Dalton And Bengals Visit Gillette

As the Bengals recover from a 28-14 loss against Dallas last Sunday, the Pats are coming off the return of Tom Brady and it paid off in huge dividends.

Confidence levels within the Pats skyrocketed last week against Cleveland, even though people will say it was only the worst ranked team in football (0-4 at the time, now 0-5). 406 passing yards and a trifecta of touchdowns later, Brady crushed Cleveland and is now onto Cincinnati (not quoting anything there).

With the consistency of Bengals QB Andy Dalton being a key factor for Cincy, Marvin Lewis and company like to run the ball since they have powerback Jeremy Hill to help move the chains (233 rushing yards through the first 5 games). Hill, who a few years back was drafted out of LSU, is a touchdown machine and finds ways to score. Along with Hill running the backfield, you have a dual threat in Giovanni Bernard who does rushing duties and catching passes in the flat or off screens.

With the New England defense overlooking the Cincy offense, first thing is to watch the backfield. Keeping Hightower and Collins on their toes of how Bernard is a shifty back and Hill doing the lugging. Keeping tabs on standout receiver A.J. Green is a must along with former Patriot receiver Brandon LaFell and rookie Tyler Boyd.

From the Patriots offensive perspective, looking to Martellus Bennett is a viable option, but Cincy has most likely concocted a plan to ruin another magical performance for Bennett, but that doesn’t mean we try anyways. Utilizing both tight ends will give headaches to the Bengals D and having a weapon in D.J. Foster could pay off as the rookie is still looking to have his breakout performance. Blount is dealing with lingering injuries along with Bolden, which creates minutes and carries for the youngster. James White as well should see some increased minutes if Blount is limited with his carries.

On the receiving end, Hogan is dealing with head symptoms, which could lead to sidelining him, but that’s not positive yet. Edelman should be at the top peak of his game along with the other guys like Mitchell, Amendola and even Slater in times of desperation.

Go Pats!