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By Matthew Geagan, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) – Are you ready for football?
No? You are not alone. Nobody is really. And that's the problem of Thursday night. It is almost impossible for anyone to make a turnaround from Sunday to Thursday. Three days are not enough to recover, relax and prepare for more football. There is simply not enough time to calm down, no matter which hand controls the remote and get in shape for a busy sports night.
It's also tough enough for the players, even though the Patriots were very good at making that adjustment. They played in a 7-1 game on Thursday night in football matches since the league stepped up its program midweek in 2006, winning its last seven appearances in the TNF.
They now have a team of 1 to 3 Colts with a rookie head coach who has just lost a pretty devastating extra time. The Patriots beat the Colts in each of their last seven meetings with an average margin of 19 points. He is the little brother of New England, the one who always wants to play with the big boys but is sent back to be too young and too small. What a fall from an old rivalry with the NFL.
Here's what we're going to watch when the Pats and Colts kick off Thursday night at Gillette Stadium:
Hi Jules!
Julian Edelman (Photo by Streeter Lecka / Getty Images)
The return of Julian Edelman and his impact on the New England offensive are the most important scenario of the game. Tom Brady recovers his security cover and no longer has to worry about himself. wake up in front of Edelman who stands at his bedside asking "Can we play football now?"
Edelman will not solve all the problems of the offensive, but he will give a gigantic boost. It will attract the attention of the opposing defenses, which will open the way for other receivers. Chris Hogan will no longer have to claim to be # 1 and should see his production increase with Edelman. And with Edelman opening himself (or helping others), Brady can get rid of football much faster.
Then there is the third New England offensive, which was at best dull in the first four weeks. They went 10-15 on Sunday against the Dolphins, but since weeks 1 to 3, they've been a 10-to-35 trap. Expect more shows like Sunday with Edelman in the mix.
A hole the size of Gronk
Rob Gronkowski (Photo by Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
One of the players who will benefit the most from Edelman's return is the tight hurdle Rob Gronkowski, who could actually see a unique cover now that teams have to chase "squirrel". Unfortunately, we do not know if it will start on Thursday night, Gronk will probably have an ankle injury (his list is debatable, but the speed with which it is made makes it very unlikely the possibility of playing).
Edelman will help fill the gap of Gronk's size in the offensive if the tight party can not go away. But without Gronk, and with Jacob Hollister probably injured again in the chest, Dwayne Allen will be the only tight end of the New England depth chart. He says he's ready for a bigger role on Thursday night if Gronk is out, but Allen has never really done anything but block since his arrival in New England last season. We have a better chance to see James Develin have a tight impact than Allen.
Running, running, running, running
Sony Michel. (Photo by Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
The New England depth chart in running is no longer as impressive, with James White and rookie Sony Michel. But with the quick recovery and confrontation with an extremely questionable defense of the Colts, both teams should receive a healthy workload on Thursday.
Michel looked good for the first time on Sunday, scoring 112 yards and his first career touchdown. The whites are a workaholic in the passing game, leading each with eight catches for 68 yards and a touchdown against the Dolphins, but he also ran the ball eight times for 44 yards and a score. He already has 110 rushing yards for the season and is expected to have no problem surpassing his career-high 176 yard rushing record since last season.
Against a tired defense of Indy, who is on the road after a loss in overtime and yields 109 yards rushing per game, expect another memorable day from Michel and White (though we're waiting about that of White each week).
Keep luck in check
Andrew Luck of the Colts of Indianapolis. (Photo by Al Bello / Getty Images)
Andrew Luck is not Andrew Luck who was selected first overall in 2012. But he has just won his best game of the year by scoring 464 yards and four touchdowns against the Texans (the first game of more than 400 yards from his career). He has thrown a total of nine touchdowns so far this season, and is showing signs that he may well get back into shape after losing everything last season.
He will be extremely outnumbered on Thursday with receiver number 1 T.Y. Hilton sitting with a bad hamstring. With Luck's lack of options in the passing game and a quick offense that averages only 72 yards per game and 3.6 yards per run, the New England defense should receive a lot of hits in the game. quarter this week.
Listen to the post-game reaction and analysis on myTV38 on behalf of the Patriots in the 5th quarter, as well as Bill Belichick and Tom Brady LIVE, after the Patriots-Colts tilt Thursday night .
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