On to Baltimore!

condon84 said:

The Brown beat the Ravens by going ahead multiple scores and forcing the Ravens to pass which isn't Jackson's strength right now.

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It wasn't like the Browns got up big early. That game was either 1 score or tied until the end of the 3rd quarter when Browns forced a fumble and drove 75 yards to score and go up 2 scores.

denverpatsfan said:

Lets hope. I am scared of this game.

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I was actually more fearful of the browns. I really expect the pats to contain Jackson. The question is more what will the Pats offense be able to contribute.

So again, we are going against a team that is coming off their bye? At least against the Eagles, both teams will be coming off their byes.

vuudu said:

So again, we are going against a team that is coming off their bye? At least against the Eagles, both teams will be coming off their byes.

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I had this game marked as a L to start the year. Thinking it may be a tough one and losing in 4th.

Contain Jackson and make him throw and they win. But that will be a tough task. Luckily this D has some serious speed so hoping they come up with a good game plan.

It's one of those games that the team could play poorly and then national media and fans jump on it and say yeah it isn't their year...aka Pats come rolling back. Always 1 of those games a year and it hasn't happened yet.

Not that I like losing, but sometimes when they play a really poor game...it seems to help in the long run. Maybe it's just me thinking that however that a L here wouldn't mean the sky is falling ect but humble them a bit and I wouldn't be upset as long as they keep it competitive.

And watch the Pats win 30-17

For this game, I will bring J. Jones into the box, let him spy Lamar, have D. Mccourty play the slot, Jackson and Gilly on the outside. Match speed with speed.

I don’t care how you do it, just beat those dirty Ratbirds please

Froob said:

True but our offense isn’t that good. Not scoring that much without all the defense points. Would be nice to see them light these guys up.

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The offense- without defensive/ST points in the calculation is average 26ppg. Not their best but not horrific.

Is it ugly? Yep. Is it running at optimal efficiency? Nope. Could they use help on the o-line and at TE? Yep.

Can they score points? Yep.

This is a big one, if we win this you can pretty much pencil this team in for HFA (if you can't already). 9-0 with the next best team looking to be 12-4 at best, means you can go 4-3 after the bye and still get HFA. Plus you got Wynn and Harry/Mason(if they're not back for this one) coming back. If we lose, Bmore is just 1 game back with the tiebreaker and we have 4 more tough opponents in a row.

I still don't see them giving us too much trouble. Stack the box, keep a spy on Lamar and make him beat you with his arm. Which of their recievers can give us any trouble? I guess their TE is having a good year. But defensively this is a great matchup for us. As stated, facing a team without a legit passing game makes it easier to stop the run. Unless we turn the ball over a bunch I'd be suprised if they score anymore than 13. Our offense will top that no matter how much they might struggle. Protect the ball and it's another double digit win. 2 weeks to prepare for Philly with hopefully everyone eligible coming back.

mosi said:

Yeah, most of the Pats games this year have been kinda ugly. Back to 2003-2004 type of games. I like them. For some wacky reason, I feel happier when I trust the defense as opposed to having to trust the offense to always win the game.

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Many on this board have forgotten what the 2oo1-2006 Patriots were like.

75% of their games were grind-it-outs.

vuudu said:

For this game, I will bring J. Jones into the box, let him spy Lamar, have D. Mccourty play the slot, Jackson and Gilly on the outside. Match speed with speed.

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I like this idea, either Jones or one of the McCourty's. You need a cornerback level DB as the spy. Play our heavier DL's & LB's to stop the run, and don't abandon their TE's.

excited to see Harry back, as well as another week for Sanu.

just need to get through this week. then we have a much needed bye and reinforcements on the Offensive line in the way of Isaiah Wynn.

bormio said:

Is everyone on a bye before they play us?

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"Only" Cleveland, Baltimore and Philly.

farn said:

On PATSFANS, the Patriots are ALWAYS in trouble.

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Expectations are higher for the Pats than any other team.

robertweathers said:

Many on this board have forgotten what the 2oo1-2006 Patriots were like.

75% of their games were grind-it-outs.

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It’s reached a point of absurdity where people are scoffing about 20+ point victories and getting nervous if wins aren’t picture perfect.

Kdo5 said:

It’s reached a point of absurdity where people are scoffing about 20+ point victories and getting nervous if wins aren’t picture perfect.

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It's embarrassing.

robertweathers said:

It's embarrassing.

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My friend, also a Pats fan, was ranting about "this defense is trash!" every time Chubb had a sizeable run or "Brady is losing it" after throwing the ball away. I wanted to smack him. And there are a lot of 'fans' like him out there.

vuudu said:

For this game, I will bring J. Jones into the box, let him spy Lamar, have D. Mccourty play the slot, Jackson and Gilly on the outside. Match speed with speed.

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Jones doesn't have the physicality to bring down Jackson. I wouldn't be surprised if we used two spies in KVN and Collins with split responsibilities. Both have speed and the ability to punish Jackson for taking off.

This is a tough 5 game stretch for a poor/injured OL. I think that all of the next 5 are much better than anything that we've faced. Of course, we are still favorites in every game. I won't be surprised by the results in any of these games.

Essentially, we have 10-6 locked up, and 11-5 almost locked up, considering our last 3 games: CIN, BUF and MIA. That's without any wins against the next five.

This is the best schedule we might wish for going into the playoffs.

Kdo5 said:

My friend, also a Pats fan, was ranting about "this defense is trash!" every time Chubb had a sizeable run or "Brady is losing it" after throwing the ball away. I wanted to smack him. And there are a lot of 'fans' like him out there.

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Awful.

The Patriots have become synonymous with electricity, wi-fi and hot showers. When it doesn't happen the way and when you expect it, there is a problem.

They've set a ridiculous stylistic standard of winning that the common fan now takes for granted when in actuality it should be the exception.

With that said, the team holds itself to that same standard as it should. The difference is for coaches and players perfection is strived for but never achieved. Its the journey of constant improvement. For fans it's the expectation.

For fans who have actually played competitive sports in their lives they should understand that. Seems like most have forgotten it and think they are watching Madden instead of real life.

40yrpatsfan said:

I like this idea, either Jones or one of the McCourty's. You need a cornerback level DB as the spy. Play our heavier DL's & LB's to stop the run, and don't abandon their TE's.

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Give it to Collins and stay stout against the run. Don't have to reinvent the defense. If they play it correctly the spy will just be insurance and would rather that person be closer to the LOS. You don't want him getting into the open field and you don't want an undersized DB getting trucked every run play.