Familiar faces.
After a three-game win streak, a road trip to arguably the worst team in the NFL could easily be a trap game for the New England Patriots.
I will be very surprised if that is the case in this one though.
Return of the Mike
New England Patriots head coach, Mike Vrabel, spent six season in Tennessee in the same role, going 54-45.
This will be Vrabel’s first return trip to Nashville, and I have no doubt the Patriots players will want to help re-enact some revenge for their leader.
I could certainly see the Patriots trying to put some big numbers on the Titans as a middle finger to Amy Adams-Strunk, the owner who fired Vrabel.
Maye Drake be stopped?
One of the really interesting things about Drake Maye’s rapid improvement is how he is doing it without much of a run game.
In last week’s game against the New Orleans Saints, the Patriots running backs were averaging 0.86 yards before contact. This means that there was little running room, so little in fact, that Rhamondre Stevenson gained more yards after contact (19) than total yards (18).
This could be explained by the fact that the Patriots are seeing more single-high safety looks and eight man boxes than any other team in the league. This means that teams are endeavouring to take away the run and force Maye to beat them downfield.
The concern for opposing defences is that Maye is doing just that. He has a near perfect passer rating (156.3) and has completed 12 out of 15 deep balls for 353 yards and four touchdowns on the season so far.
The fact that Maye is absolutely dealing right now, may begin to force defences to defend him and the Patriots passing game differently.
This should mean more two-high shells and less congested boxes for the Pats’ running backs to run into.
Clash with the Titans’ O
There is little doubt that Cam Ward is talented, but sadly, the situation around him is so poor, it is hard for him to stand out.
There are shades of Maye’s rookie year, when he faced a similar situation. A poor talent level and coaching so poor, the head coach was fired this week, mean that the Titans are a struggling team right now.
By every metric – EPA, DVOA, PFF grade, or points per game – the Titans offense is in the bottom two.
The Patriots run defense, who are currently stopping the run at a very impressive level, should be able to handle the Titans run game.
The pass defense, however, has been more of an issue. That being said, the Titans’ skill position players are not likely to test out Christian Gonzalez and co. given that Calvin Ridley is also questionable for this game with a dinged up hamstring.
Given, the emotional stakes in this game, I could Vrabel and the Patriots laying it on in this game.
I will take the Patriots to put up a big win, 52-13.
