Patriots X’s and O’s thought: Shadow Julio? – ESPN Boston

How do you feel about Dennard on Roddy White with limited over-the-top help?

Field Yates:

…might this be a week the Patriots again use McCourty to shade to the side of a vertical-stressing wideout? Doing so doesn’t necessarily compromise the Patriots’ defense, but it does leave them a little bit vulnerable to defend the rest of the Atlanta Falcons’ talented receiving corps. In facing an offense like the one in Atlanta or the one in Denver, there’s an element of picking your poison – loading up to defend one player opens up space and opportunities for another. But given how explosive Jones has been this season, and also that fellow wideout Roddy White has been limited by an ankle sprain, this may be a week where zoning in on one element of Atlanta’s offense could pay dividends with a ripple-down effect.