Patriots Breakfast Club: Week 13 Patriots vs. Packers

Week 13 One Liner: “Standin’ in the huddle listenin’ to the call, fans goin’ crazy for the boys of fall”.

For the first time in their already impressive careers, Packers QB Aaron Rodgers and Patriots QB Tom Brady will square off Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field. Both players are having MVP-caliber seasons and as a result their teams are Super Bowl favorites with the playoffs looming.

For the Patriots defense, they have to keep their eyes on WR Jordy Nelson who has become Rodgers most lethal weapons, nabbing 9 touchdowns and over 1,000 receiving yards. You can expect Darrelle Revis to follow Nelson for most of the day while Brendon Browner will most likely cover another star WR in Randall Cobb. The combination of Cobb and Nelson often creates havoc for defensive coordinators because of the superior ability of each receiver. However the Patriots have two equally talented corners in Revis and Browner, which may play a huge role in the Packers offense.

The Packer rushing attack has been pretty consistent all year long, with Eddie Lacy leading the charge in the backfield. Last week against the Vikings he put up his best performance yet, running for 125 yards with 1 rushing touchdown followed by a passing touchdown. The Packers back has averaged about 19 touches per game, so we can expect to see a healthy dose of Lacy, but going up against the Patriots defense that is ranked 12^th in the league against the run he may have some troubles breaking out like he did last week. Last week the Patriots defense held Joique Bell to 19 touches and only 48 total yards averaging only 2.5 average yards per carry, his second lowest this season. I’ve said it all season long but this Patriots defenses is one of the best we’ve seen in Foxboro in a long time, even though losing guys like Jerod Mayo and Chandler Jones seemed like back breakers for this defense, they have stepped up all season to create havoc for the Patriots opponents.

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The Patriots offense has continued to steamroll against all comers, managing to score at least 30 points against 6 of the 7 teams they’ve defeated during their winning streak. The presence of a healthy Rob Gronkowski has really made this offense into one of the most mind-boggling offenses to defend against, as evidence in last weeks game against the Lions. Gronk had a pretty quiet day only registering five catches, but just his presence opens up different receivers because defenses are so worried about defending Gronkowski. Take for example Tim Wright, the past two games he has only played a handful of snaps but when he and Gronk are on the same field together they provide such a mismatch, teams don’t know whom to defend. Based on reputation they cover Gronkowski, and leave Wright to have more space and as a result Wright has caught 6 balls in two games, 3 of them being touchdowns.

Last week we saw the return of Patriots RB LaGarette Blount who saw the majority of the action in the second half, and it felt like he hadn’t missed a beat. The Steelers released Blount last Tuesday, signed by the Patriots on Thursday and by Sunday he was recording two touchdowns against the Lions. It was interesting to see his return be so successful only a week after Jonas Gray had a career night rushing for 200 yards and 4 touchdowns, but because of off the field issues was held out of last week’s game completely. We’ll have to keep an eye this week how the Patriots plan to distribute the football in the backfield, with Shane Vereen, Gray and now Blount, they certainly have plenty of options but whom they decide to give it to on a week-to-week basis should be interesting.

The matchup that everyone will be focused on this week will of course be Tom Brady vs. Aaron Rodgers, two of the best quarterbacks in football right now. Rodgers has been on fire during the Packers recent run, registering 11 touchdowns in the past 3 games and throwing for at least 200 yards in those contests. Rodgers really has separated himself from the “above-average” quarterbacks in the NFL and has now joined the elites like Brady and Manning in terms of success and production. However as I mentioned earlier it is going to be a test for Rodgers this week getting to his two best receivers (Cobb and Nelson) when Revis and Browner are going to be on them. Can Rodgers confuse the Patriots defense enough to get the ball to his receivers and make the Patriots make defensive mistakes?

Tom Brady just seems to keep getting better with age, the Michigan man has thrown at least two touchdowns in this 7 game winning streak and some of his best performances this season have come against the so-called contenders (Indianapolis, Denver, Cincinnati). There is no reason to think that Brady will not continue his dominance this week facing a Packers defense that, aside from Seattle, and New Orleans, hasn’t faced a high quality quarterback all season. Last week I said to look out for Brady and Brandon LaFell to continue to grow together and start getting on the same page. Expect that again this week, his numbers keep going up each week and he has proven that he is a reliable and dangerous target.

The Dirt Sheet: As I said earlier, I don’t think the Packers have really been tested by a true offense aside from a New Oreleans or Seattle type team. I think the Patriots are clicking on all cylinders and I think the combination of Gronk and Tim Wright maybe another facet of this all ready complicated offense. I wouldn’t want to be Dom Capers this week, planning against Gronk, Wright, Edelman, LaFell , and the Pats rushing attack. The matchups of Revis/Browner and Nelson/Cobb will be fascinating to watch and see who gets the upper hand as the game progresses. I love Browner’s physical play, even if it costs the Patriots penalty yardage its that physical play that the Patriots have been missing for so many years on the defensive side of the ball. Look for a close, yet high scoring game here.

24. 49. 34. 47. Final

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