I'm not sure that we need to establish the run so much. The best running plays we had were off of draws. I say we come out with a 3 WR/Single Back formation, use the quick slants and outs to get them into the nickle and then use the draw to get off a few decent runs. We're not a smashmouth running team. Our rookies are much better at pass protection (did you see Brick pancake #91 over and over? Mangold did a pretty good job against Haynesworth in the double-team) and we should use that. Here are the keys to our offense: 1. Establish the short passing game. This means we take what the Pats give us underneath and get the 6-7 yeards at a time. With Chad's accuracy, we should be able to get a few first downs at the beginning. I think our WRs are better than their DBs 2. Run some draws off shotgun as this plays to Barlows strengths (vision and cutting ability) as opposed to a lot of the inside runs we were trying to get off. We can even mix up Brad Smith on the counter (fake-pitch, etc) and get some yards that way. This minimizes the effectiveness of their pass-rush (their DL is better against the run than our OL) 3. When the Patriots defense gets lax, send Coles down field. He seriously could have had 2 clean TD's last week. Keys for Defense: 1. Odd to say this, but make Tom Brady beat us. Maroney is a good back and they have a pretty good running game. We need to put 8 in the box and make Tom throw to his wide receivers. The one advantage we have on defense is our secondary vs. their WR's. Tom Brady is very good, but if they establish the run, we're in for a long day and he'll be even more dangerous. 2. Kill the TE. NE plays a lot of 2 TE sets and usually send one down the middle on pass plays. Hobson needs to clobber Watson every down. Tire him out on the runs and throw off his timing on the pass. If we force a lot of passing, this is the one potential killer and having a tired, battered TE will help us enormously. 3. Send some creative blitzes. If all goes according to plan, we'll have the Pats in pass-mode and that means we need to get some pressure on Brady. Thomas needs a huge game. I loved the variety of blitzes that were called against Tenessee. I saw 5, 6, sometimes 7 guys come in against Collins and at other times, saw 3 with 8 dropping back. We need to disguise these blitzes well so that we force Brady into a few mistakes.
Ha! I think its weird when other "Fans" come on here... do you guys go to Patriots websites??? No.... ats_suck: ats_suck: ats_suck: ats_suck:
I would say: Pats: 13 Jets: 6 I think the Jets will keep it close and be "in" the whole game but not be able to put up the points needed to win.
We can afford to send a lot of pressure on Brady, and I hope we do. Caldwell, Jackson, and Brown is a terrible WR corps. Gabriel isn't bad, but he doesn't know the offense and didn't play last week. Miller, Barrett, and Dyson is a decent set of corners and we should stop the WRs fairly easily. Benjamin Watson is a difficult matchup, though. We did a decent job on Troupe last week, but Watson is better and more athletic. On offense, he is what matters. I'm still not entirely sold on Maroney, but in small doses, he looks great with Dillon.
My prediction was damned close in the last game, so I'll see if I can stay on a streak. I think I predicted 27-17 and the final was 23-16. This is very difficult and requires a lot of concentration on my crystal ball, but I'll give it my best. I see Nugent having a terrific day. In fact, I see him kicking flawlessly on the smooth astroturf on a warm, sunny, windless afternoon. He kicks 5 FG's, most of which are straight down the middle. I see Chad Pennington completing many short passes, with Chris Baker kicking ass and Jerico Cotchery having an absolutely break-out game. Washington breaks one for a TD and Brad Smith is doing some really unpredictable things. I see Tom Brady having difficulty. He's not shaking his performance at Buffalo. In fact, he's being sacked by Dwayne Robertson, no less, and the ball is stripped and Hobson is in for the TD. Brady's WR's are getting hammered and they get behind in the third quarter. Maroney gets injured in the 2nd quarter and the run is not working! Brady gets picked off twice in the 4th quarter and leaves the field absolutely beside himself. Jets 29 - Patriots 24
My prediction is Patriots 27 Jets - 16 Three TD's and two FG's for NE, and 3 FG's and 1 TD for the Jets
