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

[Gumby]

FYSA: Ref info for game


I’ll have to go and look who they reffed this past weekend and if he ever did any Pats or Hou games this year.

9th most isn’t so bad I guess.
- - How many ref teams are there anyway? Do they need more than 16 for depth reasons?
9th most sounds kinda bad, but 9 of 16 is like exactly AVERAGE.

For what it’s worth : Houston journalism is CRAP. I took the quote from some Houston story.

Actual is that Shawn Smith as Referee has called 11th most out of 17 Referees. So slightly below average
With about a 55-45% weighting away team to home team calls. (For what that is worth)

 

[uknepatsfan]

Rams, Bucs, Jags, Seahawks, Broncos all beat the Texans.

Reading this is like we are playing the 85 Bears, 2000 Ravens or 2002 Bucs. I don’t think they are on that level. You can score points on them.

 

[Gumby]

For what it’s worth : Houston journalism is CRAP. I took the quote from some Houston story.

Actual is that Shawn Smith as Referee has called 11th most out of 17 Referees. So slightly below average
With about a 55-45% weighting away team to home team calls. (For what that is worth)

Further detail, Shawn Smith called the NE-Gints game (highlite in yellow),
no Houston games. [edit: Also did NOT work WC weekend.]

Very few penalties in our game. Mostly procedural (delay, false start etc). Only 1 pass type call ( an illegal contact on NYG).

Overall, I think we got a good ref draw. No telling what kind of GoToHell sycophants are buried in the ‘all-star’ crew though. So I’ll keep some skepticism til proof on the field.

 

[dannydyn]

Hope Houston shows up in letterman jackets.

 

[Triumph]

I recall early in the Brady era that Charlie Weiss would sometime break these tough defenses with 5 WR quick passing attack to negate the rush. Brady made that work and it usually gassed the D-line pretty good to open up the run game late. Curious if McDaniels will ever break that out again.

Exactly right.

By using the Spread Offense, the play was over before the defense could react. Brady would also try to pass the ball low to the ground so that the receiver wasnt hung out to dry which also limited the chance of INTs too. Aim to always be 2nd or 3rd and short so that the Pats have the option of taking deep shots on 2nd down, but NE can still pick up the 1st down via the run or pass on 3rd down.

It was 40 years ago, Dan Marino beat the tenacious 85 Bears defense on MNF with quick passing for the Bears only loss that season.

 

[Pape]

I don’t remember seeing a single screen called by McDaniels. I expect that to change against Houston, very aggressive front that wants to get upfield. I wonder if Josh held back against LA to open it up vs Houston.

Rham... rham and hendo on screens and check downs will be vital.. Rodgers flat out quit on his team last night and that's how a future HOF wants to go out.. embrasssing.. I'd also say you have to take away at least one of Hunter or Anderson.. so Anderson would be my pick. Double him and max protect everything else..

there was one screen to rham in the second half of the wild card game that hit big... a few chip and release right over the middle catches as well that worked well... we need to be uptempo/quick in this game... slot wr could be key running the edelman route tree...

edit: based on what toofy said, maybe not screens then

 

[Rob0729]

Some familiar faces coming to town. The Texans have several former Patriots:
Trent Brown, Braxton Berrios, Jake Andrews, Myles Bryant, Jakob Johnson, Sidy Sow

Jake Andrews is the only STARTER for them.
Myles Bryant saw over 350 defensive snaps for Houston in weeks 10-18, but only 14 in the WCG.

Don't forget former Patriots TE coach, Nick Caley, is their OC. Caley grew up as a coach under McDaniels. I wonder how that will factor into the game. How much can Caley give to the Texans about McDaniels and how much does McDaniels know about Caley that he can give to Vrabel?

 

[Toofy]

I saw Anderson moves and stunts . If he tries to attack Wilson I don't think Wilson has any chance.

Screens were virtually useless . They always have a spy at both ends for the screens and kill it behind the line of scrimmage resulting in loss of yards

We might need to do a lot of outside runs to start off with and sprinkle in gap runs up the middle ocassionally while getting ball out to diggs and Henry. I expect diggs, Henry to have a big day and Chism to be x factor when going gets tough .

We need turnover based points . So beat the heck out of stroud.

 

[Triumph]

 

[Triumph]

 

[patsinthesnow]

The Texans are not only the best defense in the NFL but one of the best in the past decade. They have the best pass rush duo in the NFL paired with arguably the best CB duo. They’d arguably be the #1 seed with better QB play.



One advantage the pats have in this game is they are a “we do what we do” defense. They blitz the least & disguise the least out of any defense in the NFL. Although he had the GOAT QB McDaniels has had success vs. elite defenses that didn’t change how they played significantly:

2012 pats vs. seahawks: 475 yards, 23 points
2014 pats vs. seahawks SB49: 377 yards, 28 points
2017 pats vs. jaguars AFCCG: 344 yards, 24 points
2017 pats vs. eagles SB52: 613 yards, 33 points

Maye will be prepared for how to attack the Texans defense. It’ll come down to the OL holding up for the pats to score in the mid-20s. Henry & the RBs have to be a part of the passing game and there will be chances to throw deep. It would be huge if Williams or Boutte could come down with one of them.

Should be a great game. Nico Collins not playing would be significant. The pats defense should continue their strong play this week.

 

[A Defiant Goose]

I recall early in the Brady era that Charlie Weiss would sometime break these tough defenses with 5 WR quick passing attack to negate the rush. Brady made that work and it usually gassed the D-line pretty good to open up the run game late. Curious if McDaniels will ever break that out again.

My thoughts exactly. Spread em out and a lot of hurry up offense really slows down a pass rush. If they keep it within a one score game in the third quarter that can really wear a defense down. Maye also needs to be patient and take the short stuff to make it work

 

[Patsfan1645]

In my opinion this game will be won or lost by the Pats based on two points. The first point is how will McDaniels schemes to deal with this front 7 not only early in the game but also after the half, no doubt adjustments will need to be made. The second point is Drake's time in the pocket. If he stays too long to often I expect he will turn the ball over at some point. This is a game in which a turnover could make the difference, we cant expect Stroud to give it back 5 times like he did with the Steelers. However, of those two considerations I am more concerned with what Josh does than Drake. I am certain Drake has been watching film on that defense and is well aware of the risks of bouncing around behind center.

 

[KDPPatsfan85]

Looks like Nico Collins has a concussion and will most likely not play on Sunday. We have a dome team coming to a cold Foxboro. Texans haven't faced an offense like ours in a long time. I am confident we win this game on Sunday!

 

[PatsFan2]

Except the ones they lost.

They haven't lost a Game in a while DeMeco Ryans have them dialed in. I think this Game will be our Toughest Test. I think the winner of this Game will represent the AFC in the SB.

 

[Thelonious]

There are so many different ways this could go. Houston's O is a weak point, and their D is a strength. I guess you begin there. Our offense is....what? It depends in part on whether the running game can sustain recent improvement and on whether the O-line can overcome recent lapses, mostly in pass protection. So we might win a "defensive struggle.' Their D is probably better than ours, but we have the obviously better QB, so maybe you get an offset there and win a grinder 13 to 6 or something. Or maybe, by a combination of throwing, to some extent deep, on the run (or running on the run) Drake can have enough of an offensive breakout (it shouldn't take much) simply to outscore the Texans, notwithstanding the strength of their D. Or maybe our running game will revert to mush, with Rhamondre resuming his 3-yards-a-carry, bobble-ball ways and Henderson wearing down at last, or the O-line will slide further into turnstile territory, leaving Drake with the quick, short passes which play to the strength of Houston's D (as we saw last night), and leaving him looking more like Rogers than himself. Maybe too our somewhat restored defense will shut down the Texans' dismal O and we will win history's first 2-0 playoff game.

My immediate impression, based on watching maybe 60% of that dreary fiasco last night, was that we couldn't possibly lose to either of the two offenses on display. But the potential monkey wrench is the Texan's D, who might just be nearly as good as they obviously think they are. It'd be really gratifying to bring them down a few pegs in their own self-esteem, so I'll probably pick us to win that 13-6 grinder, but I'm not gonna be real confident about it - more a hope than a prediction - which I guess is what happens in the playoffs, where every team in every game (except maybe for the Steleers) has a chance to win.

The "dream outcome" would be a brilliant breakout day for Drake, resulting in a blowout win, but I don't think we yet have the O-line for that. Our receiving corps is pretty middling as well, of course, but with Drake throwing the ball, that just hasn't seemed to matter.

 

[PatsFan2]

Running the ball.
Misdirection plays like the Pats used on the Browns.
Spread offense so Maye can get the ball out quick to the best matchup.
Screens of all varieties.
Some Wildcat.
Hurry up offense so that Houston cant get into a rhythm like last night.

We can't be Dropping any Footballs in key situations either. We have to try to wear that Defense Down.

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

The big thing is not to allow the Texans defense to score. It would help if they could get an early lead. I anticipate Josh running at high tempo to limit their subs and wear them out.

 

[PatsFan2]

There are so many different ways this could go. Houston's O is a weak point, and their D is a strength. I guess you begin there. Our offense is....what? It depends in part on whether the running game can sustain recent improvement and on whether the O-line can overcome recent lapses, mostly in pass protection. So we might win a "defensive struggle.' Their D is probably better than ours, but we have the obviously better QB, so maybe you get an offset there and win a grinder 13 to 6 or something. Or maybe, by a combination of throwing, to some extent deep, on the run (or running on the run) Drake can have enough of an offensive breakout (it shouldn't take much) simply to outscore the Texans, notwithstanding the strength of their D. Or maybe our running game will revert to mush, with Rhamondre resuming his 3-yards-a-carry, bobble-ball ways and Henderson wearing down at last, or the O-line will slide further into turnstile territory, leaving Drake with the quick, short passes which play to the strength of Houston's D (as we saw last night), and leaving him looking more like Rogers than himself. Maybe too our somewhat restored defense will shut down the Texans' dismal O and we will win history's first 2-0 playoff game.

My immediate impression, based on watching maybe 60% of that dreary fiasco last night, was that we couldn't possibly lose to either of the two offenses on display. But the potential monkey wrench is the Texan's D, who might just be nearly as good as they obviously think they are. It'd be really gratifying to bring them down a few pegs in their own self-esteem, so I'll probably pick us to win that 13-6 grinder, but I'm not gonna be real confident about it - more a hope than a prediction - which I guess is what happens in the playoffs, where every team in every game (except maybe for the Steleers) has a chance to win.

The "dream outcome" would be a brilliant breakout day for Drake, resulting in a blowout win, but I don't think we yet have the O-line for that. Our receiving corps is pretty middling as well, of course, but with Drake throwing the ball, that just hasn't seemed to matter.

I don't know if we can get deep on them: but if they are opportunities We Must capitalize.

 

[Pape]

Screens were virtually useless . They always have a spy at both ends for the screens and kill it behind the line of scrimmage resulting in loss of yards

interesting... ty for pointing that out...