If you just look at the records of the teams coming into this football game you would think the Patriots would kill the Bengals……not so fast my friend!  The Bengals lost two tough games on the road but this game is in the Jungle where the kitties tend to be vicious! 

The Patriots have been clicking on all cylinders on offense as they are averaging 151.7 yards rushing per game and 289.3 yards passing per game.  The Bengals defense is soft at defending both the run (145.0 yards per game) and the pass (257.7 yards per game) so the Patriots should have no problems moving the football.  Look for the Patriots to run the ball a little more this week to attempt to control the clock and keep the Bengals offense on the sidelines.  Laurence Maroney (252 yards rushing, 4.7 ypc) and Sammy Morris (151 yards rushing, 4.6 ypc, 2 TDs) will pose a serious challenge to the Front Seven of the Bengals’ defense.  Tom Brady has been remarkable this season and he will likely not have much of a problem shredding the defense of the Bengals.  WRs Randy Moss (22 rec, 403 yards, 5 TDs) and Wes Welker (20 rec, 221 yards, TD) will both have good games getting down the field against the Bengals.  But, TE Ben Watson (9 rec, 75 yards, 3 TDs) and Dontae’ Stallworth (4 rec, 64 yards) will be the secret weapons of the Patriots on Monday Night.

The Bengals would prefer to run the football this week to keep the Patriots offense off the field.  That will be easier said than done as they will be without Rudi Johnson.  Kenny Watson will step in for Johnson and he has played well this season as he has carried the ball 9 times for 60 yards (6.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  The Patriots do have an outstanding run defense as they are only allowing 74.0 yards rushing per game and 3.4 yards per carry this year.  If the Bengals offensive line can give Carson Palmer time to throw the ball they will have success throwing the football.  WRs Chad Johnson (25 rec, 442 yards, 3 TDs) and T.J. Houshmandzadeh (29 rec, 260 yards, 4 TDs) give the Bengals one of the best pairs of receivers in the league and they will play well this Monday Night.

PREDICTION:  I have more faith in the Patriots defense’s ability to stop the Bengals on offense a couple of times.  Look for the Bengals to fight hard at home and lost by less than a TD.

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The Patriots beat the hell out of the poor Bills yesterday.  Tom Brady had another outstanding football game as he completed 23 of 29 passes for 311 yards with 4 TD passes and 0 interceptions.  RB Laurence Maroney had an excellent game with 19 carries for 103 yards (5.4 ypc).  Sammy Morris also had another solid game with 12 carries for 46 yards (3.8 ypc) with a TD run.  Kevin Faulk even got in on the beating as he carried the ball 2 times for 14 yards (7.0 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 38 yards (7.6 avg).  Randy Moss was outstanding again as he caught 5 passes for 115 yards (23.0 avg) with 2 more TD grabs.  Wes Welker also had another solid game as he caught 6 passes for 69 yards (11.5 avg) and he also returned 3 punts for 72 yards (24.0 avg).  Ben Watson (2 rec, 17 yards, TD) and Jabar Gaffney (2 rec, 15 yards, TD) also pitched in on Sunday.  The Patriots finished up with 177 yards rushing on 38 carries (4.7 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 29 passes for 308 yards.

The Patriots defense was excellent against the Bills.  Adalius Thomas led the way for the Patriots with 9 tackles.  They held the Bills to 110 yards rushing on 27 carries (4.1 ypc) and they completed 11 of 21 passes for 83 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270923017

This game looks like a total mis-match on paper but it’s a division game so who knows what will happen on Sunday.  The Bills have looked awful this season as they are 0-2 and they have been outscored 41-17 this season.  The Patriots have won both of their football games by indentical 38-14 scores.  The Bills would be smart to throw the football against the Patriots as Patriots opponents have completed 65.6% of there passes.  To do that though two things must happen.  The Bills offensive line must block better as they have already allowed six sacks this season and the Patriots have already sacked opposing QBs 8 times this season.  Also, Lee Evans must play up to his ability because teams have focused on shutting him down as he has only caught 4 passes for 22 yards this season.  Roscoe Parrish (8 rec, 81 yards), Josh Reed (4 rec, 37 yards) and Peerless Price (4 rec, 31 yards) must take the pressure off Losman and Evans by also pitching in to loosen the coverage on Evans.  The Bills won’t forget rookie RB Marshawn Lynch (37 car, 154 yards, TD) who has done well running against two good defenses this season.  But, the Patriots have been awesome against the run holding opponents to 56.0 yards rushing per game and 2.9 ypc.

The Patriots will likely mix things up on offense as they are averaging 419.0 yards per game and the Bills are allowing 445.0 yards per game.  Look for the Patriots to lean on the running game more than the passing game as the Bills allow 177.5 yards rushing per game and 5.5 yards per carry.  With that in mind look for Laurence Maroney (35 car, 149 yards) and Sammy Morris (21 car, 105 yards, TD) to both find a lot of running room against the soft defense of the Bills.  Tom Brady (134.1 QB Rating) won’t be able to resist throwing the ball quite a few times against the Bills secondary which has been decimated by injury.  Randy Moss (17 rec, 288 yards, 3 TDs), Wes Welker (14 rec, 152 yards, 1 TD) and TE Ben Watson (7 rec, 58 yards, 2 TDs) will be the primary targets on offense for the Patriots but keep an eye on Donte’ Stallworth (3 rec, 38 yards) who could be the secret weapon this week.

PREDICTION:  The easy prediction would be to take the Patriots 38-14 against the Bills.  But, I don’t see the Bills scoring 14 points this week against the suffocating Patriots defense.  Look for the Patriots to win by as many points as they feel like in this game as their scout team in practice will put up more of a fight than the Bills will this week.

 

Looking at the Patriots on paper before the season started you had to think the offense would be awesome.  And that they have been as they are averaging 38 points per game and 419 yards per game.  Tom Brady has been a big part of that with his best collection of wide receivers that he has ever played with.  Brady has completed 47 of 59 passes (79.7%) for 576 yards with 6 TD passes and 1 interception (134.2 QB Rating).  Look for Brady to have a career season as the Patriots are also averaging 139.0 yards rushing per game so they can’t just focus on the passing game of the Patriots making them even more deadly.

The Patriots have signed 3rd year QB David Greene and they have placed him on the practice squad.  The lefty was a 3rd round pick of the Seahawks in the 2005 NFL Draft out of Georgia.  Greene has talent but he will likely be the #4 QB on the Patriots totem pole.