Game Plan Thoughts for Houston?

[NordicVoyager]

Finally, the next game up is Houston visiting Foxborough on the evening of 12/10. It is likely to be a chilly night, an environment in which every hit seems to be a bit more intense. Thoughts on how the Pats should game plan for this highly anticipated game?

 

[ALP]

1. Double Andre
2. Cover Daniels
3. Slow down Arian
4. Protect Brady
5. Win

 

[jbb9s]

Hope like hell you can suit up the AFC rookie of the year and the best LG in the game.

No huddle offense.

Get Brandon Lloyd involved.

Limit drops to 0, in contrast to Miami game.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Expect alot of passing. Plan will have to be attack that secondary, whether or not they're still missing their starting corners. But at the same time, let's not completely abandon the run game please, got to keep them honest and give Ridley/Vereen a chance to break one.

 

[mosi]

1. Double Andre
2. Cover Daniels
3. Slow down Arian
4. Protect Brady
5. Win

1. Slow down the run game first and don't bite on the play action.

2. Double Andre.

3. Run the ball.

4. Run the ball.

5. Protect Brady -by running the ball...

 

[Double TE]

Be the more physical team. Beat up AJ at the line and hit Foster hard every time he touches the ball.

***Kick Schaub in the family jewels***

 

[sevengables_2207]

This would be the game where the lucrative extensions to Gronk and Hernandez paid off. Spread them out and find mismatches with the linebackers and nickle/dime corners on our tight ends. However, with Gronk out, I still expect to see them operate a hurry up/spread if they find the Texans in a package they feel they can exploit. Protecting TB12, as always, is paramount.

On defense, my guess is they will look to slow Foster first, and provide safety help for Andre. Daniels may have a prominent role in the Texans passing game unless our pass rush shows up consistently and they are forced to leave him in to block.

Should be an epic game. Looking forward to the next week's worth of analysis on there from others.

 

[mayoclinic]

Offense:

Stay away from spreading it out too much. Keep run-pass balance and use play action. Commit to the run even if it doesn't yield much initially. If the Pats are too "respectful" of Houston's run D and don't maintain balance (as was the case with Seattle and Miami) their offense doesn't have the same lack of predictability or explosiveness. Brandon Bolden will be back, and between Ridley and Bolden the Pats should power run right at the Texans a fair amount.

The key matchup is obviously Sebastian Vollmer on JJ Watt. Consider putting Marcus Cannon at RG and overpowering the Texan's OL, especially if Dan Connolly's back is a problem. Daniel Fells needs to be used more as blocker.

Pats need to spread around the ball more. Welker and Hernandez were targeted on 31 out of 40 pass plays against Miami. Too limited. Brandon Lloyd was only targeted once. Shane Vereen should be involved more as a receiving weapon. Brady needs to use "the whole pig" against the Texans to be effective.

Defense:

Hopefully Chandler Jones will be back. Stay aggressive with the front 7. Schaub doesn't handle pressure that well. Put Aqib Talib on Andre Johnson but always give him help - Johnson is too dangerous not to double. Arian Foster has had almost 300 carries so far this year, and he may be wearing down. Be physical, and make Houston pay for everything they get.

 

[mgteich]

Get healthy.

 

[TruthSeeker]

Line up more than 2 healthy WR's (Welker & Lloyd). Ebert ? Branch ? Stallworth ? Gaffney ? Mystery WR ?

 

[borg]

Up tempo and screen 'em to death. Once their DL realizes the futility of their attack mode, take advantage. This game is on Josh....if he can keep the defense off balance....ta da. The problem is the lack of healthy weapons. For the life of me I don't get why they don't send Vereen out more on those swing paces that score 80+yd TDs.

Anyone catch that play yesterday...Pitt vs Balt. The RB swings out to the right (Roger Craig style), then the QB rolls right forcing the DE and OLB to cover both RB and QB. The TE releases at this point on a post pattern wide open. One of the prettiest drawn up plays I've seen. Sad thing, I'm not sure which team ran it though I think it was Pitt.

 

[sevengables_2207]

I forgot that Bolden will be back for this upcoming game! I also hope to see the running game sprinkled in liberally a la the Buffalo/Denver games earlier this season. I feel that the Patriots can run on the Texans. Hopefully MCD does not abandon the run like he did for long stretches yesterday.

 

[The Gr8est]

Offense:

Brandon Bolden will be back, and between Ridley and Bolden the Pats should power run right at the Texans a fair amount.

Brandon Bolden's suspension is up but do we know if he'll be back?

He was out with a knee injury before the suspension.

 

[gwallaia]

Hello from Houston!

We are having this same discussion over at Houston Texans Fan Site & Message Boards - TexansTalk.com right now.

Going up against the Patriots and Tom Brady in New England in December is not an easy task for any team. We are hoping that Arian Foster, a healthy Ben Tate, and a surprising Justin Forsett can maintain a strong running game and win the time of possession battle. The coaching staff has been giving Foster less carries later in the season to give him a rest and Forsett has done great filling in for him. Now Ben Tate is back after suffering a hamstring injury against Baltimore. The Texans have three solid running backs that should all see time on the field Monday night.

T.O.P. (time of possession) has been a huge plus for the Texans this season and it has to be there again Monday if the Texans hope to come out with a victory.

Looking forward to what could be an epic game. Good Luck and hopefully there will no injuries.

 

[The Gr8est]

Hello from Houston!

We are having this same discussion over at Houston Texans Fan Site & Message Boards - TexansTalk.com right now.

Going up against the Patriots and Tom Brady in New England in December is not an easy task for any team. We are hoping that Arian Foster, a healthy Ben Tate, and a surprising Justin Forsett can maintain a strong running game and win the time of possession battle. The coaching staff has been giving Foster less carries later in the season to give him a rest and Forsett has done great filling in for him. Now Ben Tate is back after suffering a hamstring injury against Baltimore. The Texans have three solid running backs that should all see time on the field Monday night.

T.O.P. (time of possession) has been a huge plus for the Texans this season and it has to be there again Monday if the Texans hope to come out with a victory.

Looking forward to what could be an epic game. Good Luck and hopefully there will no injuries.

Well hopefully, the refs call Forsett down when we tackle him.

 

[sevengables_2207]

Hello from Houston!

We are having this same discussion over at Houston Texans Fan Site & Message Boards - TexansTalk.com right now.

Going up against the Patriots and Tom Brady in New England in December is not an easy task for any team. We are hoping that Arian Foster, a healthy Ben Tate, and a surprising Justin Forsett can maintain a strong running game and win the time of possession battle. The coaching staff has been giving Foster less carries later in the season to give him a rest and Forsett has done great filling in for him. Now Ben Tate is back after suffering a hamstring injury against Baltimore. The Texans have three solid running backs that should all see time on the field Monday night.

T.O.P. (time of possession) has been a huge plus for the Texans this season and it has to be there again Monday if the Texans hope to come out with a victory.

Looking forward to what could be an epic game. Good Luck and hopefully there will no injuries.

Agree from the Texans POV that they would love to use their rushing game to chew up clock and keep the Patriots offense off the field.

Of course, that game plan may be scaled back some if they get behind quickly.

 

[NordicVoyager]

Thanks qwallaia for your thoughts and welcome to the Patsfans discussion board.

Many of us in New England have been surprised by the seemingly unusual weakness Houston has had in the last few weeks. The Patriots escaped with an OT win against the NJ Jets earlier this season, and were considered by many to be a weak team.

Houston has had a few such escapes with the win recently. Any insight on what has "gone wrong" recently (recognizing that a win is a win)?

 

[gwallaia]

Well hopefully, the refs call Forsett down when we tackle him.

Ironic twist to that story. In yesterday's win over the Titans, Antonio Smith picked up a Tennessee fumble and ran into the endzone but the ref blew the whistle saying Smith was down. He was not even close to being down as he bent down and scooped the ball up. We just chalked it up as a make-up call for the Forsett call.

However we did intercept a Locker pass moments later setting us up at their 4 yard line.

 

[Sicilian]

Hello from Houston!

We are having this same discussion over at Houston Texans Fan Site & Message Boards - TexansTalk.com right now.

Going up against the Patriots and Tom Brady in New England in December is not an easy task for any team. We are hoping that Arian Foster, a healthy Ben Tate, and a surprising Justin Forsett can maintain a strong running game and win the time of possession battle. The coaching staff has been giving Foster less carries later in the season to give him a rest and Forsett has done great filling in for him. Now Ben Tate is back after suffering a hamstring injury against Baltimore. The Texans have three solid running backs that should all see time on the field Monday night.

T.O.P. (time of possession) has been a huge plus for the Texans this season and it has to be there again Monday if the Texans hope to come out with a victory.

Looking forward to what could be an epic game. Good Luck and hopefully there will no injuries.

Welcome and thanks for the input!

I think when playing the Patriots, it's important to not just look at time of possession in a vacuum. They tend to run so much no huddle and hurry-up offense that even their "long" drives don't take up that much game time. Number of plays run will be the bigger battle to win.

This should be a great matchup between two very balanced teams!

 

[gwallaia]

Thanks qwallaia for your thoughts and welcome to the Patsfans discussion board.

Many of us in New England have been surprised by the seemingly unusual weakness Houston has had in the last few weeks. The Patriots escaped with an OT win against the NJ Jets earlier this season, and were considered by many to be a weak team.

Houston has had a few such escapes with the win recently. Any insight on what has "gone wrong" recently (recognizing that a win is a win)?

In one word, Injuries. The biggest one being Brian Cushing who is out for the season with a torn ACL after a cheap shot by Clasuon of the Jets. Despite that injury the Texans continue to win. Other injuries have Jonathan Joseph out and that has really hurt. Brooks Reed is also injured and even with JJ Watt wrecking offenses, the Texans have not been getting as much pressure on the QB. Although they did sack Locker 6 times yesterday. But we realize Tom Brady is no Jake Locker.