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Over the last couple of days, when I wasn’t pregamming for tonight’s Belichick special, I took a look at both the Patriots-Chargers game from 2010 as well as the Chargers first game against the Vikings.

For all the talk about how the Chargers Air Coryell offensive system is predicated on getting the ball down the field, it’s really the screens, draws and short passing game that keep the chains moving for them. Sure, they can complete the long ball, but when teams use deep zone defenses (like the Vikes did) the Chargers are fine using their running backs as pass catchers.

This is one area that the Patriots will be tested. In 2010 the Patriots struggled covering running backs as pass catchers more than any other position. This puts Gary Guyton and Dane Fletcher very much at the forefront of what the Patriots game plan will be.

In 2010’s Chargers game the Pats used a lot of 3-4 base defensen early on, so it should be interesting to see how the 4-3 will affect their coverages. But it was the sub defense in the second half that had trouble getting the Chargers off the field and almost let the game go to overtime.

Of course it’s nice not to have to worry about Darren Sproules any more, but the Tolbert and Mathews are still threats that need to be dealt with. The threat of the long ball is often enough to open up the short stuff and that’s what the Patriots must contend with.