Patriots at Chargers Pregame Discussion (wk 8)

[Charge!]

I agree - but I will just be happy with a nice comfortable two score win

Would give the Chargers another AFC win and have the tiebreaker over another AFC Team - that would be four (pending rematches with KC and the Raid-turds)

i would love to blow out bellycheat, but i agree and i would take almost any kind of non-fluke win...... just to finally get an actual win over them...... and get back on winning track.... and show some maturity and improvement.....

[gzubeck]

What is Belichick's motivation for running up the score on a division opponent like this? It is not accidental, he's done it before many times.

Two things...

(1) He doesn't care about the points on the board as he's getting his offensive machine honed in for the kill.
(2) Getting his boy (Jones) used to having the taste of blood in the water! Go for the Kill
(3) Yeah Belicheck can be a dick this way too!

:coffee:

[Velo]

The greatest defensive mind in history Belicheat always talks up the next opponent.
They should be 5-2 if not for a late fumble against the Fins. And a fumble and missed field goal vs the Bucs.
If their O Line is healthy I say they run for a buck sixty, maybe even with last weeks O Line.

Correct me if I am wrong? 3 wins against them in 20 seasons: Tim Dwight's big return, one when Marty talked smacking post-game asking "How many fingers do they have to fill all the holes in the dikes, and the season Brady missed in 09.

Who cares about what has happened in the past. It has no bearing on this Chargers team now. The Patriots are 24th in rushing, averaging 95 yds per game. I doubt they run for 160 yds. The Chargers have struggled against the top running games in the league. They did well against the one team that doesn't run the ball well - the Raiders.

[Xenos]

Staley on Belichick and Co., as well as what they did during the bye to prepare.

https://www.chargers.com/news/top-quotes-brandon-staley-mike-williams-week-08-2021

Brandon Staley on improvements the Chargers made during the bye week

"Our front mechanics and technique at the first level need to improve. It needs to improve is with me — I need to do a better job coaching. Our players will play better if we define things better. I think at that first level, that will help a lot. Behind it, we had some replacement issues into the boundary from a run-support standpoint that hurt us...you can look at me for why it didn't go well enough. We have made some good corrections over the last week or so. I'm excited to get going with our guys because I know we have what it takes, and we're excited to compete against a really good running team. New England has always been able to run the football."


Brandon Staley on Patriots head coach Bill Belichick

"He's an outstanding offensive coach. I think that's something he doesn't get enough credit for. He's an outstanding offensive coach, defensive coach, and special teams coach. That's why they've played the way they've played up there for so long; because he's a complete coach. That's something I'm trying to be. If I had to say the biggest takeaway from him, for me, is that he's a complete coach."


Brandon Staley on what he's seen from Patriots quarterback Mac Jones

"I see a guy that's an outstanding decision-maker. I think his processor is at a premium for a young quarterback; you can really see that he can see the game. I know the way they play on offense, they ask a lot of that position. You can tell that he can process at a high level because of the type of plays they're running. They're running a lot of premium-type offensive plays that you would think a more experienced quarterback would have.

"He has that kind of command over their system, and I think he has really good anticipation as a thrower. I think that's a big asset of him just as a pure passer — he has great anticipation and his ball placement is outstanding. He's got real toughness for the position. You can see when he's in tight pockets that he's willing to hang tough and play the way you're supposed to play."

[Xenos]

This is good to hear.

If they can just avoid the Browns, Titans, Bills & Ravens in the playoffs, they'll go deep.

I’m not as worried about the Bills rushing attack. I feel we can beat the Ravens in a rematch. It might be a shoot out against the Titans because their defense is their main weakness. The only team I don’t want to face again are the Browns.

[Xenos]

Next year, Joseph will be 34 & Jones hits free agency: one or both might be gone.
Telesco will not solve that hole in the draft, even if all his selections are defensive tackles.

He can....
a) overpay for the top talent available in free agency,
b) get a fading star on a bargain deal,
c) find some diamond in the rough, not properly utilized and sitting behind all pros, who shines in Brandon Staley's D
d) dumpster dive

correct answer: b & d

Linsley and Feiler aren’t fading stars on a bargain deal.

[AK47]

Brandon Staley on assessing the Chargers' run defense. https://chargerswire.usatoday.com/20...ense-patriots/

The Chargers have played against 3 of the 4 best rushing offenses (1. Browns 3. Cowboys 4. Ravens). All of their opponents so far, except the Raiders, are in the top nine in running offense.

The Patriots have the 24th best rushing offense. Justin Jones and Drue Tranquill are returning. The run defense will not break down next Sunday.

Looking at the schedule ahead, the Chiefs and Eagles are 9-10 in rushing offense. The rest of the opponents are middle of the pack or lower in rushing offense.

I hope we score early/often and stay aggressive so that Belicheat abandon's the heavy run game by the 3rd quarter.

[Velo]

I’m not as worried about the Bills rushing attack. I feel we can beat the Ravens in a rematch. It might be a shoot out against the Titans because their defense is their main weakness. The only team I don’t want to face again are the Browns.

The Bengals are left out of this conversation, and might be the best team of them all.

[dmac_bolt]

I understand that the Chargers cannot overlook the Patriots
I also understand the Patriots have beaten the Chargers a lot over the last 15 years with Hoodie - maybe on Charger victory

But, this is a new head coach in Staley, a new system and the Patriots are 3-4 and they have 2 wins over the Jets and one over the Texans. They are not the strongest 3-4 team in the NFL - okay. I don't care how they played against Tampa - that was an emotion driven game

Now can the Chargers just show up and expect to win - No

But they are the BETTER team with the better QB. I hope Staley has a game plan for Mac Jones - break it out. No time to wait.

It was also a torrential downpour that tends to neutralize dynamic offenses the most and can be hard to use as a measuring stick. It will not rain in SoFi on Sunday. Fuck The Patriots and everyone shitting their diapers over them.

[dmac_bolt]

i would love to blow out bellycheat, but i agree and i would take almost any kind of non-fluke win...... just to finally get an actual win over them...... and get back on winning track.... and show some maturity and improvement.....

Every win is a win. I don’t care. I like Staley’s talk about seeing technique errors and spending the week working to improve those. Guy is just getting going, he’s going to be a great coach for a long time.

[Xenos]

The Bengals are left out of this conversation, and might be the best team of them all.

Honestly I feel like the Bills are the best if they can play to their potential. They should have beaten the Titans by a lot. But yeah, the Bengals are getting up there. The only thing holding them back is their ability to protect Burrows.

[chargeroo]

One thing I've learned is that Belichick always has his team ready. We'll face a different defense than we expect. His special teams will excel and his pass defense is always good. If you are expecting an easy game, you've no doubt missed all the recent games we've played against them. I look for a very difficult game. Can our young coach bring us home a winner against the best HC in the league? I'm sure hopeful but I do not expect a walk in the park.