NFL playoffs

With what appeared to be a productive bye week behind them, the top-seeded Patriots now turn their attention toward an AFC divisional round playoff game against the No. 4 Denver Broncos at 8 p.m. Saturday at Gillette Stadium.

Although the players had the weekend off, it was a hectic time for the coaching staff. Offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien was introduced as the replacement for Joe Paterno at Penn State and (former?) whiz kid Josh McDaniels returned to New England to assist and ultimately run the offense.

Here are some early thoughts on five key story lines with regard to the Patriots' playoff opener:

?1. O'Brien is working for both Penn State and the Patriots until the playoffs are over. Those are jobs that both regularly call for 18-hour workdays. You can do the math, but that adds up to a lot more than the maximum 24 hours you get in a day.

Bill Belichick is always quick to say his focus is on the next opponent, and nothing else. That obviously won't be the case with O'Brien, who is going to be dealing with getting things up to speed in Happy Valley while working to ensure the Tom Brady-led offense continues to operate at maximum efficiency in New England.

However, the arrival of McDaniels figures to more than make up for whatever the Patriots will lose with O'Brien working for PSU and the NEP. Bringing him back right now was nothing short of brilliant, a move only Belichick would pull the trigger on.

?2. The defense, which some people believed might be stronger than the offense entering the season, has been a source of concern since the Dolphins racked up 488 yards and 24 points in Week 1.

The Patriots ended up ranked 31st in the league in yards allowed (411.1), 28th on third down (opponents converted 43.1 percent of their opportunities) and tied for 21st in the red zone (touchdowns allowed on 55.7 percent of the trips inside the 20-yard line).

But in the two most important defensive statistics, they checked in 15th in points allowed (21.4) and tied for third in takeaways (34). In other words, there is hope.

And one can look to ? of all teams ? the 2006 Colts for further inspiration. They ranked 21st in yards allowed (332.3) and 23rd in points allowed (22.5) in the regular season before tightening up in the playoffs, those numbers dropping the averages to 238.5 and 16.3 as they went 4-0 and won the Super Bowl.

?3. The Patriots, you may have heard, have not won a playoff game since defeating the Chargers, 21-12, for the AFC championship on Jan. 20, 2008. Since then they've lost to the Giants in Super Bowl XLII, the Ravens in a wild-card game to close the 2009 season and the Jets in the divisional round last season.

The last two losses came at home and were one-and-dones, disappointing finishes to teams that went a combined 24-10, including 16-0 at Gillette Stadium. You can't see him, but there is definitely a primate crouched on the shoulders of the Patriots.

Not that they'll publicly admit it.

?For me personally, I'd love to win a playoff game because I haven't in my career,? special teams captain Matthew Slater said. ?So I just want to win a game, it's as simple as that. I'm sure that's the sentiment around here. We just want to win and last year and the year before that, different teams and different players.

?We're going to be playing different teams here in this first week than we did. We're definitely not going to be playing Baltimore and we're definitely not going to be playing the Jets here, so there's no real carryover. We just have to focus on this team and this year and doing our job.?

?4. Whether it was the Steelers or the Broncos, the Patriots were ensured of a rematch once the third-seeded Texans advanced Saturday.

They'll get the Broncos. The AFC West champions went 8-8, which was the worst record of the 12 teams to make the playoffs, and lost their final three games ? two of them at home ? by a combined score of 88-40.

The Broncos had won six straight before the Patriots bludgeoned them, 41-23, in Denver. The Broncos piled up 218 yards and 10 points in the first quarter before being limited to 174 and 13 over the final three.

Look for Belichick and his minions to repeatedly reference the Broncos' superior offensive play in the first 15 minutes, rather than mentioning Denver's three lost fumbles in the second quarter, when the outcome of the game was determined.

?5. Tim Tebow, the darling of the religious right with the inaccurate left wing. Enough said ? for now.

Source: http://www.telegram.com/article/20120109/NEWS/101099943/1009/RSS01&source=rss

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