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Patriots All-22 Defensive Review: Jacksonville Jaguars

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In some ways the Patriots’ moves on defense this season have made my life a lot easier because of how mix-and-match they’ve gone. Yes we could keep track of every defensive front combination they’re using but that loses the forest for the trees.

The big picture view is that the Patriots defense is finally about generating pass rush with athleticism. For all the talk of how much of step backward the Pats would be taking without Revis and Browner, I think they “additions/progression” of Easley, Sheard and Malcolm Butler will actually make this a better overall defense by the end of the year.

The top photo is a third down that came against the Jaguars, but very well sums up the personnel and disguise the Patriots are using now in passing situations. Chandler Jones
 is the one with his hand down shaded over the center. Some combination of Sheard, Collins, Hightower, Ninkovich and maybe Chung are blitzing, but through three games we’ve seen just about all of the drop into coverage as well.

As I wrote in yesterday’s Posits, Easley is almost too fast off the ball sometimes. This isn’t entirely different than Jamie Collins
’ rookie year where he needed to learn to be patient because his world class athleticism would allow him to make plays that he let come to him. 

I’m not sure what the answer is with Easley other than experience and knowing when he needs to be in the backfield asap without opening up a crease in the running game.

Maybe this is too bold of a statement but I don’t see any universe where I’d rather have Darrelle Revis over Malcolm Butler
. Butler isn’t as good as Revis yet, but don’t tell him that. The sky is the limit for Butler who is constantly around the ball. He still overplays some throws at times, but how many potential interceptions could he have this season already? Six? Seven?

Jabaal Sheard has been everything we thought he could be for this defense. He allows them to pull back on Ninkovich and Chandler Jones a bit, but through three games he’s been better than both of them and played more snaps than both of them against the Jags. He’s got two sacks but has drawn four penalties.

Coverage-wise the Pats are slowly getting a bit more complex, but remain a base man defense team. Against the Jags we saw some significant steps in disguising coverages, one that almost led to a Butler interception.

Overall, it all goes back to great coverage can only help a pass rush so much, but if you had to choose between the two, you have to pick pass rush every time and it’s clear that that’s what the Patriots have done this season.

Yes, we’ve seen some all LB packages at times over the years, but it’s never been as dedicated as this. And it’s not like you can just run on them when they go light because they’re all big and tough and able to hold up against offensive linemen.

What we’re seeing right now is a defense starting to hit its prime, just as we saw in 2003, where there was the perfect mix of experience and youth with talent at all levels.

Compare the personnel now to 2010 and there is no comparison. It’s an easy talking point to say things like Tom Brady has to carry this team, but that’s really not the case anymore. Brady has overcome a full turnover on defense in 2008-2009 and now they have a number of high-round picks who are incredibly talented.

It’s time for this defense to enter the conversation as one of the most talented groups in the NFL.

Patriots All-22 Review vs. Bills

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It’s All-22 Tuesday! Trying to make this a little easier to read and follow, so I’m shortening it a bit and doing both offense and defense in one post, just divided by halves to look for adjustments. 

Lots of great stuff in this one but I still think the Pats have much better football ahead of them on both sides of the ball.

Let’s dive in, defense first of course…

Defense

1st Half

The Bills had a nice first drive, with the Pats playing Cover 1 Man on 6 of 9 snaps. The problems were primarily early-season sloppiness, not getting off blocks, not causing havoc. The coverage shift that occurred after that was switching to Cover 3, which matched up well with the long-developing routes the outside receivers were running. That led to five-straight three and outs.

After the first drive I had them in Cover 3 on 16 snaps, Cover 1 Man on 8 snaps. Again, it’s Tyrod Taylor, and there were some open receivers in the zone holes, but generally this coverage was perfect for forcing indecision and check downs.

The Patriots also started to use McCourty closer to the line of scrimmage whether as a zone defender or spying the quarterback. 

Chandler is up and down in run defense and it seems teams do target him, but his athleticism as a pass rusher is excellent and he’s a very solid piece. 

On the long PI call on Bradley Fletcher he was playing Cover 3 so he wasn’t trying to jam and it quickly became a foot race that he was losing. Expect teams to target him on deep shots frequently now. 

2nd Half

As expected the defense stuck with mostly Cover 3 in the second half and it continued to be mostly effective. The Bills adjusted by hitting some sideline comeback routes to attack the coverage, but they really didn’t start doing damage and mounting a comeback until Taylor started getting out of the pocket and make throws on the run late in down when the coverage had broken down a bit. 

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How about that hole?

The 32-yard Woods TD was a prime example of this as Malcolm Butler was left essentially alone covering two guys in the end zone and the pass just snuck through his hands.

Would’ve liked to see a better game out of Siliga. He’s probably their best tackle right now but he’s not playing like it, getting easily blocked too often. Alan Branch bounced back and made some plays while Malcom Brown was just okay.

The 24-yard Watkins TD again just beat Bradley Fletcher with speed over the top. This is a major area of concern.

Offense

First Half

The Patriots always have a feeling out period at the start of a game, especially on offense. They spread the field on the first possession, then went to a jumbo package early on the second drive, but still threw it. Just seeing how the Bills would play them. 

Rex’s favorite thing is to only send three in the red zone, but credit the protection and Edelman on his touchdown as he beat the double team and Brady found room to scramble and deliver the perfect ball. Edelman makes so many tough plays we’re almost starting to take them for granted.

Loved Dion Lewis’ hard touchdown run, the first time the Pats handed off in the game, on their third possession! He lowered his shoulder to get into the end zone, the kind of play the coaches surely love. I know I do.

Never a good sign when there’s visible confusion on the defense’s side on how to cover Gronk just before the snap. That’s what happened on Gronk’s touchdown not surprisingly.

Michael Williams is an interesting player who seems to skew more tackle than tight end but the Patriots are using him all over the place. His rise could mean the end of the Hooman.

On the failed fourth-down conversion in the second quarter they tried to sell the fly sweep that they had just run earlier with Edelman. Nobody bit and Brady just had to fling and pray.

On the second-quarter sack of Brady, that was nullified by a hold on Buffalo, it’s clear where Vollmer hurts his finger. Andrews and Mason missed the stunt and Brady had to hit the deck.

Dion Lewis’ 40-yard catch up the sideline was reminiscent of Vereen but he’s got even more wiggle to him. Excited to see how they start to scheme even more to get him open in space. Dead on balls throw from Brady.

Second Half

What a throw by Brady on third-and-1 to find Gronk for 28 yards on the first possession. This is just as he’s throwing the ball, most QBs would have a loaf in their pants long before this.

Seemed like an effort to get Chandler more involved in the second half, of course him not coming up with a touchdown those two times they targeted him in the end zone were no bueno.

Lewis has such side-to-side agility and is so hard to tackle in tight spaces. That part of his game is very Woodhead-y.

Didn’t even realize Vollmer returned to the game until now.

Edelman’s touchdown was so Edelman, just all out effort. Can’t say enough about the player he’s developed into.

Definitely a few miscues by the offensive line but all things considered this was an impressive performance by all of them. Yes, Brady got the ball out quick but we’ve seen even that gameplan get disrupted by immediate pass rush. 

Dobson did have one kinda gross drop but otherwise it was just the kind of game he needed to build some confidence. His chances will continue, I just want to see him do something special.

Didn’t love the 4th-and-1 play call but Edelman was open, Brady just missed. I prefer aggressive play calling but I think a punt would’ve been the right call there instead of trying to over-finish, if that makes sense.

On Brady’s fumble that made all our butts pucker up it was on Solder a bit for missing the cut block but also for Brady thinking he could reload. Good pursuit by Hughes and good coverage on Gronk to force Brady to not throw.

Pats were up five with 4:04 when they got the ball back and what a drive they put together to seal the game. Big part of it was the unbelievable Amendola catch.

Pats offense looked really good in this one, with Gronk, Edelman and Lewis making most of the big plays but Amendola and Dobson chipping some key ones as well. Still, they left some plays on the field and are still learning what they do best. But right now I see no reason this offense won’t be better than last year’s outside of injuries.

Patriots vs. Steelers All-22 Review: Offense Edition

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NFL Gamepass was pretty choppy as I tried to review the offense so instead of going drive-by-drive this will just be more general takeaways since it was tough to establish a flow. 

Generally this was one of the better openers of recent memory for the offense. There was still some offensive line juggling and they struggled at times, but overall Brady was close to mid-season form. Of course, he always seems to look comfortable against the Steelers and this one was no exception.

– Dion Lewis is so quick through the hole and has the ability to not only make guys miss, but to break tackles as well. Still, I think he’ll be even more deadly when he’s paired with LeGarrette Blount. The Pats needed that big fourth quarter back in this one, but had to stick with Lewis and that was when the defense started to shut him down a bit. On Lewis’ fumble it was a perfect replica of Shane Vereen’s ability to make tough catches across the middle after squirting out of the backfield.

– Brady wasn’t holding the ball long but compared to last year, and considering the number of rookie OL playing, the protection and blocking looked pretty good. If you couldn’t tell from the summer, I just love watching Shaq Mason and it wasn’t a surprise to see him lineup as a goalline fullback. He’ll get a touchdown carry before his Patriots career is done. Yes Solder had a couple brain farts, but that’s kind of par for the course now, and he was still better than last year. Let’s just keep Cannon from playing any LT okay?

– Gronk is such a force out there, he really makes this offense unstoppable at times because of how he allows the Pats to dictate matchups. Now the four tight end set looks like a new nightmare to deal with.

– I said I’d give away a t-shirt for every yard-after-contact Bolden had and he ended up with 5 carries for 1 yard. I still gave away a t-shirt. But yeah, Bolden is nothing more than a stopgap at running back. He just seems like the easiest guy in the world to tackle and never makes that extra play like we consistently saw out of Lewis.

– Edelman and Amendola didn’t look like they missed a beat from the Super Bowl. Especially Edelman. What a progression he’s had since starting his career in 2009. He’s just relentless and picks up some many extra yards on extra effort.

– Brady set a record with 19 straight completed passes. Fitting that the last one came on the 52-yarder to Gronk. Brady was as locked in as I’ve ever seen him in an opener, maybe since 2007 when they unveiled Randy Moss.

Patriots vs. Steelers All-22 Review: Defense Edition

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All in all, not a great night for the Patriots’ defense, but they’re a lot better than they showed in this one. Generally it was the same old early season problems they usually have – not playing on the same page, not getting off blocks, missing tackles. It’s really how it looked vs. KC last year, but there’s no reason to panic. 

The Pats were willing to concede a lot in the running game. Once Easley went down it was telling that they went to Grissom for most of the rest of the night. If they were worried about stopping the run it would’ve been easy to put Siliga/Branch/Brown in there in some combination. No, they wanted to have athletes to pass rush in there, for better or worse. Doesn’t mean it will continue and I think Easley is a much better option for this kind of defensive philosophy than an undersized rookie like Grissom. The Steelers took the bait and ran over and over against the defensive right side.

Defensively not much changed from last year in terms of coverage. It was almost all man except for long situations where they’d play it safe in zone. They were slightly less aggressive off the line, pulling back to off man more often than we saw last year. But for those of us who thought they were going back to zone, they didn’t here and thank Hoodie they didn’t because playing man defense in today’s NFL is vital. I’m still not sure how well they’ll be able to do it against the deeper passing teams, but we’ll see.

The pressure was mostly non-existent and it was clear they were missing a dominant inside player like Wilfork. Overall I thought Siliga was probably the best DT followed by Brown and then Branch, who looked slow to me out there. Hopefully he really didn’t drop off the cliff that much, but he looked like he could be gone if that play continues. 

Each of the LB/DEs had their moments good and bad, but generally they were all pretty average, and some of that is because one guy was doing too much. Hightower, Collins, Ninkovich are all a lot better than they played in this one.

Here’s my notes on each defensive possession while reviewing the All-22 film.

Drive #1: 9 plays, 54 yards. Missed Field Goal

This one was about how you might expect the first defensive series of the season to go. Guys overplaying, not getting off blocks nor defeating blocks at contact. They used a fair amount of three safeties, with Chung in the box essentially playing linebacker covering the tight end. Mixed in some Cover-2 Man, Cover-1 Robber Man, and Cover-2 zone on third-and-long. Easley showed good penetration before getting hurt, glad he’s only supposed to be out a week or two, though I’d rest him until Dallas.

Drive #2: 6 plays, 24 yards. Punt

Branch in for Brown, Grissom in for injured Easley and it would seem to indicate that instead of the “double nose” the Pats are now more interested in having a one-gapper defensive tackle in there. Grissom showed some strength, despite being undersized for this role. It would be Easley or Chris Jones probably down the line. On third down the went Cover-1 Man, a popular coverage last year and not one we expected to see much of this year. We were wrong. Up front there was no defensive tackle really, unless you count Grissom as one. They’re really going athletic with things. Nice sack on second down by Hightower. Once again the coverage is Cover-1 Man with High on a delayed blitz where he just juked the center and finished Roethlisberger off. On third down they drop everyone into zone and get off the field.

Drive #3: 7 plays, 52 yards. Missed Field Goal

Sheard in for Nink (yay on getting him some rest), Siliga and Grissom the DTs now. Grissom gets some pass rush to force an incompletion on second down. On third down, Siliga comes off, Nink comes on. This is a pure pass rush front we’ve all dreamed about, but no one gets pressure. 42-yard pass to DHB. Wasn’t horrible coverage by Fletcher, he ran well with DHB despite not getting a jam on him. Just enough separation and a great throw from Roethlisberger. Harmon was favoring Brown’s side and had no chance to get all the way over to break up the pass. Sheard losing contain on the next down was surprising, he seemed a little flat compared to what we saw in preseason. Him and Siliga make up for it next down, stuffing a run for minimal game. Siliga has popped the most of Brown/Branch heavy DT spot so far. Good double-A gap pressure as they send 91 and 54 forcing a quick throw on third down. They sent 5, dropped Nink in the hot read. 

Drive #4: 11 plays, 57 yards. Field Goal

First play of the drive and the Steelers run the Super Bowl INT play (you know which one), right at Butler but he’s just a moment late. That would’ve been a game-winning Super Bowl touchdown had that been February. Brown back in at DT, Grissom still at the other DT spot, showing how much the Pats were daring the Steelers to run. Steelers pick up a first on 3rd down with a 37-yard pass to Brown. Butler just whiffs on any jam and then can’t catch up. Pitt runs the same Super Bowl pick play again on 4th-and-3 and again they pick up the first down. On the third down stop before the field goal the Pats went to Cover-3 man, something we haven’t seen much of before. Seemed like it helped confuse Roethlisberger who pumped then threw incomplete.

Second Half

Drive #5: 7 plays, 80 yards. Touchdown

Tone on this drive was set immediately with a 28 yard run up the defensive left side, the side the Steelers rightly targeted most in the running game. Not a great look from Alan Branch who was slow off the ball then easily pushed out of the way. Not Ninkovich’s best game either, struggled getting off blocks quickly enough. Defense fought down to third down at the goal line but couldn’t hold. Just a sloppy first defensive possession to start the half. Needed one of those “do your job” speeches from BB because the entire defense was out of sync.

Drive #6: 13 plays, 67 yards. Field Goal

Another 12 yard running play to the defensive right. Pats not adjusting to this makes you think they wanted the Steelers to run. One adjustment though here comes moving Siliga to 0-tech NT, Sheard and Chandler playing DT. This allows Siliga to control the A gaps and puts reinforcements on the B/C gaps. Wheaton’s 26-yarder was good coverage but no pressure from the three-man rush. Despite being so ugly, getting the red zone stop here was a highlight of the game after Chung’s PI set the Steelers up 1st-and-goal fro the 1. First down – McCourty/Collins recover from play action to break up pass. Second down – Siliga with a nice slide move around his block. Third down – shift forces false start. Third down again – draw snuffed out by Sheard.

Drive #7: 3 plays, 7 yards. Punt

The goalline stop must’ve helped spark this possession because they looked a little better here, playing within the defense. A shift to Cove2 Off man was a bit of a twist here, as the Pats backed off the crossing routes underneath and it helped them force two incompletions.

Drive #8: 2 plays, 18 yards. Interception

Simple corner route to Wheaton was a good start on this drive with the Pats again going Cover-2 Off Man. Harmon was the deep safety on his interception play but was running for the route at the snap. Great break on the ball that looked to be a little underthrown. Fletcher had great technique to totally cover this pass as well.

Drive #9: 12 plays, 70 yards. Touchdown

Patriots only rushing three guys here and it wasn’t very effective, but the two deep safeties only allowed passes underneath so they were okay. Sheard finally gets a sack coming off the edge. Classic Patriots last drive, good thing they were up by two scores. The effectiveness was in draining the clock.

Patriots vs. Colts AFC Championship All-22 Thoughts: Defense Edition

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Lost in the blowout of this game was how the Patriots defense put in perhaps their best defensive effort of the season against Andrew Luck and the Colts. The only scoring drive the Colts put together was one that got two key penalties and a miraculous catch by TY Hilton. Otherwise it was shut down city and that bodes well for a team that will face another huge challenge in Russell Wilson and the Seahawks.

Here’s the drive chart:

Pats counter the Colts 12 personnel with their base nickel, and the same CB-WR matchups from the first game (24-87, 39-80, 25-13). Strong interior play to stop the run on first down, then get penetration with Collins on a second down blitz, set up a third-and-long.

Colts go to 3WR/2TE on third down, with an 87-10-80 bunch formation in the right slot. Hilton (25 cover) is iso X on the backside, while Allen (91 cover) is sent out far right.

The Pats bring in Ayers on the defensive right edge, shifting Chandler to the left edge with Nikovich sliding inside. Jones/Nink run a stunt, with Nink looping to the outside and getting just enough pressure to force an off throw from Luck. Defer, three-and-out, no better way to start a game.

After the botched punt return, the Colts are now in a 0-7 hole and put together a 12-play drive.

Revis slides to Moncrief on this drive but that’s because Wayne isn’t out there. Otherwise the matchups and personnel remain the same. Colts have some success early running the ball, but the Pats recover after they get 12 yards on an off-tackle on first down.

Third-and-3, Ayers comes on, Chandler slides inside. Malcolm Butler makes his first appearance on the outside with Revis out and does a good job on Moncrief, while they double Reggie Wayne with Ryan and Ayers, who dropped. Would’ve been a stop but BROWNER HOLDING!

Colts roll out their 3 TE set and the Pats counter with their regular 4-3 defense with Casillas at LB. Ninkovich tips the Luck pass to force a third down. So far Nink has been balling.

Colts convert a 3rd-and-5 to Fleener as he gets a free release and doesn’t have Browner on him for what seems like the first time this game. Collins tackles him immediately, but it’s a case where the pressure and coverage are just a moment too slow.

Two drops by Herron and an incomplete to Wayne and the Colts have to try a field goal that they miss. Targets going at Collins downfield and Logan Ryan are not surprising.

Another deep shot on Ryan covering Nicks is overthrown. Small window there, but the ball had to be on the money and it wasn’t. Colts generally sloppy as the Pats are rotating guys in and out and not giving anything away matchup wise.

I think part of what the Pats learned in games like Green Bay is that if your CB-WR matchups are predictable it’s easy to gameplan. Packers knew they were going after Ryan and had seemed to be ready to throw heavy to his one receiver all game. With a constant rotation from almost down-to-down, it makes the offense figure it out at the line. This should be a similar plan against Seattle.

Now comes the best drive of the day for the Colts. Let’s see what went right besides some penalty calls.

Colts go back to their 3-TE set then try to spread the field and have some success, coupled with Wilfork’s kinda dumb penalty.

Just an absolute sick throw-and-catch on Hilton’s 36 yarder. Pretty much unstoppable. Look at the coverage by Arrington.

Colts get another break on a third down with a hold on Collins. Which I couldn’t really see.

Another two broken-down play completions to Fleener sets the Colts up for their only touchdown of the game.

From here on out in the second half they don’t have another possession longer than 6 plays, for the most part in this early going, the tone was set as was the defensive gameplan.

Nothing was easy for the Colts, most of their big plays were either one-time things or came off penalties. Even some of the 10+ completions were on breakdowns where the guy just got open late after the coverage had held.

The physicality has been impressive to watch, the Patriots defense was dictating for the first time in the playoffs in a long time.

Patriots vs. Dolphins All-22 Thoughts: Defense Edition

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It’s been a crazy week, wrapping up at the real job and getting everything in order for a nice long two-week break. Finally got a chance to look at the All-22 for the Pats defense and they continue to impress me on every level.

The high-round draft picks and high-price free agents are finally all coming together. They have the spectrum of speed and athleticism to physicality and toughness completely covered on all levels and it’s been a lot of fun watching a defense that can dictate, not just hold on.

Here’s what stood out in the All-22 review, defense edition…

Never want to start the game with a 50-yard bomb, but not that surprising given Malcolm Butler was so isolated against Wallace on the left side of the field.  Butler misses any jam, then stutter steps again playing the Dig/Out. A better throw and Wallace might’ve been gone. 

Zone running plays just weren’t there for the Phins like they were in Week 1, with Vince Wilfork dominating inside to stop the first one.

Third-and-six and the Pats go with a pass rush front, with Chandler at DE and Hightower at OLB. Dolphins go toss left but Hightower is strong on the edge, blowing up the play. 

Dolphins have to settle for the field goal, which is blocked by Collins and returned for a TD by Arrington. Such a classic Patriots defense start – give up a big play, then force a turnover for six.

The Chris Jones-Siliga-Wilfork front is a new look for the 34 regular. More zone reads with no success. Pats were ready for those, but also for the play action that came off of them.

Two possessions into the game and we’ve already seen Chandler Jones standing as the edge player, hand down at defensive end and inside as a defensive tackle. They threw him right into the fire and he was clearly ready to go. With the development of Ayers now, the Pats have a lot of athletic options. This just might be the most athletic and versatile the front seven has been since 2005.

Third-and-15, you tell me who’s coming and who’s dropping…

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Correct answer is Nink and Ayers dropping on the edges with Collins/Hightower rushing up the gut. Phins actually do a good job picking it up, but Tannehill’s deep shot falls incomplete.

After Brady’s interception, Miami takes over at their own 34, then 29 after a false start.

Best drive of the day by the Dolphins as they had a good mix of runs and passes that found the soft spots in the Pats’ defense. Once again the Patriots stiffened in the red zone, led by a dominant stop for no gain by Siliga on first down.

The Pats swarmed to a bubble screen on second down, that’s the kind of pursuit and aggressiveness that is becoming a trade mark for them.

On third down, Tannehill looked for Clay in the back of the end zone, but he was perfectly covered by McCourty.

Ninkovich got run out of his hole on second down of the next possession, we’ve seen this frequently this year. I think it’s somewhat of a function of the stunts they like to run with him, but they get burned on running plays, often losing the edge.

The Pats are one of the lowest-ranked defenses covering tight ends this year, and as we’ve gone along we’ve seen more of McCourty manning them up. He’s seeing plenty of off-coverage on Charles Clay in this one.

On Harmon’s interception, the Pats showed Cover-1 presnap, but dropped into Cover-2 Man post-snap. Just a too-high throw by Tannehill that Gibson couldn’t corral.

Pats plated a lot more zone in this one it seems, specifically Cover-3, with elements of press bail. This is similar to what the Seahawks did and I think it’s function of not necessarily needing to matchup on the receivers like they did when Revis/Browner fit receiver styles better.

Dont’a Hightower is so fast for his size and so strong. He seems to grow on me every game. Reminder – I’m the guy who left him off my big board because we already had Brandon Spikes. Swing and a miss there, Duss.

Third-and-9, with the Pats up 14-3 and the ball on the Pats’ 35. Pats play pure Cover-2 Man, sending 4 on pass rush. Collins goes out wide to cover Williams out of the backfield, then bites on his double move leaving him with a ton of separation. Williams drops the pass but it was wide open. Some might want to kill Collins for this but it’s about the hardest thing you can ask a linebacker to do, especially when the double move comes right at the stick. Collins has been great this year but let’s not expect him to suddenly be playing perfect cornerback too.

Phins get the ball back just before the 2 minute warning and we all remember what a nightmare the last two minutes of this half were. But this possession was fine, forcing a punt with :47 left.

Miami did take a shot to Matthews in this series, but Butler showed a good ability to flip his hips and run with him. Pass was off but it was a marked improvement from the first play of the game.

After three runs by Vereen that went for a total of 2 yards, the Pats punt back to Miami and a great return by Landry gets them to the New England 35 with :11 seconds left. It was right here that I tweeted “just not a TD”, but of course that’s what happens.

Butler is playing off and does an okay job of flipping and running again, but the throw is dead on and the catch is even better. Great sequence from the Phins before half time that made it seem like this would be a close game.

Second Half

Pats defense puts the clamps down now. Get ready for a bunch of three-and-outs.

First third down – third-and-three – Miami tries a zone run, but Hightower throws the center into the backfield and there’s just nowhere to go.

Miami now down 24-13 as they get the ball back, only for a tipped ball interception by Chung. Chung faked Cover-1 presnap then dropped into Cover-2, but it was Browner’s hit as the ball arrived that sent it into the air for Chung to snag.

Pats score another TD on the next play, now Miami gets it back down 31-13. Chung probably should’ve picked Tannehill’s first pass too. 

Third-and-12 now, Miami tries to hit the crosser to Landry but Logan Ryan sticks with him and makes the tackle short of the first down. Good example of a team targeting the guy not named Revis/Browner, but that player making the play.

Pats blitz Ryan on the first play of the next possession, but Tannehill sees it and finds the open Landry for 8 yards. At least they’re still sending blitzers now, like the aggressiveness.

Jamie Collins slices through the line and stops a run for a loss of 4, timing it perfectly and showing the explosiveness he has. Collins and Hightower are such a good 1-2 punch together. I had concerns about them when Mayo went down, but not anymore.

Collins brings the heat on the next play too, handing Siliga a sack in the process. 

Miami now in desperation mode and the Pats bust out a 0 DT, 4 Safety look. Don’t see that one very often.

Pats snuff out a 4th-and-18 and this one is pretty much done.

The Patriots defense is as good as it’s been since 2007. Seems like anything they give up is just a perfect (or broken play) by the other team where they hit on it. But once the Pats gets a lock on what the opponent is doing, they are shutting it down in the second half every week.

The coverages are varying more than earlier in the season, as are the usage of pass rushers and droppers. With Chandler back it gives even more options but teams are still being overwhelmed by the strength/speed combo of Hightower and Collins.

As Logan Ryan, Patrick Chung and Malcolm Butler, along with Duron Harmon, play better in coverage, the ceiling for the defense is limitless. They have talent and athleticism at every level and can play any kind of game, mixing and matching their front seven to create advantages.

New England Patriots vs. San Diego Chargers All-22 Thoughts: Offense Edition

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The Patriots’ offense was surprisingly ineffective for most of the night against the Chargers, but broke through once Julian Edelman got hot and never looked back.

Tom Brady hasn’t exactly been firing on all cylinders the last two weeks, and while the run game has been nearly non-existant after running wild over the Colts, they’ve still been making enough plays to win or keep it close.

Here’s what stood out reviewing the All-22 film of the offense against the Chargers.

The first drive of the game for the Pats went 17 plays for 89 yards and ended in a field goal. From that point they’d have just two more drives that lasted double-digits, and six that ended in a punt or a turn over. This is the kind of streakiness we became familiar with last year, when the Pats would go from being unstoppable one drive to not getting a first down the next. 

After a run that lost yardage and an incomplete pass, the Pats faced a third-and-12 from their own 7 right off the bat. Chargers show Cover-2 then shift to Cover-1 at the snap. Brady rolls right as Vollmer pancakes his rusher, then finds Edelman who was freed up by the Chargers shift in coverage. Good for 24.

Just not a lot of push in the run game early on, blocks aren’t going very far. I don’t love Blount when the OL stinks like this, he’s great with a head of steam and can sometime make something out of nothing, but generally his explosion out of the backfield isn’t something that stands out. Usually if they hit him in the backfield, he’s going down.

Third-and-1 from the 36 and the Pats use misdirection and play fake to Develin up the gut, then toss it to Blount who goes for 9. The Pats have struggled in third/fourth-and-short this year, ranking 26th in the NFL in first down percentage. Misdirection like they use here is becoming necessary. Will this be an issue in the playoffs? I know I’ll be extra tense on every third or fourth down of two yards or less.

Jonas Gray gets two carries back-to-back and I’d like to see a little more of him. He has good explosion out of the backfield. He may be a better fit early on in games than Blount wiht the way this OL struggles to get push.

Third-and-goal from the 1 and Brady takes the sack, good coverage by the Chargers. Disappointing end to a long, plodding drive. Pats liked their power personnel in this game but it wasn’t all that powerful. Less Hooman please.

Second quarter now, Pats move to their spread offense and Brady finds LaFell for 19. A great catch in traffic by LaFell.

Blount for no gain on the next play as Ingram blows Solder back with a shot to the head. Coming in to the season I wondered if the Pats would extend Solder, but now I’m thinking his sub-par season will allow them to let him test the market then sign him to a far-more affordable deal than anticipated. This is good and bad. Is he the LT for the long term, or is it worth considering an upgrade? Regardless, with Vollmer’s age/injury history, Cannon’s regression and Solder’s play this year, they should be on the lookout for tackles in the draft. Or maybe Cameron Fleming has potential worth looking at.

LaFell fumbles and it goes for six. LaFell’s earned some good will this year so I’m not even mad at him. Let’s just hope he’s getting that out of the way now and it doesn’t continue.

Back to the spread after the Pick-Up Six and the Pats run the same play on back-to-back plays (they do this alot), first goes to Edelman on an dig for 8, then Gronk on an out for 35. The difference was on the second Te’o is showing blitz, while he was covering Gronk on the first one. This signals Freeney will have to drop and cover Gronk, thus a big gain.

Same spread formation for a the third snap in a row, just with Gronk on the other side now, but different play this time as Brady tries to hit Wright on an out-and-up from the slot. This shows some of the Patriots offensive strategy. Same looks, sometimes different plays. Sometimes the same play.

This spread formation moved the ball well, with no running back on the field. For the most part it was LaFell/Amendola on the left, Edelman on the right, with Gronk/Wright being moved from the wing to the slot.

They move Amendola into the backfield to open space for LaFell in the red zone but it falls incomplete. This formation could be deadly if they can run no huddle out of it, great combination of quickness and size.

They bring Vereen in for Amendola on third down inside the 11 yard line and Brady finds Edelman for a first-and-goal. The red zone struggles defined this game, because the offense moved the ball, at least through the air.

Brady does miss Wright on second down. Tries to force it into Edelman.

Pressure breaks down the third down play as Freeney’s patented spin move beats Solder. Pats kick the field goal and it’s 14-6.

Pats get the ball back off the Ayers inteception at the 25 yard line. This is New England’s bread and butter, making teams pay for turnovers.

Brady finds Gronk for the touchdown four plays later, is there any question where the ball is going here?

Pats force a punt with 1:32 and have a great chance to take the lead before half. They go spread with Vereen, but it takes an 11-yard gain to Gronk on third-and-9 to get things moving.

A questionable DPI call gave them 17 yards and then a screen to Vereen put them in the red zone. Two plays later comes an ugly Brady interception.

Here’s how things look just before Brady throws it. Protection is okay and Gronk is single-covered, but the pass is going to be way short and easily picked.

Of course Amendola is WIDE OPEN…

On to the second half…Let the three-and-outs begin!

After having success with the spread, the Pats go back to the their power lineup featuring Hooman/Gronk. And Tyms is on the field which signals to the defense that here comes a deep shot. The Chargers’ Cover-3 takes Tyms away.

Gronk gets 9 on second down, setting up a third-and-1, aka the Pats offensive kryptonite this year. Stork can’t seal his guy off, meaning Blount has to overpower  two guys and he can’t. Punt.

Same power personnel on the next possession. Questionable. Chargers don’t bite enough on play action and the first pass falls incomplete. Wright comes in and they run out of it, but only four yards as Gronk’s block isn’t enough.

Third-and-six, Pats go spread but the pass gets tipped. Would’ve been incomplete anyway. Good coverage by Chargers and the Pats go three-and-out for the second straight possession.

Pats back on the field, still down 14-13. They first try a screen to Gronk that loses 6 yards. Then a short dumpoff to Vereen picks up 7. Great coverage by the Chargers. Pats went back to the Vereen/Wright package but everyone is covered.

Third-and-14, Chargers in a Cover-2 shell leaving no one open again. Good pressure from the right side forced the throw too. Another three-and-out (not counting the initial false start penalty that backed them up 5 yards). Gross third quarter here.

Problems continue on the next possession as Blount loses 2 yards on first down with the left side of the line being overhwhelmed, especially Solder.

Gronk picks up six on second down to set up a third-and-6. Gronk was alone on a corner out wide but it looks like he started his comeback just a little too late. Rare that that happens with Brady and Gronk. Punting again…

End of the third quarter as the Pats start to find a rhythm. Passes to Gronk go for 9 yards back-to-back as we enter the fourth quarter. An end-around to Edelman might’ve gotten more if Gronk doesn’t get blown up block at the left edge. Pats had problems over there all game.

Edelman stepping up here, with gains of 14 and 10 to get the Pats to the Chargers’ 30. But the drive stalls on third-and-3. They go spread but Brady seems to force a throw to LaFell down the sideline that is off the mark. Good coverage.

Pats take the field goal and the 16-14 lead.

Pats get the ball back after another punt and here comes the play that defined the game, Edelman’s 69-yard touchdown. Reminded me a bit of Jordy Nelson’s catch and run TD against us last weekend. Just great quickness by Edelman, and one of those kind of plays that defines a big game.

Now comes the final real possession of the game, with the Pats needing to drain the clock, they do just that. Possession starts at 6:18 and they take it all the way down to just before the Two Minute Warning.

It was a plodding drive, picking up just enough yardage to keep the chains moving, but the one big play was a 23yard run by Blount. Which was just a broken play that he cut back to the left side.

On paper this drive looks great, but it certainly wasn’t a dominant as one might think. These are drives that are critical in the playoffs and I still am a little under-confident that their run game can turn one of these in with everything on the line. It’s an area to monitor over the last three games.

Negative plays on first down certainly were a big part of this game, along with the Pats inability to run the ball out of their preferred power personnel. Was it an off game? Are the Chargers just a good run defense on this night? Or is this a real problem? We’ll see…