Patriot Missile
Pro Bowl Player
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2005
- Messages
- 13,966
- Reaction score
- 10,952
Moving on to the next game as BB would say. It's been a rough week but let's go ahead and speculate on the upcoming matchup. As bad as last week was I do think this team can play better than what we have seen this season. Of course some things have got to be resolved from the coaching to the players and personal groupings.
These are not the same Bungles that were the laughing stock of the NFL that had a 60/40 chance of making the police blotter every weekend. We knew this last season when they showed the great defense that beat us 13-6. Their defense is stout, they have Atkins back at DT along with Dunlap and Burfict highlighting the front 7, you can add in a pretty solid secondary in there as well.
The offense can do a lot of things. They seem to have found a gem with Bernard who is a complete dual threat at running back. Throw in Jeremy Hill who is an up and comer, explosive and one of the best depth draft picks thus far from this years draft. Of course their receiving core is led by the fantasy demon AJ Green who is a nightmare to cover for just about every cornerback in the league. Mohamed Sanu has been a nice compliment on the other side. Looks like Marvin Jones will possibly not suit up after reinjuring himself. That guy had 10 TD catches right there,so at least the Pats may catch a break there. Tyler Eifert has been place on ir so the bulk of the TE will be Gresham. He's shown flashes of receiving but his main body of work is blocking and he is a big part of that running game.
The Bengals offensive line hasn't allowed a sack this season and they are run blocking well. Will have to check for chinks in the armor. Dalton really hasn't had to do much except manage the game and he is doing solid. I don't think their competition have been world beaters but they are 3-0 and early on they seem like they could represent the AFC in the big game.
It seems like a tall task but at least they are at home and have a pretty good record coming off losses.
The defense can regroup but some things cannot remain the same. They have got to ditch the 3 man front and move to a 4 man front and try to defeat this offense with speed. Linebackers have got to be active and willing to make those tackles. Vince needs to seal his lanes and Hightower,Jones and Niko need to set the edges. Bring a Chung/Browner for run support. Trust in Revis to man up against against Green. The task is tall but if you can't press him your gonna lose some big gainers to the guy. This is what Revis is getting paid for Bill. Let him earn his money. Don't put him 10 yards off the ball. As far as the other side? Find something that works. Keep shuffling and the the cb2 that really wants the job will fin a way. Who knows maybe it will be Browner playing cb2. It will be interesting to see who will play there for the majority of snaps.
As far as the offense. It's a broken record. Oline,oline,oline. Another game in the books and another couple of practices together. I thought the group that was in there last week was about as good a group as this team can field for the moment. Now it's either improve week to week or suck week to week the rest of the season. Give Tom a little bit of time, not enough to eat a sandwich as Rob would say. But just enough to get to his 3rd read. 4th would be better but that's asking too much. Incorporate Ridley into the mix. I know he had fumbling issues last season but he is my guy in the middle. 5 carried for 28 last week at a 5.6 ypc. Friggin sad that KC was that bad and he got 5 carries? He had runs of 8,7,6 yds btw. There's a time and place for Vereen and that is obvious passing downs. Hopefully Dobson and Tyms will be activated for this game. I think they have the best chance of gaining separation that will help lighten Gronkowski and Edelman's load.
Again tall task but not impossible. It would be nice to get a big win at home to erase some of the negativity around here.
These are not the same Bungles that were the laughing stock of the NFL that had a 60/40 chance of making the police blotter every weekend. We knew this last season when they showed the great defense that beat us 13-6. Their defense is stout, they have Atkins back at DT along with Dunlap and Burfict highlighting the front 7, you can add in a pretty solid secondary in there as well.
The offense can do a lot of things. They seem to have found a gem with Bernard who is a complete dual threat at running back. Throw in Jeremy Hill who is an up and comer, explosive and one of the best depth draft picks thus far from this years draft. Of course their receiving core is led by the fantasy demon AJ Green who is a nightmare to cover for just about every cornerback in the league. Mohamed Sanu has been a nice compliment on the other side. Looks like Marvin Jones will possibly not suit up after reinjuring himself. That guy had 10 TD catches right there,so at least the Pats may catch a break there. Tyler Eifert has been place on ir so the bulk of the TE will be Gresham. He's shown flashes of receiving but his main body of work is blocking and he is a big part of that running game.
The Bengals offensive line hasn't allowed a sack this season and they are run blocking well. Will have to check for chinks in the armor. Dalton really hasn't had to do much except manage the game and he is doing solid. I don't think their competition have been world beaters but they are 3-0 and early on they seem like they could represent the AFC in the big game.
It seems like a tall task but at least they are at home and have a pretty good record coming off losses.
The defense can regroup but some things cannot remain the same. They have got to ditch the 3 man front and move to a 4 man front and try to defeat this offense with speed. Linebackers have got to be active and willing to make those tackles. Vince needs to seal his lanes and Hightower,Jones and Niko need to set the edges. Bring a Chung/Browner for run support. Trust in Revis to man up against against Green. The task is tall but if you can't press him your gonna lose some big gainers to the guy. This is what Revis is getting paid for Bill. Let him earn his money. Don't put him 10 yards off the ball. As far as the other side? Find something that works. Keep shuffling and the the cb2 that really wants the job will fin a way. Who knows maybe it will be Browner playing cb2. It will be interesting to see who will play there for the majority of snaps.
As far as the offense. It's a broken record. Oline,oline,oline. Another game in the books and another couple of practices together. I thought the group that was in there last week was about as good a group as this team can field for the moment. Now it's either improve week to week or suck week to week the rest of the season. Give Tom a little bit of time, not enough to eat a sandwich as Rob would say. But just enough to get to his 3rd read. 4th would be better but that's asking too much. Incorporate Ridley into the mix. I know he had fumbling issues last season but he is my guy in the middle. 5 carried for 28 last week at a 5.6 ypc. Friggin sad that KC was that bad and he got 5 carries? He had runs of 8,7,6 yds btw. There's a time and place for Vereen and that is obvious passing downs. Hopefully Dobson and Tyms will be activated for this game. I think they have the best chance of gaining separation that will help lighten Gronkowski and Edelman's load.
Again tall task but not impossible. It would be nice to get a big win at home to erase some of the negativity around here.