Week 8 pregame discussion: Pats @ Chargers

[sb1]

Last years game was crazy. We shut them out with Cam throwing for 69yds on 19 attempts. Then Stid threw for 61 on 3 attempts.
We had Gunner, Meyers, Byrd & Harry as our WR's, and Izzo at TE. We've improved a lot more than Chargers have.
Except our ailing D - especially secondary. Jones gone, DMac unlikely. So, Bryant and Williams are going to play a lot.

If Smith is out, I hope they activate Asiasi. And to have all 4 RB's active. The OL has found some chemistry, and Wynn deserves another couple games to see if he can get back in shape. I feel somewhat optimistic about this game if we stay healthy and balanced on O.

Stid had a nice TD throw to Gunner. Probably the highlight of his Patriots career to date lol.

 

[Rob0729]

The Chargers have a great offense, but their defense isn't all that great. If yesterday's performance really showed a turnaround for the Pats' offense, the Pats have a shot to win on Sunday in a high scoring affair. No way the Pats score 54, but they might be able to score in the high 20s or low 30s which could be enough to win.

And if the Pats beat the Chargers, it is a whole new season for the Pats. They have a legitimate shot for the playoffs. They will likely face the Browns without Mayfield. The Panthers are no longer the powerhouse people thought they were early in the season and McCaffrey may not play (it will be the first week he can come off IR). The Titans are good, but not a top team in the league. The Bills (twice) are the only elite team they have left on their schedule. The Pats last ten games are not nearly as daunting as they looked 3-4 weeks ago.

 

[jdlboot14]

Stid had a nice TD throw to Gunner. Probably the highlight of his Patriots career to date lol.

Still mad that BB didn't turn to Stid the last 1/3 of last year. I bet he is too. Who knows if they would have drafted Mac if Stid did half decent.
Oh well. Don't want to change anything now!
(Gunner would be more useful on O now than Harry)

 

[TheRainMaker]

I think the Pats can take this one. Chargers are choke artists. Although I think Herbert has promise, he’s not consistent yet.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

The Chargers have a good passing offense, but it isn't next-level. If the Patriots can put the clamps on the Chargers running game, they can really slow down the offense and will likely win. If the Chargers can reel off some big runs, they'll be very tough to defend with the Patriots secondary being pretty thin.

The Patriots are fourth yards/attempt (3.8) and eleventh in rushing yards/game (105.6). They may be able to shut down the Chargers run game, which would mean Herbert would need to carry the team on his shoulders. He's capable, but again, I don't think they're at the level of the truly elite passing teams.

I'd say the same is largely true of the Patriots. A good game from Mac yesterday, but the team averaged 7 yards per carry. Against Dallas, they also ran very well. And in both games, they first established the run to setup the pass.

The Chargers are dead last in yards/attempt (5.4) and rushing yards/game (162.5). They're far below the #31 team in both cases.

The Patriots should be able to score a lot of points in this game.

I'd pick the Patriots +5.5. I think the game comes down to how many mistakes Herbert makes. If I were betting, I'd just pick the Patriots on the money line too...I think they'll fully take advantage of the Chargers horrible run defense.

 

[libra957]

I don't see why we can't beat them, even if we lose, to be on the right track we gotta go 4-1 before we play Tennessee. Very doable.

 

[italian pat patriot]

Probably i am in minority but this LAC team looks so good

To win we need to play a PERFECT game

 

[Rob0729]

Probably i am in minority but this LAC team looks so good

To win we need to play a PERFECT game

See I see them the opposite way. They are a definitely a good team, but I think people are overrating them a bit. I mean they have given up 42 and 34 points in their last two games. Week one they were losing to Washington with less than a minute left in the game. Same with the Chiefs who have played mediocre thus far. Yes, they beat good teams in the Browns (although they were losing until about 1:30 left in the game) and Raiders and lost to the Cowboys in the final seconds, but I have yet to see them a real decisive victory. Most of their games have come down to the wire this season win or lose. The closest they had to a decisive win was the Raiders where they led by a TD most of the second half and then scored another TD to be up by two TDs with 3 minutes left in the game.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Probably i am in minority but this LAC team looks so good

To win we need to play a PERFECT game

Worst run defense in NFL. That’s a huge flaw and even worse against this Patriots squad.

They also have a minus 2 point differential on the season.

Most of the perception about their rise to “contender level” was after beating the Chiefs.

I think they’re about an average team overall with a QB capable of balling out with the best of them. The Patriots can definitely win this, but yes, they’ll need to limit mistakes and make a big play or two offense.

 

[scott99]

I think the Chargers will be pretty damned motivated after the 45-0 beat down last year. Chargers are the better team right now. If somehow the Pats pull off the upset, especially with the injuries they have right now, that would be quite impressive. Not saying they can’t beat the Chargers, but they literally will have to play their best game of the year.

 

[mgcolby]

We shut Herbert down last year and it's not like he wasn't good as a rookie, so there's a chance we limit him again. Might be wishful thinking though (or just not enough to win the game), as the 2021 Chargers are clearly not the 2020 Chargers.

We've stayed competitive against better teams, so don't write this game off as an automatic loss.

The difference between the 2020 Chargers and the 2021 Chargers is they have learned how to win. They were losing a lot of close games. Hopefully that will be the difference between the first third of the Pats 2021 season and the final two thirds of the Pats 2021 season. Our game against them last year was the outlier. I think they only lost two games by 10 or more points.

 

[scott99]

I think the Pats can take this one. Chargers are choke artists. Although I think Herbert has promise, he’s not consistent yet.

Dude, Herbert has a career 66.7 completion percentage, 45 TD passes and 14 INTs in his career (21 games). That’s pretty damned consistent. I could only wish for the type of consistency he’s had in his career so far for Mac Jones.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Dude, Herbert has a career 66.7 completion percentage, 45 TD passes and 14 INTs in his career (21 games). That’s pretty damned consistent. I could only wish for the type of consistency he’s had in his career so far for Mac Jones.

Winning games is what I meant.

 

[RobertWeathers]

The difference between the 2020 Chargers and the 2021 Chargers is they have learned how to win. They were losing a lot of close games. Hopefully that will be the difference between the first third of the Pats 2021 season and the final two thirds of the Pats 2021 season. Our game against them last year was the outlier. I think they only lost two games by 10 or more points.

Meh. They lost to DAL and destroyed by the Ratbirds. They beat the Raiders, Skins, Queefs and Brownies.

I wouldn't say they know how to win just yet. Just like us.

 

[sb1]

We'll be playing on this field again in a few months so it will be a good warmup on Sunday.

 

[SVN]

special teams played a big part in that game i think last yr ? probably the same this yr too.

 

[Deus Irae]

The Chargers are a middling team that's being overrated, but the loss of Jones is a problem.

 

[mikey m]

The Chargers are a middling team that's being overrated, but the loss of Jones is a problem.

Maybe not too bad this week. Their WRs pretty much boil down to Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. Not the worst matchup for JCJ and JJW respectively. Worried about Ekeler who could gash us in the run and passing game.

 

[Tottie]

Maybe not too bad this week. Their WRs pretty much boil down to Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. Not the worst matchup for JCJ and JJW respectively. Worried about Ekeler who could gash us in the run and passing game.

Ekeler Williams and Allen are an amazing 3. If a certain player went to a team and had those 3 you'd deem it an Allstar team. They will score but so will we!

 

[Ring 6]

Bills schedule is cake the next 3 weeks. We're not really competing with them right now though. Next year hopefully we'll be ready to do that.

We are a game and a half behind with 2 meetings left.
You just love giving up don’t you.