By: Chris Lehan
switThe Patriots arrived in Phoenix yesterday down three potential starters. Rob Gronkowski, Nate Solder, and Johnathan Cooper did not make the trip. Being down Gronk, Ninkovich, Solder, and Brady is not a recipe for victory, clearly. This does not mean they can't win. They have Bill Belichick still. They have a chance in this game. Coming out of Arizona with a win down all the players they are done is nothing short of a miracle. It can happen, these five things need to happen.
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1.) Jimmy Garoppolo doesn't turn the ball over
The Cardinals' defense is among the top groups in the league. Tyrann Mathieu and Patrick Peterson are going to be swarming. You should expect the Cardinals to be rushing Jimmy all day. Blitzing almost every down. They want to make Jimmy uncomfortable in his first start. So wouldn't any team. But, if he can just play sound football, the Patriots can win the game. If he has a stat line that goes something like 13-26 for 202 yards and one touchdown, then Patriots have a chance.
2.) LeGarrette Blount rushes for over 100 yards
Blount is going to be carrying this offense on Sunday night. If Gronk were playing it'd be on him. The passing attack is depleted without Brady and Gronk, it is Blount's time. Blount has carried the offense in years past in certain games, there have also seen games where he disappears. If Blount disappears the game is over. You can say it isn't but it is. I for one, have faith in Blount. He can step up big time and get an ugly win for the Patriots.
3.) Matt Patricia to have his defense ready to play at an extremely high level
Jamie Collins and the rest of the defense were awesome last year. They need to play at the highest level they have ever played on in order to win. Look, the defense is going to have to carry this whole team. They are capable of doing so, Patricia will have them ready to do so. Malcolm Butler should be on Michael Floyd and Logan Ryan on John Brown. An interesting match-up would be Pat Chung on Larry Fitz. Chung has a history of covering tight ends, Fitz is as big as a tight end. They should be playing most of their defense out of the three safety set. That would leave McCourty and Harmon over the top and Cyrus Jones/Justin Coleman there too. Maybe they'll have someone else on Fitz. They need to force turnover and give Jimmy and Blount a short field to work with. Fall on a bad snap or jump in front of a floater. Just force one maybe two turnovers.
4.) A touchdown on either special teams or defense
They need to take some pressure off of Jimmy with him not doing all of the scoring. A non-offensive touchdown is the key to winning the game. Someone fall on a fumble in the end zone, step in front of throw and bring it to the house. Or even Cyrus Jones brings a kick back or if Edelman is returning punts he'll bring one back. If they can get one, all will be OK.
Prediction: Patriots 24-20
4
1.) Jimmy Garoppolo doesn't turn the ball over
The Cardinals' defense is among the top groups in the league. Tyrann Mathieu and Patrick Peterson are going to be swarming. You should expect the Cardinals to be rushing Jimmy all day. Blitzing almost every down. They want to make Jimmy uncomfortable in his first start. So wouldn't any team. But, if he can just play sound football, the Patriots can win the game. If he has a stat line that goes something like 13-26 for 202 yards and one touchdown, then Patriots have a chance.
2.) LeGarrette Blount rushes for over 100 yards
Blount is going to be carrying this offense on Sunday night. If Gronk were playing it'd be on him. The passing attack is depleted without Brady and Gronk, it is Blount's time. Blount has carried the offense in years past in certain games, there have also seen games where he disappears. If Blount disappears the game is over. You can say it isn't but it is. I for one, have faith in Blount. He can step up big time and get an ugly win for the Patriots.
3.) Matt Patricia to have his defense ready to play at an extremely high level
Jamie Collins and the rest of the defense were awesome last year. They need to play at the highest level they have ever played on in order to win. Look, the defense is going to have to carry this whole team. They are capable of doing so, Patricia will have them ready to do so. Malcolm Butler should be on Michael Floyd and Logan Ryan on John Brown. An interesting match-up would be Pat Chung on Larry Fitz. Chung has a history of covering tight ends, Fitz is as big as a tight end. They should be playing most of their defense out of the three safety set. That would leave McCourty and Harmon over the top and Cyrus Jones/Justin Coleman there too. Maybe they'll have someone else on Fitz. They need to force turnover and give Jimmy and Blount a short field to work with. Fall on a bad snap or jump in front of a floater. Just force one maybe two turnovers.
4.) A touchdown on either special teams or defense
They need to take some pressure off of Jimmy with him not doing all of the scoring. A non-offensive touchdown is the key to winning the game. Someone fall on a fumble in the end zone, step in front of throw and bring it to the house. Or even Cyrus Jones brings a kick back or if Edelman is returning punts he'll bring one back. If they can get one, all will be OK.
Prediction: Patriots 24-20