#_author:Hal Bent

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Week 11 NFL Matchups, Previews, and Predictions

Week ten of the NFL season is in the books and once again the NFL delivered excitement and drama. Whether it was Tom Brady and Bill Belichick setting records (Belichick tied Tom Landry for third-most victories while Brady won his 86th road game Sunday night), Drew Brees and the Saints continuing to “go marching in” as they scored 47 points without Brees throwing a touchdown pass, the Steelers still stuck in neutral on offense but winning ugly, or the Jaguars winning even UGLIER in a mistake-filled game with the Chargers and both teams seemingly trying to give the game away.

There were Cam Newton and Jonathan Stewart playing a perfect game on offense against the Dolphins on Monday night for Carolina on their way to 45 points, Seattle winning the Thursday night game against Arizona but losing cornerback Richard Sherman for the season, and Adrian Clayborn piling up six sacks against the Dallas Cowboys for the Falcons in their 27-7 victory.

Kyle Shanahan got his first career win against a Giants team that seemed to quit on head coach Ben McAdoo. The Rams continued to roll with Jared Goff continuing his strong play and Robert Woods looking like a steal. Tampa Bay won for the first time since October 1 as they ended a five-game slide against the Jets. Green Bay outlasted the Bears. Tennessee gutted out a tough win over the Bengals while Detroit broke away late to outlast Cleveland.

Week ten of the NFL schedule had a number of intriguing and interesting match-ups and week 11 looks like it could be even more exciting. Let’s dive into those match-ups and see who is going to come out on top and why.

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Arizona Cardinals 13 at Houston Texans 17

Don’t believe anyone who tells you that it is not just about the quarterback in the NFL. With Carson Palmer, the Cardinals had playoff hopes. In Houston, with Deshaun Watson behind center, they were dreaming about the Super Bowl. Now it is Tom Savage vs Blaine Gabbert: “NFL Fever: Catch it!”

Arizona lost their starting left tackle D.J. Humphries, starting safety Tyvon Branch and tight end Ifeanyi Momah who were all placed on season-ending injured reserve last Thursday against the Seahawks. Arizona has to make up two games in the standings just to get into the Wild Card discussion and without Palmer, David Johnson and now these contributors they have little chance to make-up ground. Arizona’s wins have come against San Francisco twice, Indianapolis and Tampa Bay.

Houston losing J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus while already without Brian Cushing is tough on a defense that was already weakened having lost top cornerback A.J. Bouye in free agency. On offense, Tom Savage has a 62.2 QB rating and is completing less than 50% of his passes. Without Watson, the offense only has one player to fear in wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. If Houston can pull out the win over Arizona, they have winnable games against Baltimore, Tennessee, and San Francisco before they have to face Jacksonville and Pittsburgh.

Baltimore Ravens 16 at Green Bay Packers 22

The Packers are in a position to mount a final challenge for a playoff spot as they are just a game behind the Seahawks for the final Wild Card spot. For the Ravens, they are only a game behind the Bills–who just turned to a rookie fifth-round draft pick to lead the offense.

Baltimore is still in position to make a run for a Wild Card spot with winnable games in the final three weeks of the season against Cleveland, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati. Before getting to the easy part of the schedule, they have to get through Green Bay (albeit without Aaron Rodgers), then the Texans (without J.J. Watt and Deshaun Watson), the Lions and a big showdown in week 14 at home against the Steelers. Running backs Alex Collins and Javorius Allen remain inconsistent while the passing offense has leaned on tight end Ben Watson with wide receivers Jeremy Maclin and Mike Wallace struggling. The defense remains strong against the pass, however.

Green Bay will miss tackle Bryan Bulaga against the strong pass rush of the Ravens. The Packers are likely to not have running back Aaron Jones able to play and Ty Montgomery is questionable. Baltimore’s weakness has been the running game but the Packers may not be in a position to take advantage. Quarterback Brett Hundley finally looked competent against the solid Bears defense last week. The Packers struggle to stop the pass, but this may be a week that it may not matter as Joe Flacco has been unable to throw on anyone.

Detroit Lions 23 at Chicago Bears 24

Detroit is on the cusp of the playoffs at 5-4. The Bears are spending the rest of the season developing rookie quarterback Mitch Trubisky.

Detroit remains the same year after year: they cannot run the ball and lean on Matthew Stafford to throw the ball for all their offense. On defense, they are usually solid against the run and vulnerable against the pass. This year is no different. If the Bears could not stop Brett Hundley, they should have their hands full with Matthew Stafford. The Lions will need T.J. Lang (in concussion protocol) to help slow down defensive tackle Akiem Hicks. On defense, after being unable to stop DeShone Kizer, the Lions need Ziggy Ansah back to reinvigorate their passing offense.

For the Bears, they were a bad decision to challenge a touchdown (turning into a fumble and loss of possession) away from beating the Packers. They’ve beat the Panthers, Steelers, and Ravens this season and should have beat Atlanta in week one, took the Steelers to overtime, and lost to the Vikings by three points. The defense is legitimate with young safety Adrian Amos and cornerback Kyle Fuller leading the secondary. Young veteran Akiem Hicks is becoming a star while Leonard Floyd and Pernell McPhee bring the pressure along with Hicks.

Jacksonville Jaguars 27 at Cleveland Browns 6

What was once a match-up of the two most miserable franchises in modern NFL history are now a team looking to be on track for the playoffs in the Jaguars and…well, Cleveland cementing their place as the MOST miserable franchise in modern NFL history.

The Browns desperately need to make yet another coaching change. Hue Jackson just does not have “it”. Jackson is two years in as a head coach and continually looks to be over his head. He has just one win his last 25 games as the Browns’ head coach, the team is loaded with young players in desperate need of leadership, and his team has shown absolutely zero signs of any kind of improvement. At this point, I would be surprised if they win a game this entire season.

Jacksonville needs rookie running back Leonard Fournette to pick up the slack for the offense. Every week I watch the Jaguars on offense and wonder how this team would look if Allen Robinson had not torn the ACL in his left knee in week one and Blake Bortles had the athletic six-foot-two and 220-pound wide receiver to throw to all season. Robinson only had 153 catches for 2,283 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2015 and 2016 combined. That said, this defense is a treat to watch and speedy linebacker Telvin Smith has grown from a fifth-round draft pick in 2014 out of Florida State into probably the most vital member of that defense. Kudos to him for earning his four-year and $44 million extension.

Kansas City Chiefs 31 at N.Y. Giants 23

Kansas City is still on top of the AFC West with the Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos in no position to challenge them. The Giants are ready to just call it quits this season.

The Chiefs are coming off a well-needed bye week after losing three of four. Kansas City is in position to pile up some victories with the Giants this week followed by the Bills, Jets, Raiders, Chargers, Dolphins, and Denver in week 17. Kansas City is looking up at Pittsburgh and New England for the top two seeds in the AFC (although the Steelers still have to play the Patriots) and the Chiefs should be winning at least five of the next six heading into Denver on New Year’s Eve. Kansas City needs to find another receiving option in the final seven games other than their top three Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill and running back Kareem Hunt. That trio has accounted for 123 of the 204 receptions (60%).

For the Giants, they will likely be without Damon “Snacks” Harrison on the defensive line and Justin Pugh on the offensive line. A porous offensive line will have to protect Eli Manning and try to make space for their unimpressive group of running backs. The growth of wide receiver Sterling Shepard has been the only positive. On defense, the Giants’ collapse is most pronounced as they have fallen from second in the NFL in points allowed in 2016 to 28th heading into this game.

L.A. Rams 27 at Minnesota Vikings 24

In a potential NFC Championship Game preview, the Rams travel to Minnesota to face-off against the Minnesota Vikings.

Case Keenum showed what happens when you have a little competition. After three games in a row with his performance slipping against Green Bay, Baltimore, and Cleveland, he put up a performance against the Redskins that was surreal 21 for 29 for 304 yards and four touchdowns). Coincidently, he had a healthy Teddy Bridgewater on the sidelines (he also had a healthy Stefon Diggs). The offense still misses running back Dalvin Cook (Latavius Murray 3.3 yards per rushing attempt). The defense should be back to normal with Everson Griffen healthy.

Another week and another dominating performance on both sides of the ball by the Los Angeles Rams. In their last three games, they have outscored their opponents (Arizona, New York Giants, and Houston) 117 to 24. That translates to an average score of 39 to 8. The next month or so will be the measure of the team as they play the Vikings (6-3), the Saints (7-2), the Cardinals (one easy win), Philadelphia (8-1), and Seattle 6-3).

Tampa Bay 17 at Miami Dolphins 13

This game should have just been canceled, not rescheduled after Hurricane Irma.

Miami cleared the negative energy from their locker room by trading Jay Ajayi by rushing for 100 yards on just 17 carries. Of course, most of that came on a 66-yard run by Kenyan Drake when they were behind 31-7 (16 carries for 34 yards on the other carries is pretty unimpressive). Jay Cutler continues to be somewhere on the scale between average and mediocre. On defense, the Dolphins gave up 548 yards to the Panthers in their third straight loss.

Tampa Bay–without quarterback Jameis Winston–broke a five-game losing streak in defeating the punchless New York Jets 15-10 last weekend. At 3-6, the Buccaneers’ promising season has been reduced to playing spoiler as they face NFC heavyweights Carolina, New Orleans, Detroit, Green Bay, and Atlanta (twice). Ryan Fitzpatrick has been adequate as a fill-in and gets Mike Evans back from suspension. On defense, the Buccaneers are down linebacker Robert Ayers and standout defensive tackle Gerald McCoy is nursing a shoulder injury. The best medicine for the defense is Miami’s 32nd ranked offense.

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Patriots vs Broncos: Five Key Matchups

Each week the game comes down to the matchups. These are the top 5 match-ups that will determine which team emerges victorious.

The New England Patriots are coming off a much-needed bye week and travel west to the Rockies to face the AFC West’s Denver Broncos. The Broncos welcome the Patriots to Sports Authority Field at Mile High after losing their fourth straight game and third straight road game. The Denver defense had their worst performance of the season giving up 51 points and 419 yards of total offense to the Philadelphia Eagles.

This week’s matchup will be the primetime Sunday Night game and be broadcast by NBC, It can be seen locally on NBC Boston – 10 or in Southeastern MA and RI on WJAR-10 out of Providence, RI. Al Michaels will handle play-by-play duties with the winner of 15 Sports Emmy Awards and the owner of Pro Football Focus Cris Collinsworth as the color analyst. Michele Tafoya will work the sidelines with in-game updates. On the radio, this week’s game will be broadcast to a national audience on Westwood One. Kevin Kugler and former Dolphins’ great and 2017 NFL Hall of Fame inductee Jason Taylor will call the game. Locally, the Patriots’ flagship station 98.5 FM the Sports Hub will carry the game on the Patriots Radio Network. The Patriots are on the radio on 40 stations throughout the nation and will feature broadcasters Bob Socci doing play-by-play and local media member and former Patriots backup quarterback Scott Zolak adding color.

Now that you know how to watch and listen to the game, here are the five key match-ups to watch that will determine if the Patriots continue their winning ways against the Denver Broncos or if the “Mile High jinx” will be back in effect against the Patriots on Sunday night.

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NE CB Malcolm Butler vs DEN WR Emmanuel Sanders

The past three weeks have seen the New England Patriots’ secondary significantly undermanned with just three healthy cornerbacks. With Eric Rowe and Stephon Gilmore sidelined, the Patriots leaned on special teams aces Johnson Bademosi and Jonathan Jones at cornerback and the duo stepped up along with starter Malcolm Butler.

Now five deep at cornerback with Rowe and Gilmore healthy, the Patriots are at full strength against a Denver offense struggling to move the football. With Trevor Siemian struggling, Denver turned to former starter Brock Osweiler last week against the Eagles. While the Broncos scored their most points since week two, they only got in the end zone after the Eagles had scored over 40 points.

One positive for the Broncos was the return from injury of wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders. Although he was limited to just 29 snaps, the explosive receiver has been slowed by a significant ankle sprain which caused him to miss multiple weeks. Sanders caught just one of five targets in his return and was clearly rusty. The best news for Denver was that they could bring him along slowly and he appears to be back to full strength.

In six regular-season games against the Patriots spanning his time in Pittsburgh and Denver, Sanders has 35 catches for 521 yards. In 2014 and 2015 with Denver he topped 100 yards with 151 yards and 113 yards games before New England slowed him down in the AFC Championship Game in 2015 and their week 15 match-up last season holding him to a combined eight receptions for 110 yards in those two games.

The difference has been the Patriots being able to lock-up Sanders with cornerback Malcolm Butler. Butler has the short-space quickness to react to Sanders and stay with him across the field to limit his effectiveness. Butler–seemingly on his way out of New England this offseason, has once again been the most important cornerback in the first half of the season.

Butler needs to be up on Sanders in man-coverage and stay inside his shirt and be aggressive with him. If Sanders is still a half-step slow coming back from his ankle injury, it would be a huge boost the Patriots defense which needs to contain him after seeing him come up with big catch after big catch against their secondary over the past seven years.

NE TE Rob Gronkowski vs DEN ILB Brandon Marshall

Of course, when it comes to players having big games against a team, the Broncos are well aware of New England tight end Rob Gronkowski. In 2011, he introduced himself to the NFL and the Broncos in the playoffs pulling in ten catches for 145 yards and three touchdowns. In 2013, he was huge in the Patriots’ comeback win with 90 yards receiving.

In 2014 he burned the Broncos for nine receptions totaling 105 yards and yet another touchdown. In 2015 he helped the Patriots to an early lead before straining his knee and being carted off the field after hauling in six catches for 88 yards and a touchdown. In the AFC Championship game that season, he was back and led a Patriots comeback that fell just short. Gronkowski had eight catches for 144 yards and a touchdown.

The Broncos were fortunate last season in that Gronkowski was out for the season with a back injury when they took on the Patriots. Gronkowski has missed just one game this season and appears back at full strength. Gronkowski has 34 receptions in seven games for 509 yards and five touchdowns.

Denver will throw a number of different coverages at Gronkowski and while old nemesis T.J. Ward is no longer in Denver, the long and lean former Boston College safety Justin Simmons will face Gronkowski for the first time in his NFL career. Free safety Darian Stewart will help track Gronkowski on deeper routes, and if defensive coordinator Joe Woods was smart, he would make sure that former teammate Aqib Talib re-introduced himself to Gronkowski.

Fortunately for New England, Denver continues to primarily put the burden on inside linebacker Brandon Marshall. Marshall struggled at times this season. The Eagles were without Zach Ertz last week and their tight ends combined for five catches for 80 yards and a touchdown. The Broncos have been burned by Travis Kelce (133 yards receiving and a touchdown), Evan Engram (82 yards and a touchdown), and Jason Witten (97 yards receiving and a touchdown).

With shutdown cornerbacks in Talib and Chris Harris Jr., teams often go to the tight ends (and running backs) more often in the passing game and the Broncos have allowed the fourth most receptions (47) to tight ends and the second-most yards (623) and second-most touchdowns (five) through the first nine weeks of the 2017 season. Now, they face the best tight end in football this week.

Denver will have to deal with wide receiver Brandin Cooks (three receptions for 98 yards last season against Denver with New Orleans) and fellow speedster Phillip Dorsett and probably use Harris in coverage of Danny Amendola out of the slot. That puts a lot of pressure on Marshall and the safeties to try and slow Gronkowski on Sunday night.

NE RT LaAdrian Waddle vs DEN DE Von Miller

Of course, the Patriots need to keep the ferocious Denver pass rush off of quarterback Tom Brady in order to give him time to get the ball downfield. Of course, the Broncos have had attrition in the front seven. Compare 2015 where they rolled out Malik Jackson, Vance Walker, DeMarcus Ware, Danny Trevathan and Sylvester Williams behind All-Pro edge rusher Von Miller.

So far in 2017, the Broncos have just 19 sacks in eight games with Von Miller accounting for eight of them. Edge rusher Shane Ray was on short-term injured reserve and has played just two games this season without a sack. Shaw Barrett is second on the team with sacks with just three rushing opposite Miller. Interior defender Derek Wolfe has just one sack while journeyman Shelby Harris is tied with inside linebacker Brandon Marshall with two sacks apiece.

For the Broncos this season the pass rush has been Von Miller. Last year the Patriots used running backs and tight ends to chip Miller and a healthy Marcus Cannon held his own keeping Miller from creating havoc and keeping him from compiling a sack in the 16-3 New England victory. This week Cannon has not practiced due to an ankle injury suffered in the second quarter of the game versus the Chargers prior to the bye week and is not expected to play.

The injury to Cannon pushes LaAdrian Waddle into the spotlight as the likely starter at right tackle across from Von Miller. A player they signed after the woeful Lions cut him in 2015 starting across from Von Miller. A player who played just one snap in 2016 will start and face Von Miller on Sunday night.  

Waddle started in week three and played well against J.J. Watt and the Houston Texans. In the last game prior to the bye week, Waddle played more than half the game and helped contain Joey Bosa (8.5 sacks on the season but just one versus Waddle).

Waddle has massive size at six-foot-six and 315 pounds but moves surprisingly well for a player of his size. Offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia considers him starter-quality, and he will be tested this week going against the best pass rusher in the NFL.

NE ILB Kyle Van Noy vs DEN RB C.J. Anderson

Another area of focus for the Denver Broncos in their match-up against the Patriots is the running game. The Broncos have failed to 70 yards rushing in three of their last four games after topping 110 yards rushing in each of their first four games on their way to a 3-1 start. That lack of a running game has put undue pressure on their inconsistent quarterbacks.

The lack of the running game in Denver has the Broncos searching for answers. They made a number of moves in the offseason with that in mind. Veteran right guard Ronald Leary was strong early in the season and has tailed off a bit due to injuries but is still the best blocker on the Denver offensive line. Center Matt Paradis missed a day of practice due to a back issue this week as well. With tackle, Menelik Watson placed on injured reserve the Broncos need as many healthy bodies up front as possible.

Denver’s running backs do not lack talent: C.J. Anderson has been selected to represent at the Pro Bowl in the past while veteran back-up Jamaal Charles is a four-time Pro Bowl and two-time All-Pro selection. Anderson, Charles and backup Devontae Booker all are averaging over four yards per rush and combined average a combined 107 yards per game between the three of them.

Anderson, although fighting through illness and injury this week, is expected to be in the backfield on Sunday night. Anderson is familiar to the Patriots fans due to his overtime touchdown run in November 2015 on the snowy field in Denver on Sunday Night Football giving the Broncos a 30 to 24 win and setting up the rematch in the AFC Championship game in Denver that year.

For the Patriots, their run defense has been inconsistent with injuries robbing them of inside linebacker Dont’a Hightower, run-stuffing nose tackle Vincent Valentine, and now their most consistent interior defensive lineman Malcolm Brown is injured and has not practiced this week and likely will not play on Sunday night.

The Patriots’ run defense has allowed 972 yards in eight games (25th in the NFL) and a league-worst 5.1 yards per rushing attempt. New England is 5-0 this season when they have allowed 125 yards or less rushing per game and 1-2 allowing more than 125 yards on the ground.

The pressure to stop the running game of the Broncos falls primarily on inside linebacker Kyle Van Noy. Van Noy led the Patriots with six tackles last week and is second on the team with 46 tackles. He is responsible for setting the defense with the green dot on his helmet communicating with the coaches on the sideline.

Van Noy has to step-up and maintain his gap discipline and prevent big plays in the running game like Melvin Gordon’s 87-yard rumble in the early stages of the win over the Chargers. The defense did settle down holding the Chargers to 70 yards on 20 carries other than that big play. The New England rushing defense needs to step-up on Sunday night and slow the Broncos’ ground game.

NE DE Trey Flowers and DE Cassius Marsh vs DEN LT Garett Bolles and RT Allen Barbre or RT Donald Stephenson

The New England defense also needs to make Denver quarterback Brock Osweiler uncomfortable in the pocket so he cannot find wide receivers Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas downfield and make big plays in the passing game. Part of New England’s deficiencies in pass defense has been the lack of a dependable pass rush.

On the interior, Adam Butler and Malcolm Brown each have a single sack, inside linebackers Kyle Van Noy and Dont’a Hightower (now on injured reserve) have another 5.5 sacks and edge rushers Trey Flowers, Cassius Marsh and Deatrich Wise have 7.5 of the 16 sacks New England has accumulated this season.

The Broncos’ porous offensive line has allowed 28 sacks in eight games — tied with the Texans for the third-highest total in the league so far this season. To combat the loss of right tackle Menelik Watson–who was placed on injured reserve this week and was not playing well, to begin with–the Broncos have signed former Buffalo Bills tackle Cyrus Kouandjio to the roster to add depth at tackle.

Denver invested a first-round draft pick on left tackle Garett Bolles and he has flashed potential along with the usual growing pains as a rookie (he leads the team with nine penalties). Stephenson was signed in 2016 as a free agent, Watson in 2017, and 2015 second-round draft pick was sent to Atlanta this offseason after two seasons as a turnstile in Denver.

Veteran Donald Stephenson has missed three straight games due to a calf injury and his availability for Sunday night is not known. If he does not play, it may be an advantage for Denver as veteran 33-year old Allen Barbre has been their best option at right tackle. Barbre primarily played guard in Philadelphia prior to being traded to Denver at the beginning of training camp. Kouandjio–last seen being run out of Buffalo on a rail after falling and injuring his hip in the offseason and later being found wandering around a field in his underwear–is unlikely to be the answer in Denver.

The New England pass rush needs to make quarterback Brock Osweiler from sitting in a clean pocket and picking apart their zone defense. A rookie left tackle and a mess at right tackle is the best situation New England will get this season for their pass rush. They need to take advantage on Sunday night.

– Hal Bent is a Staff Writer for cover32/Patriots and covers the New England Patriots. Like and follow on Follow @halbent01 Follow @cover32_NE and Facebook.

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Patriots vs Chargers: The Key Matchups to Watch

Each week the game comes down to the match-ups. This is the top match-ups that will determine which team emerges victorious.

The New England Patriots had their strongest all-around performance last week when they defeated the Atlanta Falcons 23-7 in their long-anticipated Super Bowl 51 rematch. Of course, the victory came with a high price as defensive captain linebacker Dont’a Hightower tore his pectoral muscle in the victory and will be lost for the season.

They stay at home again this week and welcome the Los Angeles Chargers to Gillette Stadium on Sunday afternoon in their first of three consecutive games against the AFC West. After the home game they have their bye week, then play on Sunday night in Denver. The next week they are in Mexico City to face the Oakland Raiders (no word on whether Mexican media member and Tom Brady Super Bowl jersey pilferer will be on hand).

After opening the season 0-4 the Chargers have won three straight and had a decisive 21-0 shutout of their AFC West rivals the Denver Broncos. Winners of three straight games, they will present a tough match-up for the Patriots.

This week’s match-up will be broadcast by CBS and can be seen on WBZ-TV Channel 4. While Ian Eagle will ably handle play-by-play duties, it is his color analyst who will again draw the ire of Patriots fans. Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts as the color analyst. Fouts delivered arguably a brutal broadcast a few weeks back against the Jets. Evan Washburn will work from the sidelines. This appears to be a game many fans will want to listen to the radio broadcast instead of Fouts.

On the radio, this week’s game will be broadcast to a national audience on ESPN Radio. Adam Amin and former Indianapolis Colts general manager and card-carrying member of the “I hate the Patriots club” Bill Polian will call the game (not much better than Fouts!). Locally, the Patriots’ flagship station 98.5 FM the Sports Hub will carry the game on the Patriots Radio Network as always. The Patriots are on the radio on 40 stations throughout the nation and will feature broadcasters Bob Socci doing play-by-play and local media member and former Patriots backup quarterback Scott Zolak adding color.

Now that you know how to watch and listen to the game, here is the key match-up to watch that will determine if the Patriots continue their winning ways against the Los Angeles Chargers or if Philip Rivers will pull off the upset. NE CB Malcolm Butler and CB Stephon Gilmore vs LAC WR Keenan Allen and WR Tyrell Williams

The Los Angeles Chargers spent the seventh overall pick in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft pick on speedy wide receiver Mike Williams. Unfortunately, due to injuries Williams has not been able to get on the field for the first quarter of the season and is playing limited snaps only. Fortunately for the Chargers, while they waited for their first-round draft pick to get on the field they already had a suitable replacement in third year undrafted free agent Tyrell Williams.

Last season Williams was thrust into a key role with starter Keenan Allen injured in the first game of the 2016 season and on injured reserve for the rest of the season. Williams finished 2016 with 69 catches for 1,059 yards and seven touchdowns (all stats from Pro-Football-Reference.com unless otherwise noted). So far in 2017, he has 21 receptions for 298 yards.

Opposite Williams is veteran Keenan Allen. Allen is on pace to play a full season for the first time since 2014 and has fought through a shoulder injury in recent weeks despite not missing any games. Allen leads the Chargers with 36 receptions for 487 yards through seven games. The cagey veteran lacks high-end speed, but even before injuries, it was the reason he dropped to the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

Allen is a master route-runner and is a large target at six-foot-two and 2016 pounds. Quarterback Philip Rivers has a strong bond with Allen and is usually looking his way on third down. Allen had a tough week last week, but so did every receiver for the Chargers as they faced the stingy Broncos secondary.

Allen should see a lot of cornerback Malcolm Butler in coverage. Butler struggled early in the season like the rest of the New England secondary. His improved play the past three weeks has coincided with the defense playing some of its best football of the season.

Butler had a strong game in coverage against the Falcons. Unlike the Super Bowl where he primarily covered slot receiver Doug Gabriel, Butler was on either Julio Jones or Mohamed Sanu for much of the game and competed hard in coverage while limiting yards after the catch and not allowing any big, game-changing receptions. Per Doug Kyed at NESN.com he allowed just five receptions for 44 yards and was credited with a pass breakup.

On the other side, it was surprising starter Johnson Bademosi for the second week in coverage of Sanu and Jones. Bademosi allowed just three receptions for 31 yards per Kyed. While Stephon Gilmore is expected to retake his starting role now that he has been removed from the concussion protocols, Bademosi may have proven he is much more than just a special teams player.

Gilmore had improved his play before the concussion after a dreadful start to his career in New England. Blown assignments were his forte with a wide open wide receiver scoring easily each week. Gilmore is an important asset this week as he has the size and wingspan to cover the six-foot-four and 205 pounds Tyrell Williams.

Whatever the combination of cornerbacks (and do not discount slot cornerback Jonathan Jones who shut down Tyler Gabriel), the Patriots need to step-up in this match-up to hold down the potent passing attack of the Chargers.

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Patriots vs Falcons: Five Key Matchups to Watch

Each week the game comes down to the match-ups. These are the top five matchups that will determine which team emerges victorious.

The New England Patriots came from behind (as seems to happen each week in 2017) to win a contested contest last week against their AFC East rival New York Jets. Their Super Bowl 51 opponent the Atlanta Falcons travel to Foxboro, MA after being embarrassed at home by the Jay Cutler led Miami Dolphins last week.

Atlanta led 17-0 against Miami and seemed to have the game in hand at halftime. Despite missing Mohamed Sanu and Atlanta lost their second consecutive game at home to an AFC East opponent as they previously lost to the Buffalo Bills 23-17 in week four.

Last week, the Miami Dolphins scored 20 unanswered points in the second half to come back and beat the Falcons 20-17, falling to 3-2 on the year.

Add in a close win against Detroit and almost losing in week one to the Bears, the Falcons have seemingly been hit by the Super Bowl hangover.

This week’s matchup will be broadcast nationally by NBC and can be seen on NBC Boston – 10 or on NBC Providence on WJAR in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. Al Michaels handles the play-by-play duties with former Cincinnati Bengals Hall-of-Fame wide receiver Cris Collinsworth as the color analyst. Michele Tafoya will work from the sidelines.

On the radio, this week’s game will be broadcast to a national audience on Westwood One. Kevin Kugler and one the best NFL analysts Mike Mayock will call the game. Locally, the Patriots’ flagship station 98.5 FM the Sports Hub will carry the game on the Patriots Radio Network. The Patriots are on the radio on 40 stations throughout the nation and features broadcasters Bob Socci doing play-by-play and local media member and former Patriots backup quarterback Scott Zolak adding color.

Now that you know how to watch and listen to the game, here are the five key matchups to watch that will determine if the Patriots continue their winning ways against the Atlanta Falcons or if former Boston College Eagles quarterback Matt Ryan returns to the Boston area and pulls out the victory on the road.

AROUND COVER32

Chuck Pagano’s seat is as hot as it’s ever been

Previewing the Jaguars’ divisional matchup with the Colts

Making some observations on how the Texans played on Week 6

Notes on the latest in Titans news

Ranking the 10 biggest injuries of the 2017 NFL season (so far)

1. NE CB Malcolm Butler and CB Johnson Badamosi vs ATL WR Julio Jones

The New England Patriots cornerbacks trying to slow down Atlanta’s All-Pro wide receiver was easily the most talked about matchup heading into Super Bowl 51. Everyone wanted to know just how the Patriots planned to cover Julio Jones? For Jones, it was bracket coverage with safety Duron Harmon or Devin McCourty over the top and Eric Rowe or Logan Ryan in coverage.

Logan Ryan is in Tennessee in 2017 after signing as a free agent and Eric Rowe is not going to play on Sunday after not practicing again all week due to a groin injury. Add in free agent acquisition Stephon Gilmore out again this week with a concussion and the secondary is paper-thin. That leaves Malcolm Butler, Johnson Badamosi, and special teams ace/slot cornerback Jonathan Jones to try and slow down Julio Jones.

The expectation is that the best cornerback for New England–Malcolm Butler–will cover the best receiver for Atlanta–Jones. However, as happened in Super Bowl 51, it is not a move that the New England defense under Matt Patricia traditionally would do.

With Gilmore out, Butler would usually cover the top receiver–but only when there is not a significant size difference. With a long-armed finesse receiver like Jones, the Patriots traditionally try a different tactic. This year against big receivers like Michael Thomas in New Orleans, Kelvin Benjamin against Carolina and Mike Evans for Tampa Bay, it was Gilmore or Rowe playing a mix of zone and aggressive man coverage with safety help (either Devin McCourty or Duron Harmon) over the top.

What is likely is when Atlanta has three receivers on the field Bademosi–with his size and strength–will be on Jones with safety help, Butler will be on Justin Hardy (as Mohamed Sanu is expected to be out again) and Jonathan Jones will be in the slot using his impressive speed to try and lock down third-receiver Taylor Gabriel. With two receivers and a tight end, look for the man-coverage to have Bademosi on Jones and Butler on Hardy with McCourty or Patrick Chung taking on impressive young tight end Austin Hooper.

Either way, Butler will get his share of coverage on Jones and New England is not going to mix in plenty zone looks and not play man-to-man coverage the entire game. The Patriots have been incorporating zone looks a lot in 2017 in an attempt to simplify the defense and Butler will find himself responsible for Jones during those times as well.

Jones has 25 receptions on 37 targets for 367 yards good for 14.7 yards per reception average. However, through five games he has amazingly failed to find the end zone. Even so, this is a big test for the banged-up New England secondary. New England needs to slow Jones and force Atlanta to find third or fourth options and increase the likelihood of drops, bad routes, and turnovers.

2. NE T Marcus Cannon and T Nate Solder vs ATL DE/OLB Brooks Reed and DE/OLB Vic Beasley

The big question for the Atlanta Falcons’ defense is how they choose to attack quarterback Tom Brady after the way he picked them apart in the second half of last season’s Super Bowl 51. Actually, the Patriots moved the ball well in the first half as well and it was LeGarrette Blount fumble and a rare pick-six out of Brady that really swung the momentum early.

Brady, at age 40, appears more mobile than ever and has continued his unparalleled success despite having been sacked more in six weeks than he was in 12 weeks last season. However, there still seems is one tried-and-true method to slow the New England passing offense and that is to generate pressure with the front four and flood the secondary.

Last year the Falcons’ defense had 15.5 sacks from edge rusher Vic Beasley and 11.5 sacks from the rest of the defense but had a huge game out of defensive tackle Grady Jarrett in the Super Bowl. Jarrett has yet to notch a sack this season and Beasley has started just one game due to injury and has just two of the 12 sacks by Atlanta in 2017.

Beasley is a talented edge-rusher but he is not often used as a mobile piece in the defense. In fact, even when healthy he is often on the sidelines on early downs. The Falcons have combatted their lack of pass rush with Beasley sidelined with a blitz attack designed to get pressure from multiple defenders. Eight different players have sacks for Atlanta with outside linebacker Brooks Reed leading the team with three sacks.

Tom Brady is at the point of his career where conventional blitzing is suicide for a defense. The Falcons need to dial up something new or else flood the passing lanes and get pressure with their defensive front four or five.

Brooks Reed has three sacks so far after having just two in 2016 and will be going against Nate Solder. It is a tough matchup for the veteran Reed as Solder has picked up his play recently after a slow start to 2017. Reed spent much of the Super Bowl watching Dwight Freeney causing havoc against Solder.

On the other side, Marcus Cannon was one of the best right tackles in the league in 2016 but an ankle injury has slowed him early in the season as he tries to fight through it. Beasley struggled against Cannon last year in the Super Bowl and like Solder has in the past few weeks Cannon is finally hitting his stride. Cannon has used his excellent footwork to get his huge body in position to simply overpower edge rushers like Beasley who are usually 100 pounds lighter.

If Cannon and Solder can hold off Reed and Beasley, it could be a long day for the Atlanta defense.

3. NE TE Rob Gronkowski vs ATL ILB De’Vondre Campbell and S Deion Jones

Remember, in Super Bowl 51 he was not playing and New England still found a way to win. “He” is All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski. He is a handful to cover and now will get his first shot at taking on the talented Atlanta linebackers and safeties. First up is coverage linebacker De’Vondre Campbell.

Atlanta’s dynamic safety/linebacker Deion Jones will get his chances to test himself and try and cover the best tight end in the NFL as well. Last week the duo did a number on Miami tight end Julius Thomas, but Thomas is not even close to being in the same league as Gronkowksi. Gronkowski is off the injury report and should play the entire game on Sunday night. After missing the Thursday night win over Tampa Bay, he came back against the Jets and shredded the ultra-athletic rookie safety Jamal Adams and second-year linebacker Darron Lee. Gronkowski hauled in a pair of touchdown passes and finished with six catches for 83 yards.

Gronkowski is so difficult to cover as he is massive (six-foot-six and 265 pounds of solid muscle) and has deceptive straight-line speed and short-space quickness. In addition, he is a precision route-runner, uses his long arms, leaping ability, athleticism and length to wall off defenders and then his brute strength to pick-up extra yards after the catch.

The Falcons have the team speed to try and swarm Gronkowski with their quick cornerbacks, strong safeties, and athletic linebackers. De’Vondre Campbell is expected to be the primary coverage linebacker to draw the duty of trying to stop Gronkowski.

Campbell was last seen by the Patriots in overtime of Super Bowl 51 mugging tight end Martellus Bennett and setting up the winning rush by James White. Campbell overall had a good game and did manage to limit Bennett much of the game until the costly pass interference penalty.

However, slowing down Martellus Bennett is one thing. Slowing down Rob Gronkowski is entirely different. There are few teams that have effectively slowed down a healthy Rob Gronkowski and this match-up could be the most important of the day for the young and aggressive Falcons defense.

4. NE WR Brandin Cooks vs ATL CB Desmond Trufant

Last season Patriots’ head coach Bill Belichick saw his wide receivers struggle to create separation against the blazing fast secondary of the Falcons and realized his offense needed a boost. In came wide receiver Brandin Cooks with his ability to pick-up huge chunks of yardage downfield or turning a short pass into a romp through the secondary.

Cooks leads the team with 19.7 yards per reception having hauled in 24 passes for a whopping 472 yards. Along with speedster Phillip Dorsett, the Patriots have added two young burners to the passing attack. With Dorsett still not a full speed due to a knee injury and Chris Hogan (ribs) still questionable for Sunday, the pressure is on Cooks to step-up and have a big game for the Patriots and their depleted wide receiver group.

He will face-off against another player who was not on the field in Super Bowl 51 in cornerback Desmond Trufant. Trufant was Atlanta’s first-round draft pick in 2013 and is fully recovered from the shoulder injury that kept him off the field. In fact, teams have already gone back to shying away from his side of the field as he continues to get his hands on seemingly every pass thrown his way.

Trufant is no stranger to Cooks as the two faced off regularly while Cooks was in New Orleans and had some epic battles. Trufant has fared well especially recently as Trufant locked down Cooks in week three although he missed the next match-up due to injury. Cooks will have to get the best of his old nemesis on Sunday to give New England a chance to get their offense on track.

5. NE DT Malcom Brown, DT Adam Butler and DT Alan Branch vs ATL G Andy Levitre, C Alex Mack and G Wes Schweitzer

Atlanta’s offense is most effective when their passing game keys off their two-headed rushing attack with a play-action passing concept to suck up the linebackers and create space for their talented wide receivers. Matt Ryan operates at his most efficient when running backs Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman create space in the middle of the field and lure down the linebackers to open up passing lanes for his receivers.

Atlanta has lead back Devonta Freeman and his 353 yards rushing and 4.5 yards per rush average leading the way. Behind him, Tevin Coleman has another 213 yards on the ground and an eye-popping 5.6 yards per rush average to go along with 14 receptions. This pair of running backs gave New England fits in Super Bowl 51 and both played well last week.

New England brings out their inconsistent run defense to this matchup and that unit is a big part of why that defense has struggled. The passing defense has garnered all the headlines, but the rush defense is 20th in yards allowed and have allowed eye-popping 4.7 yards per rushing attempt. Last week was one of their best performances of the season against the run.

It is no surprise New England is 3-0 when they hold opponents to less than 100 yards on the ground and 1-2 when they allow over 100 yards on the ground.

Defensive tackle Alan Branch was benched for a game as a healthy scratch and his snaps have been way down in 2017. Undrafted free agent rookie Adam Butler had been getting most of the snaps with massive second-year nose tackle Vincent Valentine on injured reserve. The best defensive tackle has been the former first-round draft pick, Malcolm Brown.

Controlling the run game while in the nickel package (be it the three safety look or three cornerback look) is vital to slowing the Atlanta passing attack. New England has seemingly faced a number of strong offenses but none have had the explosive potential of the Falcons.

To slow the Falcons the Patriots’ defensive front must create pressure. Center Alex Mack and guard Andy Levitre are among the best in the NFL at their position. Mack was arguably the most important addition to Atlanta last season and played a huge role as he has stabilized the interior offensive line and protected Ryan while creating space in the running game.

Levitre is a Pro Bowl caliber player and has continued to play build off a strong 2016 this season. Schweitzer was expected to be a liability and the second-year player was dominated by Akiem Hicks in week one against the Bears and appeared to be the weakest link on the offensive line. However, since week one he has improved dramatically and opened eyes when he shut down Ndamukong Suh last week against Miami.

Brown and Branch need to hold their own against this strong interior and keep the Atlanta rushing attack get on track. Any pressure generated is a bonus but any chance to stall the running game and make the Atlanta offense one-dimensional removes the play-action threat and limits the Atlanta passing attack better than any other strategy.

– Hal Bent is a Staff Writer for cover32/Patriots and covers the New England Patriots. Like and follow on Follow @halbent01 Follow @cover32_NE and Facebook.

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Patriots vs Jets: Five Key Matchups to Watch

Each week the game comes down to the match-ups. These are the top 5 matchups that will determine which team emerges victorious.

The New England Patriots barely hung on to win 19-14 last Thursday night against another tough NFC South squad, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Patriots will take their shortest commute to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ to face the surprising New York Jets. Both teams are 3-2 and are tied with the Buffalo Bills at the top of the AFC East heading into week six.

This is the first divisional game for the Patriots in 2017. Last season, the Patriots finished with a 5-1 record against division foes dropping their week four match-up to the Buffalo Bills in their final game before Tom Brady returned from his ridiculous “Deflategate” suspension. Per Patriots.com, New England is an NFL-best 76-22 (.776) in regular season AFC East games since Tom Brady took over at quarterback in the 2001 season, which is the best intra-division record of any team in the NFL in that time span.

This week’s match-up will be broadcast by CBS and be broadcast in the Boston area on WBZ-TV Channel 4. WPRI Channel 12 will broadcast the game to Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts. Ian Eagle will handle play-by-play duties with Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts as the color analyst. Evan Washburn will be working the sidelines.

This week’s game will be broadcast to a national audience on Sports USA. Larry Kahn and Hank Bauer will call the game. Locally, the Patriots’ flagship station 98.5 FM the Sports Hub will carry the game on the Patriots Radio Network. The Patriots are on the radio on 40 stations throughout the nation and will feature broadcasters Bob Socci doing play-by-play and local media member and former Patriots backup quarterback Scott Zolak adding color commentary.

Now that you know how to watch and listen to the game, here are the five key match-ups to watch that will determine if the Patriots continue their winning ways against the New York Jets or if the biggest surprises of the young NFL season will continue their surprising ways and pull off the upset.

AROUND COVER32

Jameis Winston channels his inner Ric Flair

Cam Newton lit up the Lions last week

Ranking the top 25 tight ends for fantasy football in Week 6

Predicting the winners of every Week 6 matchup

  NE DE Trey Flowers, DE Deatrich Wise and DE Cassius Marsh vs NYJ LT Kelvin Beachum and RT Brandon Shell

The pitiful New England pass rush has been a continued storyline throughout the 2017 season. However, the Patriots have had the misfortune to go up against a number of mobile quarterbacks in the season to date. Alex Smith was the week one opponent, in week three it was the dynamic rookie sensation DeShaun Watson, in week four they face Cam Newton, and last Thursday night was former number one overall draft pick, Jameis Winston.

Winston and week two’s quarterback, New Orleans Saints’ future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees, were the most traditional pocket passers faced by the New England defense. Not coincidently, it was the two best defensive performances by far by the beleaguered group.

When going up against mobile quarterbacks, head coach Bill Belichick and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia have made a habit to have a disciplined pass rush to force containment of the quarterback in the pocket. This forces the defensive ends to go against their better instincts and instead be extremely disciplined in their rush lanes.

This week the Patriots face the 38-year old Josh McCown and the Jets. McCown was not the most mobile quarterback when drafted in the third-round of the 2002 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals. McCown has been excellent for the Jets and has completed 71.4% of his passes (all statistic from Pro-Football-Reference.com unless otherwise noted) despite being sacked 15 times in five games.

The Jets have a new pair of tackles after bringing in Kelvin Beachum (who was let go by the Steelers and then the Jaguars after failing to stay healthy and perform to expectations the past two seasons) and Brandon Shell (the great-nephew of Hall of Fame tackle Art Shell), who started playing in the second half last season after being a fifth-round draft pick in 2016.

Beachum has been adequate, but not the rising diamond-in-the-rough he appeared to be three or four years ago in Pittsburgh. He lacks athleticism and when his hands get low he can be overpowered. Shell is strong but inexperienced. His technique is not consistent throughout the game and his footwork (or lack thereof) puts him on his heels and unbalanced against speed rushers.

Neither tackle is elite, which is good for New England since they desperately lack that elite pass rusher. Trey Flowers has been impressive and leads the team with 3.5 sacks while rookie Deatrich Wise is second with three. Cassius Marsh has been playing starter snaps since coming over from Seattle and though he has just one sack he can generate pressure occasionally.

Trey Flowers may do much of his pass rushing inside if the Patriots can get the Jets into obvious passing downs and tee-off on McCown. Center Wesley Johnson has been terrible and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia may want his best pass rusher taking him on. That leaves Marsh on Beachum and rookie Wise on Shell.

Wise on Shell may be an underrated advantage for New England. Shell has difficulty with smaller rushers like Wise (who was billed as a tweener–not quick enough to be a 3-4 OLB and not big enough to be a 4-3 DE–which was why he dropped in the 2017 NFL Draft). Wise has actually been the most effective pass-rusher in New England this season per my former colleague Cyrus Geller at ProFootballFocus.com who notes “Wise’s pass-rushing productivity rating of 13.6 is tied for the sixth highest among 59 qualified 4-3 defensive ends.”

This is a match-up of a weak pass rush against a duo of poor pass protectors. Something’s got to give. If the Patriots can get consistent pressure on McCown, it will finally take pressure off their secondary and allow them to get off the field and give their offense some extra chances to find the end zone.

NE TE Rob Gronkowski vs NYJ ILB Darron Lee and S Jamal Adams

This is the reason they drafted him. From his first press conference after being the 20th pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft, New York Jets linebacker Darron Lee he has been asked about covering New England tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Yes, dynamic rookie safety Jamal Adams–who is already showing why he was a bargain as the sixth-overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft–will get his chances to cover the best tight end in the NFL.The Jets have adopted a three-safety alignment similar to the Patriots’ “big nickel” defense with Lee in the role of Devin McCourty. However, on first-and-second down, Lee is likely to be covering Gronkowski.

Last season, Lee was overmatched as a rookie and has struggled in the running game as he has been overpowered by fullbacks and pulling guards. However, his short-space quickness, instincts, and pure speed have given him a big advantage in covering tight ends. Of course, David Njoku (three catches for 48 yards and a touchdown reception), Marcedes Lewis (no catches), Julius Thomas (three receptions for 16 yards), Jared Cook (four catches for 25 yards) and Charles Clay (four receptions for 53 yards and a touchdown reception) are hardly in the same class as Gronkowski.

Gronkowski is off the injury report and should play most of the game on Sunday. Despite missing the Thursday night win over Tampa Bay, he has 20 receptions in four games for 318 yards and a field-stretching 15.9 yards per reception. At full strength, he continues to run precise routes, use his athleticism and size to wall off defenders and his brute strength to pick-up extra yards after the catch.

The Jets are definitely better suited to try and slow Gronkowski with the impressive Jamal Adams (who, based on talent should have been the first pick of the NFL Draft) and the improving Darron Lee. However, there are few teams that have effectively slowed down a healthy Rob Gronkowski and this match-up could be the most important of the day for the young and aggressive Jets defense.

NYJ TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins vs NE S Patrick Chung

On the other side of the ball, the Jets under new offensive coordinator John Morton have discovered that it is allowed to throw the football to a tight end. Previous offensive coordinator Chan Gailey eschewed the position altogether in his game plans and the Jets targeted their top two tight ends just 28 times over the entire 2016 season.

In 2017 through five games tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins 18 times already. He has hauled in 15 catches for 106 yards and a touchdown. Seferian-Jenkins has been an outlet option and running underneath routes, rarely stretching the field with downfield routes.

While inside linebacker Kyle Van Noy will be in coverage much of the time, New England will be shorthanded at cornerback with Eric Rowe out. This will have the Patriots in their three-safety “big nickel” look much of the game and featuring Patrick Chung in coverage of the New York tight end.

Chung has been up-and-down in coverage of tight ends this season with strong performances alternating with him being overmatched in coverage. Seferian-Jenkins is extremely athletic but still raw with route-running concepts. This is a matchup that could be a headache for New England if Seferian-Jenkins is able to convert a few third downs and extend drives for the Jets.

NE LB Kyle Van Noy vs NYJ RB Elijah McGuire

Speaking of linebacker Kyle Van Noy, he is going to have his hands full chasing impressive New York Jets rookie running back Elijah McGuire. With Bilal Powell likely out this week and Matt Forte returning from injury, the Jets can lean again on the exciting sixth-round draft pick out of Louisiana-Lafayette.

McGuire is only five-foot-ten (if he is really that tall) but a solid 214 pounds. He exploded onto the scene in week four with 93 yards rushing and a touchdown to go with 38 yards receiving against Jacksonville. Last week the Browns held him to just 20 yards on 11 carries as they kept him from getting outside by setting the edge and funneling him inside.

New England has struggled to set the edge at times in the running game and that has burned them at times. That puts more pressure on linebacker Kyle Van Noy to get off of blocks and chase down the elusive and speedy Eli McGuire.

Van Noy has been playing more in the middle of the defense with Dont’a Hightower slowed by injury. With only two linebackers on the field in non-goal line or short yardage situations, it puts extra pressure on the linebackers to read and react to the running backs on rushing plays and in coverage.

While McGuire has only five receptions on the season, expect him to pick-up the slack with Powell ailing. Expect the Jets to study what the Saints did in week two with their running backs piling up seven receptions for 75 yards including a 38-yard reception on a wheel route down the sideline by rookie Alvin Kamara.

The Patriots’ defense has to stop giving up chunk plays in the running game and by running backs coming out of the backfield or flexing out to exploit coverage. Kyle Van Noy will have a key role on defense to slow the Jets running and passing attack.

NYJ WR Jermaine Kearse vs NE CB Malcolm Butler

Finally, there is one more component in the New York passing attack for New England to game-plan against: wide receiver Jermaine Kearse. While Jeremy Kerley has been his usual quiet-but-effective performer since returning to the Jets, Kearse–acquired with a second-round draft pick for the disgruntled defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson from Seattle–has been exactly what the punch-less receiving group has needed.

Only 27 years-old, Kearse was starting to get squeezed out of playing time by the young receivers in Seattle. In New York, he is the unquestioned number one wide receiver and his presence takes pressure off younger receivers ArDarius Stewart, Robby Anderson, and Charone Peake.

Kearse leads the Jets with 22 receptions for 220 yards and three of the five receiving touchdowns through five games. In Seattle’s balanced passing attack and with first Golden Tate and then Doug Baldwin as the number one receiver, Kearse never topped 49 receptions or 685 yards receiving in a season. This season it looks like a lock that Kearse will top those numbers if he stays healthy.

Kearse is six-foot-one and 212 pounds and originally it seemed that he would likely draw the similarly sized Stephon Gilmore in coverage while Malcolm Butler would do battle with the five-foot-nine 188 pound Jeremy Kerley. Gilmore has had communication lapses during the first four games of the season but played much better in week five.

Part of the reason for the improvement was the Patriots simplified the coverage and had Gilmore follow the dangerous Mike Evans around the field on Thursday night. Gilmore allowed just six receptions for 71 yards in coverage during the game per NESN.com and most of that came in the last ten minutes of the fourth quarter when the Patriots went from tight man-coverage to the prevent defense.

However, news broke on Saturday afternoon indicating that Gilmore would be out with a concussion. With cornerback Eric Rowe already ruled out for the Patriots on Sunday, it leaves New England dangerously thin at the cornerback position. That elevates Jonathan Jones to the number two cornerback for the game and he should see a lot of Jeremy Kerley and Robby Anderson while safeties Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung will likely work out of the slot at the cornerback position as both have done at times this season.

Malcolm Butler should be now be aligned on Kearse and that should be an important battle throughout the game. If Butler can shut down the Jets’ top passing option, it should put a significant crimp in the Jets’ game plan and help keep their offense on the sidelines and give more opportunities to Tom Brady and the offense.

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Patriots at Buccaneers; Five Key Matchups to Watch

Each week the game comes down to the matchups. These are the top 5 matchups that will determine which team emerges victorious.

The New England Patriots came from behind for the second week in a row but this time they left too much time for quarterback Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers. A week removed from a dramatic comeback win 36-33 last week against the Houston Texans, the Patriots came up short losing 33-30.

This week, the 2-2 Patriots board their brand-new 767 team plane (Can we agree to call it “Patriots Force One”?) for the first time as they travel to Tampa to play the 2-1 Buccaneers. New England last played in Tampa in 1997 (the “home” game for Tampa Bay in 2009 was played in London) and face a tough Tampa Bay defense. In addition to an explosive offense led by the dynamic Jameis Winston at quarterback

This week’s game will be back on CBS and can be seen locally in the Boston area on WBZ-TV Channel four. The top team of Jim Nantz (play-by-play) and former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (color analyst) will be in the booth. Tracy Wolfson and the always entertaining Jay Feely–always good for a Tom Brady story as a close personal friend and college teammate–will work from the sidelines. Nationally, the game will also air on the NFL Network and be streamed online on Amazon.com.

If you are stuck working or are in the car, the game will be broadcast to a national audience on Westwood One. Ian Eagle and Tony Boselli will call the game. Locally, the Patriots’ flagship station 98.5 FM the Sports Hub will carry the game on the Patriots Radio Network. The Patriots are on the radio on 40 stations throughout the nation and feature broadcasters Bob Socci on play-by-play and local media member and former Patriots backup quarterback Scott Zolak adding his unique brand of color commentary.

AROUND COVER32 ​ ​ Recapping the 49ers’ Week 4 loss

Rams off to a surprisingly strong start to begin the year ​​ How has the Seahawks’ offense done so far this year?​

Who’s going to win each Week 5 game?

Now that you know how to watch, stream and listen to the game, here are the five key match-ups to watch that will determine if the Patriots get back to their winning ways against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on Thursday night. Or if Jameis Winston powers his team to victory.

NE Interior Offensive Line vs TB DT Gerald McCoy

The Patriots have had their hands full blocking for quarterback Tom Brady so far in 2017. While edge rushers get the attention on television and in the media, it is interior pass rushers who do the most damage to offensive game plans.

This week they get to face one of the best in the NFL as the explosive and entertaining Gerald McCoy welcomes the Patriots to Tampa. McCoy teams with the boisterous former Washington defensive tackle Chris Baker to make a dynamic one-two punch in the middle. Both are athletic and penetrating pass rushers in the middle of the defensive line, but McCoy is simply something special.

Last week against the Giants, McCoy burst through the offensive line to make tackles for a loss on the first two plays of the game. Tampa Bay has moved McCoy around the line more this season and he has responded by adding pressure. Although he does not have a sack in three games this season, the last four years he has put up 9.5, 8.5, 8.5, and 7 sacks.

Last week, per ProFootballFocus.com, the five-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle had two hits and two hurries against the Giants even without a sack. Add in four run-stops to go with his pair of tackles for a loss, and his reputation as a disruptive force is well-earned.

While the Giants’ offensive line has struggled, so has the blocking in New England. Tackles Nate Solder and Marcus Cannon will likely be occupied with ends William Gholston and Robert Ayers. However, with McCoy lining up all over the interior, it will take guards Joe Thuney, Shaq Mason, and center David Andrews working cohesively to contain the disruptive force.

Quarterback Tom Brady has been sacked 13 times and the trio of interior blockers are as culpable as the pair of tackles. While that number puts them in the middle of the pack, the Patriots have faced a number of impressive interior pass rushers: in week one the Patriots faced the young and aggressive Chris Jones of the Chiefs; week two saw edge rusher Cameron Jordan of the Saints spending much of his time looping inside looking for a favorable match-up; week three featured J.J. Watt of the Texans; and last week was the young, athletic duo of Kawann Short and Star Lotulelei of the Panthers.

Despite playing these strong interior defensive tackles, this may be the toughest test of all. Everyone in the NFL knows that interior pressure is the way to make Tom Brady uncomfortable and Gerald McCoy may be the best interior pass rusher in the league.

NE CBs Stephon Gilmore and Malcolm Butler vs TB WRs DeSean Jackson and Mike Evans

No doubt the New England Patriots secondary is looking forward to having ten days off after Thursday to spend some time getting their communication issues sorted out. However, with just a three-day turnaround to play Tampa Bay on Thursday night, the secondary is trying to fix a number of issues in just a short period of time.

The pass defense in New England has been absolutely dreadful in 2017. With cornerback, Logan Ryan leaving for Tennessee in free agency and the team adding aggressive cornerback Stephon Gilmore from Buffalo, it appeared the Patriots had actually upgraded the secondary. Free safety Duron Harmon also was re-signed this offseason.

It has been a disaster in New England with uncovered wide receivers and running backs every game. What has been a disciplined and intelligent unit for the past 15 years now looks disorganized and unclear on basic assignments.

After giving up 352 passing yards to the Chiefs the Patriots followed up with 348 passing yards to the Saints, 292 to rookie quarterback DeShaun Watson and the Texans, followed by 304 more to Cam Newton on Sunday. Over the four games, the defense has allowed 11 passing touchdowns.

It doesn’t get easier on Thursday as young quarterback Jameis Winston brings his high-powered passing offense to face the struggling New England defense. Tampa Bay features two big-play wide receivers in veteran speedster DeSean Jackson and the huge and athletic Mike Evans.

Evans is just 24 years old and has a massive catch radius. At six-foot-five and 231 pounds, his athleticism, speed, and agility make him an anomaly and almost impossible to slow down. In three seasons he has topped 1,000 yards receiving in each and twice had a dozen touchdowns.

Opposite Evans, the Buccaneers brought in former Eagles and Redskins wide receiver DeSean Jackson. Jackson has been upset with his role through three games and the Buccaneers will likely look to draw up some deep shots to try and get him on track. So far in three games, Jackson has just nine receptions for 143 yards and a touchdown.

NE S Patrick Chung vs TB TEs Cameron Brate and O.J. Howard

Of course, the Buccaneers have a multi-faceted offense and often roll out multiple tight end sets. Young tight ends Cameron Brate and rookie O.J. Howard are mismatches for most defenses.

Both are excellent receivers–although not great blockers–but do not shy away from their assignments. Brate had a breakout season in 2016, hauling in 57 passes for 660 yards and eight touchdowns. In 2017 he has ten receptions for 137 yards and touchdowns in each of the last two games as the Harvard alum wisely uses his six-foot-five frame to be a threat in the red zone.

Opposite Brate (or even lined-up next to him) is rookie O.J. Howard. Howard was rated as the best tight end in the 2017 NFL Draft. Howard inexplicably dropped to the nineteenth pick of the first round and Tampa Bay General Manager, Jason Licht, jumped to grab him. Licht was formerly Director of Player Personnel in New England for Bill Belichick from 2009 to 2011 (and assistant director of player personnel in 2002) and was a key architect in drafting Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.

New England will likely have a number of defensive players in coverage of these tight ends, including strong safety Patrick Chung. Chung is the primary defensive player responsible for tight end coverage in man-coverage for the Patriots. Even in zone defenses (which New England has played much more than the past four seasons), Chung is often around the tight ends.

While others such as linebackers Kyle Van Noy and Dont’a Hightower and safeties Jordan Richards and Devin McCourty will have a role in covering the duo, most attention focuses on Chung. Chung gives up a lot of size but has a very high compete-level.

Chung will be busy with this duo of athletic and strong pass-catching tight ends. Even with the dual threat of wide receivers Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson, the Patriots have to be vigilant to be sure to try and contain the dual tight-end threat of the Buccaneers.

NE WR Brandin Cooks vs TB CB Brent Grimes

The New England Patriots invested their first-round draft pick in wide receiver Brandin Cooks. So far through four games, they have just 13 receptions for 294 yards and two touchdowns to show for it.

Cooks seemed ready to break out in week three against Houston with five receptions for 131 yards and two touchdowns. The crowning achievement was the toe-tapping touchdown reception to win the game. However, last week he was again overlooked in the offense with just three receptions for 38 yards.

With Cooks coming off back-to-back seasons of 1,138 yards and 1,173 yards with New Orleans, the expectations after being traded to New England were sky-high. Instead, Cooks is on pace for just 52 receptions although his 22.6 yards per reception average tops the NFL.

Cooks will see a lot of Tampa Bay’s top cornerback Brent Grimes. Grimes may be 34 years-old but he has not lost a step of the speed that made him a top cornerback in Atlanta and Miami before he landed in Tampa Bay. Grimes was injured earlier this season and the pass defense was terrible without him against Minnesota in week three (369 yards passing by Case Keenum). He is on the injury report but is expected to play Thursday.

Grimes had an impressive performance last week against the Giants despite being less than 100 percent healthy. Grimes was targeted nine times by New York quarterback Eli Manning and allowed just three receptions for 20 yards (and only four of those yards allowed as YAC). Grimes was the primary coverage for Odell Beckham and held him to two receptions for 10 yards despite being targeted seven times in coverage. Eli Manning had just a 42.4 quarterback rating while targeting Grimes on Sunday.

Grimes is no stranger to quarterback Tom Brady, having faced him twice a year in his three seasons in Miami. New England is going to need to score points with their porous defense and will need a big game of big plays from Brandin Cooks despite the tight coverage expected from Grimes.

New England has been more vertical than horizontal in the passing game (whether by design or necessity) with Julian Edelman out for the season. On Thursday night, the Patriots need Brandin Cooks to win one-on-one battles with Brent Grimes to give them a chance to outscore Tampa Bay.

NE TE Rob Gronkowski vs TB LB Devante Bond

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are likely going to be without linebackers Lavonte David and Kwon Alexander on Thursday night. David is dealing with a knee injury and missed last weeks’ game against New York. Alexander has missed the past two games with a hamstring injury.

Alexander is very good in pass coverage and snagged an interception in week two in Tampa Bay’s first game of the season. As good as Alexander is, David is probably one of the best coverage linebackers in the entire league. ProFootballFocus.com rated him fifth among all linebackers in coverage (coverage snaps per reception) in 2016.

In the place of their two best coverage linebackers, the Buccaneers turn to backup linebacker Devante Bond. Without David and Alexander, the Buccaneers gave up six receptions for 62 yards to rookie tight end Evan Engram last week and now have to deal with Rob Gronkowski.

While linebacker Devante Bond may get some coverage help from safety T.J. Ward, who missed Sunday’s game but returned to practice on a limited basis this week, stopping Gronkowski is no small deal.

Gronkowski had four receptions for 80 yards (and lost another reception to a questionable offensive pass interference penalty) and has returned to form after missing half of 2016 with a back injury. Gronkowski appeared to be injured after leaving the week two win over New Orleans but has returned to play all but one snap the last two weeks.

Gronkowski leads the Patriots with 318 yards receiving in the first quarter of the season and is second on the team with 20 receptions. He continues to be a vertical threat as well and is averaging a gaudy 15.9 yards per reception.

Tampa Bay will have their hands full trying to slow Gronkowski on Thursday night. If they can slow Gronkowski, they go a long way towards slowing the New England passing attack.

– Hal Bent is a Staff Writer for cover32/Patriots and covers the New England Patriots. Like and follow on Follow @halbent01 Follow @cover32_NE and Facebook.

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New England Patriots vs Carolina Panthers: 5 Key Matchups to Watch

Each week the game comes down to the matchups. These are the top 5 match-ups that will determine which team emerges victorious.

The New England Patriots came from behind to win 36-33 last week against the AFC South’s Huston Texans. The Carolina Panthers travel to Foxboro, MA after being blown-out at home by the New Orleans Saints 34-13 last week. Both teams’ defenses are embarrassed by their performance last week and looking to bounce back.

This week’s matchup will be the only Patriots broadcast by FOX this season and can be seen locally on WFXT Channel 25 out of Boston (or Channel 64 out of Providence). Fox sends out their top broadcast team as Joe Buck will handle play-by-play duties with Troy Aikman as the color analyst. Erin Andrews will work the sidelines.

On the radio, this week’s game will be broadcast to a national audience on ESPN Radio. Adam Amin and Chris Canty will call the game. Locally, the Patriots’ flagship station 98.5 FM the Sports Hub will carry the game on the Patriots Radio Network. The Patriots are on the radio on 40 stations throughout the nation and will feature broadcasters Bob Socci doing play-by-play and local media member and former Patriots backup quarterback Scott Zolak adding color.

Now that you know how to watch and listen to the game, here are the five key matchups to watch that will determine if the Patriots continue their winning ways against the Carolina Panthers or if Cam Newton will pull off the upset.

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  NE DE Trey Flowers and Cassius Marsh vs CAR T Matt Kalil and Daryl Williams

The New England Patriots have received criticism with the lack of pressure generated against opposing quarterbacks. However, in reviewing the game tape, the Patriots are bringing just four pass rushers and have been missing linebacker Dont’a Hightower for the past two games.

Without the extra pressure from the pass rush, there is too much responsibility on the secondary. Alex Smith had too much time to throw in week one and picked the Patriots’ defense apart. Drew Brees had too much time in the pocket in week two. Last week, the Patriots made a rookie too comfortable in the pocket and almost lost the game. Generating more pressure is a must to turn around the defense.

The Patriots are leaning on a trio of young pass rushers with last year’s breakout star Trey Flowers the leader of the pack. Flowers had six pressures last week against Houston to up his total to 17 through three games (per ProFootballFocus.com). He leads the team with three sacks and rookie defensive end Deatrich Wise is second on the team with two sacks.

In the past six quarters, the Patriots have integrated 25-year old defensive end Cassius Marsh into the regular defense. Marsh was buried on the depth chart in Seattle the past few seasons and has given New England a boost on the defensive line. Although he has just one sack, it was a strip-sack of the elusive Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson and his play in the running game was much improved over his week two play against New Orleans.

This week, the Patriots will be trying to get pressure on another elusive quarterback as Cam Newton has historically been at his best outside the pocket. The Panthers invested heavily in left tackle Matt Kalil this offseason after he left Minnesota. Although Kalil missed most of the season with a hip injury, the Panthers gave him a contract worth up to $55 million over five years.

Kalil has struggled so far in transitioning to a new team and quarterback. He will see a lot of Flowers but also Wise when Flowers slides inside on passing downs.

On the other side, Daryl Williams–a fourth-round draft pick in 2015–lacks NFL athleticism. Williams is big and physically strong, but he struggles with quicker, change-of-direction pass rushers. For New England, this is a match-up that Cassius Marsh should be expected to win with his explosion off the ball and speed on the outside.

Against Cam Newton, pressuring the quarterback is difficult because he welcomes being pushed out the pocket to the outside where he is most dangerous. In addition, the defensive ends need to bring Newton down (difficult) or change field position by going after the ball and focusing on creating turnovers.

NE WR Brandin Cooks and Chris Hogan vs CAR CB James Bradberry and Daryl Worley

Three weeks into the 2017 NFL season and the New England Patriots are still trying to find out how their offense is going to run. After all but abandoning the horizontal passing game against Kansas City and New Orleans, the Patriots showed a glimpse of it against Houston before going back to their vertical stretch offense.

With no Julian Edelman and speedsters Brandin Cooks, Chris Hogan, and Phillip Dorsett the team’s strength has been attacking down the field. According to Pro Football Focus, through three games quarterback, Tom Brady has thrown for more yards (368) on passes 20+ yards downfield in 2017–by far the most of any quarterback through three games. Against the Texans last week, Brady connected with his receivers on five out of eight pass attempts of twenty yards or more past the line of scrimmage for 185 yards and three touchdowns.

The Carolina Panthers secondary feasted on weak offenses in their first two games of the season holding the 49ers and Bills to just three points each. They faced their first real test last week against Drew Brees and the Saints and were lit up losing 34-13.

Two culprits in the loss were young cornerbacks James Bradberry and Daryl Worley. Both struggled as rookies in 2016 but had shown improvement in the first two weeks against poor passing quarterbacks Brian Hoyer and Tyrod Taylor. Against veteran Drew Brees last week, the duo were toasted multiple times throughout the game.

This weekend, Worley and Bradberry have to contend with Chris Hogan and Brandin Cooks. Cooks has ten receptions for 256 yards through three games averaging 25.6 yards per catch. Hogan has ten catches as well but for 154 yards. Having 15.4 yards per catch average is great, but just pales in comparison to Cooks. Both look to be a handful for the young duo of Carolina cornerbacks.

NE RT Marcus Cannon vs CAR DE Julius Peppers

The Carolina Panthers come into their matchup on Sunday against the Patriots with a trio of strong pass-rushers. Veterans Charles Johnson and Mario Addison handled the bulk of the duties at the end of the defensive line. In passing situations, ageless wonder Julius Peppers replaces Johnson and despite being 37 years old continues to bring the heat in Carolina.

Johnson has yet to tally a sack for the Panthers this season, but Peppers has picked up the slack with two and a half sacks. On the other side, Addison has a pair of sacks as well. However, when it comes to generating pressure and disruptions in the backfield, it is Julius Peppers who handles that duty weekly for the Panthers.

To combat the dangerous peppers the Patriots will turn to right tackle Marcus Cannon. Cannon was a second-team All-Pro last season making a huge jump in pass protection. This season a nagging ankle injury has limited Cannon’s mobility and has hindered his ability to keep pass-rushers from pressuring quarterback Tom Brady.

Cannon did not play last week against Houston, and he was missed. LaAdrian Waddle tried his best to slow All-Pro defensive end JJ Watt but New England ended up having to keep their tight ends in to block for much of the game. If Cannon has a setback and cannot play on Sunday, it will be a huge loss for the New England offensive line.

If Cannon is healthy and back closer to his dominating form from 2016, it will allow quarterback Tom Brady time to pick apart the inexperienced cornerbacks of the Carolina Panthers. Keeping Brady clean, particularly with the emphasis on the deep passing game this season, is a must for the New England offensive line.

NE LB Kyle Van Noy vs CAR RB Christian McCaffrey

The New England Patriots on offense have frustrated teams with their multi-purpose running backs in the Bill Belichick era. Whether it was Kevin Faulk, Danny Woodhead, Shane Vereen, or now James White, the New England attack with a running back able to run the ball on drop place and pick up chunks of yardage through the passing game make them a dangerous offense.

The NFL is a copycat league. As such, teams have found similar running backs who are a dual-threat pass receiver and able to contribute running the ball to incorporate into their offense. This past off-season, the Carolina Panthers invested a high draft pick in the first round on such a running back.

The Patriots will get their first look at all-purpose running back Christian McCaffrey on Sunday. McCaffrey has 18 receptions for 173 yards through three games for the Panthers. He has not been able to make a significant impact in the running game yet: He has just 73 yards on 25 rushes through three games.

While Jonathan Stewart has been the lead running back for the Panthers so far, McCaffrey will have his touches on Sunday and continue to increase them throughout the season. On Sunday, New England linebacker Kyle Van Noy will likely spend much of the game trying to account for McCaffrey.

While the safeties and maybe even cornerbacks may have responsibility for the dynamic running back in pass coverage, Van Noy will get the bulk of the work. He is by far the most athletic linebacker on the New England defense, and although Elandon Roberts may have more pure speed, He is not as advanced in coverage as Van Noy.

With the loss of tight end Greg Olsen to injury, the Panthers are more dependent on McCaffrey to pick up first downs in the passing game. This puts more pressure on Van Noy to perform. New England’s defense must improve at not allowing opposing teams to extend drives on 3rd down and get the ball back to Tom Brady and their offense.

If the Patriots can win this match-up, it will impact their entire defense. Van Noy needs to be ready to play on Sunday.

NE FB James Develin vs CAR LB Luke Kuechly

Very few New England Patriots previews focus on fullback James Develin. However, his lead blocking ability is a must if the New England offense is going to control the ball on 3rd and short.

So far in 2017, the Patriots have failed to convert on 4th down and less than a yard situations in week one against Kansas City, And had to 3rd and ones which they could not convert last week.

Devlin will have a tough time making space for the New England running backs on Sunday as the Carolina Panthers have All-Pro linebacker Luke Kuechly in the middle of their defense.

Kuechly is arguably the best linebacker in the NFL. He is excellent against the run, one of the better pass defenders whether in man coverage or in zone, and his freakish athleticism and ability to read offenses make him a weapon for the Carolina defense. It will be difficult for New England to improve on their struggling third and fourth and short situations with Kuechly at middle linebacker for Carolina.

The best way to combat Kuechly in the running game is to pound James Devlin into him over and over again. If Devlin can engage Kuechly and allow Mike Gillislee to pick up tough yards and keep the chains moving, it is a huge boost to the New England offense. In addition, wearing down Kuechly can prevent him from making plays in other areas of the field.

– Hal Bent is a Staff Writer for cover32/Patriots and covers the New England Patriots. Like and follow on Follow @halbent01 Follow @cover32_NE and Facebook.

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New England Patriots vs Houston Texans: Five Key Matchups to Watch

Each week the game comes down to the match-ups. These are the top 5 matchups that will determine which team emerges victorious on SUNDAY AFTERNOON

The New England Patriots are coming off a strong bounce-back game against the New Orleans Saints. The Patriots went on the road and defeated the Saints 36 to 20 in the Superdome.

The New England Patriots opened the 2017 NFL season being soundly defeated on the opening Thursday night at Gillette Stadium against the Kansas City Chiefs. They began the defense of their Super Bowl 51 Championship with a 42-27 loss to Kansas City. After being burned by the big plays against the Chiefs, the Patriots did a solid job on defense of slowing the explosive New Orleans offense.

New England returns home to Foxboro to face the Houston Texans. The Texans and the Patriots spent two days conducting joint practice sessions at the Texans summer training camp facility this summer–something that rarely happens with teams who face each other during the regular season. In addition, the Patriots and Texans faced off in week two of the preseason.

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The game will be broadcast nationally on CBS and locally on Boston’s WBZ-TV Channel 4. Ian Eagle will be on play-by-play duties with former Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts as the color analyst. On the radio, Westwood One Sports will carry the game nationally with John Sadak and former Patriots’ defensive coordinator Al Groh calling the game.  

Locally, the Patriots’ flagship station 98.5 FM The Sports Hub will carry the game on the Patriots Radio Network. The game is on the radio on 40 stations throughout the nation and will feature broadcasters Bob Socci and local media member and former Patriots backup quarterback Scott Zolak.

Now that you know how to watch and listen to the game, here are the five key match-ups to watch on Thursday that will determine if the Patriots continue their winning ways against the Texans or if the visitors will pull off the upset on the road.

NE RT Marcus Cannon/Cameron Fleming vs HOU Edge Jadeveon Clowney/Benardrick McKinney/Whitney Mercilus

The Houston Texans defense can bring the pass rush. Even without J.J. Watt last season in the divisional round of the playoffs, the Texans got after quarterback Tom Brady. Brady may have been only sacked twice in that game, but Whitney Mercilus, Benardrick McKinney, and Jadeveon Clowney brought the heat all game long as the pass rush forced Brady into throwing two (and what should have been three) uncharacteristic interceptions.

The Patriots got to see the Texans pass rush up close again this summer. Especially with a banged-up secondary, Houston has no choice but to try and get pressure to force the offense into turnovers.

The Texans will have a bit of an advantage as New England has injuries affecting the right tackle position. Last year right tackle Marcus Cannon blossomed into a second-team All-Pro, allowing just one sack for the entire regular season. Last week he was clearly hobbled by an ankle injury suffered at the end of week 1 against Kansas City.

Cannon is not only dealing with the ankle injury but is also in the concussion protocol. This means that there is a very good chance that he may be inactive on Sunday. As the best pass-blocker on the New England offense of line, the loss of Cannon could have a huge effect on the outcome of the game.

If he cannot play, his snaps will be taken by backup tackle Cameron Fleming. Fleming is not a starter for a reason–he is huge but lacks quickness. He is a solid stop-gap, but will not hold up against the pass rushers Houston can line-up opposite him. The Patriots will likely keep veteran tight end Dwayne Allen in to help on the right side in pass blocking.

Clowney and Mercilus have both been held sackless this season and will be looking to end that skid. McKinney has two of the three sacks for the Texans this season after having just five last season (all statistics from Pro-Football-Reference.com unless otherwise noted). McKinney has improved as a pass rusher and is in position to pick-up some sacks with so much attention spent on the rest of the pass rushers.

Regardless where the Texans line-up their pass-rushing linebackers, they will be targeting either a wounded Marcus Cannon or a potentially overmatched Cameron Fleming.  For the Patriots, this is a difficult match-up and they will need to win a bunch of one-on-one battles to keep the offense humming.

NE WR Brandin Cooks vs HOU CB Johnathan Joseph

Another key for the New England offense is getting one of their few healthy wide receivers active in the offense. Brandin Cooks has had a pair of big plays in the first two games of the season. However, the explosive wide receiver has only five receptions for 125 yards through two games and has yet to find the end zone. Cooks is too talented to be held in check for the entire season.

Just like New England did with Deion Branch in their offense, Cooks is a dangerous weapon in all three levels of the passing game. He can work underneath in a horizontal attack as he showed in week one with his 15-yard reception against Kansas City where he turned a five-yard crossing route into a first down.

The intermediate routes working outside the numbers were bread-and-butter for Branch in this offense. Brady has been effective with those routes since then with Randy Moss, Brandon Lloyd, Kenbrell Thompkins, Brandon LaFell, and Malcolm Mitchell last season. There have been instances where Cooks is open on these routes on game tape, but Brady has been looking to the other side of the field.

Cooks has made some big plays in the deep passing game, most notably his 54-yard catch in week one. Against the Saints, he was open deep in the middle of the field and should have had a touchdown but Cameron Jordan got to Brady and disrupted the pass. Even so, it was a nice adjustment and catch by Cooks and New England scored a play later.

Last season Houston was able to stay close in the Divisional round of the NFL Playoffs by being able to lock-up the Patriots’ wide receivers in single coverage while stunting their pass rushers and flooding the middle of the field. Houston lost A.J. Bouye in free agency. Their 2015 first-round draft pick Kevin Johnson is likely out for the rest of the first half of the season with a knee injury and won’t play on Sunday.

Further depleting their depth at cornerback, starter Johnathan Joseph was banged-up against Cincinnati leaving the game with a shoulder injury. He is expected to play but not be at 100 percent. That leaves Houston with veteran slot cornerback Kareem Jackson and special teams player Marcus Burley.

With Danny Amendola likely to return, Jackson will be focused on the slot receiver meaning Houston will have to match Cooks up with Joseph or Burley. With the lack of depth at cornerback, Houston will likely be forced to play more zone than they would prefer and keep their safeties over-the-top to defend deep shots down the field with Cooks and Chris Hogan.

With Johnson and Joseph healthy, the Texans could carry out their man-zone scheme from last year even with Bouye gone. Without Johnson and Joseph at 100 percent, it will be difficult for Houston to stop the New England passing attack the same way. As Cooks develops chemistry with Brady, he will become a bigger and bigger part of the offense.

With the injuries at cornerback for Houston, this is a great match-up for Brandin Cooks to have his first big game for the Patriots.

NE RG Shaq Mason vs HOU DE JJ Watt

Last season the Texans gave the Patriots a tough game in the Divisional Playoffs with the score just 17 to 13 at halftime. This time, Houston has the electric DeShaun Watson at quarterback instead of Brock Osweiler. In addition to having a healthy JJ Watt in their lineup. Watt is a disruptive force on the defensive line and New England will have their hands full trying to slow him down.

The Patriots faced Watt in week three in his last game before going on injured reserve and it was clear he was not even close to 100 percent healthy. He went on injured reserve after that game and New England dodged the Watt bullet twice that season facing him hampered and then out in the playoffs.

New England has always paid special attention to blocking Watt with extra blockers finding him to keep him off of Tom Brady. Watt has just a half-sack against the Patriots in his career and that is due to diligent planning and strong execution by the interior offensive linemen.

With Watt back (and just a finger injury potentially slowing him a pinch), he will likely see a lot of New England right guard Shaq Mason. Although Houston moves all of their pass rushers inside and outside, Mason will be tasked with taking on the big, strong and uniquely athletic defensive end.

Mason has been enjoying his best season through two games holding up in the passing game and using his quick feet to spring the running backs in the running game.  Mason has been the most consistent blocker this season as he finally is growing into his potential he showed coming out of Georgia Tech.

This week is a huge test for Mason and the entire New England offensive line. If they can’t slow JJ Watt and give Brady time to throw it could be the biggest deciding factor of the game.

NE CB Stephon Gilmore vs  HOU WR DeAndre Hopkins

The New England Patriots paid a premium to bring in cornerback Stephon Gilmore from the Buffalo Bills this offseason in free agency. Gilmore was signed to a five-year $65 million contract to step in as the top cornerback and fill the role of the aggressive, man-to-man lockdown corner that the team has been trying to fill since Aqib Talib went to Denver in free agency.

While Malcolm Butler has played well as a starter the past two seasons in New England, he does not have the length and strength to go along with the high-end quickness and speed that Gilmore brings. Like Talib–and Ty Law at the beginning the New England Dynasty–Gilmore can match up with the bigger wide receivers in the league who are becoming the norm.

This week the Patriots face a Houston team with a rookie quarterback in Deshaun Watson and a dynamic wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Gilmore was brought in to cover the big number one receivers like the six-foot-one and 215 pound Hopkins. Gilmore played very well against the Saints big duo of wide receivers last week and showed improvement over his premier performance against Kansas City.

Hopkins is not only the top target in Houston–he is the only one. The Texans quarterback threw 60 passes in the first two weeks and 29 of them were sent Hopkins’ way. There is no wonder why: 2016 first-round draft pick Will Fuller is out injured, Braxton Miller is still learning the position as a college quarterback, and Jaelen Strong was surprisingly released and claimed by the Jaguars, and Bruce Ellington is returning from concussion protocol and based on his career may have been a better point guard at South Carolina than wide receiver.

New England will mix-and-match coverages as usual on defense but expect to see Gilmore on Hopkins and Braxton Miller matched-up against Malcolm Butler. Eric Rowe has a sore groin and is questionable so it may be more Jonathan Jones at cornerback this week after his strong showing last week in New Orleans. Jones is a special teams ace who showed he has improved his technique and held off some good, young cornerbacks the past two seasons. His sub-4.4 speed should allow him to negate Ellington in coverage.

Gilmore could give up five or six catches to Hopkins and still have a strong game–Hopkins is simply that good. He will make a number of catches, and some of them will be downright filthy. He is a polished technician with great hands and–as he showed with the inaccurate Brock Osweiler last season–he can snatch passes out of the air even outside the normal catch radius.

Gilmore does not need to shut out Hopkins, just slow him down and make a few plays on third down.  Hopkins will make some plays, but as long as Gilmore makes a few plays as well the Patriots should be able to slow the Houston offense.

NE RB James White vs HOU LB Zach Cunningham

Patriots running back James White has been an integral part of the offense. Despite just 49 yards rushing, he leads the New England running backs with 11 receptions for 115 yards in two games.  White had a strong game last week against the Saints catching passes out of the backfield and converting first downs.

After Super Bowl 51, White is no longer sneaking up on opposing teams. Along with quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski, White is a premier contributor on the New England offense.  With fellow running back Rex Burkhead injured and unlikely to play on Sunday, white may have an even larger role in the game.

Last year White racked up 60 receptions for 551 yards and five touchdowns. The 5-foot-9 205-pound running back saved his best performance for last as he scored three touchdowns in the Super Bowl. He set a new record with 14 receptions good for 110 yards and a touchdown, rushed six times for 29 yards and added two more touchdowns and a two-point conversion. White set a scoring record in the Super Bowl scoring 20 points in the game.

The Houston Texans spent a second-round draft pick this past season on linebacker Zach Cunningham. Cunningham is not as large as a traditional inside linebacker, but he is representative of the new style of linebackers coming out of college.

Cunningham comes into the NFL with excellent athleticism, first-step explosion, and advanced coverage skills. With linebacker Brian Cushing suspended, the Texans will be leaning on Cunningham more than they had planned.

Cunningham had a strong game in coverage against Cincinnati last week. Dangerous Cincinnati running back Giovani Bernard was held to just two receptions for 16 yards. The strong play of Cunningham in pass coverage contributed to holding the Cincinnati offense to just nine points.

With the ferocious pass rush of the Texans defensive line,  One way New England will look to slow that pass rush is by slipping the running backs out into space to catch the ball and make plays. If New England can get James White and Dion Lewis involved in the passing game, it could be a long day for the Texans defense.

– Hal Bent is a Staff Writer for cover32/Patriots and covers the New England Patriots. Like and follow on Follow @halbent01 Follow @cover32_NE and Facebook.

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New England Patriots at New Orleans Saints: 5 Key Matchups to Watch

  Each week in the NFL the game comes down to which team wins the match-ups between the white lines. These are the top 5 match-ups between the New England Patriots and the New Orleans Saints which will determine which team emerges victorious on Sunday afternoon.

The New England Patriots were soundly defeated on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium against the Kansas City Chiefs. They began the defense of their Super Bowl 51 Championship with a 42-27 loss to Kansas City. Now they travel to the Mercedez-Benz Superdome in New Orleans to face the dangerous New Orleans Saints.

The game will be broadcast nationally on CBS with Jim Nantz and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo working the game. Sports USA carries the game nationally with Larry Kahn and John Robinson calling the match-up.  

Locally, the Patriots’ flagship station 98.5 FM, The Sports Hub, will have the game available on the radio. The Patriots Radio Network’s 40 stations will feature broadcasters Bob Socci and local media member and former Patriots backup quarterback Scott Zolak. Remember, it was against the Saints in October 2013 when Zolak unleashed his “Brady’s back! Unicorns! Show ponies! Where’s the beef?” call of Kenbrell Thompkins’ game-winning touchdown with just seconds to play.

Now that you know how to watch and listen to the game, here are the five key match-ups to watch on Thursday that will determine if the Patriots bounce-back from their first opening game defeat as defending Super Bowl champions or if the Saints pull off the upset at home.

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NE LB Kyle Van Noy vs NO RB Mark Ingram

The New England Patriots gave up 185 yards rushing last week against the Kansas City Chiefs. While New England was in the dime defense for much of the game, there was still a surprising amount of players who failed to maintain gap discipline. This requires immediate improvement with the three-headed rushing attack of the New Orleans Saints.

Chief among the Saints running backs is the former first-round draft pick, Mark Ingram. Ingram has size, speed, power and the ability to run over smaller defensive backs. Ingram had just six rushes for 17 yards last week against Minnesota on Monday night but he should expect an increase in workload.

Ingram is also a threat in the receiving game. He was targeted five times out of the backfield and turned those five attempts into five receptions for 54 yards. He is a polished route-runner coming out of the backfield with soft hands and the ability to make plays in open space.

For New England, Dont’a Hightower, who played primarily on the edge last week, is likely out of the game due to his knee injury. In his place, New England had Kyle Van Noy in the middle of the defense playing all 68 snaps on defense last week. Without Hightower, Van Noy is expected to be responsible for slowing the Saints rushing attack.

Van Noy was second on the Patriots with five tackles against the Chiefs. In addition to contributing to stopping the running game, he is also going to have to step up in coverage. Although Ingram may draw coverage from safety Devin McCourty or Patrick Chung, Van Noy is going to have to step up especially in a zone defense and make plays in space.

New England may be best suited having Van Noy as the weak-side linebacker rather than in the middle and hand those duties to veteran–and former New York Jet–David Harris. However, Harris was not part of the game plan last week on defense and played just two snaps. It appears Van Noy is the man in the middle for the Patriots and he will be someone to watch on Sunday.

NE WR Brandin Cooks vs NO CB Marshon Lattimore

One of the most intriguing battles on Sunday could pit former New Orleans Saints wide receiver Brandin Cooks against the Saints rookie cornerback. Marshon Lattimore was New Orleans first round pick and he was thrown into the fire immediately against Minnesota. Although he gave up a few receptions down the field, he acclimated himself well for a rookie in his first game.

It is easy to see why New Orleans was smitten with Lattimore. He has size, speed and athletic ability which will allow him to make up for mistakes as he learns to play the position in the NFL. Although P.J. Williams is technically the top cornerback in New Orleans, to match up with Cooks, the Saints may be forced to put Lattimore on him.

For Cooks, it was a rough first game in New England. Although targeted seven times in the passing game he had only three receptions. He did make those receptions count as he had a total of 88 yards, including one beautiful catch for 54 yards.

New England kept Cooks on the outside for much of the game but with Julian Edelman out for the year and Danny Amendola unlikely to play due to a concussion, Cooks is the best bet to slide inside as the slot receiver in the New England offense. His speed, elusiveness and big-play ability make it vital he be the top option on offense.

Cook’s flashed how he could be a weapon in a horizontal passing attack with one play on Thursday night. It was a short crossing route about five yards deep. He caught the ball in stride going across the field and turned it upfield turning a short gain into 15 yards. New England needs more of Cooks running these routes to keep their offense sustaining drives.

Lattimore is an impressive rookie, however, he will have his hands full with the explosive Cooks opposite him on Sunday.

NE RT Marcus Cannon vs NO DE Cameron Jordan

The Saints have not had a great pass rush the past few seasons. They have already lost defensive tackle Nick Fairley before the season even started and their only consistent pass rusher is defensive end Cameron Jordan.

The Saints will move Jordan around deploying him on the right side and middle of the defense on occasion, however, he does most of his work at left defensive end. That lines him up opposite New England right tackle Marcus Cannon.

A few years ago that may be an issue, but over the past season Cannon has improved by leaps and bounds and has become one of the better right tackles in the NFL. He had a solid game last week against the ferocious Kansas City pass rush. Edge rushers Justin Houston and Dee Ford did not make an impact or sack Brady until late in the fourth quarter when the game was practically decided.

Jordan is not just a speed rusher but has true defensive end size and is a solid technician on the edge. He is strong, quick, athletic and has a non-stop motor. Containing Jordan is imperative for New England to keep Brady away from pressure and allow him time to make plays.

Cannon has massive size, surprising quick feet and has improved his technique dramatically. Last year he was a weapon not just creating space for running backs, but his improvement as a pass blocker stood out as he stonewalled many of the NFL’s top pass-rushers.

Cannon will be tested throughout the entire game by the relentless Jordan. For purists who enjoy the one-on-one matchup of an edge rusher and a tackle, this should be a great performance with two young veterans at the top of their game at their respective positions.

NE CB Stephon Gilmore vs NO WR Michael Thomas

New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore had a difficult introduction to the New England fans in his first game. Gilmore allowed a 75-yard touchdown pass to Chiefs’ wide receiver Tyreek Hill in which there appeared to be a miscommunication in the New England secondary.

Gilmore was aligned as if in a zone coverage up on Hill but denying him the sideline. He appeared to pass off Hill to the safety, however, there was no safety there. Weather New England was supposed to be in man-coverage, cover-2, or cover-4 zone defense, no one for New England is talking. Whether the fault of Gilmore or safety Devin McCourty, what mattered was the Chiefs got seven points and a big shift in momentum.

The Saints have a history of explosive wide receivers teamed with quarterback Drew Brees. However, this offseason they traded their top wideout to the Patriots for the last pick of the first round of the NFL draft. With Brandin Cooks in New England, Gilmore will have to deal with Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas.

Thomas is exactly the type of wide receiver that Gilmore was brought to New England to shut down. At six-foot-three, Thomas has the height to leap over opposing cornerbacks and use his size. He has decent speed, is improving as a second-year player, and his quarterback looks for him repeatedly throughout the game.

Thomas had 92 catches for 1,137 yards and nine touchdowns in just 15 games last season as a rookie. Minnesota focused their attention on Thomas and held him to just five catches for 45 yards.

New England’s defense is best when they let their cornerbacks match-up the opposing wide receiver in man-coverage. It is Gilmore’s strength and why he is being paid at the top of the market for cornerbacks. This is a chance for Gilmore to make up for his visible mistake last week and endear himself to the New England fans with a strong game of coverage.

NE TE Rob Gronkowski vs NO S Kenny Vaccaro

Last week New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was held to just two catches for 33 yards. Kansas City All-Pro safety Eric Berry played tight man-coverage against Gronkowski and shut him down for much of the night. It was surprising to see a player of Gronkowski’s caliber shut-down so completely.

This week, he will have another top safety looking to replicate that performance in New Orleans safety Kenny Vaccaro. The former Texas Longhorns defensive back brings extensive coverage skills to go along with his hard-hitting tackling and ability to make plays near the line of scrimmage.

Vaccaro started as the nickel cornerback in New Orleans as a rookie before moving back to take over at strong safety. He has the speed and athleticism to cover wide receivers and the strength and aggressiveness to take on tight ends as well.

Gronkowski has had the tendency to start slow coming back from injuries and 2017 seems to be no exception. He is a vital component of the New England offense and with Julian Edelman on injured reserve, he inherits the title as the most trusted third-down target for Tom Brady.

New Orleans knows that holding Gronkowski to a minimal impact like Kansas City did is a must if they want to contain the New England offense. They have a rare weapon in Vaccaro as far as a safety who is so skilled in man-coverage.

For Gronkowski, this week is his chance to show that he can be the weapon on offense the Patriots need to make their offense go.  

– Hal Bent is a Staff Writer for cover32/Patriots and covers the New England Patriots. Like and follow on Follow @halbent01 Follow @cover32_NE and Facebook.

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New England Patriots vs Kansas City Chiefs: 5 Key matchups to watch

The New England Patriots kick-off the 2017 NFL season on Thursday night against the Kansas City Chiefs. They begin the defense of their Super Bowl 51 Championship in prime-time on Thursday night with quarterback Tom Brady back for his fifteenth opening day start in New England.

The Patriots are undefeated when playing in the NFL Thursday Kickoff game as the defending Super Bowl Champion and will open at home with the unveiling of their fifth Super Bowl banner. The game will be broadcast nationally on NBC and will subject the nation to Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth. In addition, the game will be broadcast on the Westwood One radio network with Kevin Harlan and Boomer Esiason calling the game.

Locally, the Patriots’ flagship station 98.5 FM, The Sports Hub, will have the game available on the radio. The Patriots Radio Network’s 40 stations will feature broadcasters Bob Socci and local media member and former Patriots backup quarterback Scott Zolak.

Now that you know how to watch and listen to the game, here are the five key matchups to watch on Thursday that will determine if the Patriots win for the fifth straight time in their first game in defense of their Super Bowl championship or if the Chiefs pull off the upset.

KC Cornerback Marcus Peters vs NE Wide Receiver Brandin Cooks

Marcus Peters has blossomed into one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL in just a few years. At just 24 years-old, his big play ability at the cornerback position is unparalleled in the league right now. Although he has been burned on occasion, his gambling style resulted in six interceptions last season.

Peters will be likely seeing a lot of new wide receiver Brandin Cooks on Thursday night. Cooks is young, has blazing speed, and polished route-running. Cooks gives the Patriots the true number one wide receiver they have lacked since Randy Moss and his big mouth shot his way out of Foxboro.

With safeties Ron Parker and Eric Berry there to assist Peters on vertical routes, he will use his size (six-feet and 210 pounds) to get physical at the line of scrimmage with Cooks. The problem the Chiefs (and the rest of the NFL) will have with Cooks is that he can run underneath routes and then push it upfield for a big gain after making the short reception.

If the Patriots can get Cooks loose for a few big plays, they should be able to put up a lot of points in their first showcasing of their new-look offense. If Peters can lock-up and contain Cooks and make a big play with an interception, the Chiefs could stay in the game and keep the scoring down.

KC Safeties Eric Berry and Ron Parker vs NE Tight End Rob Gronkowski

Of course, even if the Chiefs bottle-up Brandin Cooks the Patriots still have Chris Hogan, Malcolm Mitchell, Danny Amendola, Phillip Dorsett, James White, Rex Burkhead, Dion Lewis, Mike Gillislee, Dwayne Allen and some other guy who plays tight end. That “other guy” is Rob Gronkowski, simply the best tight end in the NFL.

Gronkowski is coming off back surgery after missing a big chunk of 2016. First slowed by a hamstring injury in training camp and for the first few games of the season, he was having a career best year, averaging almost 100 yards receiving per game and over 20 yards per reception.

While Martellus Bennett stepped up ably for the injured Gronkowski, he was nowhere near the threat that Gronk was in the New England offense. Gronkowski’s presence running full speed through the secondary put immense pressure on the linebackers and safeties trying to cover the imposing tight end.

Eric Berry is an All-Pro safety and is physical but he gives up so much size to Gronkowski that he almost has no chance in single coverage. Kansas City will have a number of linebackers covering Gronk near the line of scrimmage but Berry and Ron Parker will have responsibility for him in coverage when he gets downfield.

Parker and Barry are two of the best safeties in the NFL right now. However, Gronkowski with his size, athletic ability and route running concepts is a load for any defense. The best way to slow Gronkowski is to pressure Brady and prevent him having time to find his biggest target downfield.

NE Tackles Nate Solder and Marcus Cannon vs KC Edge Rushers Justin Houston and Dee Ford

For Kansas City, their biggest win in the past three seasons was over the Patriots in Week Four of the 2014 season. That game led to the famous Bill Belichick line of “we’re onto Cincinnati”. That season culminated in a Super Bowl championship for the Patriots.

The key to that victory in 2014 by the Chiefs was their ability to pressure Quarterback Tom Brady. Teams have shown the ability to pressure Brady occasionally but it is a risky proposition as he is one of the best quarterbacks when facing blitzes and pressure.

The caveat is that the teams who can consistently create pressure without blitzing are the ones who are able to slow the Patriots offense. Kansas City has a terrific pair of outside pass-rushers in Justin Houston and Dee Ford. That duo generates a lot of pressure from the edge and puts more pressure on the interior pass-lockers. Giving Brady a pocket to step up into.

For New England, they need a healthy Nate Solder at left tackle and Marcus Cannon at the top of his game at right tackle to handle the pressure of Houston and Ford. Cannon blossomed into one of the best right tackles in the NFL last season earning second-team All-Pro status.

Solder has been injured much of training camp and the Patriots have not seen a lot of him on the field so far. They need to hope that he is at full speed on Thursday night in order to protect the blind side of Tom Brady.

NE Cornerback Malcolm Butler vs KC Wide Receiver Tyreek Hill

The New England offense may need to put up a lot of points against Kansas City as they have two of the most explosive weapons in the NFL. Last season, fifth-round draft pick Tyreek Hill blossomed into one of the most dangerous players with the ball in his hands in the league.

Whether returning punts, running the jet sweep, or turning a quick slant into a huge scoring play, Hill was electrifying in his first season in Kansas City in 2016. He averaged over 11 yards per rush and had 61 receptions for 593 yards.

Hill is just 5-foot-10 and 185 pounds but lightning-quick with breakaway speed. Although New England will mix their coverages and mix man-to-man with zone concepts, expect to see a lot of cornerback Malcolm Butler matched up with Hill.

Butler has been the number one cornerback for the Patriots the last two seasons and although New England brought in Stephon Gilmore as their top corner, Butler is more likely to match up with Hill due to his size, quickness, and agility.

If Hill is able to get free for a number of big plays with chunk yardage it will make it very difficult for New England to contain the Kansas City offensive attack. However, if Butler has a shutdown game across from Hill it would be a big boost to the New England defense.

NE Secondary vs KC Tight End Travis Kelce

Of course, even if New England is able to slow down Tyreek Hill, they still have to try and contain the second best tight end in the NFL. Last season Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce established himself as a receiving threat and almost on the same level as Rob Gronkowski.

At six-foot-five and 255 pounds, Kelce is an athletic freak. He tore up opposing defenses with 85 receptions for 1,125 yards. Like Gronk, he overpowers safeties and runs away from linebackers.

For the Patriots they will likely try a number of different combinations to slow down Kelce. Look for top cornerback Stephon Gilmore to cover the Chiefs’ top receiving target and use his aggressiveness within the first five yards of the line of scrimmage, long arms and make-up speed to try and keep him in check.

New England will also use some combination of safety Patrick Chung and safety Devin McCourty to try and slow the Chiefs’ top receiver. Even cornerback Eric Rowe, with his size and long arms, will get a shot to try and cover Kelce.

Each week the game comes down to the matchups. These are the top 5 matchups that will determine which team emerges victorious on Thursday night.

– Hal Bent, is a Staff Writer for cover32/Patriots and covers the New England Patriots. Like and follow on Follow @halbent01 Follow @cover32_NE and Facebook.

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Four intriguing Patriots to watch in the preseason

The New England Patriots are beginning joint practices with the Jacksonville Jaguars this week. With the preseason beginning Thursday night when the Patriots host the Jaguars at Gillette Stadium.

The Patriots come into their first slate of games having had a busy off-season. They traded for wide receiver Brandin Cooks, running back Mike Gillislee, tight end James O’Shaughnessy, and defensive end Kony Ealy. In free agency they signed cornerback Stephon Gilmore, running back Rex Burkhead, and defensive tackle Lawrence Guy.

In the NFL draft, the Patriots only selected four players. However, they scooped up an intriguing pair of edge pass-rushers in third-round draft pick Derek Rivers and fourth-round draft pick Deatrich Wise. On offense, the Patriots added left tackle Tony Garcia in the third round and tackle Conor McDermott sixth round of the draft.

However, the Patriots also have a number of intriguing players who are longshots to make the roster. They have flashed some potential in practice over the summer. Having already looked at three young players who have opened eyes in training camp, here are four more young players who should be closely watched during the preseason games this summer.

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  David Jones – Safety – UDFA:

Small school safety David Jones went undrafted after breaking his forearm during his senior season. A star player for the FCS Richmond Spiders as a junior, Jones was a standout as a hybrid safety able to cover in a free safety role (nine interceptions as a junior) and hard-hitting as a strong safety.

His size, speed, athleticism, and versatility made him stand out during OTAs before pads went on in training camp. Unfortunately, Jones has been on the sidelines with the limited participation group. He has been relegated to conditioning only for most of training camp. He suffered what appeared to be a leg injury on the second day of camp. After limping off the practice field, he has been on the sidelines since.

Jones also returned punts at Richmond showing off his explosive breakaway speed. Unfortunately, a broken forearm ended his senior season and caused the FCS star to tumble down the draft boards and land in New England as an undrafted free agent.

With his speed and strength, he fits the mold of the strong safety position the Patriots use Patrick Chung in. Add in the length Jones brings and coverage ability to take on tight ends, and he looks like a player who could compete for a roster spot.

A potential diamond in the rough. Jones has the size (six-foot-three and 210 pounds) and athletic skills to potentially replace Patrick Chung at strong safety in 2018 or 2019. However, if he cannot get healthy and get on the practice field, Jones is going to find it hard to get on the field and make an impact.

David Jones may have to spend a season on the practice squad bulking up. Helping to put himself in a position to compete for a roster spot in 2018. If Jones can get in some repetitions in preseason games, he could position himself to make it a difficult decision when roster cutdowns begin.

Harvey Langi – Linebacker – UDFA:

After the 2017 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots moved quickly to sign Harvey Langi. A stud linebacker from BYU who inexplicably ended-up being undrafted due to injuries. Langi has been spending a lot of practice time with the first-team defense this summer. Surprisingly, he has been working at outside linebacker/edge rusher despite having been projected as an inside linebacker.

Langi caught head coach Bill Belichick’s eye after a huge junior season at BYU. Injuries last season and ineffectiveness trying to play through them saw the projected first-day pick prior to the 2016 season fall out of the draft altogether. Belichick recognized his value and guaranteed $100,000 of his base salary. On top of that, he gave him a $15,000 signing bonus as an undrafted free agent. Comparable to the salary of a fifth-round draft pick.

Langi has made the most of his time in camp with Dont’a Hightower on the sidelines and the retirement of Rob Ninkovich. With Jabaal Sheard and Chris Long departing via free agency and Kony Ealy not grabbing an edge rusher role so far in training camp, the versatile Langi has been there to take the snaps.

Langi has all the attributes of a Bill Belichick linebacker being big, fluid, and having positional versatility. Whether he begins on the edge and moves inside later (as Tedy Bruschi did) or ends up staying on the edge, Langi has already opened eyes in training camp. Making himself a player who may be impossible to cut. However, he has to carry that early momentum into the preseason games to make this stacked roster.

Jacob Hollister – Tight End – UDFA:

One player who has had a quiet training camp has been tight end, Jacob Hollister. The undrafted free agent was compared to current Dolphins tight end Julius Thomas prior to the draft by ProFootballFocus.com. The website had tantalizing comments such as “Hollister could prove to be one of this years steals of the draft” and “he’s got legitimate skills as a receiving option capable of hurting a defense at all three levels of the field regularly.”

Another undrafted free agent player like Langi who inexplicably went undrafted, Hollister (per Mike Reiss of ESPN) received a $10,000 signing bonus and $80,000 base salary guaranteed. In addition, the New England Patriots also made it a package deal. They signed his twin brother, Cody Hollister a wide receiver. He too went undrafted.

Hollister has been buried down the depth chart at tight end behind Rob Gronkowski, Dwayne Allen, James O’Shaughnessy, Sam Cotton and Matt Lengel. He has worked with the second-team offense with Lengel catching passes from Jimmy Garoppolo or Jacoby Brissett. Hollister seems to be working best with Brissett.

Where Hollister can stand out in the preseason is catching passes downfield from the tight end position. All of the veteran tight ends on the depth chart ahead of Hollister and behind Gronkowski (Allen, O’Shaughnessy, and Lengel) are block-first tight ends. None of them are the fluid route-runners and receiving threats like Hollister can be.

Bill Belichick has long been trying to find a combination of tight ends to create mismatches and dictate matchups while in New England. He spent first-round draft picks on Daniel Graham and Ben Watson initially. He brought in Kyle Brady, Christian Fauria, and Jermaine Wiggins early on. He struck gold with Gronkowski and the late Aaron Hernandez in 2010.

With Hernandez and Gronkowski, Belichick had a “Y” tight end in Gronkowski who could block on running downs. In addition to isolating a mismatch with a linebacker in the passing game. He had an “F” tight end in Hernandez who could line up in the slot and create mismatches with slower linebackers or undersized safeties.

Since the self-destruction of Hernandez, the Patriots have struggled to find a complement to Gronkowski. Last year Martellus Bennett was a one-year rental who proved much better than the previous one-year rental Scott Chandler. Before Chandler, the Patriots tried Tim Wright, Michael Hoomanawanui, Matthew Mulligan, Dustin Keller, D.J. Williams, Daniel Fells, and undrafted free agent training camp sensations Asa Watson and Justin Jones in 2014. Finally, in 2013, training camp future star flame-out Zach Sudfeld.

The Patriots have been looking for a tight end with the athletic ability to play inline and block and split out to the slot and create mismatches since Hernandez was released. Hollister–who needs a lot of work with his blocking–could be that player in the future. However, he needs to separate himself from a deep, veteran group when the preseason games begin.

Devin Lucien – Wide Receiver – 2016 7th Round Draft Pick:

Last season the New England Patriots spent a seventh-round draft pick on an intriguing wide receiver out of Arizona State in Devin Lucien. Lucien had an up-and-down preseason last year as a rookie. Despite his reputation for steady hands, he had a crushing drop against Chicago in week two of the preseason. A pass that should have been a 39-yard touchdown pass from Jacoby Brissett. Lucien also committed an unnecessary offensive pass interference penalty as well on that play.

Despite a 20-yard touchdown reception in the final preseason game, the positive momentum from Lucien ended early in the 2016 preseason. New England kept Lucien on the practice squad almost all of last season. He remains eligible to spend another year developing if necessary.

This summer, with Malcolm Mitchell and Danny Amendola being managed early in camp and rookie Cody Hollister not healthy, Lucien has gotten a number of reps with the first team unit. At six-foot-two and 200 pounds, Lucien is a bigger receiver who can thrive outside the numbers in New England.

With Brandin Cooks added to the impressive quartet of Chris Hogan, Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola and Malcolm Mitchell, there is little room on the roster for another receiver. However, Lucien has made plays all over the practice fields so far. With a number of acrobatic catches and showcasing his deep route running skills.

Lucien has been excellent so far in 2017. He will have a chance to build on that strong summer in the preseason games. Where he is expected to get every opportunity to shine. Lucien has put himself in position to make a difficult decision for the New England offense and make a name of himself with Patriots fans.

– Hal Bent is a Staff Writer for cover32/Patriots and covers the New England Patriots. Like and follow on Follow @halbent01 Follow @cover32_NE and Facebook.

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Three players stick out in first week of Patriots training camp

After three days of training camp, the New England Patriots have put their Super Bowl 51 victory behind them and returned to the grind. With an eye on 2017, there have been a number of under-the-radar players who have stepped up in the spotlight as the media and fans have finally been able to see the 90 players in camp on the practice field.

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In three days there have been three players who have stood out:

1. Kenny Moore – Cornerback – UDFA

Valdosta State is the type of school which does not get a lot of television time on Saturdays. So when nickel cornerback Kenny Moore was signed by the Patriots after the NFL Draft it did not generate the headlines like Hollister and Langi did.

However, on day one of training camp open to the media suddenly everyone in attendance wanted to know who was that cornerback #42 breaking up passes and making an interception.

That said, there are few positions open at cornerback. Stephon Gilmore, Eric Rowe, and Malcolm Butler are the “starters” (New England has had three cornerbacks on the field about 50% of the time over the past few years) at the position and there may only be one or two spots remaining.

Moore will be competing with 2016 second-round draft pick Cyrus Jones, 2015 free agent Justin Coleman, last season’s undrafted free agent special teams ace Jonathan Jones, and fellow undrafted free agents William Likely III, DJ Killings, and Dwayne Thomas. Cyrus Jones is a near-lock and played 14% of the defensive snaps.

Jonathan Jones played just 64 snaps on defense but was a regular on defense. Justin Coleman was the fourth cornerback most of the season and played almost 22% of the defensive snaps.

Moore had a good first few days of training camp after standing out in OTAs, but he has a lot more work to do to earn a roster spot in a secondary which is stacked.

2. Geneo Grissom – Defensive End – 2015 3rd Round Draft Pick

Heading into 2017, Geneo Grissom had all the making of a colossal bust. While Trey Flowers was the young defensive end who carried the Patriots’ defense in the second half of the 2016 season and in the playoffs, Grissom had already been released and was playing only on special teams despite having been taken a round earlier than Flowers in that draft. Grissom was taken in the third round–one round ahead of Trey Flowers in the 2015 NFL draft. However, it was Flowers–the fourth round pick–who has been the impact player while Grissom has been relegated to the bench.

Grissom plays a style of defensive end more similar to the role of Rob Ninkovich than a traditional pass rushing 4-3 defensive end. Ninkovich announced his retirement Sunday in front of coaches, media, and teammates.

With two full seasons in New England and already having been released and demoted to the practice squad last season, this is a crucial year for Grissom to take a step forward in replacing the veteran Ninkovich as an edge-setting force in the run defense.

Grissom–like Ninkovich–is not going to have a major impact in the pass rush like Flowers has done. With Kony Ealy added for depth there is still a long way to go for Grissom who has been playing with the first team unit through three days of training camp.

Grissom played just ten snaps on defense last season (Per ESPN.com) and outside of the first game of the season in 2015 as a rookie, his role has mainly been on special teams. Grissom has to show in the preseason that he can be the Ninkovich replacement to hold the edge in the running game and generate pressure occasionally coming from the edge to win a roster spot in 2017.

3. Jordan Richards – Strong Safety – 2015 2nd Round Draft Pick

When it comes to draft busts, 2015 second-round draft pick Jordan Richards is right up there with 2012 second-round draft pick Tavon Wilson. Richards was a regular in the dime defense as a rookie. However, last season he played primarily on special teams when active. In fact, he only played 18 snaps on defense (Per ESPN.com).

Duron Harmon cut into Richards’ time on defense by taking his dime defense snaps as the third safety. With the re-signing of Harmon this offseason to a contract for starter’s money, it seemed to be another statement by the front office that Richards was not ready to step in after two years.

Richards has been blocked for two seasons by Patrick Chung–who is signed through 2018–at strong safety. After two excellent seasons by Chung in 2014 and 2015, he regressed last season. Chung had more missed tackles and coverage lapses last season and may have opened the door a crack

Richards has opened eyes in the early days of training camp. Richards collected three interceptions in the first three days of camp. Of course, the first two days were without pads. There is still a long way to go until opening the 2017 season against the Kansas City Chiefs.  

Richards needs to carry this play through the summer and into the preseason games.

If he continues making plays throughout the summer, it certainly helps him with getting back on the field with the defense in the fall.

Hal has been writing about the New England Patriots (and the other Boston sports teams) since 2005 and with Cover32 since kickoff in 2013. He loves a spirited discussion about anything Patriots, AFC East, or over a cold beer. You can find him on Twitter at @halbent01, Instagram at halbent3, or Facebook at facebook.com/HalBent3. 

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The 2007 Patriots; Part 10: Super Bowl XLII

Editor’s Note: This is the 10th and final installment of cover32’s 2007 Patriots series, looking back at one of the greatest season’s of all time. The entire series has been bittersweet to produced amongst all of our writer’s, so we hope you enjoyed most of it. If you missed any part of the series, be sure to follow the links below.

Click here to see all the previous installments of this series.

The 2017 NFL Season marks the tenth anniversary of the 2007 New England Patriots–often considered one of the best NFL teams of all time. The Patriots became the first (and only team to date) to go 16-0 in the regular season. The offense put up a then-record 589 points (36.8 points per game average) while the aging defense was good enough to finish fourth in the NFL. Allowing just 17.1 points per game.

While the Patriots were an offensive juggernaut, in retrospect the team had a number of flaws overlooked by their record. In reality, there were four games the Patriots trailed in the fourth quarter. Even splitting those games would have left the Patriots 14-2 and removed all the ridiculous pressure in the Super Bowl in an attempt for a perfect season.

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Here are those four games:

In week nine they beat the then undefeated Colts coming back from 20-10 fourth quarter deficit.

The Eagles had a 28-24 lead in the fourth quarter before the Patriots came back to win in week twelve.

The luck held the next week when the Ravens coughed up a fourth quarter lead with the Patriots scoring with less than a minute to pull out the victory.

Finally, in week sixteen the Patriots fell behind the Giants 28-16 in the third quarter before a furious comeback allowed the Patriots to outscore New York 22 to 7 in the last 20 minutes of the game and finish the regular season undefeated.

In retrospect, that final game against the Giants and those other three tough games (three of the four being in the second half of the season) should have taken some of the shine from the 16-0 regular season. Instead, the storyline heading into Super Bowl 42 was the invincible Patriots heading to their date with destiny. The team was on the cusp of being anointed the greatest in NFL history.

The Path to the Super Bowl

In the Divisional round of the playoffs, the Patriots were 13.5 point favorites against the Jacksonville Jaguars. After a lackluster first half which ended in a 14-14 tie, the Patriots pulled away to win 31-20. Brady completed 26 of 28 for 262 yards and three touchdowns and Laurence Maroney pounded for 122 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown. Randy Moss, however, had just one catch for 14 yards.

In the AFC Championship game, the Patriots were 14 point favorites over Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers. The Patriots overcame three interceptions by Brady and Moss was again held to one reception yet they beat a hobbled Chargers squad 21-12. Rivers was playing with a torn ligament in his knee and hung in against a furious pass rush in one of the most overlooked but gutsiest performances in the modern NFL.

FOXBORO, MA – JANUARY 20: Wes Welker #83 of the New England Patriots celebrates after scoring a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the San Diego Chargers during the AFC Championship Game on January 20, 2008, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

Unfortunately for San Diego, the NFL’s leading rusher LaDainian Tomlinson was not inspired by his quarterback. He left early in the game with a minor knee injury and finished with just two rushes for five yards.

Looking back at this Patriots team with a decade of hindsight, it is easy to see why this team should not have been 12 point favorites coming into the game. The Giants’ defense—other than a hiccup in week 17 against the Patriots—had not given up more than 22 points in seven of eight games. The pass rush was one of the best in the league heading into the Super Bowl. Eli Manning was on a hot streak in the playoffs. In addition, the running game had been a top-five attack in the regular season.

However, in the moment it was all about “19-0”, “the Undefeated Season”, and “the greatest offense in NFL History” heading into Super Bowl 42.

The Game, Super Bowl XLII

Before kick-off, Alicia Keys had one of the better pregame musical performances. The Patriots came out as a unit to their usual anthem, “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne, led by Tom Brady and Tedy Bruschi. After the teams were on the field, American Idol winner Jordin Sparks belted out a powerful rendition of the national anthem.

First Half

The Giants received the kickoff and—despite injury concern—wide receiver Plaxico Burress was active for the Giants and on the field in the starting lineup at University of Phoenix Stadium. Burress was a game-time decision and Manning got him right into the flow of the game completing the first pass of the game to him for 14 yards on third-and-five on the first series of the game.

On third-and-six Manning found Steve Smith for eight yards. Then, Ahmad Bradshaw converted a third-and-one with an eight-yard rumble through the beefy New England defensive line. The Giants converted four of five third downs as Smith added a nine-yard reception on third-and-seven before stalling on the New England 14 yard line. They settled for a field goal. However, the Giants’ 16 play drive ate up almost ten minutes of the first quarter.

With Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork, and Richard Seymour up front, the Patriots’ defense allowed the tenth fewest yards on the ground in 2007. However, the run defense may have been overrated. This is due to teams rushing the fewest times against them and often playing from behind. The defense gave up a gaudy 4.4 yards per rush as veterans Mike Vrabel, Tedy Bruschi and Junior Seau were starting to show their age and the addition of veteran Adalius Thomas did not mitigate the decline at the linebacker position.

Photo Credit: nydailynews.com

Trailing 3-0, the Patriots put their fan base at ease driving down the field on a 12 play drive. It was topped off with a one-yard touchdown run by running back Laurence Maroney keyed by a big block by tight end Kyle Brady. Maroney rushed four times for 15 yards on the first drive and Heath Evans added another two yards rushing. The Patriots never got the running game back on track after that first drive.

Maroney finished with 36 yards rushing for the entire game on 14 attempts. Evans never had another carry after the first drive and Kevin Faulk did most of his damage in the passing game. In 2007 Maroney had rushed for 835 yards and 4.5 yards per carry. The Divisional round saw him rush for 122 yards on 22 carries. In the AFC Championship game, he added another 122 yards on 25 carries.

Against the Giants in Super Bowl 42 after his one-yard touchdown on the first drive, the Giants defensive front dominated the Patriots’ running game. Maroney went for 1, -2, 0, and -3 yards in the rest of his first half carries. In the second half, he went for 7, -2, 0, 9, 2, and 9 yards rushing as he rushed just six times. After 47 rushing attempts in the two prior playoff games, the Giants made a point to stop Maroney and not let him go off and extend drives.

Photo Credit: bostonglobe.com

After taking a 7-3 lead, the Patriots went punt, punt, and fumble in the first half with two three-and-outs. They wasted a chance to put their foot the Giants’ throat early after New York drove inside the New England 20 after a 38-yard completion to Amani Toomer. Cornerback Ellis Hobbs intercepted Manning at the 10-yard line and set-up New England to swing the momentum of the game.

After finding Maroney for eight yards on first down, the Giants’ defense tightened. Osi Umenyiora stuffed Maroney on second-and-two. Then Michael Strahan blew-up the third-and-one rush by Maroney, dropping him in the backfield for a two-yard loss. The Patriots punted and wasted an early turnover by Eli Manning.

After forcing a three-and-out, the Patriots took over at their own 30-yard line. After Maroney was stuffed at the line of scrimmage by Justin Tuck on first down, the Giants’ defensive line began to gain confidence. They began to dominate the New England offensive line. Sacks by Kawika Mitchell and Tuck forced a punt. This gave New York great field position at their own 43-yard line.

Fortunately, the Patriots’ defense tightened up again after letting the Giants march inside their 30-yard line. Again, another chance to open up the game was lost on the Patriots as Eli Manning fumbled after being sacked by Adalius Thomas. An illegal batting call on running back Ahmad Bradshaw pushed the Giants back out of field goal range and forced a punt.

With just under two minutes in the half, the Patriots converted a third-and-thirteen and another third down but burned two timeouts. Only crossing midfield with less than 30 seconds left. On the next play, Justin Tuck forced a fumble sacking Brady and again stopping New England from putting points on the board.

The Second Half

The futility of the New England offense that Sunday night was on full display. They opened the second half by having their first drive saved by a Bill Belichick challenge for 12-men on the field, catching the Giants in confusion on fourth-and-two. After a 3rd-and-13 conversion, Brady was sacked by Michael Strahan on third down at the Giants’ 25-yard line. Rather than attempt a 48-yard field goal, the Patriots went for it on fourth-and-thirteen. They failed and turned the ball over to New York on downs.

The third quarter saw back-to-back punts before the Giants opened the fourth quarter with a play that they allegedly drew up on the sidelines. Catching safety Rodney Harrison cheating up towards the line of scrimmage in run support, tight end Kevin Boss ran a seam route past Harrison. He caught the ball for a 20-yard gain. Harrison tried to knock the ball loose. However, Boss switched arms and rumbled another 25 yards before a shoestring tackle by Harrison brought him down.

The drive ended with David Tyree giving the Giants the lead with a six-yard touchdown reception. Since the Patriots had wasted so many opportunities on offense, they found themselves in Glendale, Arizona in the fourth quarter losing 10-7 to the New York Giants. Even trailing, the offense could not get on track. A holding penalty cost field position on the punt return and New England started at the 11-yard line. After a first down, they punted the ball back to New York.

The defense held at last as the Patriots started bringing huge pressure. Eli Manning missed a huge play escaping pressure, missing a wide open Plaxico Burress. On third-and-nine the Patriots brought another blitz. A huge tackle by Rodney Harrison kept Amani Toomer a yard short of the first down marker. That forced a punt with just over eight minutes to play.

After getting the ball back, Tom Brady went 8-for-11 for 71 yards passing on the drive. It was capped off by finding Randy Moss in the end zone on third-and-goal from the six-yard line. What was notable looking back on this drive was how “Classic Tom Brady” the drive was on that night: in the shotgun with the spread offense, receivers running quick crossing routes, some play-action, wide receiver screens, and even a draw play for positive rushing yards.

The Patriots stopped looking for the big play with Randy Moss which the Giants had prevented all game. Brady worked the underneath passing game and finally mitigated the New York pass rush with an extended drive. Tuck, Strahan, and Umenoya all had to come off the field at some point during the drive. This was due to having expended so much energy with their ferocious pass rush all game.

The Patriots led 14-10 with less than three minutes to play in the Super Bowl. At this point of the game, all the New England defense needed was to make a stop. One stop and the Patriots would be the first NFL team to ever go 19-0.

The heartbreaking conclusion

After Manning threw two dangerous passes into double-coverage, New England had the Giants facing third-and-ten at their 28-yard line. Manning, under pressure, found Amani Toomer just short of the first down marker. On fourth-and-inches, the defense was again handed a chance to make a stop and win the game for the Patriots.

Instead, Brandon Jacobs went right over Vince Wilfork and Richard Seymour to pick up the first down. On first down, Adalius Thomas forced Manning out of the pocket and Manning fumbled but recovered the ball. He would have been down by contact anyway.

Photo Credit: complex.com

More wasted opportunities

The wasted opportunities on defense continued on the drive. With 1:20 to play, on second-and-five Manning was hit and lobbed a lollipop into the hands of Asante Samuel on the sidelines. With David Tyree slowing up on the route Samuel leapt with no interference from any Giant. The ball bounced right off his hands, giving the Giants another chance. Then “the helmet catch” happened.

Under pressure, Manning escaped pressure up-the-middle and from his left on third-and-five. He lobbed the ball into the middle of the field. Tyree leaped and pressed the ball to his helmet coming down as Rodney Harrison tried to rip the ball away. It was an amazing individual effort by Manning to escape the pressure, and by Tyree to somehow hold onto the football.

Instead of fourth down, the Giants were at the New England 24-yard line. With a first down and less than a minute to play, all the momentum had switched to New York’s side. Blitzing again, Adalius Thomas brought down Manning and forced the final timeout by New York. The New England defense was clearly gassed at this point. The cameras caught them during the timeout with their hands on their knees, their helmets off, and breathing heavy and gasping for breath.

On second-and-eleven, another ill-advised pass by Eli Manning floated over the hands of New England’s young safety Brandon Meriweather. Nowhere near a wide receiver. It was just another missed opportunity for the defense on this drive. With another chance to stop the Giants on third-and-eleven, Steve Smith got open on the right sideline. Smith caught the ball and did a great job to both stay in bounds and get the first down in front of Meriweather.

On first down, the Patriots blitzed and left Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress in man-coverage with cornerback Ellis Hobbs. Burress left Hobbs in the dust. An inside-out, slant-and-go move, for all intents and purposes, ended the game and the perfect season for New England. The Giants had taken a 17-14 lead with less than a minute to play.

This game came down to missed opportunities for the Patriots on both sides of the ball. Passes that get caught by the receivers in New England all season were missed. In addition, Brady’s passes were slightly off-target due to pressure. The offensive line missed blocks that got made each and every week. Game-changing fumbles were not recovered and potential interceptions hitting defensive backs’ hands were not caught. This game saw a Patriots’ team off by just a fraction of an inch.

Of course, the Giants’ defense deserves all the accolades they received. It was a great game plan by defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. The secondary—especially Corey Webster—shut down Randy Moss much of the game. The pass rush, led by Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck, and Osi Umenyiora was as ferocious and tenacious as legend has recorded their performance. On top of that, Manning and the New York offense came up big when they needed to.

10 years ago it was a terrible loss for New England in the Super Bowl. The team had invested so much effort. They had come from behind multiple times to clutch victory from the jaws of defeat. On top of that, they had faced adversity on and off the field. They had introduced a number of new players to the “Patriots Way”. However, it all came down execution on a Sunday night in Glendale, Arizona. What should have been a coronation was just another quest for a perfect season.

However, the lessons of this game from almost 10 years ago were evident in Super Bowl 49 and 51. The furious finish by the offense, overcoming the soul-crushing miracle catch by their opponent, instead of failure, Tom Brady was able to complete a furious comeback and the New England defense stepped up with huge plays in the fourth quarter to earn rings number four and five.

  – Hal Bent is a Staff Writer for cover32/Patriots and covers the New England Patriots. Like and follow on Follow @halbent01 Follow @cover32_NE and Facebook.

  The post The 2007 Patriots; Part 10: Super Bowl XLII appeared first on Cover32.

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The 2007 Patriots; Part Seven: Did the draft cost them a title?

The New England Patriots almost made history in 2007 finishing the season 18-1. While the Patriots fell just short in the Super Bowl against the New York Giants, the regular season was a huge success for the 2007 Patriots.

In the first eight weeks of the 2007 season, New England scored 34 or more points in each game. It was not until week nine when the defending Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts held New England to 24 points. Although New England put up 56 points in Week 11 against Buffalo, the Patriots only scored 34 or more points twice in their final six games.

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The defense was a strong unit in 2007. Only two teams scored more than 20 points in the first ten games of the season. In week six the 5-0 Dallas Cowboys led 24-21 in the second half before the Patriots blew the game wide open in the fourth quarter. The next week the 0-6 Miami Dolphins put up 21 fourth quarter points after falling behind 42-7. In the final six games of the regular season, the defense allowed 24 points or more in three of the six games.

As cover32 revisits that season a decade later, the warning signs are clearer in hindsight. After a record-setting start to the regular season, the Patriots team wore down due to injuries, the entire “Spygate” saga, the death of Marquise Hill, the chase for individual records for Tom Brady and Randy Moss, the quest for team records including most points in a season, and simply the pressure of trying to be perfect and finish the season undefeated.

Injuries and lack of depth doomed the Patriots well before their only loss

In 2007 running back Laurence Maroney played just 13 games. Wide receiver Chad Jackson missed 12. Tight end Ben Watson missed four games while fellow tight end Kyle Brady missed two games. On defense, safeties Rodney Harrison played just 12 games. In addition, James Sanders missed one and Eugene Wilson missed five games. Rookie Brandon Meriweather played all 16 games after a lengthy holdout in the preseason.

The linebackers stayed relatively healthy as only Rosevelt Colvin missed time. He missed five games. However, veterans Tedy Bruschi (age 34), Mike Vrabel (age 32), Junior Seau (age 38), and Adalius Thomas (age 30) played all 16 games. On the defensive line, the loss of Marquise Hill was felt as Richard Seymour was limited to nine games. Jarvis Green was the only reliable backup with unproven Mike Wright and Le Kevin Smith contributing little. Ty Warren and Vince Wilfork were the iron men who played all 16 games up front.

The lack of depth on both sides of the ball kept veterans on the field playing more snaps than necessary. Despite so many games being one-sided early in the season. One reason for the lack of depth is due to the lack of production with the team’s 2007 NFL Draft picks. In fact, the lack of success drafting that season may have played a key role in the team’s second-half drop-off and struggles in the playoffs.

The Patriots previous success was built on quality draft selections

Before getting to the 2007 NFL Draft, let’s review the depth the Patriots were already building via low-priced draft picks. In 2001 the Patriots added starting left tackle Matt Light and Pro Bowl defensive end Richard Seymour via their first two picks. In 2002, the Patriots selected wide receivers Deion Branch and David Givens. Tight end Daniel Graham was also added along with third-down edge pass rusher Jarvis Green. Only Green remained by 2007.

The 2003 NFL Draft netted starting defensive players Ty Warren, Eugene Wilson, and Asante Samuel. Starting center Dan Koppen was added in the fifth-round that season as well. In 2004 they added Vince Wilfork to beef up the interior defensive line. In addition, they added defensive end Marquise Hill but whiffed at defensive back. None of the three drafted (Guss Scott, Dexter Reid, and Christan Morton) contributed to the team.

The 2005 NFL Draft saw the addition of Pro Bowl guard Logan Mankins in the first round and starting right tackle Nick Kaczur in the third round. The third round netted starting cornerback Ellis Hobbs and safety James Sanders in the fourth round. In 2006 the Patriots grabbed starting running back Laurence Maroney in the first round. They added kicker Stephen Gostkowski in the fourth and depth tackle Ryan O’Callaghan in the fifth round.

The 2006 NFL Draft cost the Patriots two draft picks in 2007 due to the colossal bust Chad Jackson out of Florida. New England traded up in the second round to pick Jackson. They shipped their second-round and third-round picks to the Packers. At six-foot-one and 213 lbs, Jackson ran a 4.32 40-yard dash and a 6.74 3-cone drill (per NFLDraftScout.com). Jackson had hamstring injuries throughout his rookie season and tore his ACL in the AFC Championship game loss to the Colts.

Patriots take unique approach to 2007 draft

Jackson was expected to replace Deion Branch. However, his injuries forced him the team to explore plan B to supplement their wide receiver group. The team kicked off free agency by trading second and seventh-round draft picks to Miami for restricted free agent Wes Welker. Welker led the NFL in receptions in 2007 with 112 for 1,175 yards and eight touchdowns.

New England sent their fourth-round draft pick to the Oakland Raiders for veteran Randy Moss. Moss agreed to a $6 million pay cut to come to New England. After a quiet preseason, he exploded for 98 receptions for 1,493 yards. Including an NFL record 23 touchdowns.

New England had also traded a 2007 fifth-round draft pick to Oakland for wide receiver Doug Gabriel in 2006. Gabriel was released later in 2006 after a costly fumble against Eric Mangini and the New York Jets. The Patriots traded their third round draft pick for 2007 seventh-round draft pick and a 2008 third-round draft pick.

New England drafted safety Brandon Meriweather in the first round with the draft pick they received from the Seattle Seahawks in the Deion Branch trade. After that pick, they did not select again until the fourth round after trading away the 28th overall pick to San Francisco for a 2007 fourth-round draft pick and a 2008 first-round draft pick (which turned into linebacker Jerod Mayo in 2008).

The Patriots missed opportunities on some very good talent on offense and defense

The Patriots passed on Utah safety Eric Weddle to snag Meriweather and while trading their second pick in the first round paid dividends later, they missed out on a bunch of excellent linebackers who could have contributed in 2007. David Harris, LaMarr Woodley, Paul Posluszny, and Jon Beason, just to name a few.

The beleaguered offensive line, who lacked the athleticism to stop the Giants’ pass rush, could have used adequate reinforcements. The Patriots missed out on left tackle Joe Staley, guards Marshal Yanda, Justin Blalock, Ben Grubbs, and center Ryan Kalil. Fifth-round tackle Clint Oldenburg, sixth-round tackle Corey Hilliard and seventh-round guard Mike Elgin (who did not make the team out of training camp) were in no position to contribute.

On defense, the Patriots added defensive tackle Kareem Brown in the fourth round and linebacker Justin Rogers in the sixth. Seventh-round draft pick Oscar Lua did not make the team. Brown was an epic flop. He sat on the bench for 11 weeks before the team released him during his rookie season. The aging defense got no help from the 2007 draft picks. Their lack of athleticism became exposed by the Giants.

Having re-watched Super Bowl 42 multiple times in preparation for writing the cover32 article regarding that game (coming later in July!), Brandon Meriweather was often a step slow in coverage. He was slow getting to the ball and gave up a few big first downs to Giants rookie wide receiver Steve Smith. In hindsight, would Eric Weddle have done better?

Part of the decline of the New England dynasty was the lack of cheap late-round draft picks. In the past, they came in and play key roles and provide quality depth for the Patriots. The 2007 NFL Draft (and 2008 and 2009) led to the team that bottomed-out in 2009. Losing in the Wild Card matchup to the Baltimore Ravens. It took improved drafting in 2010 through 2012 to get the team back to Super Bowl quality.

In the Super Bowl against the Giants, the biggest issues in the game were the Patriots’ interior offensive line (and the tackles were far from perfect) struggling to keep the pass rush away from quarterback Tom Brady (five sacks allowed allowing pressure on 23 of 43 dropbacks per PFF.com) and create space for a consistent rushing attack (16 rushes for 45 yards), the defense’s inability to make key third-down stops (New York converted on 8 of 16 third downs and it’s only fourth-down attempt).

The lack of key contributors from the 2007 draft played a key role in the Patriots’ loss in Super Bowl 42. The pick of Brandon Meriweather instead of Eric Weddle at the safety position was exposed by the Giants on third down throughout the game. In many ways, the failure of the 2007 NFL Draft led to the New England Patriots losing in Super Bowl 42 to the New York Giants. – Hal Bent is a Staff Writer for cover32/Patriots and covers the New England Patriots. Like and follow on Follow @halbent01 Follow @cover32_NE and Facebook.

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Patriots’ 2017 NFL Draft recap and review

For most NFL fanbases the NFL Draft is the weekend that is like Christmas. They have all these draft picks like presents under the tree waiting to be opened. Before they get to the field this summer, every single pick gives them hope for their franchise in 2017:

Did their team hit a home run in the first round with the next Cam Newton or Von Miller?

Did they snatch the next Russell Wilson, Richard Sherman or Dak Prescott in the middle rounds?

Is that unknown sixth-round draft pick going to develop into a solid starter like Jason Kelce, Charles Clay or Latavius Murray?

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2017 NFL Draft: See who was taken on Day 1 – NFL Draft First Round Results

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Extended Draft Coverage: Chiefs take risk by trading up for QB Patrick Mahomes with 10th overall pick

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Patriots News: Patriots make two selections on day two

For the Patriots’ fanbase in 2017 it was more of a case of those kids who already knew what their parents bought and they had peeked at the gifts a week earlier.

The Patriots shipped their first-round draft pick in the 2017 NFL Draft (along with a swap of their third round draft pick for a fourth round draft pick–moving back 15 spots from 103rd to 118th overall) to the New Orleans Saints for wide receiver Brandin Cooks, who was their first round draft pick in 2014 and has 162 receptions for 2,311 yards and 17 touchdowns over the past two seasons (all stats from NFL.com unless otherwise noted). Still only 23 years old, he is now under the team’s control through 2018 after his fifth-year option was pick up earlier in the day.

Per @FieldYates, Patriots have exercised their 5th-year option on WR Brandin Cooks. Locks him in through 2018. This was expected.

— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) April 29, 2017

New England shipped their second-round pick to the Carolina Panthers in return for defensive end Kony Ealy and Carolina’s third-round pick (moving down a net of eight spots). Ealy was a second-round draft pick in 2014 and had three sacks in Super Bowl 50 before falling out of favor last year.

The Patriots shipped their fourth pick (137th overall)  to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for tight end Dwayne Allen and the Colts’ sixth-round draft pick (200th overall). Allen is a quality blocker and backup tight end with 15-receiving touchdowns over the past three seasons.

New England also signed restricted free agent running back Mike Gillislee to a two year $6 million offer sheet which the Buffalo Bills declined to match. That allowed the Patriots to bring him to Foxboro for the sum of their fifth-round draft pick (163rd overall) in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Finally, last season the Patriots traded away the 175th overall pick in this year’s draft to Cleveland for linebacker Barkevious Mingo, the 215th overall pick to Detroit for linebacker Kyle Van Noy, and in 2015 they traded away the 250th overall draft pick in the 2017 NFL Draft to acquire tight end Michael Williams.

With just six picks in the 2017 NFL Draft the Patriots started the trade game:

New England traded back in the third round sending the 72nd overall pick to the Tennessee Titans along with the 200th overall pick to go back 11 spots to 83rd overall, which netted them a higher pick in the fourth round (124th overall).

The Patriots took the 124th overall pick and packaged it with their second third-round draft pick (96th overall) to move back up in the third round to pick-up the Detroit Lions’ 85th overall draft pick.

New England made yet another mover for a veteran player sending their fifth-round draft pick (183rd overall) to the Kansas City Chiefs for blocking tight end James O’Shaughnessy and the Chiefs’ sixth-round draft pick (216th overall).

Finally, the Patriots then moved their 239th and 216th picks to move up five slots to get the Dallas Cowboys’ 211th overall pick.

After all this wheeling-and-dealing the Patriots ended up making only four selections in the 2017 NFL Draft:

With the 83rd overall draft pick in the 2017 NFL Draft the Patriots picked up Youngstown State linebacker/defensive end/edge rusher Derek Rivers. Rivers fills the need of an athletic and speedy pass rusher who could eventually move inside like Jamie Collins did and contribute at linebacker.

With the 85th overall pick the Patriots grabbed offensive tackle Antonio Garcia from Troy. Garcia is raw and needs to bulk up to play tackle in the NFL. He will have a chance to add technique to his quickness and toughness with starting left tackle Nate Solder still a year away from free agency.

Going back to Arkansas for a long-armed, productive defensive end, the Patriots added Super Bowl 51 star Trey Flowers’ former teammate Dietrich Wise with the 131st overall draft pick. The Patriots have another pass rusher who can set the edge in the running game as a 4-3 defensive end and can hold up in the interior defensive line as a 3-4 defensive end.

With their final pick, the Patriots grabbed another offensive tackle in UCLA’s Conor McDermott with the 211th overall selection. McDermott is huge and also needs to add bulk and strength. Another developmental project like third-round draft pick Garcia, McDermott is a converted tight end and athletic tackle. He should have the quickness needed to defend the smaller and quicker pass rushers.

After all these moves, the Patriots added just O’Shaughnessy and four draft picks. However, they checked-off all three of their biggest needs heading into the draft: edge rushers, athletic offensive tackles, and depth at tight end. Add in Brandin Cooks, Mike Gillislee, Dwayne Allen and Kony Ealy (and Mike Williams and Kyle Van Noy) and no team added as many impact players ready to contribute in 2017 via the draft as the defending Super Bowl champions.

Oh, and the Patriots still have quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo under contract and on the team in 2017 and cornerback Malcolm Butler to team with free-agent acquisition Stephon Gilmore at cornerback.

One final note: the Patriots had only 65-of-90 roster spots filled and over $20 million in salary cap space heading into the 2017 NFL Draft. After it concluded Saturday night, the Patriots still had 20 spots to fill with undrafted free agents and veterans heading into the offseason OTAs. With a number of veterans already having made visits to Foxboro this offseason (and veteran cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Jason McCourty still free agents), the Patriots may not be done with free agency yet.

Add-in the undrafted free agent market (where the Patriots could add 15 or more players) and the Patriots will have a number of players hungry to earn a roster spot this summer. New England always finds a gem or two each offseason who fight their way onto the roster. The Patriots should have a crowded group of undrafted free agents to showcase this summer.

    The post Patriots’ 2017 NFL Draft recap and review appeared first on Cover32.

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Draft Analysis: Patriots finally pick on second day of the draft

The New England Patriots sat out the first night of the 2017 NFL Draft on Thursday. However, they were still a big winner as they were able to retain cornerback Malcolm Butler and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, allowing them to hold on to their top-flight cornerback and the best backup quarterback in the NFL for the 2017 season.

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Patriots News: Previewing day two of the draft for the Patriots

Patriots News: Patriots stand-pat in round one

Patriots News: Sherman wants to be a Patriot

New England also watched three wide receivers come off the board during the first 10 picks of the draft on Thursday night. Considering this was a weak draft class for wide receivers, the Patriots look good, having flipped their last pick of the first round for a proven commodity in Brandin Cooks. Per Miguel Benzan:

Brandin Cooks’ 2017 cap space number ($1,563,198) will be $53,296 less than the 32nd pick’s.

— Cap Space=20,027,765 (@patscap) April 28, 2017

There were three wide receivers taken in the first nine picks of the draft and none of them will have the impact of Cooks next season (despite all three being close in age to Cooks) and all will cost more. With a premium at the wide receiver position, the Patriots look prescient for nabbing Cooks earlier in the offseason.

The Patriots forced their fanbase to stay up late on Friday night (or wanted everyone to watch the Boston Celtics clinch their first round series against the Chicago Bulls) as they sat out the entire second round of the NFL Draft after having traded out to the third round with Carolina to get defensive end Kony Ealy. The Patriots then flipped the 72nd overall pick to Tennessee with a sixth-round pick (200th overall) for the 83rd pick and the 124th pick.

This set up the Patriots with two third round picks with the 83rd and 96th pick. They also set themselves up with two picks in the fourth round with the 124th and and 131st for Saturday. However, Bill Belichick was not done trading and flipped pick number 96 along with number 124 and shipped them to the Detroit Lions to jump back up to 85th overall.

New England finally got on the board on day two as they selected edge rusher Derek Rivers from Youngstown State with the 83rd overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Rivers stands six-foot-four and weighs 248 pounds (per NFL.com). He is extremely athletic and should be able to contribute immediately as a third-down pass rusher. He could be developed into an inside linebacker in a Jamie Collins-type role on first and second-down and then shift outside on the edge to rush with a hand on the ground.

Rivers was a star at the Senior Bowl and at the Draft Combine. He is explosive and jumps off film as he gets into the backfield in a hurry. Rivers was under-the-radar having played in the Missouri Valley Football Conference but his athleticism makes him intriguing. Per NFL.com, at the combine he ran a 4.61 40-yard dash, had a 35-inch vertical jump, did 30 reps of the bench press, and did the three-cone-drill in just 6.94 seconds.

After trading up, the Patriots grabbed offensive tackle Antonio Garcia from Troy.  Garcia is big and quick for a left tackle. He weighs in at just 302 pounds but stands six-foot-six (per NFL.com) and should be a redshirt in 2017 as he packs on muscle and weight. In addition, the crash course with offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia should get him ready to contribute in 2018.

What Garcia brings to the tackle position is his athleticism to handle smaller, quicker defensive ends. The speed rushers who have given Nate Solder (and Matt Light before him) fits at left tackle should have trouble with Garcia. Garcia was a high school basketball player who has quick feet and is fluid in his movements.

The Patriots had a solid second day making a few deals and added depth which they desperately needed on the edge. In addition, with left tackle Nate Solder in the last year of his contract, the Patriots got a player to groom and develop to take over if necessary. It may not have been flashy, but it was a solid day-two of the draft for New England.

Around The AFC East

Buffalo added a desperately needed wide receiver in Zay Jones from East Carolina early in the second round. They also traded up back into the second round and beefed up their offensive line grabbing Temple offensive tackle Dion Dawkins. The Bills do not pick again until the fifth round but it was a solid second day for the Bills as they refit on both sides of the ball.

For Miami, they passed on talented Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster with their first-round draft pick on Thursday. However, on day two they got their linebacker, scooping up Raekwon McMillan from Ohio State. McMillan was a productive tackler in college and has good instincts. His athleticism is average and may not be ready to contribute immediately.

The Dolphins added Clemson cornerback Cordrea Tankersley in the third round at 97th overall. Tankersley is long (six-foot-one) and fast (ran a 4.40 forty) but not a great tackler and non-existent in run support. Tankersley is a “handsy” cornerback who grabs a receiver when he gets beat.

Finally, the New York Jets went all-in at turning over the safety position. On day one they had LSU safety Jamal Adams fall to them at sixth overall and got one of the best players in the entire draft. On day two they added Florida safety Marcus Maye who is a ball-hawk safety who is instinctive and rangy. This gives the Jets two rookies in the defensive backfield to build around (and probably means former first round draft pick Calvin Pryor and 2016 free agent acquisition Marcus Gilchrist are not long for the Jets).

In the third round the Jets added a desperately needed wide receiver in Alabama wide receiver ArDarius Stewart. Stewart is a physical receiver who left school a year early to enter the draft.  He is a scrappy receiver in the mold of Steve Smith Sr. The Jets traded out of the last pick of day two of the NFL Draft to accumulate more picks on day three.

  The post Draft Analysis: Patriots finally pick on second day of the draft appeared first on Cover32.