Who are the Players to Watch? Patriots – Titans
🕑 Read Time: 11 minutes
Posted Under: Patriots Commentary
🕑 Read Time: 11 minutes
New England Patriots > Patriots Blog
The Patriots got back on the winning track last week with a very impressive 27-6 win over the Houston Texans. The Pats defense allowed only 189 with just 102 of those thru the air. They sacked Houston quarterbacks six times and the offense benefitted from the return of Rob Gronkowski. Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes and ran his NFL leading total to 33.
The Titans (3-10) are just playing out the string and for jobs at this point of the season. Last week after a 30-8 loss at the Jets, interim head coach Mike Mularkey openly questioned the desire of the team. They’ll be looking to have a much better performance on both sides of the ball this week.
We already broke down this game with our Key matchups breaking down the offensive, defensive and special team’s units for this week.
Now it is time for our players to watch for this week:
Duron Harmon: With Patriots safety Devin McCourty suffering from a high ankle sprain suffered against Houston, he’ll likely miss both this week and next week’s contest against the Jets.
The Patriots have been extremely solid on the back end of the defense since McCourty has moved back there a few seasons ago. His rock solid play as well as his communication have been among the best. His play is a big reason the Patriots secondary has had few of the problems envisioned for it this season.
Harmon will have to fill some very big shoes to fill this week. He’s been a solid performer in his own right since joining the Patriots, who can forget his huge interception of Joe Flacco in the AFC Divisional Round at the end of the game to seal the win?
The Patriots strength in the secondary is their play as a entire unit, each player has his own strengths that the team plays to. But how will Harmon do on his own without McCourty’s calming influence on the field? It is a question that will need answering and a key one to watch this week.
Key stat: Through the first 10 games Harmon allowed only one completion on four attempts for 9 yards while logging three interceptions and a pass defensed according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). In his career Harmon has seven picks while allowing only 13 receptions; those are some pretty impressive numbers. And he’ll need them because he’ll be responsible on the deep end for…
Dorial Green-Beckham: The Titans rookie wide receiver is a big (6’5, 237) target who is coming into his own under Mike Mularkey after a slow start to his career early this season.
He’s big, fast and talented and the Titans and QB Marcus Mariota are using him as their deep threat as his 17.3 yards per reception average plays out. Tennessee will want to hit some deep plays to stretch the field and hopefully get some quick scores and how well the Patriots defend Green-Beckham will go a long way in deciding this one.
Look for Tennessee to use him attacking the seam and using his big body to box out defenders. His 6’5 size is a big advantage to any of the NE corners covering him.
Key Stat: While Green-Beckham only has 24 catches on the season, he has 12 of them in the past four games as he’s finding his comfort zone within the offense. In the past three games he’s had at least one reception for 22+ yards.
Chandler Jones: The Patriots defensive line will have a lot of pressure placed on them this week. They’ll have to slow the Titans running game and force them into being one-dimensional in the passing game.
The edge rushers will have the double duty of bringing pressure on Marcus Mariota and keeping him contained in the pocket. That onus will fall on all of the edge rushers including Jones, Rob Ninkovich and Jabaal Sheard.
But Jones, who started off the season so well and was leading the league in sacks just a few weeks ago, has fallen off a cliff, numbers wise in the past month. Whether the drop-off is a result of injury (Jones was on the injury report with an abdominal issue), or just hitting the wall in the third quarter of the season remains to be seen.
The team will need Jones at his best once the post-season starts. He’s a very important piece of the puzzle of this very much improved front seven. We’ll be watching his play closely; he didn’t seem to be getting very low or with much push against Houston.
Key Stat: In the first 9 games, Jones logged 10 sacks, 15 QB hits and 9 tackles for loss (TFL). In the past four games, Jones has zero sacks, one QB hit and one TFL.
Delanie Walker: The Titans talented tight end played against New England while with the 49ers and is built more like a big WR than a tight end at 6’0, 245 pounds. He’s a matchup nightmare for the opposing defensive coordinators and Bill Belichick was effusive in his praise for Walker this week.
“He’s good at everything. He’s a really hard guy to match up on,” Belichick said during his Wednesday press conference. “You put the little guys on him and he’s too big. You put the big guys on him and his quickness, his route running ability, his length, they’re a problem. So it seems like whoever is covering him when you look at the tape you’re looking like that’s a mismatch. He’s not quick enough or he’s not big enough. There is nobody that really matches up very well against him. He’s an excellent technique player, sets up his routes well, has got good patience.”
“I can see why they throw it to him so much,” Belichick added. “It’s because he’s always open. Even when he’s covered he’s open because of his length and his ability to go up and timing on jump balls and his hands, catching the ball away from his body. He does a really good job. He’s a tough guy to match up on.”
Key Stat: Walker’s 74 catches are the most for any NFL tight end in 2015. His 871 yards are third in the league behind Gronk (1018), and Cleveland’s Gary Barnidge (901). He also has three touchdowns on the season.
Rob Gronkowski: The big Patriots tight end returned to action last week in Houston and although he didn’t play his normal complement of snaps on offense as the team eased him back into the lineup, he had a big effect.
Just having Gronkowski back on the field has a cumulative effect on the offense as a whole. He’s a force multiplier, he opens up big tracts of real estate for the other receivers to operate and with him drawing double teams much of the time, it often means other players are left in single coverage which is a win for the offense.
Watching film this week and in our keys we mentioned attacking the middle of the field with Gronkowski. The Titans have a dangerous habit of dropping deep in the center allowing a ton of room to operate, if they leave Gronkowski that kind of room, expect him to put up tremendous numbers.
Key Stat: Even at less than 100 percent Gronkowski last week put up good numbers; four catches for 87 yards and a touchdown in Houston. But Tom Brady’s numbers reflect his true worth. Brady’s passer rating for the season is 103.6. In the games that he’s been missing, Brady rating falls to 83.4 according to NESN’s Doug Kyed. With Gronk back in the lineup Sunday night? Brady’s passer rating was 116.8. Coincidence? Hardly. He is THE matchup nightmare for the Patriots.
Marcus Mariota: The talented rookie quarterback for the Titans is in the middle of an impressive first campaign despite their poor 3-10 record. While he still has a long way to go to be a top-tier NFL QB, the signs are there for him to have a productive career.
He’s completed 62.4 percent of his passes for 2786 yards with 19 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions so far in 2015. He’s had to a learn a different offense but has been good at staying in the pocket, as well as scrambling outside to make plays with his feet.
He’s the type of mobile QB that has given the Patriots trouble in the past. Russell Wilson made some big plays in the Super Bowl and Cam Newton back in 2013 had a big game running the football against the Patriots. Interestingly enough, if the Patriots make it back to Super Bowl L, they may face one of those two QBs, so this game will be a nice test for them.
Key Stat: Mariota became the first player since Walter Payton 32 years ago in 1983 to run for a 40-yard touchdown, pass for a 40-yard touchdown and catch a 40-yard touchdown. The #2 pick in this season’s NFL Draft is a viable candidate for this season’s Rookie of the Year
Stay tuned to PatsFans.com and we’ll have post-game analysis of the opener as well as transcripts from Bill Belichick’s press conference immediately after the game.
Follow me on Twitter @SteveB7SFG or email me at [email protected]
Listen to our Patriots 4th and 2 podcast on blog talk radio as the writers Russ Goldman, Derek Havens and I from PatsFans.com discuss the latest Patriots news Wednesdays at 12 noon.
The Patriots got back on the winning track last week with a very impressive 27-6 win over the Houston Texans. The Pats defense allowed only 189 with just 102 of those thru the air. They sacked Houston quarterbacks six times and the offense benefitted from the return of Rob Gronkowski. Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes and ran his NFL leading total to 33.
The Titans (3-10) are just playing out the string and for jobs at this point of the season. Last week after a 30-8 loss at the Jets, interim head coach Mike Mularkey openly questioned the desire of the team. They’ll be looking to have a much better performance on both sides of the ball this week.
We already broke down this game with our Key matchups breaking down the offensive, defensive and special team’s units for this week.
Now it is time for our players to watch for this week:
Duron Harmon: With Patriots safety Devin McCourty suffering from a high ankle sprain suffered against Houston, he’ll likely miss both this week and next week’s contest against the Jets.
The Patriots have been extremely solid on the back end of the defense since McCourty has moved back there a few seasons ago. His rock solid play as well as his communication have been among the best. His play is a big reason the Patriots secondary has had few of the problems envisioned for it this season.
Harmon will have to fill some very big shoes to fill this week. He’s been a solid performer in his own right since joining the Patriots, who can forget his huge interception of Joe Flacco in the AFC Divisional Round at the end of the game to seal the win?
The Patriots strength is their play as a whole, each player has his own strengths that the team plays to. But how will Harmon do on his own without McCourty’s calming influence on the field? It is a question that will need answering and a key one to watch this week.
Key stat: Through the first 10 games Harmon allowed only one completion on four attempts for 9 yards while logging three interceptions and a pass defensed according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). In his career Harmon has seven picks while allowing only 13 receptions; those are some pretty impressive numbers. And he’ll need them because he’ll be responsible on the deep end for…
Dorial Green-Beckham: The Titans rookie wide receiver is a big (6’5, 237) target who is coming into his own under Mike Mularkey after a slow start to his career early this season.
He’s big, fast and talented and the Titans and QB Marcus Mariota are using him as their deep threat as his 17.3 yards per reception average plays out. Tennessee will want to hit some deep plays to stretch the field and hopefully get some quick scores and how well the Patriots defend Green-Beckham will go a long way in deciding this one.
Look for Tennessee to use him attacking the seam and using his big body to box out defenders. His 6’5 size is a big advantage to any of the NE corners covering him.
Key Stat: While Green-Beckham only has 24 catches on the season, he has 12 of them in the past four games as he’s finding his comfort zone within the offense. In the past three games he’s had at least one reception for 22+ yards.
Chandler Jones: The Patriots defensive line will have a lot of pressure placed on them this week. They’ll have to slow the Titans running game and force them into being one-dimensional in the passing game.
The edge rushers will have the double duty of bringing pressure on Marcus Mariota and keeping him contained in the pocket. That onus will fall on all of the edge rushers including Jones, Rob Ninkovich and Jabaal Sheard.
But Jones, who started off the season so well and was leading the league in sacks just a few weeks ago, has fallen off a cliff, numbers wise in the past month. Whether the drop-off is a result of injury (Jones was on the injury report with an abdominal issue), or just hitting the wall in the third quarter of the season remains to be seen.
The team will need Jones at his best once the post-season starts. He’s a very important piece of the puzzle of this very much improved front seven. We’ll be watching his play closely; he didn’t seem to be getting very low or with much push against Houston.
Key Stat: In the first 9 games, Jones logged 10 sacks, 15 QB hits and 9 tackles for loss (TFL). In the past four games, Jones has zero sacks, one QB hit and one TFL.
Delanie Walker: The Titans talented tight end played against New England while with the 49ers and is built more like a big WR than a tight end at 6’0, 245 pounds. He’s a matchup nightmare for the opposing defensive coordinators and Bill Belichick was effusive in his praise for Walker this week.
“He’s good at everything. He’s a really hard guy to match up on,” Belichick said during his Wednesday press conference. “You put the little guys on him and he’s too big. You put the big guys on him and his quickness, his route running ability, his length, they’re a problem. So it seems like whoever is covering him when you look at the tape you’re looking like that’s a mismatch. He’s not quick enough or he’s not big enough. There is nobody that really matches up very well against him. He’s an excellent technique player, sets up his routes well, has got good patience.”
“I can see why they throw it to him so much,” Belichick added. “It’s because he’s always open. Even when he’s covered he’s open because of his length and his ability to go up and timing on jump balls and his hands, catching the ball away from his body. He does a really good job. He’s a tough guy to match up on.”
Key Stat: Walker’s 74 catches are the most for any NFL tight end in 2015. His 871 yards are third in the league behind Gronk (1018), and Cleveland’s Gary Barnidge (901). He also has three touchdowns on the season.
Rob Gronkowski: The big Patriots tight end returned to action last week in Houston and although he didn’t play his normal complement of snaps on offense as the team eased him back into the lineup, he had a big effect.
Just having Gronkowski back on the field has a cumulative effect on the offense as a whole. He’s a force multiplier, he opens up big tracts of real estate for the other receivers to operate and with him drawing double teams much of the time, it often means other players are left in single coverage which is a win for the offense.
Watching film this week and in our keys we mentioned attacking the middle of the field with Gronkowski. The Titans have a dangerous habit of dropping deep in the center allowing a ton of room to operate, if they leave Gronkowski that kind of room, expect him to put up tremendous numbers.
Key Stat: Even at less than 100 percent Gronkowski last week put up good numbers; four catches for 87 yards and a touchdown in Houston. But Tom Brady’s numbers reflect his true worth. Brady’s passer rating for the season is 103.6. In the games that he’s been missing, Brady rating falls to 83.4 according to NESN’s Doug Kyed. With Gronk back in the lineup Sunday night? Brady’s passer rating was 116.8. Coincidence? Hardly. He is THE matchup nightmare for the Patriots.
Marcus Mariota: The talented rookie quarterback for the Titans is in the middle of an impressive first campaign despite their poor 3-10 record. While he still has a long way to go to be a top-tier NFL QB, the signs are there for him to have a productive career.
He’s completed 62.4 percent of his passes for 2786 yards with 19 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions so far in 2015. He’s had to a learn a different offense but has been good at staying in the pocket, as well as scrambling outside to make plays with his feet.
He’s the type of mobile QB that has given the Patriots trouble in the past. Russell Wilson made some big plays in the Super Bowl and Cam Newton back in 2013 had a big game running the football against the Patriots. Interestingly enough, if the Patriots make it back to Super Bowl L, they may face one of those two QBs, so this game will be a nice test for them.
Key Stat: Mariota became the first player since Walter Payton 32 years ago in 1983 to run for a 40-yard touchdown, pass for a 40-yard touchdown and catch a 40-yard touchdown. The #2 pick in this season’s NFL Draft is a viable candidate for this season’s Rookie of the Year
Stay tuned to PatsFans.com and we’ll have post-game analysis of the opener as well as transcripts from Bill Belichick’s press conference immediately after the game.
Follow me on Twitter @SteveB7SFG or email me at [email protected]
Listen to our Patriots 4th and 2 podcast on blog talk radio as the writers Russ Goldman, Derek Havens and I from PatsFans.com discuss the latest Patriots news Wednesdays at 12 noon.
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