“ Once more unto the breach dear friends once more “
William Shakespeare
The season opener is upon us dear friends. Adding to his ever growing legend ,pushing back his Hall of Fame induction, Tom Brady is set to lead yet another Patriots charge into the NFL unknown.With veterans and new recruits this army is set to follow the greatest football player in history into battle Sunday. Ahead of them a Seventeen week march. Like Sherman he will leave nothing but scorched earth on his way to Atlanta. The league ever trying to take down the Patriots made sure this match up happened well before the inevitable injuries and PED suspensions that always seem to derail the forever overrated little brothers of the Cowboys. Here are my Monster Keys to Patriots victory.
Cut that DiamondÂ
What cuts diamond ? Anther diamond . A lot has been made and rightly so about Houston’s diamond front, i won’t go into great detail on the X’s and O’s of it but this D goes back to Buddy Ryan’s days with the Bears and Eagles.What it does is it allows the D to line its best player up against the O-Lines weakest link, usually the center. Lucky for all of you the Patriots have a gem-cutter under center. Brady needs to use his mind like a gem saw. Using motion to force the Texacans into tipping their hand as to whether they are in Man or Zone. who’s dropping into coverage and who’s coming for him.Then find the mismatches.
Some good old Fashioned Exploitation
Look for Brady to get Running Back James White mismatched on linebackers using the formula above. Like the Patriots the Texans have a hard time covering running backs in space. i expect White to get some serious overtime this Sunday
Banana splits anyone ?
Everyone knows the top banana of the pass catchers in this group is Gronk , i expect to see him split out often and even wide on Sunday afternoon, The Texans want to force Brady to throw outside the numbers ,get your best out there.
Win the turnover battle …… If you;re new here get used to it , Every Week
Control the tempo. Control the clock ,
In short move the sticks, Long sustained drives are the key to beating this team. Deep shots should only be a small keep them honest part of this week’s game plan, the Pats do not want to expose Tom to deep drops and 3 and 4 second progressions.
Shoe This Horse
Containing Deshaun Watson and forcing him to read thru his own progressions is paramount to the patriots having any success Sunday on defense, edges need to be set and set hard linebackers and the middle of this front line need to keep their heads and not freelance, i want a horseshoe of defenders around Watson Keep this kid in the pocket and don’t allow him to use his legs. Do not over pursue and get pushed past this quarterback
Own third down
On both sides of the Ball…. Tom needs to find a reliable target on third down not named Gronkowski and the D needs to not get too amped up and lose containment. Stay at home.
Keep Brady Clean.
This key was cut first , The line has been the talk of camp, people like Mike Reese have said Trent Brown could be a pro bowler, well Sunday we will see. This group will need to be on the same page form the jump this season, this Texans group is no joke. the Patriots O-Line have to communicate like they have been together for years and with new faces and guy who saw ZERO snaps in preseason that wont be easy. Give Brady time and keep him off his ass and out of the tent.
That’s it folks. Week one keys are on the ring, all the Patriots need to do is turn each one at the right time and the doors too 1-0 unlockÂ
As always you can follow/give me grief on Twitter @Tmurph207
