The Patriot haters of the world are a bit angry about today's matchup. What weeks ago looked like a really tough game for the surging Patriots, now looks like a sure path to an undefeated November.
INJURIES- If you've been living under a rock for the past few weeks and wondering why this game suddenly looks easy, it all comes down to injuries. While Tennessee being without their biggest offensive threat, running back Derrick Henry, was known for a while, the injury bug has not let up for Mike Vrabel's team. Here's a list of players who will not be playing this week either due to injury or being released.
- Derrick Henry RB- 937 yards rushing 154 yards receiving 10 TD
- Jeremy McNichols RB- 69 yards rushing 215 yards receiving 1 TD
- AJ Brown WR- 615 yards receiving 3 TD
- Julio Jones WR- 336 yards receiving
- Marcus Johnson WR- 160 yards receiving
- Adrian Peterson RB- 82 yards receiving 1 TD (cut)
WHO DOES BILL HAVE THE DEFENSE FOCUS ON?- We all know that Belichick likes to take away the opponent's biggest offensive threat. Looking at who is left on the roster, the only name I can come up with is Ryan Tannehill. Tannehill is coming off a horrible game where he threw a career high 4 interceptions. While he would like to have a bounce back game, I don't think that's going to happen with his current supporting cast playing against the ball hawking Patriots.
SPECIAL TEAMS- When things were not all rosy down in Foxboro early this season, a big issue was the Patriots special teams. Lately, the special teams has been playing relatively error free and keeping the momentum on the Patriots' side. Assuming we don't have a catastrophic day returning punts or kicking off, we should be good on that front.
TURNOVERS- The Patriots are 6-0 in games where they've won the turnover battle. While you can't assume the defense is going to recover fumbles or catch errant passes at the same rate the have been of late, you can be certain that ball security is always part of Belichick's practice plans.
SPECIAL TEAMS- When things were not all rosy down in Foxboro early this season, a big issue was the Patriots special teams. Lately, the special teams has been playing relatively error free and keeping the momentum on the Patriots' side. Assuming we don't have a catastrophic day returning punts or kicking off, we should be good on that front.
TURNOVERS- The Patriots are 6-0 in games where they've won the turnover battle. While you can't assume the defense is going to recover fumbles or catch errant passes at the same rate the have been of late, you can be certain that ball security is always part of Belichick's practice plans.
PROTECT THE QUARTERBACK- Ryan Tannehill leads all quarterbacks with being sacked 31 times. Mac Jones is 9th with 22. Since both of these quarterbacks have been playing almost every snap for their respective teams, it doesn't mean that their offensive lines are bad. If you look at it by sacks taken by a team, Tennessee is tied for 5th and New England is tied for 18th. Although it feels like Mac is getting hit a lot, if you compare him to Matt Ryan, he's been having an easy time back there. In 11 games Mac has been hit 35 times. In 10 games, Matt Ryan has been hit 55 times. For today to be considered a success, the Patriots need to come out with a win and a healthy starting quarterback.
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