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Patriots Take 2: Tom Brady shredded Wade Phillips blitz in shootout – Going Deep – Boston.com
Good stuff as always from Frenz (we’ll be back with a podcast tomorrow)…
Despite all their changes and injuries on defense, the Patriots have used 186 unique lineup combinations on defense, which is actually the 11th-fewest in the NFL. However, they’ve fielded 11 different starting units on defense, tied with the Chicago Bears and San Diego Chargers for the second-most different combinations.
Patriots were fortunate to hold on in Texas – Sports – The Boston Globe
It’s not getting much mention yet this week, but the Pats o-line is certainly starting to string together a good stretch of games. Especially the interior guys, who were inconsistent early this season.
Center Ryan Wendell and right guard Dan Connolly had a little trouble at times, but the offensive line was excellent overall in pass protection, allowing only one sack in 42 passing plays. We counted 16 Houston blitzes, and Watt seemed to twist or stunt on every single play. But the five offensive linemen worked well together, correctly handled their assignments, and kept Tom Brady clean for most of the game. Nate Solder had a really nice bounce-back game after allowing two sacks to the Broncos’ Von Miller. Logan Mankins had another nice game, but did miss a block that would’ve sprung Vereen for a big gain on a screen pass.
Grading the Patriots vs. Texans: Halftime adjustments key New England win | masslive.com
The All-22 film reviews are pouring in this morning. Good stuff from all the beat guys and I try to pick out nuggets that stood out to me in my own watching of it. Here’s one from Nick Underhill…
One negative about the switch to more 3-4 looks: Rob Ninkovich and Chandler Jones are often forced to drop into coverage. Ninkovich dropped back into coveage 10 times Sunday, while Chandler Jones dropped back five times. If it’s about getting the best 11 men on the field and putting them in a position to succeed, a 4-3 look with Chandler Jones and Ninkovich as the ends and either Jamie Collins or Dane Fletcher essentially taking the place of one of the defensive linemen may be a stronger front.
FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Week 13 DVOA Ratings
Here’s the Week 13 DVOA ratings and they point out what we all know:
You can see how the Patriots have completely turned things around to become the same team they’ve been the last few years. The offense is awesome again, and the defense, now riddled with injuries, is once again below average. The special teams, as always, are excellent.
From Weeks 1-8:
From Weeks 9-13
Still, I think if you looked specifically at the defensive breakdown, it wouldn’t be the same old “great against the run, can’t stop any legit passing attack” we’ve seen the last three seasons. Now it’s the opposite, and we’ll see if that makes any difference in the post season.
The overall season DVOA ratings:
Overall: 5th
Offense: 6th
Defense: 16th
Special Teams: 4th
When you have two challenges, I don’t see anything wrong with the concept of ‘you can challenge any two plays that you want,’” Belichick said. “I understand that judgment calls are judgment calls, but to say that an important play can’t be reviewed, I don’t think that’s really in the spirit of trying to get everything right and making sure the most important plays are officiated properly.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/when-you-have-two-challenges-i-dont-see/
Gotta love what this team is about off-the-field as well…
Great photo of Rob Ninkovich visiting pediatric patients at @DanaFarber this afternoon: pic.twitter.com/LIrJbhYiKT
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) December 3, 2013
It will certainly be a hotly-debated topic very shortly for sure.
The biggest thing, as I see it, is if you’re another team, how confident are you that Edelman is not a product of the New England system? Unless you have an elite QB at the trigger, it might be a stretch to think that Edelman can put up the same kind of numbers.
No question, he is an elite punt returner on any team, but do you pay him like a #1 WR? The Patriots have some insurance with Amendola, who should take some good strides forward next year after a full season in the system. I mean, most of us thought Amendola would be the main slot guy anyway.
It took Edelman some time to develop and, maybe most important of all, he’s stayed healthy. Don’t think there’s much dropoff from Edelman to Amendola next season if Edelman walks. But Amendola would just need to stay healthy like Edelman has this year.
But Edelman’s a homegrown player and is showing how much he’s earned Tom Brady’s trust. They knew what they were getting into when they gave him a “prove it” deal (just like with Talib) and they might have to live with having his pay bumped a bit because he’s proven it.
Edelman got to test the free agent market last season and really only got interest from the Giants as I remember. I’m just not convinced any team will believe he’ll play up to the money it will take to get him out of New England with a different QB.
Right now I’d say it’s likely they can figure something out that will work for both sides. But if the Pats can survive Welker’s departure, they can certainly survive without Edelman.
Still, you want to keep homegrown players in house and Edelman is one of the few WRs they’ve developed. They re-did the passing offense this season, there’s no reason to let the receptions leader walk again after he just emerged.
A more interesting question might be if they’d consider cutting Amendola and putting some of his cap space towards a long-term deal with Edelman…?