On to Denver

[obgod3]

Roby isn't bad either, 31 solo tackles, 1 sack, 2 pick 6's and one FF.
Talib has 24 solo tackles, 3 INT's one a pick six
Harris has 52 solo tackles, 2 INT's, 1 FF

These guys are pretty good. NE needs to run the rock and play smart, Denver wins on other teams mistakes.

 

[Pats1989]

Pats just gotta keep winning.

 

[supafly]

Roby isn't bad either, 31 solo tackles, 1 sack, 2 pick 6's and one FF.
Talib has 24 solo tackles, 3 INT's one a pick six
Harris has 52 solo tackles, 2 INT's, 1 FF

These guys are pretty good. NE needs to run the rock and play smart, Denver wins on other teams mistakes.

Yes, they were willing to gamble on first round picks while the cupboard was still stocked. Roby at CB and Ray at LB are two prime examples of this.

 

[Brick27]

AFC west winner loses one more game plus we beat Jetc and Fins .( If us and AFCW west winner end in 3 losses each, they get number 1 because they beat Denver twice).

If Pats and Chiefs have 3 losses (and Oakland has 4 of course), the third tie breaker would be common opponents. Pats could lose to the Broncos in this scenario and still have the edge over the Chiefs. Pats would be 4-1 against common opponents (Broncos, Jets, Steelers, Texans), while Chiefs would be 3-2.

 

[supafly]

Some things about Denver's D worth nothing. I have looked in to them a bit more past the top players. Looked at some tape and read some info on their fan page as well as other sites. Here are some conclusions i have come to.

CB - Obviously Talib/Harris are the best CB duo in the NFL and 2 of the top 10 guys right now. However the 3rd CB spot isn't that solid. Roby has been inconsistent and really they have no one else they really want to put there. If we are looking to pass he can be exploited at this point.

I don't dispute the notion that Roby is the guy to target, but part of that comes from the excellent play of the other 2 guys in Harris and Talib.

Roby has been a decent pick so far, has 2 INT returns for TD this year, and is certainly better than anything we have at CB, aside from Malcolm Butler. That all said, I do agree that he can be up and down at times, just like he was at Ohio St.

 

[JPPT1974]

Yeah as really it is going to be Pats offense vs Denver defense!

 

[Pats1989]

If Pats and Chiefs have 3 losses (and Oakland has 4 of course), the third tie breaker would be common opponents. Pats could lose to the Broncos in this scenario and still have the edge over the Chiefs. Pats would be 4-1 against common opponents (Broncos, Jets, Steelers, Texans), while Chiefs would be 3-2.

Your correct. If the AFCW champ is KC with three losses, we would get HFA throughout. ( Again I'm assuming we will beat Fins and Jets).

If the AFCW chmpion is Oakland with three losses somehow, they get HFA throughout. They beat Denver, while we lost to Denver. ( We both beat Baltimore).

 

[PatriotsPimp136]

I don't dispute the notion that Roby is the guy to target, but part of that comes from the excellent play of the other 2 guys in Harris and Talib.

Roby has been a decent pick so far, has 2 INT returns for TD this year, and is certainly better than anything we have at CB, aside from Malcolm Butler. That all said, I do agree that he can be up and down at times, just like he was at Ohio St.

We have to see what rowe can do here. I think he can be a solid corner.

 

[Brick27]

Right. They would've lost to Texans and Steelers who we beat. We than have to hope Oakland doesn't win AFC west because they would of beaten Denver while we lost to them.

Yeah I think we're basically F'd no matter what if tied with Oakland. We'll see what happens this week, but if the following week means rooting for the Colts to beat the Raiders, it's going to take multiple showers and confessions to rid oneself of that sin.

 

[deroc5050]

Heavy dosage of Blount. Blount will have 20+ carries, dion and james will be targeted in the passing game quite a bit. Don't expect to many big plays to Hogan. We will need Bennet and Edelman for receiving yards.

I expect to see a lot of our offense going through Blount I can feel it.

 

[supafly]

We have to see what rowe can do here. I think he can be a solid corner.

I agree with you. Hopefully, he gets and remains healthy for the rest of the season.

 

[SVN]

Kurt Warner: Patriots could pass heavily to running backs

 

[Jlaff]

I would LOVE to be able to turn off the sound and listen to the game on the radio. WBLM always covers Pats games. However, and this really torques me off, they have a 5 second delay and there's no way to sync the sound with the TV. Sigh.

Mostly, at my age, I'm able to tune out the broadcast crew, hear them mostly as background noise asI concentrate on the action on the field. That, and copious quantities of beer make things tolerable.

Pause your Tivo for 5 seconds at the outset, then live free for the rest of the game?

 

[slash83]

Pats have options in terms of defending Denver. Like Baltimore they cant run the ball, Pats defense should see a lot of 3rd and longs. Do the Pats go with Rowe (assuming he is healthy to play) vs D.Thomas, or go with Ryan who has had excellent success against him? Butler vs Sanders will be a good matchup.

 

[PScottman]

teams which play press man give pats trouble

Interestingly, one of Mitchell's best attributes? Beating press man coverage. Hogan is not too bad at it either. It's a match up I really want to see as they're two type WRs we didn't have last year that might just make this even more interesting. Obviously, another aspect of this however is for Brady to reduce his reliance on Edelman so frequently as well.

 

[PScottman]

Let's hope the refs let them play.

Offensive holding - get yer Patriot offensive holding here! 1st and 20! 2d and 15! Offensive holding three calls for a dollar!

 

[Jadex9]

My problem with playing in Denver is that this team ALWAYS decides to get friggin cute in Denver.

Theyl play hard nose, straight Football everywhere else, but when they get to Denver, they decide to do stuff like go for it TWICE on 4th down instead of field goals ( Im still chapped over that one lol ) Or we decide to go for long bombs, or abandon the run game. ETC ETC.

Thats why I hate when they play in Denver.

 

[long distance]

I agree the Pats are built better this year overall, but my point still stands. This team has had alot go right for it this year (especially playing teams that were missing key players). The win against Baltimore shows they're peaking right now, but it also shows they aren't perfect. In a different stadium they likely lose a game like that.

Should they beat Denver? Probably. But I don't know if they do if they lose the turnover battle 3-0. They can't do that again and expect to win anywhere especially Mile High.

Agreed.
And the Broncos will be extra aggressive for TO. Because they know that without winning TO the math doesn't add up for the win. But that aggression has both sides. Lets hope the Pats can keep it as clean as possible and take advantage.

 

[long distance]

Well Let's do it for Bill then ..

 

[luuked]

My problem with playing in Denver is that this team ALWAYS decides to get friggin cute in Denver.

Theyl play hard nose, straight Football everywhere else, but when they get to Denver, they decide to do stuff like go for it TWICE on 4th down instead of field goals ( Im still chapped over that one lol ) Or we decide to go for long bombs, or abandon the run game. ETC ETC.

Thats why I hate when they play in Denver.

I got no clue what you are talking about.

Going for it on fourth down was not a bad call but the logical result of not being able to move the ball consistently. If you are not sure whether you will be able to drive the ball down to the same spot again you gotta go for it.

Similarly you make it sound like it was a decision by the coaches to abandon the run game and was not caused by how dead in the water our OL was or how we had the corpse of Steven Jackson running the ball.