On PFT Live today, Tom Curran from CSNNE talked about how the Patriots offense could be slowed: “Hit Gronkowski, hit Welker, hit Hernandez.” Curran stressed that keying on these Pats offensive weapons, together with getting quick pressure on Brady is the key. To break it down further, the game will become a series of line matchups, to see if “can Suggs beat Nate Solder, can Ngata beat Dan Connolly before Wes Welker comes out of his break.”
PFT Live host Mike Florio also commented on how if the Pats win this new-school offense vs old-school defense game, another similar challenge will be waiting in the Superbowl against a strong defensive team in the Giants or 49ers. Therefore, one of the most important storylines for the Pats playoff hopes is the health of the offensive line, which has used 9 different players over the course of the season.
A collection of thoughts from the TV copy of the game:
- Andre Carter’s second sack of the game came where Vince Wilfork and Carter each faced one blocker, and Albert Haynesworth faced three. Carter beat his man, and Haynesworth caused enough to keep his men occupied while Tony Romo went down. Wilfork was a non-factor as he was spun around on the play.
- Great tackle by Danny Woodhead after the Aaron Hernandez fumble in the 3rd quarter. Cowboys DB Newman only had Nate Solder and Tom Brady to beat to get to the endzone, and had blockers in front of him.
- On a completion to Ogletree with around 7 minutes remaining in the game, Patrick Chung made a big hit, but looked to be close enough to the catch to be able to swat the ball, rather than making the hit. It looked like similar plays Sergio Brown made in the Chargers game (although Brown failed to make either the pass breakup or the tackle), questioning whether the coaching strategy of the Patriots is to make big hits to knock the ball out, rather then attempting to swat or punch the ball in the air.
A few observations I made while watching the TV copy of the game:
- The Patriots fast start to this game is a testament to the great protection provided by the offensive line in the first few drives. Tom Brady had plenty of time and space to step up and throw.
- Rob Gronkowski’s first TD was an example of why he’s a big red zone threat - Jarius Byrd had good coverage on him, but Brady put it where only Gronkowski could get it, into a very small window. Gronk didn’t catch it cleanly, but did a good job rolling over onto his back so the ball didn’t move when he hit the ground.
- On the Bills early drives the Patriots pass rush was negated by the fact Fitzpatrick never held the ball for very long. A high percentage of his throws were under 10 yards (in the air).
- Nate Solder looks like a great first round draft pick. He’s had a few penalties, but for the most part keeps his man well away from Brady. The sooner Vollmer and Solder can be the starting tackles, the better.
- Last season Brandon Spikes made news for being very highly rated by ProFootballFocus, which pointed out Spikes never missing a tackle in 2010. I noted he had a few in this game.
- Ochocinco seems to need a lot of coaching on the field from Brady, especially in the no-huddle offense. Once in the second quarter Brady motioned for Ocho to move on the line of scrimmage (sometimes a way for a QB to get a better idea of the defensive coverage), but Ocho didn’t move, and Brady had to call to him, distracting Brady from being able to watch/intepret the defensive shift.
- The Patriots come close to blocking field goals, but they don’t put the same effort in for extra point attempts. Look for Scott O’Brien to make sure that in future weeks, the field goal block unit go hard for the block on every kick - it’s a matter of time before we see a field goal block from the Patriots.
