Warning, football talk here: Your Gameplan

[BadMoFo]

I'd hope we get a lot of pressure on Rivers, he did not look good at all last week. Also, we have to punish his receivers, whoever they are. Their hands are iffy, and if they are afraid of getting hit, I'd expect to see a few dropped passes.

 

[sieglo]

We need to survive early intensity from the Chargers, who will be "jacked and pumped" for this one.

 

[1BoltFan Here4Fun]

It all comes down to first half execution. If the Patriots get the kickoff, march 75 yards down the field and score the first touchdown, if AD can limit Gates, and the rest of the squad keeps LT in check, we'll get an early lead and win handily.

Oh man is it sunday yet is it sunday yet is it sunday yet ist alsdsundayladuytla.d.adf.

I expect to see a lot of 4 and 5 WR sets. Welker is going to earn his pay in this one, and Watson needs to have a big, big game. Their secondary is where they are weak. I think you focus on 15-25 yard out patterns with Moss/Stallworth and work Welker underneath. The pass rush is going to be much better than the Jets' was.

It's going to be a very, very tough game.

good call. this is the best chance at keeping the chains moving. BTW, Troy Palomalu in Pittsburg had the best day against Gates. He chased him all over the field and hit Gates every chance he got - whether the play was to Gates or not.

Rivers is a slow starter. His emotions get him overly amped and he tends to over-throw early. By the time the 3rd and 4th quarter hits, he's all business and knows what to do with the ball. The Chargers aren't likely to give up an early lead IF they get it.

Maybe I'm hung over from the playoff game and the anticipation for the Bear's game, but I don't think this game is going to feature the crazy intensity of last weeks game. That was a slug fest. I can't wait to see if the Pats are as good as they looked last week. Indy's got the pieces in place for getting the most out of Dungy's defense this year. That's scary.

 

[Grizzafted]

I think the game plan is to score early through the air and force Rivers to throw the football. If our front seven plays LT like the Bears did this week, you're f*cked. Your wideouts aren't going to beat our secondary and the pass rush will kill you. If LT goes crazy and has 75 yards rushing and 40 recieving at the half, we're in trouble. I think if the game hangs around and stays close the Pats will probably lose, but if they can rack up a 14 point lead at halftime and start keying on Rivers it'll be a done deal.

Can't wait to see how it works out!

 

[Grizzafted]

I think it's important to play smart, too. This could be an injury fest. In fact, I have a horrible feeling it will be, for both teams.

LT is going to get the ball, and so is Gates. The Chargers are a throwback team, they'll let you know what they're doing. If you can stop one or both, game over.

 

[Fencer]

My defensive gameplan is to have AD shadow LT all day. Whether he's rusher, receiver, passer -- AD should be after him. Otherwise, double-team Gates in routine fashion and generally play a "vanilla" 3-3-4.

On offense -- hmm. Moss and Welker are the receivers who can get open fastest, so I might feature them and have everybody else be guys who can block.

Or I might dare them to cover Moss and Stallworth, and put the more demands on my blockers. I don't know.

 

[tssd888]

as a Charger fan, I can only hope that Patriot players are even just 1% as distracted by all this as the Pats fans.

I do agree that Adalius has as good a skills as anyone in trying to shutdown Gates. I don't believe he can do it by himself so the question is two fold.....how much more do the Pats have to commit to stopping Gates and will the Chargers be able to recognize other opportunities and openings if the Pats overload on Gates?

 

[WaBoltsFan]

I'd hope we get a lot of pressure on Rivers, he did not look good at all last week. Also, we have to punish his receivers, whoever they are. Their hands are iffy, and if they are afraid of getting hit, I'd expect to see a few dropped passes.

I think you're going to be surprised this week to find that gates isn't going to be the #1 receiver this week. I think NE will do a good job taking him out of the game. But SD has some good receivers, and at least a couple of them aren't afraid of getting hit.

 

[makoute]

I think you're going to be surprised this week to find that gates isn't going to be the #1 receiver this week. I think NE will do a good job taking him out of the game. But SD has some good receivers, and at least a couple of them aren't afraid of getting hit.

The Chargers wide receiver are decent. Why would they worry about catching the ball, when they should worry about dropping passes...

 

[TomBrady'sGoat]

as a Charger fan, I can only hope that Patriot players are even just 1% as distracted by all this as the Pats fans.

Thankfully that's one of the hallmarks of this organization. They don't let the players get caught up in or deal with the distractions.

I think you're going to be surprised this week to find that gates isn't going to be the #1 receiver this week. I think NE will do a good job taking him out of the game. But SD has some good receivers, and at least a couple of them aren't afraid of getting hit.

No they don't. SD has a great RB and TE, and a good QB. Their receivers blow, though (after last year NE fans are familiar with bad receivers).