Game Planning for the Patriots

[Tailgate]

So both teams are getting new important chess pieces for this rematch:

Texans:
GAIN - TE Garret Graham, RT Nate Newton, CB Alan Ball, OLB Brooks Reed
LOSE - ILB Dobbins

Patriots:
GAIN - TE Gronkowski and DE Jermaine Cunningham.
LOSE - ??


We both, especially the Pats (who were really beat up before our last game and just then got quite a few players back) seem to be much healthier this time around and they got an extra week of rest to boot.


That being said, lots to dicuss!

How will these teams adjust from our previous matchup, and how will these new players change the game plans for this week? Some initial thoughts:

On Offense:

- How will having Graham open up the offense this time around? How much did we miss him and our 2 and 3 TE sets?

- What new wrinkles do we need to see Kubiak add to the offense?

- What did we do to have success with the run vs Geno Atkins and Cinci's front 7? Vince Wilfork had his BEST GAME of the season vs us, what can translate from last week and what can we do to limit his impact this time around?

On Defense:

- How will Phillips attack them this time around? Same gameplan or will we see some changes to our approach?

- How are we goin to prepare for Gronk this time around?

- What must we do to limit the big plays? Do we almost concede the run with our base D and deal with the RBs if they happen to get into the secondary... Meaning NEVER bite on the playaction no matter what?



So I ask all my fellow coaches out there.... What have we learned, what can these new players bring to the table, what formula should we see, and what new wrinkles if any do we need to add to both sides of the ball to give us a chance to pull off a monumental upset this Sunday?

GO TEXANS!!!

[Texn4life]

I hope we gained the Nate Newton of old and not the drug slinging Nate Newton.

[qqert]

short passes down the middle with 2-3TE sets. Get Schaub confident.
mix it up with runs between tackles, or short throws wide out to foster-
with bunched WR's run-blocking.




u


then a long bomb to andre johnson = profit!!

[amazing80]

Patriots are one of thee worst teams in passing tds allowed, we NEED to use our tight ends, considering they allowed only 10 tds rushing, Schaub better have an A+ game to have a chance

[fiasco west]

Some Patriots fans think the Texans should test their secondary.

I think so too but ONLY after establishing the run. I just don't see the Texans winning a shootout against Brady. Schaub has been in some wild shootouts, but the ones he wins are usually against lesser QBs than him. He can win this against other tier 2 QBs...but not against the best.

I think you put the offense on Fosters back again and hope for the best. Once the run is established hit the air. Pats fans will say they can stop the run but if Foster is a ELITE RB then he runs on them regardless...just like how the Ravens thought last year that Foster couldn't run on them...he did.

As for defense Wade has his work cut out for him. If you play as blitz heavy and leave your CBs on a island against a Brady you are probably begging for them to put 30+ points...then again if you don't put Brady on the turf then same thing.

I think it won't be much on Wade. He'll bring the heat but not too much this time and he'll ask his guys just to beat their man. We are going to need our guys to just step up on defense, I think it's just that simple. Also, I wouldn't play guys like Keo one snap, because the moment they make a mistake it's going to be 7 points.

[Texn4life]

I have a hunch we won't blitz much at all this game. I'm in favor of even rushing just 3 on 3rd downs and playing zone on the back end. You just can't blitz Tom Brady all the time and be effective. He eats it up. The key is having well timed and well designed blitzes against him. Quality over quantity should be the focus when it comes to our blitzing on Sunday.

[qqert]

not blitzing brady would even put more pressure on our secondary.
were toast w/ or w/o blitzes. i say we go all in- one on one on the edges while covering the TE's. single safety.

the front just got to win or we're not stopping NE.


the ninja is needed now more than ever.

[Fico]

Originally Posted by Texn4life

I have a hunch we won't blitz much at all this game. I'm in favor of even rushing just 3 on 3rd downs and playing zone on the back end. You just can't blitz Tom Brady all the time and be effective. He eats it up. The key is having well timed and well designed blitzes against him. Quality over quantity should be the focus when it comes to our blitzing on Sunday.

We played tentatively in the 1st half last time and got torched. We brought pressure in the 2nd half and it made a difference. We have to play our game. If Brady is going to torch us he better be laying on his back after ever completion.

I would love for some poor weather but that doesn't look like it is going to happen. Gronk and Hernandez are going to get theirs. We need to make sure we maximize scoring possessions and turnovers will be huge, as always.

We have to play our game. We are a hard to team to execute against and to defend against. Make them play our game and maximize scoring opportunities and we win this. They are not world beaters.

[DBCooper]

You kick Tom Brady in the nuts!

And you kick him hard!

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by fiasco west

Some Patriots fans think the Texans should test their secondary.

I think so too but ONLY after establishing the run.

I hope that Schaub is begging Kubiak to let him open the game with a long bomb like he did last year...... I can't remember who it was. But we opened the game with a 70+ yard TD to Andre.

That would be perfect.

Of course, if it's not there Matt can either throw it away or check down.

[Texn4life]

Originally Posted by Fico

We played tentatively in the 1st half last time and got torched. We brought pressure in the 2nd half and it made a difference. We have to play our game. If Brady is going to torch us he better be laying on his back after ever completion.

I would love for some poor weather but that doesn't look like it is going to happen. Gronk and Hernandez are going to get theirs. We need to make sure we maximize scoring possessions and turnovers will be huge, as always.

We have to play our game. We are a hard to team to execute against and to defend against. Make them play our game and maximize scoring opportunities and we win this. They are not world beaters.

We still played a lot of man coverage though and that's what Brady eats up. 76 is good at finding film on games so maybe he can find the 2010 season divisional matchup with the Pats and Jets. Rex went against everything he believes in in that game and did not blitz hardly any and played zone a good majority of the time which he doesn't do often. Just saying I wouldn't be surprised if we went with a similar strategy.

I will say though that Shaun Ellis played the game of his life that game. He was able to get pressure on Brady even when they were only rushing 3. One of the best performances I've seen from a 3-4 DE in a playoff game in a long time.

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by Texn4life

I have a hunch we won't blitz much at all this game. I'm in favor of even rushing just 3 on 3rd downs and playing zone on the back end. You just can't blitz Tom Brady all the time and be effective. He eats it up. The key is having well timed and well designed blitzes against him. Quality over quantity should be the focus when it comes to our blitzing on Sunday.

I think the defensive game plan last time was perfect. We got into Brady's head confused & frustrated him.

What we did wrong, was the penalties early in the game that extended drives, sleeping when he was snapping the ball, not knowing what their assignments were guys were left uncovered, & not being prepared for the speed of the Patriots offense.

I think they learned those lessons early in that game. No reason to reinvent the wheel.

[badboy]

Originally Posted by Tailgate

So both teams are getting new important chess pieces for this rematch:

Texans:
GAIN - TE Garret Graham, RT Nate Newton, CB Alan Ball, OLB Brooks Reed
LOSE - ILB Dobbins

Patriots:
GAIN - TE Gronkowski and DE Jermaine Cunningham.
LOSE - ??


We both, especially the Pats (who were really beat up before our last game and just then got quite a few players back) seem to be much healthier this time around and they got an extra week of rest to boot.


That being said, lots to dicuss!

How will these teams adjust from our previous matchup, and how will these new players change the game plans for this week? Some initial thoughts:

On Offense:

- How will having Graham open up the offense this time around? How much did we miss him and our 2 and 3 TE sets?

- What new wrinkles do we need to see Kubiak add to the offense?

- What did we do to have success with the run vs Geno Atkins and Cinci's front 7? Vince Wilfork had his BEST GAME of the season vs us, what can translate from last week and what can we do to limit his impact this time around?

On Defense:

- How will Phillips attack them this time around? Same gameplan or will we see some changes to our approach?

- How are we goin to prepare for Gronk this time around?

- What must we do to limit the big plays? Do we almost concede the run with our base D and deal with the RBs if they happen to get into the secondary... Meaning NEVER bite on the playaction no matter what?



So I ask all my fellow coaches out there.... What have we learned, what can these new players bring to the table, what formula should we see, and what new wrinkles if any do we need to add to both sides of the ball to give us a chance to pull off a monumental upset this Sunday?

GO TEXANS!!!

Typo on Nate Newton. It is Derek Newton. I think Quin played excellent against TE and hopefully can reduce Gronk productivity. That would frustrate Brady. I don't see blitzing, just allow front line to do it's job and shut down the pass. If our DBs do well, we should win.

[Texn4life]

Originally Posted by Fiddler

I think the defensive game plan last time was perfect. We got into Brady's head confused & frustrated him.

What we did wrong, was the penalties early in the game that extended drives, sleeping when he was snapping the ball, not knowing what their assignments were guys were left uncovered, & not being prepared for the speed of the Patriots offense.

I think they learned those lessons early in that game. No reason to reinvent the wheel.

I don't know man..... I've seen Brady confused before (example: the Cardinal game early in the year) and he didn't look confused to me. A confused Brady tends to get somewhat happy feet and start to look at the rush more than he does downfield. Not saying there weren't times when he didn't know what we were doing, but he seemed pretty comfortable to me even with the amount of times we hit him. He knew what we were doing in coverage for the most part and that's what we need to switch up some. Not saying reinvent the wheel, but just improve it and make some alterations.

[amazing80]

Brady has 15 touchdowns and 0 picks when blitzed and has a 119.5 qb rating.....bottom line, don't biltz him

[Tailgate]

Originally Posted by Fiddler

I hope that Schaub is begging Kubiak to let him open the game with a long bomb like he did last year...... I can't remember who it was. But we opened the game with a 70+ yard TD to Andre.

That would be perfect.

Of course, if it's not there Matt can either throw it away or check down.

We really need to score 7 on our opening drive no matter how we do it. Getting behind early IS NOT an option.

Getting Gronk back is HUGE for them. Ultimately our offense is going to have to play defense with long sustaining drives that end in TDs (FG's, and we are toast). We must eat the clock. Schaub will need more quick throws to ALL our TEs (Casey as well), we must get Foster to the second level of the D when we run the ball on first down, and we will need to get Foster involved in the passing game this time... The int play, and overthrown ball to Foster in space says that play was there for us when we needed it. If we can run for 4+ yards on first down, involve our TEs now out of the 2 and 3 TE sets (supposedly a weakness for the Pats D), and use Foster out of backfield, it will allow AJ and our WRs to get more open for first down strikes and the deep ball.

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by Texn4life

I don't know man..... I've seen Brady confused before (e.i. the Cardinal game early in the year) and he didn't look confused to me. A confused Brady tends to get somewhat happy feet and start to look at the rush more than he does downfield. Not saying there weren't times when he didn't know what we were doing, but he seemed pretty comfortable to me even with the amount of times we hit him. He knew what we were doing in coverage for the most part and that's what we need to switch up some. Not saying reinvent the wheel, but just improve it and make some alterations.

I believe that was the case for the first 18 minutes of the game.... our defense was definitely starstruck & we were unprepared for the speed of their offense.

It took them another 15 minutes before they could score again & that was on a defensive lapse on our part. If we make mistakes he's going to find them, but we don't normally make those kinds of mistakes.

Take out the first Qtr, where our defense was shocked by the speed of their offense (take it away, because that won't happen again, they've seen it, they know it), & it was a better game than what the score would lead you to believe.

That was also Brandon Harris' first game. He's had 4 games since then & he's playing so much better now. We've got Jjo back. This talk about not being able to play man against Brady, that's totally off. That man coverage & our blitzes got Brady off the field on 6 of his 7 possessions after going up 21-0

Normally, you can say that a team plays different when they are up 21-0, but not the Patriots, they continue to push, they continue to attack.

Defensively, I think we'll do fine. The offense has to do what they did against the Bengals & stay on the field. If they can do that, we'll win. Bengals D is better than the Patriots D, so we should be able to shove Gary-ball down their throats.

[qqert]

motivational poster fit to 8x11 paper:

[El Tejano]

3 runs all to the left side to start the game. Foster is pissed and we need to get him going.

[HOU-TEX]

Pray that Brady and Wilfork get food poisoning?

I don't really expect us to win this game, but I can't wait to see how B. Brooks handles Wilfork. I thought he played a very good game against the Bengals and we all know what Vince did to Jones. Hopefully they line up head to head for, what I think would be, an epic battle in the trenches.