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Patriots vs. Colts All-22 Thoughts: Defense Edition

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As followers of this blog might imagine, the last two games have been a lot of fun for a defens-o-phile like myself. Even without Chandler Jones and Jerod Mayo, the Pats defense has been playing better than we’ve seen since the mid-2000s.

At the forefront of this has been Darrelle Revis, Devin McCourty, Brandon Browner, and Kyle Arrington on the back end, and the sound physical play up front led by Dont’a Hightower, Rob Ninkovich, Vince Wilfork and Jamie Collins.

The Pats did give up some long passing plays against the Colts, but that’s somewhat to be expected in Indy against Andrew Luck.

Here’s what else stuck out in the All-22 review of the defense.

Doesn’t get much better than a defer on the coin toss then forcing a three-and-out. 

Amazing what good coverage does for the pass rush as Vince Wilfork got through on the first play of the game as Luck hesitated on his first read.

On the next play, the run defense was stout. Simply put, everyone is doing their job. Wilfork/Jones holding their ground while Hightower/Collins are filing their gaps and playing patient. Incredible how much better things look when the defense is fundamentally solid.

The Pats continued the trend of showing double A pressure with the linebackers on the first third down of the game, but dropped both of them out. Coverage was solid in Cover 1, forcing the checkdown to Bradshaw. Solid tackling by Hightower kept him short of the first down. Each week I like Hightower a little more. He and Collins are on fire right now against these pass-happy teams.

Chris Jones showed up on the first play of the second possession, a zone running play run to the left, away from Jones. He got a good jump and pushed the Colts offensive linemen into the backfield, which set up the tackle for Wilfork. Again, solid fundamental run defense. Ayers set the edge, Collins maintained his gap and Wilfork/Jones showed great lateral quickness to make the play.

On one of the few third downs the Pats gave up a conversion on, they were in their 4 CB/1 S personnel with Ninkovich out to jam the tight end before letting him go to Browner. MCCourty clearly had an eye on Hilton. Ryan headed out to cover Nicks but Revis waved him back to the slot on Wayne. Not sure what happened there, but Wayne beat Ryan for the first down.

Revis was absolved of the 46-yard pass to Reggie Wayne the next play, as it looked like he was expecting over-the-top coverage from McCourty, but McCourty broke to the other side on Hilton.

Again, great run defense inn the red zone on the next play with both Ayers and Chung maintaining the edge. Wilfork’s lateral agility was again on display as he and Jones plugged the initial hole.

Third-and-8 in the red zone and the Pats send five, with Collins getting solid pressure to force an inaccurate back-foot throw from Luck that falls incomplete. Really loving this up-the-gut pressure from the linebackers and it’s made a huge difference on third down.

On their third possession, starting at their own 6 yard line, the Colts went to a three tight end set that the Pats countered with a 4-3 base (50-97-75-94 DL, 91-54-52 LB). They stuck with it next play and Jamie Collins showed up with a solid job setting the edge. That shows some great improvement there by the second-year linebacker.

On third-and-5 the Pats sent pressure once again, this time with 6, but it was just a moment too late. Luck got off a throw to a spot, just where Fleener could get it. 

On third-and-12 the Pats sent pressure once again with five, while Collins awaited Bradshaw to go out into a route. This time it was Easley and Ninkovich on the left side of the line that got just enough pressure to force a bad throw by Luck.

This kind of aggression on third down is somewhat rare for the Pats. Not sure if it’s because they trust their secondary more now, or think that Luck/Colts OL couldn’t handle it.

On the next possession, Easley showed up again drawing a holding penalty. Easley is starting to look more and more like the explosive tasmanian devil he was in college. He so violent and quick, he can be a huge handful for an offensive linemen.

WR screens again Browner and Revis are not advised.

This is the Dominique Easley I wanted the Pats to draft in the first round.

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On the McCourty interception, it was Revis who was on display, sticking with Wayne like glue. Really vintage Revis.

Great pressure by Hightower on the next possession. He’s really finding a groove and it seems like the Pats are using him really well, both in coverage and blitzing.

On third-and-6  the Pats once again forced a checkdown out of Cover 2 and tackled soundly to force the punt. Fundamentals.

Another QB hit by Easley on the possession after Brady’s second interception, looping around from an edge rusher spot to force a bad throw.

Perfect throw and catch on the touchdown to Nicks, but Ryan got no jam and did nothing to disrupt the timing of the play. I have my concerns about Ryan being the weak link in the secondary, but compared to the bums we’ve had back there in the past, I’m okay with him.

Second Half

Colts got a nice pass to Wayne on their second play of their first possession, but it was remarkable how Hightower ran with him. 

Moncrief beat Browner off the line pretty badly, but Luck overthrew him. Would’ve been a touchdown. Probably not Browner’s best game, but he’s not designed for the small and shifty guys.

On the next possession, Fleener beat Browner with a double move for a long gain, even with Browner getting a good jam. Recovery speed is not great on Browner, looks like he takes some false steps.

Pats were just so much more physical in the trenches, the Colts could get nothing on the ground.

On third-and-10, the Pats only sent four as Luck got off a great pass to Fleener, who made a toe-tapping catch in bounds.  Again it was on Browner who lost Fleener.

Jamie Collins must’ve really been held back by his early season quad injury. He is so much more slippery now and has an easier time getting around blockers in the box.

The Colts put together their best drive at the end of the third quarter but they still had to earn every single yard in the red zone. That’s a good sign and it really took some time off the clock.

Pats really did a good job against stacked releases in this one, an area they struggled with earlier this year. Just seeing a lot of improvement across the board on defense. It’s exciting.

They shifted to more Cover 2 looks on third down once they had a bigger lead, also sending less blitzes. But Ninkovich’s quality rushes still generated some pressure.

Easley again showed impressive burst on the final Colts possession, blowing the center in the backfield and just missing a tackle for a loss. There was a lot to feel good about in this one, but Easley coming on might be the biggest development.

3 GIFs that Defined Patriots Win Over Colts

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Lots of great plays to choose from this week, but here are three that summed up the game most succinctly in my view.

We start off with a carry on third-and-1 in the first quarter that Jonas Gray took for 20 yards. The Pats had struggled in recent weeks when running ball on short yardage third downs. Against Denver and Chicago they were 0-for-3 in those situations.

But this play illustrates the kind of night it was going to be: Gray running roughshod over the Colts and the Pats converting 9-of-13 third downs.

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Next, we skip to the fourth quarter, with the Pats up by eight, still anyone’s game. Brady finds Brandon LaFell, who makes a ridiculous catch to take the Pats into scoring range to put the game away. LaFell has been the player the Patriots have lacked since Randy Moss. Not to say LaFell is Moss-esque, but he’s the first physical mismatch at receiver the Pats have had since him. Add in circus catches like this and it’s easy to see why Brady has finally found a free agent wide receiver he likes for the first time since 2007.

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I could’ve chosen quite a few third-down stops, or even the McCourty interception, but instead we’re going with this game-sealing fourth-down stop. Reggie Wayne has put some final fourth-quarter daggers in our backs plenty of times over the last decade, but this time Darrelle Revis sticks with him like glue and forces the incompletion.

This Patriots defense is finally no longer the weak link, as it has been since 2010. Now they’re every bit the strength the offense is.

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And of course, I couldn’t not put this play by Gronk up. Just the ultimate exclamation point. 

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Previous Three GIFs:

Denver Broncos

Chicago Bears

New York Jets

@ Buffalo Bills

Cincinnati Bengals

Kansas City Chiefs

Oakland Raiders

@ Minnesota Vikings

@ Miami Dolphins

Pats Posits: The Merciless Patriots are Back

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There was plenty of talk last week about how the Patriots hadn’t beaten a playoff opponent on the road since 2011, and even then it was the Tebow-led Broncos. So there’s no question, this was the biggest road win since 2010’s 39-26 demolition of the Steelers.

Hard to remember a bigger set of back-to-back wins than the two we’ve just seen, against the other two best teams in the AFC. Yes, we’re all feeling pretty good about the Patriots today, but the hard road continues, with Detroit coming to town and then a trip to Green Bay for a potential Super Bowl preview matchup.

Here are the things that stuck out to me about last night’s win…

This game wouldn’t have even been close if Brady hadn’t been so bad in the first half. Those two interceptions were both really poor decisions, the kind of thing we don’t see out of TFB.

But the good news is that this Patriots team is unflinching. Even when they’ve had bad plays the last two games – like the poor end of the first half last night, or the interception to start the second half against the Broncos – they’ve come right back out with dominant drives. They don’t blink, in a way that isn’t as common for a Patriots team as you might think.

There’s just something about this team that plays angry, with something to prove. They are merciless in a way reminiscent of 2007, and that’s a very good sign.

The biggest questions about this team coming in were whether they could really pound the football when the power run game was required and if they were the kind of fearless team that could beat a good quarterback in his home stadium.

Both were answered with a resounding yes against the Colts.

One of the keys to the bye week was doing some self-analysis and getting the guys who have been thrust into the fire more time to get up to speed. I thought we might see a little more Jonas Grey in this one but obviously I didn’t expect him to suddenly look like LeGarrette Blount circa last year.

This of course tells you how Belichick feels about the Colts’ run defense. Spoiler – he thinks they suck.

Gray’s emergence really rounds this offense out into probably the most balanced attack since 2007. And it’s not just Gray who proved something last night, so did the offensive line, especially in the the short yardage situations where they’ve struggled all year.

The Pats ran the ball 15 times with 1-5 yards to go and picked up a first down 13 times. They hadn’t done that more than four times in a game yet this season.

Seeing what a difference healthy Gronk makes just makes me wonder what could’ve been the last three playoff runs if he had been in the lineup at full strength. He changes the entire offense, not only with his play, but with the energy he brings.

If Gronk is healthy to the final snap this season, it will be in the Super Bowl.

As for the defense, it starts with how they stopped the run. The Colts had 19 yards rushing on 17 attempts. That’s 1.1 yards-per-carry. Seriously. Not a typo. 1.1.

Run defense was the biggest concern with this defense earlier in the season. Miami gashed them for 191 yards on the ground. The Chiefs had 207.

I never thought it was time to panic. What I saw were just physical mistakes like missing tackles or losing contain. Now they’re not missing those tackles and keeping contain and the run defense is light years better.

Now we see that those who wanted to judge how good Revis is after the Bills and Jets games were a little premature. Revis’ impact the last three weeks, against very good quarterbacks has been on display and it’s time to start banging the “long-term extension” drum.

Like many Pats pundits, I thought Browner would stay as an outside corner this season, but after the last two games it’s clear the Patriots want to use him against receiving tight ends, even in the middle of the field.

Thought Alan Branch played hard in his 15 snaps and was a good compliment to Vince Wilfork inside. When Siliga gets back they can ease Wilfork’s load a bit and try to keep him fresh for the playoffs. 

Really started to see some burst and power from Dominique Easley. He’ll be one to focus on for the All-22 review. If he can get some interior pass rush going in concert with how the defensive backs are playing, look out.

Nothing against Jerod Mayo, but I just like the Dont’a Hightower Patriots defense better than the Mayo defense. Hightower moves incredibly well for his size, is a physical tackler, and really, I think he has better instincts than Mayo in the passing game.

And Jamie Collins seems to keep getting better each week. Granted these last two games play right into Collins’ style, but he’s been much better against the run than he was early in the year.

At this point it’s hard not to want to just shut it down for the season in an effort to keep everyone healthy. Because at this moment it feels like that’s the only thing that could really keep the Pats from being the favorites to represent the AFC in Glendale in February.

We know what can happen all too well – Andre Carter going down in December of 2011, losing Gronk each of the last three years… There’s a ton of football left and hopefully the Football Gods will be nice to the Patriots this year.

But for right now, in late November, the Patriots sit atop the football world and all is right.

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Updated Bill Belichick Hoodie History Record

This chart I put together in the summer of 2013 just went viral last month and it hadn’t been updated with the stats from the last season and a half, so I plugged in the new numbers today.

Belichick hasn’t worn a sweatshirt with the sleeves hacked since the last-second win over the Saints in 2013.

Now it looks like he’s all-in on the Blue 1960 Nike Hoodie with sleeves intact. He’s worn two variations of it in seven of the nine games this year.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/updated-bill-belichick-hoodie-history-record-this/

New England Patriots Gameplan: Week 11 at Indianapolis Colts

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These are the games that define your season. The Patriots have had plenty of success at home, against the good and the bad, but on the road, in their recent house of horrors (4th and 2, SB46), against a team that badly wants to beat them to prove they’re “elite”… this is where a good Pats team can prove they’re great.

The last time we saw the Patriots, they were clicking on all cylinders against the Broncos and getting all the bounces. That tends to happen less often on the road.

It’s not surprising that Rodney Harrison said earlier this week that Belichick is treating this like a playoff game. Maybe it doesn’t have the same buzz as Brady vs. Manning, but this game is every bit as big as far as the AFC goes, and it will definitely have an impact on the playoff seedings.

What do the Pats have to do to get out of Lucas Oil Stadium with a win?

Here’s the gameplan.

Offensive Gameplan

The Pats have had an extra week to do some self-reflection so there could be some new wrinkles, or perhaps some expanded roles, for guys who got here late.

While Jonas Grey has shown some decent power, Shane Vereen is essentially the lead back now. Since Stevan Ridley went down, Vereen has played 65 percent of the snaps. With Gronk drawing coverage, things have only been getting easier for Vereen in the passing game. Look for him to be a key contributor.

The Pats’ success with play action has been well-documented this week. For all the talk of the two tight end sets of 2011 and 2012, now the Pats are having success with fullback James Develin and/or Michael Hoomanwanui joining Vereen in the backfield. Simply put, the threat of a fullback/halfback tandem has been enough to put defenses on their toes against the run game and that has helped the passing game. The Patriots have a miserable ground attack, Football Outsiders has them 31st in rushing DVOA.

The Colts should focus on two things – stopping Rob Gronkowski and pass coverage. Force the Pats to beat them running the ball or squeezing it in tight windows to someone other than their dominant tight end.

Will the Pat take the cheese and run the ball? This could be a game that tells us a lot about their balance on offense. But it’s a passing league and in a dome the conditions are perfect, so look for this to be a Vereen/Edelman/LaFell heavy attack.

Defensive Gameplan

The bye week was much-needed for the Patriots defense because it gives in-season newcomers likes Akeem Ayers, Jonathan Casillas and Casey Walker a little extra time to get up to speed.

The Pats had Ayers in a full-time edge role against the Broncos and I can’t see why that would change now, the only other option is to play the injured Dominique Easley out of position.

Jamie Collins had a breakout game against the Colts last year in the playoffs and there’s every reason to think he’ll once again be a big key. Despite some knocks on him in the run game early this season, he’s looked better recently, likely due to his thigh getting fully healthy. Collins was drafted for games like these.

As always the big question is how the Pats deal with explosive deep threat T.Y. Hilton, old nemesis Reggie Wayne and the Colts’ strong duo of tight ends, Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen. There’s little question that Hilton will get over-the-top focus, so is it worth using Revis on him? Perhaps letting Browner kill him at the line, while putting Revis on Wayne is a better use of resources. 

Patrick Chung, Dont’a Hightower and Collins will have their work cut out for them, not just with the tight ends, but with resurgent running back Ahmad Bradshaw, who has over 700 all-purpose yards and eight touchdowns this season.

Disguise, and forcing Andrew Luck into the kind of mistakes he’s made in his first two games against the Pats are key, but those games were in Foxborough and Luck cannot be counted on to hand the game over in Indy.

This one will take a total defensive effort just like the Broncos game did. Do the Pats have another one of those in them, this time on the road?

It’s a great test.

5 Points of Emphasis

1. Keep the Gronk Times Rolling: The Colts are 29th in DVOA covering tight ends so that’s an area to attack. However I believe the Colts will give extra attention to Gronkowski, even if it comes at the expense of weakening their defense elsewhere. Still, it doesn’t really matter. Gronk makes plays no matter how many guys are on him and there’s no reason to shy away from him now.

2. Stop Bradshaw In Sub: I could probably write the same keys every week for the Patriots – stop the run in sub-defense and protect Tom Brady. The matchups at wide receiver versus the Pats’ secondary are favorable, but it’s Ahmad Bradshaw who could ruin the game. The defensive tackles and ends must build the wall and contain him, while the linebackers must stick with him in pass coverage. Even giving up a bomb or two to Hilton is preferable to letting Bradshaw put up 150 yards of offense.

3. Fast Start on Offense:  I have a feeling this one is going to be a high-scoring affair and the Pats would be well-suited to get some points on the board early. So far, they’ve had really good in-game perseverance this year – bouncing back after slow starts and mistakes in recent weeks, but it would be preferable to avoid the drama of trying to come back on a Colts team that specializes in comebacks.

4. 60 Minutes: Along those same lines, this one is going to come down to the end and no lead is safe against Andrew Luck in Indy. If the Pats snag a lead for the second time in two games, they might be feeling pretty good about themselves and take their foot off the gas.  That’s just what the Colts love. The Pats must finish.

5. Win: The Pats lost to the Panthers coming out of their bye last season, looking flat and needing a late comeback that probably should’ve happened. They should be better prepared and more focused against a conference rival this year.

A win would seal the Patriots’ spot atop the AFC, and give them the inside track on a bye, owning a direct tie-breaker over the other two best teams in the conference.

A win over a very good team in a very tough place to play would say even more. 

Patriots vs. Broncos All 22 Thoughts: Offense Edition

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With the bye week I’m taking a little longer to look back at the Broncos game film. So let’s put a final bow on what is hopefully not the best win of the season (but very well might be).

Some interesting twists on the first drive – Gronk staying in to block Demarcus Ware stood out. Especially because they ended up having to check down on the play, would’ve thought they’d take a shot when not putting Gronk into a route.

When Brady did take a shot on third-and-10 he would’ve had Amendola for the first down. Can’t blame him for trying to hit LaFell, taking a shot in the first quarter is a strategy, even if it isn’t completed.

Impressive run stop by Talib on the first play of the second drive, with the Pats running a big sweep. Talib is underrated as a run-stopper as that one could’ve got a way if he hadn’t tripped Gray up.

Broncos weren’t jamming Gronk much in this one and paid the price for it. Yeah, he’s kind of open here:

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Broncos were faking Cover-1 above, but tipped their hand it was really a Cover-2 look. When Brady sees that it’s too easy.

Edelman has perfected the Wes Welker go-to route, where you fake inside then spin back to the out. So hard to stop.

I do think the play below was a misread by Tyms, who got hung up on the jam and didn’t run the out. That’s where Brady threw to, but as you can see, he threw it before Tyms broke.

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Talib trying to jam Gronk, get’s shoved out of the way with one hand.

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Broncos got steamrolled in this one, but they certainly had their moments of solid play on defense. But major credit to the Patriots offensive line. Brady looks very comfortable with them blocking for him now, so you can sense it’s just a matter of time as the Pats kick their second field goal.

Pats didn’t get a lot of push in the running game and if there’s one area I still have concerns about, the power run game is it. It was apparent one one play for no gain after the Ninkovich interception – Wendell pulls around and is stone-cold stopped by Von Miller who then pinched off the running lane. The guard play has been better but I still don’t think we’re in mauler territory with either of these guys.

On Edelman’s touchdown catch, Gronk had the attention of three Bronco defenders. That’s the kind of impact he makes, leaving three of the Pats playmakers with just single coverage.

Brady’s trust with LaFell was clear on the final drive of the first half, throwing a strike as LaFell ran a quick inside slant. He looked like Deion Branch if Branch was six inches taller.

For all those longing for a TJ Ward signing last offseason, I think this game shows what the Pats thought of Ward in coverage as it seems like they attacked him constantly. And not just with Gronk. Any time there was an extended play, Ward lost his man.

Again, here’s the Gronk effect as the Broncos only rush three, yet Vereen is still wide open because three guys are covering Gronk.

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Edelman had a TD called back, but Bruschi was sure celebrating it like he was still on the team.

Closing out the half with a TD to Vereen was so clutch. Such a sign that this offense was clicking on all cylinders in this one. Again, a team meeting around Gronk:

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Second Half

Really not how you want to start the second half off with an interception. In the past, the Pats haven’t been able to overcome those kind of starts. And they were off to a good start with a completion and penalty for Brandon LaFell that got them close to midfield. Say this – they came out aggressive.

On the interception itself, it was an off-balance throw from Brady, how had immediate pressure right in his face. Amendola lept for it, but I won’t put the pick on him. Good pressure from Denver.

Don’t think I’ve ever seen a play action game be so effective without a successful run game.

As we’ve heard all week, Gronk was all but uncoverable in this one.

Just not much to work with here, no blockers getting up the second level. Credit to the Denver DL.

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It’s really quite insane how much coverage Gronk pulls. To say he improves the entire offense is an understatement.

A field goal on the second drive was really huge. I had nightmares of a 28-27 final at halftime. But to bounce back and get points on a long drive after the Broncos got a touchdown off the interception was big.

Then came Browner’s interception. Complimentary football at its best.

A touchdown to LaFell on a slant on the next play and the blowout was on. Amazing how fast it went from almost being a game, to not being one.

Monster drive when the Pats took over with 5:50 left in the quarter, one that would take us into the fourth quarter. You can’t draw it up any better.

Brady converted a 3rd-and-11 to Danny Amendola, continuing his trend of converting long third downs. Amendola is getting lost in the shuffle sometimes and has become an really solid slot receiver in this offense. I know his play leaves some wanting more, but comparing him to guys like Jabar Gaffney is more apt and he’s coming through in clutch moments.

Let’s end this with Gronk toasting Von Miller for the final touchdown. 

What a total team win. Not sure the Pats will get all the breaks like this in a potential rematch, but it’s clear that this might be the most balanced Patriots team in some time.

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.