Game Day Thread Official Pats at Bills Playoff Pregame Discussion Thread

[palialka]

No offense, but in what universe is the Pats secondary better than the Bills? I’m not sure there is another team in the league with a secondary as good as the Bills.

No offense taken…My thoughts are that we have arguably the best corner in football, 3 really good safeties plus some experienced depth overall. All in all, I think we have the deepest secondary in the league. I’m not saying we’re the best at each position man for man, but collectively I’ll take our secondary over the other 31 teams.

I can’t say that about the rest of our team although I think our OL and RB groups are also towards the top of the league.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

I've heard it's partly because Canadians aren't allowed to go, and plenty of their season ticket base is Canadian, so they have a bunch of people who all need to sell

Any chance Gillette can adopt a No Canadians allowed policy too?

 

[1960Pats]

Snows every day in Buffalo. Just depends on what time

I forget. Is it Buffalo that's called the mistake by the lake or is it Cleveland?

 

[Kdo5]

No offense taken…My thoughts are that we have arguably the best corner in football, 3 really good safeties plus some experienced depth overall. All in all, I think we have the deepest secondary in the league. I’m not saying we’re the best at each position man for man, but collectively I’ll take our secondary over the other 31 teams.

I can’t say that about the rest of our team although I think our OL and RB groups are also towards the top of the league.

JC Jackson is not the best corner in football or even arguably so.

 

[palialka]

I think the TE argument isn't really about saying the Patriots have a great TE group. They have Henry, who's been really good, versus Dawson Knox who has almost identical stats. There's obviously more nuance that could go into the evaluation of both guys, but let's say TE1 is a wash.

But after that, the Pats have Jonnu Smith. Make no mistake, Jonnu's 28 catches for 290 yards is a big disappointment for me this year, and if we were comparing the TE's on the value of their contract, Smith would be a negative. But for production on the field, the Bill's #2 guy (Sweeney) has 9 catches for 44 yards.

We know what we have in Henry…he has been consistent and reliable all season.

It’ll be interesting to see if the coaching staff can conjure up some plays for Jonnu this Saturday. He’s shown flashes of his ability, but really hasn’t put it together all season.

 

[Ring 6]

amazing stats and taken me by surprise

Full season he is 36/65 56.9% 406 yards in 914 snaps, 85% of them.
That is pro bowl level coverage for an outside starting corner to allow 2.2 catches for 25.4 yards per game.

The negative though is 7 TD passes allowed.

 

[Ring 6]

JC Jackson is not the best corner in football or even arguably so.

Who is?

 

[Ring 6]

There is one difference...Buffalo is for sure...

Hey now.

 

[sb1]

I've heard it's partly because Canadians aren't allowed to go, and plenty of their season ticket base is Canadian, so they have a bunch of people who all need to sell

I think Canadians can cross the border but they need to fork over a lot of money for a rapid PCR test to get back into Canada.

 

[VrabelJr]

Yea the 0 degree forecast does have me hesitating.

Drive 5+hrs from central MA
Check into hotel
Go to game
Go back to hotel
Wake up and grab some coffee and breakfast
Drive 5+hrs home

Logistics are very doable

Your last name is Weathers. Just do it.

 

[Mack Herron]

We know what we have in Henry…he has been consistent and reliable all season.

It’ll be interesting to see if the coaching staff can conjure up some plays for Jonnu this Saturday. He’s shown flashes of his ability, but really hasn’t put it together all season.

In my experience, come playoff time coaches lean on the things that have delivered most reliably during the season. I don’t look for surprises in the playoffs, like Smith getting downfield targets or Bledsoe getting DB snaps. For the most part it tends to be dance with who brung ya.

 

[denverpatsfan]

Do they breakout the (2) TE offense on Saturday? Has Skippy been waiting for the playoffs to unleash it?

 

[1960Pats]

Supply chain issues.

Yup. Just like these that I couldn't get this morning:
Special K (they had every kind but the one I wanted, the original)
Heinz Ketchup (I settled for the store brand and it was fine, and at half the price)
Canada Dry Zero Sugar ginger ale (is that a coincidence that it comes from Canada and isn't here?)

 

[Sicilian]

In my experience, come playoff time coaches lean on the things that have delivered most reliably during the season. I don’t look for surprises in the playoffs, like Smith getting downfield targets or Bledsoe getting DB snaps. For the most part it tends to be dance with who brung ya.

Agreed, though there might be some wrinkles to the plays that have worked for Smith this year (screens and end arounds). They wouldn't be drastically different, but maybe plays that almost worked if not for penalties or one guy blowing his assignment, or (like with the Edelman double pass against the Ravens in 2014) a trick play they had maybe practiced for a previous game that they ended up checking out of because they never got the right look for it.

 

[sb1]

450 mile drive from the city. Thought it was further for some reason.

 

[palialka]

JC Jackson is not the best corner in football or even arguably so.

Well to each his own. I do think that he is in the conversation as the best corner. Whether he is #1, 2, 3, 4 who knows…but my eyeballs and his stats tell me he is in a select group.

Anyways, I’m just glad that he’s on our team and I hope that we can resign him beyond this season…we’re gonna have to pony up for that. Let’s see how BB values him in the off season.

 

[tigerjohn]

I see a lot of comments trying to assess talent gaps and trying to compare offensive and defensive efficiency. From both standpoint, I think NE matches up very well with Buffalo. The reason we've not been in games the past 4 weeks and also during the 2-4 stretch to open the season is untimely penalities, turnovers and special teams errors. Buffalo, BTW, has also had their moments in these areas (witness losses to the Jags and getting crushed by far more than the patriots aginst the colts). If we avoid all three, I think we have a good chance to win the game. The idea that there is a massive talent gap, and offensive and/or defensive efficiency gap between the two teams is a bit ridiculous.

 

[Sciz]

Wild Card Playoffs: New England Patriots - Buffalo Bills Injury Report

www.patriots.com

Nobody ruled out, including Wynn who did not practice this week.

 

[palialka]

In my experience, come playoff time coaches lean on the things that have delivered most reliably during the season. I don’t look for surprises in the playoffs, like Smith getting downfield targets or Bledsoe getting DB snaps. For the most part it tends to be dance with who brung ya.

Yeah let’s see what happens. Jonnu has some run after the catch ability so maybe that translates into some more carries when in motion…that works well for him and Bourne.

 

[RobertWeathers]

If it were going to be 30 degrees I’d have already bought them.
Instead:
Fly to Tennessee in the morning
Rent a car, book a hotel
Go to game fly home the next day, and post about our chances in the afccg
Just as doable!!

2hr flight to Nashville >>>>>>>>>> 5hr drive to BUF