An Independent Patriots Blog
Super Bowl XX
“Hey Duss, you posted the wrong Super Bowl!” I know that’s what you’re thinking right now, but when Super Bowl XX pops up in its entirety and in HD, I just felt like I had to post it before the NFL overlords axe it. Which could have already happened by the time you’re reading this, but hey, for a brief moment in time, here it is…
https://www.patspropaganda.com/super-bowl-xx-hey-duss-you-posted-the-wrong/
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.
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.
The 5-2 New England Patriots welcome the 3-4 Chicago Bears this Sunday after a ten day break coming off their Thursday Night Football win over the New York Jets.
The Pats badly needed some time to regroup and get healthy, especially along the offensive line where Dan Connolly and Bryan Stork are still recovering from concussions. The Pats also got news that they’ll be without Chandler Jones for the next month, this coming on top of losing Jerod Mayo and Stevan Ridley for the season the week before.
The Patriots looked tired and had poor communication against the Jets, but hopefully the last ten days have given them some time to get back on the same page. They also traded for linebacker Akeem Ayers this week, who was buried on the Titans depth chart, but could see immediate action given the Pats’ injuries on defense.
Here’s the gameplan for the Bears…
Offensive Gameplan
Despite some up and downs against the Jets, the Patriots offense is starting to find their stride. Shane Vereen looks like he might now be New England’s feature back, while Brandon LaFell has developed into the big target Tom Brady has lacked for a while.
With Rob Gronkowski looking better and better each week and Julian Edelman continuing on pace for 100 catches and 1,000 yards, the Pats offense should feast on a suspect Bears secondary.
The Bears are 30th in DVOA against tight ends and 26th against #2 WRs – signs that point to big games for Gronk and Edelman.
Tom Brady has never had a problem finding the open receiver, and if he continues to throw the ball downfield with better accuracy and consistency the Pats offense could find another gear this week.
Getting tight end Tim Wright even more involved should be a focus this week, especially with more expected spread formations. Perhaps it’s time to revisit the Vereen-White double RB sets.
This game will be about the pass, at least early. If the protection holds as it has in recent weeks, the Pats will move the ball.
Defensive Gameplan
The Patriots have had three ugly defensive performances – the win over the Jets and the two losses to Miami and Kansas City. All three looked the same with the Pats making fundamental errors – missed tackles, lost contain and untimely penalties being the main problems.
Those problems are fixable, but there’s little question the Bears will look to attack a Patriots run defense that has been shredded this season. They are currently 23rd in run defense DVOA.
The receiving combo of Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffrey might provide the most interesting challenge of the season for the Pats’ secondary. Darrelle Revis has had success against Marshall in the past, while Brandon Browner’s size should be an asset against Jeffrey.
But even if the coverage is great, the pass rush might be the biggest concern. The Pats are currently 25th in the NFL on third down and they were that bad with Chandler Jones, their best pass rusher. How much worse will they be without him?
No secondary can cover forever, so it will be on the replacement pass rush parts – Dominique Easley, Zach Moore and perhaps Akeem Ayers to get after Jay Cutler and force mistakes.
Points of Emphasis
1. Generate Pressure Any Way Possible: As I mentioned above, getting to Jay Cutler could be the deciding factor in this game. If Belichick needs to get creative to generate pass rush so be it. In the past we’ve seen Belichick resort to walk-around amoeba defenses on third down to aid the pass rush. He’s not going to be sending six pass rushers every down, but the occasional slot corner blitz has had some success. Expect a healthy rotation in Chandler Jones’ spot, someone has to get the job done.
2. Fundamentals: This defense needs to find some consistency with their fundamental skills. With the extra time off, I expect we’ll see better tackling and the Pats are always more comfortable against a traditional pocket passer like Jay Cutler. When the Patriots simply make the tackles they’re in position to make and don’t get overaggressive and lose sight of their “job”, they’re a solid defense. But at some point they need to start stringing success together and it starts against a Bears offense that has plenty of weapons.
3. Hammer Down Immediately: The turmoil in the Bears locker room was well-documented last week and the Patriots need to come out of the gate with guns blazing to plant the seed of doubt immediately in this volatile team’s minds. This applies on both sides of the ball and it starts up front. The offensive and defensive lines must be ready to explode on their respective first series to set the tone and let the Bears know it’s going to be a long night. If that happens, the Bears could fold and start making mistakes that only make things worse.
4. Get the New Guys Involved: Between Jonas Grey, Zach Moore, Akeem Ayers and Dontae Skinner, the Patriots will need contributions from some new players going forward and it’s important to get them involved and start building their confidence and experience. This could come at the expense of giving up some plays, but it’s better to take those lumps now in October against an NFC opponent. The sooner we find out who can help the team win, the sooner they can start helping.
5. Win: I’m trying my best not to look ahead to the Denver game. Not only for the game itself, but for the awesome pregame tailgate giveaway party we’re throwing. But Brady-Manning is a headline game every season and the Broncos look like the best team in the NFL. That challenge will have to wait. For now the Pats have to take advantage of being at home against a team they should beat. This is the start of an incredibly hard stretch of games and every win matters. Get to 6-2 and worry about the rest next week.
Farewell Hit Stick. You were the safety I wanted in 2007 but it was pretty much all down hill after that.
BB just blew up the back end of his 2008, 2009, 2010 defenses, rightfully so. Now it will be rebuilt around Chung.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/farewell-hit-stick-you-were-the-safety-i-wanted/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PMlfHyQ6kU
Today’s class is called “Deion Branch showing how you light up the Chicago Bears zone defense in the snow”.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/todays-class-is-called-deion-branch-showing-how/
NFP/Bowen: Breaking down Brady to Branch vs. Bears
At a time when we could be hours from a lock out, Japan in under water, and the West Coast is waiting the fifty year storm from Point Break to hit, here’s a great breakdown of Brady and Branch catching the Bears sleeping just before the half.
Here are some of the numbers that PFF graded for the Pats in their win over Da Bears.
Deion Branch (+3.1) continues to excel since coming over from Seattle, and he had his best grade of the year against the Bears (3.1). While many people struggled with footing, Branch used it to his advantage to make opposing corners slip on cuts as he collected eight balls for 151 yards.
While the Bears’ offensive line struggled, the Patriots line as a whole posted an across-the-board spectacular effort. The big strength came on the left side, where LT Matt Light (+4.0) and LG Logan Mankins (+5.3). Mankins in particular is hitting his stride, and approaching the form that has made him the most consistently good guard in the league since the start of the 2008 season.
Perhaps the Bears couldn’t establish the running game because of the Mack truck lined up in front of them. Vince Wilfork (+1.5) made sure the Bears had no room to run when they tried. He anchored himself in the snow nicely and wasn’t giving the Bears blockers any push off the line for the running game. In games like this, it’s imperative for your defensive linemen to eat up blockers so linebackers can focus more on their footing and finding the ball carrier. Wilfork did just that.
Rookie report
Patriots CB Devin McCourty was having another big game (+2.8) before he was forced to leave with an injury. … Jermaine Cunningham (-0.8) struggled getting pressure on the quarterback against a line known for giving up pressure. … TE Rob Gronkowski(+1.9) continues to see more time than fellow rookie TE Aaron Hernandez (49 snaps to 17) and had another solid game.
Random note
Tom Brady was only under pressure 9 times and posted a 63.2 quarterback rating and was sacked three times. When under no pressure his passer rating skyrocketed to 122.3.