Each week in practice Vincent Valentine Color Rush Jersey , the New England Patriots defense faces one of the best offensive units in all of football. Tonight against the Kansas City Chiefs, the unit needs to take advantage of this experience to make sure not to be overwhelmed by what currently is the NFL’s second highest-scoring team: the Chiefs have scored more than 27 points in each of their five games and on average hang 35 of them on their opponents.Kansas City has been able to do that by using a highly efficient running game, a rushing attack that is able to control the tempo of the game, and play calling that has been able to play to the strengths of the unit’s personnel. Led by second-year quarterback and MVP candidate Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs have therefore been able to cruise to a 5-0 record despite a defense that has not always been up to the challenge.In this sense, Kansas City is similar to New England: the offense has enormous firepower but oftentimes needs to carry the defense at least this early during the season. Maybe today is the day that this changes for the Patriots, but in order for that to happen Brian Flores’ unit needs to be on top of its game and take especial care of the following three things.Be disciplined against RPO conceptsAs Patriots head coach Bill Belichick noted in his film breakdown of the upcoming matchup, Kansas City uses the run-pass option at a higher rate than other teams in the league. The concept, which allows the quarterback to either hand the football off or keep it to pass depending on the movements of the defense, allows the Chiefs to put their ultra-athletic players in a tremendous position to be successful.Running back Kareem Hunt, who torched New England for 246 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns the last time the two teams met, is as dangerous as any running back in the league in space – no matter if he is handed the football or serving as a target in the passing game. The same goes for wide receiver Tyreek Hill: the speedster plays a huge role in the Chiefs’ offense due to his versatility and athletic traits.Kansas City’s coaching staff has done a tremendous job this season to put them and thd aforementioned Mahomes in a position to be successful. Using the run-pass option as a weapon of choice is a big reason why as it takes advantage of all three players’ abilities: Hill and Hunt are nearly unstoppable in the open field, while Mahomes has shown a knack for making the right decisions when it comes to keeping the football or handing it off.New England’s defense needs to be on high alert when such looks are presented, with the linebackers in particular playing a key role: Dont’a Hightower and company need to stay disciplined and not tip their hand too soon in order to make life as difficult as possible for Mahomes.Keep Patrick Mahomes in the pocketSpeaking of Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs quarterback’s quality when it comes to running the option play is not the only thing that makes him a dangerous player. The former first-round draft pick also is one of the NFL’s most athletic passers and as such able to maneuver around pressure to create additional space and time to deliver passes – all while keeping his poise and his eyes down the field.Unlike other young passers, Mahomes does not have a tendency to try advancing the football himself. Instead, he oftentimes breaks the pocket to buy more time for his receiving options to get open. He and his teammates are typically successful in such situations, which speaks for both the quarterback’s targets and himself. This ability to make plays outside of the pocket is what makes the 23-year old as dangerous a player as he is.The plan for New England’s pass rush therefore has to be clear: stay disciplined. The unit looks improved in this area when compared to last year but still has its inconsistent moments of rushing around the passer to allow him to step up (one player in particular: Adrian Clayborn). Tonight, it is imperative that the Patriots don’t open up lanes for Mahomes to step into or break outside of the pocket. The edge rushers in particular are a key when it comes to this.Take away the big playTied for fourth in the NFL at 6.5 yards per play, the Chiefs offense is a big play waiting to happen – and a look at the personnel shows why: Tyreek Hill is an elite deep threat wideout Brandon Bolden Jersey , Travis Kelce one of the league’s best receiving tight ends, and Kareem Hunt one of its premier backfield pass catchers. While Hill averages 15.7 yards per reception, Kelce and Hunt gain 14.5 and 13.2, respectively.In short: Kansas City’s top three give Mahomes an impressive set of targets able to challenge all areas of a defense particularly in the passing game. New England has to be ready for this and try to set up its matchups accordingly – especially considering that Sammy Watkins and Chris Conley are no slouches either. It would therefore not be a surprise to see the team mix in some more cover 2 looks alongside its usual mix of cover 1 and cover 3.Using a mix of coverages – with Devin McCourty and Duron Harmon as the deep centerfielders – might help New England defend the deep portions of the field and also force Kansas City to take a patient approach to drive down the field. The Patriots are no strangers to playing this kind of football: the team is willing to give up yards but forces its opponent to string together successful plays to earn points.Oftentimes, this approach works well as plenty of NFL offenses don’t have the consistency to take advantage of this. Based on the quality of its players, Kansas City might – but the only way to find it out is to take away the deep passing game as well as possible. Welp...Game time at kickoff: 82 degrees. So we’re that much closer to pinpointing the exact temperature at which Tom Brady starts to melt.Not that Brady played poorly at all; in fact, quite the opposite. But that doesn’t change the fact that Tommy B is now 7-10 in Miami, 1-6 at Miami in December. The NFL has to be very well aware of this fact when putting together the schedule, and we’re all but guaranteed for New England at Miami to be a December staple until Brady retires.It’s annoying, too, because offensively, they had a very good day. Gronkowski had his best game of the season, Brady was spreading the ball around, the playaction was working. If not for two missed kicks and a freak play, I think we’d all be pleased with the offense overall. New England’s opening drive was more or less exactly what I was hoping they would do: running Michel up the gut, establishing the run, and picking on rookie CB Fitzpatrick. Mismi seemed hell-bent on stopping the run no matter what, and New England played to that by running out of a lot of bigger sets. Six point took up almost half the quarter.As for the defense...Always nice to finally get in the end zone on an opening drive only to surrender a TD to the opponent in which Miami only needed a single 2nd down to get into the end zone. Plays of four, 15, 13 Sony Michel Color Rush Jersey , 36, and seven yards lost the Patriots their lead before the offense even finished going over the in-game screenshots.There seems to be a direct correlation between giving up opening drive TDs and losses. The Patriots gave up an embarrassingly easy opening drive TD to the Dolphins. They did the same against the Titans and Jaguars.When the Patriots lost to Miami last year, I made a comment how when Jay Cutler runs a naked bootleg, smokes your entire defense, and picks up a huge first down with his legs, you just kinda realize it isn’t your night. The 2018 version of that is when Brandon Bolden takes a break from special teams to take a long run to the house, you should also realize that it isn’t your day.Seriously...what is it about that stadium? It’s like some weird vortex when nothing goes right. Poor execution. Horrible coaching decisions. Odd bounces. At Miami is to the Patriots what Hooters is to a group of high school freshmen; the second they walk in the door, they’re reduced to a gaggle of bumbling, incoherent buffoons. On the plus side, the Patriots 3rd down defense was excellent yesterday. On the negative side, the Dolphins needed so few 3rd downs to score that I’m not sure how much weight that stat carries. Perhaps what’s moat frustrating is that, given New England’s last possession of the second quarter and first possession of the third, the Patriots could have put this game away. Instead they had two drives that ended in no points. Missing a wide open Chris Hogan on 2nd down and taking a sack on third to leave points on the board is the worst back-to-back Tom Brady play that I maybe have ever seen. But again, let’s keep some perspective here. If the Patriots had won that game, they’d be...right in line for the 2 seed. But since they lost, they’re...right in line for the 2 seed. And as I mentioned, the offense looked good. It’s just one of those things. The Patriots haven’t swept the AFC East since 2012, and have only done it twice in the Belichick era. It’s far from the end of the world.Ever notice that Cordarrelle Patterson almost always stumbles over his own feet every time he catches a pass?Or maybe it’s just his patented juke. Make ‘em think you’re about to trip all over yourself, then make a cut and go.New England’s first punt of the day was preceded by a 2nd down reception to a wide open Gronk in which he very, very easily should have been able to shed the tackle and pick up the 1st https://www.patriotsfanstore.com/Duke-Dawson-Jersey , but he couldn’t do it. That may have been the most telling Gronk play of the entire season.But again, Gronk was solid yesterday, and remains a top 5 tight end in the league. He’s just not unstoppable anymore, and that’s fine. And a safety/defensive back, Gronk is most certainly not. WHY THE HELL WAS HE OUT THERE ON A NON-HAIL MARY PLAY!!!In 2009, the Patriots ran a Sammy Morris dive on 3rd and short that never, ever worked. Their 2018 version of the Sammy Morris 2009 3rd down fullback dive is the stretch run for a loss.If I ever find myself in the Patriots locker room asking questions at a press conference, I think the question I’d ask is, “coach, you seem to run a lot of stretch runs for a negative yards on crucial third and short situations. Would it be fair to say that you call the plays that you think give you the best chance to win the game?” The answer I’d get: yes. Just one word. I’d likely then promptly be thrown out.Ironically, the FB dive works incredibly well this year, as James Develin has suddenly become a touchdown machine.If a butt can cause a fumble, a but should be able to recover one. Just saying.Danny Shelton has been a healthy scratch the past two weeks. For the past two weeks, the Patriots have gotten gashed up the middle by running backs. Coincidence?This game should have been over multiple times. There were just too many self-inflicted wounds that Miami took advantage of, so credit to the Dophins. It also has to be a great feeling for Dolphins fans, knowing that no matter how crappy your season is going, no matter how irrelevant to the big picture you are, and no matter what your record is, the Patriots are almost guaranteed to come to Miami in December, drop a game Trent Brown Color Rush Jersey , hurt their playoff seeding, and force Pats fans to sweat for another few weeks. It’s games like that that you really enjoy as a fan, so I hope Fins fans are milking the hell out of it this morning.Also...what a WILD week in the NFL. The Rams were held to six points. The Steelers had the game won, then gave up the lead, then pulled some classic Steelers stuff to get into FG range only to blow it. The Chiefs went to OT against the Ravens. Cowboys/Eagles ended on some madness. Sometimes you’re on the right end of these weeks, and sometimes you aren’t. What can you do.I’m already over this game, because it ultimately had very little impact on the overall playoff picture, but if you are still feeling down this morning, consider this: there were a large number of Jets and Bills fans at Paddy’s of Park Slope yesterday. The Jets/Bills game was playing on the main TV with the sound on, and there was a lot of passion in the room. Except, the Jets fans were rooting for the Bills to win, and the Bills fans were rooting for the Jets to win, as both teams are rooting for draft pick at this point. So think how much worse we could have it.What happens next week against the Steelers is going to define the 2018 season for the Patriots. How they bounce back from that kind of loss, on the road against a desperate team, will say everything we need to know about this team’s mental toughness. Everyone in the NFL seems pretty vulnerable right now, so it should be a pretty crazy final few weeks.
