Patriots know Weeden will take what they give him

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FOXBORO -- Brandon Weeden is not the NFL's version of Derek Zoolander. He can turn left. He simply opts not to most of the time. 

Through three games and 59 pass attempts this season for the Cowboys, Weeden has targeted just eight of his throws to the left and outside the numbers, according to Pro Football Focus. The one pass he completed to that side of the field went for 67 yards against the Saints, but Weeden clearly favors the right and middle portions of the field, where 87 percent of his tosses have landed. 

Weeden has specifically targeted the short middle area, according to PFF, completing 27 of his 28 attempts within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage and inside the numbers.

That's where a few of Weeden's primary targets -- tight end Jason Witten, receiver Cole Beasley and the team's running backs -- do much of their work in the passing game, and Patriots safety Devin McCourty explained on Thursday that he could understand why Weeden would be so inclined to attack that part of an opposing defense.

Sometimes it's the best place to go when the team's top deep threat, Terrence Williams, is the focus of a secondary's attention.

"I think part of that is him just taking what the defense gives him," McCourty said. "When you have a guy like Witten, Beasley and [Terrence] Williams -- a vertical threat -- in the passing game, you want to take that away first . . . If I have good running backs who can catch and get yards, then just throw it to them and let them do what they do."

McCourty was careful to point out, however, that Weeden has proven he can test defensive backs down the field when he trains his focus outside of that check-down area. The example McCourty pointed to was when Weeden hit Williams for a 17-yard score against the Saints to send the game to overtime.

Still, the Patriots defensive backs understand what Weeden likes to do when he has the football in his hands. They know he'll be looking underneath, and they know it's likely that he won't be looking to his left all that often.

"He’s just making sure he doesn’t, you know, turn the ball over or make any bad plays," McCourty said. "I think that’s a part of facing a good quarterback -- just not having many opportunities to take advantage of their mistakes."

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