I've been looking forward to this one for a long time. Sometimes two coaches match up a certain way. Like Coughlin seems to have Belichick's number. If we hope to have Philbin around a long time, it's important that Belichick doesn't 'have his number'. I won't be focusing on final score or talent-induced plays so much as coaching adjustments, gameplan and other X's and O's. Clearly Belichick has superior roster talent at this point. I think Belichick is the best strategic coach in the game today, but our own Joe Philbin is very good too IMO. Can't wait to see this head coaching chess game.
Not so much just that, sometimes he will down it 5 yds in the EZ, imo that is a potential scoring play he is not using. Stuff like this, I can handle losing just be aggressive in the effort. Sometimes I think Wanny put a stink of "to scared to try" on the franchise.
The NY Giants DL has the Patriots number, wouldn't attribute it to Coughlin alone. You want to beat Tom Brady?? Score 45 points offensively OR get pressure with your front 4 without blitzing. We want to have a chance? It will be up to Wake, Solia, Starks and Odrick.
Offensively you could see more Clay. Clay matches well against LBs and if they decide to cover him with a DB you can switch to a run play. I hope we see more of Clay out there.
I remember John Lynch saying to stop Brady you need firstly, lots of pressure, secondly, do not allow yards after catch and lastly go for it on 4th down to deny Brady the ball. That might include fake punts and fake FGs.
To win this game not only does miami need to keep pressure on Brady,they need to score points on New England early and often.
Agreed. He's had a decent stretch of games. Made a pair of TDs and is getting open down the seams. I'm liking what I'm seeing in him.
BTW this thread and the "if we win we move to #6 in the playoff hunt" thread highlights the problem with Ireland yr 5, or yr 2, depending, and we are in the same darn position we were in during 2006, that is not progress
Lets put it this way, given Belichick's roster advantage I'll be pleased if we are within 7 points and over the moon if we win. As long as we aren't blowed up like the Jets.
Special teams has to contribute for us to win, I think. It's the one phase where we may actually have a talent advantage.
I appreciate the thought Pads, but would like to avoid this becoming a thread where that's discussed more than the original topic. So, to redirect, I'm really hoping Philbin is not out coached Sunday even if the players make the difference and we lose.
What it means for this team IMO is running the ball well on first and/or second down, keeping Ryan Tannehill in manageable down-and-distance situations, extending drives, controlling the clock, and keeping Brady off the field. How effective the running game is in the first half will tell all in this game IMO.
I might suggest a look back to Dec.19, 2010 and the GB/NE game for a peek at how this game might unfold.
Highlights: http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2010121913/2010/REG15/packers@patriots#menu=highlights&tab=recap[video]http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2010121913/2010/REG15/packers@patriots#menu=highlights&tab=recap[/video] http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2010121913/2010/REG15/packers@patriots#menu=highlights&tab=recap I hope it doesn't turn out with us losing, like the Packers did. Also, we don't have a James Jones to go deep to and cannot execute a successful screen play the way the Pack did. I think we are looking at Pats over Phins 35-20
brady is just fine with dink and dunk, if that's what we give him ... limiting YAC is nice - but the only way we are beating the PATSIES is with bonified, relentless pressure on brady ... it's how we have beaten him every time we have.
I tried to post this last night but couldn't get it to go on my phone: [video=youtube;RSp2ZUwljyI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSp2ZUwljyI[/video]
Am I crazy for saying that I believe we can win this game? Brady is 0-3 in Miami in the month of December. Those are games down the stretch of the season with mediocre at best qbs. I think Philbin can outsmart Belichick. These game are always close, and we have a positive with the fact that Belichik has never faced Tannehill or Philbin. I say Miami wins 28-24
Pepper your angus, OP. New England is scoring in the upper 30's in this game, bank on it. If the Pat's had Gronk available, I'd say 40's for sure. We simply don't have a secondary capable of covering their players on offense. I think Welker has an easy 10 catch 100+ yard game. That hurry up offense is going to tire our defense out pretty quickly. Given our inability to be consistent on offense, I expect many punts and turnovers. By the second quarter, we'll be so far behind that we'll turn one dimensional and Tannehill is going to have to throw every down. That has proven to a recipe for disaster. It's a perfect storm.
Probably. Still, I want to see what Philbin does to stem the bleeding and maximize an anemic offense against the Pats. I want to see how he manages the game, the team, adversity. How he adjusts at halftime. Etc. I don't expect a victory, but sometimes the best way to assess a fighter is against superior competition. Ditto Head Coaches.