Looks Like Anthony Henry will Miss the Game

[boys4life01]

The Pats have played AFC teams, that's a BIG difference. San Diego, Cincinnati and Cleveland would probably beat the Cowboys soundly. You don't really believe what you wrote do you?

You'll find out differently come Sunday, you even have local writers begging the Pats to lose.

http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/other/10/11/1011bohls.html

Actually I dont care who any undefeated team has played,,,, They are undefeated for a reason,,, "They are good" If you are simply asking me if I think the AFC is better rounded than the NFC I would say yes. I would not say New England wins because they are in, or playing the AFC.

 

[All_Around_Brown]

40% of which belong to.........Anthony Henry.

Yup...Henry is very close to being a stud IMO. Ive watched him since he came out in the draft, just a few picks behind Kenyatta Jones from USF IIRC. We missed the boat on that one.

 

[All_Around_Brown]

Sir with all due respect,,, that is still refering to the past teams,,, Stats or not,, its the past,,, can we please move on and talk about the matchup, come Sunday,,, say the reasons you think New England will win but please do them from a gametime,, matchup point of view,,,

IE:::::::::::I believe a big factor in this game will be Bradys' experience in big Games,,, he knows how to win the big one! He does not force alot of plays and is excellent at targeting his receivers,,,, Dallas has not seen this type of QB yet this year..,, (That is a better way to speak about what Dallas has done in the past) and is also a legitimate assessment,,, Sats mean nothing,, look at what each team faces in front of them this week.

I think this WAS about matchups. Matchups of your weak secondary against our top passing game...which is not really much of a matchup at all if you ask me.

Good luck to the girls.

 

[The Gr8est]

Actually I dont care who any undefeated team has played,,,, They are undefeated for a reason,,, "They are good" If you are simply asking me if I think the AFC is better rounded than the NFC I would say yes. I would not say New England wins because they are in, or playing the AFC.

You said before that neither Dallas nor New England had played anyone. I pointed out that the Pats are beating AFC teams rather then the weak sisters of the NFC. Therefore the Pats HAVE played someone, including waxing the team that pulled defeat out of the jaws of victory against your "NFC powerhouse".

 

[patsox23]

Hmmmm.....let's see whom they have faced as opposing QB's:

Week 1: Eli Manning

Week 2: Trent Green

Week 3: Rex Grossman

Week 4: Marc Bulger

Week 5: Trent Edwards

Are you ****ing me?

That's a bit of an ass-kicking right there.

 

[The Dodger]

The Pats have played AFC teams, that's a BIG difference. San Diego, Cincinnati and Cleveland would probably beat the Cowboys soundly.

While the AFC is a somewhat better conference overall, let's not get carried away.

Cleveland? Please. And while Dallas may have some questions on defense, especially since they're playing a bit banged up, Cincinnati doesn't even appear capable of fielding a defense, easily making the claim that they would "soundly" beat the Cowboys highly debatable.

 

[patsox23]

While the AFC is a somewhat better conference overall, let's not get carried away.

Cleveland? Please.

Um...I'm not sure you're watching NFL football if you don't think Cleveland would be a test for Dallas. I frankly think the Cowboys would win, too, but Cleveland's not to be trifled with.

Also, someone upthread said something about the DBs not being the difference-maker in this game. I strongly disagree. Given the Patriots will likely be spreading Dallas 4- and 5-wide and throwing all afternoon long on them, I think it will most definitely be a HUGE part of what happens in this game. THE difference-maker, in my book.

 

[boys4life01]

I think this WAS about matchups. Matchups of your weak secondary against our top passing game...which is not really much of a matchup at all if you ask me.

Good luck to the girls.

Ok,,, this post is a little better,,, You are Matching the passing attack of New England with the Dallas "Weak" secondary... I have to agree there is a bit of concern in this area, Dallas has had a rep for getting ripped downfield and now they are facing a team who has a rep for ripping teams downfield. My only counter for this advantage will be pressure on Brady,,, Dallas has to bring the pass rush full force this Sunday,, There will not be any cover sacks on Brady. This can be countered with good pressure on Brady, Dallas has a few guys that give offensive lineman fits. I look for Ware, Spencer and Spears to give Brady a few fits in the back field, but wait,,,,,,,, The Pats have a pretty dang good OL,,,, hmmmmm,,,,,,, but Dallas has a pretty good DL....the Pats cannot double team all three of these monsters,,, and Ware has a way of getting pressure even when he is double teamed. Will there be enough time for brady to make the downfield throws???

 

[The Dodger]

Um...I'm not sure you're watching NFL football if you don't think Cleveland would be a test for Dallas. I frankly think the Cowboys would win, too, but Cleveland's not to be trifled with.

Also, someone upthread said something about the DBs not being the difference-maker in this game. I strongly disagree. Given the Patriots will likely be spreading Dallas 4- and 5-wide and throwing all afternoon long on them, I think it will most definitely be a HUGE part of what happens in this game. THE difference-maker, in my book.

I didn't say that the Browns wouldn't be a test. In Today's NFL, pretty much any team can win at anytime (well...except for the Dolphins...); however, what The Gr8est seemed to be implying, and correct me if I'm wrong, is that just about any AFC team is superior to any NFC team, and that's just not the case.

Sure the Browns could win, but I think it's more than obvious that Dallas is a better team. The same argument goes for Cincinnati. Just because they're an AFC team doesn't mean they're going to win 9 out of 10 times.

Bottom line is this: I agree that the best AFC teams are better than the best NFC teams, but people tend to get carried away with that distinction and start applying it to lesser AFC teams.

BTW, I am very concerned about the Patriots passing game. Your running game, not so much. We have a pretty solid run defense, but our secondary is...eh...probably only above average, and that's when they're all healthy.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Ok,,, this post is a little better,,, You are Matching the passing attack of New England with the Dallas "Weak" secondary... I have to agree there is a bit of concern in this area, Dallas has had a rep for getting ripped downfield and now they are facing a team who has a rep for ripping teams downfield. My only counter for this advantage will be pressure on Brady,,, Dallas has to bring the pass rush full force this Sunday,, There will not be any cover sacks on Brady. This can be countered with good pressure on Brady, Dallas has a few guys that give offensive lineman fits. I look for Ware, Spencer and Spears to give Brady a few fits in the back field, but wait,,,,,,,, The Pats have a pretty dang good OL,,,, hmmmmm,,,,,,, but Dallas has a pretty good DL....the Pats cannot double team all three of these monsters,,, and Ware has a way of getting pressure even when he is double teamed. Will there be enough time for brady to make the downfield throws???

Good issues. Dallas' big OL wears down opponents. In contrast the Pats platoon DL provides fresh pass rushers. Colvin and Vrabes are top level OLBs capable of exerting pressure. The Pats are also very disciplined in maintaining their lanes with the pass rush which is effective against roll out QBs. Regardless I expect Romo to have some success rolling out. He's quite accurate in those circumstances and it pressures the coverage. The Pats are not notably effective in stoping good TEs like Dallas has. Expect your boy to get his catches.

Brady under pressure unlike Bledsoe, does not insist on throwing downfield and will quickly check off, throwing underneath into zones vacated by pass rushers. Expect Faulk and Welker to be targets if the Boys maximize the rush. Meanwhile the Pats run game cannot be ignored either which also frees up the short passing game.

 

[The Warden]

You said before that neither Dallas nor New England had played anyone. I pointed out that the Pats are beating AFC teams rather then the weak sisters of the NFC. Therefore the Pats HAVE played someone, including waxing the team that pulled defeat out of the jaws of victory against your "NFC powerhouse".

Sisters? The NFC won 13 straight years...before the AFC finally started to win some and weren't the laughing stock of the NFL...and now the AFC is on a 4 year winning streak. So in essance the NFC is like your Daddy while the AFC is the little kid growing up hoping to be king

 

[Metaphors]

Also, someone upthread said something about the DBs not being the difference-maker in this game. I strongly disagree. Given the Patriots will likely be spreading Dallas 4- and 5-wide and throwing all afternoon long on them, I think it will most definitely be a HUGE part of what happens in this game. THE difference-maker, in my book.

That would be me. You view seems to be closer to conventional wisdom, so it is hard to disagree with. I just have this feeling that whichever offense can run the ball effectively (enough to keep manageable down/distance) and keep the rush off the QB (at least enough to find 2nd or 3rd options) will not have much trouble with the opposing secondary. That goes for BOTH teams.

If the Pats come out in a spread as you suggest (good chance with Henry being out and the skill set of the Dallas safeties), I think it becomes imperative that Dallas do whatever it takes to get the ball out of Brady's hands quickly...as well as controlling draws and screens. If they can't do that, Dallas is in for a long day.

You could turn that around to some degree and say that if J.Jones and Barber are productive (run, screen, dump-off) and keep Romo with good run/pass options, the Pats are going to have a hard time getting off the field on defense.

However it turns out, this should be one of the more interesting chess matches of the season. I'm glad we have Kasparov on the sidelines moving the chess pieces around.

 

[boys4life01]

Good issues. Dallas' big OL wears down opponents. In contrast the Pats platoon DL provides fresh pass rushers. Colvin and Vrabes are top level OLBs capable of exerting pressure. The Pats are also very disciplined in maintaining their lanes with the pass rush which is effective against roll out QBs. Regardless I expect Romo to have some success rolling out. He's quite accurate in those circumstances and it pressures the coverage. The Pats are not notably effective in stoping good TEs like Dallas has. Expect your boy to get his catches.

Brady under pressure unlike Bledsoe, does not insist on throwing downfield and will quickly check off, throwing underneath into zones vacated by pass rushers. Expect Faulk and Welker to be targets if the Boys maximize the rush. Meanwhile the Pats run game cannot be ignored either which also frees up the short passing game.

I know that Brady checks off well and can dink and dunk with the best of em,,,While dumping the ball off can be a means of avoiding the sack, I like the Cowboys chances of containing the dump offs with the Dalllas linebackers over Brady throwing the 20+ yard pass downfield. The "if you cant stop the bleeding at least minimize it" approach.

 

[shmessy]

Sisters? The NFC won 13 straight years...before the AFC finally started to win some and weren't the laughing stock of the NFL...and now the AFC is on a 4 year winning streak. So in essance the NFC is like your Daddy while the AFC is the little kid growing up hoping to be king

8 out of the last 10 AFC.

So in effect, the NFC is like our SENILE, PISSING IN HIS PANTS DADDY.

 

[The Warden]

8 out of the last 10 AFC.

So in effect, the NFC is like our SENILE, PISSING IN HIS PANTS DADDY.

Your at the 4 year consecutive win mark, 9 more years then you'll graduate to Senile my son

 

[shmessy]

Your at the 4 year consecutive win mark, 9 more years then you'll graduate to Senile my son

As a Boston Celtics fan, I'll take current excellence over past decades nostalgia anyday of the week.........and twice on Sunday.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

I know that Brady checks off well and can dink and dunk with the best of em,,,While dumping the ball off can be a means of avoiding the sack, I like the Cowboys chances of containing the dump offs with the Dalllas linebackers over Brady throwing the 20+ yard pass downfield. The "if you cant stop the bleeding at least minimize it" approach.

I agree in that were I the Cows coach I'd use my strength on D and bring the rush bigtime and challenge Brady to beat me. Play to your strength. Perhaps Brady mistakes will ensue. Since the Boys also have a high potency O, they are one of few teams that can afford to take the risk on D by bringing the pass rush and leting a few big plays result. The only time I'd go into coverage mode would be 3rd and long after a sack. In this case we'll have a shootout with the team that turns over the ball the least coming out on top.

Aside it's refreshing to discuss a different threat than the same old Colts, Chaagiz and Stealers.