3 Things That Should Be Done To Beat The Patriots

by DynamicHero22 on Sep 19, 2011 11:20 AM EDT

In what will be the true test of turning around the past decade of futility, the Bills need to find a way to defeat one of the better teams of the past decade and decision rival, the New England Patriots. Both teams are 2-0 so far with big offensive scoring and new lineups defensively. It has been 8 years (15 losses in a row)since the Bills have been able to beat Tom Brady who is still at the top of his game. Based on the first two games of the season, I have isolated three areas that the Bills need to capitalize to have a chance to win.

1: DON’T GIVE BRADY TIME TO THROW

This is perhaps the hardest thing to do for the Bills between Tom Brady’s remarkable talent and a strong offensive line. In just two games Brady has nearly thrown 1,000 yards passing completing more than 70% of his passes with a 7-1 TD/INT ration. The Bills need two things to happen. The first is to generate pressure, something which the Bills have not really been able to do. This I feel was in response to a conservative attack plan due to both the Chiefs and Raiders having excellent running backs. The Patriots, despite heavy investment in that area, are averaging just over 4 yards a carry and rely more on Brady’s arm to (successfully) move the ball. Now is the time for Shawne Merriman to let loose and do his thing.

2: BETTER PASS DEFENSE

The other thing the Bills need is tighter pass coverage. Regardless of what the Bills secondary will do, Brady is capable of fitting in passes in tight areas and finding the best player to throw to. The Bills simply need to jam up the receivers early as zone defense is a bit sluggish and the man to man (McKelvin) coverage got pummeled by Jason Campbell (who by all means is an average QB). The Bills linebackers will have their first true test against elite TEs particularly with local Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. Both players are averaging nearly 80 yards a game and have 5 TDs. What I liked most about the Nick Barnett and Kirk Morrison signings is that these linebackers play well against the pass so if there is ever a time to show their ability, this week is it. Expect to see these guys a lot on the field as well as nickel corner Aaron Williams and strong safety Bryan Scott.

3: ESTABLISH A RUNNING GAME

So far this aspect has been working out quite well with the Bills with Fred Jackson averaging over 100 yards a game with 6.5 yards a carry. Indeed Freddy is leading the NFL with 229 yards on the ground (and to think that he had to fight for his starting job again). Yet Gailey only gave him the ball 35 times so far. From what I have seen, Fitz has trouble moving the ball until the Bills can open up the run game ergo give Freddy more reps in the beginning and infuse Spiller from time to time which the Bills did well against Oakland. The Patriots have so far been able to limit opponents to under 100 yards rushing per game (around 5 yards a carry though) but you have to remember the Chargers and Dolphins are pass happy teams. A more balanced attack early on will give the offense the necessary boost.

Go Bills!!

Just another great fan opinion shared on the pages of BuffaloRumblings.com.

Tweet Comment 13 comments | 2 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Pretty much on the nose here.

We’ve got to dial up some more pressure somehow, that’s really been the only glaring weakness through weeks 1 and 2. If that means blitz, then so be it. I think the DBs have shown they can handle it.

And I think #3 is key. As much fun as it is to watch ’em spread it out, they really need a heavy dose of Freddy Jackson and to stick with it to control the tempo of the game. As great as Fitz has been, we cannot get into a shootout with Brady and crew.

by inthegaddadavida on Sep 19, 2011 11:52 AM EDT reply actions

rec'd

Hit the nail on the head, that’s certainly what needs to happen.. I am very interested to see how the Bills play Brady defensively. It seemed like every time we sent a blitz at Cambell he had a WR who he could get the ball too. Cambell didn’t always make the play, but Brady will make those throws. I remember at least two instances of Aaron Williams being left in man coverage and allowing his WR to get open when we sent “the house” at Cambell. One time the ball fell incomplete on a bad pass, the other it was a key third down conversion. In my opinion AW must step his game up this week for us to have a shot at the win.

by astrazz2 on Sep 19, 2011 12:06 PM EDT reply actions

key defensive match-ups

To build off your post, I think their are a few key match-ups coming into this game…

Drayton Florence vs. Wes Welker

I think that Florence will draw the match up on Welker. McKelvin isn’t quite physical enough to jam him and can keep up with him laterally. In order to shut down the Pats passing attack slowing Welker down is an absolute must.

Dareus/Williams vs Patriots interior line

As much as Kelsay/Merriman getting pressure from the outside would help, it’s essential that the Bills key interior lineman can collapse the pocket from the inside out and force brady to have to shuffle around and not get set in the pocket.

Byron Scott/Nick Barnett vs Rob Gronkowski

Reports are indicating that Hernandez may be out with a sprained MCL, which I think is a MASSIVE win for the Bills. The two TE sets the Patriot used last season killed us. Now it’s up to Scott and Barnett (mainly) to shut down the Pats other key TE and keep him from getting those key first downs.

by astrazz2 on Sep 19, 2011 12:35 PM EDT up reply actions

no... not Dre...

love him, but some of those completions by the Raiders were because Florence was playing 15 yards off the receiver he was covering. Against Welker, he’d be eaten alive… Williams may be our best jam DB with McGee out….

Optimistic??? Of course I am!! I'm a Bills fan, and as of right now, we are undefeated on the regular season!!!
Things are truly looking up!!!

by Cinga on Sep 19, 2011 2:24 PM EDT up reply actions

Agree

You cant just jam Welker though.

So much of what Welker does is extend plays, He is so fast and so small that his ability to break away from his route to help Tom is incredible. Unless your going to hold him every play, you can only hope to contain him.

"Big Gulps Eh, Well See ya later" - Lloyd Christmas
" You Gus ready To Let The Dogs Out" "What?" " you Know, Who Let the dogs out rough rough rogh rough" - Zack Galifinakis - The Hangover

by PaullyPforPrez on Sep 19, 2011 2:25 PM EDT up reply actions

I’m hoping the reason Merriman has been so quiet the first two games was so he was sure to be healthy and ready for this Sunday when we’ll really need him

by NotReadytoRock on Sep 19, 2011 12:40 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

4. Get Lucky

I think we need a few bounces of the ball to go our way too. One of TB’s throws the week prior was finally picked off because it bounced off the receivers shoulder pad up in the air.

5. No subbing and better conditioning: The Bills better be ready for a track and to pay NE straight up. They won’t be able to sub anyone on defense as NE’s no huddle will just snap the ball on you. SD faked injuries to slow them down.

6. Force them to run somehow. BJG and DW are their two RB’s that only do well when the NE Passing game is humming a long. Force them to run and let KW and MD eat them up.

by dabillsr1 on Sep 19, 2011 1:13 PM EDT reply actions

Number 1 is key

If you look at the Giants Super Bowl win, that’s all they needed to do. Well, not like it’s easy by any means. Get in Brady’s face all day long!

"This is what happens Larry!, This is what happens! "-Walter Sobchak" "Did we give up when the germans bombed pearl harbor!!??"-John Belushi

by BigEasyBillsKrewe on Sep 19, 2011 1:21 PM EDT reply actions

Brady will throw for over 300 yards, 3 TDs and no INTs.

The way to win is to hold Pats to less than 75 yards rushing, commit no turnovers, no drive killing penalties and score a TD on special teams. There is no scheme that Brady can’t overcome. We need near perfect execution on all things non Brady.

prediction for 2011 season is 5 and 11

by jpheff on Sep 19, 2011 2:20 PM EDT reply actions

commit no turnovers

I agree with this, and am surprised it hasn’t been harped on yet. In every game we’ve played the Pats close over the last three or four years, we have lost the turnover battle. Win it, and we can win the game. You will not shut down the Pats offense (you can only hope to contain it), but if we play smart and win the turnover battle, that will go a LONG way toward helping us beat them.

"Slowly all the roles we act out become our identity. And in the end we are what we pretend to be." - Jerry Cantrell.

by stetzwebs on Sep 19, 2011 2:33 PM EDT up reply actions

Number 3 especially

We’re not going to be able to stop the Pats pass attack unless Brady has an uncharacteristic poor game. We don’t have the personnel to get pressure on Brady without rushing extra men, and when you do that, he burns you with quick passes to the tight ends.

The way to overcome this, i think, is to control the pace of the game, and the running game is the key to that. We need long possessions that result in scores to give the Pats offense as few possessions as possible. We can’t get down big early and try to come back in a shootout. That won’t work vs. New England the way it did vs. Oakland.

The McGee injury really hurts us. Not that he’s a great cover corner at this point, but he’s adequate, which we can’t say for McKelvin. It’s hard to be too harsh on the secondary when the QB has all the time in the world to throw, but Oakland was going right at McKelvin with great results.

by Let's Talk About Tex Baby on Sep 19, 2011 3:37 PM EDT reply actions

Defend against the pass

One nice thing I can say for our defensive backs is that they can play the run well (out of necessity, mostly), so let’s invite New England to run on us, and make this an offensive battle we can win. We can produce more yards on the ground than they can. If we execute, control the clock, etc., we may just be able to keep this close enough to sneak out with a W.

I like to believe this has more to do with the Bills players feeling like they can be something special. They started a year 0-8 and finished 4-4 while taking playoff and championship game bound teams to OT and 3 pt nail biters. All this with one year under a new coach and with a young roster. Im sure they can feel what they are capable of. -poz

by RBbills on Sep 19, 2011 5:09 PM EDT reply actions

Pressure up the middle

Brady is the best ever at creating more time in the pockett. Williams and Derius need to get pressure right up the gut. Much harder to avoid. Cant step up in the pocket if its collapsing in on you.

by bad karma on Sep 19, 2011 10:45 PM EDT reply actions