What To Watch For When Patriots Host Titans At Gillette Stadium
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- The New England Patriots are 11-2, and though they've stumbled twice in recent weeks and suffered some injuries, they're still favored to win the Super Bowl.
The Tennessee Titans ... well ... they are not favored to win the Super Bowl. They're 3-10, on track to earn a very high position in the draft order for the second straight season.
Suffice it to say, the Patriots should waltz their way to a relatively easy victory on Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium. Yet most of us said the same thing when the Eagles came to town not too long ago, and that loss served as a reminder that no win comes easy in the NFL.
With that in mind, here's what to watch for when the ball is kicked Sunday at 1 p.m.
Can The Sniffles Slow Down Brady?
Not much has been able to stop Tom Brady this year. He leads the NFL in passing yards (4,138) and touchdowns (33), and though Cam Newton has stolen loads of attention in recent weeks, Brady remains in the mix as the NFL's MVP.
Yet while not many defenses have been able to ruin a Sunday for him this year, he's facing a new challenge this weekend: the common cold.
Or, that's what we're left to believe kept Brady from practice on Friday, as both Jeff Howe and Mike Reiss reported that the ailment was nothing serious and won't keep Brady from playing. He is officially listed as questionable.
Whatever the mystery illness may be, it will have us all focused on Brady's performance, energy level and ability to execute on Sunday. He should be able to do just fine, considering Tennesee ranks 30th in yards allowed per pass attempt and 28th in passing touchdowns allowed. And he has excelled in the past after battling illnesses, notably in the 2004 AFC Championship Game in Pittsburgh and, to a lesser extent, last February for Super Bowl XLIX.
But the man is human, so we'll have to wait and see how this particular illness might affect him on Sunday.
Cover. The. Tight. End
Anybody who's watched the Patriots this year has seen numerous teams do what would conceivably be impossible.
They've forgotten about Rob Gronkowksi.
From Pittsburgh leaving him uncovered for a touchdown in Week 1 all the way through the Texans letting him casually convert a second-and-25 last Sunday night, teams occasionally forget to cover 87. It's mind-boggling. Perhaps the Titans will get the memo that they can't afford to leave Gronkowski alone, or put a single linebacker on him, because he is the most dominant force in the game.
On the other end, though, you can bet the Patriots will be paying special attention to Titans tight end Delanie Walker. Though Walker may be undersized for the position, you'd never know it based on his 74 receptions and 871 yards, both of which lead the team by wide margins. Kendall Wright ranks second on the team with just 33 receptions, and rookie receiver Dorial Green-Beckham ranks second in receiving yards with just 415.
For the mathematically challenged, that means there's no other Titans player with even half the production of Walker.
As such, Walker accounts for more than 25 percent of the Tennessee passing offense, so he'll figure to draw extra attention inside. Patrick Chung has been drawing similar duties in recent weeks, but his role may change with McCourty out. And if Walker draws double teams, it'll put pressure on either Logan Ryan or Malcolm Butler in single coverage on Beckham on the outside.
There will obviously be a lot of moving parts with that one, but it's clear that if the Patriots want to disrupt the rookie quarterback's progressions, they're going to have to take away Walker and work from there.
Super Mario-ta
OK, if we're being honest, writing "Super Mario-ta" was painful. I apologize for that. But more than three-quarters of the way through his rookie season, Marcus Mariota has been ... not bad. Pretty good, even.
He's completing 62.6 percent of his passes, he's due to top 3,000 yards passing despite suffering a midseason knee injury, and he's two weeks removed from his best game as a pro. That performance came against Jacksonville, with Mariota going 20-for-29 for 268 yards, three touchdowns and one pick, and he also broke off an 87-yard touchdown run en route to his first career 100-yard rushing day.
He took a step backward last week against the Jets (though he did haul in a 41-yard reception), but that showing two weeks ago is likely the one that has produced the most film for the Patriots' defense to study this week. While Mariota will surely lack the experience to be able to pick apart the New England defense, he's athletic enough to make plays. If the Patriots' defense loses its focus -- particularly without Devin McCourty playing center field -- then Mariota is capable of providing a game-changing type of play.
Elsewhere
Not to undersell this game, but, well, it's Titans-Patriots. Not exactly Ali-Frazier.
Plus, if the Patriots can take care of business at home, which they should, and if the Steelers can fend off the Broncos in Pittsburgh, then New England will guarantee a first-round bye in the playoffs. That Broncos-Steelers game takes place right after the Patriots and Titans are done, so it won't draw your attention away from the matter at hand in Foxboro.
Also of interest in the 4 p.m. slate will be the Bengals visiting the 49ers. Though the lowly Niners have had a tough go of it, the Bengals are without their quarterback. A Patriots win coupled with losses by both the Broncos and Bengals would be a perfect Sunday for New England, as the road to the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC would become that much easier.
Read more from Michael Hurley by clicking here. You can email him or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
