Finally we can focus on football as the New England Patriots face off against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday afternoon. Here are 3 players you will want to watch.
This week has been crazy for New England Patriots fans. In a short period of time we have seen a lot of moves be made that changed the roster in major ways. But now we can focus on football.
The Cleveland Browns come to town in Week 8 in what should be an interesting matchup. On both sides of the ball, Cleveland has some talented players that could cause problems for the Patriots.
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Odell Beckham Jr is still one of the most talented wide receivers in the entire NFL and Myles Garrett could run rampant over the Patriots weak offensive line.
I think this could be the biggest challenge that the Patriots have so far. Cleveland could definitely beat New England especially with all the confusion of what has been a wild week.
Bill Belichick prides himself on keeping the team focused, but they might be distracted in Week 8. It would be pretty hard not to be.
Also, we are seeing some players struggle to get going this season. The Patriots defense is carrying the team. Tom Brady and the offense need to step up their play.
So here are the 3 players you will want to watch as the Patriots play the Cleveland Browns in Week 8.
1. Mohamed Sanu
In his first game with the New England Patriots, I expect Mohamed Sanu to have a large role. With the Patriots moving on from Josh Gordon, Sanu is one of your top targets in the passing game.
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Sanu has a lot to prove. When the Patriots first traded for him I wasn’t exactly thrilled. He doesn’t seem worth the investment that the team made.
At age 30, Sanu seems to be on the decline. Tom Brady will have to work his magic once again.
Sanu is able to do some unique things. Besides great route running he could be used as a quarterback in some trick plays. We know how much New England loves doing this.
Maybe we will see a triple throw with Brady passing it to Sanu and then Sanu throws a bomb to Julian Edelman. That would be fun to see.
The spotlight will definitely be on Mohamed Sanu in Week 8.
2. Chase Winovich
It has been quite the season for Chase Winovich and the New England Patriots. I will be interested to see if Winovich can maintain the success.
Right now, Winovich is one of the best pass rushers on the team. He has 4 sacks and a touchdown this season. You can not ask for a better stat for the rookie defensive end.
You could make a case for Winovich being the Defensive Rookie of the Year. Who thought we would be saying that when he was first drafted.
If Winovich can get to the quarterback on Sunday it will help the team out a lot. The Browns have a dynamic quarterback in Baker Mayfield, but if the New England Patriots defense can get him off his game it will be a long day for Cleveland.
Hopefully, Week 8 will have another dominant performance from Chase Winovich and the New England Patriots defense.
3. Sony Michel
This hasn’t been the best season for Sony Michel. After one of the best showings by a running back in the playoffs in NFL history he has hit a wall.
Michel has just struggled to get going. Every run he has only seems to go for a few yards. As we saw in Week 7 he can still find the end zone but the lack of production is concerning.
In week 8 you hope that Michel can start to improve. The touchdowns will eventually come but the yards need to improve. If they don’t life could get difficult for Tom Brady and the offense.
If Michel is able to rack up close to 100 yards that would make fans ecstatic. We need to see the Michel that we saw in the 2018 playoffs. We can’t wait for January to roll around every year.
I expect the Patriots to win but I will be interested to see how these 3 players do in Week 8.