5 Keys to Victory

[mayoclinic]

With apologies to PATSNUTme, some early thoughts on keys to beating Denver:

1. Maintain intensity and focus at Mile High. We have imploded at Mile High before, and it would be easy to have a let down after the playoff-like intensity of the Ravens game. The team needs to stay focused and intense, maintain aggressiveness on both offense and defense, and avoid mental mistakes against the opportunistic Donkeys.

2. Contain Brandon Marshall. "At this point, it doesn't look as if the Pats have anyone who can cover Brandon Marshall", writes Vic Carucci today on nfl.com. Marshall seems to me to be Denver's only offensive weapon who could really hurt the Pats. I'm sure BB will focus on preventing him from making the big play, especially after last week's 51 yard TD catch against Dallas.

3. Pressure Kyle Orton and create mistakes/turnovers. So far, Kyle Orton has executed the mistake-free game manager role to perfection, with 5 TDs and 0 INTs and a 97.7 QB rating. The Pats need to pressure him, cause him to make mistakes, and hopefully create some turnovers.

4. Stop Elvis Dumervil. Dumervil has been a one man wrecking machine with 8 sacks in 4 games, as many as the Pats team has recorded so far. Their other pass rushing threats are average at best. The Pats offense has to stop giving up the potential game-changing play like the Suggs sack/fumble/TD and the Aaron Schobel INT/TD. Matt Light has been erratic this season, and will need help containing Dumervil and protecting TB. Denver's first 7 points were created by a sack of Tony Romo at the Dallas 9 and a forced fumble. We need to avoid those big swings.

5. Maintain balance on offense. The Pats need to keep commitment to running the ball, and selectively attack the Denver secondary despite Champ Bailey and Brian Dawkins. Romoesque gunslinging and interceptions inside the opponent's red zone won't work. Despite a defense that ranks 3rd against the pass, 5th against the run and 1st overall, we should be able to do both if we execute. Some red zone execution would also be nice, obviously.

Should be a winnable game, but could easily be a loseable game.

 

[jmt57]

I think Carucci is overstating the Marshall-versus-Pats-secondary matchup. Maybe he's still thinking of the Pats 2008 secondary, who knows? In week one the Pats game planned to shut down Terrell Owens and Lee Evans, and did just that. In week three the plan was to shut down Tony Gonzalez, who had just come off a 7-catch, 71-yard, 1-TD game; the result was one catch for 16 yards. And it wasn't as if that left Roddy White open; he had just 24 yards (after going over 1200 yards and over 80 catches in each of the last two years.) Derrick Mason was not a primary focus of the game plan against Baltimore but once the Pats saw what the Ravens were doing, he was shut down after the opening drive.

Marshall made highlight reels for his game-winning touchdown, but that looked to me to be more about poor coverage and shoddy tackling than anything else. Marshall had only 3 catches for 40 yards the rest of the game, and that was against the Cowboys who rank 29th in the league in pass defense. In Marshall's first three games he only averaged 4 catches for 48 yards.

That's not to say Marshall won't be a key to the defensive game plan. He probably will, but that's almost by default; who else on the Denver offense would you game plan against?

 

[PatsSox363804]

I think Carucci is overstating the Marshall-versus-Pats-secondary matchup. Maybe he's still thinking of the Pats 2008 secondary, who knows? In week one the Pats game planned to shut down Terrell Owens and Lee Evans, and did just that. In week three the plan was to shut down Tony Gonzalez, who had just come off a 7-catch, 71-yard, 1-TD game; the result was one catch for 16 yards. And it wasn't as if that left Roddy White open; he had just 24 yards (after going over 1200 yards and over 80 catches in each of the last two years.) Derrick Mason was not a primary focus of the game plan against Baltimore but once the Pats saw what the Ravens were doing, he was shut down after the opening drive.

Marshall made highlight reels for his game-winning touchdown, but that looked to me to be more about poor coverage and shoddy tackling than anything else. Marshall had only 3 catches for 40 yards the rest of the game, and that was against the Cowboys who rank 29th in the league in pass defense. In Marshall's first three games he only averaged 4 catches for 48 yards.

That's not to say Marshall won't be a key to the defensive game plan. He probably will, but that's almost by default; who else on the Denver offense would you game plan against?

This. Taking nothing away from Marshall but Carucci is wrong about our secondary. It will take time for the rest of the league to come around to just how good our defense is.

 

[Metaphors]

3.1 - Get an Early Lead

Orton will be able to stay in his comfort zone as long as he believes the game isn't slipping away (see Edwards, Trent). Once he starts believing the game is on his shoulders, the mistakes should follow.

 

[mayoclinic]

This. Taking nothing away from Marshall but Carucci is wrong about our secondary. It will take time for the rest of the league to come around to just how good our defense is.

I wasn't agreeing with Carucci, and I'm very appreciative of our secondary. But I do think that Marshall is the only real weapon the Broncos have on offense, and that we will scheme to take him away. I think Meriweather or McGowan will help out whoever is assigned to cover him.

 

[BelichickFan]

I wasn't agreeing with Carucci, and I'm very appreciative of our secondary. But I do think that Marshall is the only real weapon the Broncos have on offense, and that we will scheme to take him away.

I have no idea why they aren't throwing to Royal, I think he should be a legit weapon but they sure aren't using him that way.

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

I wasn't agreeing with Carucci, and I'm very appreciative of our secondary. But I do think that Marshall is the only real weapon the Broncos have on offense, and that we will scheme to take him away. I think Meriweather or McGowan will help out whoever is assigned to cover him.

Marshall had four catches, all in the fourth quarter. One of the guys at patriotsdaily made the great point that these pundits cannot possibly know all 32 teams (most are not really qualified to comment anyway) so they hitch on the last thing and run their mouth with it.

As far as "pundits" go, give everyone a monkey and an organ grinder, and you have well qualified circus clowns.

 

[PatriotsInGA]

Just pressure Kyle Orton like we did Flacco. When with the Bears, Orton was terrible under pressure. Oh and definitely take the Mile High crowd out of it.

 

[Patspsycho]

I wasn't agreeing with Carucci, and I'm very appreciative of our secondary. But I do think that Marshall is the only real weapon the Broncos have on offense, and that we will scheme to take him away. I think Meriweather or McGowan will help out whoever is assigned to cover him.

Do we use the same bracket coverage we used last week to shut Mason down?

I think McD sees this, and will game plan around it.

What is our response to this? Do we feint with a robber coverage? Do we play CBs straight up?

 

[DarrylS]

When I watched them last week.. they did not look like a 4-0 team, they are the type of team that can be exposed by someone like BB and his crew.

I think this will be an easy win... as much as McDaniels knows our team and players, they also know the way he thinks so that is a trade off...

 

[Scouse Patriot]

Just score more points than Denver man...

 

[Patspsycho]

Some more thoughts on Denver- watching highlights on the Denver/Dallas game leads me to think Dallas underestimated McD on game planning. On the Marshall TD, even a 10 year old could see they were playing man across the board (with 3 CB), and the SS motioned high way too soon. Also bad execution on that play.

Really confounding is the playmaking/playcalling combo of Philips/Romo that must have some Dallas fans pounding their heads in frustration. That key 40 yard run was a haphazard play made on the run, but in the end zone, the last two plays were the same damn thing, inside cut on man to man. Who covers? Champ of course. Who breaks it up, Champ.

I can only think heads are going to roll in Dallas if they keep this up. How does JJ not see this? Is he truly football-illiterate as I dare think he is?

Our tremendous advantage is that we don't have too many of those brain fart moments, and we do a lot to disguise our intents up to the snap on both sides of the ball.

 

[Patspsycho]

With apologies to PATSNUTme, some early thoughts on keys to beating Denver:

1. Maintain intensity and focus at Mile High. We have imploded at Mile High before, and it would be easy to have a let down after the playoff-like intensity of the Ravens game. The team needs to stay focused and intense, maintain aggressiveness on both offense and defense, and avoid mental mistakes against the opportunistic Donkeys.

2. Contain Brandon Marshall. "At this point, it doesn't look as if the Pats have anyone who can cover Brandon Marshall", writes Vic Carucci today on nfl.com. Marshall seems to me to be Denver's only offensive weapon who could really hurt the Pats. I'm sure BB will focus on preventing him from making the big play, especially after last week's 51 yard TD catch against Dallas.

3. Pressure Kyle Orton and create mistakes/turnovers. So far, Kyle Orton has executed the mistake-free game manager role to perfection, with 5 TDs and 0 INTs and a 97.7 QB rating. The Pats need to pressure him, cause him to make mistakes, and hopefully create some turnovers.

4. Stop Elvis Dumervil. Dumervil has been a one man wrecking machine with 8 sacks in 4 games, as many as the Pats team has recorded so far. Their other pass rushing threats are average at best. The Pats offense has to stop giving up the potential game-changing play like the Suggs sack/fumble/TD and the Aaron Schobel INT/TD. Matt Light has been erratic this season, and will need help containing Dumervil and protecting TB. Denver's first 7 points were created by a sack of Tony Romo at the Dallas 9 and a forced fumble. We need to avoid those big swings.

5. Maintain balance on offense. The Pats need to keep commitment to running the ball, and selectively attack the Denver secondary despite Champ Bailey and Brian Dawkins. Romoesque gunslinging and interceptions inside the opponent's red zone won't work. Despite a defense that ranks 3rd against the pass, 5th against the run and 1st overall, we should be able to do both if we execute. Some red zone execution would also be nice, obviously.

Should be a winnable game, but could easily be a loseable game.

I have to add:

6. disguising presnap intents With McD knowing so much of the Patriots offense and vice versa, a big key to determining who comes out ahead is how well each team disguises it's intents up to the snap. I know BB will throw you a variety of looks on the same plays rather than different plays with no looks on them. McD will undoubtedly do the same. I just hope we don't see any of that chess game we saw between Mangini and BB that was bordering on ridiculous (fake-subbing the ST to trap us on a 12th man penalty).

 

[willdeespats]

With apologies to PATSNUTme, some early thoughts on keys to beating Denver:

1. Maintain intensity and focus at Mile High. We have imploded at Mile High before, and it would be easy to have a let down after the playoff-like intensity of the Ravens game. The team needs to stay focused and intense, maintain aggressiveness on both offense and defense, and avoid mental mistakes against the opportunistic Donkeys.

2. Contain Brandon Marshall. "At this point, it doesn't look as if the Pats have anyone who can cover Brandon Marshall", writes Vic Carucci today on nfl.com. Marshall seems to me to be Denver's only offensive weapon who could really hurt the Pats. I'm sure BB will focus on preventing him from making the big play, especially after last week's 51 yard TD catch against Dallas.

3. Pressure Kyle Orton and create mistakes/turnovers. So far, Kyle Orton has executed the mistake-free game manager role to perfection, with 5 TDs and 0 INTs and a 97.7 QB rating. The Pats need to pressure him, cause him to make mistakes, and hopefully create some turnovers.

4. Stop Elvis Dumervil. Dumervil has been a one man wrecking machine with 8 sacks in 4 games, as many as the Pats team has recorded so far. Their other pass rushing threats are average at best. The Pats offense has to stop giving up the potential game-changing play like the Suggs sack/fumble/TD and the Aaron Schobel INT/TD. Matt Light has been erratic this season, and will need help containing Dumervil and protecting TB. Denver's first 7 points were created by a sack of Tony Romo at the Dallas 9 and a forced fumble. We need to avoid those big swings.

5. Maintain balance on offense. The Pats need to keep commitment to running the ball, and selectively attack the Denver secondary despite Champ Bailey and Brian Dawkins. Romoesque gunslinging and interceptions inside the opponent's red zone won't work. Despite a defense that ranks 3rd against the pass, 5th against the run and 1st overall, we should be able to do both if we execute. Some red zone execution would also be nice, obviously.

Should be a winnable game, but could easily be a loseable game.

2. and 4. are the real keys for the defense and offense respectively.

 

[Mike the Brit]

Interesting that one thing you didn't mention is dealing with the altitude. It's an extra home-field advantage that's hard to counter.

 

[IcyPatriot]

With apologies to PATSNUTme, some early thoughts on keys to beating Denver:.

Sheesh ... you just nutured Nut.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Sheesh ... you just nutured Nut.

Couldn't have, the Missus snipped Nut years ago, it's why he's always hunting for balls while out golfing.

 

[captain stone]

With apologies to PATSNUTme, some early thoughts on keys to beating Denver:

1. Maintain intensity and focus at Mile High. We have imploded at Mile High before, and it would be easy to have a let down after the playoff-like intensity of the Ravens game. The team needs to stay focused and intense, maintain aggressiveness on both offense and defense, and avoid mental mistakes against the opportunistic Donkeys.
If they can bring the intensity & aggressiveness to the beginning of the game, then jump out to an early 10-14 point lead, I think the Pats can maintain that mindset throughout the rest of the game. But the longer they let the donkeys stay close, or even take the lead, then they'll be in big trouble. I just don't see them winning via comeback, not there.

2. Contain Brandon Marshall. "At this point, it doesn't look as if the Pats have anyone who can cover Brandon Marshall", writes Vic Carucci today on nfl.com. Marshall seems to me to be Denver's only offensive weapon who could really hurt the Pats. I'm sure BB will focus on preventing him from making the big play, especially after last week's 51 yard TD catch against Dallas.
I'm hoping that Marshall does something stupid during the week. If not, then the same defense applied to Tony Gonzalez should be applied to Marshall.

3. Pressure Kyle Orton and create mistakes/turnovers. So far, Kyle Orton has executed the mistake-free game manager role to perfection, with 5 TDs and 0 INTs and a 97.7 QB rating. The Pats need to pressure him, cause him to make mistakes, and hopefully create some turnovers.
The defense has been good so far, but now it's time to score points from turnovers. For that to happen, the donkeys' running game must first be stopped. Then Orton would be forced to throw the ball during less comfortable down/distance situations. This is where doubt, hesitation, mistakes - and TOs - are created. I daresay that if they don't score points via turnover(s), then the Pats don't win.

4. Stop Elvis Dumervil. Dumervil has been a one man wrecking machine with 8 sacks in 4 games, as many as the Pats team has recorded so far. Their other pass rushing threats are average at best. The Pats offense has to stop giving up the potential game-changing play like the Suggs sack/fumble/TD and the Aaron Schobel INT/TD. Matt Light has been erratic this season, and will need help containing Dumervil and protecting TB. Denver's first 7 points were created by a sack of Tony Romo at the Dallas 9 and a forced fumble. We need to avoid those big swings.
Time to ditch the 7-step drop, empty-backfield stupidity which leads to sacks, and to return the screens, reverses, delayed draws & power running to their rightful place at the front pages of the playbook. And if LaMa has any chance of regaining his confidence - and of helping us at all - then he needs to be put in space so that he can try to out-run & out-manouever DBs & LBs instead of DLmen. How about a pitchout every once in a while, and a lead blocker?

5. Maintain balance on offense. The Pats need to keep commitment to running the ball, and selectively attack the Denver secondary despite Champ Bailey and Brian Dawkins. Romoesque gunslinging and interceptions inside the opponent's red zone won't work. Despite a defense that ranks 3rd against the pass, 5th against the run and 1st overall, we should be able to do both if we execute. Some red zone execution would also be nice, obviously.
See 4. above; some blocking would be nice, too. Sometimes, our OL just looks slow, weak, and disinterested. It's also imperative that the offense learns to pass from running formations, run from passing formations, use different plays - both run & pass - from similar formations, and to maximize the strengths of some players - e.g.: LaMa in space - while minimizing their weaknesses - e.g: LaMa btwn. the Tackles.

Should be a winnable game, but could easily be a loseable game.

This is true, and will be reflected thusly in my Predict the Score post.

 

[mayoclinic]

This is true, and will be reflected thusly in my Predict the Score post.

A pitchout and a lead blocker? Next you'll be wanting a fullback.

 

[PATSNUTme]

Sheesh ... you just nutured Nut.

Not a problem, several attempts have been made and I'm still going.

I have written my 5 keys last night. They were similar to Mayo's but with a different twist.

1. Be cruel to Elvis- Elvis Dumervil leads the NFL with 8 sacks. If he has 8 sacks then he must many more QB pressures. The Patriots must stop this now. He is one of the est sped rusher in the NFL and Matt Light has had problems with speed rushers. So, he must be chipped by a TE often. Now screens usually work on speed rushers but he would need to be sucked in because he can stop and start on a dime and can break up a screen if he reads it.

2.The Marshall Plan. OK he is an jerk but he is a very talented WR. We have to double him with a safety and knock the snot out of him whenever a ball comes his way.

3.Charity begins at home - The Broncos lead the NFL with +7 in the givaways/takeaways dept. That is a big factor in their 4-0 record. No turnovers by the Patriots.

4. Get Physical- on both sides of the ball. Need to shut down their good RB's and pound their undersized D-Line. Since Nolan has taken over a DC they have become very aggressive like the Ravens and Jets. However they don't have the size in their front 3. Will BeGeezus be active this game? If he is then that will mean that the Patriots intend to runs at them.

5. Heil Kyle- Pressure Orton and make him revert back to his old self.

5a- At the end of the game, have one more point on the board than Denver. I added this one because one of more of you smart asses would post it as a key. And right off someone posted that.