Patriots Pregame Thread We're on to Cincinnati

[Thunderhead]

People "forgot" about Burrow because of how much time he misses due to injury. Bet it pisses him off seeing everyone talk about Maye possibly being the best QB in the NFL, Maye being ahead of him on best QB in the NFL lists, etc. Let's see if he can do anything about it Sunday. We shouldn't be surprised if Burrow balls out, even returning from injury and with a depleted team around him. Vets like to put youngins in their place across all sports. Burrow would love to be able to say, "yea, you're gonna be good one day kid, but this is my league for now".

I think Maye can go toe to toe with Burrow even at his best. Should be fun.

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

Cincy's running game isn't exactly a threat.

Chase Brown is their lead back. Don't know a lot about him but his numbers look half decent.

He was very good last year.
His production took a huge dip this year when Burrow went out.
He's better than his numbers this year, and will be effective with a healthy Burrow back.

 

[Huckleberry1]

Jets issues start at the top. The fact bad QB's leave and go on to be successful elsewhere shows that.

That's what happens when you don't develop players, and the fans are as much to blame as anyone else because they are the ones calling for players heads halfway through their rookie seasons. Truly stupid ****.

 

[WazzuWheatfarmer]

I think this is going to be a lot tougher game than a lot of people think. Burrow will be out to prove he’s still the man. Cincy is probably in desperation mode to salvage any sort of a season. Going to be a tough one, IMO.

 

[Zuma]

I think this is going to be a lot tougher game than a lot of people think. Burrow will be out to prove he’s still the man. Cincy is probably in desperation mode to salvage any sort of a season. Going to be a tough one, IMO.

Good points. Burrow will probably ball like you say but the fact remains…they are the worse defense in the NFL. It’s a Patriots win as long as we don’t take them lightly.

 

[Sect140]

I'd rather see burrow. Better game. Good for the D to play a good QB. And we will still win.

I agree, a better test for our defense.

 

[Joey007]

I agree, a better test for our defense.

I don’t care about a defensive test right now. Defense is without its best player not named Gonzo.

I’d rather it be as easy as possible for them until he’s healthy.

 

[signbabybrady]

 

[Vindicate]

Bengals Designate Mike Gesicki For Return

Bengals TE Mike Gesicki and S Daijahn Anthony have returned to practice. More at Pro Football Rumors.

www.profootballrumors.com

Gesicki being back could be a wrinkle to account for. He can match what used to be Boyd's production. TE duo with Gesicki & Fant is something our defense will have to rise to the occasion and limit their production.

 

[Give Kraft A Hand]

Huge game for the Pats since if they do pull this one out it’s more or less a 3 game lead in the division right now. With the Pats schedule and the way the Bills are playing that should seal the division.

 

[Give Kraft A Hand]

I think this is going to be a lot tougher game than a lot of people think. Burrow will be out to prove he’s still the man. Cincy is probably in desperation mode to salvage any sort of a season. Going to be a tough one, IMO.

I’d be more concerned if Flacco was playing to be honest due to the fact he’s been playing solid and he always lights this team up. However with Cincinnati it doesn’t matter if Burrow plays his best or not, this team has lost something like 4 games in the last 2 years where they’ve scored 40 points or more.

Defense wins games. Bengals have the worst in the league by far.

 

[Triumph]

Huge game for the Pats since if they do pull this one out it’s more or less a 3 game lead in the division right now. With the Pats schedule and the way the Bills are playing that should seal the division.

2 Billsdrive will crash.

Its on the brink now with the Bills losing and all it needs is for the Pats to play really well.

 

[Huckleberry1]

Does Vrabel get involved with FA's and trades. Or mainly Wolf? It feels like Vrabel reports directly to Kraft.

Wolf technically has final say, but Vrabel really has it. Wolf's job is to get the guys Vrabel wants, and to get them signed when Vrabel wants. Vrabel is in charge.

 

[Triumph]

Bengals Designate Mike Gesicki For Return

Bengals TE Mike Gesicki and S Daijahn Anthony have returned to practice. More at Pro Football Rumors.

www.profootballrumors.com

Gesicki being back could be a wrinkle to account for. He can match what used to be Boyd's production. TE duo with Gesicki & Fant is something our defense will have to rise to the occasion and limit their production.

Gesicki is 6' - 6". Wow, Gronk like target.

He had an OK 2024, but Chase literally blew up that offense. Chase being out really kicks the Bengals in the cajones.

Mike Gesicki Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Checkout the latest stats for Mike Gesicki. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, college, draft, and more on Pro-football-reference.com.

www.pro-football-reference.com

 

[KCSVEN]

Just watched Burrow vs Broncos last year. Reinforces my opinion that Burrow is good not great QB.
The Bengals scheme, playcalling and Higgins/Chase are all phenomenal. 90% of the passes were first read throws. When they aren't open then Burrow runs around, thus his always high sack numbers. He is not good at standing in the pocket and going to the next read. Fortunately for him, most of the time the first read is where he goes.

The vast majority of completions were guys open by 3-4 yards, if not then it's a back shoulder or high point ball to Chase and/or Higgins.
The Tight End does a little more damage than you would think especially when Burrow is QB. I'd stick Gonzo on Higgins as much as possible, if he's not on him then double him. Make someone else beat you.

Pats could have 5 sacks and 2 picks in this game if they frustrate Burrow by taking away his first read. Easier said than done especially with Chase but Chase isn't playing and having a shutdown corner matches up well with the Bengals offense minus Chase.

Bengals might have the worst defense in the NFL. They are terrible vs run and equally terrible vs pass. They drafted 2 defensive players in round 1 and 2 and they both suck. They could have had Jihaad Campbell.

Just a poorly run organization from a management perspective. Not trading Higgins at some point to bolster the defense was terrible. This is just a really bad team.

 

[Patsfan1645]

Burrow can be mistake prone. The defense will have their takeaway chances I think.

I remember Marcus Jones getting a pick 6 off him

I expect Burrow to look somewhat rusty and I also expect him to try to play hero ball because the weight of a franchise is on his shoulders and they cannot afford another L.

 

[Patsfan1645]

Henry, Hooper, and Dippre as TEs, Mack Hollins as WR and Henderson as RB. I’d see that as being very well suited to either passing or running. Especially if Dippre can catch.

He can. We should be able to give the Bengals a lot of problems because there is no one thing they can focus on to say if we do X we win the game. They are a team we should be able to run on, throw on deep and I expect the TEs to have a day as well. Then when they are so focused on all of that they have to deal with Drake taking off as well. Can they adjust every possession to what we are doing because I expect Josh to throw a lot of different looks at them.

 

[Clonamery]

Just watched Burrow vs Broncos last year. Reinforces my opinion that Burrow is good not great QB.
The Bengals scheme, playcalling and Higgins/Chase are all phenomenal. 90% of the passes were first read throws. When they aren't open then Burrow runs around, thus his always high sack numbers. He is not good at standing in the pocket and going to the next read. Fortunately for him, most of the time the first read is where he goes.

The vast majority of completions were guys open by 3-4 yards, if not then it's a back shoulder or high point ball to Chase and/or Higgins.
The Tight End does a little more damage than you would think especially when Burrow is QB. I'd stick Gonzo on Higgins as much as possible, if he's not on him then double him. Make someone else beat you.

Pats could have 5 sacks and 2 picks in this game if they frustrate Burrow by taking away his first read. Easier said than done especially with Chase but Chase isn't playing and having a shutdown corner matches up well with the Bengals offense minus Chase.

Bengals might have the worst defense in the NFL. They are terrible vs run and equally terrible vs pass. They drafted 2 defensive players in round 1 and 2 and they both suck. They could have had Jihaad Campbell.

Just a poorly run organization from a management perspective. Not trading Higgins at some point to bolster the defense was terrible. This is just a really bad team.

Exactly. They are 3-7 after all in a limited division.

The chicken littles are out in full force. 'You saw your shadow and his name is Joe Burrow. Bow to the great one who is also known as, Owmyleg!'

 

[upstater1]

I expect Burrow to look somewhat rusty and I also expect him to try to play hero ball because the weight of a franchise is on his shoulders and they cannot afford another L.

100% right, remember Brady coming back after his ACL or coming back from being suspended? He was pretty rusty. It's very hard to simulate NFL action when you haven't done it in awhile.

I expect the first half of the Bengals game to look out of sync.

He will be miles better than Flacco thought because QBs with AC joint problems can't throw the ball very well.

 

[Patsfan1645]

100% right, remember Brady coming back after his ACL or coming back from being suspended? He was pretty rusty. It's very hard to simulate NFL action when you haven't done it in awhile.

I expect the first half of the Bengals game to look out of sync.

He will be miles better than Flacco thought because QBs with AC joint problems can't throw the ball very well.

Totally agree. He is an upgrade over Flacco but its not enough for them to win. I think it comes down to the defenses and I dont believe they can go score for score with us. If we lose this game we should be able to look back and see some key plays in which the Pats did themselves in. I just dont see it happening and expect this to be the game that Maye finally gets 300+ passing yards.