slides: 5 Things to Watch For: Patriots vs Cowboys

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Joe Calabro, GoLocalWorcester Sports Team

Rob Gronkowski

The New England Patriots (3-0) are in Dallas this afternoon to take on the (2-2) Dallas Cowboys at AT & T Stadium in a game that pits the NFL's two most valuable franchises against each other.

See The Five Things To Watch For Slideshow Below

The last time Dallas beat the Patriots was 1996.

Two Teams, Two Different Directions

The Patriots are coming off of a bye week while the Cowboys have dropped two straight games and injuries continue to pile up. Quarterback Tony Romo and star reciever Dez Bryant remain on injured reserve while running back Lance Dunbar has been ruled out.

"Every game is winnable and every game is losable. The Cowboys have a chance, may not be a god chance, but they have a chance. However, its not the game it looked like it could have been with Romo and Bryant playing," said Dallas Cowboys radio play by play man of 37 years, Brad Sham.

With the Cowboys sufferning numerous injuries on offense over the first four weeks, thier offense has gone through some changes out of neccessity but the biggest issue that they have had is communication.

"The Experience and communication is just not the same. I don't think you can chage the offense, you have 10 other guys playing it. I think they have scaled it back a litte but most of the changes come between the time that the play is sent in to the time the play is over," Sham said.

Quarterback Brandon Weeden is 11-20 in his career as a starter.

Tom Brady's "Revenge Tour"

The Tom Brady "revenge tour," as it's called by New Englanders, has the potential to roll again this week. The Cowboys defense allowed Drew Brees to complete 33 of 41 passes and 359 yards last week along with two touchdowns.

Prior to the season, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones backed Roger Goodell's deflategate decision and of course earlier this week Greg Hardy made comments about Tom Brady's wife. So if Brady needed anymore motivation, he has it.

Tom Brady comes in as arguably the hottest quarterback in the league averaging 370 passing yards per game with nine touchdown passes and no interceptions.

Kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m.

For more on this game, see the Five Things To Watch For Slideshow Below

Related Slideshow: 5 Things to Watch For: Patriots vs Cowboys

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Belichick after a bye

After a bye week, Bill Belichick and the Patriots are 11-4 since 2000 and 4-2 over the last six years.

New England's most recent post bye week loss came in 2013 when they fell on the road to Carolina on Monday Night Football.

For those deciding where to place their money in this game, New England is 1-4-1 against the spread the week after a bye.

Patriots are 10 point favorites in this game.

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Who is Brandon Weeden

Dallas quarterback Brandon Weeden was drafted in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns.

In his short time as a starter this season for Dallas, Weeden has completed 45 of 59 passes (76.5 %) with two touchdowns for a rating of 108.8.

“I think he’s done a good job for them. Certainly, he’s done a good job of spreading the ball around. He uses his back and outlet receivers well. It looks like they’ve put a lot of responsibilities on him with some audibles and check-with-me’s in the run game or run-pass checks, whatever it is, but you can see him making decisions at the line of scrimmage based on the defensive look and getting the offense into the right place. So, he’s obviously a pretty smart guy that has a good command of what they’re doing," said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick earlier this week.

Weeden is 11-20 in his career as a starter, 0-2 this season.

Photo courtesy of Erik Drost/flickr

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Gronkowski vs Witten

This game will feature the two bes tight ends in the game today and two of the best tight ends to ever play, Rob Gronkowski and Jason Witten.

Witten enter the game with 59 career touchdowns, two so far this season, while Gronkowksi enters the game with 58 touchdowns, four so far this year.

The catch is that Witten has been in the league about seven years longer than Gronkowski has, making Gronkowski's numbers even more impressive.

One way or the other, these two tight ends are the best there is and are both integral parts of thier teams offense.

What impact will they have on this game?

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Greg Hardy

Greg Hardy returns to the Cowboys lineup this week after serving a four game suspension for allegedly throwing his girlfriend onto a bed of guns and threatening to kill her.

Amazingly, he got a 10 game suspension reduced to only 4.

Earlier this week, Hardy made headlines by making comments about Tom Brady's wife saying, “Have you seen his wife? I hope she comes to the game. I hope her sister comes to the game, all her friends come to the game. One of my favorite games of the year, guys.”

This is arguably one of the worst people in the NFL, but he can be effective on the field as he is one of the better pass rushers in the league. However, it is unknown how much he will be able to give th Cowboys in his first game back.

"In training camp, he had a presence about him, he just made the defense look different. No way to know wins the battle between fresh legs and rust . He hasn't played a real football game in over a calendar year," said Sham.

Nate Solder will see most of the snaps against Greg Hardy so whatever Hardy has in the tank, Nat Solder will have the assignment of keeping him away from Brady.

Photo courtesy of Parker Anderson/flickr

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1st/ 2nd down Defense

With a backup quarterback under center and Dez Bryant out of the lineup, Dallas relies on the run game to get the offense going. The Cowboys use Joseph Randle and Darren McFadden in their running attack, but it has not been consistent.

"There has just been no rhythm to the running game, it needs to be much better," said Cowboys radio play by play man Brad Sham.

If Chandler Jones and the Patriots defense can force the Cowboys into 3rd and longs, they will be in good shape.

First and second down defense will be a key in this game.