The biggest challenge the New England Patriots defense will face this season already came in week six when the Kansas City Chiefs’ high-flying offense visited Gillette Stadium. However http://www.thepatriotsfootballauthentic.com/kyle-van-noy-jersey-authentic , the Green Bay Packers’ — despite some inconsistency so far this season — cannot be underestimated either and will pose one of the bigger hurdles for the unit to clear this season. In order to do it, the group needs to find a way to accomplish the following three goals.Force Aaron Rodgers to go to his depth targetsAlmost half of the 286 passes Green Bay’s quarterbacks have attempted so far this season were thrown to wide receiver Davante Adams and tight end Jimmy Graham. The duo ranks one and two in most major receiving categories on the Packers offense and naturally should be treated as such: New England needs to find a way to slow the two down and by extension force quarterback Aaron Rodgers to look elsewhere.How can they do that? Having a shutdown cornerback helps, and Stephon Gilmore is just that. He should spend the majority of the night guarding Adams, who leads Green Bay with 52 catches for 690 yards and six touchdowns. While the 25-year old obviously is a tough matchup for any defensive back, Gilmore has shown time and again this year that he is up to the challenge of taking away physically imposing wideouts.Meanwhile, strong safety Patrick Chung should be used on Graham. Like Gilmore, the veteran has had success against elite tight ends this year — think the Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce — which makes him a logical defender to guard the big tight end tonight. Taking away Graham and Adams should, in turn, take Rodgers a bit out of his comfort zone and force depth players to win their matchups.Set the edge wellThe Patriots defense has faced plenty of mobile quarterbacks in 2018 — from Deshaun Watson to Patrick Mahomes to Mitchell Trubisky — but it has not always been able to properly contain them. Tonight will mark the next chance for Brian Flores’ unit to match up against a highly athletic passer in Aaron Rodgers, and keeping him in the pocket to limit the damage he can do with his feet has to be imperative.First and foremost, the edge defenders cannot be too aggressive. This is exactly what happened against Trubisky in week seven and it allowed the Chicago Bears’ quarterback to burn the group for 81 yards on six carries. Rodgers, who has 18 carries for 116 yards so far this season, is a similar threat when allowed to break the pocket and pushing too far upfield from the edge could be fatal.Contain should therefore be high up on New England’s list of defensive priorities. This http://www.thepatriotsfootballauthentic.com/ryan-allen-jersey-authentic , of course, does not just hold true when it comes to the quarterback but also to limiting Green Bay’s ground game. While Ty Montgomery is no longer part of the equation due to him getting traded to Baltimore, Aaron Jones and his 6.2 yards per carry cannot be allowed to get to the outside as well.Don’t hand out extra chancesGreen Bay’s offense may not be the most efficient in the league this season, but that does not mean it is not a dangerous unit to play against. Consequently, the Patriots need to bring their A-game not just when it comes to execution but also when it comes to mentality: the unit cannot allow its opponent to get extra chances through penalties or cheap third down conversions.This, of course, holds true against every offense in the NFL but it is even more important against an offensive powerhouse like the Packers. If the Patriots defense can play a sound game and not commit avoidable errors, it would go a long way to supporting the offense to keep up in what could very well turn out to be a shootout. SAN DIEGO (AP) — Don Yee, the agent for Tom Brady and other NFL stars, and three-time Super Bowl champion Ed McCaffrey will head Pacific Pro Football, a league that will provide an alternative path to the NFL that has never existed.Pacific Pro Football announced Monday that it is scheduled to begin play in July 2020 with four teams in Southern California. It will allow players to play professionally directly out of high school, with the average salary and benefits totaling $50,000 for a two-month season.Yee said the NFL is the only major sport in the world that doesn’t have any kind of developmental system. The widening divergence between styles of play in college and the NFL means some college players aren’t necessarily being trained for the pro game Youth Stephen Gostkowski Jersey , he added.Pacific Pro Football will be similar to the NBA’s G League. McCaffrey will be commissioner and former NFL Network vice president Jamie Hemann will be CEO.“There is a growing realization and concern, actually, in the NFL, all the way from ownership on down, that the growing divergence between the college product and the NFL product is a problem,” Yee said in a phone interview Monday. “There also is a realization that is somewhat anomalous, that the NFL product doesn’t have any kind of hand in any kind of developmental system.”He pointed to Sunday’s AFC wild-card game in which the Los Angeles Chargers beat Baltimore 23-17 by frustrating and harassing Ravens rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson. With the former Louisville star leading the way, the Ravens went on a tear late in the regular season by combining a time-consuming ground game with the league’s top-ranked defense. The Ravens beat the Chargers 22-10 on Dec. 22, but Los Angeles quickly figured out a way to bottle up Jackson in the rematch.“There are fantastic athletes like Lamar Jackson, who excelled in college in a particular system, but once he reaches a different style of game and play, you can see it’s going to take a little while to properly train him playing a different style,” Yee said. “What we hope to do is accelerate that learning curve.”Yee said concern about the divergent styles between college and the NFL is shared by some college players and their parents Youth Julian Edelman Jersey , and that playing at a four-year college isn’t necessarily the best or only path to the NFL.“It should be OK for a young man to simply want to be a good football player, no different than if a young man or woman simply wanted to be a good engineer,” Yee said. “Any kind of ambition is honorable.”Yee said he anticipates that in the first year, most of the league’s players will have already played some college football. He added that there are high school players who are good enough to play three years with Pacific Pro Football and then make the jump to the NFL.“We view it as, this league will be the best of the best, and what I mean is we will not make an employment offer to any player unless we strongly believe that player has a professional football future,” he said.The projected annual average salary and benefits will be $50,000, and the league will negotiate separately with every player depending on perceived market value, Yee said. He said he couldn’t yet identify the league’s investors.Once a player becomes eligible to apply for the NFL draft, he will term out of Pacific Pro Football, Yee said. Players are eligible for the NFL three years removed from their high school graduating class.The league will play in July and August. Plans call for teams in San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles counties Youth Rob Gronkowski Jersey , with games played at community colleges.Yee said the league will offer one year of free junior college tuition to each player, and teams will have counselors to offer advice on post-playing careers.Most of the league’s players in the first year will have already played some college football, Yee said.Besides Brady, Yee also represents Julian Edelman, Jimmy Garoppolo and Saints coach Sean Payton.McCaffrey recently stepped down as the head coach at Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. He won a Super Bowl championship with San Francisco in 1994 and two more with Denver in 1997 and 1998. Of his four sons, Max is a wide receiver with the 49ers, Christian is a running back and return specialist for the Carolina Panthers and Dylan is a quarterback at Michigan.“Our league will be fun for players and fans, and fans will see the best of the next generation of stars,” McCaffrey said in a statement.FOX Fantasy AutoForm a Racing Team, Compete for PrizesPlay Now!
