If vernon is our key to the game, that concerns me lol.

 

I agree that Vernon may be the key to the game, but for a completely different reason. With the Pats double teaming Wake and Suh, it's time for others to start stepping up and adding to the pressure...and I think Vernon is due.

 

He can cut back on all of the penalties and selfishness for starters

 

Agreed. Supposedly, their OL is banged up at both tackle spots. Wake should feast. OV should as well, but then again, he's always a day late and a dollar short on being an impact player. Vollmer likely ends up flip flopping at tackle again.

If we can take away the quick throws, our Front 4 should feast.

 

All true, but if Brady gets that ball out consistently in 2 seconds or less, winning this game will come down more to our offense than defense.

What would really be amazing is if we succeed where the Jets front 4 failed. I will be ecstatic if our front 4 can do what those Giants' front 4 did against Brady in the Super Bowls and make him look average. Just over 25 hours till showtime!

 

That's the rub.

 

If he ends up taking a helmet to Brady's knee, while very unfortunate, I wouldn't exactly be saddened.

 

I disagree that it would be very unfortunate.

 

I hope it doesn't come down to Vernon having to make a play. I haven't been this adamant about NOT re-signing a guy since Jake Long.

 

Yeah our priorities in FA should re-signing Miller and Matthews (if Matthews continues playing well, I'd make the deal mid-season and not wait till the end of the season where we have to pay more.. Miller I'd wait it out). As you say, OV shouldn't hurt our cap unnecessarily.

The other priority in the offseason is drafting a replacement LT, DE or CB for one of Albert, Wake or Grimes (just one of them).. we're going to have serious cap problems if we have to keep all 3 and if I had to choose it's Albert we should try to replace in the draft.

 

Jets haven't been able to generate sacks or get consistent pressure from their front 4 all season. That's not the case with us currently and their OL is banged up facing a healthy Suh and Wake... we feast.

 

OV isn't key to anything.

 

For a guy in a contract year, and playing on a line that makes focusing on him the third or fourth concern for an offense, Vernon has been almost invisible. Almost, except when he is drawing penalty flags that is. His performance so far is costing him millions of dollars in free agency next year -and I hope that Miami has no interest in giving him a big contract. It should not be that hard to find another DE who will have success with Wake and Suh on the same DL. A cheap rookie would help with the cap space too.

 

I think hes been playing pretty well, he should have a big game with the way wake and suh are playing, if not now then when.

 

Depends, would not surprise me to see OV dropping back in coverage to try to take away that passing area.

Think OV has been stunningly..average

To inconsistent

 

Average would be an improvement. For a guy who offenses pay little attention to and constantly gets 1 on 1, I have a hard time not thinking Shelby would be better than Vernon. If he cant get to the QB then whats the point of having him out there? He isn't a good run defender and you never know when his peanut brain is going to cost you with a back breaking penalty. If he cant pressure the Patriots with 1 on 1 matchups vs backup tackles then he shouldn't be in there. At least with Shelby you don't have to worry about beating yourself.

 

Well, he's got a ton of athleticism and a good opportunity to redeem himself. I'll be rooting for him. He's gonna need it. Pats will definitely try to exploit him...

 

There was a video that Mayock did on NFLN showing Olivier's importance. On a couple of plays, he really set the edge well on a run, even taking on two. Played a chip well by a back. This was important on the run play shown given the push up the middle as well.

I honestly think this will be a LB's game. There will be soft spots in the defense, and MISSED TACKLES will not work against this team because the looks will probably keep guys from gang tackling given their field location. I've enjoyed some of the LB play, but did notice miss tackle after miss tackle from them the last couple of games. Luckily, there were other guys to back them up. Let's watch for better tackling from our LB corps. Like the energy, but they're going to have to wrap up slippery guys.

Also, saw a twist stunt from Wake and Suh where Suh lined up really wide. I wonder if there is something up to this. Will they try it on a certain look? How many times will they try it? And do those two have other things other than a simple twist? I think that's something to watch as well.

 

I'll take "stunningly average" and "inconsistent" over what we have been getting with our placekicking game!! I keep wondering at what point we consider investigating a change on that front.

 

Vernon is a stud, he's having a bad year so far, but just watch and see how much $$ he earns this off-season. He absolutely could be a major factor in this game, run and pass. In fact I'm expecting it.

 

OV needs to invest in some ear plugs so he doesn't hear brady's hard count. He will certainly use it many times.

 

He needs to not f things up. He's had a lot of costly penalties for us this season. Between personal fouls, late hits, roughing the passer and multiple offsides. Even if he doesn't make any big plays, it would be nice to not have him hurt us. If he happens to join the Suh Wake sack party, then that's just icing on the cake.

 

That's fine, but I hope it's not with us.