Something Everyone Seems to Forget

[RashanGary]

I agree that we can go pretty far in the NFC with an offense that is lacking a running game but that offense against the three top AFC teams will have us in deep trouble.

The Patriots will KILL us. One thing that they do better than any team in the league is put pressure on the pass game. They play a flawless zone coverage. They have guys in shallow drops, they look out of position but they break on out patterns and intercept the ball on those kinds of plays at an alarming rate. I would not want to play the Patriots healthy and without a run game.

We have to hope Moss and at least two key defenders go down for us to have a shot at them.

[footballfever]

I agree that we can go pretty far in the NFC with an offense that is lacking a running game but that offense against the three top AFC teams will have us in deep trouble.

The Patriots will KILL us. One thing that they do better than any team in the league is put pressure on the pass game. They play a flawless zone coverage. They have guys in shallow drops, they look out of position but they break on out patterns and intercept the ball on those kinds of plays at an alarming rate. I would not want to play the Patriots healthy and without a run game.

We have to hope Moss and at least two key defenders go down for us to have a shot at them.

You forget the Cheatriots three opponents thus far were NYJ, San Diego and Buffalo. Not exactly three teams playing inspired football right now. I believe at our level of play right now our chances would be about 40-60 against them . They take away an opponents run game and force them to throw, that would play right into our hands. Favre would tear them apart the same as he has with the teams he's played so far. A lot of what goes into these games is gameplanning and preparation. After 17 years of doing it I would think Brett is one of the best. He knows exactly what he's lookin at on tape and how to translate it on the field. Dude's like the terminator right now with some crazy computer screen in his mind breaking down all the information on the field and presenting him with the best possible scenarios and exposing and exploiting them. Like Phill Simms said after the Philip Rivers pass to V Jack in the endzone, you can't defense a perfect pass. So those cheatin bastards can steal all the signs the want from us, you can't defense a perfect pass or a near perfect quarterback. Brett Favre would be their worst nightmare right now.

[Carolina_Packer]

I was thinking it would be cool to market t-shirts that had a person holding up a middle finger with the words, "Hey, Belicheck, you can steal this sign for free!" How do you think they would sell?

I don't want to see anyone coronate the Patriots. They are a great team, but the season has highs and lows. You never know what is going to happen. They are going to continue to be good, but could find their own struggles by year's end.

I would love to play the Patriots in the Super Bowl, but for now, let's stop dreaming and get back to reality. The Vikings, and then the Bears, and then the next opponent, and let's get the running game going. It's really been fun, but let's not get too carried away.

[footballfever]

I was thinking it would be cool to market t-shirts that had a person holding up a middle finger with the words, "Hey, Belicheck, you can steal this sign for free!" How do you think they would sell?

I don't want to see anyone coronate the Patriots. They are a great team, but the season has highs and lows. You never know what is going to happen. They are going to continue to be good, but could find their own struggles by year's end.

I would love to play the Patriots in the Super Bowl, but for now, let's stop dreaming and get back to reality. The Vikings, and then the Bears, and then the next opponent, and let's get the running game going. It's really been fun, but let's not get too carried away.

Thats a great idea for a t shirt!! I agree with what you're saying about gettin back to the ground here, everyone is flying high. I think the way the team is approaching games week to week is tremendous. I don't get the sense that anyone on the team or among coaches is looking any further forward than the week ahead. The gameplanning has been tremendous and it feels good to have everything coming together. It's okay to dream though, fantasy matchups throughout the year are gonna come up and the Patriots happen to be one of them. I like the game against Dallas, that's gonna be a real test. But we have the Queens this week, so lets just take it a game at a time. I think after this past game I'm pretty well spent, I don't remember such anxiety leading into a game. Not for a long time anyway, it's nice playing competetive football again against the leagues best.

[The Leaper]

They have guys in shallow drops, they look out of position but they break on out patterns and intercept the ball on those kinds of plays at an alarming rate. I would not want to play the Patriots healthy and without a run game.

True, but a strong armed QB like Favre is the difference in making those out patterns much harder for NE to cover...which opens up the middle of the field. Neither NY or Buffalo had even a mediocre armed QB to threaten NE...and Rivers has very little experience.

The only way to truly attack NE's defense is to have a big armed QB who can make every throw (especially a hard out that is too quick for the LBs to get to) and a TE or slot receiver capable of attacking the middle of the field to keep their LBs guessing.

You also need a creative offensive game plan that keeps the Pats off balance.