Patriots Pregame Thread Pre-Game - Divisional Round Texans at Patriots

[Triumph]

I followed them in the draft, both were potential targets for us.
Higgins a bigger bodied WR that went before we drafted KW. Noel went after KW if I remember correctly. Not to dissimilar from KW size and athletic profile.

Both Iowa schools are producing some major talent.

The Texans last draft indicates that they really needed offense. Marks is also a rookie. But, back to WR, Higgins has seen more targets 68 for 41 rec although his catch % is mediocre @ 60%. Noel has only 35 targets for 26 rec and his catch rate is better @ 74%. Collins catch rate is 59% and Kirks is 54%. TE Shultz has been a sure bet 106 targets for 82 rec @ 77% catch rate.

The Texans are not a particularly good rushing team. Their leading WR Collins has never completed a full season.

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

That’s literally not what I do. Dropping the football while throwing us 100% hud fault. Who do you think I’m blaming that on?

Every Qb has bad plays. The point is that this one has far more good plays and fewer bad ones than just about any other Qb out there but as soon as he has a bad play everyone flicks to their keyboard to act as if it some inherent flaw in him.

It just amazes me how fans of a team that has had this season, led by this Qb playing the way he has, can’t wait to try to knock him every chance they get, and insist on THAT being what they harp in after the first playoff win the franchise has had in 7 years.
Especially when he makes more good plays, which I haven’t seen you mention, perhaps I missed it, and fewer bad plays than anyone else.

In this case if the ball didn’t slip out of his hand, the result would have been better than your plan of giving up on plays. Thr decision was fine, the execution went wrong.

If you read my posts in this thread I mentioned on more than one occasion that he had an excellent 2nd half, had 334 yards of offense on his own…etc.
I talk about good and bad.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

I don't see CJ Stroud lighting up this D. As in, HOU scoring more than 10 offensive points, and if the O is having trouble, even that 10 is too much.

The way the D responded last week was a statement - as in, oh it's on US to win it? let's do it that way then!

Everybody knows this year's Houston D can pitch shutouts or near-shutouts. What they don't know is that also true of NE's D... but NE has Drake "Drake Maye" Maye on the other side of the ball.

I honestly think this is a SB team this year.

 

[dliverey44]

No

Are you saying no to passing out of Jumbo or that it should not be our base offense this weekend?

Just asking because they have been pretty successful passing out of Jumbo in the last month

 

[TommyD4207]

If the Pats do this to CJ Stroud, I think he will meltdown.

Trent Brown is going to be targeted frequently.

 

[The Gr8est]

Who was the FA CB who looked so good in TC?

What happened to him?

 

[mgteich]

How many current patriots and Texans were on those teams.

Vrabel knows better than to care. Why do you?

Perhaps HOU should have lost last weekend. After all they had lost 6 playoff games in a row.

 

[mgteich]

It seems like he overtook Alex Austin as the main backup.

Yes.

I would note that Woods was claimed before Game One.

We will have both Woods and Austin available on Sunday.

 

[Vindicate]

How do we take away Shultz and Nico (if he plays)? I wonder what Kuhr & Vrabel are planning.

Shultz is the binky this year it seems. And is a TE.

Both Iowa schools are producing some major talent.

The Texans last draft indicates that they really needed offense. Marks is also a rookie. But, back to WR, Higgins has seen more targets 68 for 41 rec although his catch % is mediocre @ 60%. Noel has only 35 targets for 26 rec and his catch rate is better @ 74%. Collins catch rate is 59% and Kirks is 54%. TE Shultz has been a sure bet 106 targets for 82 rec @ 77% catch rate.

The Texans are not a particularly good rushing team. Their leading WR Collins has never completed a full season.

 

[mgteich]

why?
I'm fine with concentrating on our run game on Offense and having a lights-out attacking Defense.

 

[mgteich]

You shouldn't assume that Woods has passed Austin, given that Austin has just spent a month on Injured Reserve ...

Before his injury Austin was lucky to get a couple of reps on Defense. Woods took over his role long before Austin's injury.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Trent Brown is going to be targeted frequently.

Since I liked the guy when he was here, I watched him a bit. Effective on runs where he blocked straight ahead or at an angle.
Immobile in pass protection where his super power was it took an extra second to run around his huge frame.
If our DC can't scheme him, we need a new DC.

 

[fnordcircle]

I've gone "bussin' with the boys" has a very different meaning to me than I think it does to them.

Or maybe not. Once the Raiders moved to Vegas there was a non-zero chance I'd run into one of them at Entourage Spa.

 

[Vindicate]

All extremely crucial catches IIRC. McDaniels loves his lil shifty pass-catching backs against good pass defenses with aggressive rushers. You'd like to see more from receivers, however I'm not sure if they were going to be a focus point to begin with.

 

[patfanken]

I've been listening to the ESPN talking heads all morning and the prevalent train of thought has been this, "if he was shaky against the very good Charger DL, it is going to be worse against the GREAT Texan pass rush". Then they highlight 58% completion %, 3 TO's and 16 points. On the surface this IS a perfectly logical position. However, this is one stat that has stuck with me that I haven't heard once this week that is, to me, a very telling one. 11-15 for 174. Those are Drakes 2nd half passing stats. And they are excellent numbers for any QB. For example if you take Brady's first half #'s of the Atlanta SB, there IS no statue in front of the stadium. I would opine that it's how you finish the game that matters and these mediots are pretty much ignoring what happened. I haven't heard this position from our guys, they have been much more supportive as a whole.

Just sayin'..

 

[jal]

The Texans are built to stop Brady. Brady would have a very very very hard time against them.

Maye's mobility gives himself a quality to use the Texans against themselves.

Don't underestimate Brady...I saw him hang 28 on a better defense in SB49 and what should have been 20 on a better defense IN DENVER. Not saying he'd go ham and score 40 points but 20+ is probably all you need to win this game. Brady would spread them out and no huddle all game with Gronk/Edelman/White or Vereen or Lewis to exhaust that pass rush by the second half. Seattle got desperate enough to start blitzing hard in the 4th quarter (something they basically never did) and he and Gronk destroyed that blitz.

All-time great QBs find a way.

 

[Patsfan1645]

Here is another gem from the Texans forums: "I think the Pat fans should be proud their team made it far but in all honesty, this might not be a close game. Not being a homer but the Texans clearly have the better roster with or without Gonzalez."

Pats rank 3rd in total offense
Texans rank 18th in total offense
Pats rank 4th in passing
Texans rank 14th in passing
Pats rank 6th in rushing
Texans rank 22nd in rushing


I guess the offensive side of the ball doesn't count towards whether a roster is good or not.

 

[jal]

I've been listening to the ESPN talking heads all morning and the prevalent train of thought has been this, "if he was shaky against the very good Charger DL, it is going to be worse against the GREAT Texan pass rush". Then they highlight 58% completion %, 3 TO's and 16 points. On the surface this IS a perfectly logical position. However, this is one stat that has stuck with me that I haven't heard once this week that is, to me, a very telling one. 11-15 for 174. Those are Drakes 2nd half passing stats. And they are excellent numbers for any QB. For example if you take Brady's first half #'s of the Atlanta SB, there IS no statue in front of the stadium. I would opine that it's how you finish the game that matters and these mediots are pretty much ignoring what happened. I haven't heard this position from our guys, they have been much more supportive as a whole.

Just sayin'..

Think Drake basically figured it out by the second half and but for a couple of bad plays (missing Hooper in end zone - maybe wind impacted) and not eating a sack again, we would've put up 17 pts in the second half and won in even more of a laugher.

Texans will present a different challenge - not a mental one but a physical one, for the entire offense not just Drake. The key will be Josh's ability to get the Texans out of their standard D and force them to play out of their comfort zone. Drake and offense have to execute at a high level in order for that to work (as always). If we go big and still can't run on their nickel, we are in trouble.

 

[NFLmac]

All extremely crucial catches IIRC. McDaniels loves his lil shifty pass-catching backs against good pass defenses with aggressive rushers. You'd like to see more from receivers, however I'm not sure if they were going to be a focus point to begin with.

With this in mind, I could imagine shifty Chism being effective in game.

 

[ViperGTS]

Gonzo is gonna be out at practice.