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FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS | Word of Muth: Appraising the Patriots

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FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS | Word of Muth: Appraising the Patriots

Great stuff here as always from the Word of Muth, breaking down the offensive line against the Dolphins. Vollmer is definitely one to keep an eye on this Monday night. Hopefully he can bounce back, but if he can’t it could be another major injury hurdle for the Pats to overcome this year. 

Vollmer has been great all year, but missed Week 12’s game against the Jets with an injury. He was a game-time decision on Sunday, and it looked like New England may have made the wrong decision. Vollmer struggled in both the passing and running game against Cameron Wake for most of Sunday. In the running game he was consistently behind his blocks: his helmet was never on the correct side of the defensive lineman. Generally, if the defender is running towards your side, you want your helmet on the defender’s outside number or shoulder (depending on if the play is going inside or outside). Vollmer never threatened to get outside of Wake. As a result, Wake was never worried about losing leverage and was able to dig his cleats into the ground and hold the point. On backside cutoffs, Vollmer had the same issue. He was unable to get his head across defensive tackles, so he gave up far too much penetration. It wasn’t just the lack of movement or some leakage in the running plays: it was the huge negative plays he allowed. He gave up a sack-and-a-half and was responsible for another sack he wasn’t credited for. (His man beat him inside, forcing Brady to give ground and roll right into Solder’s man.) He also had a holding penalty. Those are all drive-killers.

Will Brandon Bolden be back to play in this game since his suspension is over? If he does, do you think we’ll use him a lot? He’s shown a lot of potential in the few games he’s played with his tough and powerful running.

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It’s going to be interesting to see what happens with Bolden. Obviously since he’s been out Shane Vereen has done a pretty good job in spot duty, including that 80-yard touchdown against the Jets.

But still Bolden is a different kind of back so I’m sure they’ll figure out a way to use him. But he was injured even before he was suspended so who knows how his conditioning is. He’s a power back and can pick up some tough yards, but is similar enough to Ridley that he’s not going to bring a whole new dimension to the backfield.

I like Bolden but I don’t think we’ll see much of him against the Texans, and perhaps not even much against the 49ers. The last two games of the year will be a good time to get him back involved and see how much he can contribute, if at all, in the post season.

Let’s remember he’s a rookie and the last thing we need is him coughing up the rock in the playoffs.

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I think they’re a good defense on every down,” Belichick said. “But on third down, they rush well and they cover well. [Kareem] Jackson and [Jonathan] Joseph have done a good job all year for them [at the cornerback spots] but they’ve had other guys come in there and do a good job for them. “Of course, they can rush and create a lot of long yardage situations, so that’s helped their pass rush,” Belichick said. “They’re a good third-down defense, one of the best in the last 9-10 years statistically at under 30 percent, which is pretty impressive. “They do everything well. They rush, they cover, they blitz, they mix it up.

Bill Belichick sees critical third-down battle looming against Texans – Patriots – Boston.com

https://www.patspropaganda.com/i-think-theyre-a-good-defense-on-every-down/

Bill Belichick on the Wade Phillips-led Texans defense

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Bill Belichick on the Wade Phillips-led Texans defense

Their 3-4 is really more of a one-gap 3-4 than a two-gap 3-4. They shade those guys and they play a pretty high amount of man coverage, which he’s done in the past. It varies a little bit but they play quite a bit of man coverage and then they go to their sub defense which is a dime defense in this case, where they bring in [Quentin] Demps at safety and whoever the third corner is, they’ve had a couple injuries but whoever that third corner is and move [Glover] Quin down. It’s not a myriad of formations and different personnel groupings and all that. They basically have the same guys on the field for a high percentage of the time. This isn’t the most complicated team we’ve ever seen but what they do, they do well. They’re well balanced, they do enough things to keep you off balance to complement what they’re doing so they’re not just setting one track. They have a lot of multiples and variables but it’s contained within the system. They do it every week; you have to deal with it every week. They’re not going to let you off the hook, they’re going to give you the variables every week, you’re going to have to decide how you’re going to handle them and sooner or later you’re going to see them.

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What an individual matchup this game presents: A top candidate for Defensive Player of the Year trying to hunt down one of the leading contenders for Most Valuable Player. How often do you get to see two of the NFL’s finest go head-to-head, with each going out of his way to game plan for the other. That’s what it’ll be when Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt lines up across from New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. There are mind games to be played, just like when Brady squares off against elite secondary talents like Ed Reed or Darrelle Revis. Will he throw away from Watt’s ever-swatting hands? Or try to go through them? In a broader sense, it’s worth asking if the Patriots’ suddenly balanced offense is the perfect machinery to toss at a Texans defense that has shown signs of faltering. On the other side, have the Patriots seen an offense as balanced as Houston’s unit, starring RB Arian Foster and WR Andre Johnson? A showdown of epic proportion, perfect for the spotlight game on Monday night. Week 14 certainly saves the best for last

Texans-Patriots, Ravens-Redskins, Saints-Giants head Week 14 – NFL.com

https://www.patspropaganda.com/what-an-individual-matchup-this-game-presents-a/