The Houston Texans and the New England Patriots face off for the sixth time since 2015. To help preview the matchup, Lance Reynolds from the Patriots Wire was kind enough to answer a few questions.
texans wire: the last time the patriots were 10-1 was 2004. is this team as dominant as their other eight super bowl berth squads?
Lance Reynolds: Standing at 10-1 with the No. 1 seed in the AFC, New England is in firm control of making yet another deep playoff run come late January. With such a cushion on the rest of the AFC East and only really having to worry about Baltimore, things would still look promising for the Patriots even if they were to drop a game before the end of the regular season.
With that said, though, I do not think this team is as dominant as their other eight Super Bowl berth squads. Tom Brady is visibly frustrated with the pace of the current offense, having to rely on unfamiliar targets in rookie receivers Jakobi Meyers and N’Keal Harry outside of the steady production of Julian Edelman. The offensive line has had its problems but with Isaiah Wynn back from injured reserve, things will hopefully improve along that front. We also can’t forget about the problems at kicker throughout the season since Stephen Gostkowski was put on injured reserve in late September.
If New England ends up hoisting its seventh Lombardi Trophy in early February, it will be because of its defense. The Patriots, led by its “Boogeymen” linebacker core, have allowed more than 14 points just once. It has been a rare display of historic dominance that will be the key come playoff time.
tw: how dominant is cb stephon gilmore? he seemed to lock down the cowboys’ amari cooper.
LR: The weather at Gillette Stadium last Sunday was putrid. Cold temperatures, gusty winds, and strong rain certainly didn’t help either the New England or Dallas passing offense. Amari Cooper, the No. 1 target for Dak Prescott, was withheld from a catch.
Was that because of the rain? Or, was it more so due to Cooper being covered by Stephon Gilmore?
Both contributed to the lackluster showing from the Cowboys stud receiver, but my guess is leaning more towards the latter. Gilmore has been without a doubt the best cornerback in the entire NFL this season. All the talk was on Jalen Ramsey heading into the season. But Gilmore has proven how he is the best corner.
Currently, Gilmore is first among cornerbacks in passer rating allowed at 32.7 while being third in both catch rate allowed (43.1 percent) and coverage rating (+65.6). The stud cornerback has shined against some of the most elite wide receivers in the game, allowing 52 yards to Cleveland’s Odell Beckham Jr to go along with his shutout of Cooper.
does the fact bill belichick’s assistants fail outside of new england detract from his greatness? bill walsh, paul brown, tom landry, etc. all had coaching trees.
The fact that Bill Belichick’s former assistants have had little success as head coaches does not take any greatness away from one of the greatest coaches of all-time.
Being a head coach is obviously a lot different than being an offensive/defensive coordinator or a positional assistant. I think when you added up the likes of defensive-minded Matt Patricia and Brian Flores with an offensive mastermind in Josh McDaniels under Belichick, that is when everything clicked not just on-the-field performance wise but the chemistry was also really strong.
Flores and Patricia both went into complete dumpster fires in Miami and in Detroit, so it really is hard to tell whether they are the sole proprietors of both those messes. It also is a little too early to tell.
Editor’s note: The most successful Bill Belichick assistant is Texans coach Bill O’Brien. No other Belichick assistants (Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini, Josh McDaniels, Nick Saban, Al Groh, Brian Flores, and Matt Patricia) have won a playoff game.
TW: What has Josh McDaniels done really well to still utilize the vast playing experience of Brady without exposing him to a young man’s game?
LR: McDaniels has done a great job of adjusting New England’s offensive approach around Brady without exposing him to a young man’s game.
McDaniels knows Brady wouldn’t have lasted as long as he has if he was throwing deep passes on most of his attempts. McDaniels also knows that Brady doesn’t have the leg speed for the offense to look similar to the new influx of the best offensive teams in Baltimore and Kansas City.
Brady even admitted a couple weeks ago that he is more of a game manager than an offensive gunslinger. With Sony Michel, James White, and Rex Burkhead at running back, the Patriots don’t need to rely on Brady as much as they used to. Throw in slot receivers in Julian Edelman and Mohamed Sanu and Brady doesn’t need to throw all too far. That’s what the recipe for success has been so far this season for the McDaniels/Brady-led offense.
TW: If you put the Patriots defense on any 2-9 or worse team in the NFL, which of those teams would immediately have a winning record?
Wow. That is certainly a tough one. If I had to put this New England defense on any of the bottom-of-barrel teams in the NFL, I would put it on the New York Giants.
Rookie Daniel Jones has had an up-and-down first season as the new quarterback in New York, but he has shown glimpses of hope and talent for a positive future. Saquon Barkley is also an elite running back. Golden Tate is not all that bad of a receiver. Evan Engram is a star tight end.
The Giants have the pieces on offense that could have a winning record if they had New England’s defense.
TW: What do Patriots fans have to complain about?
Patriots fans have nothing to complain about. The team is 10-1 even while it has had a good amount of injury woes. Brady said this week that New England is just getting started. Patriots fans should be pumped.
tw: what is your prediction? do you have any bold predictions?
I think this game will be close and the Patriots will have some first-half trouble with Deshaun Watson. But with just how successful New England is at making halftime adjustments, I see New England overcoming those troubles in the second half to win the game. Patriots 27, Texans 21