new england patriots

GIFs That Defined Patriots Win Over Jets

December 22, 2014 by Mike Dussault

This was a great game with a lot of turns, especially in the second half. The Jets always get up for the Patriots, especially at home, and did a good job of shutting down the Patriots offense.

The Pats won the special teams battle and were able to close it out on offense. That was pretty much the difference.

Here are the plays that defined the win and show the kind of the team the 2014 Patriots are.

We begin with Danny Amendola ’s punt return that set up the Pats’ first touchdown of the game. Amendola needed to step up in Julian Edelman’s absence and he did so both as a receiver and returner.

Red Zone defense might be the defining characteristic of this Patriots defense. Here they face a 3rd-and-7 and are able to get the stop as Hightower correctly diagnosis the handoff and makes the play as the Jets get good push to the side they’re running to.

Here we are again, a third-down stop in the red zone. This time it’s the speed of Jamie Collins that sniffs out the swing pass. In the past, the Patriots did not have the kind of athletes that could make this play. Collins showing great range.

Later in the third quarter, it’s Collins again making the play with an interception 20 yards down the field.

We’re in the red zone again with the Jets inside the 10 yard line, mid-way through the fourth quarter. This time, it’s a relentless pass rush from Chandler Jones and good coverage that puts the Jets in a hole, and eventually leads to a field goal.

The Jets are in Patriots territory once again, posed to take the lead, late in the fourth quarter and it’s third-and-four. That’s as tough a down-and-distance as there is for a defense. The Pats disguise a blitz, but it’s the Jets runningback’s decision to help the tackle instead of blocking Dont’a Hightower that set up the sack. Hightower and Jones are making the big plays in the big moments.

There hasn’t been much offense shown here, because really, there isn’t much to show. But this is the kind of play that you might need in the playoffs. A third-and-1 with the game on the line. The Pats have struggled on third and fourth down short-yardage situations this season.

So to convert this one to seal the win should be a good confidence boost.

Previous Three GIFs:

Patriots vs. Dolphins All-22 Thoughts: Defense Edition

December 18, 2014 by Mike Dussault

It’s been a crazy week, wrapping up at the real job and getting everything in order for a nice long two-week break. Finally got a chance to look at the All-22 for the Pats defense and they continue to impress me on every level.

The high-round draft picks and high-price free agents are finally all coming together. They have the spectrum of speed and athleticism to physicality and toughness completely covered on all levels and it’s been a lot of fun watching a defense that can dictate, not just hold on.

Here’s what stood out in the All-22 review, defense edition…

Never want to start the game with a 50-yard bomb, but not that surprising given Malcolm Butler was so isolated against Wallace on the left side of the field. Butler misses any jam, then stutter steps again playing the Dig/Out. A better throw and Wallace might’ve been gone.

Zone running plays just weren’t there for the Phins like they were in Week 1, with Vince Wilfork dominating inside to stop the first one.

Third-and-six and the Pats go with a pass rush front, with Chandler at DE and Hightower at OLB. Dolphins go toss left but Hightower is strong on the edge, blowing up the play.

Dolphins have to settle for the field goal, which is blocked by Collins and returned for a TD by Arrington. Such a classic Patriots defense start – give up a big play, then force a turnover for six.

The Chris Jones-Siliga-Wilfork front is a new look for the 34 regular. More zone reads with no success. Pats were ready for those, but also for the play action that came off of them.

Two possessions into the game and we’ve already seen Chandler Jones standing as the edge player, hand down at defensive end and inside as a defensive tackle. They threw him right into the fire and he was clearly ready to go. With the development of Ayers now, the Pats have a lot of athletic options. This just might be the most athletic and versatile the front seven has been since 2005.

Third-and-15, you tell me who’s coming and who’s dropping…

Correct answer is Nink and Ayers dropping on the edges with Collins/Hightower rushing up the gut. Phins actually do a good job picking it up, but Tannehill’s deep shot falls incomplete.

After Brady’s interception, Miami takes over at their own 34, then 29 after a false start.

Best drive of the day by the Dolphins as they had a good mix of runs and passes that found the soft spots in the Pats’ defense. Once again the Patriots stiffened in the red zone, led by a dominant stop for no gain by Siliga on first down.

The Pats swarmed to a bubble screen on second down, that’s the kind of pursuit and aggressiveness that is becoming a trade mark for them.

On third down, Tannehill looked for Clay in the back of the end zone, but he was perfectly covered by McCourty.

Ninkovich got run out of his hole on second down of the next possession, we’ve seen this frequently this year. I think it’s somewhat of a function of the stunts they like to run with him, but they get burned on running plays, often losing the edge.

The Pats are one of the lowest-ranked defenses covering tight ends this year, and as we’ve gone along we’ve seen more of McCourty manning them up. He’s seeing plenty of off-coverage on Charles Clay in this one.

On Harmon’s interception, the Pats showed Cover-1 presnap, but dropped into Cover-2 Man post-snap. Just a too-high throw by Tannehill that Gibson couldn’t corral.

Pats plated a lot more zone in this one it seems, specifically Cover-3, with elements of press bail. This is similar to what the Seahawks did and I think it’s function of not necessarily needing to matchup on the receivers like they did when Revis/Browner fit receiver styles better.

Dont’a Hightower is so fast for his size and so strong. He seems to grow on me every game. Reminder – I’m the guy who left him off my big board because we already had Brandon Spikes. Swing and a miss there, Duss.

Third-and-9, with the Pats up 14-3 and the ball on the Pats’ 35. Pats play pure Cover-2 Man, sending 4 on pass rush. Collins goes out wide to cover Williams out of the backfield, then bites on his double move leaving him with a ton of separation. Williams drops the pass but it was wide open. Some might want to kill Collins for this but it’s about the hardest thing you can ask a linebacker to do, especially when the double move comes right at the stick. Collins has been great this year but let’s not expect him to suddenly be playing perfect cornerback too.

Phins get the ball back just before the 2 minute warning and we all remember what a nightmare the last two minutes of this half were. But this possession was fine, forcing a punt with :47 left.

Miami did take a shot to Matthews in this series, but Butler showed a good ability to flip his hips and run with him. Pass was off but it was a marked improvement from the first play of the game.

After three runs by Vereen that went for a total of 2 yards, the Pats punt back to Miami and a great return by Landry gets them to the New England 35 with :11 seconds left. It was right here that I tweeted “just not a TD”, but of course that’s what happens.

Butler is playing off and does an okay job of flipping and running again, but the throw is dead on and the catch is even better. Great sequence from the Phins before half time that made it seem like this would be a close game.

Second Half

Pats defense puts the clamps down now. Get ready for a bunch of three-and-outs.

First third down – third-and-three – Miami tries a zone run, but Hightower throws the center into the backfield and there’s just nowhere to go.

Miami now down 24-13 as they get the ball back, only for a tipped ball interception by Chung. Chung faked Cover-1 presnap then dropped into Cover-2, but it was Browner’s hit as the ball arrived that sent it into the air for Chung to snag.

Pats score another TD on the next play, now Miami gets it back down 31-13. Chung probably should’ve picked Tannehill’s first pass too.

Third-and-12 now, Miami tries to hit the crosser to Landry but Logan Ryan sticks with him and makes the tackle short of the first down. Good example of a team targeting the guy not named Revis/Browner, but that player making the play.

Pats blitz Ryan on the first play of the next possession, but Tannehill sees it and finds the open Landry for 8 yards. At least they’re still sending blitzers now, like the aggressiveness.

Jamie Collins slices through the line and stops a run for a loss of 4, timing it perfectly and showing the explosiveness he has. Collins and Hightower are such a good 1-2 punch together. I had concerns about them when Mayo went down, but not anymore.

Collins brings the heat on the next play too, handing Siliga a sack in the process.

Miami now in desperation mode and the Pats bust out a 0 DT, 4 Safety look. Don’t see that one very often.

Pats snuff out a 4th-and-18 and this one is pretty much done.

The Patriots defense is as good as it’s been since 2007. Seems like anything they give up is just a perfect (or broken play) by the other team where they hit on it. But once the Pats gets a lock on what the opponent is doing, they are shutting it down in the second half every week.

The coverages are varying more than earlier in the season, as are the usage of pass rushers and droppers. With Chandler back it gives even more options but teams are still being overwhelmed by the strength/speed combo of Hightower and Collins.

As Logan Ryan, Patrick Chung and Malcolm Butler, along with Duron Harmon, play better in coverage, the ceiling for the defense is limitless. They have talent and athleticism at every level and can play any kind of game, mixing and matching their front seven to create advantages.

3 GIFs That Defined Patriots Division-Clinching Win Over Dolphins

December 15, 2014 by Mike Dussault

After a barren first half, there were plenty of plays to choose from in the second half that came to define this game. Had the result gone Miami’s way, the sequence at the end of the first half would have certainly been included in all of its awfulness.

But the Pats came out guns blazing in the second half, and the narrative of the game shifted from what was shaping up to be another down-to-the-wire divisional matchup.

While Brady’s 17-yard scramble was a key moment in the game, it’s already been GIF’d here so we’ll stick to some lesser-shown plays that stood out. But Brady’s run really sparked the team in this one and deserves a lot of credit.

We begin with the first play of the second half. Gronk had no catches in the first half? Well here he is off of play action going for 34 yards, putting him over 1,000 for the season. This play was an immediate message that the Pats weren’t messing around anymore. They kept this momentum going for the rest of the game.

Another thing that changed in the second half was Belichick listening to the pleas on Twitter (I think) and putting Jonas Gray back in the game. Gray finished the game with 11 carries for 62 yards and this was his longest, a gain of 14. Gray just seems to have a strength and burst about him that seems to counter some of the Pats’ OL struggles in the run game. Let’s hope he continues to get more carries, he’s done nothing but play well

Finally, instead of one GIF you get three! All of these play demonstrate the dominance of the Patriots’ front seven, led by the return of Chandler Jones. The Pats can blitz or drop so many guys, all of whom cause different kinds of problems for opposing blockers.

Here the Pats have just one DT and the Dolphins try to run. Chandler Jones shows total dominance over Pouncey, pushing him into the backfield and making the tackle. This pass rush package could be deadly in the playoffs, especially if they can stop the run like this.

This time Chandler has a pure edge rush, getting the sack and forcing the fumble. Chandler was so good in this game I’m left wondering if he even really was hurt, or were they just saving him to unleash him now?

Finally comes a “meet at the quarterback” sack and this one shows what this defense is capable of in terms of disguise. Chandler drops into coverage and Collins blitzes, while Ninkovich wins cleanly off the edge. This demonstrates both winning pass rush via scheme and via pure physicality. All of this is vital to the Patriots’ Super Bowl chances.

Previous Three GIFs:

Pats Posits: Primed Pats Seal Another AFC East

December 15, 2014 by Mike Dussault

Maybe we should’ve expected the Pats to come out flat yesterday given the roller coaster of cross-country flights and big games over the last two weeks. Settling back in against the Dolphins should’ve been motivating after the Week 1 loss, but it’s understandable that the team didn’t have that same fire right out of the gate.

Still, they found their game in the locker room at half time and never looked back, turning what looked like a divisional game that would go down to the wire into a hat-and-t-shirt clinching domination.

The 2014 Patriots are AFC East champions and now there are just two games left to stay healthy and maintain the top seed in the AFC.

Here are my thoughts on yesterday’s win…

Chandler Jones cam back and played a surprising 55 of 78 snaps. As I thought might happen, the Pats used both Chandler and Ayers in a pass rush front, with Chandler shifting inside. I never thought Chandler would be so dominating after an extended injury break, but he showed that while Ayers was a solid fill-in, Chandler is capable of wrecking a game on his own. The rest should put him in position to cause havoc in the playoffs.

Jonas Gray once again sparked the team with his running, showing a burst out of the backfield that neither Blount or Vereen were showing. Still don’t love the run blocking right now, but Gray has an unmistakable ability to get something out of nothing and that’s just what the Pats needed yesterday. Let’s hope we see plenty more of him the next two weeks.

Once again it was the Edelman, Gronk and LaFell show, the best trio of weapons the Pats have had at once since Hernandez/Gronk/Welker in 2011 and 2012. But this group feels even tougher to defense because they challenge a defense on all levels. I continue to hope Wright/Vereen/Amendola can take advantage of the lessened attention, there should be a chance to get those guys a little more involved the next couple weeks.

I don’t know how else to put it – the defense looks primed for a Super Bowl run. The only key is to avoid a major injury in the next two games. Yes, this scares the crap out of me, especially with Rex Ryan facing the Pats for the last time. I don’t want him to give us one last parting “gift” on his way out in the form of an injury. Fingers crossed, but with our luck at the end of the season with injuries the last few years, I’m trying to not think about it.

The defense has given up just 3 points in the second halves of the last three games combined. I think that tells you everything you need to know – that this defense is “elite”. Once they see what is being thrown at them, they adjust and shut it down. This is the best defense since 2004. Period.

The versatility and dynamic use of Hightower/Collins/Ayers/Chandler/Ninkovich has taken the Pats pass rush to the next level. In the old days of the 34, the advantage was you never knew who would blitz. That advantage is back, but now it can come from anywhere, from anyone. The front seven is dripping with a combination of size, strength and athleticism. They will give every offense in the NFL problems.

The Boston Herald reported that Arrington’s injury doesn’t appear to be serious. That’s good. I’m not sure why Malcolm Butler/Logan Ryan/Alfonzo Dennard keep getting sudden starts at the nickel spot, but Arrington is clearly the best and needs to be in there full time for the playoffs.

On to the Jets…

New England Patriots Game Plan: Week 15 vs. Miami Dolphins

December 12, 2014 by Mike Dussault

Sunday is a “hat and t-shirt game”, what more is there to say? With the top seed and the AFC East championship on the line, it’s hard to imagine the Patriots won’t be ready to go for this one.

But divisional games are always interesting, because the teams know each other so well. This game is Miami’s season. Plenty of times AFC East opponents have beaten the Belichick-Brady Pats in September on the road, but beating them in December, in Foxboro when we’re down to the nitty gritty of the season, has been near-impossible.

It might be the last shot for this Miami regime.

This is when the Patriots are at their best and nearly unbeatable without a perfect game. Do the Dolphins have a perfect game in them to sweep the season series against the Pats? I’m not so sure.

Here’s the Pats’ gameplan to sew up their 12th AFC East title in the last 14 seasons.

Offensive Game Plan

Miami is the top-ranked team defending passes to tight ends per Football Outsiders’ DVOA. But they haven’t faced the real Gronk yet, so they’ll be put to the test on Sunday. The Patriots want to be a team that can play any kind of a game, and against teams that struggle to stop the run they can be. But let’s be honest with ourselves, the Patriots are best when they’re throwing the ball, with Brady getting it out quickly.

Against the Chargers they tried to stick with their power run game even when it wasn’t working. There’s no need to try that against an even-better Miami defense.

Offensively, the Pats should go pass/spread-heavy early to loosen up the front seven. The trio of Edelman/Gronk/LaFell are deadly once they get going. The sooner that happens the better. Then, if they can establish a lead, they can work in Blount and Gray. I’d like to see more Jonas Gray this week especially, but in the second half.

Defensive Game Plan

Jarvis Landry didn’t have a catch in week one against the Patriots, but has since emerged as Tannehill’s go-to target. While Revis was on Mike Wallace then, it might make sense to shift him to Landry now. The Pats also didn’t have Brandon Browner the first time, so the question is does he matchup on the bigger Charles Clay, or the faster Wallace with over-the-top help? The Past used linebackers and safeties on Clay last time.

The discipline of edge players Ninkovich and Ayers (and maybe Chandler Jones) is essential to keeping Tannehill beat them from the pocket. The Pats will also look to test the interior of Miami’s line with their Double A Gap blitz looks. The Dolphins should be a good test for what has become a staple of the Pats’ defensive game plans.

Five Points of Emphasis

1. Protect Brady: Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, because as I’ve said many times, this could effectively be the only key each week. Give Brady time and there’s a very good chance the Pats win. I’m going back to the well on this one because of the problems Miami’s rushers gave New England the first time around.

Granted, that was still in the experimental portion of the season, when our starting guards were Marcus Cannon and Jordan Devey, but the OL hasn’t exactly been lights out as of late. And a poor performance by Nate Solder or Sebastian Vollmer could swing this game heavily in favor of the Dolphins. There might not be a more intriguing matchup that on the edges of the Patriots defense. But all five of them must have their best game of the season.

2. Say Hello to Our New Run Defense: In the first meeting, the Dolphins ran all over the Patriots, piling up 191 yards on the ground. The Pats certainly had their problems stopping the run early in the season, but over the last couple months they’ve settled down. Throw in the fact that Knowshon Moreno is out for the season and the signs seem clear that Miami won’t be able to rely on their running attack to keep the chains moving like they did the first time around. That puts more pressure on Ryan Tannehill to win the game with his arm.

3. Say Hello to Our Fully-Functional Offense: The Patriots had about as bad of second half as a team can have against the Dolphins in Week 1. Rob Gronkowski played just 38 of 86 snaps. Brandon LaFell had zero catches on six targets. Kenbrell Thompkins was tied with Edelman with nine targets for most on the team. So yeah, this is a much different team now, one that shouldn’t have a second half that looks like this:

4. Spy Tannehill: It seems like quarterbacks who can run have given the Patriots defense their biggest problems this year. Pocket passers like Peyton Manning or Phillip Rivers? No problem. Guys who can move like Aarond Rodgers and even Geno Smith, have been able to extend drives against a Patriots front seven who lose contain or an open running lane. Playing quarterbacks like that require the ultimate discipline, with a delicate balance between pass rushing and maintaining lane integrity. Tannehill cannot be allowed to run for first downs on third down. It sounds simple but this will be a challenge.

5. Win: This will be just the fourth AFC East game of the season for the Pats, yet it’s a chance to win the division. That goes to show how poorly the rest of the AFC East has played outside the division. Everyone’s focusing on catching the Patriots, yet it’s always the outside games that doom the Dolphins/Jets/Bills’ seasons.

The lead in the conference is also just a half game, so there is no margin for error. This is without question the hardest remaining game on the schedule. There’s nothing to hold back for, it’s time for the 2014 Patriots to collect their first championship of the season.

New England Patriots vs. San Diego Chargers All-22 Thoughts: Offense Edition

December 11, 2014 by Mike Dussault

The Patriots’ offense was surprisingly ineffective for most of the night against the Chargers, but broke through once Julian Edelman got hot and never looked back.

Tom Brady hasn’t exactly been firing on all cylinders the last two weeks, and while the run game has been nearly non-existant after running wild over the Colts, they’ve still been making enough plays to win or keep it close.

Here’s what stood out reviewing the All-22 film of the offense against the Chargers.

The first drive of the game for the Pats went 17 plays for 89 yards and ended in a field goal. From that point they’d have just two more drives that lasted double-digits, and six that ended in a punt or a turn over. This is the kind of streakiness we became familiar with last year, when the Pats would go from being unstoppable one drive to not getting a first down the next.

After a run that lost yardage and an incomplete pass, the Pats faced a third-and-12 from their own 7 right off the bat. Chargers show Cover-2 then shift to Cover-1 at the snap. Brady rolls right as Vollmer pancakes his rusher, then finds Edelman who was freed up by the Chargers shift in coverage. Good for 24.

Just not a lot of push in the run game early on, blocks aren’t going very far. I don’t love Blount when the OL stinks like this, he’s great with a head of steam and can sometime make something out of nothing, but generally his explosion out of the backfield isn’t something that stands out. Usually if they hit him in the backfield, he’s going down.

Third-and-1 from the 36 and the Pats use misdirection and play fake to Develin up the gut, then toss it to Blount who goes for 9. The Pats have struggled in third/fourth-and-short this year, ranking 26th in the NFL in first down percentage. Misdirection like they use here is becoming necessary. Will this be an issue in the playoffs? I know I’ll be extra tense on every third or fourth down of two yards or less.

Jonas Gray gets two carries back-to-back and I’d like to see a little more of him. He has good explosion out of the backfield. He may be a better fit early on in games than Blount wiht the way this OL struggles to get push.

Third-and-goal from the 1 and Brady takes the sack, good coverage by the Chargers. Disappointing end to a long, plodding drive. Pats liked their power personnel in this game but it wasn’t all that powerful. Less Hooman please.

Second quarter now, Pats move to their spread offense and Brady finds LaFell for 19. A great catch in traffic by LaFell.

Blount for no gain on the next play as Ingram blows Solder back with a shot to the head. Coming in to the season I wondered if the Pats would extend Solder, but now I’m thinking his sub-par season will allow them to let him test the market then sign him to a far-more affordable deal than anticipated. This is good and bad. Is he the LT for the long term, or is it worth considering an upgrade? Regardless, with Vollmer’s age/injury history, Cannon’s regression and Solder’s play this year, they should be on the lookout for tackles in the draft. Or maybe Cameron Fleming has potential worth looking at.

LaFell fumbles and it goes for six. LaFell’s earned some good will this year so I’m not even mad at him. Let’s just hope he’s getting that out of the way now and it doesn’t continue.

Back to the spread after the Pick-Up Six and the Pats run the same play on back-to-back plays (they do this alot), first goes to Edelman on an dig for 8, then Gronk on an out for 35. The difference was on the second Te’o is showing blitz, while he was covering Gronk on the first one. This signals Freeney will have to drop and cover Gronk, thus a big gain.

Same spread formation for a the third snap in a row, just with Gronk on the other side now, but different play this time as Brady tries to hit Wright on an out-and-up from the slot. This shows some of the Patriots offensive strategy. Same looks, sometimes different plays. Sometimes the same play.

This spread formation moved the ball well, with no running back on the field. For the most part it was LaFell/Amendola on the left, Edelman on the right, with Gronk/Wright being moved from the wing to the slot.

They move Amendola into the backfield to open space for LaFell in the red zone but it falls incomplete. This formation could be deadly if they can run no huddle out of it, great combination of quickness and size.

They bring Vereen in for Amendola on third down inside the 11 yard line and Brady finds Edelman for a first-and-goal. The red zone struggles defined this game, because the offense moved the ball, at least through the air.

Brady does miss Wright on second down. Tries to force it into Edelman.

Pressure breaks down the third down play as Freeney’s patented spin move beats Solder. Pats kick the field goal and it’s 14-6.

Pats get the ball back off the Ayers inteception at the 25 yard line. This is New England’s bread and butter, making teams pay for turnovers.

Brady finds Gronk for the touchdown four plays later, is there any question where the ball is going here?

Pats force a punt with 1:32 and have a great chance to take the lead before half. They go spread with Vereen, but it takes an 11-yard gain to Gronk on third-and-9 to get things moving.

A questionable DPI call gave them 17 yards and then a screen to Vereen put them in the red zone. Two plays later comes an ugly Brady interception.

Here’s how things look just before Brady throws it. Protection is okay and Gronk is single-covered, but the pass is going to be way short and easily picked.

Of course Amendola is WIDE OPEN…

On to the second half…Let the three-and-outs begin!

After having success with the spread, the Pats go back to the their power lineup featuring Hooman/Gronk. And Tyms is on the field which signals to the defense that here comes a deep shot. The Chargers’ Cover-3 takes Tyms away.

Gronk gets 9 on second down, setting up a third-and-1, aka the Pats offensive kryptonite this year. Stork can’t seal his guy off, meaning Blount has to overpower two guys and he can’t. Punt.

Same power personnel on the next possession. Questionable. Chargers don’t bite enough on play action and the first pass falls incomplete. Wright comes in and they run out of it, but only four yards as Gronk’s block isn’t enough.

Third-and-six, Pats go spread but the pass gets tipped. Would’ve been incomplete anyway. Good coverage by Chargers and the Pats go three-and-out for the second straight possession.

Pats back on the field, still down 14-13. They first try a screen to Gronk that loses 6 yards. Then a short dumpoff to Vereen picks up 7. Great coverage by the Chargers. Pats went back to the Vereen/Wright package but everyone is covered.

Third-and-14, Chargers in a Cover-2 shell leaving no one open again. Good pressure from the right side forced the throw too. Another three-and-out (not counting the initial false start penalty that backed them up 5 yards). Gross third quarter here.

Problems continue on the next possession as Blount loses 2 yards on first down with the left side of the line being overhwhelmed, especially Solder.

Gronk picks up six on second down to set up a third-and-6. Gronk was alone on a corner out wide but it looks like he started his comeback just a little too late. Rare that that happens with Brady and Gronk. Punting again…

End of the third quarter as the Pats start to find a rhythm. Passes to Gronk go for 9 yards back-to-back as we enter the fourth quarter. An end-around to Edelman might’ve gotten more if Gronk doesn’t get blown up block at the left edge. Pats had problems over there all game.

Edelman stepping up here, with gains of 14 and 10 to get the Pats to the Chargers’ 30. But the drive stalls on third-and-3. They go spread but Brady seems to force a throw to LaFell down the sideline that is off the mark. Good coverage.

Pats take the field goal and the 16-14 lead.

Pats get the ball back after another punt and here comes the play that defined the game, Edelman’s 69-yard touchdown. Reminded me a bit of Jordy Nelson’s catch and run TD against us last weekend. Just great quickness by Edelman, and one of those kind of plays that defines a big game.

Now comes the final real possession of the game, with the Pats needing to drain the clock, they do just that. Possession starts at 6:18 and they take it all the way down to just before the Two Minute Warning.

It was a plodding drive, picking up just enough yardage to keep the chains moving, but the one big play was a 23yard run by Blount. Which was just a broken play that he cut back to the left side.

On paper this drive looks great, but it certainly wasn’t a dominant as one might think. These are drives that are critical in the playoffs and I still am a little under-confident that their run game can turn one of these in with everything on the line. It’s an area to monitor over the last three games.

Negative plays on first down certainly were a big part of this game, along with the Pats inability to run the ball out of their preferred power personnel. Was it an off game? Are the Chargers just a good run defense on this night? Or is this a real problem? We’ll see…

December 10, 2014 by Mike Dussault

Football Outsiders Week 14 DVOA Rankings

The Patriots ascension continues, but they haven’t caught the Broncos yet. But put in historical context as I’ve done above and it confirms what I’ve been writing this week – that this is the best Patriots defense since 2007. In fact, this defense is even better than the 2007 defense and closer to the three best years 2003, 2004 and 2006.

Offensively the dip in the running attack is notable, but it’s also notable that the running attack was even worse in 2003 and we know how that season finished.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/football-outsiders-week-14-dvoa-rankings-the/

GIFs That Defined Patriots Win Over Jets

Patriots vs. Dolphins All-22 Thoughts: Defense Edition

3 GIFs That Defined Patriots Division-Clinching Win Over Dolphins

Pats Posits: Primed Pats Seal Another AFC East

New England Patriots Game Plan: Week 15 vs. Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots vs. San Diego Chargers All-22 Thoughts: Offense Edition

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