Decisive moments of Week 7 in the NFL | The MMQB with Peter King
Decisive moments of Week 7 in the NFL | The MMQB with Peter King
[T]he Patriots are normally so disciplined up front against an athletic passer like Smith that they can contain the run by staying in their pass-rush lanes to prevent a big hole from opening up. On this play, because of depth issues, the Patriots wound up with two rookies—tackle Chris Jones (94, playing for the injured Vince Wilfork) and end Michael Buchanan (99)—playing on the same side. In this situation players are normally coached not to rush past the quarterback on the outside, and not to get out of your lane on the inside. Here, Jones got shoved inside by left guard Brian Winters (67), and Buchanan was ridden outside by left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson (60). That left a huge hole for Smith to run through. Then in the secondary, cornerback Marquice Cole (23) and rookie safety Duron Harmon (30) were slow to react to prevent Smith from gaining the first down. Smith ended up breaking a Cole tackle and surging forward for a first down. Two plays later he scored a touchdown on a nearly identical breakdown when three second-level defenders failed to make the tackle.
Did you have these questions after last week’s game vs. the Saints? Did anyone think Brady was declining after last week’s win over the Saints? This is the way it goes week to week. I understand you have such passion that when you follow these teams, you want immediate answers. But the answer for Brady’s performance is this: He didn’t play well against the Jets on Oct. 20, 2013. But one week ago, on Oct. 13, 2013, Brady led a magical comeback that had everyone saying ‘This guy has a lot left in the tank.’ This is the NFL. This is how it goes. And this is why you say it over and over again, but sometimes it’s not believed – FOOTBALL IS A TEAM SPORT. When the offense doesn’t play well, you hope the defense does. Or vice versa. Or special teams forces a turnover. Logan Ryan made a great play on that INT return for a TD. Gronkowski’s return, I felt, was extremely positive. I was nervous after that first play when he got a helmet right to that forearm. For him to come back and play like he did, you have to feel good about where he is going to be when the seaosn progresses. Tom Brady didn’t play well yesterday. He can play better. What you need to ask yourself is this: Do you think he will play better? I do.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/did-you-have-these-questions-after-last-weeks/
The Patriots inserted rookie Jamie Collins into the game at Mayo’s weakside linebacker spot in the 4-3 base defense, but the Patriots trended toward a 5-2 base for a bigger front seven instead of the 4-3. Most notable was when the Jets often had fullback Tommy Bohanon on the field in a specific grouping, the Patriots played with linebackers Dont’a Hightower and Brandon Spikes, and instead of bringing on Collins elected for extra bulk up front with Marcus Forston as a third defensive tackle in the 5-2. Otherwise, the Patriots were mostly in their 4-2-5 nickel or 4-1-6 dime with Hightower/Spikes the primary linebacker combination in nickel and Hightower staying on in the dime. Hightower and Spikes are bigger linebackers and they looked a step behind in the passing game at times.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/the-patriots-inserted-rookie-jamie-collins-into/
Free safety Devin McCourty has quietly graded as our top safety this season, and he continued his strong play on Sunday. He made plays in all phases of the game, perhaps none better than his touchdown-saving pass breakup in the end zone with 5:57 to go in the third quarter. TE Jeff Cumberland beat linebacker Dont’a Hightower down the seam, but as he looked to secure the well-thrown pass from QB Geno Smith, McCourty swooped in and pulled the ball from his grasp. McCourty made another key play later in the quarter as he blitzed off the edge and batted Smith’s pass to force the punt on 3rd-and -8. He got involved against the run as well, as he cleaned up for the tackle for loss at the 7:59 mark of overtime. The only throw completed into McCourty’s coverage was a swing pass to running back Chris Ivory that also resulted in lost yardage.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/free-safety-devin-mccourty-has-quietly-graded-as/
