It's on to Green Bay

DarrylS said:

Weather can be an equalizer... however at this early date, NOAA is predicting..

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I'd agree with you if the Pats were an indoor team ala the Colts. They aren't and I can guarantee you that weather won't be an issue for either offense.

One area that hasn't been mentioned so far is Special teams.. It turns out that the Pats Special Teams have been a highlight in comparison to Green Bay's.

http://espn.go.com/blog/statsinfo/post/_/id/99065/patriotspackers-matchups-to-know-qbspecial-teams

The article mentions that the offenses are similar and defenses are similar in ranking, but Special Team the Pats and Packers are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

DaBruinz said:

I'd agree with you if the Pats were an indoor team ala the Colts. They aren't and I can guarantee you that weather won't be an issue for either offense.

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It not like one of those days when the weather is below 0, this team(with a lot of new faces) has had some cold weather practices, but not a lot of game activity..

25 degrees and clear is not an issue for the Patriots..

I think we just leave Revis on Nelson the entire game. Nelson has some of the best moves at the los and can probably shake past Browner.

I don't think weather will be an issue either way. Pats play well in the snow, wind, and the rain. They can do it all rain or shine. So no matter the weather, it Will not be a factor.

one interesting wrinkle.Dom Capers was a Assistant Coach for BB here a few yrs ago. Could factor in his knowledge of how BB thinks and plays.

SVN said:

one interesting wrinkle.Dom Capers was a Assistant Coach for BB here a few yrs ago. Could factor in his knowledge of how BB thinks and plays.

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And vice versa.

What an exciting game! Oh boy oh boy. I always feel like I jinx them when I get really psyched up, but i was psyched for detroit and they won anyway.

TruthSeeker said:

Given the Patriots have been blowing out all the division winners, I'm surprised GB is favored by more than the traditional 3 point home field advantage. I expect maybe 1 or 2 point spread in favor of GB. The Patriots clearly look like the class of the NFL right now.

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3.5 makes me happy. Too bad it isn't 5 or 6. Nothing gets a Pats team going like disrespect, as Big Vince made crystal clear yesterday.

SVN said:

one interesting wrinkle.Dom Capers was a Assistant Coach for BB here a few yrs ago. Could factor in his knowledge of how BB thinks and plays.

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Dude that was in 2008. Not really concerned about it TBH.

VrabelJr said:

Lacy is an inside runner mostly anyway. It'll be a hard game to watch if Rodgers keeps torching us on roll out passes. Flash backs of that play where we missed sacking Stafford 2-3 times.

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the Pats Run weakness existed when neither Branch, Siliga and Jones were available on the DL. The Pats were trying to adjust to missing the run stopping,and defensive play calling of Jerod Mayo.

That was then and this is now.

Three things scare me about this game....all are related to the defense. First is the ability to play tough up front and stop Lacy. I think a guy like Branch will be important here. Secondly....Arrington has a history of shutting down guys like TY Hilton one game....then getting beat by mediocre 4th string receivers the next. Third....Logan Ryan....The guy will have one great play....then three real bad ones.

I had this pencilled as a win before the season. Nothing has happened to change my mind. GB's offense can be stopped by our D and their defense isn't very good. We match up very well with them.

Was more worried about the Indy game than this one.

I think their best course of option is to get to Rodgers early and frustrate him. I think they can get more than one INT from him too.

The Packers defense hasn't really been tested by any high powered offenses. So I think the way the offense has been playing will do just fine against Green Bay.

Rodgers has never faced an opposing at the level of brady since 2006....

It's a win for the Pats. Just upset the tining of Rodgers. It's simple, we can do this.

Lets Go Pats Fans

Brewskies said:

It's a win for the Pats. Just upset the tining of Rodgers. It's simple, we can do this.

Lets Go Pats Fans

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Insert "Packers/Brady/Packers" for red words and you have, I'm sure, exactly what's being posted right now at a GB site. I'm a homer too, but "it's simple all ya gotta do is..." works for everybody.

Sorry to be the damper but GB is a good team. Hope we continue kicking the crap out of "good teams."

I have a calm sense of confidence going into this game. At best, the Patriots D should hope to contain the Packers given Rodger's exceptional level of performance this season. The Patriots needs to take away Nelson, Cobb and Lacy. Force the Packers to win with Adams, Quarless, Rodgers (TE).

To me, this feels similar to the Steelers game a few seasons ago when New England went in and thumped the Steelers before Pittsburgh added a little respectability to the boxscore in the 4th. New England holds a decisive advantage on D, ST and with the coaches. Both Offenses are playing to a comparable and high level.

Home field doesn't bother me anymore. The Patriots are playing to such a high level that it doesn't matter where they play. This game will come down to which D makes enough plays against the opposing O or at the least, restricts scores to FGs opposed to TDs.

patsfan13 said:

BB always tries to dictate the game by having the D limit what the opposition does best. In this case the chief threat was the passing game so you limit that and give up a bit on the run in exchange expect more of the same next week (see the Denver and Indy games for prior examples) against a team like the Jets you take away the run and dare the Jets to try and win the game passing.

The D was very good today.

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The D has been so good that I changed my sig line.

They've come to the point that they might be able to stop everything a team wants to do, run or pass.

They get to that point and I'll have to change my sig line again.

ausbacker said:

I have a calm sense of confidence going into this game. At best, the Patriots D should hope to contain the Packers given Rodger's exceptional level of performance this season. The Patriots needs to take away Nelson, Cobb and Lacy. Force the Packers to win with Adams, Quarrels, Rodgers (TE).

To me, this feels similar to the Steelers game a few seasons ago when New England went in and thumped the Steelers before Pittsburgh added a little respectability to boxscore in the 4th. New England holds a decisive advantage on D, ST and with the coaches. Both Offenses are playing to a comparable and high level.

Home field doesn't bother me anymore. The Patriots are playing to such a high level that it doesn't matter where they play. This game will come down to which D makes enough plays against the opposing O or at the least, restricts scores to FGs opposed to TDs.

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Difference being GB is a much tougher place to play..but this team is the best in the NFL...few weeks ago i was sure they would lose this game..not it's a toss up IMO