Patriots - Texans Redux A 2010 Comparison?.....Please

Patriots - Texans Redux A 2010 Comparison?.....Please
By: Steve Balestrieri

That is a way too simplistic and lazy approach for this game as none of the circumstances surrounding that game bear any resemblance to this week's matchup....

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I agree the comparisons to the 2010 Jets playoff game are a stretch. I actually see more of a comparison to last year's Broncos' playoff game. You have a team that the Pats match up well against with inflexibility to adjust their game plans.

Rob0729 said:

I agree the comparisons to the 2010 Jets playoff game are a stretch. I actually see more of a comparison to last year's Broncos' playoff game. You have a team that the Pats match up well against with inflexibility to adjust their game plans.

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I agree, but we shouldn't take the Texans lightly (as I know the Pats won't). I can't believe they'll play as bad as they did last time around. I wonder how much the weather will affect them. They were saying on the telecast that it was 48 degrees and raining in Houston for the playoff game and they had the roof closed so that it would be in the 70's inside. They may be in for a rude awakening. Containing Arian Foster and Andre Johnson is the key. Getting up early by 21 points wouldn't hurt either!

I doubt there are too many comparisons -- each situation is different.

But the Pats allegedly damaged the Jets ... and then lost in the playoffs.

The Celtics had the greatest 4th quarter comeback in NBA history against the Nets to go up 2-1. The Nets were so damaged they ... won 3 straight and won the series 4-2.

The 85 Celtics also damaged the Lakers in a crushing Game 1 -- and then lost the series.

The Pats are better, and should win, especially at home. But each game is unto itself.

As long as the OL contains Watt and Reed the offense, the offense should be fine. Get up a couple of scores early and take the run game out of Houston's arsenal.

The situations aren't entirely comparable but the lesson remains. You can only take so much from a regular season game, you can't get too high and you can't get too low. A few bounces here and there go the other way, a little bit of better execution here and there, and it's an entirely different game. All that said I still see us winning by double digits, they just haven't been all that impressive since perhaps October.

onegameatatime said:

I doubt there are too many comparisons -- each situation is different.

But the Pats allegedly damaged the Jets ... and then lost in the playoffs.

The Celtics had the greatest 4th quarter comeback in NBA history against the Nets to go up 2-1. The Nets were so damaged they ... won 3 straight and won the series 4-2.

The 85 Celtics also damaged the Lakers in a crushing Game 1 -- and then lost the series.

The Pats are better, and should win, especially at home. But each game is unto itself.

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Bingo. This is the exact truth right here. There are a dozen superstitions, trends, historical team results, etc that can indicate either success or defeat. All that matters is the game on Sunday, and you can be sure that the score will be 0-0 to start with, one team will win, and one team will lose.

I'd be surprised if the Pats lost simply because I think they are the better team, but the better team is not always better on any given day.

onegameatatime said:

I doubt there are too many comparisons -- each situation is different.

But the Pats allegedly damaged the Jets ... and then lost in the playoffs.

The Celtics had the greatest 4th quarter comeback in NBA history against the Nets to go up 2-1. The Nets were so damaged they ... won 3 straight and won the series 4-2.

The 85 Celtics also damaged the Lakers in a crushing Game 1 -- and then lost the series.

The Pats are better, and should win, especially at home. But each game is unto itself.

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I don't buy into the Pats damaged the Texans crap, but I think the Pats will win and win by a decent amount (although not as big as last time). My reasoning is because of match ups though.

If you can slow down Foster and don't bite on the play-action, you can make the Texans' offense ordinary. For all the warts the Pats' defense has, they are built to slow down Foster and are disciplined enough to not bite on play-actions (which the Bengals bit on all day yesterday and the Texans could have lost if Green held onto the TD pass). You can put points on the Texans' defense as seen in recent weeks (other than by a very inconsistent Bengals' offense yesterday).

The only important comparison is that the Patriots destroyed both teams in the regular season. In the Jets case, the Patriots lost to the Jets in a later playoff game. After scoring 45 against the Jets during a 45-3 win, they couldn't score 14 until 2 minutes were left in the playoff game. The point of the comparison is not that the Patriots teams are the same (something the linked article oddly felt it had to dispel) but that an earlier dominance may be misleading. Or that an earlier dominance may cause the previously winning team to take the opponent likely and come out flat and seemingly less prepared to play at the previous high level.

Stupid comparison. The 2010 team was a young and rebuilding team. Tom Brady's super-efficient play covered up many major weaknesses throughout the season.

The 2012 team now has a much tougher defense with a quality front seven and a running game that complements the passing game very well. They now have a guy in Brandon Lloyd, who is a much better outside receiver than Deion Branch was in 2010.

The big win over the Texans was more of the Patriots exploiting their major weaknesses than just "being the Patriots' night." The Texans struggled against explosive passing offenses all year, as their defense got destroyed by both Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady for 10 combined passing touchdowns.

Just like the Packers game, the Texans were put in early deficits and because of that, they had to get away from running the football, which is what their offense relies on. That makes their offense very predictable.

The Patriots just match up well against the Texans.

I'm sure the 23 players left from that fateful game in January 2011 on this team have learned their lesson and have passed it on to the newer Patriots.

Go Patriots!!!

The only comparison I want to make here is to compare the play of the Patriots against the Jags and the Pats against the Dolphins a week later.

If they come out and play like its preseason like they did against Jax then they will get blown out of the stadium by the Texans

If they play like they did the next week against the Dolphins,they will win next Sunday.

The Pats have always been a Jekyll and Hyde team,not knowing which team will show up.

PATRIOTSFANINPA said:

The only comparison I want to make here is to compare the play of the Patriots against the Jags and the Pats against the Dolphins a week later.

If they come out and play like its preseason like they did against Jax then they will get blown out of the stadium by the Texans

If they play like they did the next week against the Dolphins,they will win next Sunday.

The Pats have always been a Jekyll and Hyde team,not knowing which team will show up.

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The Pats went 9-1 down the stretch after losing to the Seahawks winning most games by double digits. They are the antithesis of a Jeckyl and Hyde team. They are one of the most consistent teams in the league. The Giants this year was a Jeckyl and Hyde team blowing out the Packers one week (38-10) and then getting blown out by the Falcons a few weeks later (34-0).

The Pats has the occasional tendency to lay an egg or play down to their opponent, but that isn't remotely close to what you are accusing them of doing.

Also, you are discounting why they played down to the Jags (they still won by a TD BTW). It was a weak opponent after back to back huge primetime games and the second one being a disheartening loss. Also, they were without a lot of starters on defense including both starting CBs which the Jags came in with a "we got nothing to lose" gameplan to exploit that.

Your example really has nothing to do with what will happen this weekend. They aren't going to come in on Sunday resting players who could play if neccessary for Denver and an attitude is that they should win pretty easy playing half way and if they lose it ain't a big deal. 10000000% a totally different situation.