3 Chances to succeed in playoffs

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

IMO There is 6 things (not 3 as said in title of the post) that is a MUST that the Patriots must do in consecutive games to make it to the Super Bowl.
1) RUN THE FOOTBALL 70% OF THE TIME - Whether it is working or not early in the game we need to continually pound the football till the final gun sounds - Of course mixed in with about 30% pass plays to keep the D honest - When we have more pass plays than runs we usually lose this year - Our Wide Receivers as a whole are not playoff caliber guys,so to get far in the playoffs, we need to just let the WRs catch some balls here and there to keep the D front from coninuously plugging the gaps and let LOMO and Corey do the ground game.
2) PRESSURE THE OPPOSING QB - When was the last time we had a whole game of knocking the QB on his butt and getting through the OL consistently - it has not been anytime recently - We have one of the best trio of DEs in football but they need to be more aggressive and more emotional -The talent is there,they must be able to use thier skills up to full potential - we know its there.
3) OFFENSIVE LINE GIVING BRADY TIME TO THROW - With the lack of speed and unable to seperate from defensive backs,our receivers need more time than the average team WRs to get constantly open - If Brady is given about 4/5 seconds on average in the pocket without runnig for his life,he could find a turtle to pass to...give him time and he will beat a defense no matter how lousy a receiver is in getting open.
4) KEN WALTER & SPECIAL TEAMS COVERAGE- Must improve dramatically,We cannot let any playoff team start at the 50 or worse or we will be hard pressed to keep them off the scoreboard.
5) PENALTIES - Stupid holding and knocking down receivers ,especially Ellis Hobbs has cost us too many points this year,whether they led to scores or not is irrelevant...If any player in the secondary gets beaten then just let the WR go and see if he can catch the ball...grabbing onto them only leads to calls anyway so if they catch it,they catch it,there's nothing we can do once they get by anyways.
6) TURNOVERS - Just hang onto the damn ball and put 2 hands on it when in a tight situation or when the WR is off and running from pursuit - enough said here.
If we improve on the 6 things or at least 5 out of 6 we can play with anyone in the NFL - If we fail on 3 or more of these weaknesses,its been a nice season but a lost one. - Theres no reason to think we can't do it if the emotions,heart and desire come out of this team and onto the field which has not been seen since the Minnesota game.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

5) PENALTIES - Stupid holding and knocking down receivers ,especially Ellis Hobbs has cost us too many points this year,whether they led to scores or not is irrelevant...If any player in the secondary gets beaten then just let the WR go and see if he can catch the ball...grabbing onto them only leads to calls anyway so if they catch it,they catch it,there's nothing we can do once they get by anyways.

Some would say Bill Polian cost us more than Hobbs has. I would argue that you are 180 degrees out on allowing WRs to run free under the deep balls, spot fouls if you get beaten are better than a catch for a TD - not that many of those calls have involved anything more than Polian's infamous tiny testes rules being applied very strictly.

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

If the team is running 70% of the time how would the O-Line not give brady time to throw? the opposing team would think it would play the run the majority of the time.

I think it's unrealistic to run the ball 70% of the time. It would be great, but first of all they absoultely need maroney. and I think it really depends on what formation they run out of. If they run out of the 3 wr spread formation i think that would be good or even double te, 2wr, single back set would be good too. They need to spread the defense out and run right at them.

A MAJOR thing they need is several sustained drives which will save the def., eat up clock, and result in scores. They just need to move the chains. if they run on the first two plays and pass for 3 yards to convert I'd be fine with that.

 

[Keegs]

Any Given Sunday my good men.

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

Any Given Sunday my good men.

Games are on now on Thursday's, Saturday's, and Monday's.

 

[Keegs]

Games are on now on Thursday's, Saturday's, and Monday's.

Any Given Sunday

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

IMO There is 6 things (not 3 as said in title of the post) that is a MUST that the Patriots must do in consecutive games to make it to the Super Bowl.
1) RUN THE FOOTBALL 70% OF THE TIME -

Whatever the state of the WRs, RBs (remember Faulk & Maroney as a threat?) and TEs you have just negated the use of our best player Tom Brady. Not a smart move.

I would agree with emphasize the run with Corey inside and Maroney outside. Emphasize does not mean anywhere near 70%. Not with Tom Brady on the team.

 

[patsfaninpa]

IMO There is 6 things (not 3 as said in title of the post) that is a MUST that the Patriots must do in consecutive games to make it to the Super Bowl.
1) RUN THE FOOTBALL 70% OF THE TIME - Whether it is working or not early in the game we need to continually pound the football till the final gun sounds - Of course mixed in with about 30% pass plays to keep the D honest - When we have more pass plays than runs we usually lose this year - Our Wide Receivers as a whole are not playoff caliber guys,so to get far in the playoffs, we need to just let the WRs catch some balls here and there to keep the D front from coninuously plugging the gaps and let LOMO and Corey do the ground game.
2) PRESSURE THE OPPOSING QB - When was the last time we had a whole game of knocking the QB on his butt and getting through the OL consistently - it has not been anytime recently - We have one of the best trio of DEs in football but they need to be more aggressive and more emotional -The talent is there,they must be able to use thier skills up to full potential - we know its there.
3) OFFENSIVE LINE GIVING BRADY TIME TO THROW - With the lack of speed and unable to seperate from defensive backs,our receivers need more time than the average team WRs to get constantly open - If Brady is given about 4/5 seconds on average in the pocket without runnig for his life,he could find a turtle to pass to...give him time and he will beat a defense no matter how lousy a receiver is in getting open.
4) KEN WALTER & SPECIAL TEAMS COVERAGE- Must improve dramatically,We cannot let any playoff team start at the 50 or worse or we will be hard pressed to keep them off the scoreboard.
5) PENALTIES - Stupid holding and knocking down receivers ,especially Ellis Hobbs has cost us too many points this year,whether they led to scores or not is irrelevant...If any player in the secondary gets beaten then just let the WR go and see if he can catch the ball...grabbing onto them only leads to calls anyway so if they catch it,they catch it,there's nothing we can do once they get by anyways.
6) TURNOVERS - Just hang onto the damn ball and put 2 hands on it when in a tight situation or when the WR is off and running from pursuit - enough said here.
If we improve on the 6 things or at least 5 out of 6 we can play with anyone in the NFL - If we fail on 3 or more of these weaknesses,its been a nice season but a lost one. - Theres no reason to think we can't do it if the emotions,heart and desire come out of this team and onto the field which has not been seen since the Minnesota game.

You can bump the turnovers up to nr. 1. That's what has killed us this year. I've never seen receivers fumble as much as ours have this year.
Gabriel with costly fumble against Jets, Watson (Where do we start?) and Graham's fumble against Miami was big last week. We started at 3 and he caught the ball and fumble about the 40 after 3 1st downs. That game could have been much different if we were playing with the lead. We averaged 5yds a carry in that game and got shutout.. Pretty hard to do.

 

[frankiesfly]

i agree with the run part with a healthy maroney, because to me dillion is only good for short yardage plays, without maroney we really dont have a running game. The turnovers is obvious, we have to cut that down. The game being a game of field position, pinning the the opposing team deep in there own zone with good special teams and good kicking, to me is most important. We cant make things easy for teams. Without maroney returning kicks our own field position has been hurting also.enalties are a killer, i cant stand watching the pats shoot themselves in there own foot. Against the teams we will be playing in the playoffs, to win, we are going to have to be absolutely mistake free to win.