Houston Texans vs New England Patriots--Round Two

Before I rant away about this, I have to pay homage to my beloved Oakland Raiders by giving Tom Brady the only two words that he ever deserves in his entire football career. TUCK YOU! Okay, now that that's out of my system, I can rant away about the little chance in hell the Texans stand to beat the New England Patriots in a divisional playoff round. Tom Brady has been catered to offensively unlike any quarterback in the history of the NFL. No doubt he is one of the greatest to ever play the game. My disdain for his Patriots' defeat of my Raiders in 2001 notwithstanding, Brady is extremely talented. But from the owner and the GM to the Belechick on the sidelines in his hoodie, they have placed some awesome pieces around Tommy boy. Two big, fast, sure-handed, hard-to-tackle, cornbread-fed tight ends. Two small, quick wideouts who are exceptional at route-running -- especially routes 10 yards or less. And they have a legitimate deep threat with wheels. And let's not even get into that offensive line that protects Brady like the Secret Service protects the President. Brady has all day to throw the ball if he needs it, but the fact he doesn't need it is just a crushing blow to all comers. On average, Tom is getting the ball out of his hands in under 3 seconds, and his passes are picking up 8 yards or more. This continuously moves the ball at a fast pace, and this is an issue that compounds on a defense. They have to constantly keep up with a high-octane offense. Their defense isn't that great, but the Patriots make up for it in that area by playing mistake-free football. Where the Texans may have trouble converting on third downs, the Patriots do it easier than anyone in the league. The only chance the Texans have is to seriously slow the pace of the game. They need to huddle every play. They need to run the play clock down to 1 second. And they need to pound the ball with Foster, keep Johnson's routes shorter, and eat small portions of the field rather than big chunks. Grind out the game by taking more than half a quarter for a drive. Keep that New England offense on the sidelines! And when it comes to third down: CONVERT! That's the most important stat in this game. If they Texans can't get at least 70% of third downs, they'll get blown off the field. Punting is not an option. Then, of course, Watt has to come to life and swat down those passes and pressure Brady. They need to hold New England under 24 if they want to win this one.