“Brady is 0-for-15 with an interception passing more than 20 yards downfield in his last three games against the Giants. (Mike Reiss)” This stat blows my mind and perfectly illustrates what the Pats game plan will look like this weekend – tons of quick short passes and a big dose of Rollin’ Blount(s). How can a defense scheme to take away the short passes besides press man coverage? Do the Giants have the weapons to do this successfully?

Good stat, but I think this is a different Giants team. Those three games featured a pass rush that was consistently getting to Brady. And really, the deep passing game was only really a big factor for the Patriots with Randy Moss. Since then they’ve evolved to “The Scalpel” or Death by 1000 Cuts Offense.

So a couple things going on here, first is that the back end of the Giants defense is trash right now. Just watch how many busted coverages there were against the Saints. If the Giants don’t fix that it’s going to be raining Brady Bombs all day on them. For that reason I wonder if we see some sets with both LaFell and Dobson on the outside to really target the deep part of the field.

But ultimately what Brady does best is get the ball out quick and that will certainly be the gameplan to start. As usual, it just comes down to how disruptive the Giants defensive front is against our makeshift-on-the-edges offensive line. 

The defensive gameplan to take the Pats’ favorite kind of attack away is simple, but hard to execute consistently.

1. Load the Line of Scrimmage with Defensive Backs

2. Press Edelman and Gronk but don’t be afraid to bail into zone.

3. Choose coverage over blitzes, especially in the red zone.

4. Get pressure with three or four rushers.

5. Hope Brady has an off day.