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Time: 3:00 pm ET

Where: Gillette Stadium; [Foxborough Massachusetts] 

Key Matchups 

1.) Randy Moss vs. Antonio Cromartie / Quentin Jammer
We all saw what the Patriots offense did last week when the Jaguars took Randy Moss out of the game. Tom Brady only went 26-28 for three touchdowns. If you talk to Jaguars safety Reggie Nelson, that wasn’t that impressive. Sure, Reggie. Antonio Cromartie has been a stud this season and he continued his regular season success last week picking off Peyton Manning before halftime. For the sake of how the referees and the NFL wanted the Colts to play the Patriots, Cromartie did score on that INT and that wasn’t even close to being holding on Eric Weddle. Anyhow, it’s uncertain whether Cromartie will cover Moss, throughout the season he has manned the right cornerback while Moss primarily lines up on the left. If that’s the case look for Quentin Jammer to be the one who has the privilege of covering Moss. Either way this matchup is vital in the overall outcome of the game. Over the season when teams have game planed to take out Moss others’ like Wes Welker, Jabar Gaffney, and Kevin Faulk have beaten them. Also take in account that the Chargers secondary thrives on turnovers. They’ll gamble a lot to try and get an interception, so look for a lot of double moves out of Moss and the other receivers.

2.) Vincent Jackson vs. Ellis Hobbs
Wow. Wow. Has Vincent Jackson exploded in the playoffs or what? The 6-5 240 wide receiver has quickly become the number one target for Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers. And why not, Jackson has come up huge the last two weeks hailing in 12 passes for 207 yards and two big touchdowns. Meanwhile, Patriots cornerback Randall Gay made most of us calling for Hobbs’ name last week. Now, while Hobbs hasn’t exactly been Ty Law out there, more like Otis Smith actually, he does have the ability to contain an opposing teams starting wideout. The big problem is the matchup is the size. If you remember all the way back to week seventeen Giants receiver Plaxico Burress (6-5) beat Ellis Hobbs on a huge 52 yard gain. The Patriots would be very wise to shade safety Brandon Meriweather over Hobbs’ side. Hobbs could get a lot of help on Jackson, considering that Asante Samuel will most likely contain Chris Chambers and with an less then 100% Antonio Gates it would force the Patriots to focus all their attention to Jackson. Look for Rivers or Billy Volek to look deep for Jackson a lot, so Hobbs will have to respect Jackson’s speed and not give up the big play.

3.) Antonio Gates vs. Rodney Harrison
Even if Antonio Gates isn’t 100% healthy he is still a force and the Chargers will continue to look his way. Rodney Harrison will most likely get the inevitable task of covering Gates something which could be a challenge for the slower Harrison. The Patriots could also throw Adalius Thomas out on him because Thomas is a very physical, fast presence. However, if the Patriots did that they’d be forgoing a good pass rush that Thomas can create on the outside. The problem over the years for the Patriots when they’ve played the Chargers is that Gates always finds the soft spot underneath the defense and the slower linebackers, Tedy Bruschi and Junior Seau, often can’t get to him. It should be an intriguing matchup this weekend depending on how many reps Gates takes at TE.

4.) Wes Welker vs. Drayton Florence
Last week, the Jaguars wanted to take Randy Moss out of the game and they did. However, the let Wes Welker beat them underneath and the Jaguars has absolutely no answer for him. This week, nickel back Drayton Florence should get the task to cover Welker in the slot. Advantage Patriots. Florence is not a physical CB and Welker should be able to get a free pass off the line. Look for the Chargers to maybe even move another defensive back on Welker if he's beating them which would lead to either Moss or Donte Stallworth to be open deep. If the Chargers want Welker to beat them, he will.

5.) Shawne Merriman vs. Matt Light
Matt Light has had a solid season this year which in tale led to a pro-bowl selection. However, in the past Light has trouble containing Shawne Merriman on the outside. Well all know the dance by now and none of us want to see it this weekend. Merriman does such a good job of pass rushing opposing teams' quarterbacks that if he get any sort of rush the Patriots will be forced to put tight end Kyle Brady to help out Light leaving Shaun Phillips one on one against inconsistent left tackle, Nick Kaczur. While I have this matchup ranked fifth on my chart, this could have the most baring on the outcome of the game. If Light can contain Merriman the Patriots win, if Merriman can generate any sort of pass rush, the Chargers have a shot.

 

Patriots Keys to Success

 

1.) Keep doing what your doing
> Last week against the Jaguars the Patriots did almost everything well offensively and they should look to keep it going. Look for offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to continue with the 4 to 5 wide spread sets while mixing in some Laurence Maroney runs. With the weather thoughts to be in the low teens the wide receivers could have a hard time catching the ball. Brady will have to take some heat off his fastball if they want to be successful in the air. As matter of fact, the only thing that could stop the Patriots offense on Sunday will be the weather, not the Chargers. A big sleeper to watch this week is Donte Stallworth, last week when the Jaguars put all eleven people on Moss Stallworth had some room to get open. This week expect the same. Stallworth has the speed to make any of the Chargers cornerbacks look silly so don’t be surprised to see a couple of deep passes his way. It’s pretty ironic when looking at the Patriots last week. Who contributed a lot offensively last week? Laurence Maroney and Donte Stallworth. Two players who didn’t see the ball a lot throughout the regular season. Was Bill Belichick hiding them and saving them for the postseason? Sure looks like it.

2.) Contain Darren Sproles…. On special teams
> At 5-6, 175 pounds you might look on the field and confuse Chargers running back Darren Sproles to a third string high school junior varsity running back. While he may have the build of a high school player he certainly plays big. Sproles is a very dangerous special team’s returner. Just ask the Colts. With his size it allows him to sneak behind the bigger tight ends, offensive lineman on special teams. Sproles is sneak quick and the Patriots will have to just contain him on special teams. For the Patriots this isn’t a good matchup at all. The fastest person on special teams for the Patriots is probably Brandon Meriweather and then after him you can pick from Kelley Washington and Willie Andrews. If one of these three can’t tackle Sproles, see ya later. With the Chargers offense being banged up it’d be imperative to give them no room to work with. If Sproles can bust a kick return to the 50, any offense, even with Billy Volek will capitalize.

3.) Attack Cromartie
> What! Attack the leading cornerback in interceptions in the league? Yes. While Cromartie had 10 interceptions this regular season the Patriots must attack him throughout the entire game. He is very gutsy and he’ll jump a route every time for a chance to pick it off. Expect Brady and company to throw multiple double moves at him throughout the game to try and catch him cheating up. If he covers Stallworth look for the Patriots to go deep. While many people think Cromarite is fast from his Florida State days and the NFL Combine (4.3), it’s really misleading. Cromartie’s timed speed is a lot faster then how he plays on the field. There is no doubt in my mind that any Patriots wide receiver can beat him deep.

 

Chargers Insight

I'd like to thank "AntonioGates" from Footballs Future for his thoughts on the game. 

1.) Take off your Chargers hat and tell me, do you honestly believe that the Chargers have a legit shot at derailing the Patriots?

With all the injuries that the Chargers have suffered the past few weeks, on paper it looks near impossible for the Chargers to win. However, the Chargers have just been so resilient lately and have shown a lot of composure when facing adversity. They will certainly see a lot of adversity in this game, if they respond well they have a chance to win. if they give into the pressure the Patriots could run away with it. I think the Chargers will give their best, and I do not know if that is good enough to beat the Patriots or not.

2.) What is your take on the whole QB situation? Would you feel comfortable with Billy Volek starting Sunday but during the week Philip Rivers took the snaps? Or vise versa.

Philip Rivers gives the Chargers the best chance to win. However, there is a lot to be said about the unknown. AJ Feely, the Eagles backup QB, came in and was almost able to defeat the Patriots because they had no tape on him. If Volek plays, expect to see a mix of plays that have not been run a whole lot this year (an example of it last game was the screen to Naanee). As for practice I do not think it is a big deal. Philip has missed some practice this year because of his injury and Volek has taken snaps with the first team. Both QBs know the playbook and I think Norv feels as comfortable with his gameplan whether Rivers or Volek is under center.

3.) What will the Chargers have to do with the Patriots wide receivers?

They need to be able to double Moss and jam Welker with a linebacker or safety. For this to happen the Chargers absolutley must get pressure with their front 3 and 2 blitzing linebackers. this is in my mind the most important matchup. If the Chargers 5 rushers cannot maintain pressure, then Brady could have a monster game.

4.) What do you think that the Patriots biggest weakness is and why?

There depth in the secondary might be the only weakness I can really think of. Asante, Harrison, and Eugene Wilson are all very good players, but after that the secondary is suspect. So players like Craig Davis and Vincent Jackson could have big games. The Patriots do everything really well, they tackle great, block great, are very disciplined, and play great special teams. it's very hard to find a legitimate weakness and whenever one has come up they have improved on it greatly in following weeks.

5.) Prediction?

Chargers win 35-31. I fully expect the Chargers and Patriots to play there respective best games of the season.

 

Final Thoughts 

Well, this is it. One win away from a superbowl apperance. There really isn't much to say at this point as we covered all the bases in this preview. As a fan, I'll say Go Patriots.

Prediction

38-14 PATRIOTS 

  

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