Pressure is the Key

[H2o]

We have all seen what Brady does with ample time in the pocket. He will pick a team apart. The Dolphins got to him just two weeks ago and you see the result. When Brady is pressured, especially when that pressure comes from the DT's, he will make some errant/bad throws. I hope Frazier watches that game tape along with our guys this week and we find a way to put the heat on avacado boy. Have Tre or Hyde on Gronk all day and scheme a way to get pressure up the middle. Stunts, blitzes, slant the defense, whatever you have to do. We NEED this W. 

[Da webster guy]

Unfortunately we aren't doing great on qb pressuring this season.  The Pats offense is basically Dion and Gronk at this point, both very tough dudes to cover.  The early line is we're 12 point dogs for this one, seems about right.   Gotta play another offensive game like yesterday, Pats defense is beatable but the large Polish tight end is a nightmare.  

[bmur66]

Yea, Yea, Yea. Isn't that what everyone always says. Win or Lose this is a game to not be nice. Payback time.

[GunnerBill]

Two ways to win next week.....

 

1.  Do not let Gronk beat you.  I'd double him the whole game.  Find where he is and double him, every snap.  Do NOT under ANY circumstances leave him 1v1 with Leonard Johnson (which happened in the first game).  Brady has really missed Edelman as his chain mover this year and between the 20s Gronk is BY far his most reliable chain moving target.  Yes that means risking Brandin Cooks 1v1 hitting you for a big play but it doesn't matter.... you must play the percentages.  If Gronk goes 6 for 85 or something the Patriots will win.  Hold Gronk to 3 for 30 and you have a chance.  

 

2. Score.  The Bills need to start the game with the approach that they need 30 points to win.  New England got very little pressure without blitzing yesterday.  Tyrod has to throw.  He will have time in the pocket... he has to take chance with the football and throw it down the field.  No tuck and scramble for 2 yards, no dump off to Cadet or McCoy.... throw it down the field.  

[CSBill]

Agree, keys to victory:

 

(1) Pressure, and hurt Brady, if possible,

(2) Doubleteam Gronk all over the field. He is the only reason (well, along with the usual help from the officials, and Big Ben's double stupidity on that last series--both of is last two passes were horrible mental lapses) the Pats won yesterday.

[ganesh]

43 minutes ago, H2o said:

We have all seen what Brady does with ample time in the pocket. He will pick a team apart. The Dolphins got to him just two weeks ago and you see the result. When Brady is pressured, especially when that pressure comes from the DT's, he will make some errant/bad throws. I hope Frazier watches that game tape along with our guys this week and we find a way to put the heat on avacado boy. Have Tre or Hyde on Gronk all day and scheme a way to get pressure up the middle. Stunts, blitzes, slant the defense, whatever you have to do. We NEED this W. 

The last time we met them, they RAN Roughshod over us.  I am really worried that our Run Defense has not been able to stop these fast moving RBs.

[2003Contenders]

Honestly, the defense played pretty well when we played the Pats a few weeks ago. They limited Brady and kept him from having a big game. While Gronk had numerous catches and piled up yardage last time, he was not a back-breaker. The problem in that game was the 3-and-out offense. If the D plays well again, and the Bills' offense can be as productive as it was in the first half against Miami yesterday, an upset victory is not out of the question.

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

44 minutes ago, ganesh said:

The last time we met them, they RAN Roughshod over us.  I am really worried that our Run Defense has not been able to stop these fast moving RBs.

 

Burkhead might be banged up... could we be seeing Touchdown Mike this week?

[8-8 Forever?]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

Two ways to win next week.....

 

1.  Do not let Gronk beat you.  I'd double him the whole game.  Find where he is and double him, every snap.  Do NOT under ANY circumstances leave him 1v1 with Leonard Johnson (which happened in the first game).  Brady has really missed Edelman as his chain mover this year and between the 20s Gronk is BY far his most reliable chain moving target.  Yes that means risking Brandin Cooks 1v1 hitting you for a big play but it doesn't matter.... you must play the percentages.  If Gronk goes 6 for 85 or something the Patriots will win.  Hold Gronk to 3 for 30 and you have a chance.  

 

2. Score.  The Bills need to start the game with the approach that they need 30 points to win.  New England got very little pressure without blitzing yesterday.  Tyrod has to throw.  He will have time in the pocket... he has to take chance with the football and throw it down the field.  No tuck and scramble for 2 yards, no dump off to Cadet or McCoy.... throw it down the field.  

Bills have no one to cover Gronk.  The guy's 6 foot 6 or whatever.  He gets his yards.    Bills will need to have 12+ possessions on offense and score 6 times to win.   I don't see that happening without 3+ turnovers, which ain't happening either.   Sorry .  Bring on the Fins.  

[billsfan60]

The key is always marsha. Without him gronk and the rest are human. Constant pressure and if somehow a 300 pounder were to land on his knee...poop happens.

[ProcessTheTrust]

This is one of the weeks I miss the promise the Cold Front gave us. A nasty 4 man rush that can allow Gronk to be double teamed and not let anyone else get wide open. Not that the Cold Front ever got there but it's the best way to stop Brady. Any idea of blitzing is silly. He is so quick to punish you by finding the wide open guy.

[Kirby Jackson]

You need to get pressure up the middle, right in his face. That’s the one thing that teams that have given him a hard time have done. Unfortunately, this Bills team doesn’t generate any pressure. They will have to get creative.

Edited December 18, 2017 by Kirby Jackson

[george c]

Romo said it perfectly. Brady is an absolute assassin.  The best that’s ever been and it’s light years to get to second place.

The only way we win this game is if the Pats fall asleep. 

Last nights game showed that Gronkowski needs to be double teamed, and then who does that leave alone? 

Its going to take pressure, playing Gronkowski tough, and scoring every time we have the ball. 

[All_Pro_Bills]

The thing is its no secret what NE does on offense.  They've been doing pretty much the same thing for 15 years with a few exceptions like the Ravens and the Giants in the SB games few teams have had any success.  Certainly the Bills have not.  You'd think after 15 years of watching your defense get run over twice a year one of the many regimes they've had would devise an effective defensive strategy and identify and acquire the necessary defensive personnel to run it.  But nothing.  From his first encounter with NE I get the feeling that McDermott has a pretty good handle on what it will take but at this point the Bills personnel doesn't match up well with that.  

 

Sure you need to get pressure up the middle on Brady.  To me that means lining up big athletic DT's inside the guards over the center and having the DE's take an inside rush rather than get pushed around the pocket as you see all the time.  And when bringing the blitz right up the middle.  Force Brady off his spot,  Of course since he reads 'D' well this leaves you exposed outside to run or pass action and in the middle of the field so you need fast and instinctive linebackers that can read and cover a lot of ground which the Bills don't have yet.  

 

My concern next week is the offense.  The defense for its lack of match-up did a decent job against NE in the 1st game holding Brady to 3 1st half FG's and the 2 TD's in the 2nd half.  It was the offense that did close to nothing.      

[frostbitmic]

Have a LB like Alexander line up in front of the neanderthal and hit him in the ribs on every play. Then the LB either goes after Brady or the RB and leave the neanderthal to a DB.

 

Hit him at the line hard on every play and knock him off his route, it's the best way to slow him down.

[ddaryl]

We don't have great pressure with a 4 man front so game plan is where its got to come from.. This one will be a judgement on coaching IMO

 

Here is hoping

[The BLUES Brothers]

It is a tall order. 

There is some stat that says when you Blitz Brady - his TD to Interception Ratio is crazy good (was around 70 - 1 when we played him earlier in the season).

 

However I agree the pressure up the middle will be Key.

 

The other tactic is to make the D look Vanilla prior to doing that - the more he reads what D we have the quicker he can find the soft spot. 

 

Frazier has to work up some schemes that are more dangerous than they look....

[PatsFanNH]

Pressure is key for most QBs in the league. That's like saying sunlight is needed to grow food. 

 

As for this game I am looking forward to it, finally a home game after a tough Month on the road for my team.

[Mr. WEO]

Twice year, every year..."if you can just get to Brady".

 

Plenty of teams have gotten to Brady.

[hondo in seattle]

The problem with generating pressure is that Brady is the best in the NFL at handling the blitz.   In fact, he's scary good.  For example, Brady had a 122.3 passer rating versus the blitz last year - best in the NFL.  Since 2006 he has 70 TD and O INT against 6+ man blitzes.

 

So how do we generate pressure without blitzing?  Our front four just isn't that good.  

Edited December 18, 2017 by hondo in seattle

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

Lot of times I can see exactly what the patriots are going to run pre-snap and I suspect the d does too (eg, get Edelman or amendola in motion in the slot and then a short area cross), and they still get 8 yards a pop on it. 

 

Not sure what you can do to stop that team. Also, now that he’s seen our D, Brady will

eat them alive. Just not going to be pretty at all.

[Matt_In_NH]

I agree, pressure is the key but I am conditioned to knowing the Bills truly have no chance in a meaningful game in Foxboro withe Brady on the field.  The Pats need/want home field and are at home after a huge win.   You also have to score points and like we saw yesterday even if you play better and are winning, these guys can take it from you anyway.  This is a really really really big ask from Santa.

[Heavy Kevi]

All I want for Christmas is Tom crying out in pain in a lump on the turf. And early enough where we can still win.

 

 

[Big Turk]

2 hours ago, Da webster guy said:

Unfortunately we aren't doing great on qb pressuring this season.  The Pats offense is basically Dion and Gronk at this point, both very tough dudes to cover.  The early line is we're 12 point dogs for this one, seems about right.   Gotta play another offensive game like yesterday, Pats defense is beatable but the large Polish tight end is a nightmare.  

 

We do a better job than you think of making QBs uncomfortable...Smith and Cutler were both very skittish back there even though ww didnt get a ton of sacks or hits..we were all around them and they got happy feet as the game wore on...

 

Citlers last INT to White yesterday was because he had a Bill defender coming up the middle right in his face and he had to throw off his back foot.

Edited December 18, 2017 by matter2003

[RyanC883]

Milano on Gronk with Hyde or Poyer over the top.  No single covering Gronk like the Steelers did (also, if Gronk played for any other team, he would have been suspended multiple games).  

 

White on Cooks

 

Need K. Williams to have the best game of his life.  

 

Also need to draft some pass rushers.  

 

 

[The Wiz]

I thought the key was players and winning?

[BillsFan130]

New England's left guard is a joke. If im Frazier im sending lorax against him all game on passing situations 

[The Now Moment]

That and a much better offensive performance than last time.  Tyrod needs to play like he did in the first half yesterday and no like he did against the Pats a few weeks ago

[NewEraBills]

The biggest problem for us is that we don't do a lot of what gives NE trouble.  The blueprint has always been press man with pressure from 4 man rush.  We don't do a lot of that.  Our scheme is zone heavy.  In any case, we have to stop the run first.  I'm sure NE remembers the last game and will be calling run plays early and often.

[Woodman19]

Brady has a 75 passer rating over the past 3 weeks.  Nagging injury or age perhaps?

[PatsFanNH]

20 minutes ago, billsfan11 said:

New England's left guard is a joke. If im Frazier im sending lorax against him all game on passing situations 

He has been horrid lately, but he was lights out in the beginning of the year. Very odd how he regressed and I thought our other tackle be the issue since he is literally the third string Tackle. But Fleming has played surprisingly well. 

12 minutes ago, Woodman19 said:

Brady has a 75 passer rating over the past 3 weeks.  Nagging injury or age perhaps?

Faced the find in Miami where I think he has a career 80 passer rating, faced a tough steeler D (too 10 D) and the Bills always play hard in at least one game against the Pats. 

[BillsFan130]

4 minutes ago, PatsFanNH said:

He has been horrid lately, but he was lights out in the beginning of the year. Very odd how he regressed and I thought our other tackle be the issue since he is literally the third string Tackle. But Fleming has played surprisingly well. 

Faced the find in Miami where I think he has a career 80 passer rating, faced a tough steeler D (too 10 D) and the Bills always play hard in at least one game against the Pats. 

Where does Fleming line up again?

[ganesh]

We failed to stop them from Running the football.  We have to do that to make them one-dimensional and hope we can take Gronk away from the passing game.

[Boatdrinks]

A team has to play almost a perfect game, pressure Brady relentlessly and limit the damage from Gronkowski. Oh, and you'd better score 30 on offense while hoping you have at least a two score lead in the final 4-5 minutes and have the ball last. This combination of events rarely happens. 

[PatsFanNH]

2 hours ago, billsfan11 said:

Where does Fleming line up again?

I want to say right tackle he is the opposite tackle from Brady blind side. Solder had his bound side. 

[TigerJ]

5 hours ago, dneveu said:

 

Burkhead might be banged up... could we be seeing Touchdown Mike this week?

Good chance of it.  We'll see the injury reports in a couple days.  I expect Burkhead will be on it.

[PatsFanNH]

3 minutes ago, TigerJ said:

Good chance of it.  We'll see the injury reports in a couple days.  I expect Burkhead will be on it.

Bulkhead is out till the playoffs. He doesn't have an ACL tear but a bruised knee and some other technical jargon that I didn't really catch on the radio at lunch. So you will be seeing a heavy dose of Lewis and White with some Gilislee thrown in. 

[Sweats]

The 2007-2008 Giants set the table on how to beat the Pats, however, teams either dont follow the footprint or dont have the talent to pull it off.

 

I think we fall into the latter.

[Domdab99]

Yes! Pressure! OF COURSE!

 

Why didn't anyone see this before??  It's as simple as getting pressure up the middle on Brady. Seriously, I'm not sure why teams haven't been trying to do this in the past. Usually, when Brady says "hike," the D-Line just stands around and waits. 

 

But yea..."pressure." Good idea, Bro. 

[PatsFanNH]

1 minute ago, Sweats said:

The 2007-2008 Giants set the table on how to beat the Pats, however, teams either dont follow the footprint or dont have the talent to pull it off.

 

I think we fall into the latter.

I get your point, but that team needed a miracle catch, a Houdini type escape, AND a dropped INT to win that game.  But a great D will always slow down even the greatest of O.  The Pas weakness this year isn't the O as it is the D which has so many new faces I don't recognize half the starters.