Anyone else Have Gladys Knight and the Pips singing in their head ? well i’m sure you do now. Thank me later. The Patriots are on that midnight train to Georgia, headed to Atlanta headed back on the road.to sit across from Falcons owner Arthur Blank and remind him of the last time these teams met: The Patriots took his lunch money, his bike and his girlfriend. And that wasn’t even Super bowl LI. In fact the Pats have beaten the Falcons the last six times these two teams have met. Here are my Monster Keys to making it Seven in a row.
Dance with the one who brung you
The past three weeks have been a retro look at the NFL of my youth. It’s almost as if the ghost of Sam Cunningham #RIP has taken over the running backs room and is possessing this Patriots backfield. The Birds rushing D is anything but dirty, giving up 4.2 yards per carry. Get the backs going early and run to daylight.
Find the Right Blades
Jonnu Smith is a Swiss Army knife that Josh McDaniels has yet to fully utilize. Pull out the corkscrew, use the toothpick, break out the scissors. I don’t care what you do. But get this man involved. joker – Joker – JOKER
Bourne To Be a Hunter
After getting off to slow starts with their new team Hunter Henry and Kendrick Bourne have taken over as Mac Jones most trusted weapons. Henry has 4 TD in the last four games and Bourne has been eating YAC every Sunday for dinner. Set up play action and look to this duo to move the chains and grab the Sixes. When Mac is working out of the gun or in drop back situations use Agholor and Myers to drag A.J Terrell down the field and force the Falcons to use their safeties as help over the top. Do Not Throw at Terrell !
The Tight end Conundrum
Bracket Pitts , yep two words
The Weeklies
Limit the Laundry – No Freebies this week people, the Falcons have only been flagged 51 times this season for 439 yards, Do your part, don’t have the zebras reaching.
Own Third Down – The Falcons have been miserable converting on third down. Over their last three games, they made only 26.4 % of their conversions. The Pats are top five in the league and continue trending up over the last three games. Climbing to 53%. No excuses here, turn this key.
Win The Turnover Battle – Matty Ice tossed three interceptions last week vs the Cowboys, the Falcons also coughed the ball up once. Turnovers get into players heads and come in bunches. Go pick some flowers and hold onto that ball
Don’t Settle – Sixes not threes.
Stay smart Stay physical
Let’s not mince words. The reason the Patriots defense has been so lights out over the past four games is the speed and physicality of the front seven. And the smart play of the DB’s. be it in zone or man the back end has been there to take the opportunities away and the large individuals up front have been in the opponent’s face on almost every play. Edges have been set, gaps have been filled and the Patriots have given up just 23 points over their past eight quarters of football. Mix it up but stay the course.
Thats it My Rabid readers, Thanks for checking in. as always you can Follow/give me grief on Twitter @Tmurph207
#NFL #NewEnglandPatriots #BillBelichick #MacJones #AtlantaFalcons