On to Baltimore!

[TomPatriot]

I think the game plan was not so gimmicky and just a great concept. Speed over power. Flood the field with fast defensive backs who can tackle Jackson instead of wasting slow linebackers who get juked by him. The Chargers had the secondary to make it work, and so do the Patriots.

The Chargers continuing to play 6-7 defensive backs last year at NE could not have been more stupid, which makes me wonder if they just got lucky throwing stuff at the wall. Putting a little speedy defense out there against that offensive line, Develin, Gronk, Allen and company? It’s like they totally missed the point of why it worked against the Ravens.

I expect Belichick to use similar game plan as SD btw.

There’s really only one thing to stop on the Ravens offense and that’s Jackson. Stop him and they don’t score many points.

I expect he’ll be getting a lot of different looks, unlike Darnold, who basically got like 40 read and react blitzes and no help.

Make Jackson think, not play. If they just play contain it’s going to be tough on the defense. I’d throw a lot at him and mix him up. IMHO, that’s where Seattle was most effective.

Other times, Seattle got pressure from one rusher per play, which meant Jackson could just react and run. Still, TOs decided that game. Metcalf and Wilson made extreme bonehead plays that cost Seattle 14 points. Otherwise, I thought the Hawks were a little more talented, faster and tougher.

Honestly, I’m not in awe of the Ravens. I’ve watched a few of their games (Browns, Bengals, Hawks). They’re an above average team, well coached, some good players. They’re at home, coming off a bye week, and should be ready. But I’m not sure they’re better than the Bills or Big Ben’s Steelers.

SD played 6-7 DBs because they had no LBs. Not sure if that was a game plan or a necessity.

 

[RobertWeathers]

The more I think about it, this is a 7-8 in a box game. Shut down the run which includes Chung, or DMC spying on Jackson

Make him be accurate against man coverage. Maybe throw in some zone in the 3rd n longs.

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

 

[PatsFan2]

It's said the Ravens run an intriguing Running Offense which includes different variations from week to week. I guess there is some element of surprise there I think we will have to win one on one in the trenches in this one. Try to get them in long yardage situations the Ravens are not very good on Third Downs.

 

[Wheelssps]

I bet we see more zone than normal, because that’s a way to helps keep all eyes on Jackson.

But disguised as man, with their aeomeba defense all up near the line, then dropping into zone at the snap. Will require a lot of communication, but make Jackson pick apart a zone slowly while rushing 3.

Maybe even some zone blitzes off the edge from a dB, get him moving to one side without a chance to read the zone, but with the blitz being the 4th rusher. Might get some errant throws into a lot of coverage back there.

Might also see some man disguised as zone too

 

[TomPatriot]

The more I think about it, this is a 7-8 in a box game. Shut down the run which includes Chung, or DMC spying on Jackson

Make him be accurate against man coverage. Maybe throw in some zone in the 3rd n longs.

I think they will use a lot of different looks, some slight and some significant. There will be some 3 man rushes and they might bring the house a lot. They have the secondary to get away with that and I don't think the Ravens have the WRs to exploit it.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

Surprised no one has mentioned the tite front we used last year against KC & a few others. SD used it against Balt last year.

Basically it plugs up the B/gap that would normally be open in our nickel. It clogs the middle w 5 defenders inside the tackles w 2 OLB outside. Basically forcing you to go east/west. You're worried abt defending the C but you have 2 backers there to contain/chase if needed.

The other big advantage to it is it cuts down on the LBs responsibilities. Less thinking, more playing.

You're not "pressuring" the QB this way so you have to get creative in finding ways to disrupt the QB. Hasn't been a problem for us & is right up our ally. Remember how I kept saying we have all these guys around the same build. HT, KVN, Collins etc well its obvious Bill saw this as well a long time ago.

So while tite has it disadvantages, those fallbacks dont hurt us as much as one might think considering we manufacture pressure. Definitely expect some zone blitzes we haven't seen much of. I suspect we'll see Chung or DMC creeping in the box a few times for this very reason & to put our on variations to the defense.

Clog the A/B gaps up front. Make them go east/west. Clog the mof & make Jackson beat you deep/outside.

TLDR
NFL stealing from college (Iowa St)

100% we're running this. You'll hear abt it next week.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

Some Jackson passing stats

ANY/A - 6.70 (13th in the league)
QBR of 70.9 is (fifth in the league)
EPA/P is 0.2 (12th among passers)

Long way to go but big improvements. He's been the best QB from that class & improving in the most important years (2/3 are crucial for QBs) Every QB sux as a rookie save for less than 1%. Year 2/3 are the big ones.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I think they will use a lot of different looks, some slight and some significant. There will be some 3 man rushes and they might bring the house a lot. They have the secondary to get away with that and I don't think the Ravens have the WRs to exploit it.

Exactly. If the Ravens had Julio Jones, Ridley and Sanu back there i'd be more cautious.

 

[JMC00]

Just will leave these here before the doom and gloomers , doom and gloom about something the Pats beat guys have tweeted out at practice today

 

[luuked]

Just will leave these here before the doom and gloomers , doom and gloom about something the Pats beat guys have tweeted out at practice today

Is this preemptive ? Or did I miss something.. didn't see them saying anything about Harry in those few minutes they have access before the actual practice starts.

 

[luuked]

Most important thing will be setting the edge and having an additional played up front who has no responsibility in coverage and whatnot but only is there to deal with Jackson and open gaps.

Where to get that additional body ? By playing with more risk at the backend.

In other words take away the run and Lamars freedom to run. Make him beat you with his arm and 50/50 balls. Even if 3-4 connect odds are you defend most of them and maybe pick 2-3.

This is going to be a very disciplined performance but I see no reason not to trust the defense to have it in them.

 

[JMC00]

Is this preemptive ? Or did I miss something.. didn't see them saying anything about Harry in those few minutes they have access before the actual practice starts.

saw a few of the beat guys on the side twitter feed tweet out about Harry getting his ankles taped. Figured there'll be some doom and gloomers and some anti-Harry people making a thing about it. But as seen in those pictures I posted Harry always tapes his ankles.

 

[luuked]

saw a few of the beat guys on the side twitter feed tweet out about Harry getting his ankles taped. Figured there'll be some doom and gloomers and some anti-Harry people making a thing about it. But as seen in those pictures I posted Harry always tapes his ankles.

Ah thanks.. fortunately didnt even get those. Good to know.

 

[SVN]

from the weei mailbag
Off Day Mailbag: How will Patriots defend Lamar Jackson?

What are you expecting from Harry now he has been activated to the roster? (@wladd73)

Honestly, not much. There are a lot of factors probably working against N’Keal Harry these days. Certainly missing the first half of the season, including both practice time and game reps, is a lot to make up in a Patriots offense that can be difficult to get acclimated to for anyone, especially a rookie. I also have to be honest, I didn’t love much of what I saw from Harry for most of the summer. He seemed to battle little bumps and nicks throughout many practices. He showed pretty slow feet in and out of his breaks. He had too many drops. I think his head was spinning a bit learning the offense in August and actually think mentally it may have been a good thing to kind of sit back on IR and reset things. But, now he needs to prove he is healthy and can stay healthy. He must prove he can get open and catch the football in an NFL game. He must prove he knows his routes and responsibilities at a high enough level to satisfy not only the coaches but Tom Brady, who can be famously tough to please. That’s a lot to expect from a young target who’ll also be battling for reps with Julian Edelman, Mohamed Sanu, Phillip Dorsett and Jakobi Meyers. I do think there are two factors on his side. First, as a first-round pick the team has every reason to expect him to contribute and invest in making that happen. Second, with Josh Gordon gone Harry is really the only true outside, physical target on the depth chart. Harry has a lot to prove, much time to make up and relatively little time to make it happen. It’s quite a challenge and a wish him luck.

 

[TomPatriot]

Exactly. If the Ravens had Julio Jones, Ridley and Sanu back there i'd be more cautious.

So I thought you were mocking me until I realized that was the Falcons receiving corps a few weeks ago! You're right!

 

[TomPatriot]

Most important thing will be setting the edge and having an additional played up front who has no responsibility in coverage and whatnot but only is there to deal with Jackson and open gaps.

Where to get that additional body ? By playing with more risk at the backend.

In other words take away the run and Lamars freedom to run. Make him beat you with his arm and 50/50 balls. Even if 3-4 connect odds are you defend most of them and maybe pick 2-3.

This is going to be a very disciplined performance but I see no reason not to trust the defense to have it in them.

I'm soooooooo concerned. They seem to make 2 or 3 mistakes a game. The next best defense makes like 10 a game.

 

[SBLIII]

I'm soooooooo concerned. They seem to make 2 or 3 mistakes a game. The next best defense makes like 10 a game.

I'm unaware of the San Francisco defense making 10 mistakes per game.

 

[TomPatriot]

I'm unaware of the San Francisco defense making 10 mistakes per game.

Ok, 9.

 

[Kontradiction]

from the weei mailbag
Off Day Mailbag: How will Patriots defend Lamar Jackson?

I’d buy that more if there wasn’t an obvious glaring need at the position. You know... the kind of need that usually forces a team to spend a first round draft pick on it. I’d think/hope there is a good chance we see him, either as early as Sunday night or as of Tuesday when he needs to be activated.