Patriots – Texans, Key Matchups, Who Has the Razor’s Edge?
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Texans RBs vs NE Front Seven – Razor’s Edge New England
The Texans and head coach Bill O’Brien are using a true running back by committee since Arian Foster went down with a season-ending injury. Alfred Blue, Jonathan Grimes and Chris Polk are all sharing the load for the offense. Offensive coordinator and former Pats TE coach George Godsey has stated that Grimes and Polk will be used more down the stretch as they try to keep fresh legs in the game.
Houston hasn’t been running the ball as well as they want given the Foster injury at 100.1 yards per game. But they do run the occasional Wildcat, direct snap to the backs and the Jet sweep all in an effort to spring the running game into gear.
The Patriots run defense misses Dont’a Hightower in the running game but did get a boost with Jamie Collins returning last week. The front four have been very stout against the run, especially Alan Branch who’s been playing some of his best football in recent weeks. If Hightower can go Sunday, it will be a huge boost for the run defense.
Texans WRs vs NE Secondary- Razor’s Edge New England
Brian Hoyer has solidified things at QB for the Texans. Since they jettisoned Ryan Mallett, the offense has gotten steadily better each week. He’s thrown 18 touchdowns against just six interceptions and has a very good passer rating at 94.4.
His biggest target is their 3rd year WR DeAndre Hopkins. Hopkins, 6’1, 218, is rapidly becoming one of the more exciting players to watch. He’s caught 86 passes for 1169 yards for a excellent 13.6 yard average with 10 touchdowns. He’ll draw Malcolm Butler with over-the-top safety help. He’s been targeted 153 times this season, second only to Julio Jones of the Falcoms and has had five (5), 100-yard games this season.
Cecil Shorts III and Nate Washington are the other wideouts for Houston and they’re good complimentary players who can step up when needed. But the focus is on and should on slowing down Hopkins.
For the Patriots, the key this week is getting pressure on Hoyer something they did not do last week against Philadelphia. Edge rushers Chandler Jones, Rob Ninkovich and Jabaal Sheard will have to push the pocket and try to force some mistakes and getting Hoyer to get rid of the ball early.
One wildcard to watch is Texans tight end Ryan Griffin; the third year TE from UConn had a big game against the Bills last week. The Texans were hitting the seams and the soft spots in the zone with him and he could be an X-Factor this week.
Special Teams- Razor’s Edge New England
The Patriots still have one of the best special teams units in the league despite their struggles the past two weeks. The Pats boast an outstanding pair of kickers in Stephen Gostkowski and Ryan Allen. Allen has a 45.5 yard punting average with just two touchbacks on the year. Their coverage units are strong although the return game could use a shot in the arm.
The Texans special teams unit isn’t one of the team strengths; Nick Novak took over the kicking duties from Randy Bullock early in the season and has been good but did miss an extra point last week in Buffalo. Shane Lechler has an outstanding punting average of 47.0 yards per punt but their coverage units are only so-so. This is an area that the Patriots can get back on track this week…especially after the uncharacteristic breakdowns the past two weeks.
Next up, who wins and why…
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