Thank you for all these links. Mostly what we think and what the Globe describes as key things.
The SportslineDFW piece about stopping the Patriots on first downs and keeping the Patriots off the board early was refreshing. If you can do it, you can win. If Dallas is game planning for anything other than a shoot out, they're dreaming. The Pats get double figure in the first half and then crank up the engine in the second half.
Last week against the Jets was pretty typical. We were wringing our collective hands with Patriots up 10-7 at the half (it should have been 17-7, Aaron!). The offense put it into third gear and ran off three TDs in the 2nd half. Patriots are the best 2nd half scoring team in the league, so don't pat yourselves on the back too much if the score is low at halftime.
First down defense is a great idea but the toughest down to defense because every offense has the most options with 1st and 10. So how do you defense the Patriots who average an NFL-besr 7.25 yards on 1st down?
