PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

defense

Patriots Defense Outlook: Huge D-Tackles, Man Coverage Corners

by

Patriots Defense OutlookWe’re closing in on the worst part of the offseason, aka “The Void”, a time to marinate on the roster and start putting together a Patriots defense outlook, among other things. One great thing about having 90 guys on the roster, there’s always something to analyze.

Aside from the usual “are the Pats going back to a 3-4?” question that drives me nuts, it’s easy to read the tea leaves on how the Pats’ scheme will evolve a bit this season. The two easiest areas to start — defensive tackle and cornerback.

Let’s take a closer look at how things have shaken out at those positions this offseason.

Where’s the Beef? The Pats DTs have it

The last couple seasons it appeared the Pats were transitioning to more of a versatile defensive tackle group. Since 2011, when they started going with more even (four-man) fronts, they’ve always had a soft spot for size, but it wasn’t until 2014 and the selection of Dominique Easley where they actually seemed at all interested in penetrators. And it wasn’t just Easley, they kicked the tires on a number of guys who weren’t 300 pounds-plus, like Jerel Worthy to name one.

But this offseason the defensive tackle position came into clearer focus. They jettisoned Easley and Chris Jones, re-signed Alan Branch, signed Terrence Knighton and drafted Vincent Valentine — three guys whose combined weight is over 1000 pounds and all generally fit the same body type.

In the old days of the traditional 3-4, all these players would likely be five technique defensive ends, but now the Pats will mix-and-match them with Malcom Brown, who should be the new Vince Wilfork — playing almost every down and doing a little bit of everything. Brown isn’t the same mold as the others and has excellent lateral movement skills that should make him one of the best playmakers they have up front.

Schematically, the objective seems clear. Occupy the three interior offensive linemen with just two man-mammoths, opening up one-on-one matchups for the defensive ends against the opposing tackles. This should also make trying to run up the middle quite the challenge.

The bigger question becomes what happens on obvious passing situations, especially third-and-long. This was Easley’s sweet spot when he was healthy the last couple years, or sometimes Geneo Grissom in a fill-in role. I believe they’ll use Brown in this role now unless it’s a pure pass rush situation, in which case we might even see four defensive ends.

So look for a Ninkovich-Brown-Long-Sheard front in third-and-medium and then swap in Grissom or Flowers for Brown for third-and-longs.

The defense was torn apart by early-down passing in 2010-2013 and that’s why it will be imperative for the defensive ends to win their one-on-one matchups, especially if the tackles in the middle are not getting push. But the good news is that they can rotate the big men and shouldn’t have to run them into the ground like they did with Wilfork.

Man Coverage is Here to Stay

Last year when Revis, Browner and Arrington were all sent packing the common sentiment was the Patriots must be moving back to more zone coverage. This drove me insane, because I truly believe you can’t play good defense in today’s NFL with a zone-heavy coverage scheme.

Of course, these fears were unfounded when we discovered the Pats still had every intention of sticking to a heavy Cover-1 Man Robber scheme and Malcolm Butler, Logan Ryan and Justin Coleman did far better than anyone expected.

This draft only reinforced the fact that man coverage is here to stay, as the Pats used their first pick on a man-cover corner and signed three rookie free agents who can all do the same.

Check out these scouting report tidbits from NFL.com:

Cyrus Jones: Press corner with good build and strong lower half. Plus play strength. Confident and tough. Able to reroute and maintain positioning on receivers.

Jonathan Jones: Man cover specialist with springy feet and ability to shadow his man. Usually near the throw. Has closing burst and ball skills to be aggressively disruptive at the catch point.

V’Angelo Bentley: Shows very good awareness to pre-snap movement and gets his secondary aligned with good communication. Actively attempts to redirect receivers in their routes from zone and sifts through combination routes quickly.

Cre’Von Leblanc: Plays with exceptionally strong hands clutching and challenging receivers from press. Allowed just 34.5 percent completion rate in 2015. Impressive mirror and match footwork to stick to his targets and stay in position to make plays on the ball.

The free agents were all undersized and that’s why they went undrafted. Bentley is the only one whose scouting reports don’t implicitly mention his man coverage skills, but he, like the others, check all the other boxes — fearless tacklers, smart and tough.

Add in last year’s seventh-rounder Darryl Roberts (Can change directions on command and has desired stop/start quickness. Has long arms and is aggressive with them in press coverage.) with what we already know about the corners who played all of last year, and the Pats’ secondary seems primed for more aggressive man coverage in 2016.

After Further Review: Why a young, smart D is a big reason Pats are 8-0

by

After Further Review: Why a young, smart D is a big reason Pats are 8-0

Good read on my bread and butter, the Patriots defense. Can’t help but feel really attached to this group, realizing the defense rebuild that would have to take place in 2008 has been a driving force behind all my Patriots blogging since I started. You look at the defense from 2009, which was just six years ago, and there’s no key contributors left. The defense of 2010 was really the low point and they were only saved because they forced a ton of turnovers. But there was just a lack of talent at all levels. 

Now things are totally different. There are homegrown first round picks at every position and every kind of defensive tackle you can imagine to play any kind of down. And as Prisco points out, it’s Collins and Hightower that truly make the defense special, but as I’ve been pointing out, it’s Chandler Jones that can give this team a Super Bowl.

Closer Look at Patriots’ Coming 2017 Defensive Restart

by

I touched on this a little bit yesterday, but wanted to go into a bit more depth today to illustrate just how many choices the Patriots will have to make with their defense in 2017.

Yes, they’ll return everyone next year and with so few free agents in 2016 it will be a prime time to start filling in the numerous holes that they’ll have in 2017. But with a ton of cap space the Pats have a ton of freedom.

First, let’s mention the offense in 2017 which would be in relatively good shape outside of depth. But the front line should be excellent with Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman and Dion Lewis all locked up. And there would be some great pieces up front to block for them – including Solder, Fleming, Klein, Stork and this year’s three rookies Shaq Mason, Tre Jackson and David Andrews (an RFA). The offense could also keep Danny Amendola around, albeit at a high cost.

So offensively the major pieces are in place, but now let’s took a look at a depth chart of the defenders who are currently slated to be under contract in just two years:

That’s it. Nine guys, and Mayo, who is almost certainly cut this offseason, though he could certainly return on a team-friendly deal. Butler is a no-brainer to retain as a restricted free agent as well, though keeping him long term will be a headline issue for 2018.

So tell me exactly how the Pats can’t afford to re-sign Chandler Jones, Dont’a Hightower, Jamie Collins and Jabaal Sheard? Because there’s only one guy on this defense that will be playing on a significant non-rookie contract.

The only real question might be if Flowers surpasses Sheard and then makes better financial sense as the starting LDE. Either way I think it’s a good bet that Ninkovich is phased out (unfortunately). Perhaps Rufus Johnson can continue to ascend as well, he’s a exclusive rights free agent after next year.

Really, what are the other options to re-signing the big three? Fill all these holes with external free agents? Or second-year guys and rookies acquired in the next two offseasons? That’s impossible and has no chance to form a defense anywhere close to what it would be with Jones/Hightower/Collins. You need all three of them. It’s in the best interest of the team both financially and on the field.

The real question marks are the second tier guys at less valuable positions like Logan Ryan, Duron Harmon and Chris Jones. I’d also lock up Justin Coleman for this mix as well.

Then Jones/Hightower/Collins would perfect round out the defense, much in the same way the offense looks at this point – just in need of depth but certainly not lacking top-end talent.

Patriots Film Review vs. Redskins: Defense Edition

by

Always tough to focus on one specific area when the defense turns in a solid performance like this one, so we’re stick to a general overall review of the All-22 film for all the things that we might missed.

Schematically the Pats stuck with what they’ve been doing this year, mostly Cover-1 Man coverage with Patrick Chung in the box, morphing to more Cover-2 as the lead increased and they continued some use of the four-safety package designed specifically to put physicality in the seams of the defense.

Right now the Patriots defense looks locked in with what they are doing and there’s excellent balance on most downs between the rush and the coverage.

Most impressive has been the emergence of a dominant run defense that has been ignited by Alan Branch and Malcolm Brown. Both players were winning at the line of scrimmage and making plays in the backfield on multiple occasions. 

Brown has really improved through his first eight games. He’s really a unique defensive tackle, with an incredibly low center of gravity and surprising quickness that has him slipping blocks and getting to running backs. 

Once again Dominique Easley and Geneo Grissom are the pass rushing tackles, although we did see a bit of Grissom at defensive end near the end of the game. 

Ninkovich had some trouble at the start of the one long meaningful drive the Redskins put together, but he was generally solid otherwise. Seems like he had a bit more coverage responsibility in this one, as the Pats were dropping one of their edge players into the flat pretty consistently. Easley has a relatively quiet day I thought.

With no Jamie Collins, Jonathan Freeny stepped into play a majority of the snaps, and as the game progressed the Pats started pulling Dont’a Hightower and giving Jerod Mayo and Jonathan Bostic more of a look. Clearly Freeny is the best backup right now as he’s the only one who doesn’t look tentative. Mayo just lacks any pop to his game right now and I’m losing hope that he’ll get it back at all this season. Bostic was similar, looking a little unsure of where he’s going. Of course, he just got here, so that might not be due to his previous injuries like it is with Mayo.

A lot of people want to talk about trading for a corner but I have to say Butler/Ryan/Coleman have been as good as any corner group we’ve had not including last year. Even when they give up plays they are usually right there and usually make the tackle immediately. All are physical and good tacklers and that makes them perfect fits in this defense. Coleman had an unnecessary penalty at the end that cost them the touchdown, but for an undrafted rookie who got here way late, he’s been very solid.

Butler played perhaps his best game. Now I know it was DeSean Jackson’s first game back, but Butler gave up nothing to him, while also being physical against the run. Butler will get a much harder challenge this week against Odell Beckham Jr. Meanwhile Ryan continued to play the best ball of his career with another interception. He always just seems to be in the right place and yes, he might give up some catches, but they’re almost all contested.

A big part of the great secondary play has to be McCourty/Chung/Harmon/Richards, who all seem to have carved out their roles and are executing them at a high level. Though I did think McCourty missed a couple plays he usually makes.

Things seemed a little more relaxed and rotational this week, probably due to the quick and commanding lead right out of the gate. Still, the defense looks strong at all levels and once Jabaal Sheard gets back, he should really help them hit a new level. His return this week would be huge.

Patriots vs. Dolphins All-22 Review: 3rd Down Defense

by

Last week in my All-22 review I took a look at the atrocious 3rd down defense against the Jets, so this week I’m following that up looking at how the defense turned things around against the Dolphins on the money down, giving up conversions on just 2-of-11.

The headline is of course pass rush, which was non-existent against the Jets but suddenly great against Miami. If they play like that consistently in the playoffs if won’t matter who’s in the secondary.

Also want to focus on how Collins and Hightower are used on each down.

Here’s a look at all 11 third downs and what the Pats did.

1. 1Q, Pats 7-0, 3rd-and-11,  Matthews 15-yard catch. FIRST DOWN!

The first third down of the day was the worst one as the Pats defense picked up where they had left off against the Jets, giving up a third-and-long.

Pats show Cover-2, but it’s actually Cover-1 with McCourty coming down as the “Robber”. Hightower blitzes off the edge, Collins is in man on the running back. Easley is double teamed and can’t split it. Chandler tries a move back inside but is stood up, while Ninkovich soft rushes and appears to be spying Tannehill. Ryan does get a hand on Matthews, but it’s a good route and a perfect throw. Here you just need Hightower or Jones to win and neither did.

2. 1Q, Pats 7-0, 3rd-and-8, Chandler Jones SACK!

Pats are in Cover-1, Collins in man on the RB, McCourty on the TE. Hightower is off for a three safety/three corner, speed front with Grissom and Easley inside.

This was a designed screen that was blown up by Chung reading it perfectly and Grissom getting after Tannehill with his hair on fire. But it’s Chung that makes Tannehill pull it down. Chandler gets the sack but the play was completely broken down by that point so it’s hard to really say it was all him.

3. 2Q, Pats 7-0, 3rd-and-10, BAD SNAP SAFETY!

Same three-safety/three-corner package as before without Hightower. Cover-1 Robber, with Chung on the TE and McCourty coming down. Collins on the RB. Bad snap makes it easy.

4. 2Q, Pats 9-0, 3rd-and-10, INCOMPLETE!

This time we’ve got three-safety/three-corner but Hightower on for Grissom. Cover-1 Man, Ryan is in off-man coverage and is in perfect position for when the ball has to come out due to the pressure. This time it’s McCourty in coverage on the running back as the Pats rush five. Both Chandler and Ninkovich win inside and Tannehill just has to chuck it. Full credit here to Chandler Jones for a great move.

5. 2Q, Pats 9-0, 3rd-and-10, Chandler Jones SACK!

Interesting package here with four safeties, three corners, two LBs and two DEs. Harmon took the deep middle, while McCourty and Richards played an underneath zone. Chung had the TE (who stayed in to block) while Collins took the RB. But this was all Chandler Jones as he splits the TE/LT double team and gets the sack.

6. 2Q, Pats 12-0, 3rd-and-13, INCOMPLETE (Chung pass defended)

Same four-safety/three-corner look from the last third down with no defensive tackles. Collins is on the RB leaving just 50/54/95 to rush the passer. Was a pretty quick throw, but neither Chandler or Ninkovich made much of an impact on it. Chung plays it perfectly, and Richards helps from his under-zone coverage spot. Really he probably could pick this one.

7. 3Q, Pats 22-7, 3rd-and-1, Miller -2 rush!

Finally a third-and-short and the Pats go to their regular package with 4 DL/3 LB. Nothing technical here, simply Siliga exploding into the seam between the blockers and making the play in the backfield. Hicks also does a good job on his side, as does Freeny who fills well. This is the kind of short yardage play the Patriots have not made enough of in the last two years. Positive sign.

8. 3Q, Pats 22-7, 3rd-and-3, Matthews 4 yard catch FIRST DOWN!

Patriots break out a new look here at the end of the third quarter with Collins and Hightower on the edges, Easley/Grissom in the B gaps and Chandler Jones head-up on the center. Nink comes on a delayed blitz but the Miami OL does a good job pushing the entire pass rush to Tannehill’s right. Matthews gets just enough separation on the drag route and converts the second third-down of the day.

9. 4Q, Pats 29-7, 3rd-and-28, Gray 3-yard catch.

After back to back sacks Miami is in a huge hole. Dolphins just concede with the checkdown and the Pats snuff it out.

10. 4Q, Pats 36-7, 3rd-and-10, Matthews 5-yard catch.

Pats are working in their backups at this point (Hi Jerod Mayo!). Quick throw by Tannehill but good toughness by the defense to fight off blocks and hold him to just 5 yards off the WR screen that Matthews look less than enthusiastic about running.

11. 4Q, Pats 36-7, 3rd-and-23, Incomplete

Last one of the game and the pass rush isn’t exactly rushing like it’s the Super Bowl anymore. Ryan is in off man and plays the in cut well, although I don’t think he got a hand on the ball.

Final Thoughts: It was interesting to see Hightower come off the field on third down in a couple situations. The 4 safety/3 cornerback package was a new twist I don’t recall before, but in tracking all the third downs you can see how they throw new curves in each quarter to keep things fresh. This was a great game for Chandler Jones, and I’d love to see him put three games in Jan/Feb together like this. If he can, the Pats could win the Super Bowl. He’s such a big key because they can scheme him to get one-on-one matchups. Same thing for Sheard once he returns.

Patriots vs. Jets All-22 Review: Defense Edition

by

Third down defense was obviously the headline in this one so today we’re just going to take a closer look at some of the more interesting ones. The Jets converted 8-of-14 third downs and really, that’s why this was a ballgame. 

It was frustrating because they executed the early-down gameplan so well. The run defense was truly impressive and that bodes well for the defense long term. But really, pass rush on third down is vital and in this game it was virtually non-existent.

Couple that with some softer man coverage and the Jets were picking up first downs on numerous 3rd-and-longs.

Let’s review the damage…

1. 1Q, Pats 3-0, Jets 3rd & 10, Decker 24 yards. FIRST DOWN!

Pats in Cover 2 Man. Decker motions across formation then runs an in cut across the open flat. Pats rush 3, with Hightower spying Fitzpatrick. Throw comes in rhythm as Easley/Nink are held up. If Hightower drops a bit he might’ve take this throw away, as the MOF is wide open. Butler stumbles at Decker’s stem, and can’t recover.

VERDICT: Quick play, Butler needed better patience as Decker reached the stem of his route. But knowing the MOF was open he should’ve anticipated it was an in cut.

2. 1Q, Pats 3-0, Jets 3rd & 10, Decker 11 yards. FIRST DOWN!

Pats in Cover 1 Man. Butler is off Decker but steps toward him at the snap to get a jam but misses and is in recovery mode the rest of the down. Decker stops and turns, blocking Butler out with his size. This time it’s a traditional pass rush with Collins/Hightower dropping into the flat.  Pocket holds just long enough.

VERDICT: Needed more disruption from one of the front four as Collins/Hightower dropping out did nothing to confuse anyone. That’s where you need Easley to truck someone. Still, Butler was sloppy with his technique and couldn’t recover. Tough gamble on the jam, if he had gotten a hand on Decker the timing might’ve been thrown off.

3. 1Q, Pats 3-0, Jets 3rd & 2 at the Pats 2. Incomplete. STOP!!

Pats in goalline, the Jets try to iso Chung on tight end Cumberland. Probably a touchdown most times, but Chung might’ve gotten a hand in there. Tough to tell from the All-22 view. Pats hold for a field goal.

VERDICT: Get ready for more of these kind of targets, Chung.

4. 1Q, Tied 3-3, Jets 3rd & 4, Decker 17 yards. FIRST DOWN!

Pats in Cover-1 Man. Butler is playing off and this time Decker beats him with an out route. Pats send 6 this time but everyone is picked up and Fitzpatrick makes a quick and perfect throw. 

VERDICT: Every pass rusher is blocked one-on-one and Butler’s coverage is just soft enough for Fitz to throw it in there.

5. 1Q, Tied 3-3, Jets 3rd & 10, Kerley 11 yards. FIRST DOWN!

Pats in Cover-1 Man as Jets run a sort of screen pass into the middle of the defense. Kerley cuts in, Coleman gets picked (probably illegally) and then Fitzpatrick sidearms it to Kerley who makes his way through the middle of the field avoiding tackles from Flowers and Chandler Jones.

VERDICT: Nice play design by the Jets to attack the vacated middle of the field. Perhaps a little better awareness from the defensive line could’ve stopped him short, but no one had a clean shot.

I’d just like to pause here to point out we just ended the first quarter and the Jets have already picked up four of five third downs and three of those were from 3rd&10. Unacceptable and really set a crappy tone for the game.

6. 2Q, Jets 10-3, Jets 3rd & 2, Incomplete.

The Pats are in Cover-1 Man and have six in the box, rushing four then dropping out Ninkovich and Hightower. It looks like Jamie Collins gets a hand on the pass, but Logan Ryan has a solid jam and Marshall can never get going anyway.

VERDICT: Keep up the solid jams.

7. 2Q, Tied at 10, Jets 3rd & 8, Decker 7 yards. PUNT!

Pats in Cover-2 Man as the Jets have a bunch formation to the right. Butler seems leans the wrong way and that’s more than enough for Decker on the out route. Pressure is right there should the throw not be there but it is.

VERDICT: Butler just didn’t seem to close ground as quickly as we’ve seen in the past and took some false steps that he couldn’t recover from. Still, he tackled well enough and held the Jets a yard short.

8. 2Q, Pats 13-10, Jets 3rd & 3, Fitzpatrick sacked by Collins. PUNT!

Pats in Cover 1-Man with the Jets having two stacked receivers on either side of the formation. Hightower makes this play by blitzing from his off-line linebacker spot and pancaking Mangold into Fitzpatrick’s feet just as he sets. Collins shows good patience and finishes Fitz off as he tried to scramble.

VERDICT: Someone made a play on third down and they’re off the field. Shocker.

9. 3Q, Pats 16-10, Jets 3rd & 7, Smith 7 yards. FIRST DOWN!

Pats in Cover-2 Man as Smith runs a drag across the field and Fitzpatrick finds him off his back foot at the last second. This one was close as you can see from the pic below. Easley does a good job and that in turn opens things up for Ninkovich as well. Just a half a second too slow or else this one is a sack, and an ugly one.

VERDICT: Almost doesn’t count in pass rushing. Tough play for Coleman navigating all the traffic.

10. 3Q, Pats 16-10, Jets 3rd & 5, Marshall 13 yards. FIRST DOWN!

Pats in Cover-2 Man, Jets motion Marshall out of the backfield, Ryan gets hands on him but doesn’t disrupt him. No pressure on Fitzpatrick.

VERDICT: Jets could make this all day with that kind of pocket and he could’ve throw to Kerley as well in the flat.

11. 3Q, Pats 16-10, Jets 3rd & 7, Decker 23 yards. FIRST DOWN!

Pats in Cover-1 Man, Decker goes in motion and gets knocked off course by both Butler and Chandler Jones off the snap. Still he recovers and runs a post. Fitzpatrick is unpressured (Pats only rushed 3) and sticks a perfect pass in there. Huge play.

VERDICT: Even with Hightower and Chandler lurking in passing zones Fitzpatrick still found Decker who got back on course quicker than Butler did after the jam at the line.

12. 4Q, Jets 17-16, Jets 3rd & 7 from NE12, INCOMPLETE! 

The third down stop that saved the game, this was a critical one. Pats are in a Cover-2 Man and rush 4. Marshall seemed to push Logan Ryan away and that in turn seemed to unsettle him for the back shoulder throw. Probably should’ve been a touchdown, but there was a bit of pressure coming with Hightower.

VERDICT: Not great, but the Pats kept the points gap manageable. 

Overall I think the headline for all these third down mostly-failures was just no one making plays up front. The only disruption caused by anyone was one Hightower blitz. Otherwise there was limited disruption. 

Coverage-wise Butler seemed to lack his usual anticipation and burst. I think this might’ve been his flattest game this season and he paid the price for it. 

Still, the Pats won the war and their gameplan was generally effective. If they could’ve just gotten off the field on a couple more third downs their margin of victory would’ve been certainly higher.

Patriots vs. Colts All-22 Thoughts: Defense Edition

by

The Patriots had a lackluster start on defense in this one, but once the second half came around they tightened up before allowing a late drive that allowed the Colts to make it close at the end. Still, there was plenty of good and bad to digest in this one, including the use of safeties in more traditional cornerback roles.

The first drive certainly wasn’t very pretty but with the Pats defense it often seems the case that the opposition puts together a good first drive. Then BB locks in on what they’re doing and adjustments come.

The first drive was Branch/Siliga inside and a mix of coverages including Cover-1 and Cover-2. Looked to me like Freeny was often the target, and deservedly so. He’s just a step late in coverage and doesn’t see things as quickly as Hightower might’ve. Ryan and Butler were competitive in coverage, but still gave up some well-executed passes. Mayo continues to look ineffective, for lack of a better term. 

Second drive they went to Easley and Brown inside, Sheard in for Ninkovich, and seemed to get a bead on what they wanted in coverage: Butler-Moncrief, Ryan-Johnson, Chung-Hilton. Easley got great pressure on 2nd down, forcing a bad throw. Interesting look on third down with four safeties, Mayo on the RB. I’d posit the Pats thing Hilton is soft and just want to put physicality on him. Moncrief seems their biggest concern, which is somewhat unconventional.

Third drive Chandler comes off and Nink is back in with Hicks and Branch inside. Solid work by Hicks on first down to stack and shed to make the tackle, but gets turned two plays later for a decent run gain. One of these DTs might get cut loose when Chris Jones comes back. Pats send 5 on 3rd-and-5 and it’s Easley showing good patience to finish the play. That’s a good development for him showing some rush awareness.

Now, the 12-play touchdown drive that would be their final points until the end of the game. This time we’ve got Brown and Siliga inside, with Sheard and Chandler. Frank Gore’s 18-yard run really got this drive going and another tough play for Mayo who couldn’t get off a block to make the play. Seeing a bit more of Jordan Richards here and I have to say I really like how he looks. Plays with a great base, flips hips well. We seem to be seeing more of him each week and it’s not an accident. Colts made the easy plays and this is always what scares me because it works so well. Taking the checkdowns, scrambling for first downs, keeping it simple. Touchy PI call on McCourty set up the touchdown as it was 1st-and-18 before that. Not a great red zone day. Should’ve held them to a field goal as Siliga missed a clear shot at Luck. See below.

Second Half

Hicks and Brown inside to start the second half. Brown is showing some decent development, he gets really low and wins the leverage battle. Good pressure by Nink on second down forces a bad throw incomplete by Luck. Third down Butler has great pursuit of a free running Moncrief to tackle him short of the 1st down.

Next drive it’s Hicks and Branch inside and Branch draws an early holding call to set the Colts back. Chandler Jones just misses an interception, does he think he’s Malcolm Butler? Seems like more of a concerted effort to press the receivers off the line and I think it made a big difference. Good closing burst by Logan Ryan on a deep corner route to Andre Johnson. Ryan’s not making that play on 5-years-ago Andre, but still a nice job to force a third down. Critical third down with the game on the line and Easley gets the sack. This is the kind of play I’ve been dreaming about for two years. Luck had no chance to step up and that’s not something we’re used to seeing.

Next possession Brown is back in and puts together a great series, looking strong holding his ground. Pats mixing Cover-1 Man and Cover-2 Zone. Once again on third down Easley gets in Luck’s face and forces an incomplete. This is making me very happy.

Colts getting more and more holding calls called against them as the game wore on. I’d like to think this is a result of the Pats front seven depth and their ability to rotate and keep guys fresh.

The final drive got off to a good start for the Colts with a 17-yard pass to Moncrief with Butler playing off coverage. Pats shifted to Cover-2 Man which was effective until Hilton caught a pinpoint 27-yard pass. That’s a tip the hat play.

Last two Colts plays were to Whalen with McCourty in coverage. The problem was the three-man rush wasn’t getting any heat on Luck. Something to consider going forward when protecting a lead.