AFC analysis
Broncos strong safety John Lynch is working for the NFL network in Jacksonville.
By ROGER MILLS
Published February 6, 2005
JACKSONVILLE - I came here thinking wholeheartedly Patriots. No question about it. I thought they would have their way. Now, after what I'm seeing and what I'm hearing from a lot of people who I respect for their football knowledge that first of all, it's going to be a tight game and second of all, that the Eagles have a very good chance of getting this.
They do. If you hang around the Eagles long enough and see their focus and you see T.O., you really start to believe that. Not only can they have T.O., but they can have an effective T.O. and I think that turns things a bit.
But, everything about the Patriots is dangerous. The thing that strikes me about them is their versatility as a team. Both offensively and defensively, they can beat you in a number of ways.
Look at that defense. Going against (Colts quarterback) Peyton (Manning) and that great passing attack, and they shut it down. One week later, they go against the Steelers and that tremendous power running game and they shut that down too. I mean shut it down. So, they go after your strengths and make you try to beat them using your weaknesses. That's tough and it's the core of their philosophy.
You know, I've heard some people say that they aren't able to stop the run, but (Patriots coach Bill) Belichick doesn't really care about that so much. The most important thing is they don't give up big plays. They gave up yards. They were the ninth ranked defense in the league. . . . But they don't give up a lot of points and they create turnovers. That's how they win.
Listening to them, I think they are going to make a concerted effort to stop (Eagles running back) Brian Westbrook. They feel that that is the Eagles' strength. And obviously Donovan (McNabb) is as well. Now, if T.O. plays (a lot) that's tougher to do because you can only commit so many people to Westbrook and the passing game.
I still believe the Patriots win. Now, it's going to be a tight game. And that means it'll probably be another Adam Vinatieri field goal. In this game, there are two great kickers because (David) Akers is also a very good kicker. Maybe he could have that same legend as Vinatieri, but he just hasn't been here before.