Unbeaten Patriots plenty beatable if you follow this plan
So you want to beat the
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| The strength of the Pats D? Richard Seymour and linemates. Go around them. (US Presswire) |
But that's where attacking the Patriots' defense comes in. The longer you hold the ball, the less you see of Brady. And the less you see of Brady ...
Now back to our guest. He wouldn't mind another crack at the Patriots because the longer he stares at their defense, the more he sees holes.
Where? Patience, people. He's going to share his information. So sit back, take notes and pass the crib sheet to Tom Coughlin when we're through.
1. Protect, protect, protect
Look at the clubs that had the closest calls with New England.
- Philadelphia threw 42 times, and quarterback A. J. Feeley was sacked twice.
- Baltimore's Kyle Boller threw 23 times and wasn't sacked.
- The Giants' Eli Manning uncorked 32 passes and was sacked once.
Notice a trend? Opponents who were able to throw and protect pushed the Patriots to the edge. That's no coincidence, says our coach.
"Above all," he says, "you've got to protect up front because, if you do, it gives you an opportunity to strike down the field. That's where the Patriots are vulnerable. Their linebackers are not real good cover guys and their secondary, with the exception of one cornerback (Asante Samuel), is susceptible to the passing game.
"The safeties are very average cover guys and the linebackers are very average. That means you can go short, intermediate and deep middle, and, if you protect, you're going to find open receivers."
2. Run outside
Rewind the first half of the Patriots' 24-20 victory over Indianapolis earlier this season. The Colts' Joseph Addai found daylight to the outside, including a short pass he took over the middle at the end of the first half and cashed in for a 73-yard touchdown.
Most of Addai's yardage was on the perimeter, and that's no coincidence. The Patriots are old at linebacker, which means you can beat them to the point of attack -- provided that attack is to the outside.
When you watch videotape of the Eagles' 31-28 loss, Philadelphia constantly looked for mismatches between running back Brian Westbrook and a Patriots linebacker. They tried in their Super Bowl XXXIX loss to New England, too.
"You can run on these guys if you go double tight end," our coach says, "but you're probably better off attacking the perimeter. Something more of a stretch-zone type of play. You can try to run on them when they're in their nickel game, which means when they're in their nickel fronts, but you're better off looking for yards to the outside."
3. Stay away from their linemen
The Patriots are solid up front. Defensive tackle Vince Wilfork is the size of the Astrodome, and defensive ends Ty Warren and Richard Seymour are active. Just ask San Diego center Nick Hardwick.
"You can try to spread them," says our coach, "but you better be able to protect. Their people up front are excellent, and if you're going to try to hit them deep in a four-wide situation you better be quick. Between the nose and defensive ends they're good. So I'm going to try to stay away from the inside stuff and try to stretch their front."
4. Throw, throw, throw
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| Kyle Boller looked stellar against the Pats. (Getty Images) |
The bottom line is this: You can't be afraid to attack them with the pass because if you're looking for weaknesses, you might just find one with New England's pass defense. Hey, if Feeley and Boller could bang on them for five touchdown passes, what happens when a hot starter has a chance to dissect their secondary?
We have less than a week to find out.
"I'm going in there throwing against them," says our coach, "and if I can protect they're going to have a tough time stopping it. I'm not going to try anything crazy.
"They don't have great coverage people, but I'm going to double-move No. 22 (Samuel) -- something along the lines of a stop-and-go action. There's a lot of talk about (Rodney) Harrison, but he's playing on instincts -- and his instincts are great. But if you can protect you can do some damage. Line up four wides, send them deep and it's all good."
