Divisional Round Preview: Texans VS Patriots

Last time we saw these two teams meet , we saw the Patriots wip the Texans defense for 42 points, Tom Brady throwing for 5 touchdowns, the Patriots defense holding Arian Foster to 46 yards, and the Texans scoring only 14 points. That was week 14 and now its playoff time, and the second game in Foxbourough, between the Houston Texans and the New England Patriots. J.J. Watt will look to get a second lick on Tom Brady, Arian Foster looks to improve from his 46 yard preformance, and Tom Brady will try to get to the AFC Championship for the second year in a row.

Here are the keys of the game for the Texans:

• J.J. Watt got held up by RT Sebastian Vollmer last time these two met. Watt's production has slowed down the during the final 4 games of the regualar season. That's when the Texans kept losing games and the defense got pounded by other opponents. If Watt puts pressure on Brady, the Texans defense will step up and find a way to get to the QB. DE Antonio Smith will try to power his way though LT Nate Solder, making the pocket collapse inside. This helps the OLB's Connor Barwin and Brooks Reed to bring the heat on Brady
• Arian Foster ran over 125 yards against a stingy Bengals D-Line last week. If Foster puts up the same numbers, the Texans will win. One reason why they would win is that if Foster runs well, the Texans play action game will do well. Schaub will find Andre Johnson, Kevin Walter, and Owen Daniels against the shaky Patriots secondary. There secondary has improved through too, so Schaub's decision making will be the key to the Texans offense.
• The play of the Texans secondary had worsended at the end of the regukar season, before they straightened things out last week against the Bengals. Jonathan Jospeh has been struggling in pass coverage, even though he did well against A.J. Green last week. His play against Brandon Llyod will be a factor, but Kareem Jackson has to improve on not getting blowned by opponents WR. This turns into a pass interference call on Jackson resulting in 10-20 yards and a first down. If Jackson and Joseph do well and the Linebacks and Safties do well against Wes Welker, the Texans should win this ball game

Here are the keys of the game for the Patriots:

• The Texans defense hasn't been the best against the run latley, and Stevan Ridley looks to have found a good matchup. That is if the blocking schemes by the Patriots work against a very good and active Texas D-Line. If Ridley breaks into the secondary, it's gone be a goner or a ver long run.
• Tom Brady is very good against blitzing defenses because of his vision to find open recievers downfield, if Houston blitzes, Brady will find an open target downfield.
• Devin McCourtey is one of those hidden safties in a secondary. Last time these two teams met, Matt Schaub threw a pick to McCourtey in the red zone, this proved to be very colstly. If McCourtey, who has a knack of having good ball skills finds the direction of where the ball is going, it's an INT. This could also be another coslty move by Schaub that will help the Patriots
• You not only have to stop Andre Johnson, and Foster, but you also need to keep an eye on Owen Daniels. He caught 65 passes this season as the third option. If Mayo, Hightower or any of these LB have the speed to catch up with Daniels, Schaub will have to go to Kevin Walter or Garett Graham.
• Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski are finally playing with eachother since week 1 or 2. These two will dominate any defense they play. If any one of these guys has a big day, Tom Brady will have a huge day against this Texans defense.

My Bold Predictions of the game:

• Arian Foster will run for over 100 yards on 24 carries and will score a TD
• Rob Gronkowski presence will help Aaron Hernanez get some attention off him and have a good day against these Texans LB's
• Wes Welker will catch 8 passes for 84 yards.
• Tom Brady is going to overwhelm this Texans defense for the 2nd time in a row. He will throw for 319 yards and 3 TD and no INT.
• Andre Johnson will pile up over 100 yards
• Patriots Saftey Devin McCourtey will make the play of the game to seal a Patriots Win
• J.J. Watt will get pressure on Tom Brady, but won't get any help from his other interior friends

MY Prediction Score: Patriots 34-Texans 21