As kickoff to Saturday's Patriots vs. Colts game draws nearer, rain continues to pound the field in Foxborough soliciting at least a few looks of worry among the Patriots fan base. For 2 years now, a rainy field has translated to a loose football as when we look back to games like Week 15 of 2012 vs. the 49'ers and Week 17 of this season vs the Bills, the Patriots have fumbled the ball a combined 6 times and while 4 of those 6 were recovered by the Patriots, it is never a good thing to have the ball on the ground.
Unfortunately, when it comes to the Patriots their players either seem unfocused or incapable of preventing that meaning that as we prepare to watch as the Patriots take part in their 3rd game in which their field is turned to a swimming pool in 2 years they will be looking to reverse this trend and simply hold onto the football.
"It's a long year," New England coach Bill Belichick said when asked about the impending possibility of rain. "It's something that you have to deal with, unfortunately, during the season. But it pretty much happens to everybody."
At last check, The Weather Channel.com has the weather conditions at tonight's 8PM kickoff involving close to 25 mile per hour wind and torrential downpours all combining to form what the website's forecasters deem to be a heavy thunderstorm. While such conditions are only projected to last until that about 9PM, this wind that has caused a wind advisory to be posted until 11PM will likely be a huge factor for both teams. Lucky for New England, the 25MPH winds at kickoff and then 15MPH gusts that will continue up until around midnight will without a doubt be enough to stifle any attempt to chuck something down field where New England is week defensively. Furthermore, the famous gap in Gillette Stadium's construction will make it so that whoever is throwing towards it might not even be able to throw for anything farther than 15-20 yards.
When you take realities like that into account, the possibility of a game focused around the running game and a few surgical screen passes from Brady to Edelman or Ammendola ought to give the Patriots the edge. But I caution you this, of the Patriots top three backs this week, LeGarret Blount, Shane Vereen and Stephan Ridley two of them are not the best at holding a ball especially when it is slippery against their chest. While LeGarret Blount has given the Patriots that power rusher kind of player than even Stephan Ridely cannot be he fumbled 3 times in the regular season. As for Ridley, his 4 fumbles, all recovered by the Patriots were what landed him on the bench for much of the second half of this season.
As the rain pounds down, the thunder echoes through Foxborough the ball will be shoved into the gut of anyone who can be used in such a way. Yards gained after Brady either hands the ball off or tosses it over the line of scrimmage, will be key in this one and if the Patriots are to win they will have to do one thing. Keep the ball in their hands and off the turf below them.
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