Getting Defensive - New England Patriots

[Zod]

Monday Night Football returns to Carolina in a matchup that looks to be the most exciting of the season for ESPN to showcase.  In a Superbowl rematch, Tom Brady faces the toughest defense in the NFL. Whats not to love?
 
Before their bye week, the Patriots dropped 55 points on the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers at the time of the game had the eighth ranked defense in the league.
 
That said, facing the Panthers defense is a whole different animal, according to New England Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels...
 

"They get an incredible amount of pressure on the quarterback without having to blitz, which is, I would say, a luxury that some teams have and some teams don't. They don't give up a lot of big plays, (they are) really good in situational football. It's all the things that you would want in a defense, and they have them and they are obviously playing as well as any group that we've played all year. This will be a great challenge for us on Monday night."

 

Stopping the Patriots offense will come down to containing... you guessed it... Tom Brady.

 

Brady is as savvy a NFL QB as you will find in the history of the game. Whether unpressured or under pressure, his numbers remain constant. And if the game against Pittsburgh is any indication, he finally has found a rhythm with his offensive weapons.

 

The good news for the Panthers is that Brady is a pure pocket passer. He will not beat you with his legs. Brady has scampered 23 times this season, gaining only 16 yards.

 

Because they will not be concerned with a running QB like last week in San Francisco,  look for the Panthers to line up in a man defense frequently. Luke Kuechly is becoming very adept at covering tight ends across the middle which will pay dividends against Brady's favorite target TE Gronkowski. Across the board, player to player, the Panthers match up very well against the offense of the Patriots.

 

New England's running game is also hitting its stride. Stevan Ridley is averaging over 4 yards per carry. His main threat comes from running behind the right side of the Patriots line, where he is averaging over 6 yards per carry. The Panthers linebackers will have their hands full all night with this 220lb bruiser of a running back. If they can repeat their strong tackling performance they had against Frank Gore last week, this matchup should also be favorable for the Panthers.

 

Lastly, crowd noise will be a factor for the Patriots on Monday Night. Panthers fans at The Bank will be the loudest that they have been in over five years. If they can help with a few Patriots false starts on Monday night, it may be the difference in the game.

 

 

 

 

[MHS831]

McDaniels:  "They are obviously playing as well as any group we have played all year." 

 

Dem's fightin' words.  This is the ELITE defense in the league.  Sure, you will be our biggest test, but do not think that Pittsburgh's defense will be anything like ours.  I am not sure that you have met Star and Dwan, and KK yet; pretty sure that ypu have never faced run-stopping pass rushers like CJ and Hardy .

 Are you referring to the Jets?  You scored 13 on them in a victory and lost the second game in overtime.  We are ranked higher than the Jets.

[B.BERSIN]

As long as our offense is fine, let's say score 20 or so points, we win.

[Cary Kollins]

Can't wait for Big Time Football to return to Charlotte. It's been 5 lonnnng years.

It will be key that we shut down the run so Brady doesn't eat us alive with play action. I expect Brady to throw a couple of bombs out of play action. It will be imperative for our secondary not to let their guy get behind them, because Brady will hit them in stride.

[panthers55]

What most opponent fans don't realize is that we are tougher at home than on the road.  In 4 games we are giving 9 points a game.  This to offenses that are averaging in the 20s. While for the most part we are scoring at home and away, our point differential- points for minus points against is very different home versus away.  Our average point differential is +20 at home and a plus 6 on the road.

[CLTPanther]

After looking at Brady's stats, he's been sacked a lot the last 5 weeks, 19 times in fact. In the loss to NYJ and Cincy, he was sacked 4 times in each game. He also had a lot of passes in those two losses, 38 against Cincy and 46 against NYJ. This reflects when the run game is shut down, his attempts and sack rate goes up, which also were the two losses. He was sacked 5 times against NO and had to win on that last second pass at the end of the game. If we can get in his face and our run D is as stout as we expect, he's in for a long night.

 

http://www.nfl.com/player/tombrady/2504211/gamelogs

 

[panthers55]

Can't wait for Big Time Football to return to Charlotte. It's been 5 lonnnng years.

It will be key that we shut down the run so Brady doesn't eat us alive with play action. I expect Brady to throw a couple of bombs out of play action. It will be imperative for our secondary not to let their guy get behind them, because Brady will hit them in stride.

We will shut down the run.  It is only a matter of how many guys will it take. And they will make some deep throws although their receiver corps doesn't really have a great deep threat. Amendola was a threat until he hurt his groin.  But we said the same thing about Kaepernick last week.  You have to have time to throw deep and the offensive line  of NE is not that great.  Expect Brady o dump off the ball all day hopefully to backs covered up by our linebackers and safeties.  Gronk is the only wildcard here.  Hopefully we do a better job than we did with Gonzales.

[Zod]

We will shut down the run.

 

MAybe, but not so sure about that. The Panthers may prefer clock eating  scoring drives on the ground from the Patriots and take their chances on a low scoring game in the 4th quarter.

[Cary Kollins]

We will shut down the run. It is only a matter of how many guys will it take. And they will make some deep throws although their receiver corps doesn't really have a great deep threat. Amendola was a threat until he hurt his groin. But we said the same thing about Kaepernick last week. You have to have time to throw deep and the offensive line of NE is not that great. Expect Brady o dump off the ball all day hopefully to backs covered up by our linebackers and safeties. Gronk is the only wildcard here. Hopefully we do a better job than we did with Gonzales.

Yeah if the Dline keeps up their great play Brady won't have enough time to hang in the pocket after play action. They are hitting on all cylinders at the moment so I just hope it keeps up.

[Huell]

The patriots will be a good measuring stick for how we'll do vs New Orleans.

[PantherFanOne]

As for the Panthers  game plan, the teams that have played and have beaten the Patriots, there is a common trend. First and foremost, even Tom Brady is affected when people are hitting him. We have to find a way to put pressure on him. He likes to step up in the pocket so it’s very important that the pressure comes from right up the gut. You have to have people around his legs, his face and be constantly hitting him throughout the course of the game.

Nobody likes that.

If we can hit him consistently, it will affect two to three throws late in the game that will cause him to miss. Those two or three misses could be the difference in the game. The Panthers have to have something that turns the tide, because you can only keep him down for so long. At some point he’s going to get hot.

[SpeedOFLight]

I am so excited about this game. Monday Night Football in charlotte is back! I am a little disappointed that I can't make it to the game. This was suppose to be my birthday present to myself but couldn't swing it. Brady will be introduced to one of the toughest defenses in football. We make him uncomfortable the whole game and I believe we win. I am going to go out on a limb and say, I believe we will beat them by two scores. I had the opportunity this year to watch a lot of their games and I don't see anything to be afraid other than the fact that he is Tom Brady lol. I believe we will make a statement at home for all in the football world to see. The Panthers are back!

[AndrewLaskoski]

I think we match up very well against the Pats

 

Put TD, or Kuechly on Gronk with Mitchell over the top

 

Captain is perfect for covering the slot, which the Pats severely rely on

 

Drayton and Melvin on the corners, let Lester play midfield

 

Would like to see a nice mix of press man and zone, so we have time for the front four to get to Brady

 

Wouldn't be surprised if we played a 4-2-5 for a majority of the game, im comfortable enough that the front six could stop the run effectively. 

[Toundra]

I would blitz Brad with the front 4 + Mitchell all day and keep the LBs in air defense.