While last week was a great comeback, it would be nice if the Patriots could give the home fans a more convincing home win today. This is what I see as being essential for doing so.
CONTAIN MCCAFFREY- Christian was a first round pick who can make guys miss. Besides being able to run out of the backfield, he gets most of his yards receiving the ball near the line of scrimmage. We have had several players with the same skill set on the Patriots for many years. Stopping McCaffrey should not be difficult as he lacks the ability to break free of tackles. Obviously, with Cam Newton in town, the Patriots need to be ready for trick plays and a lot of wildcat.
GO UP EARLY- If the Patriots can get up by two scores early, it should be game over and get ready for Thursday. Since 2015 the Panthers' defense has been second to only Kansas City when it comes to picking off quarterbacks. If Brady doesn't force anything in the endzone early to give the Panthers defense some momentum, it could be a blowout.
THIRD DOWN- As usual, once the Patriots get a first down they march down the field and put points on the board. With the defense struggling more than in year's past, this is a place where they can really help themselves. Currently the Patriots offense is succumbing to the dreaded 3 and out at the same rate the defense is causing them .222. With this being the third home game of the season, the Patriots need to head into week 5 with better 3rd down execution.
SOLID SPECIAL TEAMS- Anytime I don't mention the importance of special teams, they seem to be the deciding factor in the game in a bad way. While execution on special teams has been decent this season, avoiding penalties is something that could use some improvement.
SOLID SPECIAL TEAMS- Anytime I don't mention the importance of special teams, they seem to be the deciding factor in the game in a bad way. While execution on special teams has been decent this season, avoiding penalties is something that could use some improvement.
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