On Tuesdays this season I’ll feature a few GIFs that sum up how the game went. Whether they’re big plays or forgettable ones, I’ll try to capture the spirit of the thing.
This first one comes in the third quarter with the Pats holding a lead. Hoomanwanui whiffs as Cameron Wake explodes off the edge, Ridley can’t get over the pick him up and the late rusher makes sure Brady has nowhere to go. For all the criticism and focus on the interior of the line, they weren’t very good on the edges either.
On this next one the Pats are already in a hole on second down. 2nd-and-20 is never an easy down and distance but Devey and Solder are beaten cleanly right away and Brady doesn’t even know what happened.
Finally, one play to sum up the defense’s struggles is this one. Wilfork and Siliga have him the backfield and a stop here would’ve given Brady the chance for a game-winning touchdown drive, but they can’t stop him and the game was effectively sealed.
As much as I would’ve loved to include Brady’s TD pass to Gronk or the long pass to Edelman those were just quick glimpses of what this team is capable of. I’m sure there will be plenty more of those this season and I hope to be GIFfing all of them.
Sub: 42 of 74 (41 in nickel, 1 in dime)
Base: 31 of 74
Heavy: 1 of 74
3 WR/1 TE/1 RB – 49 of 86
2 WR/2 TE/1 RB – 14 of 86
2 WR/1 TE/1 FB/1 RB – 13 of 86
3 WR/2 RB – 6 of 86
3 WR/1 FB/1 RB – 3 of 86
1 WR/2 TE/1 FB/1 RB – 1 of 86