Watched Pats/Panthers game last night

Gonna be hard to pass.. 26 degrees and lowering, with freezing rain and sleet. Winds 13 mph.

We have a stout run defense..it's going to come down to who can run and control the ball, and no turnovers..

Lets hope Henry can just run through the ice like shady McCoy does in the snow.

 

Henry is from Florida, played at Alabama and now lives in TN. Icy conditions might not be all that good for us. Plus the Hawaiian guy..

Serious question, have Mariota and Henry EVER played in ice?

 

In the two games I rewatched so far of the Pats (vSteelers who should have won and Miami who did) several things stood out.

On offense, both used spread formations extensively bot for run and pass. Lots of quick pass game and both used a lot of short crossing routes.

Neither had much success running out of standard or loaded run sets.

Dolphins got a free rusher in Brady about his first play and he was a bit rattled the rest of the game. They also got good pressure the rest of the game with 4 and sometimes 5 rushers.

Both got timely defensive play from a few playmakers. They also were able to shut down the Pats short passing game by knowing what was coming and making an immediate tackle. Both teams play the Pats a lot so they are more familiar with their plays.

Dion Lewis both running and in the passing game is a large chunk of their offense. Gronk and Cook are gonna challenge the secondary and we’ll need to double Gronk as much as we can. Brown is gonna have to play most if not the whole game as he’ll be matched in Gronk or RB.

We have to stop their run game (and short passing game to the rbs) and then pressure Brady with our pass rush and force him to beat double coverage on Gronk or Cooks.

We need to pressure him and frustrate him and limit his number of possessions.

Our offense needs to spread things out and attack every where. But we need to be able to run, move the chains, control top and score tds. A lot of this from playcalling to execution will fall on Mariota to get first downs and something out of nothing without getting hurt or turning it over! I’d expect Pats to put 8 or 9 in the box, double Walker and Spy Mariota and see if we can beat them throwing to Davis, Decker, and Matthews. No drops. No poor routes.

As if the Pats aren’t difficult enough, the amount of holding they get away with in the secondary is just one more difficulty to overcome. Davis in particular needs to go beast mode and run over or thru people. Decker needs to catch everything!

The one thing that may be able to help keep us in the game is special teams. Adoree might be the best returner they’ll face and our coverage and kickers areas good as it gets. From punting and pinning them deep, kicking a clutch fg, or getting a big return, our st’s will need to be one unit we ‘win’ on!

Lastly, Kenyan Drake and Bell are smaller shifter backs the Pats D had trouble handling at times. If there is a game for Adoree to get 10 touches on offense, this is it!!! He can give Henry a rest here and there and also come onto the field with Henry to see how the Pats match up formation and personnel wise.

We can’t have any big mistakes with penalties, turnovers, personnel fouls, unsportsmanlike conduct, burning time outs or mismanaging 2mins in either half!!!

Titans need to play the best game of their lives...and barring that...keep it close enough that Mariota and or Succup can win it in the end!!!

 

You do understand that Mariota spent his entire college career in Oregon, right? Now, it doesn’t snow much in Eugene, but he’s no stranger to adverse conditions.

EDIT: Not mention the KC game last year.

 

I know he doesnt wear a glove and has lived in a mild climate the last 3 years...

Im not worried about the field, field will be warm, its the ball Im thinking may slip around..

 

I was thinking that in ice and snow, running north and south is the most productive. That is Henry's strong point.

Pat's don't have a big bruising straight ahead runner. Lewis and Burkhead may have trouble making quick cuts.

 

It's actually a more interesting matchup than it's being given credit for, because on one hand the Titans should be able to run on the weak front 7 of the Patriots, which of course is what the Titans want to do. On the other hand, the Titans D in general and LeBeau's scheme specifically is not a good matchup against a Pats offense that looks like it's going to be closer to 100% healthy than at almost any point in the year.

The Titans have not been a good red zone team, and the Patriots have a great red zone defense. Other than Walker, their receiving weapons are not a good matchup against the Patriots secondary, and just haven't been consistent in general. Meanwhile the Patriots have had issues defending mobile QBs, either when scrambling to throw or running for yards.

I suspect the Patriots sell out against the run and try to just keep Mariota in the pocket, and basically dare him to beat them purely throwing the ball. My worry if this happens is less that Mariota will do a bad job, and more that a) the receivers won't get consistent separation, and b) the playcalls will be obvious, simplifying the job of the Patriots defenders.

Something that needs to be emphasized is that the Titans have been prone to special teams gaffes, while the Patriots have excellent special teams. A muffed punt or similar blunder can turn the game around just as easily as a pick.

 

MM 0 for all time vs BeliCHEAT

something like 0-6