New England Patriots: Expect offensive playbook to open up vs Seahawks
By Max Bozicas
Expect the New England Patriots to open up the playbook a bit more against the Seattle Seahawks.
In a Week 1 win over the Miami Dolphins, the New England Patriots ran the football 42 times and only threw it 19 times. That was the right way to approach that game, given the fact that the Dolphins are mediocre and the Patriots rolled out a new starting quarterback without a legitimate preseason.
With that said, it would shock me if Cam Newton didn’t have more than 19 passing attempts in New England’s Week 2 contest against the Seattle Seahawks. To take it a step further, if the Patriots are going to win this game he will likely need to throw the ball more.
This isn’t Ryan Fitzpatrick and a banged up Devante Parker that New England’s defense is going up against. It’s Russell Wilson, who is a top three quarterback in the NFL, and a plethora of offensive weapons at his disposal.
Regardless of how good this New England Patriots defense is, odds are we will see a lot of points scored.
Bill Belichick this morning on Russell Wilson, the QB that the Patriots will be facing Sunday night in Seattle: “Honestly I think he’s in a way underrated by the media or the fans, I don’t know. But I don’t really see anybody better than this player.”
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 17, 2020
Bill Belichick certainly will have a plan to contain Wilson as best as possible, but we will still need to see more out of Josh McDaniels, Cam Newton, and this new look Patriots offense. Make no mistake; this team doesn’t have the personnel to get into a shootout.
However, there has to be more of a balance between the pass and the run in order to keep Seattle on their toes defensively.
More from New England Patriots
- Former Patriot Stevan Ridley Put Kevin Hart in a Wheelchair
- 3 Patriots Who Can Clinch a Roster Spot in Final Preseason Game
- Patriots Get Win Over Division Rivals Before Season Even Begins
- New Massachusetts Sportsbook Promos: $450 Bonus to Bet on Your Patriots at Caesars + DraftKings
- Ezekiel Elliott Reveals 3 Reasons Why He Signed With Patriots
Cam completed 15 out of his 19 attempts last week, which is encouraging. Seattle’s defense isn’t exactly clogging up passing lanes, as they are coming off a game in which they gave up 450 passing yards to Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons.
While it would be shocking if Cam even comes close to throwing for that many yards in this one, it does show that the Seahawks have a very beatable defense. The New England Patriots should be able to get big chunks of yardage on play-action passes after establishing the run.
In order for the Patriots to keep up with the Seahawks, someone in the receiving corps other than Julian Edelman will need to make plays for Cam Newton. James White will definitely see some involvement out of the backfield, but New England still needs another threat to make plays in the intermediate area of the field.
N’Keal Harry is the first player that comes to mind. Of course, everyone remembers Harry’s costly fumble out of the end zone against the Dolphins, but he did catch five passes in that game. He will need to see similar opportunities against Seattle.
5 Seahawks players who present a problem. dark. Next
If the New England Patriots can continue to run the ball efficiently combined with Cam getting into a rhythm throwing it, this is going to be a competitive game.
Win or lose, we will learn a lot about this team during this matchup.