Thanks for the football post, breath of fresh air from what we've seen in terms of Pats fans over the past couple of weeks.
Also, ignore the snide remarks, it's disappointing when various posters turn threads like this into shitslinging contests, there's enough of us wanting to talk football though, honest.
It's a worn down narrative but stack the box and go man to man on the outside. If you don't, then with us running the read option you could have some negative blocking matchups against the best back in the league.
If you can limit Lynch then Russ will have to take over. I've never not been confident when we put our chances in Russ's hands. The difference is I believe we're the weakest we've been at receiver since we started, so it's going to take some heroics, most likely with his legs.
I agree that Collins is your best bet for a spy, regardless Russ is going to have to back himself a little more than in previous weeks. If you do spy with Collins, I'd like to think we've got a couple of TE's in Cooper Helfet and Luke Willson who can exploit some matchups. Both are quick for big dudes, but both have displayed hands of stone. The drops haven't mattered much in previous games, but I doubt we'll be afforded the same luxury on Sunday.
As always, Gronk will likely get his catches, the difference is we're probably the best equipped team you face to limit his YAC. It's pretty much the same defense as last year, we'll be swarming. I don't think you'll be able to run the ball on us all that much, much weighs on how much pressure we can get on Brady. Lots of third down and redzone defense in this one I think. I've seen the points line at around 48, I'm taking the under.