Here in Football Outsider’s breakdown of how teams match up with each type of receiver we find the Pats broken down this way:
- vs. WR #1: 31st overall
- vs WR #2: 18th overall
- vs. Other WR: 9th overall
- vs. TE: 8th overall
- vs. RB: 20th overall
So what can we deduce from this? That Devin McCourty’s struggles are clearly evident. Perhaps he’s not getting as much help over the top as he had last year, but even my untrained eyes can see that he’s getting beat off the line far too much.
Last year the Pats struggle most against running backs receiving out of the backfield. Clearly they’ve improved in that area but it’s still not good enough.