Brady sacked 13 times in last 3 playoff games

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

It really shows the beating Brady has taken in his last 3 playoff games...getting sacked 13 times is a pretty horrid stat.

Either his receivers are not finding better ways to get open or come back to Brady or the OL is being dominated.

I think because of this continuing trend we should be seeing some decent changes at both OL and WR in the early portions of the draft or FA

The defense in those last 3 games were actually not the problem...I truly believe the offense and OL and WR in particular have been the sore spot and both positions better be improved if we want to see meaningful February games in the near future.

 

[BradyToAmendola]

If the defense got a 3 and out after the Patriots offense got the TD and 2 pt conversion to pull within 3, I honestly think the Pats would have won the game. They had all the momentum and the Jets were on their heels a bit. The Cotchery 59 yard reception and Holmes TD completely shifted the momentum, the game was pretty much lost from that point on in my opinion.

 

[Kontradiction]

Dan Connolly being a starter certainly helped that stat out this past Sunday. We need to sign Mankins, sign Light, draft for RG, and either sign a C in FA or draft one. A common thread in the last three playoff games has been subpar play from the interior O-Line. That needs to be shored up next season. It's time to stop playing grab ass with the DE and OLB positions as well. Draft a full fledged starter in both areas that can be a presence against both the run and pass and, in the DE's case, take up two blockers and hold his own.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

Brady wouldn't be sacked as much if we actually RAN THE BALL more so the opposing defense can't just repeatedly rush 4 without worrying about the run and dropping 7 in coverage. The Jets only dressed 4 total defensive lineman but BJGE only ran the ball 9 total times, 4 touches in the 1st half.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the last 3 playoff losses, O'Brien was obsessed with using his 3rd down backs way too much the last two losses (Woodhead this year, Faulk last year), and the earlier loss was because we ran out of running backs.

 

[Kontradiction]

Brady wouldn't be sacked as much if we actually RAN THE BALL more so the opposing defense can't just repeatedly rush 4 without worrying about the run and dropping 7 in coverage. The Jets only dressed 4 total defensive lineman but BJGE only ran the ball 9 total times, 4 touches in the 1st half.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the last 3 playoff losses, O'Brien was obsessed with using his 3rd down backs way too much the last two losses (Woodhead this year, Faulk last year), and the earlier loss was because we ran out of running backs.

McDaniels was actually the coordinator for one of those losses, and it was apparent in that Super Bowl that running the ball wasn't going to work.

 

[Ring 6]

If the defense got a 3 and out after the Patriots offense got the TD and 2 pt conversion to pull within 3, I honestly think the Pats would have won the game. They had all the momentum and the Jets were on their heels a bit. The Cotchery 59 yard reception and Holmes TD completely shifted the momentum, the game was pretty much lost from that point on in my opinion.

Had that happened, and Asante Samuel caught the pick (or Tyrell didnt make the helmet catch, OR someone held on to Manning before he threw it) we would have won 4 of our last 5 playoff games, and not a single one of the things that are being complained about today would be brought up at all.
There is a fine line between winning and losing, and a Grand Canyon between fans reactions.

 

[andrewgarrr]

Patriots got owned at the line of scrimmage, defense and offense, in the last three playoff games.*

*The DL held up against the Giants rushing attack in '07.

 

[jbb9s]

Dan Connolly being a starter certainly helped that stat out this past Sunday. We need to sign Mankins, sign Light, draft for RG, and either sign a C in FA or draft one. A common thread in the last three playoff games has been subpar play from the interior O-Line. That needs to be shored up next season. It's time to stop playing grab ass with the DE and OLB positions as well. Draft a full fledged starter in both areas that can be a presence against both the run and pass and, in the DE's case, take up two blockers and hold his own.

Ok, you say the interior-oline has been subpar in the last 3 playoff games. And the stats bleed that out. But these games were not played consecutively. They were played with 32 and 16 games between them. And the scary thing, in those reg season games, especially the 16 from 07 and the 16 from '10,the O-Line tended to be really good. Look at ESPN naming Koppen the non-Rb non-QB MVP for his excellent blocking calls and play. That was like 3 weeks ago. And yes, ESPN doesn't know crap but it is still an indicator of their performance. And Connolly did very well during the season to the point where people questioned if Mankins is worth 8M a year. In 07, they had 3 Pro Bowlers, in '10, they have 2.


So the question I have is: how can an OLine play well for a season and then collapse in the post season three straight times.??

 

[Bill B.]

I think Vollmer needs to move to left tackle and protect Brady's blindside. At this point in their careers Vollmer is better than Light. If Light won't or can't play on the right side, then let him go.

 

[upstater1]

Had that happened, and Asante Samuel caught the pick (or Tyrell didnt make the helmet catch, OR someone held on to Manning before he threw it) we would have won 4 of our last 5 playoff games, and not a single one of the things that are being complained about today would be brought up at all.
There is a fine line between winning and losing, and a Grand Canyon between fans reactions.

I totally agree with this.

You can make the same argument about the games the Patriots won between 2001 and 2006.

How did the Patriots beat the Raiders, Steelers, Rams, Titans, Chargers in 2006?

Those games were remarkably close.

Tuck rule, Vinatieri FG in the snow, Hason Graham punt block return for TD, Troy Brown punt return, Ty Law pick 6, Titans WR dropping ball while wide open on potential game winning drive, Troy Brown stripping the ball away from Chargers CB, etc. All of these were amazing plays.

Hell, the difference could be as easy as this: what if Edelman stayed outside the punter on his return against the Jets instead of cutting inside? I'm pretty sure he would have beaten the punter to the sidelines and taken it home for 6. Score would have been 21-18 with 4 minutes left in the game.

For that matter, if Brady hadn't thrown to Wes Welker in the flat with 20 seconds to go (for a 1 yard gain) before the 2-minute warning, the clock would not have run down as they lined up for the FG. They would have had 2 timeouts and the 2 minute warning. Guess what they would have done at that point? Not an onside kick, I can tell you that.

Just look at this sequence to start the 3rd quarter:

1st and 10 at NE 25 (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short right to J.Edelman pushed ob at NE 37 for 12 yards (D.Harris).

1st and 10 at NE 37 B.Green-Ellis left end to NE 45 for 8 yards (S.Ellis).

2nd and 2 at NE 45 D.Woodhead right guard to NE 46 for 1 yard (D.Harris).

3rd and 1 at NE 46 B.Green-Ellis left guard to NE 45 for -1 yards (B.Scott, D.Harris).

4th and 2 at NE 45 Z.Mesko punts 55 yards to end zone, Center-M.Katula, Touchback.

I'm not going to bag on them for calling two straight running plays even though I thought the 2nd down play was a golden opportunity for play action, but the 3rd down play was toast from the moment Bill O'Brien called it. Would have been better off with a quick pop up the middle.

The difference between winning and losing is not that big.

 

[Kontradiction]

Ok, you say the interior-oline has been subpar in the last 3 playoff games. And the stats bleed that out. But these games were not played consecutively. They were played with 32 and 16 games between them. And the scary thing, in those reg season games, especially the 16 from 07 and the 16 from '10,the O-Line tended to be really good. Look at ESPN naming Koppen the non-Rb non-QB MVP for his excellent blocking calls and play. That was like 3 weeks ago. And yes, ESPN doesn't know crap but it is still an indicator of their performance. And Connolly did very well during the season to the point where people questioned if Mankins is worth 8M a year. In 07, they had 3 Pro Bowlers, in '10, they have 2.


So the question I have is: how can an OLine play well for a season and then collapse in the post season three straight times.??

Because opponents don't always gameplan to exploit that weakness. Either because they are too stupid to do so or because they don't have the personnel available to properly execute it. It's no surprise that the teams that we DID go against this season that were smart enough to go after our interior O-Line (namely the Jets in Week 2, the Chargers, the Packers, and the Jets again) either resulted in losses or extremely tough games.

 

[alvinnf]

I know a great way to slow down the pass rush.......
Establish the run.

 

[Patspsycho]

Just look at this sequence to start the 3rd quarter:

1st and 10 at NE 25 (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short right to J.Edelman pushed ob at NE 37 for 12 yards (D.Harris).

1st and 10 at NE 37 B.Green-Ellis left end to NE 45 for 8 yards (S.Ellis).

2nd and 2 at NE 45 D.Woodhead right guard to NE 46 for 1 yard (D.Harris).

3rd and 1 at NE 46 B.Green-Ellis left guard to NE 45 for -1 yards (B.Scott, D.Harris). This occurred because Ellis blew by Koppen and took away BJGE's ability to cutback. He was not able to take BJGE down but this bought enough time for the backers (Harris) to crash the play

4th and 2 at NE 45 Z.Mesko punts 55 yards to end zone, Center-M.Katula, Touchback.

I'm not going to bag on them for calling two straight running plays even though I thought the 2nd down play was a golden opportunity for play action, but the 3rd down play was toast from the moment Bill O'Brien called it. Would have been better off with a quick pop up the middle.

The playcalling was not the problem on this series, the protection was.

The difference between winning and losing is not that big.

Frankly, it's time to upgrade the O-line, big time. The blueprint from SB42 still works to this day. Bring heavy pressure up the A and B gaps, and a breakdown is inevitable.

 

[alvinnf]

Frankly, it's time to upgrade the O-line, big time. The blueprint from SB42 still works to this day. Bring heavy pressure up the A and B gaps, and a breakdown is inevitable.

Actually that's the old blueprint. The new blueprint is play man coverage on the outside and flood the middle with db's, mostly playin zone. Hit and reroute everyone on their way to a pattern and make Brady hold the ball. Let's not forget wait until the last possible second to declare on D.
All of the above is negated by doing one simple thing. Running the ball.

 

[Ring 6]

Actually that's the old blueprint. The new blueprint is play man coverage on the outside and flood the middle with db's, mostly playin zone. Hit and reroute everyone on their way to a pattern and make Brady hold the ball. Let's not forget wait until the last possible second to declare on D.
All of the above is negated by doing one simple thing. Running the ball.

That WAS the plan last Sunday.
"The Plan" works because it is unexpected. By the first game of next season that plan will be sliced, diced and ready to exploit.

 

[hellolin]

In a passing mainly offense like ours, the QB only go as far as the Oline allows him to go, this is called the limit of the QB position in the football, it really doesn't matter who is playin in QB in those games, that's why Mark dirty sancheiz looked like a better QB in that game, in fact, he looked like a better QB in his last few playoffs due to his Number one ranked Oline in the league giving him a lot time to threw the ball.

 

[upstater1]

Frankly, it's time to upgrade the O-line, big time. The blueprint from SB42 still works to this day. Bring heavy pressure up the A and B gaps, and a breakdown is inevitable.

I'll disagree with you on one thing. if you're not going to take advantage of the 2nd and 1 for play action, you're a lot more concerned with keeping the drive alive and converting. I get that. But long developing running plays are maybe not the best idea right there. We're talking about a yard. The RB can just pop it right up the gut and eek out a yard on 2 plays.

 

[Patspsycho]

I'll disagree with you on one thing. if you're not going to take advantage of the 2nd and 1 for play action, you're a lot more concerned with keeping the drive alive and converting. I get that. But long developing running plays are maybe not the best idea right there. We're talking about a yard. The RB can just pop it right up the gut and eek out a yard on 2 plays.

Actually, with a 2nd and 2, you have some latitude to try a big gain/high risk play, with the theory that if it doesn't work, you have a 3rd and 2 which is ideal for a run play and in this case, that's what happened, but the protection broke down.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Had that happened, and Asante Samuel caught the pick (or Tyrell didnt make the helmet catch, OR someone held on to Manning before he threw it) we would have won 4 of our last 5 playoff games, and not a single one of the things that are being complained about today would be brought up at all.
There is a fine line between winning and losing, and a Grand Canyon between fans reactions.

Very wise. "Woulda, shoulda, coulda" is nowhere simultaneously both more justified and more wrongheaded than it is in the NFL at the championship level, where the difference between legends and bad memories is measured in inches and seconds and officials' judgments.

All that really matters is consistency over time.

That's where the Belichick/Brady Pats have their true claim to fame, as do the Landry/Staubach Cowboys, the Walsh/Seifert/Montana/Young niners and, like it or not, Rooney's Steelers, whether coached by Noll, Cowher or Tomlin. The Giants, Ravens and Jets of the last three years aren't even close to the same zipcode as those teams.

 

[Patspsycho]

Because opponents don't always gameplan to exploit that weakness. Either because they are too stupid to do so or because they don't have the personnel available to properly execute it. It's no surprise that the teams that we DID go against this season that were smart enough to go after our interior O-Line (namely the Jets in Week 2, the Chargers, the Packers, and the Jets again) either resulted in losses or extremely tough games.

Two thoughts come to mind on this:

1) I think it's sort of an open secret that the middle of our O-line is the weakest part of our offense, and it is probably something that DC's don't want to abuse too much, for risk of exploiting it to the point where something is actually done about it.

2) I think this sort of gameplan is easier to execute in the playoffs because of the degree of desperation involved- players are more willing to fight dirty, fight in the trenches, and get into a lot of one on one battles or go BOB, which is the key to bringing pressure up the middle, relentlessly.