TOP 5 things we must do to upset the Pats @ NE, aside from winning the turnover battle which is obvious.
1. Our vaunted D-line must take advantage of NE's injuries at LT (Solder and Cannon are both out). Its vitally important that we make Tom Brady uncomfortable and consistently get him off his spot, if not get him on the ground, and that starts by taking advantage of what should be a huge edge at RDE vs LT, otherwise Brady will pick you apart.
2. Put Revis on Gronk. The Pats become damn near unbeatable when Gronk and Edelman are having big days, so its vitally important that we don't let either of these players go off. They're gonna make some plays, I get that, but we can't let them wreck the game. Revis should be able to handle Gronk and keep him from doing too much damage.
3. Provided there are no setbacks for Buster Skrine between now and kickoff on Sunday, this matchup verses an elite slot WR is the reason we brought this kid in here. If anyone has the quickness and skills to keep Edelman in check, it has to be Buster Skrine. This is another man assignment in my view, and its a battle we must win in order to win this game. Again, that doesn't mean shutting Edelman down completely. Skrine just can't let him wreck the game.
Those are the three keys on defense as I see it, the last two pertain to the offense:
4. You know going into this game that the Patriots are going to emphasize Chris Ivory and Brandon Marshall in this game, cause thats what they do, thats been Bill Belichick's calling card for as long as he's been in coaching, to take away what you do best, take you out of your comfort zone, and force you to beat them with other guys. Thats why I view Eric Decker as the biggest key on offense this week. I'm guessing he's gonna see a ton of single coverage with the Pats doubling Marshall and loading up eight in the box to keep Ivory in check. If the Jets are going to win this game, IMO Decker will need to have a 100+ Yards Receiving with 2+ TD's this week. This will have to be his best game.
5. We're gonna need a third WR to step-up. I don't care if its Owusu, Devin Smith, Jeremy Kerley or Kenbrell Thompkins, all I know is, when this game ends one of these guys will have to have had a breakout game if we are going to win, maybe one or two homerun deep balls for Devin Smith or some steady playmaking for Owusu or Kerley, or some combination of these things, but this week relying solely on Marshall & Decker will not suffice, we need other WR's to step-up.
If we can get these five things, and win the turnover battle, we have a chance to pull-off the upset.
