In the past SB years, name more than 2 or 3 players on those Patriots teams that really 'scared' anyone when mentioned as an individual player and not as a member of the TEAM. The Patriots don't 'scare' anyone when looking at the individuals, even someone like myself who has been a STH for the past 15 seasons. I never consider individuals, only TEAM. Even AV in his heyyday - without the team to get him into position to make his great kicks, his snapper, his holder and the protection from the players on the field, he would never have been able to become what he is as a member of Patriots history. T-E-A-M. That's all that counts, not individuals.
Brady Dillion Branch Seymour McGinist Troy Brown Harrison Bruschi Law Phifer Vinateri This is off the top of my head in less than 20 seconds.
u were scared by a kicker? mate u only put Branch there for 1 of two reasons (or both) 1. Becuase he left 2. Becuase u r a idiot. i'm not saying that Branch was not important in our offence, but he was not a scary kind of player, he was a possiesion reciever who picked up short 5-8 yds gains alot. Givens deserved more of a spot on that list then him he was not a deep play threat
I r a idiot. Me thinks homgren r a idiot 2. can u believe that dope BB wanted a 1 for Branch and got it? 12.9 YPC regular season, 15.34 YPC playoffs.
Individuals DO count. Look at how Pennington picked on Pacman Jones last week. You can bet that was in the game plan. They kept getting him to bite early, because he's overly aggressive, always looking to jump a route trying to make a big play. I expect to see BB throw the kitchen sink at our two rookie, DF and NM. He'll be stunting and blitzing at them. On the other hand, Mangini knows the Pats' players very well too. Better than BB knows the players on the Jets' roster, and consequently, Mangini will have a better handle on whatever weaknesses any of the Pats' starters may have. By "weaknesses" in this case, it's relative... there aren't many weaknesses on the Pats defense. But, What if Mangini knows, let's say a Seymour, has a trendency to penetrate too much, and is too deep to maintain run containment on the inside at times. (Purely hypothetical here). That tendency is something Mangini will game plan against. Mangini has an insider's knowledge of the Pats' players, something Belichick doesn't have on the Jets. That could be very helpful, from a Jets game plan standpoint. If there IS a way to run on the Pats (I'm not sure there is, given our young O line and average at best RB's), Mangini will know how to game plan it. Maybe it will be a lot of pulling and running outside. Maybe something else. The Pats are the better team, but Mangini's intimate knowledge of the system, how Belichick schemes and the Pat's player's could be a significant advantage.
