The New England Patriots will finally square off against the Denver Broncos in Week 6. These 5 players are sure bets to have big games.
The New England Patriots will have both Cam Newton and Stephon Gilmore back when they finally square off against the Denver Broncos in this Week 6 matchup, but will that be enough to get back in the win column following an unexpected bye week?
Well, the team’s character has certainly been challenged over the past two weeks. With a handful of players dealing with the COVID-19 virus, practice has been scarce. But, as the Patriots coaching staff continue to say over and over, the team can only “adjust, adapt and continue to succeed.”
That has turned into the Patriots slogan through the first five weeks of the 2020 NFL season, something Bill Belichick preached prior to the schedule change in Week 5, via Patriots.com:
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"“One thing that we’ve learned this year repeatedly has been we have to be ready to adjust and adapt to changes and modifications in the way we do things and in some cases decisions that really come down to a very short amount of time that we have to be ready to adjust to. We’re certainly taking things day by day, probably hour by hour would be more accurate. We’ll just see how we progress and then as we find out more on our end or if there are other things externally that we can’t control that affect us, then we’ll deal with those as they come.”"
They will look to do that on Sunday against a Denver Broncos team who will be without their best offensive threats in running back Melvin Gordon and tight end Noah Fant. Still, the New England Patriots must execute and stay focused on improving their record to 3-2.
In this week’s bold player predictions, these five Patriots are sure bets to rise to challenge.
New England Patriots sure bets: Julian Edelman will be Julian Edelman
Following a subpar performance against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4, New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman will look to atone for drop passes, one of which led to a pick-6 off Jarrett Stidham.
If it wasn’t for COVID-19, the veteran receiver would have been more in the spotlight for his miscues than he was. With questions already mounting about his health and age being factors in what is looking like a decline in his game, Edelman’s main obstacle appears to be his focus.
With the career game he had against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2, the physical ability is still there. Expect a similar game against the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
With Cam Newton back at quarterback, there will be more plays drawn up to include Julian Edelman who, like the rest of his teammates, is coming off an extra week of rest.
To put some of those questions to rest, the New England Patriots top receiver is going to look like the top receiver in Week 6. Over 5 catches close to if not over 100 yards receiving for Julian Edelman is a sure bet in this game.
New England Patriots sure bets: Joe Thuney will anchor the offensive line.
The New England Patriots offensive line will have to do it again this Sunday without two of their dependable offensive linemen.
With center David Andrews already out, the team will be without James Ferentz and Shaq Mason, both placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list prior to this game. But, don’t worry, as long as versatile offensive lineman Joe Thuney is healthy and available, the Patriots offensive line will find a way.
Along with Isaiah Wynn and outstanding rookie Michael Onwenu shifting around the line, Thuney will help be an anchor in showing off his versatility as the top offensive lineman on the team.
Whether it is in the run game or protecting the quarterback, Joe Thuney is showing why the team applied the franchise tag in the offseason. He is just that valuable and obviously showing it again this season.
"“Very valuable. Somebody has to have versatility on that group,” Belichick told reporters back in September, via NBC Sports. “If you take seven linemen to the game, you can’t have a backup for every position, so somebody has to move. Either one of your starters has to move or your two backups have to cover all five spots in some combination of that. We need somebody that can do that and Joe’s our most versatile lineman on the team, so that is an important role for us to have in terms of maintaining our depth with the group.”"
That versatility will play a big role in this Week 6 matchup against a Denver Broncos defense that is pretty much in the middle of the pack when it comes to run defense and getting to the passer. Joe Thuney is a sure bet to not only help the offensive line hold up without Andrews and Mason but dominate the line of scrimmage.
New England Patriots sure bets: Damien Harris will impress again.
Coming off an impressive 100-yard rushing performance against the Kansas City Chiefs, running back Damien Harris will be out to prove that he is no one-game wonder against the Denver Broncos.
Hungry and ready, the New England Patriots second year running back will once again showcase his combination of power and speed to stake his claim as the team’s featured back with Sony Michel on injured reserve.
With Rex Burkhead, James White and J.J. Taylor expected to be also featured in the play calling, Harris should see around 20 carries in this game. Highlighted by a 41-yard run to end the third quarter against the Chiefs, he hit the 100-yard mark on just 17 attempts.
A sure bet for this game, Damien Harris will go over that mark with a couple of long runs fueled by the presence and deception of Cam Newton at quarterback and the open holes the offensive line will create for him.
As a running back who hits the hole hard, the Alabama product will shine once again in Week 6 and get New England Patriots fans excited about their young power running back, who will also show off his pass-catching ability in this game.
New England Patriots sure bets: Devin Asiasi will be unleashed.
It’s about time the New England Patriots see what they have in their rookie tight ends Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene.
After featuring third-year tight end Ryan Izzo in the passing game the first four games of the season with minimal results, Week 6 against the Denver Broncos has to be the game Asiasi gets into the action, right?
Musket Fire
Well, the UCLA product has played 71 snaps this season without a target. Serving more as a run blocker and in on pass protection, Devin Asiasi has only ran 20 routes this season, which seems to be more about the team’s plan to ease him in as a pass catching tight end than it is Asiasi’s lack of ability
"“Speaking, at least from our standpoint, we don’t really want to have a guy that can just do one thing,” Positional coach Nick Caley said Friday, as transcribed by NESN. “Then you become predictable and things like that. We try to get them a well-rounded background and we’re always trying to work on run and pass fundamentals, and that’s pass protection too. It’s kind of a three-faceted approach there in terms of the skill development piece of it. But, no, we want to have a balanced tight end. We want to have a balanced skill set where we can change gears and flip and be multiple and do things and really play off of each other and have some position flexibility within our unit.”"
As a tight end who can do it all, Devin Asiasi is simply too athletic not to get involved in the passing game eventually. Why not start Week 6 against a team in the Denver Broncos who have trouble covering athletic tight ends?
A sure bet is Asiasi gets in the action with at least two receptions in this game. It will also be nice to have Dalton Keene finally see the field as well.
New England Patriots sure bets: Cam Newton will be special.
The reason why Devin Asiasi will finally see some targets this week is, well, Cam Newton is back and he may have to rely on his arm a bit more in this game against a Denver Broncos defense that is alright against the run.
Yes, Damien Harris will eventually break some big runs, but it will all be set up by a passing game that will get Julian Edelman back on track and also set up some big plays for N’Keal Harry.
Fired up coming off the COVID-19 list, the New England Patriots quarterback will be highly motivated to get his team back in the win column and further show just why he will be an MVP candidate before this season is over.
The Patriots’ offense as constructed simply needs the playmaking ability of Cam Newton to thrive as a unit. That was evident in Week 4 against the Kansas City Chiefs. The team still moved the ball, but when it came down to the red zone, Brian Hoyer left points on the board with some quarterback decisions Cam Newton simply wouldn’t have made…or any veteran quarterback for that matter.
In summary, Cam will be a sure bet to be special in this game. He will get his yards on the ground on scrambles, but a 300-yard passing game is instore. Julian Edelman, N’Keal Harry, the tight ends and also the running backs will combine for a pretty good passing attack against the Broncos that will eventually set up a power game led by Harris and Rex Burkhead.