But really, two more wins. That's all we need. Just let that sink in. The Patriots are on the verge of winning the Super Bowl for the first time in over a decade. And I think this team, this defense, gives New England the best shot they've had in some time.
While the Super Bowl is on nearly every Patriots' fan's mind, we have a tough matchup at home before we can even start thinking about the big game. We have to face the "Lucky" Colts who made Denver look nothing more than average; granted, the Broncos have been struggling since mid-November.
When the two teams met earlier this season at Lucas Oil, Jonas Gray debuted and was the MVP of the game. Brady had two ugly picks, but thankfully the Pats managed to overcome them. New England won 42-20, and Indianapolis fell to 0-3 vs the Pats in the Andrew Luck era.
What's different since the last time we met?
- Jonas Gray in Belichick's dog house. I love Bill, but I think he's made his point. After being late to practice the Friday following his breakout performance, Gray was benched for that weeks game, and he hasn't seen the field much, since. Gray has had just 20 carries for about 80 yards, since week 13, yet he still leads NE in yards rushing. In my opinion, LeGarette Blount hasn't exactly been the player we thought were bringing back. I'm still glad to have him back, but I think the best way to get the absolute most out of our ground game, is using a combination of Blount and Gray. Both are big, physical, hard runners, but they have slightly different skill sets and running styles. If I'm Belichick, McDaniels, and Brady, I'm using both of my skilled backs to keep the newly reenergized Colts defensive line on their toes. I think the AFCCG is when we see Gray come back into the game plan, and dominate...again!
- Potentially playing without Bryan Stork at center. Sigh. What is it with offensive lines in New England? We just can't seem to keep our unit healthy the past couple seasons. The best OLine combination we've seen all season long, has been one consisting of Connolly, Stork, and Wendell. Unfortunately, Brady & Co may be playing the AFC title game without Stork.
- Indy's defensive line - bringing the heat. Have you seen the Colts' defensive line over the past month? Yeah, it's no joke. If I'm being honest, I didn't know they had it in them! New England's offensive line needs to have a near-perfect game, Sunday.
- Indy's secondary. The Colts' secondary has miraculously gotten a major boost in recent weeks. One thing I'll point out though is in week 11, their biggest concern was slowing down Gronk. Now that McDaniels is starting to incorporate more weapons into the Patriots' offense, the Colts will have worry about effectively covering not just Gronk and Edelman, but LaFell, Wright, Hooman, and Amendola, as well. I hope we dominate the passing game.
- Andrew Luck's protection has gotten better and better as the season has progressed. Since he's not afraid to take off and run it himself, our defense will have to play a stellar game. I'm thinking a couple sacks for Collins, maybe one for Chan95, and maybe he and Nink team up for sack and forced fumble.
Revis is coming off the worst game of his entire NFL career. If that doesn't motivate him to play the best game of his NFL career to date, I don't know what will. I would hate to be the guy going up against Revis, come Sunday.
All in all, I don't see this game being as easy as many fans seem to think. We're facing a much different, much better Colts team than we did earlier in the season. Dominating offensively, defensively, and time of possession is crucial. The Patriots need to pick up where they left off in the second half of the game vs Baltimore. Arguably the most important thing for the Patriots on Sunday will be keeping their emotions in check and focusing on the game at hand.
PS. Brady totally owned the Colts on Facebook this week.
As always, GO PATS.
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