Broncos Safety Ward on Stopping Gronkowski - "We'll have a plan"

Everyone has a plan until they throw a glass at a female bartender.

Honestly though, taking out Gronk's legs is the best way to tackle him. You aren't going to get him high.

patsfanincleveland said:

Why the offense didn't go hurry up is a mystery.

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Hurry up requires guys to be on the same page and healthy oline with some continuity and WR get open quickly. Who do we have with the beatup WRs and olineman just returning back from injury right now? Hurry doesnt solve problems of poor oline blocking or Wrs not winning one on one battles.

SVN said:

Hurry up requires guys to be on the same page and healthy oline with some continuity and WR get open quickly. Who do we have with the beatup WRs and olineman just returning back from injury right now? Hurry doesnt solve problems of poor oline blocking or Wrs not winning one on one battles.

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Spot on. There's a reason most teams cannot execute the hurry up offense. Yes, it does start with TFB but it's more than just him.

Froob said:

Honestly though, taking out Gronk's legs is the best way to tackle him. You aren't going to get him high.

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Negative. Watch the play from the SB 4th quarter last drive. Sideline catch and Wright gets him low around waist and Chancellor flys in and instead of going for his knees, hits him mid chest and they take him down.

Classy play by a guy who could have destroyed his knees. The anti-TJ Ward if you will.

Username said:

Pretty sure his plan will involve launching himself helmet first at Gronks knee. He's not exactly what I'd call a cerebral strategist.

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That's what I worry about with these guys being determined to stop Gronk or Brady.

I wouldn't mind Gronk getting an offensive interference call if he would just slam into Talib. If Welker could injure him, what would Gronk do to him?
I think overall that this needs to be a game where Brady doesn't turn it over. He needs to take the sack or throw it away. Don't force anything that could give them points or field position. Given the number of backup targets he'll be throwing to, he needs to be sure of where the ball is going at all times.

Bracket Gronk like BUF did last week with a LB and a safety like Ward, and that frees up both Talib and Harris Jr to cover LaFell and _____ (insert name here). That neutralizes any and all receiving options.

There's your "plan." I worked all of 2.3 seconds on it. Dear Wade Phillips--if you use my plan, please make a generous contribution to my grad school loans program. I accept all forms of payment, including the loose change in your car.

old 55 said:

I wouldn't mind Gronk getting an offensive interference call if he would just slam into Talib. If Welker could injure him, what would Gronk do to him?
I think overall that this needs to be a game where Brady doesn't turn it over. He needs to take the sack or throw it away. Don't force anything that could give them points or field position. Given the number of backup targets he'll be throwing to, he needs to be sure of where the ball is going at all times.

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This game is starting to remind me of the 2013 AFCCG when we last went to Denver and had very limited receiving options.

If we're able to run the ball with any kind of success, it would go a long, long way towards increasing the odds of winning.

old 55 said:

I wouldn't mind Gronk getting an offensive interference call if he would just slam into Talib. If Welker could injure him, what would Gronk do to him?
I think overall that this needs to be a game where Brady doesn't turn it over. He needs to take the sack or throw it away. Don't force anything that could give them points or field position. Given the number of backup targets he'll be throwing to, he needs to be sure of where the ball is going at all times.

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If Gronk slams into anyone ot should be that scumbag Ward.

supafly said:

This game is starting to remind me of the 2013 AFCCG when we last went to Denver and had very limited receiving options.

If we're able to run the ball with any kind of success, it would go a long, long way towards increasing the odds of winning.

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Its reminding me of that game 2, but I do feel more confident with Gronk and Lafell out there.

I think we have to go big on alot of plays. Establish the run game, and kill them with play action. This has to be the game Scott Chandler steps it up a notch. We need him.

supafly said:

This game is starting to remind me of the 2013 AFCCG when we last went to Denver and had very limited receiving options.

If we're able to run the ball with any kind of success, it would go a long, long way towards increasing the odds of winning.

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I'd like to see them run the ball more even if they aren't very successful. And I'd like to see them run it straight ahead. If they do that it might open up a tiny crack in their pass defense, which is the strength of their defense. Give them a little bit of Blount Force Trauma and don't give up on it.

1960Pats said:

I'd like to see them run the ball more even if they aren't very successful. And I'd like to see them run it straight ahead. If they do that it might open up a tiny crack in their pass defense, which is the strength of their defense. Give them a little bit of Blount Force Trauma and don't give up on it.

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It sounds good in theory, but Blount has not proven himself worthy in these types of situations vs tough defensive fronts. Last time we went to DEN, he ran 5 times for a grand total of 6 yards, and the team was limited to 64 yards on the ground.

Brady was actually the guy who rushed for our only TD, and also threw for another. We neither fumbled or threw an Interception throughout the game, so they played mistake-free football and still had a very difficult time moving the ball.

I think they'll need to get something out of White, and Harper is going to have to be used in some capacity for the 0-10 yard range routes. Obviously, the defense will have to limit them to something in the teens/early 20s at worst.

AzorianPats said:

Its reminding me of that game 2, but I do feel more confident with Gronk and Lafell out there.

I think we have to go big on alot of plays. Establish the run game, and kill them with play action. This has to be the game Scott Chandler steps it up a notch. We need him.

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I think the concern is that things will get hairy with the defensive pressure like last week, if Brady does not get rid of the ball quickly enough like he usually does.

We had Edelman last time @Denver, and he caught 10 balls, so we were still able to keep the usual offense to some degree. Even last week on the film breakdown you could tell that Brady was trying to go elsewhere besides Amendola, and still had to feed him 12 targets before we even got through the 3rd quarter.

This game is going to depend on whether or not we can run the ball, use Harper on the shorter routes with any success, and play tough defense. I think we'll need 2/3 to win the game. Just my opinion, of course.

The Denver game plan should be easy. Take away #87 and put one of the two good CBs on LaFell. There's actually a way you can neutralize everyone but that would mean bracketing Gronk with a LB underneath and a safety over top, which would allow BOTH corners to take on our receiving options.

On paper it does not look good. Pats are 28th in rushing, so I don't expect them to do any serious running against a good rushing defense. (Personally, I think the biggest weakness on the team is the lack of a serious runner). Fortunately, the Broncos are in the same boat. With JE11 and DA out, I don't see any big plays from STs. They will put the ball in Tom's hands and see what he can do with the available targets. Denver will take away Gronk, as stated. Tom will hold on to the ball trying to make plays, but I don't see any of his receivers generating any consistent offense, so it will be ugly and sporadic. Denver has much better targets, and I think there is a better chance that they will hit some plays. At some point, the mounting injuries become insurmountable, and on paper it looks like this would be the week. But the Pats are resilient and it will take fortitude to beat them. I am not convinced Denver is that team. Bill, Josh, Mike, Tom, find a way. Pats by 1.

Mack Herron said:

On paper it does not look good. Pats are 28th in rushing, so I don't expect them to do any serious running against a good rushing defense. (Personally, I think the biggest weakness on the team is the lack of a serious runner). Fortunately, the Broncos are in the same boat. With JE11 and DA out, I don't see any big plays from STs. They will put the ball in Tom's hands and see what he can do with the available targets. Denver will take away Gronk, as stated. Tom will hold on to the ball trying to make plays, but I don't see any of his receivers generating any consistent offense, so it will be ugly and sporadic. Denver has much better targets, and I think there is a better chance that they will hit some plays. At some point, the mounting injuries become insurmountable, and on paper it looks like this would be the week. But the Pats are resilient and it will take fortitude to beat them. I am not convinced Denver is that team. Bill, Josh, Mike, Tom, find a way. Pats by 1.

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That's my feeling as well. This is going to be a circa 2003 game. UGLY.

Until DEN shows any toughness at all when it really matters I refuse to think that they can beat the Pats.

supafly said:

It sounds good in theory, but Blount has not proven himself worthy in these types of situations vs tough defensive fronts. Last time we went to DEN, he ran 5 times for a grand total of 6 yards, and the team was limited to 64 yards on the ground.

Brady was actually the guy who rushed for our only TD, and also threw for another. We neither fumbled or threw an Interception throughout the game, so they played mistake-free football and still had a very difficult time moving the ball.

I think they'll need to get something out of White, and Harper is going to have to be used in some capacity for the 0-10 yard range routes. Obviously, the defense will have to limit them to something in the teens/early 20s at worst.

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I didn't remember the particulars for that game (2013) so I looked it up. They only ran the ball 16 times out of 54 plays, in spite of the fact that they averaged 4 ypc even with Blount's 1.2 ypc and Brady's 3.5 and 13 total yards. The other 51 yards came on 9 carries from Vereen and Ridley. Unless they're facing a team that's deadly against the run (which the Broncos were not and aren't now) then I would prefer that the Pats run the ball more than that, successful or not.

I also like the idea that the Broncos may not cover Gronk as well if they think he's going to stay in and block more. I remember watching a video of a game when Talib was the 2nd man on Gronk who never left the line of scrimmage as he blocked the LB that was supposed to cover him. Talib ended up standing in the middle of nowhere and the pass was completed behind him.

I especially like the run more strategy because the Pats have next to nothing left at WR. If they go pass happy this game the mistakes will probably come. I also wouldn't mind them pounding away at the DBs to see if they could wear them down for later.

In the end though, I couldn't care less how they do it if they pull it off.

Mack Herron said:

With JE11 and DA out, I don't see any big plays from STs.

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This is my biggest worry - the surest handed PRs are both out. we saw that a ST fumble was the key to the NE win last week.

supafly said:

This game is starting to remind me of the 2013 AFCCG when we last went to Denver and had very limited receiving options.

If we're able to run the ball with any kind of success, it would go a long, long way towards increasing the odds of winning.

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Well except for they don't have a healthy PM behind center.

PScottman said:

This is my biggest worry - the surest handed PRs are both out. we saw that a ST fumble was the key to the NE win last week.

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I think KM will take that role.