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Patriots vs. Bengals All 22 Thoughts: Defense Edition

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Nice to finally get a look at the All 22 after a day’s delay. Pats seem to be finding their stride on defense and when they wrap up and make tackles, things look pretty good. They’re flashing more and more physicality in the secondary as well, which is needed.

Perhaps the biggest note is Darrelle Revis looking like Darrelle Revis, but also how well Arrington and Dennard played as well. Can’t remember having three corners playing this well since… well… ever.

The biggest concern – defensive end depth with Chandler Jones and Dominique Easley ailing while Michael Buchanan was just shut down for the season. Might be a move to come there.

Here are my notes on the defense…

Dennard might be the unsung hero of this defense. He’s feisty, shows good anticipation and seems like the key guy to allow man defense across the board. Very curious to see what happens with Browner now in the mix. Dennard seems too good to ride the pine now.

Chris Jones continuing to progress, taking on double teams better. 

Revis anticipates double moves so well, he never stops moving. His talents were on clear display right off the bat, smoothly sticking with AJ Green like glue.

Man-to-Man defense certainly has it’s plusses when Revis-Dennard-Arrington are all playing. But on third-and-long on the first drive the Pats went to Cover 4 to snuff out the underneath routes. A good example of how mixing coverages is key.

Savvy “ole” move by Ninkovich on the second Bengals possession against the tight end trying to block him. Ninkovich has been under the radar this year somewhat, but continues to show up in the run game. 

Some good stuff out of Easley playing defensive end. His power continues to flash, but he’s still developing the savvy needed to pass rush in the NFL. He’s really shown how versatile he is early in the year and as he gets more comfortable on his knee he should only get better.

Casey Walker showed up on just his second snap with the Patriots, plowing through the line to blow up a run for a loss. Might be a little early to say anything definitive but the Pats have to be happy to see this from their big body replacement of Siliga. He could be a key piece down the stretch.

Next third-and-long the Pats went to Cover 2 Man but when that play was blown dead by a penalty they went back to Cover 4 for third-and-longer.

Clear as day where Easley hurt his shoulder mid-way through the second quarter, he was just trying to extend against a block and immediately reached to it. His arm hung limp as he walked to the sideline. Doesn’t seem major and he was at practice today so that’s a good sign.

Love Jamie Collins in the passing game, but he’s not a downhill linebacker how can hammer an oncoming offensive linemen. In space against pass-heavy teams he’ll be incredibly valuable. Of course that is most of the teams in the NFL that we worry most about. But against some of the NFC teams it might be interesting with him.

Chris Jones with another great stack-and-shed in the second quarter. Solid game for him so far. Michael Buchanan entered for Easley and he looks a little lost so far. Looking for the injury that landed him on IR.

I’m sure one of the talking points you’ve heard this week is that the Pats pass rush pressure wasn’t great but against a quick-throw team like the Bengals it’s almost impossible to get to the QB consistently. The good thing I see is that the pass rush is getting there right after Dalton unloads it, forcing him to quickly throw to his first read consistently. That’s a positive and something we’ll need to do against the good QBs like Peyton.

Holy ticky tacky holding call on Dennard! 

Bengals went run-heavy at the end of the second quarter after taking a couple shots at the end zone. Pats countered with a 3-4 base defense that held up well, forcing the field goal. Good red zone stop.

On the forced fumble by Revis on AJ Green it felt like it all started with a great jam by Revis that put Green off balance. Again, Revis was everything we thought Revis is and was in this game.

Look at that, Dennard gets sent on a blitz on the first play of the second half forcing a rushed throw and incompletion. Nothing better than a three-and-out to start a half, and the Pats got on their way to one with some rare DB pressure.

Jerod Mayo bounced back again in what has been an up-and-down start to his season. It’s amazing how much better the Pats are when he plays well. And how bad they are when he doesn’t.

Pats were in base defense, Cover 4 on the 37-yard touchdown pass to Sanu. Chung jumped the underneath route leaving Dennard with no help. McCourty’s absence was felt here.

Pats got caught in an exchange on a 15-yard gain to Hill. Ninkovich dropped and Mayo blitzed off the edge. Great throw by Dalton and a tough catch. Like seeing this kind of disguise.

On AJ Green’s touchdown Logan Ryan got no jam and then ran into Mayo which opened up enough space for an easy TD throw from Dalton. Not entirely Ryan’s fault, but a better jam would’ve likely helped him avoid Mayo coming over to cover the RB.

Collins is almost better getting right up on the line of scrimmage and using his athleticism in tight space to avoid blocks. In the fourth quarter he did just that, blowing up a zone run.

Great move by Chris Jones to pick up the first sack of the season against the Bengals. Not playing every down has allowed Jones to really elevate his game. He made a handful of impact plays in this game.

Patriots vs. Chiefs All 22 Thoughts: Offense Edition

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The good news about watching the All-22 offense is that they don’t have a lot of plays so it doesn’t take very long! But seriously folks, taking an emotionless look back at what has been haunting us all week really helps. 

Things are never as bad as everyone would have you believe and I actually came away from the re-view with a feeling like this offense will take strong strides soon.

I continue to believe the offenses struggles start with the offensive line and they started in training camp. They are not a coordinated unit yet and the sooner they can stick with a starting five, the sooner things will get better.

I thought the pass protection was better in this game. They still had their problems, but there were plenty of times where Brady had the time he needed. The third quarter sack where Hali went right around Solder was a tough play – Hali got a perfect jump on the snap. Not sure any LT has the quickness to get over on him when that happens.

Connolly looked a little lost, especially when asked to pull. As Greg Bedard pointed out this week, he just hasn’t repped at LG very much and I agree that it shows. He took some bad angles and was a little slow pulling. But I did see him improve a bit over the course of the game.

But what is most troubling to me about the offensive line is their downfield blocking. It’s rarely clean and that doesn’t leave much room for the ball carrier to avoid the free hitter. The backside linebacker made plenty of plays for the Chiefs as the Pats OL just didn’t seem to have the quickness or keep their blocks sustained long enough to open up a big play hole.

Stork was solid outside a couple plays and I think he should get the starting nod again. He earned it. And he is a master of picking up his fellow Patriots off the ground. 

Communication for the entire OL is still not where it needs to be and a lot of the interior pressures were the result of miscommunication by Connolly and the two rookies. That’s understandable. It will get much better with experience.

I thought Wendell actually looked okay at left guard. At least he had some quickness and athleticism to get to the second level. If Fleming is out this weekend could we see a Wendell-Stork-Connolly interior?

Brandon LaFell had one of the few positive days and the more i see of him, the more I understand why the Patriots coaching staff likes him. He’s got size and physicality, and he fits the Pats underneath offensive focus.

Wish Tim Wright could get more involved. He’s another one that looks like a perfect fit for what they do, but we do know it takes time in this offense.

Brady’s first interception seemed just lazy to me, like he was trying to force it. Even if Edelman kept running it still would’ve been picked I think.

Tons of single high safety looks with stacked boxes. Understandable why Brady took a shot to Edelman on the second play of the game. Hopefully when that’s Dobson he can separate a little better. But I also think Brady thought it was press, which Edelman could’ve gotten off of to get free, but the corner bailed just before the snap and already had a running start going down the field.

Garoppolo is clearly a good fit for what the Pats do and it’s a minor silver lining that he got two drives in this one. His release is quick even by NFL standards and that will make him efficient and tough to sack.

Finally, everyone has a theory as to what is wrong with the Pats offense. The simple truth is that the machine isn’t working yet. We can debate which pieces don’t fit or are declining or sub-par, but there are pieces in place to make the machine run far better than what they showed here.

Developing the downfield blocking is a concern, because guys don’t suddenly get more athletic, but as far as the passing game they will be able to protect Tom Brady eventually. Hopefully this weekend. Once that domino falls and becomes consistent, they’ll be back to the kind of offense we expect to see.

Finding that consistency could decide the fate of the season.

Patriots vs. Chiefs All 22 Thoughts: Defense Edition

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Missed tackles. Inability to get off blocks. Blown contain. Falling down. Those four things summed up about 90% of the Patriots defensive problems in reviewing the All-22 game film this week.

It was almost a carbon copy of what we saw against Miami, where the players are in position to make plays, to get stops on third downs, but those fundamental mistakes proved the difference.

Once things began to unravel, the problems were hastened by players try to do too much. And their inability to stop the run early put them on their heels and severely hurt the pass rush.

I remain optimistic about this defense. The front seven leaders that are emerging are Chandler Jones and Dont’a Hightower. When they don’t play well, and they certainly didn’t against the Chiefs, the rest of the defense seems to follow suit.

Here are some player specific observations:

Chris Jones made some good plays early in the game and appeared to be returning to form. He had a good pass rush in the first quarter, showing good violence in his hands to knock the offensive lineman off balance. 

Rob Ninkovich hasn’t shown up in many big plays this year, but his ability to set the edge is solid. Chandler Jones on the other hand was up and down setting the edge all night and it eventually got him pulled, though he did appear to injure his shoulder and that could’ve played into the benching as well.

It comes back to DO YOUR JOB for Chandler. He’s trying to beat guys inside instead of setting a hard edge and it came back to hurt him at least four times for big gains. He has to shoulder a good deal of blame in this one.

Dont’a Hightower was up and down as well, and is another guy trying to do too much later in the game resulting in him being out of position due to overaggressiveness. He and Jones must bounce back this week and the rest of the defense will look a whole lot better.

Revis has caught some flack but I think he’s really close to being the player we thought he was. He has perfect position but he’s just millimeters off right now. That will change.

And as for those people worrying about the scheme, it’s the least of their problems. Again, set the edge and tackle and they’re forcing at least 3 more punts in this game easy.

Jamie Collins is not a downhill player inside. He has trouble taking on offensive linemen coming to block him and relies on his athleticism (as he should) to get around them. But he will not defeat them with physicality and thus he gets lost in the wash a lot. In space however, he is very strong and athletic.

A down game for Jerod Mayo who struggled to get off blocks and could possibly seem a step slower than I remember him. He’s never been that savvy in coverage and that problem was once again apparent, though covering Jamaal Charles is no easy task.

Easley saw his first extended action of the year, including time at defensive end, a spot where I don’t think he’s a great fit. Still he was solid and showed ability to set the edge. His pass rush started to show signs of life in this one, including the play below where he was partially responsible for getting Alex Smith out of the pocket. This is so critical for this defense and exactly why Easley was brought in.

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Bunch formations really gave the Pats a hard time. They showed poor anticipation to defeat them until Jamie Collins got in there on one in the third quarter.

The Pats similarly had no answer for Travis Kelce, which, after practicing against Gronk, seems a little strange.

I think this defense is set to elevate their game in a major way. It really comes down to fundamentals – wrapping and tackling, getting off blocks and playing within the system without trying to do too much.

If they do those things, look out.

Patriots vs. Raiders All 22 Thoughts: Offense Edition

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And now I jump into the All 22 review of the offense, something I’ve been putting off all day. Let’s see if it’s as ugly as I remember…

 Still bugs me that the offense would go shotgun on snap one. The Raiders run defense stunk. Running on the first play of the game is almost expected. How about some play action? At least I like the attempt to get LaFell going right off the bat.

Just a gross first possession and that’s disconcerting because they literally had all week to plan it.

And we’re going to the power run game in possession two, something they should’ve done off the bat. Pretty good success until a holding penalty and they can’t get out of the hole. This sums up their problems right now, one step forward, one step back…

 3rd-and-22 on the second possession, in the words of BB “not what we’re looking for.” And that’s it for the first quarter. No wonder there were boos.

Edelman slips a tackle and picks up a first down early in the second quarter. Nothing seems to be easy right now, just getting that first down required Edelman to make someone miss.

Quick WR screen to Edelman next play illustrates how the Pats can’t really run the same arsenal of screens with their four tackle OL. Cannon and Devey are not getting out in space like Mankins and Neal used to.

This lack of quickness is also generally apparent in the regular run game where Cannon/Devey just don’t get off blocks and into the second level fast enough to spring any big runs.

Again, 3rd-and-7 and Vereen has to break a tackle to pick up the first down. Because an 8 yard route is apparently asking too much right now.

This is called “not biting on play action”. Luckily Edelman draws the PI. First down. Yay.

Gronk being Gronk on his touchdown as he beats a pretty ugly attempt at a double team by Oakland. He’s certainly still the red zone weapon we need.

Gronk plowing into contact near the end of the half is a good sign. This has been a pretty good drive with some good throws by Brady. Glimpses here and there for the offense but it’s taken far too long to show something just now.

Goalline situation at the end of the half is totally FUBAR. Would’ve loved to see a power run right into the end zone but it’s not even close. Vollmer gets juked, allowing the LDE to close down. Hole’s there for a second but closes quickly as no one else gets any push.

Then the bad snap and we’re kicking a field goal. They made some plays in the first half, but nothing was easy except for Gronk’s TD.

Hard to come out of the locker room at the half much worse than this: 3 yard pass, run for 2 yard loss, false start, 5-yard loss on sack, Punt. Yikes. 

Here’s that sack:

It’s 4 Raiders rushing and 5 Patriots protecting, yet both Tuck (91 abusing Devey one-on-one) and Smith (94 taking advantage of poor communication by Solder/Cannon) get to Brady. Just awful. The worst part is how down the OL look after it goes down.

Then they come out and get a false start penalty on the first play of the next drive. That one was on Gronk.

Brady finds LaFell over the middle the next play and that’s something I like. That’s the start they were looking for on the first possession of the first half.

Solder gets pushed into the backfield with one hand by the defensive tackle and he looks as lost as I’ve ever seen him look, physically and mentally. See below for the next play where he’s beaten immediately, Brady hasn’t even handed off the ball yet:

As other All 22 reviews have mentioned Khalil Mack is legit. So quick off the ball and strong. Very much reminds me of Von Miller. He beats Solder cleanly on the next 3rd down for the sack.

Tim Wright makes a grab and it’s nice to see him get involved. Plays like this give me hope, but only if they can figure out how to protect the quarterback.

Pats get to the goal line and move Vollmer over to the left side with Solder to try to get some kind of push and they get none. Ridley might’ve been the better choice than Vereen there.

Gronk drops a TD. Oh well, that rarely happens. Just another example of how off they are right now.

And now Amendola misses a TD grab, the kind that Welker used to be money at. More signs of the times.

At this rate I am not sure if Brady or Edelman could make it through the season healthy. They’re getting killed out there.

Brady finds Gronk on 3rd-and-15 and that’s a nice play with nice protection. Wow, that took all game. Must be because Stork is in there.

Look out, Tommy!! Seriously, this kind of stuff will get Brady killed this year. Note the Solder olay.

Okay, 5:18 left with a chance to seal the game. Let’s see how this goes…

Ridley 1 yard run (at least Stork planted Antonio Smith, first OL aggression I’ve seen today), coverage sack loses 8 yards, LaFell grabs one for 15 yards but it’s not enough and we’re punting. Gross.

Thank Hoodie the defense got the stop at the end to avoid overtime because that really could’ve gone either way.

 This was awful start to finish and I have to say I feel a little worse about the long term outlook of the offensive line. Solder especially is depressing with how bad he played.

At least there were some flashes from some weapons and I think LaFell especially is headed in the right direction. But as I wrote on Monday everything starts with the offensive line and they were horrible in this game.

Patriots vs. Raiders All 22 Thoughts: Defense Edition

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Tuesday afternoon means All 22 review! You really haven’t watched the game until you’ve seen the whole field. I continue to be amazed by the thing I missed and what I pick up watching it. Here comes this weeks defense edition:

Dropping Easley out of rush and into coverage. Reward for his interception?

Seems like they’re getting a little more comfortable using Chung in Cover 2. Smart, can’t be in Cover 1 every time he’s on the field.

Really hope Siliga isn’t out for long, he and Wilfork are a tough combination inside to move. It’s really what makes the Pats run defense go. There’s been plenty of 34/43 talk as there is every year, but the overriding early down philosophy is have two space eaters inside with five athletic players around them who can make plays. 

On Oakland’s 3rd-and-7 conversation on their second possession I’d tally it up to great execution over Logan Ryan not having good coverage. Ryan is physical at the line but Carr gets the ball out on time and the receiver makes a great catch. Maybe Ryan could’ve been a little more physical, but he had the right idea.

Nate Ebner came on in the Pats’ dime defense and drew man coverage on tight end Rivera in the first quarter. Chandler Jones knocked down the pass intended for Rivera, but Ebner was right there and would’ve made the tackle.

Tavon Wilson with a good read and tackle early in the second quarter. Though I’m a bit surprised he isn’t at the Money dime LB spot over Ebner, it’s good they’re getting him involved. He’s a physical player and could be needed if Chung gets hurt.

When Duron Harmon comes on it seems like they like him as the deep safety with McCourty playing up a bit more. 

Another nice play by Ebner on another third down. Covering the running back as he comes out of the backfield, Ebner plants and makes a strong downhill tackle to force the punt. Seeing what they must see in him, though I’m curious if he stays in this role once Collins is fully healthy.

Chandler Jones gives the olay to the tight end trying to block him and makes a tackle in the backfield. What a start to the season by Jones.

I’m not sure Chris Jones can anchor vs. double teams like they’d need him to as a space eater inside. Again, hope Siliga isn’t out long. Jones probably a better fit against passing teams where he can one-gap.

Dont’a Hightower has had a great start to the season as well, but perhaps one of the bigger reasons why is Mayo’s return and his presence in coverage. It’s really freed Hightower up to do a bunch of different things.

Holy Hoodie, Joe Vellano just made a play against the Wildcat in the early third quarter – held his ground, got off the block and made the tackle. Maybe not all is lost with him just yet.

Revis may have given up a catch in the early third quarter on a quick out, but man is he strong. He just held on with one hand and didn’t let go.

Can’t say it enough – Vince Wilfork is a beast. He’s still quick off the ball and driving linemen into the backfield. So so impressive.

Third quarter, Logan Ryan comes on a corner blitz. Don’t see those too often from NE’s defense so it’s worth noting. Pass fell incomplete as the wide receiver didn’t recognize he needed to break off his route.

Three safety look with Harmon/Chung/McCourty in the late third, first time I think we’ve seen that today I think. Nice coverage by Chung on the fullback on a 9 route. Might be a gameplan thing as Oakland started targeting Reece more and more.

Another three safety look on third-and-long, with Ebner playing an underneath zone and Harmon deep. Ebner with the tackle. He does close hard.

Not a great rush from Easley on this play either, he was one on one with the center. He needs to win that matchup and I think he will as the season progresses.

Collins clearly not 100 percent at the start of the fourth quarter. Looking stiff as he read a screen but couldn’t break through the blockers to stop it. He comes off next snap.

Another solid play by Vellano on 3rd-and-1 holding his ground. Surprised that he played a lot better than I noticed during the game, albeit in limited duty.

Logan Ryan might’ve been picked on in this game, but I will say this, he’s right there on every completion he gives up and the tackles come immediately. Far cry from what we’ve seen in recent years from Pats DBs.

McFadden picks up 10 yards on the Raiders’ final drive as Chris Jones gets pummeled out of the way. These are the kind of plays that Jones isn’t the best to defend. Wilfork comes in for him next play, while Vellano gets in on the tackle. If Siliga is out Wilfork/Vellano double nose might be the way to go.

Wilfork seals it with the interception. What a game for him!

Patriots vs. Vikings All 22 Thoughts: Offense Edition

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Not much doing on the first possession – a three and out. The commitment to establish the run is clear, but they didn’t have much success off the left side of the line on the first two runs.

As mentioned by Greg Bedard last night, on the first pass attempt of the second possession there was just Dobson running a route. Everyone else was blocking. Yes, they’re trying to establish some confidence but yikes.

Cleaner blocking in the run game on the second possession, with nice lead/edge blocks from Hooman and Develin on Ridley’s five yard run.

Edelman fly sweep! Teams are going to figure out how to defend this play pretty quick as almost every NFL team is running them this year it seems.

The WR slip screens haven’t been working well this year so far, and I’d include the RB screens as well. With the heavier and less experienced line this probably shouldn’t be a surprise. But they just can’t seem to get that one block that springs them for a big gain.

Still scratching my head how we’re in the second quarter and we’ve seen about as much Hooman and Develin as Dobson/Amendola/LaFell. For a team that lacked playmakers last year they’re still seemingly avoiding their playmakers.

Still, what a rocket on third-and-15 to Edelman to pick up a much-needed first down. This was one of my Three GIFs plays.

Brady stood in there tough and took the hit to deliver a perfect touchdown lob to Edelman. Great play that he clearly audibled into.

The Pats were stopped short on 3rd-and-1 in the second quarter. The hole was there for a second, but Connolly couldn’t quite make his reach block and that was enough to delay Ridley from squirting through. Harrison Smith also filled and tackled like a force of nature. He’s a good player.

And now it’s the Brady and Edelman show. I expected to see a little more balance this year on offense, that’s for sure. Most puzzling though is how little Vereen was involved in the game plan. He needs to get the ball in space more often.

Really solid run blocking on the last play of the third quarter where Vereen picked up 12 yards. Sustained blocks, good movement and vision from Vereen. More of that please.

Cannon got stunned by the initial punch by the DT and that’s how Brady was sacked in the fourth quarter. It did seem like there was time for him to unload it, but it appeared he was staring down Edelman who was bracketed. See below:

Lastly, All-22 is a much better way to get a good look at the offensive line and I really liked what I saw from Bryan Stork upon further review. Sustains his blocks, shows good strength. Would not be surprised if he starts to see more time. 

Patriots vs. Vikings All 22 Thoughts: Defense Edition

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Thank Hoodie the NFL puts All-22 film up now, it’s really so much better to help understand what kind of coverages and route combinations are being run. And the end zone cam is perfect for seeing gap alignment.

Early on the Pats rotated through odd and even fronts, running primarily Cover 1 Robber, with Chung in the box. Essentially the Pats traded Steve Gregory for Chung. Chung might get pulled off the field in coverage packages, but he’s definitely a better presence for the “Robber” spot that the Pats play a lot of. So far his weaknesses have been well-hidden.

One Chandler Jones’ 2nd quarter sack it was a great example of team defense. Jones got an initial hand on Cassel, though he probably had enough time to dump it off had the coverage not been perfect. Siliga came through on a stunt and destroyed the pocket. That’s when Jones finished him off.

On Revis’ interception he did the proverbial “ran the route better than the receiver”. His perfect outside leverage prevented the receiver from breaking out of his cut, from there Revis just sprinted right to where the ball was delivered and there was nothing Jennings could do.

Remarkable that even without Browner and Dennard the defense was still able to play a lot of press man. They slipped in some off-man as well, but Press Cover 1 Robber was the coverage of choice.

On third-and-three in the second quarter we saw some zone coverage with two deep, Mayo in the deep middle, four underneath defenders waiting to pounce on the underneath pass. It worked perfectly.

For all the talk of Hightower’s improved pass rush, dropping him into short zones eliminated the underneath passes that gashed the defense on the first drive. Hightower moves better in space than he’s gotten credit for.

Seemed like Ebner was the dime linebacker while Wilson was just the base strong safety to give Chung a breather. Interesting how they’re rotating a deep group of safeties.

Such a smooth Revis-esque play by Logan Ryan to undercut Patterson’s route on his interception. Cassel shouldn’t have tried that throw but there wasn’t anywhere else to go with it. That’s one thing sticking out with the All-22 – just how good the coverage is across the board.

Pats sent 6 rushers on Dont’a Hightower’s third quarter sack from their dime package. Man-to-man coverage was perfect behind it.

Easley was used entirely inside as a pass rusher, just like he should be. He showed good explosion and violence early on but I think he seemed to run out of gas in the fourth quarter. Understandable considering how he saw no game time in the preseason.

Kyle Arrington’s blitz from the slot was well-timed. I thought the Pats did some experimentation being a little more aggresive. PFF had them blitzing on 10 of 44 snaps which is on the high end for BB.