In last season’s playoff loss to the Jets, New York went nickel and dime for a sizable portion of the game in hopes of slowing down the Patriots’ passing game, but New England didn’t seize the opportunity, choosing instead to go to a pass-heavy attack (they ran the ball 28 times and threw it 45 times). On Sunday against the Ravens, New England was faced with the same dilemma, but provided a far more balanced offensive attack. Early in the game, they were frequently able to take advantage of the fact that Baltimore had extra defensive backs on the field to pound the ball. With rookie running back Stevan Ridley deactivated, BenJarvus Green-Ellis had his best game in two months, going off for 68 yards on 15 carries and one touchdown, the leading rusher for either team. (Green-Ellis didn’t necessarily have crazy numbers, but the Patriots got excellent value out of him – he carried the ball for 15 of his 23 snaps, and was targeted as a receiver on another snap).
Archives for January 23, 2012
Patriots defensive drives vs. Ravens
The start was great, as was holding them to a Field Goal after the Ravens got the ball on the NE28 after the turnover. Of course the key was the last three possessions.
Another thing to note here is how great the starting field position was from a Pats perspective. Gostkowski had a monster day.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/patriots-ravens-giants-brady-manning/
Breaking down NFL Championship Sunday | National Football Post
Breaking down NFL Championship Sunday | National Football Post
Good stuff as always from Matt Bowen.
Patriots’ offensive game plan: I look at three schemes that worked for the majority of the game for Brady and this offense: the inside trap in the run game (out of the gun), the option route (Welker, Hernandez) and the intermediate dig route (Gronkowski). New England didn’t get the ball down the field and couldn’t produce TDs in the red zone when the Ravens dropped into their two-deep shell. However, when Brady needed a play in the passing game, he worked Welker (6-53) and Hernandez (7-66) underneath plus found Gronkowski (5-87) matched up against a Cover 1 (man-free) safety playing with outside leverage. And he had that all day.
WHY DID THE PATRIOTS WIN? Been trying to figure that out, and not sure if I have a good answer. The Ravens had multiple opportunities to win that game and couldn’t do it. So I’m left with this: the Patriots – all of them, collectively – made enough plays when it counted to win the game. They weren’t great on offense. They weren’t great on defense. They had a fumble on special teams. But after 60 minutes, the Patriots made enough plays in key moments in all three phases to come out with a victory.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At8z25r-m4M
Patriots AFC Championship Trophy Ceremony (by SuperMike850)
(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
https://www.patspropaganda.com/patriots-afc-championship-trophy-ceremony-by/
The Ministry of PatsPropaganda has been discovered by Brett Lockett. Or has it…?
(via Twitter / @BretLockett26: #PatsNation live from Foxb …)
https://www.patspropaganda.com/the-ministry-of-patspropaganda-has-been-discovered/
A source told me this morning that Gronkowski’s left ankle, which he injured on a 23-yard catch in the third quarter, won’t prevent him from participating in the game in Indianapolis in two weeks. The source with direct knowledge of Gronkowski’s condition said simply, “He’ll be ready to go.”
This is good news, but I can’t help but worry a little bit that his effectiveness could be limited. Though there’s just something about Gronk that makes you believe he could be a miraculous healer. Still, this will pretty much be the number one thing on my mind for the next two weeks until we see Gronk out there and how he’s moving.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/patriots-giants-super-bowl-gronkowski/