FanPost

When In Doubt Ask a Pats Fan


For the Pats' side; http://www.patspulpit.com/2011/12/7/2619373/patriots-vs-redskins-keys-to-the-game

The Washington keys to the game are below. You know where to post questions and welcome us with pictures of the Redskins cheerleading squad.

Get the crowd into it.

The Patriots had their home-record for a reason. Brady could gesture for silence and fans would listen, allowing him to audible while running a grueling no-huddle assault that kept defenses on their knees. A loud crowd, combined with a 4th-string Center, could limit New England's ability to run the no-huddle offense and maybe cause some miscues from the latest Center or their guys lined up near the sidelines.

Create pressure without blitzing, and especially up the middle.

Brady does better against the blitz than against a more ordinary 3-4 man rush. Throw too many guys at him and he'll get the 3 seconds he needs to ding it into one of his many weapons in the 2.5 seconds his O-Line can deliver. In their standard starting lineup he has 5 legit weapons including a former Superbowl MVP WR named Deion Branch, Wes Welker, TE Rob Gronkowski, and TE/WR Aaron Hernandez. Opposing teams leave them uncovered at their own risk. Patriots have stellar starting Guards in Logan Mankins and Brian Waters, but they're onto their 4th-string Center and rookie Nate Solder at RT to fill in for the injured Sebastian Vollmer. Brady, like all pocket-QBs, does not respond well to pressure right up the middle. They need to be able to step up to make their throw. Brady's effective pocket awareness can dampen the effect of pressure off the edge.

Loadup the field.

So, again, Pats have a lot of weapons. They need to be covered. TE Rob Gronkowski has been so difficult for teams to cover that the Jets put Revis on him. Veteran wideouts Welker and Branch are shifty and Welker like Gronk deserves to be double-teamed. The Steelers and Giants had a lot of success with 6 or even 7 DBs to cover Brady's weapons. Pats run-blocking has been suspect causing their run-game to be fair but not as explosive as it could be.

Expand beyond Helu and Moss.

Belichick likes to target what he feels is an offense's most important weapon. In the case of the Redskins, that's RB Roy Helu who has looked explosive running the ball and combined for the same number of catches as the Redskins 2nd, 3rd, and 4th receivers against the Jets. Without Davis, and Moss facing Arrington(leads NFL in interceptions with 7), Grossman is going to need another starting pair of hands he can count on. Pats secondary has lacked continuity all season and any Redskin victory depends on being able to take advantage of it.

Turnovers.

Self-explanatory. Redskins need to take care of the football and hope the Pats don't.