Do the Pats receivers scare you?

I'm not too worried about Blount. KJ, Earl, Kam and Bobby will bring him down on every tackle. One thing about our team recent surge has been the tackling.

At last year Superbowl, we let the Denver Receivers (and TEs) Thomas, Thomas, Welker and Decker catch short passes, and we licked them with few yards after catch.

I'm expecting the exact same game plan with the Pats receivers. Short passes, then punishing hits right away. I expect us to be very sharp and tackle them right away, if the passes are completed.
I doubt our pressure will get to Brady. They always give him plenty of protection.

Gronk is the only guy that worries me a bit, but I expect our guys to get to him fast. I think Kam (and Bruce) can check him.

How do you see their receivers matching up with the L.O.B?

Tom will have about 350yds and will still lose.

I think both receiving corps are severely out matched. Outside of Gronk the Pats have nothing to be scared of.

Edelman, Amendola have made plays at times. I know, they don't sound scary, but when you look at their stats at the end of games, they aren't that bad.
Edelman had almost 1000 yards this season. LaFell has gotten better and better. Amendola ...

Amendola has a history of success vs us, and Edelman is a quick little dude who could make some noise underneath. But a whole, no, they are not that intimidating.

Gronk is their only elite threat, and I'm not too worried about that matchup. He's like Jimmy Graham in that he doesn't like contact at the line of scrimmage. I expect to see him in the slot, off the line of scrimmage, a lot, with NE's hope that he can get a free release. If Gronk is getting popped a lot at the LOS, he's going to have a tough time getting open. Edelman is another Wes Welker prototype. Great hands, good route runner, average game speed, and another receiver type we tend to handle well on defense. Over the past few years, there have only been a couple WRs to really give us fits, Mike Wallace (oh, so long ago) and TY Hilton, and both are smaller burners with track speed. I trust our boys are doing their homework in the scouting department.

I think the only minor concern I have with their WR's is the gimmicky ways they draw up plays for them. But thats where the extra week of prep time really helps us. Prepping for the various formations in 6 days is much more difficult than two weeks.

SmokinHawk":2l4s7jxv said:

Gronk is their only elite threat, and I'm not too worried about that matchup. He's like Jimmy Graham in that he doesn't like contact at the line of scrimmage. I expect to see him in the slot, off the line of scrimmage, a lot, with NE's hope that he can get a free release. If Gronk is getting popped a lot at the LOS, he's going to have a tough time getting open. Edelman is another Wes Welker prototype. Great hands, good route runner, average game speed, and another receiver type we tend to handle well on defense. Over the past few years, there have only been a couple WRs to really give us fits, Mike Wallace (oh, so long ago) and TY Hilton, and both are smaller burners with track speed. I trust our boys are doing their homework in the scouting department.

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If you think Gronk is anything like Graham (who is incredibly soft) you're going to be very disappointed when you actually see him play next week.

They didn't scare the Buffalo Bills who held the Patriots to 9 points (In New England) at that last regular season game, and beat them 17 to 9. Or the Chiefs 41-14, or the Packers 26-21, or the Dolphins, yes I said the Dolphins who beat them 33 to 20.
The Patriot receivers are good, damn good. So were the Broncos receivers, and look what happened.

SPIRITOF12":28efr6he said:

They didn't scare the Buffalo Bills who held the Patriots to 9 points (In New England) at that last regular season game, and beat them 17 to 9. Or the Chiefs 41-14, or the Packers 26-21, or the Dolphins, yes I said the Dolphins who beat them 33 to 20.
The Patriot receivers are good, damn good. So were the Broncos receivers, and look what happened.

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Most of our starters were out in that week 17 game vs Buffalo and the ones who did play only played for a half.

This is a completely different team than the one that played KC in week 4. So that game isn't even worth addressing.

We played the Packers in GB. You had the luxury of playing them in Seattle both times. If that game last week (which took a miracle for Seattle to win) is played in GB, they run you off the field with ease.

We slaughtered the Dolphins 41-13 in week 14.

The problem with your assumption is that you're suggesting the wind and rain had absolutely no effect on the 5 turnovers. Do remember that the Seahawks dominated the GB offense, and GB only scored on short fields for most of the game.

TBtoRG":33lv83an said:

SPIRITOF12":33lv83an said:

They didn't scare the Buffalo Bills who held the Patriots to 9 points (In New England) at that last regular season game, and beat them 17 to 9. Or the Chiefs 41-14, or the Packers 26-21, or the Dolphins, yes I said the Dolphins who beat them 33 to 20.
The Patriot receivers are good, damn good. So were the Broncos receivers, and look what happened.

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Most of our starters were out in that week 17 game vs Buffalo and the ones who did play only played for a half.

This is a completely different team than the one that played KC in week 4. So that game isn't even worth addressing.

We played the Packers in GB. You had the luxury of playing them in Seattle both times. If that game last week (which took a miracle for Seattle to win) is played in GB, they run you off the field with ease.

We slaughtered the Dolphins 41-13 in week 14.

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And yet barely beat the Jets twice. The same D ranked 24th in points allowed. Hmmmmm. Impressive. I'm sure Pete has broken those games down pretty well.

No way these WR's worry me. Last year we faced the #1 offense in NFL history. That passng offense is very similar to this offense. Brady is a very poor passer downfield. Just like Peyton he can't throw the deep ball. This allows our All-pro safeties to play freely and our LBs can take away the underneath crossing stuff, just like last year. They aren't prepared for how fast we play. Can't simulate that.

SmokinHawk":nunhn40m said:

Gronk is their only elite threat, and I'm not too worried about that matchup. He's like Jimmy Graham in that he doesn't like contact at the line of scrimmage. I expect to see him in the slot, off the line of scrimmage, a lot, with NE's hope that he can get a free release. If Gronk is getting popped a lot at the LOS, he's going to have a tough time getting open. Edelman is another Wes Welker prototype. Great hands, good route runner, average game speed, and another receiver type we tend to handle well on defense. Over the past few years, there have only been a couple WRs to really give us fits, Mike Wallace (oh, so long ago) and TY Hilton, and both are smaller burners with track speed. I trust our boys are doing their homework in the scouting department.

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You have the wrong scouting report on Gronk. He is nothing like Graham and won't shy away from contact. He will actually initiate it no matter who it is. That being said, you guys have the formula to shut him down. CC can pick his spots 1 on 1 otherwise a bracket with a LB or CB will work. No doubt he can be taken out of a game like any other pass catcher. The question is at what cost. Either way going to be a great matchup. Just wanted to point out that the whole "hit him in the mouth" thing with doesn't apply here.

Chawks1":339bb4df said:

TBtoRG":339bb4df said:

SPIRITOF12":339bb4df said:

They didn't scare the Buffalo Bills who held the Patriots to 9 points (In New England) at that last regular season game, and beat them 17 to 9. Or the Chiefs 41-14, or the Packers 26-21, or the Dolphins, yes I said the Dolphins who beat them 33 to 20.
The Patriot receivers are good, damn good. So were the Broncos receivers, and look what happened.

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Most of our starters were out in that week 17 game vs Buffalo and the ones who did play only played for a half.

This is a completely different team than the one that played KC in week 4. So that game isn't even worth addressing.

We played the Packers in GB. You had the luxury of playing them in Seattle both times. If that game last week (which took a miracle for Seattle to win) is played in GB, they run you off the field with ease.

We slaughtered the Dolphins 41-13 in week 14.

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And yet barely beat the Jets twice. The same D ranked 24th in points allowed. Hmmmmm. Impressive. I'm sure Pete has broken those games down pretty well.

No way these WR's worry me. Last year we faced the #1 offense in NFL history. That passng offense is very similar to this offense. Brady is a very poor passer downfield. Just like Peyton he can't throw the deep ball. This allows our All-pro safeties to play freely and our LBs can take away the underneath crossing stuff, just like last year. They aren't prepared for how fast we play. Can't simulate that.

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That passing offense is not similar at all. These receivers are actually good vs press coverage.

I realize that this was a couple of years ago, but just for reference sake ...

Gronkowski against the Seahawks (10/14/2012) had .... 6 catches for 61 yards (10.2 yds/catch) ... and 0 TD

The Seahawks have the same basic defensive personnel that they did back then in 2012 (minus Browner of course). AND as any serious Hawks fan who follows this team will tell you -- Byron Maxwell has been a HUGE upgrade over what Brandon Browner gave us. Additionally, Seattle's nickel and dime corners are markedly better today than the group that they trotted out there in 2012.

Seattle has already said that they plan on playing press coverage, getting physical with Gronkowski, and not allowing him to get a free release off the line of scrimmage. The Jets did exactly that same thing against Gronk in Week 16 and held him to just 6 catches for 31 yards. Given all of that, I'd say that's probably a fairly accurate barometer of what we can expect from him (production-wise) in this game [5-6 catches ... and let's say somewhere around 50 yds, give or take].

Seattle is going to look to shut down Gronkowski and force NE's other receivers to beat them. The question is ... can they with any consistency? If the Patriots don't have that guy with top end speed who can really beat the Legion of Boom over the top (and I don't think they do), then I don't see a whole lot of productivity out of that group as a whole.

Its like saying Seahawks WR's don't scare me yet week after week they make big play in huge games. No Calvin Johnson or or Aj Green but a group of productive hard working and reliable WR's who compliment each other.

The Pats have played a soft schedule and have struggled against physical and physically gifted defenses. I would expect the same results against the Seahawks.

Plus when Tommy Boy squeezes that ball it just might not feel the same as it has in previous weeks.

HawkNuts":2jl54xki said:

The Pats have played a soft schedule and have struggled against physical and physically gifted defenses. I would expect the same results against the Seahawks.

Plus when Tommy Boy squeezes that ball it just might not feel the same as it has in previous weeks.

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NE has beaten Buffalo, NYJ x2, Detroit, and Baltimore. All good and physical defenses. They put up a ton of points in most of those games.

Note: Week 17 game vs Buffalo, NE had most of their starters out.

Stop making things up.

TBtoRG":o56a7o1e said:

HawkNuts":o56a7o1e said:

The Pats have played a soft schedule and have struggled against physical and physically gifted defenses. I would expect the same results against the Seahawks.

Plus when Tommy Boy squeezes that ball it just might not feel the same as it has in previous weeks.

Click to expand...

NE has beaten Buffalo, NYJ x2, Detroit, and Baltimore. All good and physical defenses. They put up a ton of points in most of those games.

Note: Week 17 game vs Buffalo, NE had most of their starters out.

Stop making things up.

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Jets pass D sucks. Passers averaged over 100 rating vs them. Ravens and Lions were kind of average pass D. Bills were good though. And they split with you.

Fear none.
Respect all.