Bedard's weekly grades vs. Broncos

[BradyManny]

When Bedard is on (see: no-huddle article), he's on. Another good piece (or two) from him:

Weekly grades

Top performers

But the Patriots also looked very tired in the final quarter-plus of the game as the first-half pace took a self-inflicted toll.

Of the final 22 plays the Patriots ran before the kneel-downs, 10 went for 1 yard or less, including three sacks, two fumbles (one lost), a penalty, and a near-interception. That’s 45.5 percent.

The Patriots had just 10 such negative plays in the first 72 plays they ran (13.9 percent).

It started with 1:08 left in the third quarter when guard Logan Mankins and center Ryan Wendell had dead legs trying to get out on a first-down screen to Brandon Bolden that went for no gain.

After two first downs, tight end Rob Gronkowski was easily tossed aside by Von Miller, who took down Bolden for a 3-yard loss.

On second down, Wendell was beaten for a coverage sack of Tom Brady.

And then on third down, Sebastian Vollmer looked like he barely got out of his stance on a Miller sack.

The Patriots ran eight plays on that drive. Five went for zero yards or less (including a penalty against Gronkowski).

The Patriots smartly replaced Mankins on the next series, and they also added Nick McDonald as a third tight end to give more oomph to a tired blocking scheme.

Vollmer was replaced by Marcus Cannon on the following series after limping off with a right leg injury.

Of course - for as gassed as they were, had Ridley not fumbled, they most assuredly end the game there with a score (FG or TD).

In regards to his top & bottom performers, I continue to worry a little about Wendell getting overpowered. There's no doubt that Connolly at center is a little more stout. But, with Waters being a no-show, this is the best line we can field.

 

[JackBauer]

Not Brace's finest performance, I'd agree.

 

[BSR]

I hear Bedard talk about the team being tired in the forth quarter this morning on D&C and I don't think I buy it. On both of the last two Patriots drives, the line was run blocking tremendously despite the Broncos knowing what was coming.

I think the ineffectiveness in scoring in the 4th quarter had more to do with the team moving away from the no-huddle as they tried to wind down the clock. Simply put, when Denver's D had more time to set they were more effective pass rushing and more disruptive. That is a bit of a concern.

 

[Froob]

Not Brace's finest performance, I'd agree.

I don't even remember seeing Brace out there. Is he getting regular playing time?

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

Did her post any correlation to the defense being gassed as well? It's really a matter of who's performance drops more? If we have a 10% drop off and the defense has a 25% drop off, then it's all good.

Though, long term tirednesss could be an issue. Gotta think long term.

 

[BradyManny]

Did her post any correlation to the defense being gassed as well? It's really a matter of who's performance drops more? If we have a 10% drop off and the defense has a 25% drop off, then it's all good.

Though, long term tirednesss could be an issue. Gotta think long term.

Sure, ideally we tire out the defense and have better conditioning. But we have a couple linemen who are banged up and had truncated offseasons, so we might find ourselves at a disadvantage there. Short-term.

Plus, defenses can rotate in players much more liberally than an offense. Granted, there is dropoff in performance.

But the Patriots are actually in a unique place where they have a plethora of guys on the inside with pretty comparable talents. Having several guys who are equally adequate (Wendell, Thomas, McDonald) at their position might turn out to be as big an asset as having one who is above average - especially when you put them into an already strong line.

Waters absence is still having an overall ripple effect on the line that is frustrating, but we still have very solid depth there. And while the depth originally might have been projected to serve in the case of injury, we might find it also comes in handy in implementing this fast-paced no-huddle which tests the line's conditioning.

 

[RI Patriots fan]

Not Brace's finest performance, I'd agree.

When exactly has Brace even had a "finest performance"???

Time for that bust to depart....

 

[Gumby]

Did her post any correlation to the defense being gassed as well? It's really a matter of who's performance drops more? If we have a 10% drop off and the defense has a 25% drop off, then it's all good.

Though, long term tirednesss could be an issue. Gotta think long term.

The OL doesnt normally swap out during the game. For most teams generally I think any particular DL only plays 60-70% of the plays. So expecting them to have a larger drop off isn't necessarily realistic.

DL is expending a lot more energy trying to get to the qb; but they often get a chance to rest / recover.