So here we are on the eve of the Patriots taking on the Jacksonville Jaguars and I still can't shake that uneasy feeling. As I stated a few posts back, I don't think the Jags will beat the Pats, but let's talk about how they could.
The Patriots have shown that they can be run on effectively and the Jags have shown that they are quite capable of mounting an impressive running attack. This is cause for concern on two fronts. First, the more time the Jags can grind the ball out on the ground, the less time Tom Brady has to do what he does best; put the ball in the end zone. This enables the Jags to turn that old adage of "the best offense is a good defense" around. Their best defense will certainly be ball control on offense. Secondly, it gives the Jags an opportunity to wear down our aging defensive linebacker core.
The Jags are also a very physical team and have considerable height at the receiver positions which makes the lack of height on the Patriots defense an issue to be dealt with. Can our defensive backs match up? I think they can and will, but time will tell.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Jags secondary is certainly a weakness that the Pats can exploit when their offense has the ball. To me, the game breaks down simply to this: If the Patriots can stop the Jags running game, they walk away with the win. If not, this will be a game that will go down to the wire. If that happens, be prepared for one hell of a game, and a possible upset.
1 comments:
I agree that the Pats needed to stop the Jags biggest strength in the run game and they did a really good job. Their defense has been taking some heat after most of their games lately. I think one of the big reasons is because the other teams QB's have stepped up against them. I feel like it started against Philly when A.J. Feeley was throwing darts all over the place. The defense was told to not let Westbrook beat them and they usually do a good job of taking away the other teams biggest strength. But Feeley did show his true colors with 3 int but his line was 27/42 345 yds. 3TD with the 3 picks. Everyone is on Eli's jock since he played well against the Pats. I kind of feel like it's similar to when Pedro was pitching for the Sox against some #4-5 in the rotation guy for the Orioles or the Rays and they would be lights out. It's like some guys step up when they know they aren't supposed to win. It's kind of the underdog thing that helped the Pats for many years. With that being said I still like how their defense has been playing later in games. They have been adjusting so well for the second half of games and eventually the horshoes fall out of their asses.
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