Patriots Q&A with Kerry Byrne

[Texans_Chick]

This turned out well. I'm doing part 2 next Monday.

Patriots Q&A with Kerry J. Byrne of Cold, Hard Football Facts

I disagree with the approach that Schaub has to out-Brady Brady. Don't think that's the blueprint.

A shootout is not in the Texans interest.

Just chopping wood against the Patriots, eating up clock and then taking shots as they present themselves is the way to go. Playing Texans ball.

I think the Texans will get the Patriots moving sideline to sideline, getting Wilfork to start sweating some gravy. That's what they like to do to physical fat guys up front. Used to see Jags' John Henderson on the sideline with oxygen because what the Texans would do against him. Get him running, try to get him to quit.

Don't want a ton of downfield shots, especially given projected weather conditions.

[DexmanC]

Seems like Pats fans have never heard of Ben Tate, James Casey (especially
how Kubiak uses him,) Owen Daniels, or Kevin Walter. Kubiak has a
sick ability to scheme receivers wide open, and I expect Tate and Foster
(with Forsett spelling them) to grind down New England's defense.

Kubiak cut his teeth on playing Peyton Manning twice a year, so I don't think
Pat fans will be ready for what's coming to Foxboro Monday Night.

The Texans have laid only one egg this season, and the Ravens had to
pay dearly for that embarrassment. I just can't see this team losing if
they come out focused.

[Pats]

Originally Posted by DexmanC

Seems like Pats fans have never heard of Ben Tate, James Casey (especially
how Kubiak uses him,) Owen Daniels, or Kevin Walter. Kubiak has a
sick ability to scheme receivers wide open, and I expect Tate and Foster
(with Forsett spelling them) to grind down New England's defense.

Kubiak cut his teeth on playing Peyton Manning twice a year, so I don't think
Pat fans will be ready for what's coming to Foxboro Monday Night.

The Texans have laid only one egg this season, and the Ravens had to
pay dearly for that embarrassment. I just can't see this team losing if
they come out focused.

The Pass Rush?

Thats every game. Every team is trying to sack Brady and disrupt his timing. Where Brady beats you is pre snap deciphering what defense youre in and checking into the right play.

Hes the best in the business.

Also, Brady goes through his reads and gets the ball out fast, so bring the pass rush just as long as Wade realizes that it will cost if you dont get there in time. The Texans have to stop Brady to win.

[76Texan]

Originally Posted by Texans_Chick

This turned out well. I'm doing part 2 next Monday.

Patriots Q&A with Kerry J. Byrne of Cold, Hard Football Facts

I disagree with the approach that Schaub has to out-Brady Brady. Don't think that's the blueprint.

A shootout is not in the Texans interest.

Just chopping wood against the Patriots, eating up clock and then taking shots as they present themselves is the way to go. Playing Texans ball.

I think the Texans will get the Patriots moving sideline to sideline, getting Wilfork to start sweating some gravy. That's what they like to do to physical fat guys up front. Used to see Jags' John Henderson on the sideline with oxygen because what the Texans would do against him. Get him running, try to get him to quit.

Don't want a ton of downfield shots, especially given projected weather conditions.

I agree with you, Steph.

I think both teams will run the ball enough not to turn this into a shoot out (by their normal standard of efficiency on offense).

I don't think they are good enough on the edges to contain our outside zone runs. They could stop some, but we'll have some wins of our own.

[76Texan]

Originally Posted by Pats

The Pass Rush?

Thats every game. Every team is trying to sack Brady and disrupt his timing. Where Brady beats you is pre snap deciphering what defense youre in and checking into the right play.

Hes the best in the business.

Also, Brady goes through his reads and gets the ball out fast, so bring the pass rush just as long as Wade realizes that it will cost if you dont get there in time. The Texans have to stop Brady to win.

If our #1 CB Jonathan Joseph plays (as he's supposedly will - been out resting a hamstring for a couple of games), we have plenty of guys to account for the Pats weapons.

Our depth at LBs have been good, after they have sometimes to adjust.
We should be able to handle the run game and the screen game.

I think (I hope) the Pats will not have as much success as they've been enjoying.

[Thorn]

meh......my prediction for this game still stands. We lose this one but still have home field advantage through out the playoffs. The Brady Bunch will have to come through Houston for the playoffs, and we'll take them in our place.

[NastyNate]

"However, the Patriots have still passed the ball 463 times, compared to just 418 for Houston. In other words, New England’s no-huddle offense puts a LOT of pressure on defenses, simply by snapping the ball so quickly and ripping off so many plays. They’re like the Oregon Ducks of the NFL."

I'm sorry but this is the dumbest quote in the article. The patriots have ran 33 more total plays than the Texans over the course of 12 games. That's an average of 2.75 more plays per game... Hardly mind boggling.

That whole article reads like the guy is stuffing a submarine sanwich length helping of Tom Brady's genitals down his throat. Meh...

[Lucky]

Originally Posted by Pats

The Texans have to stop Brady to win.

In the Pats 3 losses, it was the New England ground game that was stopped. The 3 lowest totals of the season. Brady will get his, though not as easily as going against the Colts or Bills defense. The key is shutting down the run game and forcing the Pats to be one dimensional.

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by Texans_Chick

This turned out well. I'm doing part 2 next Monday.

Patriots Q&A with Kerry J. Byrne of Cold, Hard Football Facts

Good read. I also do not think it would be in the Texans interest to get into a shootout with New England. & though he mentions weakness in their secondary & says games are "never" won or loss by the ground game, I think we will limit their secondary's influence on the game with a heavy dose of ground & pound.

Ben Tates heavy running style is exactly what we need to see against their run defense.

I also found it very interesting that every time he mentioned how good the Patriots were in a particular stat he followed that the Texans were right there.

But when he talked about their defensive stats, the Texans were far ahead of the Pats.

I think most people are going to be disappointed in this game, most are expecting a shoot-out. It won't be.

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by Pats

The Pass Rush?

Thats every game. Every team is trying to sack Brady and disrupt his timing. Where Brady beats you is pre snap deciphering what defense youre in and checking into the right play.

The thing that worries me most about Brady is his ability to extend plays. That's our biggest weakness. We've got a bunch of Quarter horses out there. 3-4 seconds max. If the play goes longer than that, our D breaks down.

So it will be important for us, I think, to keep Brady in the pocket. Deadly? Yeah, no doubt. But I like our odds when the play ends with Brady in the pocket, opposed to those where he extends the play.

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by Lucky

In the Pats 3 losses, it was the New England ground game that was stopped. The 3 lowest totals of the season. Brady will get his, though not as easily as going against the Colts or Bills defense. The key is shutting down the run game and forcing the Pats to be one dimensional.

I think it's more about making them desperate in the passing game. The Pats run the ball as many times as the Texans, so they aren't going to give up on it or "become one dimensional" any more than we are.

But we have to make those run snaps worthless. Force them to take chances in the passing game that they would rather not.

[Pats]

Originally Posted by Lucky

In the Pats 3 losses, it was the New England ground game that was stopped. The 3 lowest totals of the season. Brady will get his, though not as easily as going against the Colts or Bills defense. The key is shutting down the run game and forcing the Pats to be one dimensional.

Have you ever had an offensive coordinator that called plays that really were head scratchers? McDaniels has had some of those games where the Pats are running the ball really well and for some unexplained reason, the coaching staff goes away from whats working and tries something else. Or, they will switch RBs for no apparent reason.

The Pats pass to get the lead and run to win. They live and die with Brady. If Brady has a bad game, NE struggles to win or they lose.

I sincerely doubt the Texans are game planning to stop the NE run attack and not Brady.

[HTown2ATX]

Originally Posted by Pats

I sincerely doubt the Texans are game planning to stop the NE run attack and not Brady.

If Wade was not our D coordinator I would be inclined to agree. Paying attention to the Pats tells you that the run game for them is very much overlooked much to opposing teams detriment. I have a hard time believing Wade will ignore this.

Brady will come first I am sure but I would bet Wade will be as ready as possible for the run game. Either way, and I'm usually a pessimist at all things, but I see the Texans pulling out a close one whether it is a shootout or a grind game I just see this as a close W.

Lame prediction with no specifics I grant you that, but I just for some reason think Texans prove they are "legit" as far as the national media is concerned and pull this one out!

[Quick II Draw]

Originally Posted by DexmanC

Seems like Pats fans have never heard of Ben Tate, James Casey (especially
how Kubiak uses him,) Owen Daniels, or Kevin Walter. Kubiak has a
sick ability to scheme receivers wide open, and I expect Tate and Foster
(with Forsett spelling them) to grind down New England's defense.

Kubiak cut his teeth on playing Peyton Manning twice a year, so I don't think
Pat fans will be ready for what's coming to Foxboro Monday Night.

The Texans have laid only one egg this season, and the Ravens had to
pay dearly for that embarrassment. I just can't see this team losing if
they come out focused.

Right, since Pats FANS are oblivious about the Texans, so are the real Pats!

[beerlover]

Great stuff Seph! as usual. My big thing is to keep it simple & in perspective, this is just one regular season game, counts no more or less than another so I would strap it up pretty close to the vest, conservative yada yada yada take some shots, maybe land a knockout, maybe not. The important thing is to stay healthy, evolve as a unit & keep striving for improvement, results will surely follow

[thunderkyss]

Here's another blog's take.

* Patriots’ running game vs. Texans run D (exploiting mismatches): No team has a higher percentage of rushes against defenses with five or more defensive backs this season than the Patriots (73.5 percent), thanks in some part to the hurry-up approach they employ to create mismatches in the running game. The Texans have allowed 6.0 yards per rush when using such defenses this season, the worst rate in the NFL, but have allowed the second-fewest yards per rush (3.3) with four or fewer defensive backs on field.

* Patriots’ run defense vs. Arian Foster: The Patriots' defense has allowed 1.3 yards per rush after first contact this season, the second-best rate in the NFL behind the 49ers (1.2). Arian Foster has averaged 1.3 yards per rush after contact this season, tied for second-worst among running backs with 80 rushes.

Interesting.

[Tailgate]

Originally Posted by Fiddler

Here's another blog's take.



Interesting.

Lets hope we are seeing ALOT of Foster tomorrow night. I would also like to see him involved in the passing game a bit more.

[Everlong]

Originally Posted by 76Texan

I don't think they are good enough on the edges to contain our outside zone runs. They could stop some, but we'll have some wins of our own.

Jones and Nincovich has been really good all year at this minus one game. If they have a bad game and the Texans do get outside the Pats are in trouble. What worries me more is the naked boot leg off of play action not from the DE perspective but with the DBs taking the cheese and the Texans receviers being a mile wide open.

[Lucky]

The Texans have allowed 6.0 yards per rush when using such defenses this season, the worst rate in the NFL....

A meaningless stat that was due to a few qb scrambles and the Titans deciding to run Chris Johnson down by 30. The Texans have not been in danger of losing a game due to run defense. A big fat red herring.

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by Lucky

A meaningless stat that was due to a few qb scrambles and the Titans deciding to run Chris Johnson down by 30. The Texans have not been in danger of losing a game due to run defense. A big fat red herring.

That's pretty much what I told them on their board. Fools Gold.