ESPN experts predict...

[VJCPatriot]

That the Patriots will spread out the Chargers and Tom Brady will carve em apart through the air.

Great point by analyst Sean Salisbury - If the Patriots make it a two man game, Bill Belichick and Tom Brady vs. Marty Schottenheimer and Philip Rivers, he takes Brady and BB every time.

^_^ Looks like there's a way to beat the Chargers after all! Who'da thunkit? :rocker:

 

[SVN]

That the Patriots will spread out the Chargers and Tom Brady will carve em apart through the air.

Great point by analyst Sean Salisbury - If the Patriots make it a two man game, Bill Belichick and Tom Brady vs. Marty Schottenheimer and Philip Rivers, he takes Brady and BB every time.

^_^ Looks like there's a way to beat the Chargers after all! Who'da thunkit? :rocker:

as much i hope it happens...salisbury changes tunes after every week...he assumes the other team has no defenders..i dont seem them spreading out with castillo,merriman and phillips...if anything it will a 2TE offense

 

[DaBruinz]

Actually, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Pats go 3 wide with a TE and a RB for most of this game.

Why? Because it spreads them out, but keeps enough protection in to give Brady time to hit the short passes if he calls them.

All it takes is 5 or 6 of these and the Chargers will be forced to back off their pass rush or continue to be burned.

 

[Oswlek]

I would prefer that more people pick San Diego.

 

[VJCPatriot]

I would prefer that more people pick San Diego.

I don't think it matters how many people pick who. The men most able to affect their teams right now are BB and Marty. I am confident that BB will come up with a great gameplan. And I'm sure Marty will try his best to counter it. But I like our advantage in that department.

 

[abyzmul]

I don't think it matters how many people pick who. The men most able to affect their teams right now are BB and Marty. I am confident that BB will come up with a great gameplan. And I'm sure Marty will try his best to counter it. But I like our advantage in that department.

i'd take marty schottenheimer in that matchup, seeing as how he has dominated BB in the past. the chargers have the advatage there, not the patriots. typo?

 

[VJCPatriot]

The fact still remains that the Chargers have a mediocre secondary and I think it makes a lot of sense to spread them out and throw at them, same as we did against Minnesota. And if I recall I think we put up 40 points on the Vikes. Should be an excellent game and this kind of gameplan aims directly at the Chargers' biggest weakness on an otherwise strong team.

Yes and the Pats coaching staff has also coached its way to 3 SB victories, whereas Marty has coached his way to a 5-12 postseason record. :bricks:

Thank you come again.

 

[TomBrady'sGoat]

Great point by analyst Sean Salisbury - If the Patriots make it a two man game, Bill Belichick and Tom Brady vs. Marty Schottenheimer and Philip Rivers, he takes Brady and BB every time.

that's downright ******ed. last i knew it was a team game.

besides, if you make it a two man game of Tomlinson and gates vs dillon and graham the pats are toast.

 

[The-Beast]

Actually, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Pats go 3 wide with a TE and a RB for most of this game.

Why? Because it spreads them out, but keeps enough protection in to give Brady time to hit the short passes if he calls them.

All it takes is 5 or 6 of these and the Chargers will be forced to back off their pass rush or continue to be burned.

It works to some extent the rams and cinci did it to us, but the patriots don't have the level of talent out wide. Torry Holt was also shut down by Jammer to the tune of 13yards on 2 catches, he had to go to the other side of the field for the others.

 

[abyzmul]

The fact still remains that the Chargers have a mediocre secondary and I think it makes a lot of sense to spread them out and throw them, same as we did against Minnesota. And if I recall I think we put up 40 points on them. Should be an excellent game and this kind of gameplan aims directly at the Chargers' biggest weakness on an otherwise strong team.

mediocre secondary.. jammer has been an all-pro corner this year, basically shutting down any receiver he covers. florence has been slightly less stellar. the largest weakness on the chargers is their safeties, but in order to capitalize on that weakness you need outstanding receivers (cinn, arizona). unfortunately the patriot receivers are nothing of that caliber.

it shouldn't even be close.. the patriots will lose be at least 21 points.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

i'd take marty schottenheimer in that matchup, seeing as how he has dominated BB in the past. the chargers have the advatage there, not the patriots. typo?

Marty's job has been on the line all season because of his career long propensity to blow the big game. He's basically under house arrest for fear he'll screw it up like he always does. Belichick is the premier coaching genius of the cap era and his specialty is playoff football. What happens in the regular season determines about as much this time of year as what happened in the pre season determines in the regular season. Squat. It's all just the tun up to the second season, something Marty has more experience watching on television than Belichick ever will.

Love your name. After Sunday you'll be SadThePatriotsEndedYourPostSeason.

 

[kolbitr]

My own thoughts....pessimistic I will admit.

With Rodney not at full strength, if he even plays at all, we are diminished considerably.

Tedy is still not playing as well as he did in 2004, although he is one of my favorites, and could have a tremendous game on adrenaline alone. He has been flying lately, the way he used to.

Vrabel is out of his best and most playmaking position. Coming off a quiet game, we might expect a brilliant performance, however.

We cannot really count on any of our receivers for certain, although we can assume that at least one of them will play very well. Graham will play well in the running game, I feel...but Watson has yet to really show up since he got hurt.

Light has struggled at times this year with rushers. The O-line has had a rather erratic year in general...next year I expect them to be really solid...but they needed a year to gel.

Big plays have hurt the Patriots all year...last year as well...

I do not think that Tomlinson has really had a bad game in two years...

I feel that San Diego will somehow win this game, but it will not be due to anything that Rivers does. He is not smart or experienced enough.

The references to the 2001 Patriots are misplaced, I think. San Diego is stronger, although not more talented, than that Rams team. The Pats will not be able to blow them off the ball as easily as the Patriots did in the first half of the Super Bowl. And even then, the game was close.

My own prediction remains a Chargers' win...28–24 (late FG on our part, after a heartbreaking failure to convert).

I hope with my heart that I am soooooo wrong.

I am now already imagining amazing plays taking me completely by surprise, and a brilliant-beyond-memory gameplan from BB and McDaniels...

 

[nickelbolt]

It's already shaping up the way I've said... by game time, nearly all of the "experts" will be picking the Patriots. All have great reasons to pick 'em. Meanwhile, the team that has proven themselves time and again this season... the San Diego Chargers will be reading, watching, hearing all about how the big bad perennial juggernaut is coming into their home to wreck the place.

I think they're gonna be more than ready to answer the door. :rocker:

 

[kolbitr]

i'd take marty schottenheimer in that matchup, seeing as how he has dominated BB in the past. the chargers have the advatage there, not the patriots. typo?

No, this is foolish. Noone in football at any rank has any sort of coaching advantage over Belichick. Schottenheimer is an excellent coach, and should not be disparaged as much as he has been, but the only man who can match wits with BB in gameplanning is Mike Shanahan--another wonderful, brilliant and coldly arrogant mastermind. And his team fauxed there way out of the playoffs.

 

[richpjr]

The fact still remains that the Chargers have a mediocre secondary and I think it makes a lot of sense to spread them out and throw at them, same as we did against Minnesota. And if I recall I think we put up 40 points on the Vikes. Should be an excellent game and this kind of gameplan aims directly at the Chargers' biggest weakness on an otherwise strong team.

The Chargers gave up an average of 200.8 passing yards per game, while the Patriots gave up 200.2 passing yards per game. Does that mean the Patriots have a mediocre secondary?

 

[VJCPatriot]

Looks like some Chargers fans here have to talk up their own team so they can sleep well at night. Seems like they are overcompensating for something doesn't it?

I don't see why the spread out offense won't work. The Pats used this same group of wideouts to put up 40 on the Vikes. The key to our offense is Tom Brady and he is a master at hitting the open man.

With Gaffney stepping up, this New England offense becomes even harder to stop. I look for the Pats to keep the Chargers off-balance all day long, running Corey Dillon hard up the gut, Maroney for explosive runs, and spreading out the Chargers defense when they do pass. Sooner or later something is going to break in the Chargers D. They rely too much on getting a "sack" to make their offense work, much like the Blitzberg Steelers and we have handled the Steelers style D easily in the past.

 

[SVN]

I don't see why the spread out offense won't work. The Pats used this same group of wideouts to put up 40 on the Vikes. The key to our offense is Tom Brady and he is a master at hitting the open man.

i doubt minn or jax for that matter has the outside pass rush like SD..noth minn and jax had strong interior linemen which we can handle well...how we handle phillips and merriman is the real key to this game and the spread off to work

 

[PlattsFan]

It's already shaping up the way I've said... by game time, nearly all of the "experts" will be picking the Patriots. All have great reasons to pick 'em. Meanwhile, the team that has proven themselves time and again this season... the San Diego Chargers will be reading, watching, hearing all about how the big bad perennial juggernaut is coming into their home to wreck the place.

I think they're gonna be more than ready to answer the door. :rocker:

With all due respect, I think this doesn't mean squat. If the Chargers need to read the papers to get motivated, they shouldn't bother. For the record, I don't think they do ... This stuff means *way* more to fans than it does to players, imo.

I'm fairly sure both teams will be equally motivated. We'll see if both teams are equally prepared, though ...

 

[Pats726]

mediocre secondary.. jammer has been an all-pro corner this year, basically shutting down any receiver he covers. florence has been slightly less stellar. the largest weakness on the chargers is their safeties, but in order to capitalize on that weakness you need outstanding receivers (cinn, arizona). unfortunately the patriot receivers are nothing of that caliber.

it shouldn't even be close.. the patriots will lose be at least 21 points.

I hate to say it...BUT..your analysis is lacking in many ways..THAt defense is OVER RATED!! Watch Brady cut them apart and then..eat CROW!!

 

[Flying Fungi]

i'd take marty schottenheimer in that matchup, seeing as how he has dominated BB in the past. the chargers have the advatage there, not the patriots. typo?

Marty will fare much like his son did.