5 points from the Wildcard game between Broncos-Steelers the Patriots should key on:
1. 3 man rush - Once the Broncos had a lead, they repeatedly sent 3 linemen against 6 blockers of the Steelers, and Ben Roethlisberger was not able to find gaps in their zone defense. Hopefully they try the same against Tom Brady and zone-killers Wes Welker and Deion Branch.
2. Man coverage - The Steelers played alot of close man coverage, which left them vulnerable to the deep ball. This is evident on the game-winning touchdown, when the Steelers had 9 players in the box. I don’t think I’ve seen a play this year within the 20’s where the Patriots haven’t had a safety at least 15 yards deep, so you can figure the Patriots have an advantage with taking away the deep ball.
3. Lack of contain - A few times the over-aggressive Steeler run defense pursued a RB into the middle of the line, only to see Tim Tebow keep the ball and pick up a first down or two. The Pats defense has better discipline on the edge (at least, ignoring the first quarter from the earlier Broncos game).
4. Fumbles continue - the Patriots benefited from a couple of fumbles in the earlier matchup, and when Willis McGahee fumbled against the Steelers, the same problem emerged. McGahee also had another fumble which was recovered by Denver, and only had a long of 11 and an average of 3.2, and so maybe the top rush attack from the regular season is not so dangerous in the postseason.
5. Slow play recognition - I noticed the Broncos defense were quite slow in recognising the Steelers offensive formations pre-snap. On one play, the Steelers had 4 wide receivers to one side in a diamond formation, while the Broncos had only two defensive backs matched on them. The play resulted in a predictable (for everyone but the Broncos defense) wide-receiver screen for positive yards. On account of Roethlisberger’s foot injury, the Steelers could not run much play-action in this game. Look for the Pats to make full use of some tricky formations and play-action next week.
