Film Review: It All Goes Right for Pats D vs. Phins

I am pretty sure this was my favorite defensive football film watch of all-time. Simply put it was the second time in four weeks that the Patriots defense executed across the board. The pressure was consistent even with four, they were tough on first down, they got takeaways. I’m not sure what more you can ask from a defense and that’s almost a little scary.

It really puts a spotlight on how inexcusable the two performances on the road were, but those are done and the Pats need to figure out how to live up to the performances against Houston and Miami every week. Here’s a bunch of rapid-fire thoughts as I digest the brief and spectacular film review.

— The defense was just totally in sync as it was vs the Texans. It’s beautiful to watch as the coverage perfectly matches the receivers and the pocket breaks apart forcing an uncomfortable throw. Again and again, we’re reminded that when defenses simply get off blocks and make tackles they can look monumentally better. That was the case in this one.

— The defense settled into a 3-3-5 nickel front for much of this game, with Van Noy on the LOS as the strongside linebacker. Hightower and Roberts would alternate weakside and middle. I’m still trying to figure out if there’s a reason for when they flip or if it’s just mixing things up on the offense a bit.

— The dominance was led by the front of Brown-Guy-Flowers who were immovable and disruptive early and often. Danny Shelton looked like he suddenly woke up in limited snaps. The run fits were all nearly perfect, even when usual pass rush specialist Adam Butler was inside. Dietrich Wise and Adrian Clayborn were also causing consistent mayhem off the edges.

— Jonathan Jones has suddenly emerged from just a special teams guy to a go-to defensive starter as the nickel back. His playtime might go up and down depending on the gameplan but he’s a feisty, competitive interior cornerback. His continued ascension hasn’t gotten much attention. He did have a correctly-called defensive holding penalty.

— Stephon Gilmore had his usual three really good plays and this week we were spared the any bad ones outside a penalty which is going to happen to a corner even as good as him.

— Keionta Davis‘ sudden disappearance from the gameday roster is notable. They’ve been playing him a ton the last two months but now this appears like maybe the experiment might be over? There’s a lot to like about his physical size and he was starting to make some plays, but had just 17 plays last week and didn’t dress for this one in favor of new signee John Simon. He played 75% of the snaps against Jacksonville on what feels almost like he had to just jump on the grenade when Flowers went out.

— I sure did like what I saw from Simon, he was active against the run and pass, getting a sack. He’s playing like a guy who didn’t have a team last week and now sees a chance to fulfill his potential with the Patriots. I’ve always thought Simon would be a great fit. Read his nfl.com draft profile and you’ll see why.