Guys, against the Colts, it comes down to this:

1) Which QB plays better, Brady or Manning. The team stats - both offense and defense - are too close:

New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

If, as I expect, Brady outplays Manning, the Patriots will win. I predict we win by 10+

Who's with me?

QB12

Need to disrupt the robot's rhythm.

Couldn't agree more. The last 8 games have made one point concrete...Brady is the key to a win. Everything else comes later.

Luckily for us, all the parts in the Pats machine are running smoothly (crosses fingers, toes, eyes, touches wood ). If Brady has a good game, a win is probable.

As for the Colts' potential shot at 16-0....I have convinced myself that IF they can get past the Pats this sunday, then we have no right to complain (but probably will anyway )

I think the key is how well we run the ball. Tom is still not back to his 2007 form. Asking him to go toe-to-toe with Peyton Manning at this point is asking for the impossible against a defense with a great pass rush.

Pound it with Maroney and hopefully Sammy Morris, control the clock, and blow their receivers up at the line. That's how you beat the Colts.

It comes down to getting the d off the field on 3rd downs

Secondary has to play well. We have been giving receivers huge cushions so far. That has to stop.

I think it comes down to which team does the better job of scoring TD's instead of FG's.

RPMCanes said:

Secondary has to play well. We have been giving receivers huge cushions so far. That has to stop.

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This is the third highest passing d in the league...

Personally the team that wants it more will win... lets get them pumped and jacked.

borg said:

Need to disrupt the robot's rhythm.

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Ding ding ding.

I'm not going to predict victory, but I'll say this. I don't see the Colts having a chance to stop Brady unless they get to him. I think our defense can "contain" the Colts, but if we don't get to Manning we're ****ed as well. It's all about defense here. Who ever hits the QB the most wins, it's that simple.

I think our safeties are going to be the difference makers in this one. For some reason I feel like at the end of the game a lot of praise is going to be thrown at Chung, Brandon & Brandon... seems like in the last few games they have been gearing up for a big showing and I think this is it. Penalty debate or not, the worst thing I believe the Dolphins could have done was give Chung a taste of the QB, I've never seen someone so happy to get a penalty in my life than Chung was.

pats are going to stop colts and then take revenge on jets ... end the massacare by defeating Saints... this is going to be the november news

It also comes down to our defense hitting the Colts receivers so hard that they think twice about catching the football. If we can get some added pressure on Manning up the middle through his interior O-Line, we are very capable of shutting down their offense. That's easier said than done though. Manning knows how to move the ball against our defense, and that isn't attacking on the perimeter. He's going to throw the ball a ton over the middle so I'm looking for us to hit Clark and Collie hard and often right from the get-go. Make them pay for going over the middle.

KontradictioN said:

It also comes down to our defense hitting the Colts receivers so hard that they think twice about catching the football. If we can get some added pressure on Manning up the middle through his interior O-Line, we are very capable of shutting down their offense. That's easier said than done though. Manning knows how to move the ball against our defense, and that isn't attacking on the perimeter. He's going to throw the ball a ton over the middle so I'm looking for us to hit Clark and Collie hard and often right from the get-go. Make them pay for going over the middle.

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True. This probably had an effect on Ginn aligator-arming the pass over the middle late in last Sunday's game. Did you catch that? Even Dierdorf commented to that effect.

QB12

QB12 said:

True. This probably had an effect on Ginn aligator-arming the pass over the middle late in last Sunday's game. Did you catch that? Even Dierdorf commented to that effect.

QB12

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Every receiver on that team was being punished for catching the ball. That's the Patriots defense I remember. The corners and safeties may be out of position from time to time, but they do hit very, very hard. I believe it was Hartline that got his clock cleaned by McGowan (who hit him so hard that it actually knocked Mayo out of the game for a couple of plays because he absorbed some of that impact). It was the same in the Ravens game. The punishment their receiving corps was sustaining directly led to Clayton dropping that wide-open pass as McGowan was closing in.

We need to just rush the passer called Manning.

KontradictioN said:

Every receiver on that team was being punished for catching the ball. That's the Patriots defense I remember. The corners and safeties may be out of position from time to time, but they do hit very, very hard. I believe it was Hartline that got his clock cleaned by McGowan (who hit him so hard that it actually knocked Mayo out of the game for a couple of plays because he absorbed some of that impact). It was the same in the Ravens game. The punishment their receiving corps was sustaining directly led to Clayton dropping that wide-open pass as McGowan was closing in.

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I love this SECONDARY!

Stop Dallas Clark. He's the Welker of their offense...Mr. Move The Chains. Rookies Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie have had their moments, but haven't proven they are consistent threats. Wayne obviously needs to be held in check and I think Bodden is up to the task when he lines up on that side and a combo of Springs/Butler with safety help will minimize him on the other side. The Colts' running game doesn't scare me. Clark will be the guy who keeps the Pats' D on the field. Stop him and the Colts become emminently beatable.

Regards,
Chris

JFK said:

We need to just rush the passer called Manning.

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Easier said than done, my friend. He has a great pass protecting offensive line and, like Brady, his footwork is second to none in the pocket. Add both of those factors to his quick release, and it's extremely hard to get to him. It's near impossible to do it from the outside, very hard to do it from the inside. However, if you can get to him up the middle of the offensive line, it throws his timing off badly. That's why I always felt that Bruschi and Ty Law were our MVPs when playing them in the early 2000's. Bruschi was always able to get through their interior O-Line when rushing the passer. He was good enough to disrupt Manning's throws which Ty Law then took advantage of. Let's see if Mayo and Meriweather are capable of repeating history for us.

JFK said:

We need to just rush the passer called Manning.

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not all the time......


play more zone/ linebacker depth and anticipate passes to the TE clark in the the 8-20 yd range.


when they catch the ball I want them hit hard so it will make them weary and unconfident.

chris_in_sunnyvale said:

Stop Dallas Clark. He's the Welker of their offense...Mr. Move The Chains. Rookies Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie have had their moments, but haven't proven they are consistent threats. Wayne obviously needs to be held in check and I think Bodden is up to the task when he lines up on that side and a combo of Springs/Butler with safety help will minimize him on the other side. The Colts' running game doesn't scare me. Clark will be the guy who keeps the Pats' D on the field. Stop him and the Colts become emminently beatable.

Regards,
Chris

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Again, Manning knows what our defense is and is not going to give him. We'll allow him more of the short yardage/quick throws and over the middle stuff. He'll take a shot or two, but he will not constantly attack the perimeter of this defense like other teams do. That's why, like you said, it's more important to shift our focus to Clark and Collie than it is to devote more and more coverage to Garcon and Wayne.