First Down!
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As the pats go down the stretch who do you look forward seeing in terms of scheme/personnel changes. I’d love to see Brady exploit the long ball more with tyms. They are so close. Just not enough reps of tyms out there for a solid connection. Add in Tim wright and Jonas gray,would love to see them more involved.
I think we pretty much know what the Pats have now and what they’re capable of – which is a lot. Offensively I don’t think we’re going to see Tyms’ role expanded much beyond what it is now – a guy that they’ll try to take a shot to once per game.
Let’s face it, the deep ball is not one of the strengths of this offense but that really doesn’t matter much. LaFell can challenge the perimeter in a way that they haven’t been able to in the past. And with Gronk healthy and stretching the seam, they can challenge just about every area of a defense. But it’s not a law that a team must hit a 60-yard bomb every game to be good.
Defensively, we got a taste of how things will look in the playoffs last weekend with Chandler back. They have a number of guys who can rush or drop and the secondary is capable of locking any one down.
The concerns I have for this team, and neither are major, are the short-yardage situations on both sides of the ball. They’ll have to prove they can get/stop the “gotta have it” yards in January.
Can’t remember the last time I saw a Patriots team play complementary football the way this team is on all THREE phases
It’s so true. As I’ve touched on a bit before, the 2009-2013 Patriots were all good teams, but flawed. Usually the flaw was their defense needed turnovers to seal a win. As we’ve seen in recent weeks, this defense can still win games even when they’re not getting turnovers. They can dictate now. Whereas before games had to unfold very specifically for the Patriots to win. They were still a very disciplined, well-coached team in those years, and their offense and special teams have always been better than most, but those defenses were really not that talented. The fact that they came so close in 2011 is even more impressive now.
3 GIFs That Defined Patriots Division-Clinching Win Over Dolphins
After a barren first half, there were plenty of plays to choose from in the second half that came to define this game. Had the result gone Miami’s way, the sequence at the end of the first half would have certainly been included in all of its awfulness.
But the Pats came out guns blazing in the second half, and the narrative of the game shifted from what was shaping up to be another down-to-the-wire divisional matchup.
While Brady’s 17-yard scramble was a key moment in the game, it’s already been GIF’d here so we’ll stick to some lesser-shown plays that stood out. But Brady’s run really sparked the team in this one and deserves a lot of credit.
We begin with the first play of the second half. Gronk had no catches in the first half? Well here he is off of play action going for 34 yards, putting him over 1,000 for the season. This play was an immediate message that the Pats weren’t messing around anymore. They kept this momentum going for the rest of the game.
Another thing that changed in the second half was Belichick listening to the pleas on Twitter (I think) and putting Jonas Gray back in the game. Gray finished the game with 11 carries for 62 yards and this was his longest, a gain of 14. Gray just seems to have a strength and burst about him that seems to counter some of the Pats’ OL struggles in the run game. Let’s hope he continues to get more carries, he’s done nothing but play well
Finally, instead of one GIF you get three! All of these play demonstrate the dominance of the Patriots’ front seven, led by the return of Chandler Jones. The Pats can blitz or drop so many guys, all of whom cause different kinds of problems for opposing blockers.
Here the Pats have just one DT and the Dolphins try to run. Chandler Jones shows total dominance over Pouncey, pushing him into the backfield and making the tackle. This pass rush package could be deadly in the playoffs, especially if they can stop the run like this.
This time Chandler has a pure edge rush, getting the sack and forcing the fumble. Chandler was so good in this game I’m left wondering if he even really was hurt, or were they just saving him to unleash him now?
Finally comes a “meet at the quarterback” sack and this one shows what this defense is capable of in terms of disguise. Chandler drops into coverage and Collins blitzes, while Ninkovich wins cleanly off the edge. This demonstrates both winning pass rush via scheme and via pure physicality. All of this is vital to the Patriots’ Super Bowl chances.
EXCLUSIVE: Locker room sound after win over Miami
EXCLUSIVE: Locker room sound after win over Miami
How do we feel about our AFC East Championship?????
Pats Posits: Primed Pats Seal Another AFC East
Maybe we should’ve expected the Pats to come out flat yesterday given the roller coaster of cross-country flights and big games over the last two weeks. Settling back in against the Dolphins should’ve been motivating after the Week 1 loss, but it’s understandable that the team didn’t have that same fire right out of the gate.
Still, they found their game in the locker room at half time and never looked back, turning what looked like a divisional game that would go down to the wire into a hat-and-t-shirt clinching domination.
The 2014 Patriots are AFC East champions and now there are just two games left to stay healthy and maintain the top seed in the AFC.
Here are my thoughts on yesterday’s win…
Chandler Jones cam back and played a surprising 55 of 78 snaps. As I thought might happen, the Pats used both Chandler and Ayers in a pass rush front, with Chandler shifting inside. I never thought Chandler would be so dominating after an extended injury break, but he showed that while Ayers was a solid fill-in, Chandler is capable of wrecking a game on his own. The rest should put him in position to cause havoc in the playoffs.
Jonas Gray once again sparked the team with his running, showing a burst out of the backfield that neither Blount or Vereen were showing. Still don’t love the run blocking right now, but Gray has an unmistakable ability to get something out of nothing and that’s just what the Pats needed yesterday. Let’s hope we see plenty more of him the next two weeks.
Once again it was the Edelman, Gronk and LaFell show, the best trio of weapons the Pats have had at once since Hernandez/Gronk/Welker in 2011 and 2012. But this group feels even tougher to defense because they challenge a defense on all levels. I continue to hope Wright/Vereen/Amendola can take advantage of the lessened attention, there should be a chance to get those guys a little more involved the next couple weeks.
I don’t know how else to put it – the defense looks primed for a Super Bowl run. The only key is to avoid a major injury in the next two games. Yes, this scares the crap out of me, especially with Rex Ryan facing the Pats for the last time. I don’t want him to give us one last parting “gift” on his way out in the form of an injury. Fingers crossed, but with our luck at the end of the season with injuries the last few years, I’m trying to not think about it.
The defense has given up just 3 points in the second halves of the last three games combined. I think that tells you everything you need to know – that this defense is “elite”. Once they see what is being thrown at them, they adjust and shut it down. This is the best defense since 2004. Period.
The versatility and dynamic use of Hightower/Collins/Ayers/Chandler/Ninkovich has taken the Pats pass rush to the next level. In the old days of the 34, the advantage was you never knew who would blitz. That advantage is back, but now it can come from anywhere, from anyone. The front seven is dripping with a combination of size, strength and athleticism. They will give every offense in the NFL problems.
The Boston Herald reported that Arrington’s injury doesn’t appear to be serious. That’s good. I’m not sure why Malcolm Butler/Logan Ryan/Alfonzo Dennard keep getting sudden starts at the nickel spot, but Arrington is clearly the best and needs to be in there full time for the playoffs.
On to the Jets…
