Mike Dussault

Patriots vs Ravens Film Review: Defense Edition

December 15, 2016 by Mike Dussault

This was the game by the defense that I’ve been waiting a long time for. Were there some mistakes? Of course. But overall, the Patriots defense played with their best intensity of the season and demonstrated why they can be as good as they want to be when they play within the system.

The big headline coverage-wise in this one was a shift to a lot more zone coverage, with a lot of special attention being paid to the middle of the field as I noted was a critical area in my gameplan article. Early in the game the Patriots played a lot of Cover 2 zone, which had safeties over the tops of the wide receivers and a flood of three zone players right in the flat.

They mixed in some man coverage, but this was primarily a zone game as they shifted to more Cover 3 in the second half. It was a good lesson for me from a football study perspective. I’ve always believe man coverage is the only way to go in today’s NFL but this game showed how effective zone can be when it’s executed well.

We’re finally seeing what we expected this season. An amoeba defense that can flood the line of scrimmage and have any number of guys drop or rush. Maybe they just needed some time but everyone is working together now and the results were obvious. Boil it down to the simple “Do Your Job” because that’s what everyone on the Patriots defense was doing.

Pats Posits: The Rumble with Double Fumbles

December 13, 2016 by Mike Dussault

The Patriots overcame three critical turnovers in what was otherwise their best game of the 2016 season, defeating the Ravens 30-23. It was interesting, as it always is with these teams, but the Pats sealed the game with a clutch 79-yard touchdown pass to a streaking Chris Hogan. That put the Pats back up by 10 and effectively won the game.

A quick-strike 79-yard touchdown? A 1,000 yard rusher leading the league in touchdowns? A defense leading the league in points-against and safeties? Who is this Patriots team, because I think I love them.

It’s hard to win in the playoffs against good teams when you turn the ball over three times in the second half. But the good news is that great teams don’t collapse when they cough it up twice on back-to-back returns.

It was hard not to recall the 2015 season and how everything seemed to be going pretty great until Harper’s Muff in Denver. That team still fought to overtime before succumbing to the Broncos and watching their homefield advantage and season slowly fade away, but the 2016 team decided:

Cyrus’ Muff was not the hill they were dying on. Nor was Slater’s Cough Up.

Resiliency. The mark of any championship team. No matter how much people want to complain about Cyrus Jones this week, things are looking good for the pending Super Bowl run. Clean up the turnovers and the Patriots will be primed for a run at number five.

More on the 2016 Patriots’ identity, how to proceed with Cyrus, and more in the Posits…

Countdown to Patriots-Ravens MNF

December 12, 2016 by Mike Dussault

I kinda enjoyed having a stress-free Sunday yesterday, especially with all the holiday stuff that has to get done this time of year. But now, staring down the barrel of a full busy work day that will be capped off with a major Patriots-Ravens game on Monday Night Football and I’m starting to feel the stress.

Right now, it’s all in the Patriots hands. Win the next two and they could very well lock up the top seed in the AFC. And after yesterday is there really anyone who truly believes the Patriots don’t have an excellent shot at not only getting to the Super Bowl but beating any NFC team once they get there?

But there’s still four games to go, a quarter of the season, and there could be plenty of twists and turns awaiting us, especially against our two biggest rivals…the two teams that stood between us and the Super Bowl four of the last five years in the AFC Championship.

Yes, the Patriots have three games in the next 13 days. In that time the expectations for their playoff run will be set, and I just can’t wait to see tonight how they come out. Is this a peaking Patriots team that we’ve seen for many of the last 15 seasons? Or is it a fading one like injuries dictated last season?

Few thoughts from the Sunday action and Deflategate Part Deux…

Patriots Gameplan: Week 14 vs. Baltimore Ravens

December 9, 2016 by Mike Dussault

There are certain games that define a team’s regular season and this one against the Ravens sure has the makings of a pivotal contest for the 2016 Patriots. There are plenty of reasons one could argue the Ravens are an inferior team, like their 27th-ranked offense or their 3-4 start to the season and struggles on the road.

But here’s the fact, the Ravens know how to play the Patriots. They won’t be intimidated coming to New England, where the Patriots have already lost two games this season. We all thought the 2014 Divisional Playoff game would be a cakewalk, instead the Pats had to dig themselves out of two 14-point holes as Joe Flacco consistently tore them apart until his final game-sealing interception.

Add in the atmosphere of a December Monday Night Football game, the lingering bad blood from the Ravens starting Deflategate and this one should be a classic that will tell us a lot about the 2016 Patriots.

Strap on your helmets for my gameplan…

Patriots vs. Rams Film Review: Defense Edition

December 7, 2016 by Mike Dussault

This was one of the quickest film reviews I’ve ever done, as the Patriots defense was on the field for just 52 plays, forcing eight Rams punts and coming up with two takeaways. As I mentioned in the Posits this week, the defense has been settling into their personnel and it seems to be helping keep everyone on the same page.

Specifically I wanted to take a look at the third downs where the Patriots had remarkable success, allowing just one conversion on 12 third downs. And yes, it’s also worth taking a look at the 66-yard pass they gave up at the end of the game that ruined any potential records they might’ve broken.

By going through each one we get a better picture for the kinds of coverage the Pats played — Rush three, drop eight in third and longs — and what their pass rush packages looked like.

Here’s how the third downs broke down, along with that one long ugly pass…

Patriots Tuesday 10 Pack

December 6, 2016 by Mike Dussault

One of my favorite things in life is ending up in a conversation with another Patriots fan who has no idea that I have been faithfully blogging about the team for nine years. That was the case on Monday when I jumped into a conversation with a couple unknowing people at my real job and listened their deeply held beliefs about this Patriots team.

One of them wasn’t feeling the magic this year, the other thought the offense looked terrible against the Rams and that the only hard game left was Miami. The conversation ended before I could interject any of my own analysis, and really they didn’t seem to care, even though I could at least give them some perspective that they both badly needed.

So my frustration from that conversation has spilled over here into the Tuesday 10 Pack, where I vent about the Monday over-reactors as the dust settles from win number 10.

Here we go…

Pats Posits: Tom Brady, Legend

December 5, 2016 by Mike Dussault

brady2

The Patriots dominated the Rams 26-10 Sunday, nabbing Tom Brady his NFL-record 201st win and closing out the third quarter of the 2016 season at 10-2.

Of course there’s plenty of #YBITR (yeah but it’s the Rams) disclaimers, but still, the Patriots handled an inferior team at home as we expect them to and looked very much like a balanced contender.

Unfortunately, Gronk wasn’t the last injury buzz kill of the last week, with Danny Amendola (seen leaving on crutches in a walking boot) headlining those who left and didn’t return.

Now, the Patriots face a 7-5 Ravens team that has won four-of-five and always plays them tough, even in Foxborough.

More on that, win #201 and the AFC home field playoff chase with the Raiders in the Posits…

Brady by the numbers. pic.twitter.com/1oyGceaOMB

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) December 4, 2016