Tag Archives: Tyrod Taylor

Patriots vs Bills Preview

THE 9-0 NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS WILL BE HOSTING THE 5-4 BUFFALO BILLS MONDAY NIGHT AT GILLETTE STADIUM FOR THE SECOND MATCHUP OF THE YEAR BETWEEN THE TWO TEAMS.

IN WEEK 2 THE PATRIOTS DEFEATED THE BILLS 40-32 IN A GAME THAT DIDN’T SEEM AS CLOSE AS IT LOOKED ON THE SCOREBOARD. THE PATRIOTS LED AND CONTROLLED THE TEMPO FOR PRETTY MUCH THE ENTIRE GAME. TOM BRADY DID TOM BRADY THINGS THROWING FOR 466 YARDS AND 3 TOUCHDOWNS AGAINST A GOOD REX RYAN COACHED DEFENSE THAT CAME OFF A BIG WIN AGAINST INDIANAPOLIS THE WEEK BEFORE. TIGHT END ROB GRONKOWSKI ALSO HAD A BIG GAME IN HIS HOME COMING GAME AGAINST THE BUFFALO BILLS HAULING IN 7 RECEPTIONS FOR 113 YARDS AND A TOUCHDOWN. FOR THE BILLS THEIR QUARTERBACK TYROD TAYLOR, WHO WAS ONLY MAKING HIS SECOND CAREER START, PLAYED VERY WELL BOTH PASSING AND RUNNING THE BALL AGAINST THE NEW ENGLAND DEFENSE WHICH HELPED BRING HIS TEAM BACK LATE IN THE FOURTH.

NOW IN WEEK 11 SOME THINGS HAVE CHANGED SINCE WEEK 2, NO DION LEWIS OR JULIAN EDELMAN FOR THE PATRIOTS AMONGST MANY OTHER INJURIES FOR THE TEAM INCLUDING LINEBACKER JAMIE COLLINS WHO LOOKS LIKE HE IS GOING TO MISS HIS THIRD STRAIGHT GAME WITH AN ILLNESS. FOR THE BILLS, THERE NOT GETTING THE SAME CONSISTENT PLAY OUT OF THEIR QUARTERBACK TYROD TAYLOR AS THEY ONCE DID, HAVE HAD DEFENSIVE STRUGGLES AT POINTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, AND HAVE ALSO DEALT WITH INJURIES TO PLAYERS INCLUDING PERCY HARVIN AND LESEAN MCCOY WHO HAS MISSED TIME THIS YEAR.

A KEY FOR NEW ENGLAND THIS GAME WILL BE TO GET SOME GUYS BACK FROM INJURY, ESPECIALLY ON THE OFFENSIVE LINE. THE OFFENSIVE LINE HAS PLAYED PRETTY WELL SO FAR EVEN WITH ALL THE INJURIES BUT AFTER LOSING ANOTHER KEY PIECE TO THE OFFENSE IN JULIAN EDELMAN, HAVING A HEALTHY OFFENSIVE LINE AND GIVING TOM BRADY MORE TIME TO HOLD ONTO THE BALL AND MAKE A DECISION WILL BE CRUCIAL.  ANOTHER KEY TO THE GAME THIS WEEK FOR THE PATRIOTS WILL BE TO COVER BILLS TIGHT END CHARLES CLAY. THE PATS HAVE BEEN HORRIBLE THIS YEAR IN COVERING OPPOSING TIGHT ENDS, MOST RECENTLY AGAINST THE GIANTS WILL TYE, WHO I NEVER EVEN HEARD OF BEFORE LAST WEEKS’ GAME. CLAY HAS GOOD SIZE AND GOOD SPEED AND GOOD SIZE AND CAN MAKE DEFENSES PAY IF YOU LEAVE HIM OPEN IN THE FIELD. ANOTHER KEY TO THE PATRIOTS DEFENSE WILL BE TO NOT ALLOW TYROD TAYLOR TO ESCAPE THE POCKET, TAYLOR IS MORE DANGEROUS RUNNING THE BALL THAN HE IS THROWING THE BALL AND IS DANGEROUS WHEN THROWING ON THE RUN, BUT DOESN’T HAVE GREAT POCKET PRESENCE. IF YOU CAN KEEP HIM IN THE POCKET AND CAN GET THE LEAGUES LEADER IN SACKS IN CHANDLER JONES GET AFTER HIM IT WILL CERTAINLY RATTLE TAYLOR AND FORCE HIM TO MAKE MISTAKES.

FOR BUFFALO IT WILL BE TO GET TAYLOR OPEN ROOM TO MOVE, WHETHER IT BE IN FRONT OF OR BEHIND THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE, HE CAN BE SCARY WHEN HE WAS ROOM TO MOVE WITH HIS ARM STRENGTH AND SPEED. ANOTHER WILL BE FOR THE BILLS DEFENSE TO STOP THE PATRIOTS MACHINE OF AN OFFENSE. EVEN WITH ALL THE INJURIES IT WILL BE A LOT HARDER SAID THEN DONE, AFTER EDELMAN LEFT LAST WEEK’S GAME DANNY AMENDOLA STEPPED UP IN HIS ROLE AND CAUGHT 10 BALLS FOR 79 YARDS. THEN OF COURSE THERE IS THE BEST TIGHT END IN THE LEAGUE ROB GRONKOWSKI, BILLS CORNER STEPHON GILMORE CAME OUT THIS WEEK AND SAID THE TEAM HAD A GAME-PLAN TO TAKE GRONK OUT OF THE GAME. THEY SAID THE SAME THING LAST TIME, THE BILLS HAVE TWO YOUNG VERY GOOD CORNERS IN STEPHON GILMORE AND ROOKIE RONALD DARBY BUT LET’S FACE IT, YOU CAN NOT STOP ROB GRONKOWSKI HE IS TOO GOOD OF A PLAYER TO BE STOPPED. AND THEN OF COURSE THERE’S TOM BRADY WHO’S JUST PLAYING OUT OF HIS MIND AND PLAYING THE BEST FOOTBALL OF HIS LIFE AT 38 YEARS OLD.

THE BILLS COULD MAKE THIS A GAME, BUT JUST LIKE LAST TIME THE SCOREBOARD WONT TELL THE WHOLE TRUTH. THE PATRIOTS WILL WIN THIS GAME IN GILLETTE WITH EASE FOR THE MOST PART OF THE GAME AND MOVE ON TO 10-0.

 

New England vs Buffalo: Tyrod Taylor could be a headache in the making

The Patriots will be facing off against the Buffalo Bills this week after both teams won in their week one matchups. A key factor in the Bills win against the Colts was due to the strong play of quarterback Tyrod Taylor.

profootballtalk.nbcsports.com
profootballtalk.nbcsports.com

In the past the Patriots have tended to struggle defensively against mobile, speedy quarterbacks and Taylor is just that. Against the Colts Taylor was 14 of 19 passing with 195 yards and a touchdown, adding 41 yards on the ground. Taylor’s mobility helped him move around the pocket and extend plays. His speed and mobility also opened things up for the offense because of his ability to run the option and draw defenders off his offensive weapons.

New Buffalo Bills coach Rex Ryan knows from his tenure with the Jets that the Patriots have struggled against mobile quarterbacks and has had some success because of it. In the Patriots-Jets first meeting last season, Jets quarterback Geno Smith ran for 37 yards on seven carries and Smiths running ability almost lead to a New York Jets come from behind victory, before Chris Jones blocked a field goal to end the game. In 2013 against the Patriots Smith ran for a combined 50 yards on nine carries, and added a touchdown on the ground. The team also struggled in the Super Bowl with Russell Wilson rushing for 39 yards on three attempts. Rex Ryan has had some success against the Patriots’ defense in the past and knows the team’s weakness and where to attack, especially with the speed and skill set that Tyrod Taylor possesses.

bostonglobe.com
bostonglobe.com

Another reason why Taylor could give New England problems on Sunday is because of his lack of experience. Yes I know this sounds odd but with Taylor’s only career start coming last week against Indianapolis and with limited playing time during the Bills quarterback battle this preseason, there is not much film on Taylor which can make it hard to game plan against. With no film it can be hard to pinpoint weaknesses in Taylor’s game, especially coming off a strong performance last week. I expect the Patriots defense to be better prepared for Taylor than Indianapolis was and for Taylor to not have as good a performance this week that he did last. With that being said, Taylor’s skill set is something Patriots fans should still be worried about with all the different ways that he could beat a team.

I would expect the team to use a quarterback spy on Taylor such as Jamie Collins or Rob Ninkovich. Collins or Ninkovich do not possess the pure speed and quickness that Taylor does but they are both extremely smart, athletic players who could follow Taylor around the field and stop him from breaking off long runs. This would also allow defenders to stay on their man to eliminate potential targets. Ninkovich played a spy role in the Super Bowl against Russell Wilson at times and proved to stop him from scrambling as much and made one of the biggest plays in the game when he sacked Wilson late in the fourth quarter when spying Wilson.

via gazettenet.com
via gazettenet.com

This weekends game between the Patriots and the Bills could shape up to be one of the best games of the regular season. A huge key to victory for the Patriots is slowing down this Tyrod Taylor led Bills offense.