating the pass rush, as well as giving Brady more check down options.

In the kicking game, the cold weather will mean shorter kick offs, so special teams coverage on kickoffs is paramount.
If the Pats are successful at containing Jax's run game, I don't see Garrard being capable of consistently leading long drives down the field. If JD & Taylor have a field day, those long drives could be killers for our D.

 

[DaBruinz]

Your offense is much more scary than your old defense. Our O-line, Mojo and Fred are going to have a field day running on you. I am actually looking forward to what Bellicheck has up his sleeve to stop the run.

We will have a huge problem stopping Brady, and I agree that a 2 TD deficit may be too much to overcome. I pray Del Rio does not abandon the run like he did last night.

It is going to be a better game than most of you Pats fans think it is going to be.

Do you know what the weather is going to be like? Hopefully 20 degrees with a blizzard

It always amazes me how LITTLE other fans know about the Patriots Defense and how gullible they are to the mediots.

1) The Pats D-line are all 28 and younger.
2) Other than Rodney Harrison, the Pats secondary is all 28 and younger.
3) Bruschi, Seau, Vrabel, and Thomas are the "grey-beards" at LB. But you have to get through the D-line to get to them.

The average age of the Pats starters on defense is: 29.6 years of age. And that is with the 27 year old Wilson starting over the 24 year old Sanders.

The average starting age of the Jags defense is 27.7 years of age. That is going by the Base 4-3 D as listed on ESPN. I don't know who comes off in Nickel situations, but I know that Terry Cousin comes on and that boosts that age up more, while with the Pats, its usually Bruschi or Seau and sometimes Harrison who come off in Nickel situations and either Sanders and/or Meriweather who come on for the Pats.

Key Items in the game:
1) How do the Pats neutralize MJD on kick-offs?
2) Can the Pats stop the Jags on the run and force Garrard to beat them with his arm?
3) Who does kick returns for the Pats? Hobbs, who is electric? Chad Jackson? Wes Welker? Kevin Faulk?
4) How does Jacksonville do against the Pats multi-receiver sets?