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It’s All-22 Tuesday! Trying to make this a little easier to read and follow, so I’m shortening it a bit and doing both offense and defense in one post, just divided by halves to look for adjustments. 

Lots of great stuff in this one but I still think the Pats have much better football ahead of them on both sides of the ball.

Let’s dive in, defense first of course…

Defense

1st Half

The Bills had a nice first drive, with the Pats playing Cover 1 Man on 6 of 9 snaps. The problems were primarily early-season sloppiness, not getting off blocks, not causing havoc. The coverage shift that occurred after that was switching to Cover 3, which matched up well with the long-developing routes the outside receivers were running. That led to five-straight three and outs.

After the first drive I had them in Cover 3 on 16 snaps, Cover 1 Man on 8 snaps. Again, it’s Tyrod Taylor, and there were some open receivers in the zone holes, but generally this coverage was perfect for forcing indecision and check downs.

The Patriots also started to use McCourty closer to the line of scrimmage whether as a zone defender or spying the quarterback. 

Chandler is up and down in run defense and it seems teams do target him, but his athleticism as a pass rusher is excellent and he’s a very solid piece. 

On the long PI call on Bradley Fletcher he was playing Cover 3 so he wasn’t trying to jam and it quickly became a foot race that he was losing. Expect teams to target him on deep shots frequently now. 

2nd Half

As expected the defense stuck with mostly Cover 3 in the second half and it continued to be mostly effective. The Bills adjusted by hitting some sideline comeback routes to attack the coverage, but they really didn’t start doing damage and mounting a comeback until Taylor started getting out of the pocket and make throws on the run late in down when the coverage had broken down a bit. 

How about that hole?

The 32-yard Woods TD was a prime example of this as Malcolm Butler was left essentially alone covering two guys in the end zone and the pass just snuck through his hands.

Would’ve liked to see a better game out of Siliga. He’s probably their best tackle right now but he’s not playing like it, getting easily blocked too often. Alan Branch bounced back and made some plays while Malcom Brown was just okay.

The 24-yard Watkins TD again just beat Bradley Fletcher with speed over the top. This is a major area of concern.

Offense

First Half

The Patriots always have a feeling out period at the start of a game, especially on offense. They spread the field on the first possession, then went to a jumbo package early on the second drive, but still threw it. Just seeing how the Bills would play them. 

Rex’s favorite thing is to only send three in the red zone, but credit the protection and Edelman on his touchdown as he beat the double team and Brady found room to scramble and deliver the perfect ball. Edelman makes so many tough plays we’re almost starting to take them for granted.

Loved Dion Lewis’ hard touchdown run, the first time the Pats handed off in the game, on their third possession! He lowered his shoulder to get into the end zone, the kind of play the coaches surely love. I know I do.

Never a good sign when there’s visible confusion on the defense’s side on how to cover Gronk just before the snap. That’s what happened on Gronk’s touchdown not surprisingly.

Michael Williams is an interesting player who seems to skew more tackle than tight end but the Patriots are using him all over the place. His rise could mean the end of the Hooman.

On the failed fourth-down conversion in the second quarter they tried to sell the fly sweep that they had just run earlier with Edelman. Nobody bit and Brady just had to fling and pray.

On the second-quarter sack of Brady, that was nullified by a hold on Buffalo, it’s clear where Vollmer hurts his finger. Andrews and Mason missed the stunt and Brady had to hit the deck.

Dion Lewis’ 40-yard catch up the sideline was reminiscent of Vereen but he’s got even more wiggle to him. Excited to see how they start to scheme even more to get him open in space. Dead on balls throw from Brady.

Second Half

What a throw by Brady on third-and-1 to find Gronk for 28 yards on the first possession. This is just as he’s throwing the ball, most QBs would have a loaf in their pants long before this.

Seemed like an effort to get Chandler more involved in the second half, of course him not coming up with a touchdown those two times they targeted him in the end zone were no bueno.

Lewis has such side-to-side agility and is so hard to tackle in tight spaces. That part of his game is very Woodhead-y.

Didn’t even realize Vollmer returned to the game until now.

Edelman’s touchdown was so Edelman, just all out effort. Can’t say enough about the player he’s developed into.

Definitely a few miscues by the offensive line but all things considered this was an impressive performance by all of them. Yes, Brady got the ball out quick but we’ve seen even that gameplan get disrupted by immediate pass rush. 

Dobson did have one kinda gross drop but otherwise it was just the kind of game he needed to build some confidence. His chances will continue, I just want to see him do something special.

Didn’t love the 4th-and-1 play call but Edelman was open, Brady just missed. I prefer aggressive play calling but I think a punt would’ve been the right call there instead of trying to over-finish, if that makes sense.

On Brady’s fumble that made all our butts pucker up it was on Solder a bit for missing the cut block but also for Brady thinking he could reload. Good pursuit by Hughes and good coverage on Gronk to force Brady to not throw.

Pats were up five with 4:04 when they got the ball back and what a drive they put together to seal the game. Big part of it was the unbelievable Amendola catch.

Pats offense looked really good in this one, with Gronk, Edelman and Lewis making most of the big plays but Amendola and Dobson chipping some key ones as well. Still, they left some plays on the field and are still learning what they do best. But right now I see no reason this offense won’t be better than last year’s outside of injuries.

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.