There are currently 3 undefeated teams in the NFL. The Patriots have played two of them and if not for making some horrible turnovers, they could have won both of those games. Of course the turnovers were made and we sit uncomfortably tied for last place in the AFC East at 1-2 heading into the House that Jerry built. What do the the Patriots need to do in order to get back to .500?
MAKE THE OFFENSE BEAT THEM- This is a sneaky way of saying that letting the Cowboys score points on special teams or while on defense is just not acceptable if the team is going to win.
Opening weekend Dallas scored 13 of their first 16 points by way of a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown and a pick 6. Although statistically they are tied for 5th in points scored, they haven't shown to be that strong of an offensive team. Of their 86 points scored this year, 30 come off the leg of Brandon Aubrey in the form of field goals. While it is pretty early in the season to look at comparative statistics and gather too much information, the Cowboys are ranked 27th with red zone offense. They have only been successful on 40% of their possessions inside the 20. That is a far cry from the 71.43% they posted last season. I guess they could be missing Zeke's 12 red zone touchdowns.
Opening weekend Dallas scored 13 of their first 16 points by way of a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown and a pick 6. Although statistically they are tied for 5th in points scored, they haven't shown to be that strong of an offensive team. Of their 86 points scored this year, 30 come off the leg of Brandon Aubrey in the form of field goals. While it is pretty early in the season to look at comparative statistics and gather too much information, the Cowboys are ranked 27th with red zone offense. They have only been successful on 40% of their possessions inside the 20. That is a far cry from the 71.43% they posted last season. I guess they could be missing Zeke's 12 red zone touchdowns.
WIN THE WHISTLE GAME- The Cowboys are one of the most penalized teams this season with an average of 8 penalties per game. While it feels like the Patriots aren't much better, they are averaging 6 per game which is middle of the pack. Dallas has really been troubled by pre-snap penalties as they account for 10 of their 24 penalties. Since their offensive line has shown themselves to be a little jumpy, the Patriots should encourage this behavior by being active on their side of the ball pre-snap.
SHOW APPRECIATION TO THE PRISTINE GAME CONDITIONS- After playing and practicing in the wetlands of the northeast, the Patriots offense and special teams should thrive in a dome. I say should because nothing is guaranteed. While he hasn't played many dome games, the verdict is still out on if Mac is any better when the conditions are predictable. Depending on where you look, he has a completion rate of somewhere between 56-71% when indoors.
Last week's game was closer than it should have been partially due to missed field goals. Was it solely due to poor snaps or were the weather conditions partly to blame? I doubt we see bad snaps from Cardona two weeks in a row and the weather will not have an effect. While I definitely prefer 7 to 3, if we choose to go for 3, we need to get it.
OFFENSIVE GAME PLAN- While we may not have working weapons that are wide receivers, we seem to have a few tight ends who can get the job done. Bill O'Brien was the offensive coordinator when the Patriots had 2 dominant tight ends. We've seen a few flashes from the tight ends this year. Combined they have had receptions 80% of the times they have been targeted. Personally, I'd like to see them targeted more often. I'd also like to not see Mac force the ball to DeVante Parker. Doing some research for a post I'm working on, I've noticed that Mac has a significant amount of game changing turnovers when forcing it to DeVante. With the return to Dallas, who wouldn't want to see Zeke hit pay dirt a time or two?
SHOW APPRECIATION TO THE PRISTINE GAME CONDITIONS- After playing and practicing in the wetlands of the northeast, the Patriots offense and special teams should thrive in a dome. I say should because nothing is guaranteed. While he hasn't played many dome games, the verdict is still out on if Mac is any better when the conditions are predictable. Depending on where you look, he has a completion rate of somewhere between 56-71% when indoors.
Last week's game was closer than it should have been partially due to missed field goals. Was it solely due to poor snaps or were the weather conditions partly to blame? I doubt we see bad snaps from Cardona two weeks in a row and the weather will not have an effect. While I definitely prefer 7 to 3, if we choose to go for 3, we need to get it.
OFFENSIVE GAME PLAN- While we may not have working weapons that are wide receivers, we seem to have a few tight ends who can get the job done. Bill O'Brien was the offensive coordinator when the Patriots had 2 dominant tight ends. We've seen a few flashes from the tight ends this year. Combined they have had receptions 80% of the times they have been targeted. Personally, I'd like to see them targeted more often. I'd also like to not see Mac force the ball to DeVante Parker. Doing some research for a post I'm working on, I've noticed that Mac has a significant amount of game changing turnovers when forcing it to DeVante. With the return to Dallas, who wouldn't want to see Zeke hit pay dirt a time or two?
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