Tom Brady's first NFL game was mop-up duty in a 34-9 drubbing by the Detroit Lions in 2000. Yesterday he returned the favor, dominating the first half and watching his defense shut down Detroit, in a 34-9 win for his Patriots. The victory put the team three full games ahead of Miami in the AFC East and two full games (with tie-breakers) ahead of every other team in the AFC. Next week is their toughest remaining game; in Green Bay to take on the Packers.
Even though the Patriots offense doubled-up what Detroit usually allows per game (15.6 ppg before yesterday), it was the defense that led the day. Against a team with plenty of weapons, the Pats allowed their receivers one 42-yard catch and nothing else of consequence. All-world receiver Calvin Johnson was shut out in the first half and even when the Lions got into scoring range, the Patriots defense held them to field goal attempts (and they missed one of those, in the first half). And allowing just nine points to any NFL team is a successful outing.
(Note: with both the offense and defense in high-gear, the Patriots lead the league in point-differential. Trivia question: how many seasons has Tom Brady led the Patriots to the best point-differential in the NFL? And if you dare, how many of those years can you name? Answers below...)
Cornerback Darrelle Revis was the defensive star of the game. He had four passes defended, including a mano-y-mano knockdown of what should have been a Johnson touchdown. Additionally, his tight coverage forced the Lions to use the running game and third- and fourth-receivers. Fellow corner Brandon Browner had two passes defended, and Logan Ryan had a typical up-and-down day, with one pass defended and at least one important pass given up -- to go with an interception.
Safeties Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung were among the team leaders in tackles (seven and six, respectively), and Chung added a pass defended. Additionally, Chung showed great instincts in helping stop the run. And McCourty played the deep safety to Johnson's side, making sure he did little, if any, damage in the game.
The linebackers do not seem to have been affected by the loss of Jerod Mayo. Dont'a Hightower led the team with eight tackles, and he has done a great job getting after the ball, be it hitting the QB, in pass coverage, or stuffing the run. Hightower struggled last year when Mayo went down, but he's adapted admirably this year.
It helps that Jamie Collins continues his excellent play. He was exceptionally good in Indianapolis last week, and against Detroit he showed a ton of versatility, in all phases of the defense. It also helps that Akeem Ayers tossed in a QB hit, a sack, and three tackles of his own. No one could be sure how Ayers would play when he arrived in New England, but he's helped replace the QB pressure Chandler Jones applied before his injury.
And speaking of the defensive line, it's difficult to see how they are doing what they are doing. Vince Wilfork and Rob Ninkovich are still there, and both doing their usual great job on the inside and outside, respectively. But around them, it's Zack Moore, rookie Dominique Easley, Chris Jones, and recently acquired Alan Branch. Jones hasn't done much of note, but Easley and Branch are doing a decent job filling in.
The D-line clearly does more stunting, zone-blitz schemes, and also fake blitzes than they ever have. (Note: this probably tells you the coaches trust their safeties and linebackers to cover up against the run when teams trap-block against those schemes.) And given how vanilla the Patriots defense usually is, this seems to confuse team after team. And maybe, just maybe, it shows you what the Patriots *should* have been doing all these years, rather than their "stay disciplined and do your job" approach, which didn't exactly tear it up in 2009 or 2010.
On offense, last week it was the running game, this week it was the quarterback. Given how stout the Lions run defense is, the Pats threw the ball 53 times and ran just 20. Tom Brady wasn't sacked once on those 53 drop-backs, though that was owing to his quick release. He did get hit four times, and a few of those were very quick penetrations, but Brady got rid of the ball in a flash all game long. He ended up 38 of 53 (72%) for 349 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception, and a 94.0 QB rating.
With all the completed passes, there should have been more players with catches. But it was still an okay job of spreading the ball around. The Lions tried to take away tight end Rob Gronkowski, so ended up with only 5 catches for 78 yards. But "the other tight end," Tim Wright, had 5 catches of his own, for just 36 yards, but 2 big touchdowns. Wright's production has been inconsistent. He has four games with zero catches, but has notched six touchdowns on the season. Not bad for a guy who arrived just before opening day.
Receiver Julian Edelman took some hard hits while catching 11 for 89 yards. And Brandon LaFell had some big first downs among his 9 grabs and 98 yards. Edelman needs the other receivers to step up, because he takes a real beating out there. But props to LaFell, who I dubbed "LaFail" earlier in the year. He's worked his way into that third-receiver role, and the team will need him and Wright to be productive when teams try to shut down Edelman and Gronkowski.
The running backs were more of an afterthought in this one. Last week's hero, Jonas Gray, was late for Friday practice, so he sat for the game, replaced by newly re-signed LeGarrette Blount. Blount had 78 yards on 12 carries, but that was mostly in garbage time. In the first half, the Pats ran the ball just six times, controlling the ball with the pass. And Shane Vereen was more of a receiver threat (8 catches, 48 yards) than a run threat (8 rushes, 12 yards).
The offensive line did a pretty good job. Brady was pressured some, but the Lions front-seven is very good, so that is to be expected. Both of the tackles (Sebastian Vollmer and Nate Solder) had penalties on the day. But the only big whiff of the day was another interior rusher who came 100% free despite being double-teamed. The coaches need to work on controlling the right-side A-gap on quick screens, because that can lead to very, very bad plays. Also, no one expected the Pats to run very well, so ending up with 90 yards on 20 carries is a decent day.
Special teams was a blowout in favor of the Patriots. Punter Ryan Allen made the play of the day; scooping up a bad snap and booting a 66-yard punt that was returned just one-yard. Danny Amendola had an 81-yard kickoff return that led to the Patriots second touchdown. And on a day when Detroit's kicker missed a field goal with the game still in doubt, kicker Stephen Gostkowski nailed his two and gave up just 27 return yards on six kickoffs.
Last, but certainly not least, the coaches should take a bow for their excellent game plans. Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia's decision to bracket Johnson and single-cover Golden Tate with his best defender couldn't have worked out much better. Tate's only long reception came against zone, and Johnson was shut down until the game was out of reach. And on offense, wearing down the Detroit defense with up-tempo passing was a much better choice than trying to run into front-seven.
So where does that leave us? 9-2 and with that two-game lead over the field. Not a bad place to be with five weeks to go. Green Bay will be the team's toughest test remaining on the schedule. Some are calling it a Super Bowl Preview. I could live with that if it comes true!
Statistical Oddity of the Week: In the second quarter, linebacker Jamie Collins was called for penalties twice in three plays. But he wasn't the guilty party in either case -- the referee called the wrong number both times. I've seen that happen from time to time, but never twice in three plays to the same player.
Weekly Water-cooler Wisdom: "If LaFell and Wright continue to be productive, the Pats won't have to fear anyone in the playoffs. That's right, I said playoffs!"
Keep the faith,
- Scott
PS. 9-2!
PPS. Trivia answer: Under Tom Brady, the Patriots have led the NFL in point-differential four times: 2004, 2007, 2010, and 2012.
What a nice night for a beat-down. The Patriots dominated in the running game and the second half, and ran away from the Colts, 42-20. The win give the Patriots a two-game lead over their nearest AFC East rival (Dolphins), and when you factor in tie-breakers, they hold a two-game lead over the other AFC division leaders (Bengals, Colts, and Broncos). Detroit comes to Foxboro to get their asses handed to them next week.
The Patriots didn't turn their first-half dominance into much of a lead. The Colts converted a late Tom Brady interception into a touchdown that made it 14-10 after 30 minutes. But given that mistake, New England recommitted to the running attack, and went touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, and touchdown to start the second half. Indy couldn't keep up, and it was over about halfway through the fourth quarter.
Running back Jonas Gray held quite the coming-out party: 38 carries, 199 yards (5.2 ypc), and 4 touchdowns. He showed patience and once he got rolling downhill, he handed out punishment to the undersized Indy defense. Shane Vereen had only one rushing attempt, but was good in pass protection and also had 4 catches for 59 yards. But Gray was so dominant on this night, he got his own section of Statistical Oddities below.
Quarterback Tom Brady enjoyed lots of time to throw in the second half, courtesy of the running game and play-action. And he used it to pick apart the Colts zone scheme. But his first half was only okay. He looked good most of the time, but called an audible on third-and-one near the end of the half and did the one thing he could not do in that situation: threw an interception.
In fact, Brady had two INTs in the first half, so his final stat line didn't look all that fantastic: 19 of 30, 257 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, and an 85.0 QB rating. But overall, Brady moved well in the pocket, and mostly made the right reads. And he has to get some credit for leading his team on four consecutive touchdown drives in the second half.
Six different receivers contributed, led by tight end Rob Gronkowski's 4 catches for 71 yards and a touchdown where he ran through five or six Colts defenders. Julian Edelman had 5 catches for 50 yards, but he appeared to suffer a hip injury and wasn't very effective in the second half. And just when the Colts thought they had everyone bottled up, Brandon LaFell caught a big third-down pass and got two others, too.
The offensive line deserves credit and praise for their great run blocking. The team put in a sixth O-lineman once they were dominating on the ground, and that made it even more difficult to stop them. They were great on pulls and slashed through the smaller Colts defenders all night long. And Gronkowski deserves credit as an honorary O-lineman for the game; his blocking was as good as it's been all year.
However, last night was not an unalloyed success for the O-line. Both of Brady's interceptions came on plays with almost instant pressure from the Colts defense. The first was a whiff by tackle Sebastian Vollmer, who let his man get inside and force a bad pass. And on the second interception, a Colts defender split an inside double-team and was on Brady in less than a second (trust me, I timed it). You have to take off points for giving up pressure in less than a second when you are double-teaming the man who got the pressure.
As for the defense, well, you can't pile up a 244-to-19 yard running advantage unless your team stops the opponent running game. And the Patriots defensive line and linebackers did a great job attacking the run not just clogging things up. Add the brilliant play of cornerback Darrelle Revis and the great game plan of making the Colts beat you with something less than their best players, and it was a masterful day for the Patriots defense.
It all started with the secondary. Coming into the game, the Colts led the league in big plays (20+ yards), but they had fewer such plays than the Patriots last night. Receiver Reggie Wayne beat them early, and then Revis shut him down the rest of the game. The Pats then double-teamed the Colts best receiver, T.Y. Hilton, which forced them to use tight end Coby Fleener -- who had a good game but didn't dominate like Hilton and Wayne can.
Cornerbacks Logan Ryan and Kyle Arrington got beaten during the game, but both battled back. Ryan ended up with 2 defended passes and 3 tackles. And Arrington got 1 pass defended and also had 3 tackles. Safeties Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung went mostly unnoticed, which was a result of the gameplan to keep things short. And just so you don't think I'm going soft, cornerback Brandon Browner got beaten early and often, and pretty much never got back to do much about it. Not his best game at all.
The defensive line did a great job holding firm in the running game and getting after the passer from the outside. Rob Ninkovich got 5 tackles, and had a tackle for a loss and 2 QB hits. Interior linemen Vince Wilfork, Alan Branch, and Dominique Easley did a great job holding things up so the linebackers could shoot gaps and stop plays before they got started. 19 yards on the ground, you can't ask for much better than that.
Linebacker Jamie Collins was the front-seven star of the game. He ended up with 8 tackles (2 for a loss) and a forced fumble. And his coverage out of the backfield was very good. Dont'a Hightower had more mixed results, with 6 tackles of his own, 2 QB hits, and a pass defended. But his pass coverage wasn't nearly as consistent; he was behind several plays, and appeared to stop running once a receiver got past him. Newcomer Akeem Ayers was a non-factor.
Special teams was unremarkable, which means they did a good job. Ryan Allen only punted once, and Stephen Gostkowski never attempted a field goal. However, a day when you give up no big returns and have no blown plays is a good day. The only quibble was that return-man Danny Amendola got tackled at his own four-yard line -- not good.
The coaching plan was terrific. On offense: slow down the pass rush by running the ball up the middle; and when the running game worked well, stick with it and set up play-action. On defense: stop the run and don't give up big plays.
So where does that leave us? Technically the Chiefs are just one-game behind the Patriots, but they have to win their division to be in the conversation about first-round playoff byes. So unless they can overtake the Broncos, the Patriots are in the driver's seat when it comes to playoff seeding. Next up is Detroit; a dome team coming to play outdoors in Foxboro as the weather turns colder. Smells like a win to me.
Statistical Oddity of the Week: There were three penalties in the game for facemask/hands-to-the-face -- and all three were committed by players wearing #50. (Two on the Patriots Rob Ninkovich, and one on the Colts Jerrell Freeman).
Bonus Statistical Oddity: After a slow start the Patriots are second in the NFL in points per game (32.3). Trivia question: can you name the team that leads the NFL in this category? (Hint: this team is on the Patriots 2014 schedule... answer below.)
Jonas Gray Statistical Oddities of the Week: Gray was the first Patriots running back with 100+ yards and 2 touchdowns at the half since 1983. He's also one of only four players in NFL history to score his first four touchdowns in one game (and first since 1979). Gray is one of only five running backs in NFL history with 150 yards and four touchdowns in one road game. And lastly, he now holds the single-game Patriots record with four rushing touchdowns in one game.
Weekly Water-cooler Wisdom: "I'm trying to imagine how good this team can be -- remember: Chandler Jones should be coming back later this year."
Keep the faith,
- Scott
PS. 8-2!
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The Green Bay Packers put up 53 yesterday, and lead the NFL with 33 points per game. Should be a barn-burner in two weeks!
Your New England Patriots dominated the previously dominant Broncos, hitting them hard and fast in a 43-21 drubbing at chilly/windy Gillette Stadium. The win puts the Pats in familiar territory, first place in the entire AFC, and with wins in hand over two of the other division leaders (Broncos and Bengals). The team has their bye this week, and then they play the other division leader, the Colts, in Indianapolis the week after.
This game was too close early, with the Patriots leaving points on the board in the first quarter, and ending that quarter behind 7-3. Then they scored on six of their next eight possessions, while the Broncos scored on only two of their next eight, and the rout was on. And with 94 points in the last two games, the offense is obviously rounding into form.
Quarterback Tom Brady threw his first interception in since week four, on a tipped ball, no less. He was mostly magnificent, finishing 33 of 53, 333 yards, 4 touchdowns, that 1 INT, and a 97.4 passer rating. And even though he was sacked just once, he used movement in the pocket and quick releases to avoid sometimes very quick pressure (Denver hit him eight times in the game).
The only problem with Brady's game was his misfiring on several "wheel" routes to running back Shane Vereen, and several off-target passes that were slightly behind receivers (including on his interception). But given that the Broncos defense is one of the best in the league, not a bad day chucking the ball.
The receivers were all terrific. Tight end Rob Gronkowski and receiver Julian Edelman pulled in 9 catches and 1 touchdown each, with 105 and 89 receiving yards, respectively. Gronkowski is a beast these days, plowing through defenders after the reception, and making one of the catches of the season, a one-handed grab at the goal line. And Edelman was unstoppable in the slot, coming up with five big first downs.
Danny Amendola also had two big catches for first downs, indicating the Broncos don't have great slot-receiver coverage. And Brandon LaFell had 6 grabs for 43 yards and a touchdown. In fact, maybe the most important numbers are 9, 9, 6, 5 -- the number of receptions of the top-four Patriots receivers. They are extremely difficult to defend when they spread the ball around like that.
The running game left a lot to be desired. The Patriots squeezed out 66 yards on 25 carries, for a paltry 2.6ypc. They were also tackled for a loss four times, and got just 3 rushing first downs on the day (even Brady failed on his patented QB sneak). Jonas Gray and Vereen had nowhere to go, several times beating their linemen to the hole, which usually meant there was no hole there.
Which brings us to the continuing saga of the offensive line. Still too much inside push, although that is getting better. Sebastian Vollmer, Nate Solder, and Bryan Stork were all beaten at specific points in the game, and the inability to complete "wheel" routes indicates that the O-line didn't do it's job on the outside. Overall they are improving, and given the level of competition, this was a decent game. But it isn't perfect, and those flaws will look a lot worse against the Colts in their version of the TunderDome in two weeks.
It was a different story on defense, where the Patriots coaching staff deserves a lot of credit for how they mixed things up. They started in a 3-3-5 defense and kept the five DBs on the field most of the game. It was a great plan of complimentary defense, with just enough pressure on the quarterback to force quick throws, enough pass coverage to ensure those throws had to be pinpoint, and enough discipline to limit the running attack to 43 yards and 2.5ypc.
I've never seen lineman Rob Ninkovich drop into coverage so much, nor have I seen the team throw so many last-second blitzes up the middle. And they rarely employ the zone-blitz, but used it to great effect on the first interception.
Ninkovich and Vince Wilfork starred on the defensive line. Ninkovich ended up with the INT, a pass defended, and 3 tackles. And Wilfork's 2 tackles don't tell the entire story -- he clogged the middle and pushed the pile toward Manning all night long. The Broncos offensive line is very good, so just battling them to a stalemate in the running game and getting some pressure out of the front three is a big deal. It allowed the Patriots to do so much with the defense.
Linebacker Jamie Collins played the Swiss-Army Knife on Sunday. He dropped into coverage, had a tackle for a loss, got a huge stop on a third-down that forced a punt, and he sliced through the center of the Broncos O-line multiple times, putting quick pressure on Peyton Manning to throw the ball before he was ready. Linebacker Dont'a Hightower did the same, but to a lesser degree of effectiveness than Collins. And newcomer Akeem Ayers got the Patriots only sack, along with a QB hit.
The secondary play was difficult to decipher. Corner Darrelle Revis got five tackles and defended a pass, but he was in the area for multiple long pass completions. Corner Malcolm Butler was repeatedly burned, but came up big with a pass defended late when the Broncos were trying to claw back into the game. Safety Patrick Chung had three passes defended and eight tackles, but he and safety Devin McCourty both choked on a touchdown to Denver tight end Julius Thomas. And corner Brandon Browner had an INT and a pass defended, but he continues to pile up the penalty yards.
Maybe the lesson here is that it was never going to be perfect against Peyton Manning. But the corners and safeties did their best when they had chances, and held the Broncos to 23 points, despite the dizzying numbers put up by the Broncos. Maybe no team will shut down all those receivers; the best they can do is survive them.
On special teams, Julian Edelman set a new Patriots record with his fourth punt-return touchdown, a long and winding run that put the Pats up 20-7 in the second quarter. And on this very windy day, kicker Stephen Gostkowski was a perfect 3-3 on field goals, and did a decent job kicking off, even into the stiff breeze. This is quite the contrast to the Broncos special teams, which had a difficult day handling the elements, yet again (remember last year's muffed punt to lose the game in OT?).
The coaching staff put together a great game plan. They mixed in 7-man fronts with 3-man pass rushes, delayed blitzes, stunts and games up front, zone blitzes, man-to-man press coverage, short cover-two, deep cover-three, and even the old "meandering" defense, where players wander around near the line and then attack at the snap. And on offense, they exploited mismatches at slot receiver and tight end, and when the Broncos adjusted, they threw to a single-covered LaFell outside the numbers.
So where does this leave us? Right where you'd expect by week nine -- leading the AFC East and the AFC. The Pats have a brutal schedule coming up, with tilts against division leaders Indy and Detroit, and road games against 5-4 San Diego and 5-3 Green Bay. If they survive the next month, they have three AFC East games to end the season, two of them at home, so that should be fine.
Statistical Oddity of the Week: The last time the Patriots scored 94 points in consecutive home games, the Denver Broncos were the second team they beat. (Trivia question: name the year, and if you can, the other team involved... answer below.)
Weekly Water-cooler Wisdom: "The Broncos really had eight turnovers: two interceptions, a punt-return touchdown, a missed field goal, and 0-4 on fourth downs. Not going to win very often like that."
Keep the faith,
- Scott
PS. 7-2!
PPS. Trivia answer:
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In 2011, the Patriots beat the Buffalo Bills 49-21 to close out the regular season. They then drubbed the Tim Tebow Broncos, 45-10 in the divisional round of the playoffs, scoring exactly 94 points in two consecutive home games.
