Five New England Patriots Players to Watch Against the Texans

[PatsFans.com Article]

Five New England Patriots Players to Watch Against the Texans

Steve Balestrieri

If you’ve attended any practice sessions, the assistants at the line of scrimmage waving those tennis rackets when Tom Brady throws' That is because of Watt

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[Tony2046]

Good stuff Steve.

Having Amendola back, imo, immensely helps both the O line and Brady. I think he should be number one on your list of keys to the game.

 

[supafly]

Good stuff Steve.

Having Amendola back, imo, immensely helps both the O line and Brady. I think he should be number one on your list of keys to the game.

It will be interesting to see if HOU uses the same approach of taking away the easier stuff (as noted by Andy Johnson) and forcing Brady to stretch the field like in the January game. If so, Amendola will likely draw more attention.

While I think that this should be a double digit victory due to factors such as the rookie QB and lack of offensive firepower, I'm interested in seeing whether our own offensive attack is able to build upon last week's showing, where they adapted their approach a bit. I think we may see a continuation of trying to utilize speedy weapons with Cooks and Dorsett, but I'm not sure if we'll see the same amount of success against a tougher defense. Of course, it would be tough to beat last week's results.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

It will be interesting to see if HOU uses the same approach of taking away the easier stuff (as noted by Andy Johnson) and forcing Brady to stretch the field like in the January game. If so, Amendola will likely draw more attention.

While I think that this should be a double digit victory due to factors such as the rookie QB and lack of offensive firepower, I'm interested in seeing whether our own offensive attack is able to build upon last week's showing, where they adapted their approach a bit. I think we may see a continuation of trying to utilize speedy weapons with Cooks and Dorsett, but I'm not sure if we'll see the same amount of success against a tougher defense. Of course, it would be tough to beat last week's results.

All good points Sup.
Anything can happen but hard to see why they would tangibly alter their D approach until the Patriots can demonstrate an ability to take advantage of it at a 'Patriot' level. Arguably their playoff D last year performed well enough to win the game but their lack of O/our D tipped the scale.
I also agree a double digit victory is likely as their 2017 O -- at least so far -- doesn't seem to have solved its inability to frequently score.

The items to watch:
-While we lack our pass catching ace, we have more pronounced deep threats. Will this make beating last year's Texan's D approach less successful? If it's vertical can the O line provide the time?
-Can our D successfully contain the run to force enough third and long passing situations that seemingly will kill their drives/see them punting a lot?

 

[supafly]

All good points Sup.
Anything can happen but hard to see why they would tangibly alter their D approach until the Patriots can demonstrate an ability to take advantage of it at a 'Patriot' level. Arguably their playoff D last year performed well enough to win the game but their lack of O/our D tipped the scale.
I also agree a double digit victory is likely as their 2017 O -- at least so far -- doesn't seem to have solved its inability to frequently score.

The items to watch:
-While we lack our pass catching ace, we have more pronounced deep threats. Will this make beating last year's Texan's D approach less successful? If it's vertical can the O line provide the time?
-Can our D successfully contain the run to force enough third and long passing situations that seemingly will kill their drives/see them punting a lot?

Yep, I agree with you that it's difficult to imagine them changing too much up from their former approach in January. I think they use the old "generate pressure while flooding the middle" scheme, but they're missing their top CB in Bouye, who they lost in FA, as well as their top 2 2017 CBs.

It's going to be interesting to see if they stick with what would likely work best for them, or if the recent losses will force them to change things up a bit. We saw more man coverage in the postseason, of course. On our end, I expect a TE to chip and even stay on the line a lot, as well as keeping a RB for blitz pickups on any longer developing throws.

I don't think we'll be able to get away with quite as much as last week for the protection concern reasons that you mentioned, but I do think they'll attempt to get them involved on some crossers, bubble screens, and things of that nature that can possibly help to take advantage of the speed. I do think they'll be able to take a few shots down the field as the game progresses, as long as the score and pace is in their favor.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

Yep, I agree with you that it's difficult to imagine them changing too much up from their former approach in January. I think they use the old "generate pressure while flooding the middle" scheme, but they're missing their top CB in Bouye, who they lost in FA, as well as their top 2 2017 CBs.

It's going to be interesting to see if they stick with what would likely work best for them, or if the recent losses will force them to change things up a bit. We saw more man coverage in the postseason, of course. On our end, I expect a TE to chip and even stay on the line a lot, as well as keeping a RB for blitz pickups on any longer developing throws.

I don't think we'll be able to get away with quite as much as last week for the protection concern reasons that you mentioned, but I do think they'll attempt to get them involved on some crossers, bubble screens, and things of that nature that can possibly help to take advantage of the speed. I do think they'll be able to take a few shots down the field as the game progresses, as long as the score and pace is in their favor.

That's a lot of good analysis. Good comparative analysis aside my visceral reaction is: Despite some obvious 2017 kinks needing to be worked out I just can't see the Patriots losing this game. A putrid O line performance? Absurdly stupid penalties and unlucky/poor ball handling TOs? The Patriot track record of almost always finding a way to win even when some of the pistons are misfiring has lead to some seriously lofty expectations.
Now if we are playing in Balt or in Den or etc(KC) while misfiring definitely lowers these lofty expectations a tad.