Allstarjim Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 By yardage, the Patriots are 31st in the NFL in defense. They are last in the NFL vs the pass by a large margin. They are allowing 323 yards/game against the pass. The Packers are the 2nd worst with 288 passing yards/game. The Pats have given up 2262 yards passing in only 7 games. They allow 101 yards/game rushing, which is 9th best in the NFL. They are 17th in points allowed, at 22.9. The Giants are worse, at 24th in the NFL allowing 23.4. Their defense is exploitable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hlb37 Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Absolutely. i also think we can try to emulate the Steelers' approach on D. Tight physical bump and run on the wr corps with a strong 4 man rush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmenroc Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Inevitably, we'll play to their level like we do most our opponents. Potential is there for a W, but potential is there for a L too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gman329 Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 We certainly have the personnel to pressure Brady and get him uncomfortable back there but not sure we have the other part of the equation - quality depth at DB, to play tight, physical bump & run coverage across the board when they go into 3 and 4 WR sets. AND, we can't just rush recklessly - Pats know we've been getting gashed on the run and they'll look to test us there, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Treehugger Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Let's hope Nicks is good to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMFP Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 If Fewell trots out his 1st Half "Comfy Pillow" defense, we are fucked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steitzenhaus Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 I'm trying to figure out how the Giants are going to stop Welker. If Prince is able to play this week I can't see them putting him in the nickel against the best slot receiver in all of football. We already know Rolle isn't going to be up for the task. Could be a long day in terms of that matchup. Hernandez and Gronkowski are a big problem too. I have no worries about the offense moving the ball though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allstarjim Posted November 1, 2011 Author Share Posted November 1, 2011 Tree - early reports are that Nicks is going to be good for Sunday. RunIt - Webster has matched up the opponent's best receiver every week. This week it's Welker but it's a little different, isn't it? Usually Webby plays on the outside, so I don't know what they are going to do. I'm guessing Webby will play man on Welker and try to shut him down. The real mismatch is with Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski. They have to have a plan against those two guys. I think Rolle or Phillips will have to take Hernandez. Gronkowski it will probably be Boley. I hope they play man on man, but with these matchups we may be looking at a lot of zone on Sunday. It doesn't matter how you defend, though, Brady will kill you if you don't pressure him early and often. I hope Fewell is really breaking down the tape of that Pittsburgh game. One thing about their defense... last week they released Leigh Bodden, a guy that used to start for them. Then this past week they lost Ras-I Dowling for the season. They are now thin at CB after McCourtey and Kyle Arrington. Jerrod Mayo has also been banged up. We need to see the three wide set a lot this week and let Eli let it fly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steitzenhaus Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Tree - early reports are that Nicks is going to be good for Sunday. RunIt - Webster has matched up the opponent's best receiver every week. This week it's Welker but it's a little different, isn't it? Usually Webby plays on the outside, so I don't know what they are going to do. I'm guessing Webby will play man on Welker and try to shut him down. The real mismatch is with Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski. They have to have a plan against those two guys. I think Rolle or Phillips will have to take Hernandez. Gronkowski it will probably be Boley. I hope they play man on man, but with these matchups we may be looking at a lot of zone on Sunday. It doesn't matter how you defend, though, Brady will kill you if you don't pressure him early and often. I hope Fewell is really breaking down the tape of that Pittsburgh game. One thing about their defense... last week they released Leigh Bodden, a guy that used to start for them. Then this past week they lost Ras-I Dowling for the season. They are now thin at CB after McCourtey and Kyle Arrington. Jerrod Mayo has also been banged up. We need to see the three wide set a lot this week and let Eli let it fly. I hope they put Webster on Welker, slot be damned. Corey has played so well this year he deserves that assignment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightFire Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 If Fewell trots out his 1st Half "Comfy Pillow" defense, we are fucked. I was actually going to start a thread on this. It seems like Fewell likes a bend but don't break to lure the O. Then he goes more aggressive when it matters. I think against Patriots though it would be a stupid idea because they will score too many points too fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Treehugger Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Career day for the Law Firm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMFP Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Career day for the Law Firm. No doubt....he's starting on my fantasy team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMFP Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 I was actually going to start a thread on this. It seems like Fewell likes a bend but don't break to lure the O. Then he goes more aggressive when it matters. I think against Patriots though it would be a stupid idea because they will score too many points too fast. No doubt. If he thinks Brady is going to have an issue with zone, he's fucking nuts. Crazy to say this, but we'll need a shoot out to win this one....our pass rush is much better than the Patriots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allstarjim Posted November 1, 2011 Author Share Posted November 1, 2011 This is going to have to be 48 minutes of physical football with a real commitment to being the tougher, more disciplined, and better executing team. And it's going to take everyone. And you are right, Joe, I think this is a game that Eli needs to have a mindset that he's going toe to toe with Brady, and see how many points he can put on the scoreboard in 4 quarters. No possession wasted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sephiroth Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 If Fewell trots out his 1st Half "Comfy Pillow" defense, we are fucked. i am ripping off the "comfy pillow" name and pretending that it's mine for the rest of the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allstarjim Posted November 2, 2011 Author Share Posted November 2, 2011 So I watched the Patriots-Steelers game (had it DVR'ed), and here's what I noticed: The Steelers played their safeties up in the box A LOT. They were giving Brady the deep ball. Many times it was completely one on one on the outside and daring Brady to beat them deep. Brady rarely tried, and when he finally did, late in the game, he failed miserably. I think this is a serious flaw with the Pats offense... They don't have a credible deep threat. Welker really isn't that guy, as he's not going to outjump or outphysical a corner for the ball. Branch isn't either, as he's a possession receiver without the wheels to get past the corners. Ocho should be that guy but he just looks like he may not have it anymore. Another thing I noticed is Brady was holding onto the ball too long. Steelers did a good job of in coverage and played man to man, leading to some coverage sack and pressures. With Welker, they would give him an initial release but then get their hands on him as he was about to make his first cut. It really disrupted the timing and Welker's impact was severely reduced. Brady had the most success going to Hernandez and Gronkowski, guys that were more apt to win the one on one matchups, but even then the pressure brought disrupted throws and he rarely got the ball to them where they could get some YAC. I really think the way to attack the Patriots offense is to copy this defense. Man to man, physical on Welker, limit Hernandez and Gronkowski, to short gainers, and mix up some blitzes on Brady. Fewell needs to stay away from the Tampa 2 in this one. On the other side, Patriots really worked the middle of the field. Miller had something like 6 catches in the first two possessions. Roethlisberger also went to his running backs in the passing game later in the game with good success. The Steelers used the short passing game for ball control. Yes, they ran the ball as well, but it was more like they were passing to set up the run than vice versa. There seems to be a void in the middle of the defense for the Patriots. Their strength is in the interior linemen, and while they have some good run defenders at linebacker like Spikes, they are liabilities in pass defense. The safety play is nothing to right home about. Also, on the outside the corners were giving a pretty good cushion to Brown and Wallace. This can be a big game for Cruz and Ballard. I expect some big plays in the middle of the field, and hopefully, we can hurt them with the deep ball if they start cheating up the middle. We should be able to move the ball well against this team and take a lot of time off the clock. I'm not scared of that defense at all and Eli should be able to shred them over the middle and in the screen game if they blitz, they don't have good change of direction guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Treehugger Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 This is going to have to be 48 minutes of physical football with a real commitment to being the tougher, more disciplined, and better executing team. And it's going to take everyone. And you are right, Joe, I think this is a game that Eli needs to have a mindset that he's going toe to toe with Brady, and see how many points he can put on the scoreboard in 4 quarters. No possession wasted. What will the other 12 minutes be like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allstarjim Posted November 2, 2011 Author Share Posted November 2, 2011 Could catch Tree. I was merely testing you guys to see if you were paying attention! I think I got my basketball references mixed up with my football references! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nas Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 What will the other 12 minutes be like? I was thinking the same thing... . I just didn't wanna say anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JAKKSTROUD Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I would not count on the Patriots having the 11 stooges out there on D Their D is poorly rated for the same reason ours is...........we both score a lot and dont use a lot of the clock thus the opponents have a lot of time and yardage even though we and they usually win I've seen them play a few times this year........thier D is not terrible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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