Denver Off. vs. Pats D. Mismatch?

[BelichickFan]

Denver has the best OL we've faced since KC, so they do have a chance to run successfully. They are ranked #1 in the NFL for rushing offense.

Tatum Bell YPC by month :

September 5.2
October 7.5
November 3.0
December 4.2


Mike Anderson YPC by month :

September 3.9
October 4.8
November 3.9
December 3.9

Since November started, Denver's running game has been less than dominant.

 

[Beavis]

I read it...just didn't care...

Typical hoof and mouth response....

 

[mgcolby]

Most of the people are on the broncos board talking about.....anyone.....anyone.....Our Secondary that they are going to pick apart. Same ol' same ol'. Manning couldn't, Big Ben couldn't, McNabb couldn't, Leftwich couldn't and now Plumber will try. If they have to rely on Jake beating us with his arm it is going to be a long night for the Broncos.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

John Clayton predicts a mad matchup for the bronco's off. against our defense....can anyone "kindly" explain the mismatch here?

The Broncos matchup is a bad one for the Patriots, who lost in Denver 28-20 on Oct. 16. It's a bad matchup for two reasons. First, the Broncos running game will be hard for the Patriots to stop....The other reason the Broncos are a tough matchup is that they can get the ball deep.

The sky is blue, which follows logical from Clayton's position. Denver's run game is hard for everyone to stop. The Pats D should do a better job then they did last time based on three factors: Bruschi, Vrabel, and Colvin. One is a diagnostic genius for field tactics, he will move people where they need to be. Another is a 12 game veteran of the ILB position and rated the smartest player on the team for football knolwledge, what he may lack in experience is offset by his ability to learn quickly. The third is now playing with the same dominance he exhibited in Chicago, and has learned how to be a run-stopping OLB in the Patriot mold. If the D reduces the Denver ground game, does Denver score 28 points?

Getting the ball deep is a staple of most offenses; again, there has been improvement here, Hobbs is faster then Starks and uninjured, Hawkins is faster then Sanders and an 8th year veteran. Pressure from the improved pass rush, improved secondary speed, and Hawkins experience vice a rookie SS make a difference, not to mention two other factors: improved communications and Tedy Bruschi. If Denver is unable to create a big play do they still score 28 points?

You also ask about Clayton's belief that secondary with 4 cornerbacks is one that tackles poorly. This is based on misunderstanding BB's defensive bedrock, one of our fellows has the BB quote in his signature, something about not bringing BB a defensive player who can't tackle, what can he do with him? Freeman, who took over for Sanders after he was reinjured, is gone, he hit people like a ton of bricks and never wrapped up, we saw how that worked for Watson on his 63 yard TD against the Jags. Hawkins and Hobbs tackle, Asante has been our worst tackler about wrapping up, and he's okay. Geno was drafted for his tackling. Clayton didn't do his homework - nothing new. Additionally, Denver used the TEs last time, remember Asante knocking Putzier out of the game for a few series before he returned and made some nice catches to move the chains? That hasn't changed, our defense has.

He makes a big deal about departed Denver DE Hayward and his sack production - we just beat his new team Saturday night to earn a return trip to Invesco. The Jags got four sacks on Tommy, but he was holding the ball a long time looking for a hole in the coverage. He had that problem with Denver last time, but he didn't have Troy Brown. Putting Troy, Deion, and D-Giv out at the same time strains a secondary, add in Faulk and a TE, and things get challenging to keep all the receivers covered. Denver will hit Tommy, but he will usually get the ball to a receiver or thrown away safely beforehand. We need to also realize that Mankins and Kaczur are a little more experienced from their last visit, and we have Ashworth healthy and in reserve.

Wilfork is susceptible to being cut blocked by Nalen, but that will be more effective on sweeps and pass plays, he will control the middle on straight zone blocking runs. Warren survived a filthy chop block last time, he'll do as well this time. Seymour should be effective ( :snob: ) on his side.

Denver needs to score another 28 points to hope to be competitive on the score board. They can't just grind out the clock because they won't get the same yardage on first and second down. As long as our boys execute and don't take any mental naps, we score 20 plus points and win.

 

[kcvet]

Maybe it's because of the 178 yards and 5.2 a pop we torched you for last time around...

and how many backs did it take to do this???? we had ONE back (#27) that tourched your azz for 140 yd all by his lonesome.
read it an weep. donkazz:
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/live/NFL_20051204_DEN@KC
yo pats. this team is a paper tiger. they've been smashed in the playoffs the last 3 years. enjoy you win.

 

[Garbanza]

Your run defense is ranked 8th in the NFL in yards per game. Ours is ranked 2nd. See NFL.com for confirmation.

I find that remarkable considering that the Pats run d was in the bottom ten back in October? Pass defense was in the bottom three.......my, oh my, how far the Pats defense has come!

This game will be a shoot-out. A high scoring game where both running games will not be that impressive. Pats come out 5 wide. Plummer - designed scrambles and intermediate/long throws. Should be an interesting game, to say the least.

 

[kcvet]

I find that remarkable considering that the Pats run d was in the bottom ten back in October? Pass defense was in the bottom three.......my, oh my, how far the Pats defense has come!

This game will be a shoot-out. A high scoring game where both running games will not be that impressive. Pats come out 5 wide. Plummer - designed scrambles and intermediate/long throws. Should be an interesting game, to say the least.

considering the donkazz's record in the playoffs the last 3 years???
pats 45-donks 10.

 

[FloridaPatsFan]

Clayton is wrong. Not only have we had the best run defense in the league for quite some time, both Anderson and Bell have averaged 3.9 YPC starting with Week 9. Regarding the CB thing, he's talking about run support but we've had the least number of long runs (I think it's 20 yards+ but I may have the definition wrong) against us this year and for the last couple of years.

Agree. Clayton is looking at stat's and trying to deduce a result. That formula has never worked with the Pats. Clayton is basing way too much on the game earlier this season. If he thought this through, he would know that the Broncos are playing 2 different football teams with us. Before Bruschi and after Bruschi. That goes for Michael Smith too. I would bet both these guys knew what they were going to say in thier articles even in the face of the football domination that occured last saturday against a decent 12-4 Jag team. Yes, thats right. That was domination.