Patriots-49ers Preview

 

SCOUTING REPORT

Can Pats resurrect deep ball, pass rush?The Patriots are on the road the next two weeks and find themselves needing to keep pace with the Bills in the AFC East. Questions surround the offense and the team's ability to move the ball consistently with QB Matt Cassel at the helm. The 49ers appeared to lose momentum in last week's loss to the Saints, and they need to regain it quickly to hang on to a first-place tie in the NFC West. Among the subplots, it will be interesting to see how the chess match between New England coach Bill Belichick and San Francisco offensive coordinator Mike Martz plays out.

· Full Scouting Report

Matchup
	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
NWE	11-5	410	309	5-3	6-2	4-2	7-5
SFO	7-9	339	381	4-4	3-5	3-3	5-7
· Complete Standings

Individual Leaders

New England Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Brady 65.7 4398 28 13 Hoyer 70.4 142 0 0

San Francisco Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Smith 60.5 2350 18 12 Hill 56.1 943 5 2

New England Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Marone... 194 757 3.9 9 Faulk 62 335 5.4 2

San Francisco Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Gore 229 1120 4.9 10 Coffee 83 226 2.7 1

New England Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Welker 123 1348 11.0 4 Moss 83 1264 15.2 13

San Francisco Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Davis 78 965 12.4 13 Crabtr... 48 625 13.0 2

Full Player Stats: New England | San Francisco

TEAM AVERAGES & NFL RANKS
TEAM OFFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Total Yards	NWE	365.0
	SFO	311.0
Yards Passing	NWE	223.1
	SFO	211.2
Yards Rushing	NWE	142.4
	SFO	99.9
TEAM DEFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Yards Allowed	NWE	309.0
	SFO	326.0
Pass Yds Allowed	NWE	201.4
	SFO	219.2
Rush Yds Allowed	NWE	107.6
	SFO	106.8

HEAD TO HEAD MATCHUPS (SINCE 2001)
New England leads 2-0
Jan 2, 2005	NWE 21, @SFO 7

The New England Patriots went nearly two years between regular season losses. They've had two weeks to think about their last one.

Looking to bounce back from a humbling defeat after their bye week, the Patriots visit the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

After losing 21-0 at Miami on Dec. 10, 2006, New England strung together an NFL-record 21 consecutive regular season victories -- a run which included the first 16-0 season in league history in 2007 before a loss to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.

Even after losing quarterback Tom Brady to a season-ending knee injury midway through the first quarter of their Week 1 game against Kansas City, the Patriots persevered behind inexperienced backup Matt Cassel, beating the Chiefs 17-10 and winning 19-10 at the New York Jets in Week 2.

That was the longest they could sustain the streak. Hosting a Dolphins team that had gone 1-20 since beating New England, the Patriots gave up 461 yards of offense, four rushing touchdowns and a passing TD to Ronnie Brown, and never seriously threatened the lightly regarded Dolphins in a 38-13 defeat Sept. 21.

"It was one of the ugliest defeats I've ever been a part of," cornerback Ellis Hobbs said after the effort, which had the New England fans booing their team off the field by halftime and leaving the game early. "The craziest thing about this loss is that not one thing beat us. ... We lost it as a team."

Making only his second start since high school, Cassel struggled against Miami, going 19-for-31 for 131 yards with one touchdown, one interception and three sacks.

Cassel seemed to take some encouragement from conversations he had with Brady after the loss.

"A lot of them just came down to 'look it happens and there are going to be times when you lose,'" Cassel said. "You just have to stay positive and know that you are going to come out and continue to work hard and get better."

Until Cassel does get better, Randy Moss may continue to be a minimal factor. The superstar wideout, who caught 98 passes for 1,493 yards and a league-record 23 touchdowns in 2007 -- his first season as a Patriot -- caught six passes for 116 yards and a score in Week 1 but has just six receptions for 47 yards since.

Moss also found himself the subject of controversy this week, as Raiders owner Al Davis accused the Patriots (2-1) of tampering with the receiver before obtaining him in a 2007 draft day trade. On Wednesday, both Moss and Patriots coach Bill Belichick declined comment on the charges.

New England has 49 points through three games -- a total it matched or exceeded in three individual games last season -- but its confidence appears intact.

"Why would we doubt?" fullback Heath Evans said. "We've done something around here for a long, long time. We've been coached the same way. We play the same way. We try to respond the same way. So nothing's going to change.

"We're going to keep playing hard-nosed football, and, hopefully, we'll come out on the winning side most of the time."

The Patriots have never come out on top in San Francisco, where they are 0-4 all-time but haven't visited since a 28-3 loss in 1995. They have won two home games against the 49ers since, including 21-7 on Jan. 2, 2005 in the most recent meeting.

Trying to end a string of five consecutive losing seasons, the 49ers (2-2) totaled 64 points to win back-to-back games against Seattle and Detroit, but took a step back last Sunday in a 31-17 loss at New Orleans.

First-year starting quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan completed 18 of 36 passes for 257 yards and a touchdown, but also got intercepted twice in the end zone, got sacked six times and lost a fumble that led to a Saints touchdown. O'Sullivan has been sacked a league-high 19 times.

Possibly of even greater concern, the defense gave up a season-high 363 passing yards to New Orleans, including four plays of 33 yards or more.

"The explosive plays that occurred, they are inexcusable," said 49ers coach Mike Nolan, who does not plan to make changes to his defensive lineup. "There are some mental lapses, mental errors. It wasn't like somebody got whipped on an all-out blitz.

"I'm almost embarrassed to go to the positives. You ignore the positives sometimes when you lose."

Frank Gore continues to be a positive for San Francisco. The running back is averaging 4.9 yards per carry -- significantly better than his 4.2 mark from 2007 -- and last week's game was the first this season in which he didn't score a touchdown.

With a win this week, the 49ers would be above .500 at the latest point in a season since they finished 10-6 in 2002.

Reiss mailbag: A Patriots potpourri

Mail call: A potpourri on Patriots' problems and plans for 2010.

Leaders talk wording of 49ers stadium measure

Santa Clara city leaders are set to discuss the final wording of the ballot measure for a proposed stadium for the San Francisco 49ers.

Wickersham: The future of the NFL

Seth Wickersham looks at the labor dispute that is hanging over the NFL and what the future may hold for the league.

Brady's bonus could speed up extension talk

Tom Brady and the Pats are expected to negotiate an extension that will likely make him one of the highest paid players in the NFL.

Rodney Harrison set to tackle NBC gig

Rodney Harrison [ stats ] is ready to begin the next phase of his life. One of the most storied players in Patriots [ team stats ] history, Harrison will be introduced as the newest member of NBC's broadcast team during a conference call tomorrow, according to a source with knowledge of Harrison's plans.

Jim Donaldson: It's okay to to be optimistic about the 2009 Pats' offense, but let's be realistic

They are more than merely workouts, these sessions in which the Patriots are participating on the grass field in the southern shadow of Gillette Stadium.

Vince Wilfork a no-show again

Patriots [ team stats ] nose tackle Vince Wilfork [ stats ] is scheduled to appear at an event in support of his diabetes charity tomorrow.

Patriots.com News Blitz

Maroney talks about being healthy and Crable and Springs reflect on being back in action.

Patriots re-sign punter Tom Malone

The Patriots announced that they have re-signed punter Tom Malone today. Malone joins veteran Chris Hanson on the roster at the punter spot.

Santa Clara approves financing plan for 49ers stadium

Nearly three years after Santa Clara's hopes of landing an NFL stadium came to life, the City Council early this morning carried that dream over yet another key hurdle ? approving a long-awaited financing plan with the San Francisco 49ers.

CB Bly blows into camp

"My instincts are still very instinctive," he said. Good to know. When Walt Harris tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee two weeks ago, the 49ers were in need of a top-flight cornerback.

Newsom to Santa Clara: Don't build stadium

The Santa Clara City Council may decide tonight to bless a $937 million stadium project for the San Francisco 49ers.

Sharing stadium not such bad idea

THE ONLY ABSOLUTE about a sports team seeking a new home is the presence of anger.

Singletary's 'intensity' could be rallying point for middling 49ers

The new uniforms bring to mind the San Francisco 49ers of the championship years.