Bedard: How the Titans, Patriots could attempt to gain an advantage in his game

Each team tries to gain an advantage over their opponent by targeting weaknesses of the opponent, but also playing to your own strengths. There aren't really any magic elixirs like personnel groupings and huge mismatches — these games basically come down to which team has the better players and whether they play to that level thanks to coaches that put them in the best position for success.

After going through the film, here are three ways I think the Titans and Patriots will try to gain an edge on the other.

TITANS VS. PATRIOTS

1. Get after Brady up the middle

This is no magic formula. Mike Vrabel knows it. Dean Pees knows it. The Patriots know it. Get some early hits on Brady and he gets sped up, never feels comfortable and his accuracy is off just enough to keep them disjointed on offense. You don't have to even pressure all that much — the Titans made Brady feels pressure just 25.5 percent of the time in last year's game yet Brady couldn't have played more spooked.

The Titans were, however, very effective at bringing players from the second level up the middle to help move Brady off his spot. That led to Brady and James White allowing almost half (five of 12) pressures.

2. Take care of Edelman and White

The Titans last year started the trend we saw this season with teams putting defensive backs on White and limiting his effectiveness. The Titans used safety Kevin Byard last year and that threw Brady for a loop. No reason not to continue that now.

The bigger issue is Edelman. Yes, he's beat up, but you know he's going to come to play in this game. And I would expect the Patriots to have an answer for what teams have done with Edelman, perhaps making Mohamed Sanu the inside slot from the getgo and putting Edelman on the move.

The point is, the Titans better have a plan for Edelman. They should not sacrifice coverage of Edelman for their pressure packages. And be careful how much confidence you have in Logan Ryan just taking care of Edelman by himself. The Patriots know Ryan as well as anyone and will use some of his tendencies — like jumping in-breaking routes — against him. I almost guarantee the Patriots will come back to this play that Brady missed last year.



3. Use tempo

One underrated factor — on both sides — could be the use of tempo in this game. We know the Patriots have used it effectively in the past and at times this season, but the Titans are actually really good at it — better than most teams.

Out of teams that have not used a huddle on at least 100 snaps, the Titans are the second most successful team in the league (53 percent success rate). Tannehill certainly feels more comfortable there — it was talked about often in his time with the Dolphins — and it would give the Titans two big advantages.

No. 1, it wouldn't let the Patriots set up and call all their various pressures. The Patriots love walking around and then coming with a designer pressure with stunts and twists. Run the no-huddle and they'll be just straight rushing, and they don't have many good one-on-one pass rushers.

No. 2, it would tire out the Patriots. New England is an old team, the oldest team in the league. At times, the defense has looked like it's on fumes down the stretch. If the Titans used tempo early in the game and then went back to the power running game, it would probably make it more effective.

PATRIOTS VS. TITANS

1. Patriots will try to use Titans' defensive speed against them. 

I see a lot of similarities between the Titans and the Bills on defense. Not in the scheme — Buffalo is a dedicated 4-3 zone team and the Titans are a multiple gameplan team — but in terms of speed and personnel makeup.

The Titans are very fast and aggressive, especially with their inside linebackers in Jayon Brown, Rashaan Evans and Wesley Woodyard. The Bills were the same. Against Buffalo, the Patriots wanted to put the whole defense in conflict as much as possible. That makes the Bills think more, which slows them down.

The Patriots used a lot of jet sweeps, James White and Rex Burkhead on the field together, screens, traps ... I would expect more of the same.

The Saints — a very similar team to the Patriots in scheme, quarterbacking, but with better personnel — didn't find much room to run against the Titans with heavier sets.



2. Spread them out and hurry it up at times.

The Saints had a hard time running or throwing the ball in their big personnel formations, and it invited the Titans to get creative in their pressures. Drew Brees and the Saints had a much easier time when they spread the Titans out. It exposed mismatches and also made their pressures much easier to diagnose.

This has not been a strength of the Patriots this season, but it's time to let Brady be Brady by spreading out the Titans and throwing to the open man. Similar to the Ravens game where the Patriots also had success with tempo. Spreading out the Titans will also make it easier for the Patriots to see how the Titans are going to handle Julian Edelman.



3. Put Stephon Gilmore on A.J. Brown.

It's very clear from watching the Titans' film that their passing offense revolves around three things: 1) RB Derrick Henry, 2) Playaction, and 3) WR A.J. Brown.

As far as Henry goes, there's no silver bullet for defending the run. You have to be assignment sure, get off blocks and tackle very well. I can't see the Patriots selling out to stop the run — the Titans aren't bad enough throwing the ball to do that. They're just going to have to play in that area, or it's going to be a long night. I don't think they will have a problem doing that — as long as they match personnel correctly. The Patriots can get caught with small personnel against the run at times.

I wouldn't be afraid to match their multiple tight ends with linebackers. I wouldn't be all that concerned with having Patrick Chung on the field, considering the way he's playing. Yes, Jonnu Smith is an athletic tight end, but Jamie Collins is as much of an athlete as he is. The other tight ends are not a concern as far as breaking a tackle and making a big play.

If the Patriots are big enough where they can defend the run, that should mean they don't have to overpursue against the run, setting up play-action. Tannehill badly needs it — he always has — because he's so poor at reading defenses, and he shows that at times.

The big thing, to me, is Brown. Very clearly the passing offense runs through him. Whether it's designed shots, low crossers or one-on-one hitches, Tannehill likes to go to Brown and his big body. Well, this is why Gilmore is paid the big bucks. He needs to erase Brown from the game and he is fully capable of that. I'm not ending my season with JC Jackson losing a battle to Brown. It has to be Gilmore, and that's in his wheelhouse.