What to Watch For: Patriots vs. Saints
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What to Watch For: Patriots vs. Saints
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Both the Saints and the Patriots enter the game with a record of 0-1 following losses to the Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings respectively last week.
"They've got a good team. They do a good job with their offense which means we have to do a real good job with our offense. Sometimes the best defense is to keep your offense on the field. We're going to have to do a good job of that because you don't want to give those guys a huge time of possession advantage," said Patriots quarterback Tom Brady during his Wednesday press conference.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTPatriots head coach Bill Belichick added, "defensively, they have a lot of new players. Half of the group is new starters, all new linebackers, a lot of speed at the positons, a faster, [more] athletic team probably than what they had last year. They do a good amount of pressuring so we're going to have to stand up to the blitzes, the pressures that they run, take care of the ball. They pursue very well."
Kick off is set for 1 p.m.
Patriots vs. Saints
The Patriots and Saints will meet for the first time since 2013 when Brady threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Kenbrell Thompkins with five seconds left to lift the Patriots to a 30-27 victory at Gillette Stadium.
This will be New England's first trip to New Orleans since 2009 when the Saints cruised past the Patriots 38-17.
Sunday's game will be the 13th meeting ever between the two teams. New England leads the all-time series 9-4.
The Patriots are 4-1 overall against the Saints in New Orleans, including 3-1 at the Superdome.
See What to Watch For in the Slideshow Below
5 Things to Watch For: Patriots vs. Saints
Patriots Defense
Linebacker Dont'a Hightower has been ruled out of the game, meaning David Harris and Elandon Roberts will see significant time.
They each saw limited action last week.
Cassius Marsh, who the Patriots acquired from Seattle, was Hightower's replacement last week and is expected to see more time this week.
Last week against the Chiefs, the Patriots defense was gashed for big plays in both the run game and the passing game.
They allowed 537 yards of total offense and 352 passing yards.
Slot Receiver
Danny Amendola has been ruled out of Sunday's game with a concussion, meaning the Patriots will need someone to fill the slot receiver role.
Options include Chris Hogan, Rex Burkhead and or newcomer Phillip Dorsett.
After Amendola went down against the Chiefs, the Patriots inside short passing game went away. The offense relied on passes down the sidelines or deep balls to Hogan or Brandin Cooks.
"I think we had some short guys on the routes and some deep guys. The ball just ended up going there. You're trying to spread the ball around evenly to different guys and I think that's the best part of playing offense is to have guys at different levels and then throw it where they're not," said Patriots quarterback Tom Brady during his press conference on Wednesday.
Punt Returning
No Amendola, Julian Edelman or Cyrus Jones means the Patriots are short on experienced punt returners.
Dorsett has some experience returning punts and could get a shot in the game. Also, Hogan was seen returning punts prior to last week's game against Kansas City.
"You put them back there, see how they handle the ball, coach them a little bit, the flight of the ball, teach them how to read the kick and so forth, how it's going to break and whether it's long, short, breaking left or right, whatever it happens to be. If they show promise, then keep working with them," said Belichick during his press conference on Friday.
Rob Gronkowski
Last week, tight end Rob Gronkowski seemed a little off from what we have come to expect from him.
This was noticeable especially after he caught the touchdown pass in the end zone that was reversed by instant replay.
Gronkowski got up slowly and gave an un-enthusiastic spike following the play.
In the game, Gronkowski was targeted six times, catching two passes for 33 yards.
Pats Attitude
One of the most concerning things about last week's game against Kansas City was Brady's comments following the game regarding the team's attitude.
Following the game, Brady said, "we just have to be a lot better in a lot of areas, starting with our attitude and our competitiveness."
When asked this week if the team's attitude is in the right place, Brady said, "I hope so. I hope so. Again, we work pretty hard for three hours a week. We've got to be at our best mentally, physically, emotionally. This team really tests you. They play very well at home. We didn't play very well last time we went down there. We kind of got our butt kicked. So it's a tough environment. It's their home opener. We're going to be challenged in a big way so we've got to meet the challenge."
