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Patriots vs. Broncos All 22 Thoughts: Defense Edition

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There’s nothing more fun that taking an All-22 look at a Bill Belichick defense against Peyton Manning. The Patriots did what they often have done against Manning – make him look mortal with a mix of disguise and pressure.

There wasn’t anything overly exotic or new, but there were some new faces stepping to the forefront in roles we’ve never seen them in before. That bodes well for the versatility of this defense going forward.

Here’s what I saw on the All-22 rewatch…

Jamie Collins was a standout on the first possession for the Broncos, a three-and-out. He came downhill with a strong fill against the run on second down, then ran the crosser stride-for-stride with Emmanuel Sanders and tackled him short of the first down.

The mix-and-match was apparent from the first three plays, most surprising was Browner going inside on Julius Thomas. I didn’t think we would see that but the Patriots declared it was part of the game plan immediately.

On the second possession Vince Wilfork set the tone, exploding into the backfield and blowing up the run. Wilfork is always an X-factor when he has games like this. He looked explosive here.

Brandon Browner threw an arm back and broke up Manning’s third down pass to Demaryius Thomas. That’s what 6’4" corners can do. Pats fans used to having 5’8" corners might be surprised.

The third possession got moving with a crosser to Sanders. Hightower probably would’ve laid him out but got pulled a bit out of position jamming another guy. Pressure could’ve been better.

Really blown away by how involved Chung was in this game. In my gameplan I wondered if he’d take a back seat to Harmon for more coverage ability. Instead Chung was saw plenty of man coverage against a variety of receivers. He’s gotten plenty of attention this week for it.

Seems like this coverage scheme (here in Cover 3) was a big part of the gameplan. You have 2 LBs and 2 DBs forming a four-man zone area, waiting for the crossers to come. It worked well and forced a lot of checkdowns.

Jamie Collins continued to show up in the run game on this drive. He’s getting better at managing his speed to get around tackle but not overpursue. If he keeps improving vs. the run look out.

I thought Arrington would return to prominence in this one to cover Welker, and not only did he, but Chung did too. One of the advantages of having guys who got plenty of reps in practice vs. Welker is they are comfortable covering him. 

Still didn’t think Browner’s PI penalty was overt but that’s the NFL today.

Yet Chung getting spun around on the touchdown play because he was held so badly goes unnoticed. 

Nink’s interception has gotten plenty of love in the analysis this week and really he almost had one the play before if he had widened out a little more.

Collins hasn’t gotten enough credit on the Nink interception. It was his pressure that forced the throw a bit. It was really the first pressure Manning saw in the game up to this point. That’s something that I wish had been better so far.

On the next possession Manning went to Demaryius on a crosser from the slot as he was manned up by Browner – again, something we haven’t really seen Browner do. But Browner ran with him and made the tackle.

Stopping the run from the nickel defense was so so huge in this one. Everything was clicking on defense (and the Broncos still made some plays, credit to them).

The Pats threatened Double A pressure by Hightower and Collins a lot more than they actually sent it. Here in the second quarter they sent both and it forced a hurried throw that fell incomplete. The defensive gameplan was simple and complex at the same time. The initial looks were almost always the same, but the coverages and blitzers were constantly rotating.

Good coverage by Malcolm Butler, running stride for stride with Emmanual Sanders on third-and-20. Never thought he’d be such a big part in this game.

It’s amazing how hard it is to get pressure on Manning (and Brady too). A defender has to win at the LOS immediately to have any chance, otherwise the ball is already out.

Continue to be impressed with Jamie Collins. If last year’s playoff game against the Colts was his coming out party, this was nearly as impressive. He’s all over the place.

Pressure started to cause problems for Manning at the end of the second half,culminating with Ayers fourth-down sack. Hightower is quite a load coming up the middle for a running back to block.

Ayers sack was part Wilfork walking the left guard into the backfield and good coverage to take away the quick throw. Overall I thought Ayers was okay. Hasn’t blown me away with anything special but was generally solid in the first half and I’ll take that.

SECOND HALF

Check out this look on the first Broncos offensive possession of the second half – now Nink and Ayers are showing interior pressure.

Just a perfect throw and catch on Julius Thomas’ touchdown. Browner might’ve been able to defend it due to his size but Chung was screwed from the moment he lined up on an island with the big tight end.

Even McCourty looked shaken up after hitting Welker on the Browner interception. Welker really should’ve caught it and gotten down. 

There was no consistency to who New England was matching up with. The interior guys (Chung/Arrington/Hightower/Collins) all were switched around.  I’m kind of left wondering why we only save this stuff for Peyton Manning.

There were some big passing plays on first down, culminating with a 41-yarder to Demaryius Thomas in the fourth quarter, which was really somewhat lucky as Manning just threw is up and it managed to find Thomas through a crowd.

As if this one didn’t already have enough good stuff, here comes a four-down stand inside the ten yard line. Things like this only build a defense’s confidence.

For as bad as this defense has looked at times this year, it was amazing to see them put it all together in this one. Guys were setting the edge, getting off blocks and tackling. When you do those simple things it’s amazing how much better a defense can look.

Patriots vs. Bears All-22 Thoughts: Defense Edition

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Hard to read too much into this week’s defensive stuff too much with a blowout on for most of the game, but some interesting individual performances from guys like Brandon Browner, Dominique Easley and Darrelle Revis.

Here are my All 22 thoughts…

Deontae Skinner wasn’t even close to tackling Matt Forte on the second play of the game as he met him 1-v-1 in the hole. This play alone might’ve been what precipitated Tuesday’s trade for Jonathan Casillias.

If you’d told me Easley would be playing stand-up defensive end this year I would’ve thought you were crazy, but he was solid drawing a holding penalty after losing contain for a split second.

Early on this was as close to the double nose as you can get with Wilfork and Chris Jones in the middle. Easley’s ability to slide out to defensive end was unexpected and he made another great play, blowing up a screen to get off the field on third down.

Don’t know what it is with Ninkovich losing contain so much the last couple games, but it showed up again as Cutler scrambled for a first down on the second possession.

Loved Browner with the pass breakup against Bennett on third down. That play summed up everything the Pats need from Browner. Press across the board, nowhere for Cutler to go.

Kind of funny that Darrelle Revis’ finger-wagging pass breakup on Brandon Marshall came out of zone coverage. Looks like some additional zone out of three-safety looks for the Pats early in this one. Haven’t seen a lot of that until now, mostly cover 1 or cover 4.

Interesting front here with Chung in a linebacker role and Hightower slipping out to the edge. I like getting Hightower some time on the LOS, he really excels there and can be used for some pass rush. 

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On Matt Forte’s touchdown reception Collins had no chance. But there was no pressure either and that allowed the easy throw from Cutler. 

Again, seeing more Cover-2, perhaps a function of being up 17-0.

Akeem Ayers might’ve gotten the sack, but it was Jamie Collins who threw Forte aside and caused all the problems for Cutler. Collins gets a lot of flack for being out of place as an inside linebacker against the run, but there has been some improvement from him there over the last few weeks. But he deserves credit for plays like this and they need to use him more for this kind of advantage, turning the tables and making running backs take him on.

On Ninkovich’s sack six it was an interesting front of Moore and Easley inside, Ninkovich and Ayers on the edges with Hightower coming on a blitz and making the initial pressure happen.

2nd Half

With a big lead the Pats went did went to 2 and 3 deep zones in the second half. The Bears had some success running against them on the first drive, but I don’t think the Pats really care too much at that point.

Big benefit of a blowout – getting Wilfork some rest and getting the new guys more experience.

Nice inside game from Wilfork and Ninkovich to set up Easley’s sack, as Nink went inside and Wilfork looped outside. Seems like they’ve been trying this and that’s where Ninkovich has been losing contain, because Wilfork doesn’t replace him on the edge. Not sure who to fault there, perhaps it’s a passing down only move.

Not surprising but Easley needs to work on his jams off the line of scrimmage – it’s definitely something he never did in college. But he whiffed on Martellus Bennett as Bennett picked up 34 yards. He was wide open.

Bennett’s touchdown catch a few plays later was impressive with Browner all over him (getting a penalty for it too). While Browner won’t follow a tight end inside, he certainly is a good weapon against big ones when they split out – if he doesn’t hold them of course.

Definitely seems like Logan Ryan has a target on his back when he’s out there. We haven’t seen the same ball skills and zone savvy we saw last year yet.

So hard to really analyze the defense in a blowout like this. They’re just playing soft zone now and keeping everything in front of them. Even the yards on the ground they give up don’t seem to bother them.

After a hot start I think Casey Walker has leveled off a bit. Not making many plays, struggling to get off blocks or split double teams. Getting Siliga back for Detroit (hopefully) will help.

Some more man coverage coming here in the fourth quarter, keeping Cutler on his toes. They had more success going to Bennett than I would like. That worries me a bit with Julius Thomas coming to town.

Patriots vs. Jets All-22 Thoughts: Offense Edition

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The Jets never make things easy for the Pats offense and this game was no exception. Featuring a good deal of Cover 3, the Jets played fairly conservative this time around, but when they picked up the pressure in the second half they had some success.

The difference though was Tom Brady, who was calm in the face of pressure all night, delivering strikes to the holes in the zones with remarkable consistency.

Here are my notes from the All-22 rewatch, offense edition:

Jets opened in off-man coverage and Brady-LaFell took advantage with two comeback routes in a row. Brady’s passes were a little high though. 

Jets were in a Cover-3 on Vereen’s first touchdown with five guys across the field at about five yards depth. Seemed like they would allow the short stuff then plan on coming downhill with big hits. The problem – the back left safety bit on Wright underneath leaving Vereen wide open. Big mental mistake, and one that really came back to haunt the Jets at the end.

 Second possession was a three-and-out but a nice hard run by Jonas Grey. Third down saw the same kind of coverage as Vereen’s touchdown, with the Jets dropping 7 in zone coverage. It seems like the Jets were also a little more respectful of the Pats deep passing game than they have been in year’s past. And certainly more than other opponents have been earlier this year.

Really vanilla coverages and not much aggression by the Jets so far. Has to be due to their lack of good cover corners. They’re playing some man on the Pats’ third possession but it’s off-man that’s supported with underneath zone coverage.

Here’s the Jets’ third down zone coverage, only rushing three. This one goes incomplete downfield to LaFell for the Pats second-straight three and out.

Jets send five guys on the first play of the fourth drive, but the protection holds and Brady easily lofts a perfect pass to Edelman for their first first down in three possessions.

The Jets’ zone coverage continues to work well early as Brady has a pass deflected at the line on second down. However there isn’t much pressure so it seems like Brady is finding a comfort level in the pocket.

Same coverage on third down and Brady finally finds the hole in the coverage, connecting with Gronk for a first down. Pinpoint throw, solid pocket. Drive continues…

Play-action comes next and the Jets pay for it because their linebackers aren’t dropping this time. Brady finds LaFell, showing good patience under a bit of pressure. As of now, the Jets defense certainly isn’t in his head like they often can be.

Gotta tip the hat to the pass protection so far. Those are some good rushers and Brady has all the time he needs. I think the Jets wanted to just rely on their guys winning the matchups instead of the usual deception of “who’s coming, who’s dropping”. They weren’t winning against our rag tag band of OL anti-heroes.

As Greg Bedard pointed out in his film review Jordan Devey has to have better awareness after just sprinting downfield, not realizing that the called screen to Shane Vereen had been blown up. Inexperience shows there.

Vereen’s second touchdown below and as you can see, the Jets drop 9 into coverage including four guys around Gronk. Brady waits and finds Vereen for the TD.

Brady really found his stride against the Jets zones on this drive, calmly taking his time and delivering pinpoint throws to the holes in the zones.

Final drive of the first half and the Jets start to send some more pressure, blitzing Davis and dropping Richardson into a short zone. Finally some more Rex-like defense. Then comes an LB/S blitz on the next down but Brady finds LaFell for the first down.

Great throw by Brady on the next down with pressure in his face as he finds Gronk for 20 yards. Jets rushed just four but finally got Wilkerson through as he beat Devey.

After a PI call the Pats get a 1st-and-10 at the 12 with :23 second left. First down – Jets drop eight, Brady can’t find a hole. Second down – Jets get a free rusher off the edge, forcing Brady to scramble and throw it away. Then Devey takes the retalitory penalty and we’re kicking a field goal headed into the half. Missed opportunity there, but good defense by the Jets.

Linebacker blitzes are continuing in the second half, along with Sheldon Richardson dropping into short zones. Brady’s on in this one though.

Third-and-3 and we’re seeing two deep safeties. Very surprised by this, especially from the Jets. Brady has time and finds Edelman for the first.

Just not a whole lot going on in the run game, only enough to keep the Jets aware of it. But this game was all about Brady and the passing game. Makes it even more befuddling that they tried to run on the last possession of the game. But we’ll get to that…

I don’t know how you defend the quick hand off to Edelman in motion. One of these days a defensive end is going to read it and clean Edelman’s clock, but for now it looks unstoppable.

Jets hold the Pats to a field goal 3rd-and-9, again running the three-deep, five-under coverage with just three rushing. Brady finds the hole but they come up just a couple yards short.

Jets force a three-and-out on the next drive, with their pressure finally winning some one-on-ones. Cannon gets beat on third down and Brady has to rush his throw to Amendola, who was open. Would prefer not to see Cannon rotating in at tackle any more, and definitely not at guard.

Another three-and-out due to pressure when the Jets sent 6 then an Edelman drop. On third down pressure is again a factor as Solder gets beat off the edge just enough to get Brady off rhythm. Jets pressure coming through in the clutch here in the second half.

Jets sending pressure again on the Pats final touchdown drive but Brady is right on the money three times in a row to get the Pats inside the 10 yard line.

But then two penalties back them out to the 19. That would’ve been a major storyline had Amendola not made a spectacular touchdown grab. Have to be more disciplined that close to the end zone with the game on the line.

Now the final Pats possession –  three straight handoffs to Shane Vereen that netted one total yard. I don’t know why they didn’t throw here. Brady was so on fire in this game, put the game in his hands.

Oh well, Chris Jones came through in the end.

Patriots vs. Jets All-22 Thoughts: Defense Edition

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This was as bad of a defensive performance as I’ve seen since, well, the Chiefs game, but the Pats get a bit of a pass given the short week and injuries they were coming off of.

Still, most of the defense lacked the necessary “pop” to their game, and save a three-drive stretch where they forced punts in the second half, the Jets offense basically had their way with them.

Still, they made the very last play of the game and that was enough to get an ugly win. The defense is much better than this and we’ll certainly see them look a lot better against the Bears this weekend.

Here are the All-22 Defense thoughts…

Pats mixed their coverage and personnel on the first drive, none of which was especially effective. Ninkovich immediately displayed the recurring problem of the night, crashing down and losing contain.

They matched receivers at times. Browner was playing outside cornerbacks as I expected. I really don’t think we’ll see him inside on tight ends or at safety. 

All four safeties saw snaps on the first drive. McCourty gave up a third down conversion after being in press man on Cumberland. Interesting that NE uses him not only on the back end but in this role as well.

Jamie Collins isn’t great in base against the run, but when he’s in subpackages and has room to use his speed he’s very good. He’s learned to take a beat to find where he needs to go rather than immediately reacting and getting himself out of position. He should be a good weapon against Matt Forte this week.

Not as impressed with Casey Walker early on as I have been in weeks past. He’s not getting off blocks. In fact, the entire DL is having trouble with that.

Sometimes it seems like Collins thinks he’s even more athletically capable than he is. Here’s a prime example where he needs to come downhill hard to Wilfork’s right. Chung has the backside. Collins isn’t fast enough to make this play headed where he’s headed.

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Chandler Jones is so slippery inside, it’s notable given his length. The Pats showed some looks on passing downs with him inside, they even shifted Easley to DE at one third-and-long.  Might need more of that.

There really is nothing worse than watching a quarterback scramble for a first down on third-and-long.

The shift to a 3-4 front seemed tied to their inability to stop the run. It’s a Wilfork-Walker-Jones front three. This included Chung in the box for an 8-man front.

Great screen recognition in the second quarter, along with a pressure from Easley that came quicker than the Jets were hoping it would. Small steps for Easley so far, still waiting for that first big play from him. Should be coming soon.

9 in the box and they still give up 5 yards on this run.

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Now here’s a hole. This went for 9, not sure where Casey Walker was going as he started at the left hash and basically took the whole defense to his right side out of the play. Collins is late to react but gets in the way to make the tackle.

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After sustained drives all half, along with so many games in a short time span, the defense looks gassed at the end of the first half. But they came through in the red zone once again.

Ninkovich picked up right where he left off by getting pinned inside and losing contain on two of the first three plays in the third quarter, picking up a total of 29 yards. 

We first saw the three cornerback, one safety package last year and it’s popping up again this year.  It often comes with press man across the board, but leaves a seven man box for run protection. It’s a mix of sub and base.

Twice the Jets converted third downs on their first drive of the third quarter with Kerley and Decker aligned closely together. First time they crossed and Decker got separation on Dennard. The second time Revis played outside leverage on Decker but the receivers crossed later again opening up enough separation for Decker to convert at 3rd-and-12. Nice play design by the Jets.

Jamie Collins is pretty solid at getting out on running back swing passes.

Just a dominant first drive of the third quarter by the Jets featuring a balanced attack. Had been hoping the Pats would bring some fire out of the locker room but it would have to wait until the next three drives.

Pats switched it up a bit on the next drive, going to a 4-3, then a 5-2 front. Coverage was good and helped force a four-play drive. Credit Dont’a Hightower with a good tackle that prevented the running back from converting a checkdown on 3rd-and-12.

They force a three-and-out on the next possession, bringing six on third-and-long with Chandler Jones finishing it off. Really, I don’t think the interior run stoppers looked that bad for most of the game. Once Ninkovich stopped losing contain there wasn’t anywhere for them to go.

Another solid stand, their third in a row, on the next drive. Again, more coverage than pressure on third down. Browner is what he is, a big outside corner who’s going to take some penalties this year. When he’s on the outside and has the sideline he’s effective, when he has to pursue across the field, he’s not as good. But his makeup speed is better than I thought it was.

Here’s Chandler Jones owning Ferguson on the edge, stopping Vick for a loss. Too bad there’s a penalty on Logan Ryan.

Probably the most frustrating play of the day comes on 3rd-and-2 as Geno Smith converts running it after being totally flushed out of the pocket and surrounded by Pats. How does he get out of this…?

Pressure was a big problem after reviewing this one, and here’s a great example below. Five man rush with four guys on single blockers and no one wins.

Yards-after-contact piling up here in the fourth quarter, especially inside. Defense is gassed top-to-bottom now.

Smith finds Cumberland for the touchdown to cap off another impressive drive. It was Chung in coverage, just a couple inches off. This is why Chung gets pulled off in coverage situations. Not his bag. Never has been. Never will be. Credit to Geno for finding that matchup.

They went back at him on the failed 2-point conversion but I liked how Chung stuck with Decker. Often those passes are wide open, but Chung did enough to force a perfect throw that Geno did not make.

Final drive to set up the missed field goal start with checkdowns from Geno. Good drive starters that the Pats seemed okay to allow.

Geno makes back to back throws to get them to the Pats 45 when the play essentially broke down but the pass rush just couldn’t finish him off. That’s what happens when you only send three guys. Pats then send five guys to remedy that and Geno finds the checkdown for another five yards.

Pats just couldn’t make that one final play to finish the game on this drive. Something we’ve seen plenty of in recent years in close losses. Luckily Chris Jones found that last bit of gas to preserve the win. 

Patriots vs. Bills All 22 Thoughts: Offense Edition

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We learned a lot about the New England Patriots offense against the Bills. Are they perfectly unstoppable yet? Nope. But they have a resiliency about them that was shown multiple times in this game. 

The protection continues to improve, as does Rob Gronkowski. Along with Edelman and Brandon LaFell the Pats’ attack is looking more and more diverse with each game and that’s a great thing.

While the questions swirl around how they’ll replace Stevan Ridley, there are plenty of other things to feel good about with this offense.

Here’s what stood out on the All 22 film re-watch, offense edition.

Communication on the offensive line stood out on the first third down of the day. Adjusting and passing guys off in perfect sync. This is what takes time to build and the better results are obvious.

Just overall the pocket is much cleaner now as well. No longer is it total chaos with guys flailing all over the place.

Josh Kline whiffs on Dareus on the second drive but Brady already got the ball out. Still, Kline fights pretty hard. Not sure how he wasn’t in the mix early in the year, perhaps injury?

Not sure why we’re running into this front…

Kinda strange to throw a WR screen to Brandon LaFell with Amendola and Edelman blocking for him, but I guess that’s the unexpected.

Ah, the fullback dive… I have a bad feeling we’ll be seeing Develin with more of these. And I like Develin, but the OL just doesn’t seem to be explosive enough off the ball to open those quick seams up front.

It’s really amazing how the Pats neutralized Brandon Spikes in this one. Spikes is a devastating run blocker but the Pats’ game plan completely took him out of the equation.

Not sure what Nate Solder was doing on the sack he gave up in the second quarter. He looked down on the snap and opened the door for Hughes. If he just squares up there’s no sack. Might’ve been a communication thing.

Give Buffalo’s D some credit they swarmed the ball in the running game. Their secondary just couldn’t disrupt Brady’s timing in the pass game.

The next pressure Solder gave up on the next possession was all him though, Hughes just got under him and flew around the corner to flush Brady out. That was the one that got him a seat on the bench the next possession.

If Brady wasn’t pulling it down after looking at Gronk (in middle) he might’ve had Amendola on the out up top.

Ridley’s best run of the day came off a quick snap that the Bills weren’t ready for. Guess you have to get them any way you can.

Spikes gets stuck covering LaFell on a third quarter third down and totally misses the jam allowing a free release. LaFell finds the open zone in the middle of the field and takes it for a first down. 

Still just so impressed with Tyms’ touchdown catch. I really hope this is just the beginning with him, he has real deep ball talent. Still, if I’m an opposing defense and I see him come on the field there’s one route I’m bailing and covering downfield.

Gronk did a lot of damage on the outside matched up against cornerbacks. Such a tough assignment for a guy six feet or under.

Total whiff by Josh Kline pulling for Ridley in the third quarter, okay maybe that’s why he was stuck on the bench. BTW – how have I not noticed Jordan Devey yet?

 For a guy known for his blocking, LaFell didn’t get anything of his man on the play Ridley got injured. Tough to see again…

Still wondering where the hard-charging-downhill Brandon Spikes was this game. Not that I’m complaining.

Pretty impressive how in sync Edelman and Brady are. He just continues to make it look like Wes Welker never left.

There wasn’t much there for him, but Brandon Bolden sure ain’t generating anything on his own. Is he really about to be the lead early-down back?

 This is what it has to look like for Bolden to pick up a chunk of yardage:

Wow, just saw Devey make an open field block to spring Gronk late in the fourth. I don’t know, maybe he isn’t a total loss?

Such a perfect play on LaFell’s touchdown for so many reasons. Offense showing “finish”. Brady showing faith in a new receiver. Love it.

Bolden is not turning this into anything but a loss:

The third-and-long conversion to Gronkowski was one of the best plays of the day. Protection was strong and Brady stood tall and waited for Gronk to get open.

The second LaFell touchdown to close it out was just the icing on the cake.

Patriots vs. Bills All 22 Thoughts: Defense Edition

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Simply put, this was a game won by the Patriots defensive line in the trenches. Buffalo clearly wanted to attack the Pats’ run defense but they couldn’t get by Vince Wilfork, Casey Walker, Chris Jones, Rob Ninkovich and Chandler Jones. 

Just a very solid defensive showing up front from the Pats where everyone did their job and there weren’t many missed tackles or blown assignments. 

Here are things that stood out on the All-22 film review, defense edition.

Chandler Jones showed strong edge awareness early in this one. This is something he wasn’t doing consistently , especially against the Chiefs.

As much as I wanted to see Deontae Skinner pop on the film, he’s still very much a rookie, reacting a moment later to everything than Mayo. He’s not ready to get thrown into the fire with Mayo gone. Last year with Vellano and Chris Jones was one thing, but a linebacker who is involved in so much of the run and pass game is another.

So tough watching Mayo ball out early in this one. He flew into the backfield and blew up this run:

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Just very solid team defense all around in the first quarter. Even when tackles were broken the next guy was there to fill, especially the corners and safeties. This is Patriots football. Everyone doing their job. Bills got a couple passes on them, but those were pinpoint throws that are almost impossible to stop.

There were quite a few defenders who couldn’t cover Scott Chandler, and it was Skinner’s turn on the last play of the first quarter. You can see how much Skinner is thinking out there and it’s slowing him down. Looks like his pursuit speed is actually pretty decent.

Here’s Collins’ interception, this is not a pass you want to throw.

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Can’t say how much I like Dennard enough. He allows a completion on third-and-three and still instantly makes the tackle short of the first down. Solid, aggressive corner play.

Gronk getting a lot of love for being “back”, but Wilfork is “back” too. Great game from him, just so strong at the point of attack and able to quickly get off blocks inside.

When big running back Bobbie Dixon came in, the Pats were responding with more of a 3-4 front. This makes sense, this is their best run-stopping package. With Casey Walker playing well at nose they’re able to use more 3-4 fronts again.

Even when Dixon gets the edge here, Revis comes up off his block and makes the tackle. Team defense.

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Now it’s Patrick Chung’s turn to give up a completion to Chandler, but not really his fault, Revis is in man on Watkins and just picks him. Still, not a great matchup having Chung on a big tight end.

Big whiff by Dennard on Woods’ first touchdown, just couldn’t get a hand on the receiver to disrupt the timing. Nice fake by Woods.

On Spiller’s long run before he fumbled it at the end of the first half it was a good example of Jamie Collins doesn’t have the physicality to be a great run-stopping linebacker. He gets totally blocked by an offensive tackle and can’t disengage. This could be a focal problem going forward without Mayo.

Vince Wilfork singlehandedly just blew up a run and made the tackle. Impressive game from him continues into the third quarter.

Casey Walker splits the double team and makes the tackle. When Siliga gets back the Pats are going to have some options up front. This is good long-term Wilfork insurance as well developing three solid interior DL.

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Scott Chandler is about to make this catch with one hand but it’s actually okay position by Tavon Wilson, he just doesn’t look for the ball or get a hand up in time. Did I mention I wanted the Pats to sign Chandler this offseason?image

 Revis bailed to off-man coverage on the long reception he gave up to Watkins, not sure why the adjustment came but it allowed a free release and Watkins shook Revis near the goalline.

It’s clear how badly the Bills wanted to run on the Patriots but the Patriots defensive line did not allow that to happen. Really it covered up Skinner and Collins’ weaknesses in that area of the game, because just about every play that hit the second level would hit the third level as well. But not many got past the first level.

I really want to find something on Skinner to give us some hope but even his sack was more of a coverage sack. He hesitates again (rookie thing) but that paid off because it opened a lane to Orton. At least he had the speed to go and finish it. I guess that’s a silver lining.

Not sure how Chandler Jones ended up in coverage on Chandler on his catch in the third quarter, but it wasn’t even close once Chandler had to turn and run to cover Chandler. Lot of Chandler going on in that play.

Workman-like effort from Ninkovich as usual as he picks up his third sack of the game. Not flashy, but does his job and if the rest of the defense follows his lead, they’re pretty solid.

In the fourth quarter the Pats put Chandler Jones to press Scott Chandler and Tavon Wilson to cover him. Makes sense finally.

Not a great fourth quarter for Dennard, a missed tackle, then he gets lost in the wash covering on 4th down and gives up a big gainer.

Arrington too had a rough one, giving up the next two completions after Dennard’s long one. Still, tight plays and he’s right there. Sometimes that happens.

Patriots vs. Bengals All 22 Thoughts: Offense Edition

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On to the offensive side of the ball where I found a lot to be encouraged about. Most specifically the team-wide commitment to blocking downfield. The linemen and receivers were blocking with gusto and that finally got the explosive plays in the ground game going.

Rob Gronkowski and Shane Vereen showed they were rounding into form finally as the elite weapons we think they should be.

Here are my All 22 observations on the offensive side of the ball.

As I wrote this week on my Three GIFs piece, I loved the opening call, a play action 20-yard pass to LaFell.

It was apparent from the first drive that the Pats came to play, the first time that’s happened this season. Loved the balance and use of play action.

I still have some concerns about the Pats’ short yardage ability, but how was the ball spotted so badly after James Develin’s 3rd and 1 carry?

Hooman is a necessary evil for now but how I’d love to get Tim Wright more involved at Hooman’s expense. Hooman is literally zero threat, though I see improvement in his blocking.

Missed this before but Iloka was giving some extra post-whistle business to Gronk on the second drive and that’s likely why Gronk had a shove for him later that picked up a penalty. Nice job by Amendola coming to Gronk’s defense.

Tim Wright’s touchdown came out of a a tight formation that the Bengals clearly weren’t ready for. Wright found the seam perfectly and Brady didn’t hesitate to immediately throw it to him.

Gronk continuing to look more like his old self in space as he picks up a first down in the first quarter, the one that drew a penalty. He’s attacking contact now. Need to focus on his blocking more now.

Next play Pats try play action on first down, Brady has Edelman for a moment but doesn’t pull the trigger. He’s going to his second read when the sack comes. 

Brady’s missed deep throw to Edelman came off his back foot as pressure arrived. Wish we could’ve seen if he hit or missed it if he had had the time. Those are throws that need to connect when it’s all on the line and one of the biggest criticisms of this offense.

Right side of the line was unaware of the snap count on the next play, a third down. Two rushers just came flying in as Gronk and Vollmer stood there. Ugh.

Such a better job picking up defenders in space by the pulling offensive linemen. Connolly especially. Such a huge difference from previous weeks.

Here’s what you didn’t see earlier this season – DOWNFIELD BLOCKS! Vereen gets 11 yards on this one.

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Continue to see Amendola getting open. Wish Brady could find him more often.

The interesting personnel package near the goalline at the end of the first half was Dobson/LaFell/Gronk/Edelman/Vereen. Dobson gets open but Brady doesn’t see him. 

Amendola comes in for Dobson on the next play and gets open but it looks like it was a roll out play designed for Edelman who is not open.

They go to Ridley/Hooman on the third down attempt at the goalline and while he had a good burst, Ridley gets stopped cold in his tracks.

Really love how Develin has progressed and carved a role out for himself. Who doesn’t love an old school fullback with a neck roll who can catch a bit. Tom Rathman fans like me can’t get enough of that!

Said it before and I’ll say it again, Gronk is looking more and more like Gronk.

Shane Vereen hasn’t gotten much love yet but deserves some. He ran well and broke a few ankles on this day. Seems likehe’s rounding back into form. He had two big carries in the third quarter, including a long third down pickup.

How about this three tight end look? And they ran right.

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Vintage Gronk touchdown and I loved how he casually avoided contact. Can’t be easy to feel comfortable with guys diving at his knees again.

BB pointed it out today in his press conference, but great block by Dobson downfield to spring Ridley near the end of the third quarter. Those kind of plays will get him on the field more often.

I feel like once Brady’s presnap read tells him Edelman should be open he doesn’t deviate from throwing it to Edelman.

Still not impressed once by Gronk’s blocking. Once that comes back (assuming it does), look out. This Pats offense will hit high gear then because Hooman can then stay on the sidelines.