New England Patriots thread (MOD WARNING - #4503)

kryogen

JE11..........gotta say, I much prefer MiniTron

kryogen

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer/jason-la-canfora/24997087/super-bowl-49-patriots-bill-belichick-never-stops-working-and-it-works

Nice article if you have a few minutes

Johnny_Fontane

interesting article on Brady from the NY Times.....

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/02/01/magazine/tom-brady-cannot-stop.html?smid=tw-share&_r=1&referrer=

Bateman

Fantastic article in fairness. It’s very well written for what it is (an uncritical / puff piece).

I’ve never read any of the books about him but it might be that this gives a clearer glimpse than any of them into just who he is.

Son Of A Vidic

munstermagic11 wrote: »

For me it's our OL and the DL.

Can the OL protect Brady enough, and can they prevent the Hawks DL from penetrating and stopping our run behind the gain-line (making us one dimensional).
Can our DL deal with Lynch and make them one dimensional?

It's going to be a huge task to win this; I think the Hawks are a quality team, we know difficult it's to get to back-to-back SB's, and they've achieved it.

I can see this being a fourth quarter game, with either team in position to win.
Butterflies in the stomach already!

There's no doubting the Hawks great defense. But I think the key could be in how we control their offense. If we can shut down Lynch and keep Wilson in the pocket, then I think we'll have it in the bag. But it's Lynch I'm really worried about, because we need to stop him. They need him to control possession, kill the clock and keep Brady of the field. If we can prevent that, then I expect it will be party time.

eagle eye

You know what we haven't used in quite a while, the dink and dunk offense. And I think it could be just the answer to this Seahawks D. If you force Chancellor up into the box then you open up the middle for Gronk.

paulie21

http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/john_canzano/index.ssf/2015/01/canzano_bill_belichick_chases.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Good article giving a little insight into Belichick

kryogen

In the interview with Deion Sanders and Baldwin last night, Baldwin said the goal is to do what they do, and make Marshawn Lynch the superbowl MVP. I like that kind of selflessness tbh and team ethic that he displayed in the interview, but it speaks to what we need to do. For me the ground game is probably where we are at the weakest and having the best rushing offence going against that doesn't make great reading.

Need some big performances from the guys in the box, none of the Hawks receivers particularly deserve double coverage so the extra man to stop the run would be a great help.

Son Of A Vidic

kryogen wrote: »

Need some big performances from the guys in the box, none of the Hawks receivers particularly deserve double coverage so the extra man to stop the run would be a great help.

It will be interesting to see what happens and I hope we don't take anything for granted. How could we forget what a virtually nobody Tyree did, with his miracle/fluke catch to win the SB. Regarding committing the extra man to stopping the run, there could be an interesting story line here. Tavon Wilson was in his rookie season when we last played the Seahawks. His rookie mistake gave up the TD that gave the game to Seattle. I think we pulled back from throwing him in as a starter after that. And he got his fair share of criticism for a simple rookie mistake. He's a big, strong, hard hitting safety perfect for helping stuff the run against the Seahawks. If anybody would be motivated to prove a point on Sunday, I think he'd top the list. It would be a kind of sweet redemption if he made a couple of big stops on our way to a 4th title.

Mr. Guappa

I fancy Tim Wright to have a big game. The Packers TE's did well against the Seahawks and Wright could be unleashed in typical Belichick fashion.

Shedite27

eagle eye wrote: »

You know what we haven't used in quite a while, the dink and dunk offense. And I think it could be just the answer to this Seahawks D. If you force Chancellor up into the box then you open up the middle for Gronk.

YEah gonna be interesting how this will match up.

Seahawks D like everything in front of them (no long balls), Pats O like lots of shorts and simple. I wonder if either will change

Tristram

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

I fancy Tim Wright to have a big game. The Packers TE's did well against the Seahawks and Wright could be unleashed in typical Belichick fashion.

I wonder. He has seen so little usage over the past few weeks. Every week I thought to myself, okay this is the week. Still waiting though.

Son Of A Vidic

Tristram wrote: »

I wonder. He has seen so little usage over the past few weeks. Every week I thought to myself, okay this is the week. Still waiting though.

It's weird how it worked out. In the last 7 games, he's only being targeted 5 times and hasn't been targeted at all in the playoffs. Seems a bit strange considering he was finding his groove in the Pats offense. But Mr. Guappa could be right, when all eyes are on Gronk will they throw them of balance by unleashing Wright. But with us, you'll never know who'll the star on offense will be. That's probably our biggest strength as a team, we've a very complex offense with a lot of moving parts. I just hope we use that to our advantage come Sunday.

kryogen

I was sure Wright would be a big player in the playoffs but he has been ignored basically, be nice if he can come up big in the big game itself, he is the perfect foil for Gronk, you simply have no way of covering both adequately, I would also like to have a word for LaFell, he has been a very important player this season and I was one of those who were critical of him early on, credit where its due to Amendola too! Finally making some big plays

eagle eye

Getting twitchy now, nerves are starting to set in already.

DBIreland

Do you guys think having Browner will be of much assistance for this game, I mean working out calls, audibles and game plan etc or do these things change so frequently in the NFL that his Seattle knowledge is of no use?

BaronVon

Took the week off work, really enjoying all the media coverage and classic football games on SS3! Overdosing on football before the 6 months of cold turkey!!!

Feeling pretty confident for the game. I think the Pats held alot back throughout the year, like the Packers game. I felt they had more tricks up their sleeve, but didn't want to use them. Whereas in the ravens game, they had to pull out a few tricks, which I'm sure they would have rathered held onto!

It will be a tight game, but I really think we'll make it over the line!

Son Of A Vidic

DBIreland wrote: »

Do you guys think having Browner will be of much assistance for this game, I mean working out calls, audibles and game plan etc or do these things change so frequently in the NFL that his Seattle knowledge is of no use?

Calls & audibles ect will all have changed. But he will be able to give a good insight into how they'll prep, especially his old LOB buddies. That said, he's also be a disadvantage for us. Because nobody will be able to exploit his weaknesses more than his old teammates. His lack of pace is his achilles heel and I hope they don't exploit it.

DBIreland

I'm looking for any advantage we can get, hopefully he will be able to advise on things players weakness like you said. I wonder will he be able to contain himself penalties wise!
Christ, I can't wait for kickoff. Still over 2 days to go!

Son Of A Vidic

I think we'll all be turning into bags of nerves. Feck I'm evening dreaming about the SB at this stage . I dreamt on Wednesday night we won. (Don't laugh) But I remember being on the sidelines with the O line, there was 19 seconds left on the clock, we were 8 points ahead and our defense had stuffed them. I think the final score was either 7-15 or 6-14, but it was definitely an 8 point margin. I remember looking at Solder and thinking to myself, man you were immense tonight. All of which means the opposite will probably happen and I've now jinxed the team.:(

Fox1978

Guys scratching my head over where to watch this SB. Since Paddy Patriots closed up there hasn't been a group of us meeting up for games (far as I can tell anyway). Therefore wondering if there is a gang watching it this Sunday? Know Woolshed is usual haunt for many. I see Odeon is sold out.

Cormac

Son Of A Vidic

Fox1978 wrote: »

Guys scratching my head over where to watch this SB. Since Paddy Patriots closed up there hasn't been a group of us meeting up for games (far as I can tell anyway). Therefore wondering if there is a gang watching it this Sunday? Know Woolshed is usual haunt for many. I see Odeon is sold out.

Cormac

Some of the Dublin based fans might be in the likes of the Woolshed. But afaik, there has been no organised group meet up planned.

BKWDR

Would love to go out and watch it for the atmosphere but don't want to run the risk of getting a crap seat or not hearing the commentary

Bateman

I'd say the nerves are seriously jangling for people now. Definitely prefer to watch big important games at home myself too, if I were a Pats fan I'd definitely be watching at home.

CJC86

I'm really excited about this game now. It feels just like the run up to the Packers game mid-season that no-one knew who'd win. Hopefully we get a better result this time.

What do people think of Seattle's WRs against our secondary? I can see BB completely selling the shop to stop the run (either Lynch or Wilson), and leaving the secondary mostly in one-on-one assignments. I think if Ninkovich and Jones bring pressure like they did in the AFCCG, we'll win; otherwise, it could be a long night for our CBs.

Neil3030

Richardson is unfortunately bunched with an ACL, but Seattle have a little ace in the hole in Ricardo Lockette. He is usually only targeted once or twice a game, because he's just not that great a receiver, but if the Pats' secondary get sucked into the ground game, and you see Lockette take the field - he's going deep. His PR is 4.26 in the 40m and 10.0 in the 100m. I was hoping to stick money on him as an anytime TD scorer, but I think the markets are thinking the same, as he is only 7/2.

CJC86

That's a good shout, Lockette will burn any of our CBs for pace. Thankfully, DMac is possibly the best free-safety in the NFL (between him and Thomas for me), so I'd think that he'll be clued in as soon as he sees 83 on the field.

Son Of A Vidic

I fully expect the Seahawks to exploit Browners lack of pace. He's my biggest concern in the Secondary. Doze off on one play and that could be the difference in the game.

bruschi

Who is honorary captain for Superbowl...

Hazys

Get hyped!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8IZste6zQ0