matchup vs. Texans TEAM TALKPress Conference transcript: Bill Belichick.From the NFL: The Good Morning Football crew previews Texans at Patriots. (2.45 min. video)LOCAL LINKSMike Reiss attempts to rank where this 2018 WR group fits with past years
Limited Rob Gronkowski Jersey , the top being 2007 with Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Jabar Gaffney, Donte Stallworth and Kelley Washington.Bill Burt finds there’s a lot hinging on the Pats without Julian Edelman, and with no Amendola to replace him.Doug Kyed describes Patriots newest practice squad receiver Jace Billingsley as a Julian Edelman disciple.Nick O’Malley digs up 20 times the media said Tom Brady and the Patriots dynasty were ‘done’ -- and were completely wrong.Tom E. Curran would’ve bet that 2016 2nd-rounder Cyrus Jones made it through Cutdown Day, but in New England it’s about performance, not potential.Andrew Lykins (BostonSportsExtra) Trey Flowers’ future as a Patriot: Can he be re-signed with his next contract?Zack Cox scouts the Texans and tells us five things we should know. 1. They have one of the NFL’s most exciting young players behind center.Steve Balestrieri (PatsFans) First impressions of the Texans: Front seven one of the best in the NFL.Karen Guregian says the Patriots can’t afford to let Tom Brady take another beating from the Texans, like last year (8 QB hits, 5 sacks).Adam London hears DL coach Brendan Daly talk about the difficulty of defending Deshaun Watson.Tom E. Curran highlights Bill Belichick on Deshaun Watson, ‘You can have him, but you don’t have him.’Mike Dussault (PatsPropaganda) What will 2018 Patriots unveil Sunday?CBS Boston notes Bill Belichick expects to see vintage J.J. Watt in Week 1.Karen Guregian Patriots Notebook: Jeremy Hill’s learning skills earned him a running back spot; Newest WRs trying to catch on; More.Amanda Sabga shares five thoughts on the roster as it rounds into shape.Mike Dussault (PatsPropaganda) Patriots set initial practice squad.Ryan Hannable passes along a report that the Patriots worked out two players yesterday, TE Stephen Anderson and OT Eric Smith.Thomas Murphy (DiehardBostonSportsFans) Monster predictions for the 2018 NFL season.Zack Cox reports Sony Michel and J.C. Jackson get new jersey numbers ahead of the season opener.Michael Hurley comments on a resurfaced Bizarro-World video that shows Michael Felger being downright giddy for the Patriots prior to the 2003 season.NATIONAL NEWSInteractive (ESPN) 2018 NFL Preview: Bold predictions. Breakout candidates. Over/under picks. Execs unfiltered. QB depth chart rankings.New England Patriots.Staff (SI) NFL Predictions 2018: Playoff picks
Tom Brady Jersey Salute to Service , Super Bowl LIII Champion, award winners, and more.Judy Battista (NFL.com) Fifty-three NFL things to watch on the road to Super Bowl LIII.Gregg Rosenthal (NFL.com) NFL playoff picture ... from the future! How it’ll look in Week 17.John Breech (CBS Sports) 2018 NFL season: Bold predictions, final record for all 32 teams and playoff picks.Sean Wagner-McGough (CBS Sports) NFL roster cuts: 32 things to know, from the Raiders’ wild day to the Steelers’ QB decision.Danny Kelly (The Ringer) The NFL’s most likely surprise contenders.Report (AP) NFL 2018: Questions abound, from anthems to rule changes.Kevin Clark, et al (The Ringer) How many good quarterbacks are there really? (9.19 min. video)Robert Mays (The Ringer) The defining traits of the coaching trees taking over the NFL.Jenny Vrentas (SI) Tom vs. Time: The epilogue that answers the questions Brady left hanging.Danny Kelly (The Ringer) The biggest winners of the NFL preseason.Robert Mays (The Ringer) NFL preseason power rankings, Part I: Rookie quarterbacks, bad defenses, and Gruden grinders.Zach Braziller (NY Post) Bill Belichick pounces on receiver Jets just cut.Manish Mehta (NY Daily News) Dear Jets fans, Sam Darnold is officially your starting QB, and you are allowed to get excited and enjoy this ride.Report (AP) Sitting stars in preseason raises age-old readiness question.Report (AP) ESPN’s new Monday night crew prepares for opener.Pete Prisco (CBS Sports) NFL Week 1 Picks: Patriots 31
Authentic Dwayne Allen Jersey , Texans 21. Last week, the New England Patriots defense faced one of the brightest young stars in the NFL in the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes. While their upcoming week seven opponent – the Chicago Bears – do not have a quarterback with quite the same tremendous credentials this season as the Chiefs’ MVP candidate, Mitchell Trubisky is still a passer capable of doing plenty of damage with his right arm and his legs.What stands out in particular when it comes to Trubisky is his ability to accurately challenge the deep parts of the field. “I think one thing he does really well, he throws a great deep ball,” Patriots safety Devin McCourty said earlier this week. “I think they design some good plays and I think he does a good job of seeing that and understanding where a safety is or where this guy is – ‘If I can just get him to look one way, I’ll open it wide up.’”“He does a really good job of finding receivers down the field,” added New England’s de-facto defensive coordinator Brian Flores. His unit has generally fared well when it comes to stopping the big play this season, but showed some obvious weaknesses against Mahomes and the Chiefs last week. “It will be a challenge for us – you know, a guy who can scramble like this and extend plays, and then at the same time, find receivers down the field and put the ball on them pretty accurately.”This ability allowed the Bears to regularly challenge teams deep through their first five games of the season. Overall, the team therefore registered 18 pass plays of more than 20 yards – six of which resulting in touchdown
Limited Malcolm Mitchell Jersey , while only one deep attempt was intercepted. Let’s take a look at two of those plays to find out what makes Chicago’s deep passing game so dangerous and productive.2-10-CHI 33 (10:31) (Shotgun) M.Trubisky pass deep right to A.Robinson II to ARZ 28 for 39 yards (T.Boston).Down 14-3 during their week three game against the Arizona Cardinals, the Bears were able to create some much-needed offensive momentum on a deep pass to wide receiver Allen Robinson II. The play starts with Chicago having an 11-personnel group on the field with a trips formation to the offensive left, one running back offset in the backfield, and Robinson (#12) as the single pass catcher on the weak side:NFL Game PassTrubisky’s initial target on the play appears to be tight end Trey Burton (#80), who runs an in-crossing pattern from the three-man bunch. However, the Cardinals flood the underneath zones well in their cover 3 scheme which forces the young passer to go through is reads and look for Robinson. The former second-round pick was chipped at the line of scrimmage but able to get open down the field on an out-and-go combination:NFL Game PassThe play in itself is not spectacularly designed or particularly badly defended by Arizona – even though the deep-field cornerback Jamar Taylor (#28) could have been less aggressive on the out-route – but it shows a lot of the traits that make Trubisky a dangerous deep passer. Facing a four-man rush that is picked up well by the line, the second-year man remains calm despite his initial reads not being open.Instead of panicking, Trubisky simply works to the other side of the formation – to Robinson – and re-sets his feet to bring himself in a position to deliver a pin-point throw. His mechanics stay sharp throughout the process, which allows him to put the pass right in the bucket for a 39-yard gain:NFL Game Pass2-7-CHI 28 (15:00) (Shotgun) M.Trubisky pass short middle to T.Cohen to MIA 22 for 50 yards (R.Jones).As Brian Flores mentioned during the aforementioned conference call, Trubisky also is a dangerous passer when moving off the spot. However, he was rarely moved noticeably off the spot on his 18 deep pass attempts this season which speaks for his patience in the pocket but also for the protection he enjoyed. A fourth quarter play from last week against the Miami Dolphins shows just how much damage Trubisky can do when given the time.Chicago approached the second down with its preferred offensive package – 11 personnel – aligned in a 1x3 formation:NFL Game PassMiami counters with a cover 1 look with deep safety Reshad Jones (#20) shaded slightly to the defensive right. At the snap, Trubisky is able to freeze the defensive back by initially looking towards wide receiver Anthony Miller (#17) on his crossing route from the right side slot. With Jones left in a vacuum
Devin McCourty Jersey , the Bears’ quarterback feels comfortable in the one-on-one matchup between running back Tarik Cohen (#29) and cornerback Torry McTyer (#24) down the offensive left sideline.NFL Game PassWhat helps Trubisky was the offensive line holding up well to give the passer enough time to make a play on the longer-developing concept. This, in turn, made it possible for the second-year man to step into the throw and deliver a high-arcing pass to his running back for a gain of 50 yards – another big play for the Bears offense and their young quarterback that was well executed by all players involved:NFL Game PassWhat makes the Bears’ deep passing game – as illustrated by those two plays – so dangerous is the team’s ability to keep its quarterback well protected, and Trubisky’s vision and sound technique on the throws. For New England, it will therefore be imperative to get pressure on the passer and to be physical with his targets at the point of attack to disrupt the timing of plays. Trubisky, when given the time and seeing an opening to exploit, is able to make all the throws.New England should also take a similar defensive approach as it did with the aforementioned Patrick Mahomes: trying to confuse the young quarterback before the snap in order to test his decision making and potentially force him into errant throws. Against Kansas City, this worked well – at least initially – as the Chiefs turned the football over twice in the first half. A similar result would go a long way to help the Patriots leave Chicago victoriously.
