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The New England Patriots came from abaft (as seems to appear anniversary anniversary in 2017) to win a contested challenge aftermost anniversary adjoin their AFC East battling New York Jets. Their Super Bowl 51 adversary the Atlanta Falcons biking to Foxboro, MA afterwards actuality ashamed at home by the Jay Cutler led Miami Dolphins aftermost week.
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Photos: Devonta Freeman in college | devonta freeman collegeAtlanta led 17-0 adjoin Miami and seemed to accept the bold in duke at halftime. Admitting missing Mohamed Sanu and Atlanta absent their additional afterwards bold at home to an AFC East adversary as they ahead absent to the Buffalo Bills 23-17 in anniversary four.
Last week, the Miami Dolphins denticulate 20 changing credibility in the additional bisected to appear aback and exhausted the Falcons 20-17, falling to 3-2 on the year.
Add in a abutting win adjoin Detroit and about accident in anniversary one to the Bears, the Falcons accept acutely been hit by the Super Bowl hangover.
This week’s antagonism will be advertisement nationally by NBC and can be apparent on NBC Boston – 10 or on NBC Providence on WJAR in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. Al Michaels handles the annual duties with above Cincinnati Bengals Hall-of-Fame advanced receiver Cris Collinsworth as the blush analyst. Michele Tafoya will assignment from the sidelines.
On the radio, this week’s bold will be advertisement to a civic admirers on Westwood One. Kevin Kugler and one the best NFL analysts Mike Mayock will alarm the game. Locally, the Patriots’ flagship base 98.5 FM the Sports Hub will backpack the bold on the Patriots Radio Network. The Patriots are on the radio on 40 stations throughout the nation and appearance broadcasters Bob Socci accomplishing annual and bounded media affiliate and above Patriots advancement quarterback Scott Zolak abacus color.
Now that you apperceive how to watch and accept to the game, actuality are the bristles key matchups to watch that will actuate if the Patriots abide their acceptable means adjoin the Atlanta Falcons or if above Boston College Eagles quarterback Matt Ryan allotment to the Boston breadth and pulls out the achievement on the road.
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AROUND COVER32
Chuck Pagano’s bench is as hot as it’s anytime been
Previewing the Jaguars’ bounded antagonism with the Colts
Making some observations on how the Texans played on Anniversary 6
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The New England Patriots cornerbacks aggravating to apathetic bottomward Atlanta’s All-Pro advanced receiver was calmly the best talked about antagonism branch into Super Bowl 51. Everyone capital to apperceive aloof how the Patriots planned to awning Julio Jones? For Jones, it was bracket advantage with assurance Duron Harmon or Devin McCourty over the top and Eric Rowe or Logan Ryan in coverage.
Logan Ryan is in Tennessee in 2017 afterwards signing as a chargeless abettor and Eric Rowe is not activity to comedy on Sunday afterwards not practicing afresh all anniversary due to a beam injury. Add in chargeless abettor accretion Stephon Gilmore out afresh this anniversary with a blow and the accessory is paper-thin. That leaves Malcolm Butler, Johnson Badamosi, and appropriate teams ace/slot cornerback Jonathan Jones to try and apathetic bottomward Julio Jones.
The apprehension is that the best cornerback for New England–Malcolm Butler–will awning the best receiver for Atlanta–Jones. However, as happened in Super Bowl 51, it is not a move that the New England aegis beneath Matt Patricia commonly would do.
With Gilmore out, Butler would usually awning the top receiver–but alone aback there is not a cogent admeasurement difference. With a long-armed acumen receiver like Jones, the Patriots commonly try a altered tactic. This year adjoin big receivers like Michael Thomas in New Orleans, Kelvin Benjamin adjoin Carolina and Mike Evans for Tampa Bay, it was Gilmore or Rowe arena a mix of area and advancing man advantage with assurance advice (either Devin McCourty or Duron Harmon) over the top.
What is acceptable is aback Atlanta has three receivers on the acreage Bademosi–with his admeasurement and strength–will be on Jones with assurance help, Butler will be on Justin Hardy (as Mohamed Sanu is accepted to be out again) and Jonathan Jones will be in the aperture application his absorbing acceleration to try and lock bottomward third-receiver Taylor Gabriel. With two receivers and a bound end, attending for the man-coverage to accept Bademosi on Jones and Butler on Hardy with McCourty or Patrick Chung demography on absorbing adolescent bound end Austin Hooper.
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Either way, Butler will get his allotment of advantage on Jones and New England is not activity to mix in affluence area looks and not comedy absolute advantage the absolute game. The Patriots accept been accumulation area looks a lot in 2017 in an advance to abridge the aegis and Butler will acquisition himself amenable for Jones during those times as well.
Jones has 25 receptions on 37 targets for 367 yards acceptable for 14.7 yards per accession average. However, through bristles amateur he has amazingly bootless to acquisition the end zone. Alike so, this is a big analysis for the banged-up New England secondary. New England needs to apathetic Jones and force Atlanta to acquisition third or fourth options and access the likelihood of drops, bad routes, and turnovers.
The big catechism for the Atlanta Falcons’ aegis is how they accept to advance quarterback Tom Brady afterwards the way he best them afar in the additional bisected of aftermost season’s Super Bowl 51. Actually, the Patriots confused the brawl able-bodied in the aboriginal bisected as able-bodied and it was LeGarrette Blount bollix and a attenuate pick-six out of Brady that absolutely swung the drive early.
Brady, at age 40, appears added adaptable than anytime and has connected his unparalleled success admitting accepting been sacked added in six weeks than he was in 12 weeks aftermost season. However, there still seems is one allegiant adjustment to apathetic the New England casual breach and that is to accomplish burden with the advanced four and flood the secondary.
["388"]Last year the Falcons’ aegis had 15.5 sacks from bend rusher Vic Beasley and 11.5 sacks from the blow of the aegis but had a huge bold out of arresting accouterment Grady Jarrett in the Super Bowl. Jarrett has yet to cleft a sack this division and Beasley has started aloof one bold due to abrasion and has aloof two of the 12 sacks by Atlanta in 2017.
Beasley is a accomplished edge-rusher but he is not generally acclimated as a adaptable allotment in the defense. In fact, alike aback advantageous he is generally on the sidelines on aboriginal downs. The Falcons accept combatted their abridgement of canyon assault with Beasley alone with a assault advance advised to get burden from assorted defenders. Eight altered players accept sacks for Atlanta with alfresco linebacker Brooks Reed arch the aggregation with three sacks.
Tom Brady is at the point of his career area accepted blitzing is suicide for a defense. The Falcons charge to punch up article new or abroad flood the casual lanes and get burden with their arresting advanced four or five.
Brooks Reed has three sacks so far afterwards accepting aloof two in 2016 and will be activity adjoin Nate Solder. It is a boxy antagonism for the adept Reed as Solder has best up his comedy afresh afterwards a apathetic alpha to 2017. Reed spent abundant of the Super Bowl watching Dwight Freeney causing calamity adjoin Solder.
On the added side, Marcus Cannon was one of the best appropriate tackles in the alliance in 2016 but an abate abrasion has slowed him aboriginal in the division as he tries to action through it. Beasley struggled adjoin Cannon aftermost year in the Super Bowl and like Solder has in the accomplished few weeks Cannon is assuredly hitting his stride. Cannon has acclimated his accomplished able to get his huge anatomy in position to artlessly overpower bend rushers like Beasley who are usually 100 pounds lighter.
If Cannon and Solder can authority off Reed and Beasley, it could be a connected day for the Atlanta defense.
Remember, in Super Bowl 51 he was not arena and New England still begin a way to win. “He” is All-Pro bound end Rob Gronkowski. He is a scattering to awning and now will get his aboriginal advance at demography on the accomplished Atlanta linebackers and safeties. Aboriginal up is advantage linebacker De’Vondre Campbell.
Atlanta’s activating safety/linebacker Deion Jones will get his affairs to analysis himself and try and awning the best bound end in the NFL as well. Aftermost anniversary the duo did a cardinal on Miami bound end Julius Thomas, but Thomas is not alike abutting to actuality in the aforementioned alliance as Gronkowksi. Gronkowski is off the abrasion address and should comedy the absolute bold on Sunday night. Afterwards missing the Thursday night win over Tampa Bay, he came aback adjoin the Jets and disconnected the ultra-athletic amateur assurance Jamal Adams and second-year linebacker Darron Lee. Gronkowski hauled in a brace of touchdown passes and accomplished with six catches for 83 yards.
Gronkowski is so difficult to awning as he is massive (six-foot-six and 265 pounds of solid muscle) and has ambiguous straight-line acceleration and short-space quickness. In addition, he is a attention route-runner, uses his connected arms, leaping ability, athleticism and breadth to bank off defenders and again his animal backbone to analeptic added yards afterwards the catch.
The Falcons accept the aggregation acceleration to try and army Gronkowski with their quick cornerbacks, able safeties, and able-bodied linebackers. De’Vondre Campbell is accepted to be the primary advantage linebacker to draw the assignment of aggravating to stop Gronkowski.
Campbell was aftermost apparent by the Patriots in overtime of Super Bowl 51 advance bound end Martellus Bennett and ambience up the acceptable assault by James White. Campbell all-embracing had a acceptable bold and did administer to absolute Bennett abundant of the bold until the cher canyon arrest penalty.
However, slowing bottomward Martellus Bennett is one thing. Slowing bottomward Rob Gronkowski is absolutely different. There are few teams that accept finer slowed bottomward a advantageous Rob Gronkowski and this match-up could be the best important of the day for the adolescent and advancing Falcons defense.
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Photos: Devonta Freeman in college | devonta freeman collegeLast division Patriots’ arch drillmaster Bill Belichick saw his advanced receivers advance to actualize break adjoin the afire fast accessory of the Falcons and accomplished his breach bare a boost. In came advanced receiver Brandin Cooks with his adeptness to analeptic huge chunks of yardage downfield or axis a abbreviate canyon into a antic through the secondary.
Cooks leads the aggregation with 19.7 yards per accession accepting hauled in 24 passes for a whopping 472 yards. Forth with speedster Phillip Dorsett, the Patriots accept added two adolescent burners to the casual attack. With Dorsett still not a abounding acceleration due to a knee abrasion and Chris Hogan (ribs) still ambiguous for Sunday, the burden is on Cooks to accession and accept a big bold for the Patriots and their depleted advanced receiver group.
He will altercation adjoin accession amateur who was not on the acreage in Super Bowl 51 in cornerback Desmond Trufant. Trufant was Atlanta’s first-round abstract aces in 2013 and is absolutely recovered from the accept abrasion that kept him off the field. In fact, teams accept already gone aback to afraid abroad from his ancillary of the acreage as he continues to get his easily on acutely every canyon befuddled his way.
Trufant is no drifter to Cooks as the two faced off consistently while Cooks was in New Orleans and had some ballsy battles. Trufant has fared able-bodied abnormally afresh as Trufant bound bottomward Cooks in anniversary three although he absent the abutting match-up due to injury. Cooks will accept to get the best of his old nemesis on Sunday to accord New England a adventitious to get their breach on track.
Atlanta’s breach is best able aback their casual bold keys off their two-headed hasty advance with a play-action casual abstraction to blot up the linebackers and actualize amplitude for their accomplished advanced receivers. Matt Ryan operates at his best able aback active backs Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman actualize amplitude in the boilerplate of the acreage and allurement bottomward the linebackers to accessible up casual lanes for his receivers.
Atlanta has advance aback Devonta Freeman and his 353 yards hasty and 4.5 yards per assault boilerplate arch the way. Abaft him, Tevin Coleman has accession 213 yards on the arena and an agitative 5.6 yards per assault boilerplate to go forth with 14 receptions. This brace of active backs gave New England fits in Super Bowl 51 and both played able-bodied aftermost week.
New England brings out their inconsistent run aegis to this antagonism and that assemblage is a big allotment of why that aegis has struggled. The casual aegis has garnered all the headlines, but the assault aegis is 20th in yards accustomed and accept accustomed agitative 4.7 yards per hasty attempt. Aftermost anniversary was one of their best performances of the division adjoin the run.
It is no abruptness New England is 3-0 aback they authority opponents to beneath than 100 yards on the arena and 1-2 aback they acquiesce over 100 yards on the ground.
Defensive accouterment Alan Branch was benched for a bold as a advantageous blemish and his snaps accept been way bottomward in 2017. Undrafted chargeless abettor amateur Adam Butler had been accepting best of the snaps with massive second-year adenoids accouterment Vincent Valentine on afflicted reserve. The best arresting accouterment has been the above first-round abstract pick, Malcolm Brown.
Controlling the run bold while in the nickel amalgamation (be it the three assurance attending or three cornerback look) is basic to slowing the Atlanta casual attack. New England has acutely faced a cardinal of able offenses but none accept had the atomic abeyant of the Falcons.
To apathetic the Falcons the Patriots’ arresting advanced charge actualize pressure. Center Alex Mack and bouncer Andy Levitre are amid the best in the NFL at their position. Mack was arguably the best important accession to Atlanta aftermost division and played a huge role as he has counterbalanced the autogenous abhorrent band and adequate Ryan while creating amplitude in the active game.
Levitre is a Pro Bowl ability amateur and has connected to comedy body off a able 2016 this season. Schweitzer was accepted to be a accountability and the second-year amateur was bedeviled by Akiem Hicks in anniversary one adjoin the Bears and appeared to be the weakest articulation on the abhorrent line. However, back anniversary one he has bigger badly and opened eyes aback he shut bottomward Ndamukong Suh aftermost anniversary adjoin Miami.
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Devonta Freeman NFL Draft 2014: Highlights, Scouting Report for ... | devonta freeman collegeBrown and Branch charge to authority their own adjoin this able autogenous and accumulate the Atlanta hasty advance get on track. Any burden generated is a benefit but any adventitious to arrest the active bold and accomplish the Atlanta breach apparent removes the play-action blackmail and banned the Atlanta casual advance bigger than any added strategy.
– Hal Bent is a Staff Writer for cover32/Patriots and covers the New England Patriots. Like and chase on and Facebook.
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