Pittsburgh changed up their defensive scheme this week, playing more man coverage and rushing just four players at Tom Brady. It's notable because they haven't done much different over the years, but it appears they finally figured out that a soft zone isn't the way to slow down the Patriots offense. The plan worked pretty well for most of the game, but in the second half the Pats beat that coverage by going to all-universe tight end Rob Gronkowski for big chunk plays.
But in the end, it was the Steelers incompetence that cost them the win. The Patriots scored 11 straight points to take a three-point lead. But Pittsburgh roared back, riding a long reception to a first-down at the Pats ten-yard line, with a chance to tie with a field goal or win with a touchdown. Then the wheels fell off:
- An apparent touchdown was apparently bobbled as tight end Jesse James went to the ground, so it was ruled incomplete upon review.
- A pass to receiver Darius Heyward-Bey was short of the end zone, but Heyward-Bey didn't get out of bounds, so the clock continued to run.
- QB Ben Roethlisberger rushed his team to the line for one last shot at a touchdown before a field goal attempt for the tie.
- Instead of throwing a fade (as suggested by commentator Tony Romo at the time), Roethlisberger tried to hit a man over the middle. The pass was broken up by Pats corner Eric Rowe, and intercepted by safety Duron Harmon.
It's not the worst loss in the annals of the league; but it shows once again that unprepared teams have trouble closing out games against prepared ones. The Steelers have more talent on the field, but they didn't close out a home game because they got too conservative with a chance to run clock and they melted down when a busted play gave them a chance to end it in regulation.
It certainly wasn't all sunshine and rainbows for the Patriots. They should always have been ready for the change in defensive scheme, but it took about 35 minutes of game time to figure out how to attack it. They went 3-of-9 on third-down conversions, which makes them 3-of-20 in their last two games (looks like a 15% success rate). That has to change if they expect to succeed in the playoffs. And of course, they missed another extra point, although this one was more on the long-snapper than kicker Stephen Gostkowski.
However, it's always hard to argue with the results. Even head coach Bill Belichick seemed to bend to the gravity of the situation, going for a fourth-down conversion on the first drive of the second half because he knew field goals probably wouldn't do it on a day like this. So without delving in too deep, here are some ups and downs from the game.
Brady didn't play his best game, but he bounced back in style. His long throws were mostly money yesterday; he completed them to receiver Brandin Cooks and Gronkowski. Gronk had two catches for 33 yards in the first half but caught fire (and everything thrown his way) in the second half: 7 grabs for 155 yards. And he made an amazing catch leaning down to snag the ball just inches from the ground.
Defensive lineman Trey Flowers was obviously what they were missing on defense. Five tackles, 0.5 sacks, and three QB hits tell you he was disruptive. And he barely missed several other sacks, including a strip-sack that Roethlisberger barely worked out of.
On the other hand, linebacker Elandon Roberts was obviously not what they were missing on defense. He read run correctly on multiple plays where he either rushed the wrong lane or whiffed on the tackle. He did make a play or two, but his inconsistency really hurts with the team down so much talent at LB. Probably no one ever thought "If we could just get Kyle Van Noy back" would be a rallying cry, but... well, here we are.
In the secondary, corner Stephon Gilmore did pretty well in coverage, but his run force leaves a lot to be desired. And safety Devin McCourty had probably his worst game of the year; taking bad angles on a few long running plays and providing just about nothing in the way of help for his corners. Not a good day for the secondary, especially when you consider the up-and-down performances of corners Malcolm Butler and Eric Rowe. (Although I did like the performance of safety Patrick Chung.)
The coaches simply took too long to get untracked. Once they started exploiting Gronkowski in man coverage the offense started humming. But it took until the half, when it should have been implemented in the second quarter.
So where does that leave us? 11-3 and atop the AFC, sorta rhymes, doesn't it? If the Pats win out, then the road to the Super Bowl in the AFC runs through Foxboro. And it would probably help if you gave your 40 year-old quarterback an extra week of rest toward the end of the season.
Biggest On-going Issue: It could always be the linebackers, but the lack of receiving threats is starting to concern me. Yesterday Gronkowski (9) and Cooks (4) were the only Pats players with more than two receptions. The team needs more production out of Amendola and the running backs, just to make other teams defend more players.
It was good to see newcomer Kenny Britt make a contribution. And it was also nice to see he was upset with himself for not getting the first down on his one reception. But his limited time with the playbook and the team makes him an unlikely candidate to step up in any meaningful way.
Non-Brady MVP: Gronkowski. Without his ability to get separation and make circus catches, the Pats wouldn't have been close enough to win at the end.
Statistical Oddity: Rob Gronkowski continued his success against Pittsburgh yesterday. His average in six games against them is: 6.5 catches, 111 yards, 22.8 yards per catch, 1.3 touchdowns. Might want to double-team him someday -- maybe the next time you play. (Trivia question: name the only team against which Gronkowski has higher averages in three of those four categories; answer below.)
Water-cooler Wisdom: "If you don't like the catch rule, talk to the NFL; but that was not a catch."
Keep the faith,
- Scott
PS. 11-3!
PPS. Trivia Answer:
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In his one game against the Rams, Gronkowski had 8 catches for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns.
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In his one game against the Rams, Gronkowski had 8 catches for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns.
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