We're onto Denver

ViperGTS said:

To be fair in both games the number one target went down. That will change things in game. Harper had a tremendous effort catch for naught. That won't be forgotten. I feel he will make some contributions earlier rather than later.

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That is fair.

robertweathers said:

Well....considering that I can't recall ever feeling good about playing in Denver why change now.

Pats are 3-5 in DEN during the BB era.

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Law of averages says we blow the donkeys out of the water.... we're due....

FourierSeries said:

Our defense has been better than Denver's for nearly a month now.

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Ok

If the offense had a healthy Lewis and Edelman, and at least respectable consistency by the oline, this game is a blowout no question.

The situation had changed dramatically.

dannydyn said:

Law of averages says we blow the donkeys out of the water.... we're due....

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FourierSeries said:

Our defense has been better than Denver's for nearly a month now.

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Points allowed: Last 4 games.

DEN: 20ppg & 288ypg
Pats: 14ppg & 315ypg

robertweathers said:

Points allowed: Last 4 games.

DEN: 20ppg & 288ypg
Pats: 14ppg & 315ypg

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Also, here are the PPG rankings for the offenses they've faced those 4 weeks:

DEN: 9th, 18th, 6th, 21st
NE: 26th, 20th, 4th, 10th

So against very similar schedules.

Deus Irae said:

???

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Well he hasn't played much but the chances he's had I thought he looked pretty good. He's going to be needed this week. Maybe I'm overating him but I think be needs to see more snaps.

I am taking Harper and using him in Jules routes I trust him to run, should the route have to change too much based on coverage don't know if I have the confidence in him to make the adjustment Jules would have to make.

In other words, let him be Jules light and go to JoJo/Gronk or White/Bolden out of the back field on the draw....

Halifax_Pats_Fan said:

I am taking Harper and using him in Jules routes I trust him to run, should the route have to change too much based on coverage don't know if I have the confidence in him to make the adjustment Jules would have to make.

In other words, let him be Jules light and go to JoJo/Gronk or White/Bolden out of the back field on the draw....

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If Amendola and Martin out, we will have little choice.

I want to see much more James White

Is Denver good against the run....I think it's imperative that we are able to run with some sort of effectiveness against them. This is going to be a tough, defensive battle. Hopefully, we can turn them over a few times.

ashley1992 said:

Is Denver good against the run....I think it's imperative that we are able to run with some sort of effectiveness against them. This is going to be a tough, defensive battle. Hopefully, we can turn them over a few times.

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Quite good.

JMC00 said:

broncos ran for 170 yards on the bears and only could muster 17 points.

broncos ain't running for 170 yards against this Pats defense, especially if Collins is back.

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That was in Chicago. They are at home against us. So better for them

I live in the Chicago-land area, and watched quite a bit of the Bears game against the Broncos.

What stuck out to me was that the Bears receivers were getting open ALOT against the Broncos secondary, and they were players named Bellamy and Wilson, not Jeffery and Royal (both out with injuries).

Bennett was also open a lot, along with their other tight end Miller.

As long as the line can improve even a little bit on yesterday's performance, and Gronk rebounds from whatever ailed him last night, I like the Pats chances of finding success with whatever receivers they can scrap together.

Oh, and the Bears found some success in the passing game without any contribution from their rushing attack too, since the Broncos fared very well against Langford/Carey.

Uncle Rico said:

Osweiler looked OK …

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He did. The Bears played poorly though, so there is still some Tyrod Taylor week one potential going on.

PrairiePat said:

Wow, do we really have fans here 'expecting a blowout'?

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Four weeks ago, I'd have been completely confident about a 10+ point victory. Not now.

JMC00 said:

Wade Phillips defense on the other hand is a defense Brady usually does well against.

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Yeah, fans and media always point at what one team does and conclude, "blitzes will give the Patriots trouble!" The truth is that isn't the specific thing Rex's defenses do, it is how they do it. They go against tendency, they manipulate Brady into attacking a false mismatch, they outsmart as much as they outplay.

Phillips' defenses don't do the same thing. They're more reminiscent of the old Pittsburgh teams that beat you with pure force. Not saying Wade doesn't have some trickery going on, but even that is easier to spot with film study.

My prediction for this week is that Denver blitzes more than Buffalo did.... yet somehow has fewer free rushers.

rosco1 said:

Our Oline is just as bad if it makes you feel any better.

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Yeah, except Denver's OL has been a dumpster fire all year. At least NE can hold out hope that they can get back to how they were playing a few weeks ago.

obgod3 said:

While Brock looked good last week it wasn't a huge improvement over Manning

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I couldn't disagree more. Manning was abominable. There are still questions about how good Oswelier really is, but Manning could never have done what Brock did this past week.

ashley1992 said:

Is Denver good against the run

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Outstanding. All things being equal, this is a classic "spread them out and don't even bother to run" game. Unfortunately, all things aren't equal right now.

Really hoping Martin can go for this. If we have him lafell and amendola it would be a great help.

I think martin can play somewhat of the edelman role. Was surprised he was a scratch this week.

ashley1992 said:

Is Denver good against the run....I think it's imperative that we are able to run with some sort of effectiveness against them. This is going to be a tough, defensive battle. Hopefully, we can turn them over a few times.

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I expect a low scoring game where we come out on top. Pm

The Bears D is awful..so take what he did with a grain of salt..but he gives them a better chance to win than manning

Joey007 said:

If you ask me, this is a huge opportunity for the defense.

With our offense cut short of weapons, they can make a huge statement if they out-defense Denvers Defense. To me that would be a huge statement.

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Ehhhh, their defense is going up against tom brady. Ours is going up against a guy starting his second NFL game. Even with our injuries the defenses will be facing totally different challenges. If ours doesn't handle this kid that would be troubling. I fully expect them to.