Greg Cosell of NFL Films, who may watch as much game film on a week-to-week basis as most coaches, warns that fans shouldn’t get too excited about the Patriots’ performance against the Broncos, and reveals some interesting tidbits about the Ravens.
“The Ravens are a very odd pass game. They’ve got a quarterback who can throw it as well as any quarterback in the league in [Joe] Flacco, but their pass game is very limited conceptually and tactically; it’s not hard to tactically defend,’’ Cosell said. “So it comes down to people. Is it possible that [Devin] McCourty can get beat by Torrey Smith on a go route? Of course that’s possible. McCourty’s been beat this year. So I can’t sit here and tell you, ‘Gee, they’re going to shut down the Ravens,’ but the Ravens are not hard to defend tactically.’’
Against the Texans last Sunday, Cosell counted just eight snaps when Baltimore used its third receiver, Lee Evans, a number that’s nearly unheard of these days. For comparison, the Patriots had four receivers – Wes Welker, Deion Branch, Julian Edelman, and Tiquan Underwood – play at least 10 snaps against the Broncos, plus tight ends Rob Gronkowski, who played all 66 snaps, and Aaron Hernandez, who was on for 57. But Flacco, whom many consider to be the wild card in this game, is a good passer, and the Ravens have the dynamic Ray Rice, who was both their leading rusher and leading receiver.
Cosell has quickly taken a liking to Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes, whom he called “arguably the most physical and violent inside linebacker’’ in the NFL, and his return to the field three weeks ago, along with the return of safety Patrick Chung, have made a difference.
So much great stuff in this quote, none better than the stuff about Brandon Spikes and Patrick Chung, two players I’ve been a huge fan of since their arrival in Foxboro.
