FROM CHRISTOPHER GASPER OF THE BOSTON GLOBE… While Patriots coach Bill Belichick waxes poetic about the offensive brilliance of the schemes of Mike Martz, who is now the 49ers offensive coordinator, all of Martz’s creativity in the passing game not only puts pressure on opposing defenses, but on his offensive line. O’Sullivan was sacked six times Sunday in a 31-17 loss to the Saints. San Francisco’s surfeit of sacks isn’t a surprise considering what Martz’s offenses did the last two seasons, when he was in Detroit as offensive coordinator of the Lions. Last year, Detroit quarterbacks were sacked 54 times, ranking third in the league, behind only the 49ers and the Chiefs, who each gave up 55. In 2006, Detroit surrendered 63 sacks, second-most in the league, including five in a 28-21 Patriots win at Gillette Stadium. “They throw a lot of downfield routes. They throw deep in-cuts [and] deep comebacks. Sometimes they have a lot of receivers out, so occasionally their protection breaks down on that,” said Belichick. “But they attack the defense at all three levels - the short, intermediate, and deep level. They do it every week on a consistent basis, so you have to be ready to defend it. Sometimes you get to [the quarterback] before they get it off, but a lot of times you don’t, and they hit a lot of 20-, 25-, 30-yard completions, a lot more than most teams do. That’s the way they have been historically. “It takes a little longer for those plays to develop. I think overall their pass protection has been good.
{ML}This will be the key game for me to watch as this will be a chess match at the highest level. The 49ers are very good at developing an offensive game plan that can attack team’s right at the core and heart of their weaknesses. The Patriot linebackers will be under attack the entire game. I am pretty sure Mike Martz will borrow the formations from the Miami game, not the plays. When the Patriots are spread out by their alignment in a base defense it forces Mike Vrabel and Adalius Thomas to cover the width of the field and makes them space players. Unless they are going forward and attacking the pocket, they are not effective. I am certain that as smart and creative as Bill Belichick is with his own game, and as critical as he is with his own team, he will have some adjustments of his own. The one thing the Patriots will do is jam the wideouts of the 49ers and disrupt the timing of the plays.
