Inside the matchup: Texans at Patriots – Extra Points – Boston.com

Insightful X and O preview from the always must-read Alen Dumonjic.

One of the biggest problems for the Patriots’ secondary this game could be Houston’s use of the tight ends in the play action passing game. Houston’s tight ends do a very good job of getting behind coverage and working the shallow crossing routes, and they come in different fashions. Usually the tight end will run his crossing route to the side where Schaub rolls out to, but what Houston’s been known to do is have the tight end run a shallow crossing route opposite of the quarterback rollout, thus creating a throw back across the field. This is effective because while the defense heads toward Schaub’s direction, the tight end goes the opposite way.