Jacksonville the biggest threat?

[BobDigital]

They might be.

KC is having big time issues but should still be easily in the playoffs. They have an average D right now and Alex Smith has already played the best football of his life. He will never be that good again even if he gets hot. They could be trouble if Smith is on but I think the Pats have improved too much since that first game for even that to matter.

Pitt will fight for the #2 seed but have looked on the whole unimpressive on O and Brady historically has owned that D no matter what its ranked in PPG. Yes they have great speed and good talent but they still look like they run the same exact scheme to me.

The Jags in that context may be the AFC team with the best chance to beat the Pats. Why?

1) Elite pass rush with 4. They can get a lot of pressure with 4 guys and some of it from the middle.

2) Coaching. When I look for something that made this team turn around Doug Marrone is a strong possibility. Look at his NFL record..

His first year with the Bills in 2013 they went 6-10. The next year they went 9-7 and then he left (the out clause of his contract was possible due to an ownership change).

In Jacksonville the team went 2-12 before he was made HC. Then it went 1-1. This year it is 7-3.

Long story short in his NFL history where ever he has been so far as a HC he has improved the team and defense. When he left the Bills they gone from the 26th D to the 4th in PPG. The Jags last year where the 25th best D and now are the 1st in PPG.

I don't think this is mere coincidence. I think this guy has a clue unlike a lot of other coaches.

3) Lack of familiarity. The Patriots don't let you fool them twice usually. The better both teams know each other and the better Brady knows your D the worse off you are. If they play the Jags it will be the first time in a while and all the tape they had from last time is useless. This wildcard makes them more scary.

I don't think the Pats will lose to the Jags but for my money I'd rather play Pitt or KC in the AFCCG right now.

 

[Kontradiction]

They’re the most equipped team in the AFC to give this offense trouble. They’re built like the 2009-2010 Jets and the 2015 Broncos. They don’t have to send extra rushers to pressure Brady and can do it up the the A and B gaps, where he hates it. The problem for them is Bortles will eventually Bortles and Fournette will be contained. The Patriots no longer have the ****bag defense that plagued them against those Jets teams.

 

[BobDigital]

They’re the most equipped team in the AFC to give this offense trouble. They’re built like the 2009-2010 Jets and the 2015 Broncos. They don’t have to send extra rushers to pressure Brady and can do it up the the A and B gaps, where he hates it. The problem for them is Bortles will eventually Bortles and Fournette will be contained. The Patriots no longer have the ****bag defense that plagued them against those Jets teams.

Oh I agree. They would need to make it a 20-17 game and probably have their D generate points either directly or by great field position to win.

 

[YOUGOTMOSSED]

They might be.

KC is having big time issues but should still be easily in the playoffs. They have an average D right now and Alex Smith has already played the best football of his life. He will never be that good again even if he gets hot. They could be trouble if Smith is on but I think the Pats have improved too much since that first game for even that to matter.

Pitt will fight for the #2 seed but have looked on the whole unimpressive on O and Brady historically has owned that D no matter what its ranked in PPG. Yes they have great speed and good talent but they still look like they run the same exact scheme to me.

The Jags in that context may be the AFC team with the best chance to beat the Pats. Why?

1) Elite pass rush with 4. They can get a lot of pressure with 4 guys and some of it from the middle.

2) Coaching. When I look for something that made this team turn around Doug Marrone is a strong possibility. Look at his NFL record..

His first year with the Bills in 2013 they went 6-10. The next year they went 9-7 and then he left (the out clause of his contract was possible due to an ownership change).

In Jacksonville the team went 2-12 before he was made HC. Then it went 1-1. This year it is 7-3.

Long story short in his NFL history where ever he has been so far as a HC he has improved the team and defense. When he left the Bills they gone from the 26th D to the 4th in PPG. The Jags last year where the 25th best D and now are the 1st in PPG.

I don't think this is mere coincidence. I think this guy has a clue unlike a lot of other coaches.

3) Lack of familiarity. The Patriots don't let you fool them twice usually. The better both teams know each other and the better Brady knows your D the worse off you are. If they play the Jags it will be the first time in a while and all the tape they had from last time is useless. This wildcard makes them more scary.

I don't think the Pats will lose to the Jags but for my money I'd rather play Pitt or KC in the AFCCG right now.

Assuming Patriots beat Steelers, Jax has excellent chance at being the #2 seed. However, I really don't see Blake Bortles beating the Patriots in Foxboro unless something really aberrant happens.

 

[Sicilian]

Based on the QB and traditional logic, you would say no. But I could envision one of those scenarios where the first play of the game is a strip sack for a TD and then something weird happens later on and suddenly the game is close enough to go either way. That's usually how our "surprising" losses tend to go, and Jax is equipped to do that.

Still, if we meet them in the playoffs, I'm not going in worried.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Jax is a warm weather team and won’t like coming to foxboro in January...

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

Blake Bortles in January.

:lickingchops:

Regards,
Chris

 

[Ochmed Jones]

Don’t forget about January weather in New England.

The Jacksonville defense is beyond real. And maybe one of the best in football.

But sine we abandoned playing zone defense in favor of press man, Gilmore is not killing us.

But as long as we do not have to play kc, our path to the super bowl is all about how we execute and injuries from here on out.

 

[ashley]

Their defense is playing really well, but with Bortles as their starting qb, I don't think of them as the biggest threat, especially after watching them against San Diego in a game that they should have lost.

I would still say that KC and Pitt would be the biggest threat. KC has beaten us once and always seems to play us well and Pitt because of their offensive talent.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

They beat the BROWNS 19-7...just sayin’.

 

[maineman209]

3) Lack of familiarity. The Patriots don't let you fool them twice usually. The better both teams know each other and the better Brady knows your D the worse off you are. If they play the Jags it will be the first time in a while and all the tape they had from last time is useless.

I don't think that "tape from last time" that Pats played the Jags is the be-all, end-all. In terms of being familiar with the JAX defense, it may be a bit of an exaggeration to think that Brady and the Pats offense will be working entirely in the dark.

The JAX DC is Todd Wash, a long time DL coach in the NFL with whom the Pats have had a couple of previous encounters (JAX in early 2015 being the last time, when the Pat hung 51 on them, including 4 rushing TDs against Wash's DL). And, the Jags' DB coach is Perry Fewell, with whom the Pats have a VERY long history. So, BB already has some knowledge of their schemes, situational tendencies, the way they use their players, etc..

The Pats have also played against most of their veteran defensive starters and primary rotational guys, and I'm pretty confident that they did some extensive pre-draft scouting on the youngsters like Jack, Ramsey, Fowler and Smoot.

No question that the JAX defense has a lot of premier talent that executes very well. However, I'm not sure that they'll be coming up with a lot of surprises for Brady & Co.

 

[Boomer B]

They’re the most equipped team in the AFC to give this offense trouble. They’re built like the 2009-2010 Jets and the 2015 Broncos. They don’t have to send extra rushers to pressure Brady and can do it up the the A and B gaps, where he hates it. The problem for them is Bortles will eventually Bortles and Fournette will be contained. The Patriots no longer have the ****bag defense that plagued them against those Jets teams.

I feel the same. Their D will play us tough. Tight man to man with a strong 4 man rush, but they won't be able to outscore us with Bortles leading their O.

I see the same type of game Houston gave us last playoffs.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Good team. Good D.

No chance.

 

[sb1]

Great defense. Offense a few notches below that.

Pitt is a much better team than Jax IMO.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

The road to HFA for them goes through Bisquick & the Clots

 

[Froob]

Plus, you can't love a warm weather team coming to Foxborough in the playoffs, not so sure these are the Jags of 07 that were a tough skinned team that went into Pittsburgh and won in January.

 

[TinhWoodhead]

They’re definitely a dark horse... or is it cat...

 

[mosi]

He might not be the coach but that team has Tom Coughlin written all over it. Yes, I think they are the 2nd or 3rd best team in the AFC right now. But this Pats team is findings its grove. They may lose in Pitt in December but I doubt they will lose there in January.

 

[Snooky97]

Jags D is ridiculously good. Really enjoy watching them. They are a QB away from being a very good team. Give them 1-3 seasons and they can be there in my opinion, maybe a bit early for them.

 

[SammyBlueCat]

They’re definitely a dark horse... or is it cat...

I am not affiliated with them.