A big reason why the Patriots snuck up on the Bengals was because people assumed the Pats OL would be one of the worst in the NFL. On paper that seems to be case along with lack of playing time together as a cohesive unit. But what happened in reality is that the Pats OL looked more than competent on the ground. The Pats OL in week 1 showed power and bullied a Bengals defensive front in the run game. Mayo's Patriots really came out with a physical game plan.
Alex Van Pelt understands that his tackles are not the best in pass pro which is why they will not really rely on long developing plays. Also from the ground game they will use play action to involve Hooper and Henry to keep the chains moving.
The WR's for Patriots are very ordinary but they make up for it with diverse skill sets. D. Douglas with shake and bake and then you have Baker using his size to be deceptively fast as a rookie. Polk is very polished WR while Thornton and Boutte have their moments where they can really separate. Osborn is a vet that understands the game well but he isn't going to dominate a game.
Rhamondre Stevenson relies on missed/broken tackles for extra yardage and he is deceptively good as a pass receiver. And Alex Van Pelt will use Antonio Gibson to cause mismatches in the flat and perimeter to test the Hawks LBs in pass defense.
Defensively the Patriots are a tough unit to run on and they play with a lot of discipline. They may not have Judon or Barimore playing but White is going to be a handful as his size and speed combo is going to test the Hawks.
Jonathan Jones and Gonzalez are a tough boundary CB duo and with Marcus Jones the nickel that will be a challenge. This is because the Patriots may force coverage sacks as they rotate their safeties very well with Pappers, Duggar and Hawkins.
The key to the game for the Hawks is the following:
On offense, the Hawks OL has to own the LOS to create push in the run game. Without a run game it makes it hard to beat the Pats with a pure passing offense as their secondary is the strength of their team like it was last season. Furthermore, Keion White is savage with his size and speed and will be a problem if he is allowed to tee off.
Geno Smith must also identify the high safety pre snap on every down as it could be Duggar, Hawkins or Peppers.
Lockett, JS or Metcalf in the slot may be a good matchup against Marcus Jones because of size mismatch.
The Patriots do have a weakness on defense and that is their LB's while faster than a few years ago are still not really sideline to sideline trail blazers. This is where Charbonnet and McIntosh can really feast as a mismatch.
Defensively, the Seahawks front seven has to really stop the Patriots powerful OL from controlling the LOS. If they can do that the Seahawks secondary is more than talented enough to neutralize the Patriots WR group along with the defensive scheme. And pressures from Mafe and others will be crucial to force Brissett into a dink and dunk game where the Patriots lose momentum on drives. Tackling is a must against players like Stevenson, Henry and Hooper as they can turn a five yard catch into 20+ yards easily from broken tackles.
If the Patriots run game is very underwhelming and their passing game lacks explosiveness I think the Seahawks can pull away with the win as Seattle offense can eventually wear out a very talented defense.
Alex Van Pelt understands that his tackles are not the best in pass pro which is why they will not really rely on long developing plays. Also from the ground game they will use play action to involve Hooper and Henry to keep the chains moving.
The WR's for Patriots are very ordinary but they make up for it with diverse skill sets. D. Douglas with shake and bake and then you have Baker using his size to be deceptively fast as a rookie. Polk is very polished WR while Thornton and Boutte have their moments where they can really separate. Osborn is a vet that understands the game well but he isn't going to dominate a game.
Rhamondre Stevenson relies on missed/broken tackles for extra yardage and he is deceptively good as a pass receiver. And Alex Van Pelt will use Antonio Gibson to cause mismatches in the flat and perimeter to test the Hawks LBs in pass defense.
Defensively the Patriots are a tough unit to run on and they play with a lot of discipline. They may not have Judon or Barimore playing but White is going to be a handful as his size and speed combo is going to test the Hawks.
Jonathan Jones and Gonzalez are a tough boundary CB duo and with Marcus Jones the nickel that will be a challenge. This is because the Patriots may force coverage sacks as they rotate their safeties very well with Pappers, Duggar and Hawkins.
The key to the game for the Hawks is the following:
On offense, the Hawks OL has to own the LOS to create push in the run game. Without a run game it makes it hard to beat the Pats with a pure passing offense as their secondary is the strength of their team like it was last season. Furthermore, Keion White is savage with his size and speed and will be a problem if he is allowed to tee off.
Geno Smith must also identify the high safety pre snap on every down as it could be Duggar, Hawkins or Peppers.
Lockett, JS or Metcalf in the slot may be a good matchup against Marcus Jones because of size mismatch.
The Patriots do have a weakness on defense and that is their LB's while faster than a few years ago are still not really sideline to sideline trail blazers. This is where Charbonnet and McIntosh can really feast as a mismatch.
Defensively, the Seahawks front seven has to really stop the Patriots powerful OL from controlling the LOS. If they can do that the Seahawks secondary is more than talented enough to neutralize the Patriots WR group along with the defensive scheme. And pressures from Mafe and others will be crucial to force Brissett into a dink and dunk game where the Patriots lose momentum on drives. Tackling is a must against players like Stevenson, Henry and Hooper as they can turn a five yard catch into 20+ yards easily from broken tackles.
If the Patriots run game is very underwhelming and their passing game lacks explosiveness I think the Seahawks can pull away with the win as Seattle offense can eventually wear out a very talented defense.
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