This Week's Enemy Fan Forums: The New England Patriots

[Mothman]

I thought I'd link to some Pats/Vikes-related articles in this thread as well. Here's a link to one about the Patriots' run defense, how they went wrong against miami last week, and what they need to do to fix it:

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/new-engl ... verpowered

... and a link to a Boston Herald article discussing o-line issues, concerns about defending Peterson and Patterson and more:

http://bostonherald.com/sports/patriots ... _more_fire

Gronk eases in

Tight end Rob Gronkowski played a limited amount of snaps against Miami. He essentially was relegated to red-zone plays and third- and fourth-down opportunities.

“It was good to have Rob out there. He did some things that certainly helped us and probably some things that he hadn’t done in game action in a little while,” McDaniels said. “(There were) just a lot of things to build on, hopefully, for Rob. It was a limited number of snaps, and I thought he tried to do his job out there as best as he could. Hopefully, it’s just something for us to build on going forward.”

If Gronk's snaps are limited again this week, that should only help the Vikes.

[mondry]

If Gronk's snaps are limited again this week, that should only help the Vikes.

That's a huge understatement! haha! By far the most overlooked / ignored aspect of Gronk's game is that he's extremely potent as a blocker in the run game. If he's limited to only running routes and especially only on 3rd / 4th down or in the redzone it will be a massive bonus for us.

[PacificNorseWest]

I said it last week, but this thread concept is awesome. Very good stuff OP.

[Pseudo Everything]

Watched a replay of the Pats-Fins game tonight. Wow, I was astonished at just how bad the Pats pass protection was and their run defense was abysmal. For context the Dolphins defense was without all three of their starting LBs for most of the game (Wheeler was injured and didn't play, and both Ellerbe and Trusnick went out in the first half and didn't return).

The Dolphins didn't blitz that often and got pressure mostly from just their front four. I'm trying to decide if the Pats OL is either in decline, just had an off day, or if the Dolphins DL is so improved that they're going to lead the league in sacks this year.

I was surprised that the Pats offense did not go up-tempo hardly at all during the game. Maybe the heat had something to do with that.

Here is a good analysis of the game from boston.com: http://tinyurl.com/m8kfpyf
Got a chuckle out of this comment: "At times, the pressure collapsed on Brady so quickly, it was hard to attribute blame."

I expect Zimmer isn't going to go blitz heavy in this game. Why? Because Tom Brady is one of the best QBs at pre-snap reads and if he gets just a little bit of time he can (usually) make you pay by exploiting the dead zones where the blitzing LBs or safeties should be. Of course after watching how dreadful the Pats OL looked last Sunday it will be tempting to test them early with lots of pressure.

Norv is probably salivating at running the ball on the Pats after he watches the tape, but I expect the Pats are going to sell-out in run defense and make their former teammate try to beat them through the air.

[Purple Domination]

I remember thinking we might be crazy at the time of this trade with the Pats. It's looking pretty good now.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000 ... erson-deal

[frosted]

I remember thinking we might be crazy at the time of this trade with the Pats. It's looking pretty good now.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000 ... erson-deal

One guy to watch for the Pats is the linebacker they took that year, Jamie Collins. He looks to be a star in the making. He reminds me of Adalius Thomas. Big time playmaker, great in coverage. He can run with Rudolph.


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[Funkytown]

I remember thinking we might be crazy at the time of this trade with the Pats. It's looking pretty good now.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000 ... erson-deal

Bill Belichick: No regrets in Cordarrelle Patterson deal.

[Reignman]

Well with the benefit of hindsight you could look back at any draft and ask just about any team if they had any ragrets.

[Just Me]

Bill Belichick: No regrets in Cordarrelle Patterson deal.

Perfect meme!

[tleiviska]

One guy to watch for the Pats is the linebacker they took that year, Jamie Collins. He looks to be a star in the making. He reminds me of Adalius Thomas. Big time playmaker, great in coverage. He can run with Rudolph.


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I would like to bet you, sir,that if he is on Rudolph more than 1-2 plays....Rudolph makes him look like a high school backup linebacker. Rudolph, Gronk, Graham, Witten...there are just some tight ends in this league than cannot be consistently covered by ANY linebacker in the league.

EDIT: Except MAYBE Anthony Barr when he fully develops...he's on track to be the biggest beast of a linebacker we've seen in a long time...if not ever. Just my humble opinion.

[dkoby]

Here is a pretty thorough breakdown from what I assume to be a Pats sports writer. It's pretty long and I didn't know how to post a link to one post in a thread. Hope it's OK

Here is a look at some of the key matchups and who holds the Razor’s Edge.

Patriots RBs vs Vikings Front Seven- Razor’s Edge Vikings

Minnesota wasn’t a great team against the run in 2013 allowing an average of just under 125 yards per game which was 24th in the league. However, things are changing with the bringing in of Zimmer and his defense.

Bringing in Linval Joseph to complement Sharrif Floyd has solidified the Minnesota line. Stalwart Chad Greenway and rookie Anthony Barr at linebacker gives the Vikes a much better group in their rushing defense.

The Patriots offensive line had its troubles last week with a stout Miami defensive line and couldn’t take advantage of the Dolphins having all three starting linebackers out. They’ll be looking to right the ship and get more than 89 yards this week, but will have their work cut out for them.

Patriots WRs vs Vikings Secondary-Razor’s Edge Patriots
Like last week this matchup all comes down to protection as Tom Brady can’t be under as much pressure and as fast as he was last week. On three different sacks by Miami, Brady was hit in under 3 seconds which is unacceptable.

Minnesota’s pass rush consists of edge rushers Everson Griffen (2 sacks last week) and Brian Robison but in watching the Rams game last week as well as the Cincy game from 2013 much more. Zimmer loves to bring his defense up to the line and then mix up his pass rush by bringing five or more and overloading the offensive line. His defense held Brady and the Pats to just six points last year.

If (and a big if) the OL can hold up the Patriots have more than enough offensive weapons to make life tough for the Vikes secondary. Rob Gronkowski shook off some of the rust last week and is a matchup nightmare. Aaron Dobson should play this week bringing some pressure to the outside which should free up Brandon LaFell to work the intermediate area of the field. As always Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola will do the dirty work underneath along with running back Shane Vereen.
Watch for Brady to get TE Tim Wright a little more involved this week working on the middle of the field. Wright is a big target (6’4, 220) who can also provide some matchup problems for the linebackers.

Minnesota has two significant injuries to monitor this week as both Floyd and CB Xavier Rhodes are banged up. If they do play, their effectiveness may be less than 100 percent. One player to watch is SS Harrison Smith who is much more active in Zimmer’s defense and will be sent on some blitzes

Vikings RBs vs NE Front Seven- Razor’s Edge Vikings
The Vikings have arguably the best running back in the NFL in Adrian Peterson and any time he touches the ball is a threat to take it to the house. Last week against a very tough Rams front four, Peterson did the yeoman work grinding out 75 yards on 21 carries. WR Cordarrelle Patterson provided the fireworks carrying just three times but for 102 yards including a 67 yard touchdown.

The Patriots defense was gashed last week by the Dolphins zone blocking scheme as they got the DL moving laterally and RB Knowshon Moreno cut back with some huge gaps as Miami ran for 191 yards. While the debate rages over whether to ditch the 3-4 defense for the 4-3, one thing that must improve regardless is the tackling which was atrocious. The yards after contact garnered by Miami in the game was the difference and a repeat performance would spell disaster against someone like Peterson.

This is a tough matchup for anyone to slow down the Vikings but look for them to be a tad more aggressive in their approach in disrupting the running game, they’ll need a big performance in the middle by Vince Wilfork and Jerod Mayo but this one is a decided advantage for Minnesota.

Vikings WRs vs NE Secondary- Razor’s Edge Patriots
Former Pats QB Matt Cassel has survived the competition from Christian Ponder and Teddy Bridgewater for the time being and gives the Vikings the best chance at winning now. Eventually the team wants Bridgewater to assume control but for now, he’s watching and learning. Cassel did a good but unspectacular job in the opener and has former Packer Greg Jennings, Patterson and tight end Kyle Rudolph to go along with Peterson out of the backfield.

The Patriots will probably put Darrelle Revis on Patterson and Alfonzo Dennard on Jennings who is mainly their possession receiver now. The Patriots pass defense is much stouter than in 2013 with the addition of Revis and the key here will be stopping the tight ends and running backs out of the backfield, something they continue to struggle with.

The pass rush with Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich off the edge was largely negated last week in Miami which is something the Patriots will be looking to rectify. Rookie Dominique Easley will also be looking to disrupt the flow with an inside pass rush to bring some pressure on Cassel and force some mistakes.

Special Teams- Razor’s Edge Vikings
The Vikings have a very solid kicker in Blair Walsh along with punter Brian Locke give them an excellent tandem in the kicking game. The Patriots counter with Stephen Gostowski and Ryan Allen so the kicking games are about even.

But with Patterson returning kicks Minnesota has the decided advantage. He’s exciting, and dangerous and the Patriots will be looking for Gostowski to be limiting his returns by kicking out of the endzone as Patterson has returned kickoffs from as far as nine yards deep. The Patriots kick return game remains unsettled as Matthew Slater and Pat Chung handle duties for New England.

The team would love to get the dangerous Edelman loose on a few punt returns. Edelman remains one of the best punt returners in the business but the blocking hasn’t been there yet this season for him to showcase his open field talents.

Prediction:
This is going to be another tough road game for the Patriots, their struggles along both the offensive and defensive lines from last week will bear watching as they will either be a one week anomaly or a dangerous trend.

Minnesota’s ground game has the ability to dictate the game and open up play action passing which would make Cassel’s job much easier. The game plan from a Patriots perspective would be to get up early and force the game into Cassel’s hands thus negating Peterson. But last week they could only generate 10 points off of three turnovers which could have turned a 20-10 lead into much more at the half.

Zimmer’s defense really flummoxed Brady last year in Cincinnati and they’ll be looking to do the same this year by bringing pressure and getting in his face. But having Gronkowski and Vereen healthy for this one should really help get the offense moving.

This one should go down to the wire as Minnesota is far from the 5-10-1 team that they were a year ago. Peterson and Patterson will be matching the Pats offense tit-for-tat but in the end, the experience and advantage at QB for Brady should give New England the edge to eke out a tough road win.
Patriots 27-24

Patriots Player to Watch- Chandler Jones
Much was expected from Jones this season as with the additions in the secondary it was thought that Jones would be the beneficiary of opposing quarterbacks having to hold the ball longer and he’d be the disruptor off the edge.

But in Miami last week, Jones was held in check and this week his matchup with Vikings LT Matt Kalil will be one to watch. Jones does look ill-equipped to be a 3-4 DE and it would benefit him for the team to go to a four-man front on passing downs.

Regardless, the Patriots will need much more from Jones this week and if they want to come out with a victory on the road, he will have to step up his game this week.

[dead_poet]

Do you have a link? We generally avoid posting full articles.

[dkoby]

Do you have a link? We generally avoid posting full articles.

Yeah, sorry about that. I pulled it out of the third link down in the OP. Third page of the thread.

Here is a link I was able to pull out of the same thread, this one is from a Vikings perspective....very long and analytical.

http://vikingsterritory.com/2014/analys ... d-patriots

[frosted]

I would like to bet you, sir,that if he is on Rudolph more than 1-2 plays....Rudolph makes him look like a high school backup linebacker. Rudolph, Gronk, Graham, Witten...there are just some tight ends in this league than cannot be consistently covered by ANY linebacker in the league.

EDIT: Except MAYBE Anthony Barr when he fully develops...he's on track to be the biggest beast of a linebacker we've seen in a long time...if not ever. Just my humble opinion.

Sorry, we'll have to agree to disagree on that one, no matter, Collins is inactive due to injury so we won't be seeing him at all tomorrow.


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