Patriots Offense
Tom Brady and the Patriots offense are off to a nearly perfect start. Brady
is completing nearly 80% of his passes to a plethora of offensive weapons. Brady
is making the smart decisions. He is allowing his receivers to find the throwing
lanes while he uses his mobility to give them time to get open. Brady won't look
to run but he is second to none in mobility. He is mobile within the pocket by
making small well timed steps in the pocket.
Brady is able to use that mobility thanks to trust in his offensive line,
especially with the interior of the line. Logan Mankins and Dan Koppen have good
feet to provide protection but they also show exceptional hand usage at
controlling the defensive line. At the tackle position Matt Light and Nick Kaczur are able to hide their deficiencies thanks to Tom Brady. They do not give
up the inside because that is where they expect Brady to be. This makes their
job so much easier as they can simply seal off the interior and ride the
defender beyond the pocket.
At running back the Patriots have found a nice combination of Lawrence
Maroney, Kevin Faulk and Sammy Morris. While Maroney is nursing an injury, Sammy
Morris has been outstanding in carrying the majority of the load. Sammy is a
thick legged physical back and while he has been in the league for eight years, he
remains fresh due to his lack of reps with the Dolphins and Bills. Morris does
have a tendency to carry the ball to wide from his body as he makes cuts. The
Browns should be looking to strip the ball whenever the opportunity arises.
Kevin Faulk is the third down receiving back but he does have the explosion to
make teams pay if they forget about his speed as a runner.
While all the talk seems to be about Randy Moss's reemergence as one of the
leagues best receivers the two receiving threats that are killing opposing
offenses is Wes Welker and tight end Ben Watson. They are providing Brady with
the safe option by making huge third down catches in traffic over the middle.
While Moss brings the home run threat on his deep post and seam route, it is
Welker and Watson that base hit you to death. Welker is the most patient
receiver in the league as he is using Watson and Moss to clear space. They drag
the coverage... he comes in behind slows his speed and gives the quarterback a nice
big target.
Browns Defense
The Browns have a very big task ahead in trying to slow down the dynamic
Patriots offense that rank in the top 5 in every statistical category while the
Browns are bottom three in every defensive category. This is, however, a challenge
that is not beyond their ability.
Brady likes to move within the pocket and doesn't like to get outside the
pocket to often. The Browns must pressure the interior of the pocket. Shaun Smith and Ted Washington have the power to get the necessary push. It isn't what
the Browns like to do as they try to control the line instead of breaking
through it with the bull rush from the nose but in this game that bull rush up
the gut of is vital to making Brady throw earlier than he wants. Also look for
more blitzing up the middle to help stop the run and also slow down Tom Brady.
D'Qwell Jackson was known for his ability to slide through traffic and make
the big play in the backfield. Jackson hasn't had the type of season expected
although he is playing well. This game is a huge test for the young linebacker.
If Jackson can break through the line, it will be a life saver for the Browns
secondary. Also if he can fake the blitz and slide back into coverage, he may
find the ball thrown into his lap as Brady targets the drag route to Welker over
the middle. Look for a huge game out of Jackson this week.
Willie McGinest will have his opportunity to show the Patriots that they made
a huge mistake in letting him go. McGinest had a very good game against the
Ravens last week especially with his run support. He will be asked to not only
provide the run support this week but also provide a pass rush.
The Browns finally decided to move Kamerion Wimbley around last week and
although Wimbley failed to record a sack his play frustrated and punished
Steve McNair. Wimbley may have the speed and flexibility to shoot the inside gap
against the slower footed Kaczur this week.
With so many receiving threats in the Patriots arsenal, safety play is where
this game will be won and lost. Sean Jones and Brodney Pool will be asked to
provide deep help against Randy Moss and also cover Welker and Dante Stallworth
in one-on-one match ups. If they are to have success, they must disrupt the
wide receiver routes, especially that of Welker. You can jam him
early and take him out of the play if you are physical for the entirety of the
game.
If the Patriots get close to the goal line they are going to throw the fade
route to the corner of the end zone to Moss. Moss's size and leaping ability
makes him virtually unstoppable but Leigh Bodden has always played his best when
facing the "unstoppable" receiver.
Eric Wright will have his hands full with whoever he is matched up against.
The rookie corner is coming off of his best game as a Brown and he no longer
seems afraid to make the mistake... which has led to his mistakes. Keep an eye on Daven Holly. Holly in the nickel is a huge bonus for the Browns with his knack
of finding the ball. He reads the offense as well as any defensive back in
football. Although he dropped a couple of picks last week, he was in position to
make those and he doesn't drop very many.
Patriots Defense
The Patriots are equally as talented on defense as they are on offense. The
defense, however, is fully dependent upon the play of Vince Wilfork. Wilfork is
the space eater in the middle. He has the pure strength to force the double but
he also is so quick that he can still split the double and make plays in the
back field. The battle between Wilfork and Browns center Hank Fraley will be
huge. Hank is coming off of his best game as a Brown as he stalemated Haloti Ngata last week.
The Patriots linebackers of Adalius Thomas, Teddy Brushi, Junior Seau and
Mike Vrabel could all have an unveiling in Canton in the near future. Thomas is
the most explosive player on this defense, and he will test the rookie left
tackle Joe Thomas early and often. As talented and intelligent as the Patriots
linebacker corps is, they do seem to lack a great deal of speed. They are effective in the passing
game by dropping into the right spot to cover the throwing angle and they are
second to none in stopping the run.
The Patriots secondary will be pleased to have Rodney Harrison return from
his four game suspension. Rodney won't start but should receive a great deal of
playing time. He is the heavy hitter and intimidator in the secondary but his
coverage leaves a great deal to be desired.
The corner tandem of Asante Samuel and Ellis Hobbs are built for speed and
coverage ability. They are extremely talented and they will take chances due to
the confidence in their ability to recover quickly if a mistake is made.
Browns Offense
Derek Anderson is showing growth each week. His touch and accuracy are
showing slight signs of improvement but he must avoid making the huge mistake.
The Patriots are the best in the league at disguising their defense and sliding
into the passing lanes. This is a huge test for the young quarterback. The best
sign of improvement was in the throws Anderson didn’t make last week. He tucked
it and rumbled off a three yard gain and threw several balls into the crowd when
no one was open. That is growth by the youngster.
Anderson has a few weapons of his own and this week those weapons have a
tremendous physical advantage over the Patriots secondary. The Browns size with
Kellen Winslow, Joe Jurevicius and Braylon Edwards must be used to exploit the
smaller Patriots secondary. They are facing defensive backs in the 5-9 185 lb
range and all three of the Browns weapons dwarf the corners. If the defensive
backs come up to jam, those receivers should be able to turn them whichever way
they want. They should also find themselves with many opportunities to out-muscle the corners for the ball and also the run after the catch.
Winslow and Edwards are coming into their own as two of the better receiving
tandems in the game today. Winslow can't be covered by the Patriots linebackers.
He is simply too fast for them to cover for more than three seconds. His size is
equally effective when a defensive back is asked to cover him. He simply uses
that big body to dislodge the defensive back. With the arm strength of Anderson,
the Browns will attempt a few wide receiver screens this week. Throw it out in
the flat and force the defensive back to come up and make the solo tackle. He is
physically too much of a mismatch for the Patriots to play tight at the line
with the jam. If they try to jam him, they will be chasing him to the end zone
as Anderson will go over the top.
The speed of Jamal Lewis is also a definite advantage this week. Lewis will
have a difficult time in finding running lanes but if he gets through the line
he could find himself with a lot of room to run. The Browns receivers have done
an excellent job at blocking in the secondary. Lewis can afford to be a bit more
patient this week and allow the running lanes to show themselves. This is a
phenomenal group of linebackers he is facing and they do not miss many tackles.
Once he gets through the line however, they will not catch him.
The Browns offensive line will be in for a very difficult test but their pass
blocking has been second to none in the last three weeks. Look for the Browns to
get Eric Steinbach pulling a lot more this week in order to help open up the
running game on the right side.
The Browns would also be well served in giving Ryan Tucker some reps at right
guard this week. Tucker is returning from a four game suspension but he is by
far the best run blocking offensive linemen on this team. If Tucker can work his
way into the right guard position it would be a huge bonus for the Browns
running game. A bit more zone blocking could be seen this week.
Special Teams
Josh Cribbs is becoming a household name for his outstanding return ability.
The Patriots go for the strip on returns as hard as any team in football. Cribbs
should find a few return lanes but he must be careful of the defense coming from
behind and stripping the ball.
The Patriots Ellis Hobbs is also an elite return man as he is averaging
nearly 34 yards per return. Squib kicking wouldn’t be a bad idea for either team
in this one.
Dave Zastudil has been nursing an injury but it has not hurt the Browns as
veteran punter Scott Player has performed admirably. The Browns may decide to
activate both for Sunday's game.
It is hard to comment on Patriot punters because they never seem to punt.
Since teams do not practice coverage at full speed due to the injury factor,
this could be a question for the Patriots as they haven't had the reps in
covering punts.