Chargers vs Patriots: The How To Guide on Beating Down the Patriots

Welcome to The How To Guide on Beating Down the Patriots!!! Here are a few things that we will need to do in order to come out of Gillette Stadium with a ‘W’. It is not just a victory that we would be taking, this could potentially determine home field advantage between the teams in the playoffs. If we win, the rest of the league will recognize as the top team in the AFC.

Let’s see if we can pull some of these things off:

Fast StartWe need to jump out of the Gates QUICKLY!! No more of these dive plays for 1 and 2 yards on first and second down. We need to attack the Patriots defense with our bread and butter! Start off the game with a play action pass deep to Vincent Jackson to let them know that we came to WIN this game. We are a second-half team, but we need to get off to a quick start for this road matchup.

Pressure TomTom Brady will make plays, but we can’t let him comfortably sit back in the pocket and allow him to pick us apart. Antwan Barnes, Shaun Phillips, Antonio Garay, Corey Liuget and Vaughn Martin need to hit Brady as much as possible. When we get back there, we will be able to force him into some bad throws.

Capitalize on OpportunitiesWhen Tom Brady throws a pass directly in Eric Weddle‘s hands, it needs to be caught for the interception. If we force a fumble, we need to be the faster team to the ball. After forcing a turnover, we need to score touchdowns.

Stop the FACEPALM momentsLast time we faced the Patriots we had a few FACEPALM moments. Richard Goodman made a catch for a big first down and then laid the ball down for the defenders to pick up. We also threw a “lateral pass” that fell incomplete but went as a fumble which turned into another turnover. These things CAN’T HAPPEN!

Special TeamsWe better not see another special teams touchdown allowed for another 50 games! This is becoming an old act! Our first play of the 2011 season is a touchdown return allowed to Percy Harvin!?! Know your assignments and make your tackles!

Stop the YACWhat the heck is YAC? Yards After catch. Once players like Wes Welker and Danny Woodhead get the ball in their hands, they find ways to make a few defenders miss to gain an extra 5-10 yards. We need to make the tackle once they get their hands on the ball.

It seems that we have to play perfect ball against the Patriots, but it will be a good test for us to see where we match up against the best in the league.