Texans 35 Patriots 28 Brady destroys our secondary in the first half, but like always, our D stops him in the second half and our Special Teams (come on, this time, please?) scores a TD on a return. ¡Vamos, TEXANS!!!!!
I'd feel a lot better about this game if we weren't so depleted at CB. We can win this one, but at some point we're going to lose another game. This one is probably going to be it. And the usual suspects are going to go crazy on here talking about how our 11-2 record is totally illegitimate.
I'm thinking that it will be low(er) scoring... Texans 23-20 Say hello and goodbye to Gillette Stadium, next stop the Superdome =)
The Patriots aren't exactly the team the Texans would like to face with that depleted defensive secondary. I'm guessing Beli-Brady will have a decent plan for that.
Brady vs. our depleted secondary is worrisome. Hopefully we run it down their throat and keep him off the field. Tate will have a monster game.
We are going to win. No doubt in my mind. ...our pressure was so much better with Mercilus in there last game. Our run defense is stout. Special teams playing better. Martin is trying so hard to break one. Joseph is coming back ready to go to fix the corner woes. We have some good safety play ... I am feeling very good about this one for some reason. Biggest game of the year, last national game in the reg....win this and you can almost coast till playoff time.
I'm not going to be angry if we don't manage the upset - this is the penultimate Wade-Buster offense, at home, with a rejuvenated defense. The good news for us is both Gronk and Edelman are out. The Pats still have a wide assortment of receiving targets to throw at us, but not having to deal with two of their Sinister Six is a help. I'm expecting to see them attack us aggressively with their West Coast blitzkrieg sending out Hernandez, Welker, Lloyd, and Woodhead most downs, with Vereen probably seeing a few more snaps than normal. We're helped out by Bellicek not sending 2TEs out much in the wake of Gronk's injury. He still has Shiancoe, but he hasn't seen much action at all. Dealing with two big pass catching TEs would have been a nightmare for us without Cushing, let alone a depleted secondary. The Pats have been having their most successful season running the ball since their early championship days - Ridley has been enjoying a great year. Like ours, their offense is pick your poison - spread into a nickel to handle 4 receivers or keep your LBs in to watch the run. No good answer, and Brady is happy to audible. Wade is generally good at disguising his defense, and he'll have to do that here. I'm not Wade, but I'd anticipate we use a lot of nickel. Can't send 5 forward continuously against Brady since he gets rid of the ball so much faster than most. You're wasting personnel and giving him more man coverage to exploit. Given how outstanding Patriot route runners are, you can't afford to employ the usual soft zones and coverage. Again, I'm expecting their offense to come out fast, fast, fast. Uptempo passing attacks are poison to this defensive scheme and are NE's bread and butter. It's going to be critical for our secondary to rise to the challenge and for the defensive line to bat down balls or create difficult angles for Brady. Forget about sacking him into submission - he's there with Schaub and Peyton as one of the least sacked QBs in the game. Offense won't have it easy, either. The stats say that this is a horrible pass defense, but that's misleading. Since picking up Talib, they've become one of the most balanced, dangerous defenses in the NFL. Since getting him, they're allowing 19.7 ppg, 113 r-ypg, 263 p-ypg, and have amassed 10 takeaways in the past 3 (6 fumble, 4 INT). Quite frankly, I view them as the most dangerous team out there right now. We're on top of the hill, but we're not peaking like they are. We can absolutely go in there and win this one, but it'll take a serious effort because the Patriots are playing like absolute killers right now. Best part about this matchup is we get to see this: Spoiler
Yes. They held him out against the Titans to be certain he didn't have a setback/reaggravation. They knew that they needed him 100% for MNF.
I think it is going to be a great game and I think the Texans are going to win. Brady is going to get pressure. He had better, or we won't win. Foster is going to have a big day. What's the weather forcast?
Me and my buddies are flying up to Boston Friday night, rocking Texans gear all weekend everywhere we go, hitting up CBS Scene on Monday before the game, and then walking into that stadium drunk, with our heads held high. I've traveled to a few opposing stadiums in the past (San Diego, Chicago, Miami), but I've never been this excited in my entire life. Win, lose, or draw, I'm gonna be loud and proud all game. CAN'T WAIT!
