{"id":55852,"date":"2024-09-29T06:00:35","date_gmt":"2024-09-29T10:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=55852"},"modified":"2024-09-28T09:18:24","modified_gmt":"2024-09-28T13:18:24","slug":"patriots-news-9-29-players-to-watch-against-sf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2024\/09\/29\/patriots-news-9-29-players-to-watch-against-sf\/","title":{"rendered":"Patriots News 9-29, Players To Watch Against SF"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Good morning. Here are your Patriots news and notes for September 29. The Patriots will head to San Francisco without three players, including starting left tackle Vederian Lowe, LG Michael Jordan, and CB Alex Austin.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Among the four players listed as questionable, starting LG Sidy Sow may return this week after being injured in the preseason finale. T Caedan Wallace, LB Anfernee Jennings, and CB Jonathan Jones are also questionable.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brock Purdy and George Kittle were removed from the injury report for the 49ers. WR Deebo Samuel and LT Trent Williams are listed as questionable.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Quick Hitters For the Patriots and NFL News:\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>Jacoby Brissett: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Patriots\u2019 starting quarterback was asked about facing adversity and dealing with it. And his response was telling.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I think over these last three days, I think for one of the more times in my career, I actually reflected on a lot of situations and times that I&#8217;ve been in my career. Only playing, not playing, different seasons of how things have gone. I think over these last couple of days, I really reflected. It puts a lot of things in perspective from a holistic viewpoint but also from a day-to-day. It was funny that I actually did reflect. I&#8217;m not BS-ing, but I actually did reflect.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cYou talk about getting hit. In my first year in Indy [Indianapolis], I got hit a lot. But you still keep getting up. Just that aspect. Plays and situational parts in the game, plays that I like and plays that I don&#8217;t like. You go to watch plays that played off a certain play. The league is kind of in a cycle, you know what I mean? These plays were working 25 years ago; we were all running the same plays. Just being able to look back on certain plays and certain situations as far as situational football and seasons of NFL life, just stuff like that.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><b>George Kittle<\/b><b>: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This week, the 49ers&#8217; outstanding tight end was asked about facing the Patriots&#8217; defense and what stands out to him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI think they\u2019re incredibly sound in what they do,\u201d he said. \u201cYou just watch the tape, and they do the same thing every single time, they\u2019re incredibly well-coached\u2026 They give you a whole bunch of funky looks, maybe not as much as Minnesota, but they do a lot of similar stuff and try to confuse you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThey play with three safeties a lot, and those guys are all pretty damned good,\u201d he added. \u201cThey have a new coach with a really fun vibe over there.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Rhamondre Stevenson: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Patriots\u2019 top running back has been facing stacked boxes with eight or more men lined up for all three games this season. Stevenson has faced stacked boxes on 27 percent of his runs thus far, the seventh most in the NFL.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, as <\/span><b>Phil Perry<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of NBC Sports Boston wrote earlier this week, San Francisco may not decide to face him this way. According to Next Gen Stats, the 49ers allow 5.5 yards per carry and a 69 percent success rate (second-highest in the league) when they have eight or more defenders in the box. Things that make you go, hmm.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Patriots 4th &amp; 2 Podcast:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> This week, Derek Havens and I wrapped up the Jets game, broke down the matchup with the 49ers, and gave our predictions for the game and the Monday Night games. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=DQauL7NFR8c\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Please check it out<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Russ Francis\/Chuck Fairbanks:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The former Patriot tight end and head coach should be in the Patriots team Hall of Fame, and the fact that Francis isn\u2019t in is an absolute travesty. Francis and the Raiders\u2019 Dave Casper changed how teams used the tight end position. This will be discussed in our Sunday posts until it happens. Casper is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Francis\u2019 numbers stand up well against Casper\u2019s, yet he isn\u2019t even in the team\u2019s HOF.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Area 51 News: Patriots Players To Watch Against SF <\/b><b>\u2014<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Patriots <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">have a very tough task this afternoon against the 49ers. They must slow down a potent offense that is starting to get healthy. TE George Kittle will return this week, and Deebo Samuel may do so as well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Niners&#8217; defense also presents some issues against a Patriots&#8217; offense that is currently 31st in points scored and dead last in yards. The Patriots must be able to run the ball to have any chance of sparking an upset.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But let\u2019s not forget that the Niners are 1-2, as is New England. They\u2019ve also made their share of mistakes. They\u2019re not unbeatable, but they have a much better team on paper. But the games are played on the field. So there is always a chance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are our Patriots Players to Watch this afternoon if the Patriots are to win today.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Hunter Henry:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The passing game has been pretty pathetic through the first three games. And the offensive line has to hold up much better. But Henry is a matchup against LB De\u2019Vondre Campbell, and that is one they can win.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Campbell has been filling in for Dre Greenlaw and, thus far, has been a liability in coverage. Campbell has allowed 14 receptions on 16 targets for 149 yards and one touchdown. He was also called for a 25-yard pass-interference penalty that put the Rams into position for the game-winning field goal last week.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Matching Henry on Campbell while attacking the seam should be a win for Henry. The passing game doesn\u2019t have to be prolific, just okay enough to keep the chains moving and support the running game. More below.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Inside Linebackers:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> With Ja\u2019Whaun Bentley out, Jahlani Tavai and Raekwon McMillan struggled against the Jets. But this week, against a 49ers team that is athletic and calls the outside zone stretch runs, they\u2019ll need the speed and athleticism to cover these without overcommitting and be liable to cut back runs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It won\u2019t be an easy task. Even without Christian McCaffery, Jordan Mason has rushed for 324 yards in the first three games. Getting him going puts the Niners in third and manageable situations. The Patriots defense has to stop that. While the entire front seven will be involved, the off-the-ball backers must be on top of their game.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Demario Douglas:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The Patriots&#8217; diminutive but speedy wide receiver should continue to see an uptick in his usage. Granted, most of his yardage last week came later in the game, but it was good that the team is finally getting him involved.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He has that quickness off the line that allows him to get open quickly. He can also work the short crossers and quick slants that will allow Jacoby Brissett to get him the ball quickly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Christian Gonzalez:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The Patriots&#8217; second-year cornerback has been used differently than the team\u2019s top corners of the past. Gonzalez has matched up with opponents\u2019 top wide receiver in his short, seven-game career. In the past, they would leave their top corner on an island against a team\u2019s #2 wide receiver and double that team\u2019s #1.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, who will he cover this week? Based on his usage so far, that would be Brandon Aiyuk. But that would leave smaller corners, Jon Jones (5\u20199) and Marcus Jones (5\u20198) to cover Jauan Jennings (6\u20193). Jennings tore up the Rams last week (11 catches, 175 yards TD). I imagine the team will elevate <\/span><b>CB Isaiah Bolden <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">from the PS this week, especially with Alex Austin out.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I think the Patriots will opt for a Gonzalez &#8211; Jennings matchup and roll with one of the Jones on Aiyuk, who has been off to a slow start this season. However, if Deebo Samuel is active this week, that could change everything.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The Offensive Line:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Besides struggling mightily in the season&#8217;s first three weeks, the Patriots offensive line is now banged up. Vederian Lowe, the team\u2019s starting left tackle, and LG Michael Jordan have been ruled out. Caedan Wallace was banged up last week but may play today.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The good news is that Sidy Sow has been practicing this week and could make his return to the starting lineup at left guard. If Sow can start today, it will mark the fourth starting OL combination this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Regardless of who plays where, the OL has to be much better than it has been this season. Brissett has been hammered, which prevents him from working through his progressions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Parting Shots:<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The calls that the Buffalo Bills would fall backward this year have been premature. The Bills are off to a 3-0 start, and Josh Allen has been absolutely on fire. Allen has been completing 75 percent of his throws, has seven touchdown passes no interceptions, and leads the NFL with a 133.7 passer rating. He also has rushed for two touchdowns.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Buffalo faces the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football. The Ravens are currently 1-2 and don\u2019t want to fall far from the AFC leaders, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Kansas City, who are all 3-0. The Ravens nearly blew a 22-point lead in Dallas last week before holding on for the win. It has been surprising, to say the least, that Justin Tucker has missed field goals in three straight games.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last week, Baltimore rode a 274-yard running game, spearheaded by Derrick Henry\u2019s 151-yard performance. They\u2019ll try to pound the ball against a banged-up Bills\u2019 defense in the middle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">**One stat of note:*<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The Ravens, under John Harbaugh, are 20-3 in primetime games. This should be a fun game to watch.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Miami Dolphins have another quarterback issue. First, Tua Tagoviola was injured again with a concussion. His replacement, Skylar Thompson, was ineffective and injured himself last week. Tim Boyle was brought in, and he, too, was ineffective.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With Thompson limited this week in practice, it looks like Miami will start Tyler Huntley against the Titans. Huntley was plucked off the Ravens\u2019 practice squad two weeks ago and hasn\u2019t fully learned the Dolphins\u2019 complicated offensive schemes. However, look for Mike McDaniel to simplify things and attempt to establish the running game, where Huntley is also effective.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">______________\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Week 4 Predictions:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Thursday Night Football:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Dallas<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over NYG <\/span><b>1-0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Sunday, September 29:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Atlanta <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">over New Orleans<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>Green Bay<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over Minnesota<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>Chicago<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over LA Rams<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>Pittsburgh<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over Indianapolis<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>NYJ<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over Denver<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>Philadelphia <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">over Tampa Bay<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>Cincinnati <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">over Carolina<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>Houston<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over Jacksonville<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>Washington<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over Arizona<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>Cleveland <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">over Las Vegas<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>San Francisco <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">over New England<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>Kansas City<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over LA Chargers<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Sunday Night Football:<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><b>Baltimore<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over Buffalo<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Monday Night Football: <\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><b>Tennessee<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over Miami<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>Detroit<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over Seattle<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Last week: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 9\u20147<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>2024 Season<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><b>30\u201418<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>2023 Season\u00a0 \u00a0 178\u201494\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>2022 Season: \u00a0 178\u201492\u20142<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>2021 Season: \u00a0 183\u201488\u20141<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>2020 Season: \u00a0 169\u201486\u20141\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>2019 Season: \u00a0 162\u201493\u20141<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">______________<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For the Niners, which you really don&#8217;t see a lot of 21-personnel teams, but they have an outstanding fullback. I would say it&#8217;s more about bodies with this team more than space.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cSo, everyone&#8217;s in there tight, but now they start to move the bodies. Going back to the matching troops for troops, you have to match those troops. So, even on the post-snap stuff, that&#8217;s why you build it over here, now everyone&#8217;s moving. But if they pull a guy back here post-snap, they&#8217;ve added now an extra person. I mean, it&#8217;s a lot. We should watch film. We&#8217;ll watch film.<\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo after he was asked about the 49ers\u2019 use of motion on nearly every play and how to combat it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">_______________<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cTalent sets the floor; Character sets the ceiling.\u201d Bill Belichick<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Follow me on Twitter @SteveB7SFG or email me at<\/span><\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/patspub.patsfans.com\/stevebpatsfans@gmail.com\"> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">stevebpatsfans@gmail.com<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Listen to our<\/span><\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.blogtalkradio.com\/patriotsfourthandtwo\"> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Patriots 4th and 2<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> podcasts on Apple and YouTube as Russ Goldman, Derek Havens, and myself from<\/span><\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/\"> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PatsFans.com<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> discuss the latest Patriots news and game analysis<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> \u201cYou talk about getting hit. In my first year in Indy [Indianapolis], I got hit a lot. But you still keep getting up.&#8221; &#8211; Jacoby Brissett<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":55760,"comment_status":"open","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":[23494,23606,11,274,23321],"tags":[22227,23615,23269,1947,23280,1442,1604,1026,22806,23617,23616,44,23204,1872,22588,468],"class_list":["post-55852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-england-patriots","category-patriots-2024-regular-season","category-patriots-commentary","category-patriots-film-room","category-san-francisco-49ers","tag-brandon-aiyuk","tag-brock-purdy","tag-christian-gonzalez","tag-deebo-samuel","tag-demario-douglas","tag-george-kittle","tag-hunter-henry","tag-jacoby-brissett","tag-jahlani-tavai","tag-jauan-jennings","tag-jordan-mason","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-nick-bosa","tag-raekwon-mcmillan","tag-rhamondre-stevenson","tag-san-francisco-49ers"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Patriots News 9-29, Players To Watch Against SF<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cYou talk about getting hit. In my first year in Indy [Indianapolis], I got hit a lot. But you still keep getting up.&quot; - Jacoby Brissett\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2024\/09\/29\/patriots-news-9-29-players-to-watch-against-sf\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Patriots News 9-29, Players To Watch Against SF | PatsFans.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cYou talk about getting hit. In my first year in Indy [Indianapolis], I got hit a lot. 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