Bill Belichick highlights Green Bay’s young players ahead of the Patriots-Packers showdown

Tonight, the New England Patriots will play their fifth prime time game of the season: the Green Bay Packers will visit Foxboro’s Gillette Stadium. But while most of the attention goes to the battle between future Hall of Fame quarterbacks Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, other players on the Packers cannot be ignored either as the latest episode of the Belestrator shows:

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback-turned-broadcaster Scott Zolak start the breakdown of the Packers by taking a look at the team’s rookie cornerbacks Jaire Alexander and Josh Jackson. “Tans may not know their names, but they will,” Belichick said about Green Bay’s first two draft picks this year. “Certainly these guys are going to have a big impact for the Packers and for the league in their careers — they’re off to a great start.”

The first play Belichick and Zolak look at is a double corner blitz that led to a sack against the Minnesota Vikings. “The Packers do a really nice job of pressuring the quarterback, they have quite a few blitzes, they also drop into coverage and mix it up,” Belichick said about the play. “They do a really nice job of keeping you off balance.”

Next up was a deep passing play versus the Los Angeles Rams. The play saw Alexander in coverage against ex-Patriots wide receiver Brandin Cooks. Going one-on-one against one of the NFL’s fastest players is a challenge, but the rookie was up to it. “Alexander really makes a good play on this,” Belichick pointed out. “Runs with him stride-for-stride. He’s got excellent speed, good ball skills, great timing on the job of high-pointing the ball.”

Belichick and Zolak then turned their attention to the offensive side of the football. “They got a lot of explosive players on offense,” New England’s head coach said about the unit before highlighting Jimmy Graham in particular. “Tough guy to handle, big play guy,” Belichick said about one of the better tight ends in the NFL. “Excellent speed, big target, great hands [...] he’s a strong runner after the catch with good speed.”

Finally, Belichick and Zolak analyzed two of the Packers’ wide receivers: Davante Adams and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. “They’re all good after the catch, very good,” Belichick noted. “Lot of explosive players on both sides of the ball.”