Last night's game looked to be over before it ever got started, reminding me of the Patriots three-turnover first quarter against the Ravens in the 2009 playoffs. Everything went against the Pats, with fumbles by Stevan Ridley, Tom Brady, and LeGarrette Blount -- all leading to points and eventually that 24-0 halftime score.
It also reminded me of the Miami game in October this year. Just as in that game, the Patriots didn't make a lot of adjustments at the half, they just came out and executed their offense much better. And in both cases, they overcame big deficits, were patient while the turnovers went back their way, and rode some big plays on special teams to a win.
The Patriots defensive game plan was to allow the Broncos all the yards they wanted on the ground. They played mostly nickel and dime, rarely committed extra defenders to stop the run, and counted on the Broncos either making mistakes or trying to pass against a pass-heavy defense. Mostly it worked; they gave up 280 rushing yards and 5.8 yards per carry, but held Peyton Manning to 150 yards passing and a 70.4 QB rating.
The defensive line got gashed over and over on inside hand-offs. The outside linemen stacked up 22 total tackles, although 19 of them were assists. In fact, Rob Ninkovich had 0 tackles and 13 assists, while Chandler Jones had 3 and 6, respectively. Ninkovich lost outside contain often, but Jones did not and he also got some pressure on Manning (1 sack, two QB hits). The inside rookies (Chris Jones and Joe Vellano) got pushed around, and the Broncos O-line got to the second level a lot. But again; this was part of the overall plan.
Jamie Collins (another rookie) led the linebackers with 10 tackles and he did a nice job in short pass coverage (sticking to receivers well, and knocking down a key pass to Wes Welker). The Patriots drafted him to cover passes from the 'backer position, and now that Jerod Mayo is out for the year they need Collins if they expect to make noise in the playoffs. The rest of the linebackers got beaten up by the Denver O-line, no two ways about it -- the defensive game plan left them hanging out to dry play after play, while the Broncos piled up yards on the ground.
The secondary played stunningly well. Starting safety Steve Gregory was out, and starting cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Alfonzo Dennard played only part time, so they had to depend on rookies Duron Harmon and Logan Ryan. And even with the talent drain, and with all those players moving in and out of the game and shifting multiple times before the snap -- they did a great job keeping things in front of them, jamming receivers at the line, passing off receivers from zone to zone, and even forcing receivers into each other when they tried pick plays.
Harmon led the secondary in tackles (11), and that allowed Devin McCourty to stay back and take away the deep ball. Ryan and Talib has passes defended, Ryan got his second interception of the season, and Talib almost had his fifth & sixth (neither came to fruition). Kyle Arrington stayed on the slot receivers, and helped hold Wes Welker to 4 catches for 31 yards.
It wasn't perfect; certainly too many yards given up on the ground, and the entire team fell asleep on a 30-yard screen pass. But mostly the plan worked; a brilliant use of weather, suspected arm-strength problems for Manning, and forcing the Broncos to beat you how they didn't want to -- on the ground. Looked ugly early on, but in the end they made enough key stops when it counted.
On offense, two running backs were bad and two were terrific. Ridley's latest fumble might have relegated him to mop-up duty for a few weeks, and it would not surprise me if he was a healthy scratch on Sunday. And his replacement, Blount, was also benched after his second fumble of the season. However, Brandon Boldin made the most of his opportunity, with 13 carries for 58 yards and 1 touchdown. And hybrid back Shane Vereen carried 10 times for 31 yards and caught 8 passes for 60 yards. If he hadn't dropped two passes, he might have been the leading receiver in the entire game.
Julian Edelman led all receivers with 9 catches for 110 yards and 2 touchdowns -- both of which were beautiful grabs. Rob Gronkowski was his old, rumblin' bumblin' self, blowing through three tacklers on his touchdown and adding a 33-yarder and a total of 90 yards through the air. He wasn't his usual brutal self on run blocking, but he was a beast catching. And the update wouldn't be complete without a mention of the return of Kenbrell Thompkins, who didn't have a great game, but his 6 catches (56 yards) all seemed to be key ones.
The offensive line had some problems, for sure; Nate Solder gave up the strip-sack of Tom Brady, and there were some free blitzers due to miscommunication on the right side. But Logan Mankins was much improved, and they did a great job in the second half keeping Brady upright (three sacks in the first half, none in the second half). And they've started to trick teams with pulling guards on *pass* plays -- and there is an amazing amount of coordination needed to pull that off without giving up a single sack on that kind of play.
As for Brady, he was simply amazing in the second half, given the situation and the weather conditions he faced. After halftime, he went 24 of 33 (73%), 263 yards, 3 touchdowns (all into the wind), 0 sacks, and a QB rating of 126.2. Trust me, the wind was howling and it was incredibly cold, and in those conditions, Brady's performance was legend-making. The only sacks were in the first half, and the way he sliced up the Denver defense was masterful. As stated before, the team made some adjustments, but mostly it was just better execution that did it.
Special teams contributed with a big punt return by Edelman, 4-for-4 field goals by Stephen Gostkowski (along with excellent kickoffs), and solid coverage. Nate Ebner got the last turnover -- on a mishandled punt in overtime, and he is threatening to beat out long-time coverage ace Matthew Slater for top honors this year.
Also, the design on some of those pass plays -- with the fake run-looks along the O-line -- those were drawn up by Josh McDaniels. And they were very effective at bring in the defense so they could be attacked in the deep middle. My only concern is that McDaniels still goes for long passes on third-and-short. In overtime, the team faced third-and-four, and play was a 40-yard bomb that fell incomplete on a very windy night -- and led to a punt. The Broncos faced third-and-four on their next drive, and they threw a six-yard dump-off (with six more after the catch) to move the chains and keep the ball. McDaniels needs to learn that lesson.
So where does that leave us? 8-3 is right where I thought they'd be, and next week's opponent is a lot worse than anyone thought they'd be this year. So the Patriots should be 9-3 after next Sunday, and could be on the verge of clinching the division crown at that point. Enjoy the holiday, and have fun watching on Sunday!
Statistical Oddity of the Week: On Sunday, Manning had fewer yards passing (150) than his teammate Knowshon Moreno had rushing (224). It's been eight years since that happened to Manning. (Trivia question: can you name the running back who did it last time-- answer below.)
Weekly Water-cooler Wisdom: "Anyone still arguing that Manning is a better quarterback has an axe to grind. There just isn't any question now -- Brady is head-and-shoulders above Manning."
Keep the faith,
- Scott
PS. 8-3!
PPS. Trivia Answer:
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
On September 18, 2005, Edgerrin James had 128 yards rushing to Manning's 122 yards passing.
No comments:
Post a Comment