How will Patriots greet 49ers after bye?

By Os Davis  |   Thursday, October 02, 2008  |  Comments( 2 )

New England Patriots
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In attempting to gauge the New England Patriots’ chances coming out of a bye week after perhaps the single most disastrous performance by the team this decade, we can turn to history; regarding this situation, that can tell us ... um, scarce little.

Commentary: The last time the Patriots lost off a bye was back in 2002, the first season of the 32-team NFL; that 24-16 defeat came at the hands of Mike Shanahan’s Denver Broncos, a.k.a. Bill Belichick’s personal kryptonite.

In 2003, a stunningly rusty-looking offense combined with a nasty-looking defense produced a 12-0 shutout of the Dallas Cowboys after the bye. This game was also quite the anomaly in that it marked the last occasion to date on which the Cowboys have been shut out.

The Patriots were a predictable 4-0 after the week-long pass from 2004-2007, but, in a seriously lazy shortcut taken by some official schedule-maker, all four of those wins – culminating in last year’s utterly insane 56-10 immolation – came against bad or mediocre Buffalo Bills teams.

Did a Buffalo Bills representative file some sort of official complaint with the NFL during the offseason? If so, he’s kicking himself right about now, with the Bills hot and the Patriots seemingly a few too many bye-week adjustments away from beating this year’s Buffalo bunch. It’s all in the timing ...

Speaking of timing, this may yet be working in the Patriots’ favor as the team takes on San Francisco. After the lambasting Belichick reckons he took in the Miami game, a date with Mike “Career Winning Percentage .346” Nolan should be just the stuff for the coach. While J.T. O’Sullivan has proven to be a clever lad this season (and one who can take a hit besides), the QB will be tested with Belichick traditionally using the bye-chaser to test some new defensive looks.

If he gets them at all, that is. As inept as ever recently, the 49ers' offensive line has already let O’Sullivan eat turf 147 times this season. OK, actually, that number is 19, but heck, that’s nearly five times per game against one fair unit (the Seattle Seahawks) and the non-defenses of Arizona, Detroit and New Orleans. New England's front three figure to have a huge day in ‘Frisco.

Finally, the New England faithful are certainly on the edge of their collective seat to see what the running game brings; no matter who gets the carries or who gets the call at the goal line, though, the Patriots should be able to run. San Francisco is up to its old (and by old here, we’re talking since the Nolan era began) tricks in rolling over against the run. They’re currently 23rd in runs allowed against the likes of ... ah, you know, and were ranked 22nd, 19th,and 27th in previous seasons in the category. Who needs Tom-Whatsis-Name?

Injury watch: As of Wednesday morning, Laurence Maroney is listed as questionable though he has practiced this week; ditto for Jerod Mayo. Oh yeah, and Brady’s still out. For San Francisco, special teamer Manny Lawson is also questionable, having left Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury.

Fantasy Football Impact: Attention, all those on the O’Sullivan bandwagon (he’s playing that NFC West four more times this season plus the Dolphins, so why wouldn’t you be?): Get off the train for a week! Or three, actually, with the Giants and Eagles upcoming ...

As for the Patriots, well ... who can tell? All those who have gathered Randy Moss have got to stick with him. The 'DST' should get a nice bunch of sacks and perhaps an interception or two. Maroney holders (sigh) may be in luck this week against the aforementioned soft run defense. Unless it’s Kevin Faulk getting the ball. Or Jordan. Or Morris.

The RF365 Prediction: New England Patriots 28, San Francisco 49ers 6.
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's ...
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