We're on to the Vikings - at Gillette

Lol I bet!

Rob Gronkowski says he feels good following 69 snaps in return to action

Vast majority should be getting the game

Mack Herron said:

Jones had trouble again and they took him out and moved JMac inside and Jackson outside. Will be interested to see the approach Sunday with these WRs and whether Dawson makes his debut.

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I’d be weary of Dawson but if he plays obviously BB knows what he is doing.

Be prepared for penalties and a physical presence like JCJ, they both started at the same college and play similarly. Both ball hawks

UFGatorPat said:

Be prepared for penalties and a physical presence like JCJ, they both started at the same college and play similarly. Both ball hawks

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Except Jackson only was at Florida for 1 season which he left after that season, was out all of 2015 and went to Maryland in 2016 & 2017

Weather looks to be 55 degrees and possibly rain showers.

Looking forward to this game. A good test to see just how good this team might be in the playoffs.
Haven't really been able to judge them most of the season due to injuries and je's suspension.
No excuses now, Pats are close to full strength.

Gonna be a good one. How we face Thielen and Diggs and the rest of their receiving corps is a good preparation to AB and JuJu

Their running game is kinda weak, so I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of Dime... I don't think Dawson will play, but I hope Jc Jackson gets more playing time. I like him, if he can stop making so many fouls he gon be good

JayNM said:

Gonna be a good one. How we face Thielen and Diggs and the rest of their receiving corps is a good preparation to AB and JuJu

Their running game is kinda weak, so I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of Dime... I don't think Dawson will play, but I hope Jc Jackson gets more playing time. I like him, if he can stop making so many fouls he gon be good

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Really the next 3 games will tell us all we need to know.
Miami's not great but it's a road game and this is fins SB.
No need to elaborate on Pittsburgh game.
3 tough games, 2 on the road. Win all 3 and that bodes well for jan-feb.

JayNM said:

Gonna be a good one. How we face Thielen and Diggs and the rest of their receiving corps is a good preparation to AB and JuJu

Their running game is kinda weak, so I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of Dime... I don't think Dawson will play, but I hope Jc Jackson gets more playing time. I like him, if he can stop making so many fouls he gon be good

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Yeah tough wrs coming up. The secondary is clearly the strength of this D.
But hoping Pats can generate some kind of pressure. BB/Flores will have to get creative. Flowers is the only serious passrushing threat right now in front 7.
Hightower is not his monster old passrushing self anymore. Wise is still learning. Other guys will sporadically chip in here and there but none consistently.
Fortunately, the O is healthy and ready to explode.

JMC00 said:

Except Jackson only was at Florida for 1 season which he left after that season, was out all of 2015 and went to Maryland in 2016 & 2017

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That’s why I said he started there. He played for Durkin though at Maryland

JayNM said:

Gonna be a good one. How we face Thielen and Diggs and the rest of their receiving corps is a good preparation to AB and JuJu

Their running game is kinda weak, so I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of Dime... I don't think Dawson will play, but I hope Jc Jackson gets more playing time. I like him, if he can stop making so many fouls he gon be good

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Jackson hasn't been flagged since wk-7. He's averaged about 27% of the D-snaps since then.

Tuck said:

Has he been out this long with a concussion? I know he was listed with a neck injury but If it was really a concussion the guy is rolling the dice with his history.

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Burkhead has been out "this long" because he was put on IR.

He was probably put on IR because the Pats felt that they couldn't afford to carry the "dead weight" on the roster for the length of his projected recovery period (even if that was to be "only" four weeks or so).

I'm not sure if teams are required to specify an IR'd player's injury. However, Burkhead was injured during the game @DET in wk-3. If his injury had been a concussion, he would have immediately been put into the league protocol, which would have been officially recorded.

I don't see any way that the Pats could have put Burkhead on IR, designating his injury as anything other than a concussion if he'd actually had one.

A "neck" injury could indicate anything from a severe bruise to a "stinger".

I'm not sure what you're referring to with the phrase "given his history". The concussion that landed Burkhead "in the protocol" and on the injury report during week-2 practices was his first since joining the NFL in 2013. He was cleared for "limited participation" by Thursday that week, then subsequently cleared to play in the game that Sunday. He was off the injury report entirely for week-3. He suffered the neck injury that landed him on IR during the week-3 game.

BURKHEAD'S NFL INJURY HISTORY:

With Cincy:
2013 - Was on the injury report "Questionable" for only two games during his rookie season with a CALF STRAIN.

2014 - Missed first four games with a KNEE INJURY. Played 133 ST snaps and 34 snaps at RB in nine games active after that - rushed 9 times for 27 yds and a TD; caught 7 of 10 tgts for 49 yds.

2015 - Active for all 16 games, plus Cinci's playoff game. DID NOT MISS A GAME. Did not appear on the injury report at any time. Played 73 offensive snaps and 299 ST snaps during the regular season.

2016 - Active for all 16 games, plus Cinci's playoff game. DID NOT MISS A GAME. Did not appear on injury report at any time. Played 238 offensive snaps and 209 ST snaps during the regular season.


With the Pats:
2017 - Appeared in two games for the Pats before missing four with a RIB INJURY. At that point, he had appeared in FORTY-FIVE CONSECUTIVE GAMES and played nearly 1100 snaps (including post-season) without even appearing on an injury report.

In the next 8 consecutive games after his return from the rib injury, he played 269 total snaps (offense + ST). He rushed for about 250 yds on 60 carries, caught 26 of 29 tgts for over 200 receiving yards, and scored 7 TDs (5 rushing, 2 receiving).

He then missed the final two regular season games and the Divisional Round playoff game with a KNEE INJURY. He played a few snaps in the AFCCG, then, in the SB, he ran for 18 yards on 3 carries, and caught his only passing target for a 46-yd gain.

Brick27 said:

Pats OL should have their hands full against a very solid DL with Hunter, Griffen, and Richardson.

Big plus having all five Pats starters going, another week of continuity helps.

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Hunter is their best player, IMO. He is quick, which might be an issue for Trent. They have the 3rd best run defense in terms of Y/A and 4th best in terms of total rushing yards allowed. They also lead the league in fumbles on runs with 11 (stat doesn't distinguish between forced and unforced) of which they have recovered 6.

The Brandon Five said:

Hunter is their best player, IMO. He is quick, which might be an issue for Trent. They have the 3rd best run defense in terms of Y/A and 4th best in terms of total rushing yards allowed. They also lead the league in fumbles on runs with 11 (stat doesn't distinguish between forced and unforced) of which they have recovered 6.

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I'm guessing there has been a lot of water bottle pouring on the footballs this week in practice. With that being said I believe that this week might be a more pass heavy game. Maybe work off the play action to draw the safeties in

I would like to see Obi 1 playing center field and out jumping Stefan Diggs to at least see one interception.

This will be another good game to see where the OL is at. Zimmer is famous for his "Muggs" (Double A-Gap) blitz but has ran a ton of variations off it. Recently disguising it & using it to help/cover hot reads, flat, mof etc while everyone else is on the same page. DB's press, DL expecting quick pass. At times he'll run them through the same gap.
Nice test & will take lots of communication.

Chasing greatness said:

I'm guessing there has been a lot of water bottle pouring on the footballs this week in practice. With that being said I believe that this week might be a more pass heavy game. Maybe work off the play action to draw the safeties in

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Vikes do have Decent/Good D I expect us to try and cross em up some. That was one reason why I love having Burkhead back he gives us that dual threat possibility from the backfield. I hope Sony continues to progress in the passing game it will do wonders for his development. That said we are healthy on O we should be a lot smoother compared to last week coming off the Bye-Week. I expect us to spread em out some at full strength the D have to pick their poison. With Gronk back and Edleman close to his usual self: I can see Hogan and Gordon having Big games. If the Vikes load up against the Pass this is a game where Sony - White and Burkhead can make em pay.

ChrisR2223 said:

I would like to see Obi 1 playing center field and out jumping Stefan Diggs to at least see one interception.

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My gut tells me Obi is better suited for players closer to the LoS.

Looking at the 2018 Vikings one thing that stood out to me is that they are not a Good Rushing Team. They only rushed for over 100yds once and where are we in week 12?? Sony have almost Four 100yds games already and he has been injured. That means that the Vikings probably pass out of necessity. IF BB and Co can take away Thielen and Diggs or both its lights out for the Vikes if we can go up two scores. TE Rudolph and 3#rd WR Treadwell are nothing special. The Vikes don't seem that deep on O not many Top Flight players compared to us. Also opposing RB's seem to do well against them especially ones who can also catch I see White being a pain to this Vikings D.