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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019ll be looking to have a much better performance on both sides of the ball this week.<\/p>\n
We already broke down this game with our\u00a0Key matchups<\/a>\u00a0breaking down the offensive, defensive and special team\u2019s units for this week.<\/p>\n Now it is time for our players to watch for this week:<\/p>\n Duron Harmon:<\/strong>\u00a0 With Patriots safety Devin McCourty suffering from a high ankle sprain suffered against Houston, he\u2019ll likely miss both this week and next week\u2019s contest against the Jets.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Harmon will have to fill some very big shoes to fill this week. He\u2019s 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?<\/p>\n The Patriots strength in the secondary is their play as a entire unit,\u00a0each player has his own strengths that the team plays to. But how will Harmon do on his own without McCourty\u2019s calming influence on the field? It is a question that will need answering and a key one to watch this week.<\/p>\n Key stat:<\/em><\/strong> 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).\u00a0 In his career Harmon has seven picks while allowing only 13 receptions; those are some pretty impressive numbers. And he\u2019ll need them because he\u2019ll be responsible on the deep end for\u2026<\/p>\n Dorial Green-Beckham:<\/strong> The Titans rookie wide receiver is a big (6\u20195, 237) target who is coming into his own under Mike Mularkey after a slow start to his career early this season.<\/p>\n He\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Look for Tennessee to use him attacking the seam and using his big body to box out defenders. His 6\u20195 size is a big advantage to any of the NE corners covering him.<\/p>\n Key Stat:<\/em><\/strong> While Green-Beckham only has 24 catches on the season, he has 12 of them in the past four games as he\u2019s finding his comfort zone within the offense. In the past three games he\u2019s had at least one reception for 22+ yards.<\/p>\n Chandler Jones:<\/strong> The Patriots defensive line will have a lot of pressure placed on them this week. They\u2019ll have to slow the Titans running game and force them into being one-dimensional in the passing game.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The team will need Jones at his best once the post-season starts. He\u2019s a very important piece of the puzzle of this very much improved front seven. We\u2019ll be watching his play closely; he didn\u2019t seem to be getting very low or with much push against Houston.<\/p>\n Key Stat:<\/em><\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n Delanie Walker:<\/strong> 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\u20190, 245 pounds. He\u2019s a matchup nightmare for the opposing defensive coordinators and Bill Belichick was effusive in his praise for Walker this week.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s good at everything. He\u2019s a really hard guy to match up on,\u201d Belichick said during his Wednesday press conference. \u201cYou put the little guys on him and he\u2019s too big. You put the big guys on him and his quickness, his route running ability, his length, they\u2019re a problem. So it seems like whoever is covering him when you look at the tape you\u2019re looking like that\u2019s a mismatch. He\u2019s not quick enough or he\u2019s not big enough. There is nobody that really matches up very well against him. He\u2019s an excellent technique player, sets up his routes well, has got good patience.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI can see why they throw it to him so much,\u201d Belichick added. \u201cIt\u2019s because he\u2019s always open. Even when he\u2019s covered he\u2019s 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\u2019s a tough guy to match up on.\u201d<\/p>\n Key Stat:<\/em><\/strong> Walker\u2019s 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\u2019s Gary Barnidge (901). He also has three touchdowns on the season.<\/p>\n Rob Gronkowski: <\/strong>The big Patriots tight end returned to action last week in Houston and although he didn\u2019t play his normal complement of snaps on offense as the team eased him back into the lineup, he had a big effect.<\/p>\n Just having Gronkowski back on the field has a cumulative effect on the offense as a whole. He\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Key Stat:<\/em><\/strong> 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\u2019s numbers reflect his true worth. Brady\u2019s passer rating for the season is 103.6. In the games that he\u2019s been missing, Brady rating falls to 83.4 according to NESN\u2019s Doug Kyed. With Gronk back in the lineup Sunday night? Brady\u2019s passer rating was 116.8. Coincidence? Hardly. He is THE matchup nightmare for the Patriots.<\/p>\n Marcus Mariota:<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n He\u2019s completed 62.4 percent of his passes for 2786 yards with 19 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions so far in 2015. He\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n He\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Key Stat:<\/em><\/strong> 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\u2019s NFL Draft\u00a0 is a viable candidate for this season\u2019s Rookie of the Year<\/p>\n Stay tuned to PatsFans.com and we\u2019ll have post-game analysis of the opener as well as transcripts from Bill Belichick\u2019s press conference immediately after the game.<\/p>\n Follow me on Twitter\u00a0<\/em>@SteveB7SFG<\/em><\/a>\u00a0or email me at\u00a0<\/em>stevebpatsfans@gmail.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Listen to our\u00a0<\/em>Patriots 4th<\/sup>\u00a0and 2<\/em><\/a>\u00a0podcast on blog talk radio as the writers Russ Goldman, Derek Havens and I from\u00a0<\/em>PatsFans.com<\/em><\/a>\u00a0discuss the latest Patriots news Wednesdays at 12 noon.<\/em><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019ll be looking to have a much better performance on both sides of the ball this week.<\/p>\n We already broke down this game with our\u00a0Key matchups<\/a>\u00a0breaking down the offensive, defensive and special team\u2019s units for this week.<\/p>\n Now it is time for our players to watch for this week:<\/p>\n Duron Harmon:<\/strong>\u00a0 With Patriots safety Devin McCourty suffering from a high ankle sprain suffered against Houston, he\u2019ll likely miss both this week and next week\u2019s contest against the Jets.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Harmon will have to fill some very big shoes to fill this week. He\u2019s 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?<\/p>\n 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\u2019s calming influence on the field? It is a question that will need answering and a key one to watch this week.<\/p>\n Key stat:<\/em><\/strong> 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).\u00a0 In his career Harmon has seven picks while allowing only 13 receptions; those are some pretty impressive numbers. And he\u2019ll need them because he\u2019ll be responsible on the deep end for\u2026<\/p>\n Dorial Green-Beckham:<\/strong> The Titans rookie wide receiver is a big (6\u20195, 237) target who is coming into his own under Mike Mularkey after a slow start to his career early this season.<\/p>\n He\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Look for Tennessee to use him attacking the seam and using his big body to box out defenders. His 6\u20195 size is a big advantage to any of the NE corners covering him.<\/p>\n Key Stat:<\/em><\/strong> While Green-Beckham only has 24 catches on the season, he has 12 of them in the past four games as he\u2019s finding his comfort zone within the offense. In the past three games he\u2019s had at least one reception for 22+ yards.<\/p>\n Chandler Jones:<\/strong> The Patriots defensive line will have a lot of pressure placed on them this week. They\u2019ll have to slow the Titans running game and force them into being one-dimensional in the passing game.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The team will need Jones at his best once the post-season starts. He\u2019s a very important piece of the puzzle of this very much improved front seven. We\u2019ll be watching his play closely; he didn\u2019t seem to be getting very low or with much push against Houston.<\/p>\n Key Stat:<\/em><\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n Delanie Walker:<\/strong> 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\u20190, 245 pounds. He\u2019s a matchup nightmare for the opposing defensive coordinators and Bill Belichick was effusive in his praise for Walker this week.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s good at everything. He\u2019s a really hard guy to match up on,\u201d Belichick said during his Wednesday press conference. \u201cYou put the little guys on him and he\u2019s too big. You put the big guys on him and his quickness, his route running ability, his length, they\u2019re a problem. So it seems like whoever is covering him when you look at the tape you\u2019re looking like that\u2019s a mismatch. He\u2019s not quick enough or he\u2019s not big enough. There is nobody that really matches up very well against him. He\u2019s an excellent technique player, sets up his routes well, has got good patience.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI can see why they throw it to him so much,\u201d Belichick added. \u201cIt\u2019s because he\u2019s always open. Even when he\u2019s covered he\u2019s 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\u2019s a tough guy to match up on.\u201d<\/p>\n Key Stat:<\/em><\/strong> Walker\u2019s 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\u2019s Gary Barnidge (901). He also has three touchdowns on the season.<\/p>\n Rob Gronkowski: <\/strong>The big Patriots tight end returned to action last week in Houston and although he didn\u2019t play his normal complement of snaps on offense as the team eased him back into the lineup, he had a big effect.<\/p>\n Just having Gronkowski back on the field has a cumulative effect on the offense as a whole. He\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Key Stat:<\/em><\/strong> 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\u2019s numbers reflect his true worth. Brady\u2019s passer rating for the season is 103.6. In the games that he\u2019s been missing, Brady rating falls to 83.4 according to NESN\u2019s Doug Kyed. With Gronk back in the lineup Sunday night? Brady\u2019s passer rating was 116.8. Coincidence? Hardly. He is THE matchup nightmare for the Patriots.<\/p>\n Marcus Mariota:<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n He\u2019s completed 62.4 percent of his passes for 2786 yards with 19 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions so far in 2015. He\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n He\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Key Stat:<\/em><\/strong> 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\u2019s NFL Draft\u00a0 is a viable candidate for this season\u2019s Rookie of the Year<\/p>\n Stay tuned to PatsFans.com and we\u2019ll have post-game analysis of the opener as well as transcripts from Bill Belichick\u2019s press conference immediately after the game.<\/p>\n Follow me on Twitter\u00a0<\/em>@SteveB7SFG<\/em><\/a>\u00a0or email me at\u00a0<\/em>stevebpatsfans@gmail.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Listen to our\u00a0<\/em>Patriots 4th<\/sup>\u00a0and 2<\/em><\/a>\u00a0podcast on blog talk radio as the writers Russ Goldman, Derek Havens and I from\u00a0<\/em>PatsFans.com<\/em><\/a>\u00a0discuss the latest Patriots news Wednesdays at 12 noon.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Through the first 10 games Harmon allowed only one completion on four attempts for 9 yards while logging three interceptions and a pass defensed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":222,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,10],"tags":[185,34,37,18,688,121,702,353,17,15,685,684,44,70,8,38,248,117,326,13],"class_list":["post-3691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patriots-commentary","category-patriots-news","tag-2015-nfl-season","tag-bill-belichick","tag-chandler-jones","tag-danny-amendola","tag-delanie-walker","tag-devin-mccourty","tag-dorial-green-beckham","tag-duron-harmon","tag-julian-edelman","tag-malcolm-butler","tag-marcus-mariota","tag-mike-mularkey","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-nfl","tag-patriots","tag-patriots-edge-rushers","tag-predictions","tag-rob-gronkowski","tag-tennessee-titans","tag-tom-brady"],"yoast_head":"\n