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Patriots Super Bowl 52 Film Review: Defense Edition

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The Patriots’ defense is correctly in everyone’s crosshairs after Super Bowl 52, but don’t lose sight of the fact that the defense faced a 4th-and-1 with 5:39 left in the game from the Eagles 45-yard line with a 33-32 lead. That’s the game right there.

Trey Flowers bursts through the line but was pushed off course just enough the he couldn’t quite get the quarterback. Instead, Foles made an excellent slide to his left and made a clutch off-balance throw to pick up two yards to Zach Ertz. Conversion. Game-winning touchdown scored seven plays later.

A stop right there and the Patriots are most likely Super Bowl champs and we’re sweeping the defensive shortcomings under the rug just like the Eagles defense, who gave up 600 yards, are doing right now. Both defenses were systematically shredded for most of the game, but one clutch play determines which got blamed for the loss and which got credited for the win.

Philadelphia’s gameplan was a greatest hits of everything the Patriots defense struggled with this season. Bunch sets, toss sweeps, some run-pass options… for an inexperienced front they just had no anticipation for what the Eagles were doing. The second level and edge players were where they wanted to target but they didn’t fear the Patriots pass rush when it came time to take some deep shots as well.

Here’s what stood out to me:

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Pats Posits: Relief, Bewilderment and Frustration After Pats’ SB52 Loss

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The Eagles made one of the only big defensive plays of the game and beat the Patriots in Super Bowl 52 for their first championship last night. Before we get too heavily into the “what the hell happened” of it all, I think it’s important to say the Eagles played the perfect game. So few teams can put together the flawless 60-minutes of effort required to take down Tom Brady and steady strangulation of the Belichick Pats but that’s what Philadelphia did on the biggest stage and for all the bickering about what the Patriots did or didn’t do, Philly deserves full credit for what they did.

It’s also important to remember that despite one of their worst defensive performances in recent memory (which is saying a lot) Tom Brady still got the ball back with plenty of time to win the game. That’s where it felt like this one was heading, until it wasn’t because Brandon Graham made the clutch play that the Patriots defense could not.

So yes, there’s plenty to unpack from this one, and most of it will take an entire offseason, but in this single game the Eagles were the better team and for whatever reason I’m not finding it all that hard to swallow. It’s been a while since I’ve been in my Patriots cave of misery. The last time I was here was January of 2016 after a frustrating  loss to Peyton Manning and the Broncos.

There were some cobwebs in the cave, some dusty pictures of SB42 and SB46 and Peyton Manning as a Bronco, but there’s a strange comfort in the cave of misery. This is where most NFL fans exist full time, and we’ve gotten far more reprieve than all of them. If anything, this eighth Super Bowl trip was just a reminder of how hard it is to do what the Patriots have done. A better team got them this time, but I think there’s at least enough ammo in New England Patriots Football Weapon for another strong run next season.

Of course there are tons of questions as to what that weapon will look like exactly, but we’ll dive into those in the coming days and weeks.

First, let’s just vent about the Super Bowl…

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Patriots Gameplan: Super Bowl 52 vs. Philadelphia Eagles

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It’s hard to believe we’re already back in another Super Bowl. So much of the 2017 season was a blur of 28-3 and stupid storylines, few of which had much of anything to do with actual football. There were usually catastrophic injuries that somehow this Pats team overcame to get here and yes, a couple exciting wins, but mostly I remember noise.

Well, all those are out the window now. It’s all about one game and and another chance for Bill Belichick and Tom Brady to raise the bar even further on what has been a run unlike any other in sports history. But as we all know, these games are never easy. They’re stressful and the highest of drama.

The Eagles are a very tough opponent for the Patriots. Maybe they don’t have the flash of the 2001 Rams’ offense or the 2016 Falcons offense or the 2014 Seahawks defense, but they’re a good football team that has overcome a ton that would’ve torpedoed most teams. They’re balanced and have all the right pieces to challenge the Patriots’ weaknesses.Their resiliency is remarkable and the sign of a team that won’t wilt in the face of the Patriots’ dynasty.

The Patriots will certainly have to earn their sixth title just like they earned the five before it, with a 60-minute effort that will take every last second and maybe even a miracle catch or two. I’m not even sure my heart is ready for another one of these games, but here we go.

This is the gameplan to get it done and hang another banner.

 

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How Can Pats Stop Eagles’ Run-Pass Option?

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By now you’ve probably seen some mention of the Eagles and their vaunted Run-Pass Option, also known as a packaged play. It’s one of the latest trends in football and Philly has used it to excellent effect this season, starting with Carson Wentz and continuing with backup Nick Foles.

Here’s a quick look at what they look like:

As you can see it’s tough to defend for a similar reason to why the Patriots offense is tough to defend in general — both adjust post-snap to what the defense does and exploits where they’re weakest.

Here’s the Patriots getting burned by the Jags and their own RPO.

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How Do Eagles Stack Up to Pats’ Past Super Bowl Challenges?

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With one week to go until Super Bowl 52 the Patriots-Eagles matchup is becoming pretty clear. Any consolation Patriots fans might’ve taken from facing Nick Foles instead of Carson Wentz went(z) out the window after Foles systematically destroyed a vaunted Minnesota Vikings defense in the NFC Championship.

Then came this quote from respected analyst and former Patriots staffer Mike Lombardi:

“[The Eagles] really don’t have an identity offensively. They are very unpredictable and they play left-handed. Belichick is so good at making a team play left-handed, but it is kind of hard to make a left-handed team play left-handed.”

Hmmm, that’s not good for my pregame stress levels.

Let’s take a look at how the Eagles stack up against the Patriots previous seven Super Bowl opponents by my favorite stats — points and DVOA efficiency.

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Patriots Scouting Report: Super Bowl 52 vs. Eagles

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I’ve spent the last few days taking a look at a bunch of Eagles games and, like last week watching the Jags, it’s been an enjoyable experience. I get so caught up trying to decipher the Pats game film each week of the regular season that I never get much of a chance to check out another team. Now with a couple weeks to prepare it was nice to not be under the gun and immerse myself in the other team in the Super Bowl.

It should be a fantastic matchiup which should make any bet on Superbowl LII an interesting one.

The games I focused on were primarily toward the end of the season, once Nick Foles took over for Carson Wentz, including a special focus on the two playoff games. Here’s a bunch of things that stood out to me and how I could see the Eagles matching up with the Pats.

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CLNS Pats Chat: Eagles a Tough Matchup for Pats?

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66C1nmBJOEg&feature=youtu.be

 

Here’s Mike Petraglia (aka @Trags) and Jimmy Toscano discussing why the Eagles are a tough matchup for the Pats. Things sure don’t get any easier for Tom Brady, facing as tough a front as he’s seen all year and one that has insane depth with eight players who can all produce for the front four. We all know pressure with the front four is what it’s all about against the Patriots defense and the Eagles should cause plenty of problems.