Buffalo Breakdown - opening day

[Box_O_Rocks]

Mike, you want the 3rd or 4th qtr? I think we can postpone the 1st half to let people see what the guys were doing right after the adjustments.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

back to the top - sticky please.

 

[5 Rings for Brady!!]

I was gonna suggest that you breakdown the 2nd half first. But ya beat me to it!

 

[pats1]

Either-or.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Okay wishy-washy, take 4th.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

This is the first series of the second half, and the 6th defensive series for NE - an editorial note: Pats1 and I use slightly different perspectives when writing up our notes, he uses a dual perspective looking at positions from both sides, I write from the offensive perspective. For example: Seymour from the defensive perspective is a Right Defensive End (RDE), from the offensive perspective he is a Left Defensive End (LDE). I report him as a LDE from my offensive perspective, Pats1 reports him as a RDE from the defensive perspective, but describes the Left Tackle from the offensive perspective. I've heard professionals and pundits use both, so there is probably no wrong or right, I just wanted to make that clarification to avoid confusion. I'm not changing my ways and I'm not asking Past1 to change - we'll just let reader beware.

D6 15:00 5:36 BUF 24 10 69 Downs

Score: 7:17

Kickoff: Gostkowski, 71 yd kick taken 1 yd deep in end zone, returned 25 yds; Buffalo had a return up the right side of the field on, the Patriot middle collapsed down on them, filling the lanes well; Eric Alexander with the tackle.

m: 1st and 10
r: Run, right side, 4 yds.
o: 3 wide, 2 left, TE right.
d: 3-4, press coverage with Banta-Cain set wide marking the slot WR, both safeties within 7 yds of the LOS in run support - then started backing off just before the snap.
b: Colvin set the edge against the TE; Warren held his ground against the RT; Seau stepped in against the RG and was bounced backwards, then slid off outside toward the RB’s gap; Wilfork hand fought the C laterally right; Vrabel met the LG and hand fought him laterally right; Seymour hand fought the LT laterally right; Banta-Cain came unblocked behind the play as backside pursuit; Samuel held his ground outside Colvin against the WR.
a: The play went to the short side of the field, which made it easier for Colvin and Samuel to force the play back inside; The RB took the ‘c’ gap between Colvin and Warren where he was sandwiched by them as they fought off their blocks; NFL.com credits Wilfork and Seau, but from the TV angle they only rate style points for piling on; Harrison gets points for flying up and decking a Bills OL (from behind) who was standing between him and the falling RB.

m: 2nd and 6
r: Pass, button hook, 11 yds
o: 2 wide left, TE right, I formation - motion, FB wide right, TE shift right to left.
d: 3-4, Hobbs press wide left, communications mix-up amongst the LBs initially had Banta-Cain start to the right side like he was following the FB, then he was turned around and set up outside the TE - Colvin was directing something and eventually he shifted off the line and the ILBs shifted a couple steps left, Samuel was playing soft on the right side - it looked like Safety help was expected for the slot receiver.
b: Warren spun the RT to the right and beat him inside where the RG caught him and slowed him enough for the T to get turned around and double-up; Wilfork was doubled by the C/LG and pushed right; Seymour beat the LT inside; Banta-Cain was pushed just behind the QB as he released.
c: Zone - though I believe Hobbs was man on Evans.
a: Losman took a five step drop and threw on a timing play; Price was in the slot and ran a 10 yd button hook into the seam between Seau and Harrison; The defensive formation after the LBs made their shifts telegraphed Banta-Cain as the fourth rusher, the other three were almost backing into coverage before the ball was snapped; Buffalo wanted the ball out on a three mississippi count; Losman took what the D gave him - I miss Bledsoe.

m: 1st and 10
r: Run, left side, 14 yds.
o: 2 wide right, 2 TE left.
d: 3-4, Hobbs shifted to the right side in press on the wideout, Colvin and Samuel shifted to the left side, Colvin a step deep outside Banta-Cain marking the flanker, Harrison playing up over the slot WR.
b: Warren put the RT face first into the dirt avoiding the cut block; Wilfork was doubled by the C/RG; Seau engaged the LG; Seymour was turned inside by the LT; Banta-Cain drove the TE a yard deep in the backfield to set the edge; Colvin held the line outside against the flanker.
a: Buffalo had been using a 2 TE overload to beat the edge containment of the OLB and allow McGahee to get outside where he prefers to run, (perhaps when we review the first half we’ll see if this defensive formation was a response to their overload effort); There were a number of break downs on this play, but the main one was Seymour getting beaten by the LT, sealing him and the ILB pursuit inside; Coaching or communication affected the edge containment - Banta-Cain was inside Colvin so he should have deferred to Colvin to set the edge and stayed on the line minding his gaps, instead he did what he normally does, driving into the backfield to set a hard edge and force the RB wider or back into Seymour; With Seymour out of the picture, Banta-Cain was too deep to control the gap alone; Colvin was too wide to get back inside in support, since he was also setting an outside edge (part of the coaching/communication break down); Samuel was playing outside containment like a good CB and was also too wide to make a play; Vrabel got hung up behind the interior line bodies guarding the cutback lane as McGahee feinted a cutback; Wilson playing fail-safe, was the only player between McGahee and the end zone.

m: 1st and 10
r: Run, left side, loss of 1 yd.
o: 3 wide, slot duo right, TE left.
d: 3-4, Hobbs right side marking Evans, Colvin playing wide and a step deep marking the other slot WR; Samuel soft on the right side.
b: Warren hand fought the RT laterally left; Wilfork was doubled by the RG/C and fought them laterally left; Seau met the LG and Vrabel ran into them, both ILBs were driven upfield by the LG; Seymour was driven off the line by the LT; Banta-Cain set the edge against the TE; Wilson fought through the LWR.
a: Buffalo went on a quick snap count and caught the Pats LBs and DBs during their adjustments; This worked against them as Banta-Cain was still a step deep and outside “normal†OLB position which allowed the TE to get some momentum before they engaged and Banta-Cain whipped his butt - this prevented Tully from getting too deep in the backfield like last time; The entire front seven (minus TBC) was battling to the left with the flow of the run; Samuel was actually turned around walking upfield communicating with the Ss at the snap, and was in a good position to threaten any attempt to go inside Banta-Cain where Seymour had again lost his gap; McGahee started outside around Banta-Cain bring Samuel up fast on the edge and allowing TBC to ditch his TE toy and go for the tackle; at this stage, Seymour was three yds off the line and had shed his blocker, Wilfork was also three yds deep, but still bottling up the middle, Warren had started on an upfield pursuit angle, shedding the RT, Colvin was trailing the play in backside containment, Seau and Vrabel had been driven off the screen, and Wilson had come up in run support and was abusing the WR in his way; TBC got a hand on McGahee as he checked and tried to reverse his field when TBC and Samuel slammed the outside door on him; TBC hung on until Seymour got there to clean up.

m: 2nd and 11
r: Pass, square-in, 18 yds.
o: 2 wide, 2 TE - motion, wide left to slot right
d: 4-3, Seymour/Wilfork DT, Warren/Vrabel DE, Seau MLB, soft coverage, Hobbs right, Samuel left - trailed motion to right side.
b: Warren made a speed move to go outside the RT, then beat him underneath to wave a hand in the QB’s face; Wilfork and Seymour collapsed to the middle drawing the RG/C/LG with them; Vrabel initially drew the LT, but was released to the TE; Banta-Cain stunted inside behind Vrabel and was picked up by the LT; Colvin tripped over the TE releasing into his pattern as he blitzed inside, allowing the LT to steer Banta-Cain into him, and Seau charging up, and replug the middle; Vrabel took the inside shoulder of the TE, who made a nifty looking judo move to plant him on his face (it looked legal, no hold I could see, just a bit of leverage and momentum).
c: Samuel was man on the slot, Harrison was man on the TE, Hobbs was man on Evans, Wilson came up to man up the other TE who had stayed in to block and stayed low watching the RB who slipped out and was behind Seau trying to back out.
a: This looked like a deeper timing pattern off the 7 step drop; Hobbs was right there hitting Evans in the air and trying to strip the ball as they came down; Evans was forced to go to the ground to control his catch as he and Hobbs fought over the ball.

m: 1st and 10
r: Pass, square-out, 14 yds.
o: 3 wide, slot duo left, TE right.
d: 4-2 nickel, Banta-Cain out, Hawkins in, Hobbs press on Evans left slot, Samuel press RWR, Hawkins 7 yds deep marking second slot WR, Colvin at LDE.
b: Warren ridden deep and outside by RT; Wilfork and Seymour drove the RB/C/LG deep into the backfield; Colvin was checked by the LT.
c: Seau followed the RB’s wheel route left; Samuel’s WR took him deep; Vrabel dropped into a center zone; Hobbs was man on Evans again and was glued to him in the middle of the field; Hawkins was playing off the other slot WR coming underneath into the right flat; Harrison and Wilson appeared to have been in a two-deep zone.
a: Samuel’s man cleared the sideline allowing the TE to come up the seam and square out at the 1st down mark, into the gap between Vrabel underneath and Harrison over top.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

D6 15:00 5:36 BUF 24 10 69 Downs (continued)

m: 1st and 10
r: Run, right side, 2 yds.
o: 2 wide, 2 TE right.
d: 3-4, Hobbs in press on Evans left side, Samuel soft, Harrison up in the box right side.
b: Harrison was targeted by the flanker; Colvin set the edge against the TE; Warren was doubled by the RG/RT; Wilfork was doubled by the C/LG and fought them laterally right; Seymour sparred with the LT moving laterally right.
a: The double teams assigned to Wilfork and Warren allowed Seau to shoot the backside gap and trip the RB in the backfield; Off-balance the RB stumbled into pile-up created by Warren; Banta-Cain came unblocked in backside pursuit and cleaned up after Seau; Colvin tried to fight off the block to get a piece of the tackle, but was pancaked by the TE as his leverage shifted.

m: 2nd and 8
r: Pass, right flat, incomplete.
o: 2 wide right, TE left, FB offset right - wide right in motion to slot duo right.
d: 3-4, Samuel soft, Hobbs shifted over to join him marking the WRs, Colvin playing a little wider between the slot and RT.
b: Colvin rushed off the edge, tossing the RB aside; Warren beat the RT outside; Wilfork sparred with the RG/C; Seymour entertained the LG/LT/TE.
c: Vrabel took the FB flaring into the right flat, there was no upfield look on camera.
a: The motion WR faked a reverse, leaving only two receivers in the pattern, the slot WR had to be blanketed by the DBs all alone upfield; Losman dropped, look upfield for his first read, then looked to the FB; Pressure from Warren and Colvin, combined with Vrabel’s tight coverage of the FB forced a throwaway; Warren laid some love on Losman as he released the ball.

m: 3rd and 8
r: Pass, square-in, 7 yds.
o: 4 wide, 3 right - RB in motion to slot left for 5 wide.
d: 3-2 dime, CBs five yds off, LBs and 2 DBs up tight and showing blitz;
DT Green, Seymour;
LDE Colvin;
LB Davis, Vrabel;
CB Hobbs, Samuel, Gay;
S Harrison, Wilson, Hawkins.
b: Colvin and Vrabel came unblocked off the edges; The entire line was occupied by Seymour and Green up the middle with Davis and Hawkins blitzing in with them.
c: man
a: The three ‘wide’ receivers ran short upfield routes for the first down; The inside right was jammed hard off the line and curled underneath as the outlet receiver; The RB in slot left ran an out and go; ‘Wide’ left ran a square-in at the first down mark; The six man blitz pressured Losman as he threw the ball, perhaps causing him to throw short as Evans went low to make the reception and was immediately touched down by Hobbs - inches short of the first down - the throw also may have been made low to prevent Hobbs having a play on the ball.

m: 4th and 1
r: Run, right side, no gain.
o: 1 wide right, 2 TE, I formation.
d: 6-4 goal/short yardage formation, CB in press on WR.
CB Samuel
DL Vrabel, Warren, Wilfork, Wright, Seymour, Colvin
LB Harrison, Seau, Davis, Izzo
b: Wilfork penetrated against the C and was probably pulled down the way he went down; Wright went to one knee avoiding the LG’s cut block, then dived forward after the runner; Seymour lost inside position to the LT; Colvin was occupied by the TE; Vrabel set an edge against the TE, who released him to the FB; Harrison was picked up by the TE as he started to fill underneath Vrabel; Warren was doubled by the RG/RT; Seau stuck his nose in and was held off with one arm by the RG who kept pushing at Warren with the other; Samuel was sparring with the WR outside.
a: McGahee initially started left, but was turned back by Wright, he changed direction which slowed him for Davis; Davis shooting the interior gap, created by Wilfork and Wright’s penetration, wrapped up the RB’s legs in the backfield; Warren held the line against the double-team which prevented the RB from falling forward for the first down as he fell into the RT, his knee was down, but the ball had not yet been advanced beyond the first down mark; Good spot by the officials, they placed the ball right where Mcgahee had been holding it when his knee hit.

n: The ball was turned over on downs.

Score: 7:17

 

[Brownfan80]

This is the first series of the second half, and the 6th defensive series for NE - an editorial note: Pats1 and I use slightly different perspectives when writing up our notes, he uses a dual perspective looking at positions from both sides, I write from the offensive perspective. For example: Seymour from the defensive perspective is a Right Defensive End (RDE), from the offensive perspective he is a Left Defensive End (LDE). I report him as a LDE from my offensive perspective, Pats1 reports him as a RDE from the defensive perspective, but describes the Left Tackle from the offensive perspective. I've heard professionals and pundits use both, so there is probably no wrong or right, I just wanted to make that clarification to avoid confusion. I'm not changing my ways and I'm not asking Past1 to change - we'll just let reader beware.

D6 15:00 5:36 BUF 24 10 69 Downs

Score: 7:17

Kickoff: Gostkowski, 71 yd kick taken 1 yd deep in end zone, returned 25 yds; Buffalo had a return up the right side of the field on, the Patriot middle collapsed down on them, filling the lanes well; Eric Alexander with the tackle.

m: 1st and 10
r: Run, right side, 4 yds.
o: 3 wide, 2 left, TE right.
d: 3-4, press coverage with Banta-Cain set wide marking the slot WR, both safeties within 7 yds of the LOS in run support - then started backing off just before the snap.
b: Colvin set the edge against the TE; Warren held his ground against the RT; Seau stepped in against the RG and was bounced backwards, then slid off outside toward the RB’s gap; Wilfork hand fought the C laterally right; Vrabel met the LG and hand fought him laterally right; Seymour hand fought the LT laterally right; Banta-Cain came unblocked behind the play as backside pursuit; Samuel held his ground outside Colvin against the WR.
a: The play went to the short side of the field, which made it easier for Colvin and Samuel to force the play back inside; The RB took the ‘c’ gap between Colvin and Warren where he was sandwiched by them as they fought off their blocks; NFL.com credits Wilfork and Seau, but from the TV angle they only rate style points for piling on; Harrison gets points for flying up and decking a Bills OL (from behind) who was standing between him and the falling RB.

m: 2nd and 6
r: Pass, button hook, 11 yds
o: 2 wide left, TE right, I formation - motion, FB wide right, TE shift right to left.
d: 3-4, Hobbs press wide left, communications mix-up amongst the LBs initially had Banta-Cain start to the right side like he was following the FB, then he was turned around and set up outside the TE - Colvin was directing something and eventually he shifted off the line and the ILBs shifted a couple steps left, Samuel was playing soft on the right side - it looked like Safety help was expected for the slot receiver.
b: Warren spun the RT to the right and beat him inside where the RG caught him and slowed him enough for the T to get turned around and double-up; Wilfork was doubled by the C/LG and pushed right; Seymour beat the LT inside; Banta-Cain was pushed just behind the QB as he released.
c: Zone - though I believe Hobbs was man on Evans.
a: Losman took a five step drop and threw on a timing play; Price was in the slot and ran a 10 yd button hook into the seam between Seau and Harrison; The defensive formation after the LBs made their shifts telegraphed Banta-Cain as the fourth rusher, the other three were almost backing into coverage before the ball was snapped; Buffalo wanted the ball out on a three mississippi count; Losman took what the D gave him - I miss Bledsoe.

m: 1st and 10
r: Run, left side, 14 yds.
o: 2 wide right, 2 TE left.
d: 3-4, Hobbs shifted to the right side in press on the wideout, Colvin and Samuel shifted to the left side, Colvin a step deep outside Banta-Cain marking the flanker, Harrison playing up over the slot WR.
b: Warren put the RT face first into the dirt avoiding the cut block; Wilfork was doubled by the C/RG; Seau engaged the LG; Seymour was turned inside by the LT; Banta-Cain drove the TE a yard deep in the backfield to set the edge; Colvin held the line outside against the flanker.
a: Buffalo had been using a 2 TE overload to beat the edge containment of the OLB and allow McGahee to get outside where he prefers to run, (perhaps when we review the first half we’ll see if this defensive formation was a response to their overload effort); There were a number of break downs on this play, but the main one was Seymour getting beaten by the LT, sealing him and the ILB pursuit inside; Coaching or communication affected the edge containment - Banta-Cain was inside Colvin so he should have deferred to Colvin to set the edge and stayed on the line minding his gaps, instead he did what he normally does, driving into the backfield to set a hard edge and force the RB wider or back into Seymour; With Seymour out of the picture, Banta-Cain was too deep to control the gap alone; Colvin was too wide to get back inside in support, since he was also setting an outside edge (part of the coaching/communication break down); Samuel was playing outside containment like a good CB and was also too wide to make a play; Vrabel got hung up behind the interior line bodies guarding the cutback lane as McGahee feinted a cutback; Wilson playing fail-safe, was the only player between McGahee and the end zone.

m: 1st and 10
r: Run, left side, loss of 1 yd.
o: 3 wide, slot duo right, TE left.
d: 3-4, Hobbs right side marking Evans, Colvin playing wide and a step deep marking the other slot WR; Samuel soft on the right side.
b: Warren hand fought the RT laterally left; Wilfork was doubled by the RG/C and fought them laterally left; Seau met the LG and Vrabel ran into them, both ILBs were driven upfield by the LG; Seymour was driven off the line by the LT; Banta-Cain set the edge against the TE; Wilson fought through the LWR.
a: Buffalo went on a quick snap count and caught the Pats LBs and DBs during their adjustments; This worked against them as Banta-Cain was still a step deep and outside “normal†OLB position which allowed the TE to get some momentum before they engaged and Banta-Cain whipped his butt - this prevented Tully from getting too deep in the backfield like last time; The entire front seven (minus TBC) was battling to the left with the flow of the run; Samuel was actually turned around walking upfield communicating with the Ss at the snap, and was in a good position to threaten any attempt to go inside Banta-Cain where Seymour had again lost his gap; McGahee started outside around Banta-Cain bring Samuel up fast on the edge and allowing TBC to ditch his TE toy and go for the tackle; at this stage, Seymour was three yds off the line and had shed his blocker, Wilfork was also three yds deep, but still bottling up the middle, Warren had started on an upfield pursuit angle, shedding the RT, Colvin was trailing the play in backside containment, Seau and Vrabel had been driven off the screen, and Wilson had come up in run support and was abusing the WR in his way; TBC got a hand on McGahee as he checked and tried to reverse his field when TBC and Samuel slammed the outside door on him; TBC hung on until Seymour got there to clean up.

m: 2nd and 11
r: Pass, square-in, 18 yds.
o: 2 wide, 2 TE - motion, wide left to slot right
d: 4-3, Seymour/Wilfork DT, Warren/Vrabel DE, Seau MLB, soft coverage, Hobbs right, Samuel left - trailed motion to right side.
b: Warren made a speed move to go outside the RT, then beat him underneath to wave a hand in the QB’s face; Wilfork and Seymour collapsed to the middle drawing the RG/C/LG with them; Vrabel initially drew the LT, but was released to the TE; Banta-Cain stunted inside behind Vrabel and was picked up by the LT; Colvin tripped over the TE releasing into his pattern as he blitzed inside, allowing the LT to steer Banta-Cain into him, and Seau charging up, and replug the middle; Vrabel took the inside shoulder of the TE, who made a nifty looking judo move to plant him on his face (it looked legal, no hold I could see, just a bit of leverage and momentum).
c: Samuel was man on the slot, Harrison was man on the TE, Hobbs was man on Evans, Wilson came up to man up the other TE who had stayed in to block and stayed low watching the RB who slipped out and was behind Seau trying to back out.
a: This looked like a deeper timing pattern off the 7 step drop; Hobbs was right there hitting Evans in the air and trying to strip the ball as they came down; Evans was forced to go to the ground to control his catch as he and Hobbs fought over the ball.

m: 1st and 10
r: Pass, square-out, 14 yds.
o: 3 wide, slot duo left, TE right.
d: 4-2 nickel, Banta-Cain out, Hawkins in, Hobbs press on Evans left slot, Samuel press RWR, Hawkins 7 yds deep marking second slot WR, Colvin at LDE.
b: Warren ridden deep and outside by RT; Wilfork and Seymour drove the RB/C/LG deep into the backfield; Colvin was checked by the LT.
c: Seau followed the RB’s wheel route left; Samuel’s WR took him deep; Vrabel dropped into a center zone; Hobbs was man on Evans again and was glued to him in the middle of the field; Hawkins was playing off the other slot WR coming underneath into the right flat; Harrison and Wilson appeared to have been in a two-deep zone.
a: Samuel’s man cleared the sideline allowing the TE to come up the seam and square out at the 1st down mark, into the gap between Vrabel underneath and Harrison over top.

As always, good stuff.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Thank you BF80.

Seymour struggled on this series, which partially validates the impression I took away from the game, we'll have to see how he does as we breakdown more tape. I think this was the only series where Lee Evans caught a pass, Hobbs coverage with a good pass rush effectively shut down the Bills #1 man. Seau seems to have an 'el toro' approach to the job, he fires in for a head-to-head with the G and usually bounces backwards. Bruschi and Vrabel tend to engage in a leverage contest trying to stand up the G while they read the play, though Tedy is remarkable for his ability to feint an engagement and slide by the G. Ty Warren once again gets my vote for 'man I least want to run at'. Colvin looked a lot better here than he did in preseason when he set the edge.

 

[njpatsfan]

Wait till you get to the Bills 4th and 1, and see what Don Davis did.

R

 

[JoeSixPat]

I was going over the play by play recap on ESPN

http://sports-att.espn.go.com/nfl/playbyplay?gameId=260910017&quarter=1

(which obviously doens't have the attention to detail provided here)

I think a focus on Brady's 11-23 day receiving would be worthwhile, determining whether players weren't running routes well or whether Brady overthrew etc...

My initial feeling is that it was a little of both.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Wait till you get to the Bills 4th and 1, and see what Don Davis did.

R

That was actually in this series, but I mislabeled the down and distance, now corrected - last play: http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/showpost.php?p=186908&postcount=7

 

[5 Rings for Brady!!]

Looks like I'm the first guy to get to rate this thread! Lucky me!

 

[pats1]

Once I finish copying over Box's work I'll get started myself.

Just one correction, though. On the 3rd down play before the 4th down stop, it was C. Scott out there (came up to cover the RB), not Rodney.

 

[Dragda]

D6 15:00 5:36 BUF 24 10 69 Downs (continued)

m: 1st and 10
r: Run, right side, 2 yds.
o: 2 wide, 2 TE right.
d: 3-4, Hobbs in press on Evans left side, Samuel soft, Harrison up in the box right side.
b: Harrison was targeted by the flanker; Colvin set the edge against the TE; Warren was doubled by the RG/RT; Wilfork was doubled by the C/LG and fought them laterally right; Seymour sparred with the LT moving laterally right.
a: The double teams assigned to Wilfork and Warren allowed Seau to shoot the backside gap and trip the RB in the backfield; Off-balance the RB stumbled into pile-up created by Warren; Banta-Cain came unblocked in backside pursuit and cleaned up after Seau; Colvin tried to fight off the block to get a piece of the tackle, but was pancaked by the TE as his leverage shifted.

m: 2nd and 8
r: Pass, right flat, incomplete.
o: 2 wide right, TE left, FB offset right - wide right in motion to slot duo right.
d: 3-4, Samuel soft, Hobbs shifted over to join him marking the WRs, Colvin playing a little wider between the slot and RT.
b: Colvin rushed off the edge, tossing the RB aside; Warren beat the RT outside; Wilfork sparred with the RG/C; Seymour entertained the LG/LT/TE.
c: Vrabel took the FB flaring into the right flat, there was no upfield look on camera.
a: The motion WR faked a reverse, leaving only two receivers in the pattern, the slot WR had to be blanketed by the DBs all alone upfield; Losman dropped, look upfield for his first read, then looked to the FB; Pressure from Warren and Colvin, combined with Vrabel’s tight coverage of the FB forced a throwaway; Warren laid some love on Losman as he released the ball.

m: 3rd and 8
r: Pass, square-in, 7 yds.
o: 4 wide, 3 right - RB in motion to slot left for 5 wide.
d: 3-2 dime, CBs five yds off, LBs and 2 DBs up tight and showing blitz;
DT Green, Seymour;
LDE Colvin;
LB Davis, Vrabel;
CB Hobbs, Samuel, Gay;
S Harrison, Wilson, Hawkins.
b: Colvin and Vrabel came unblocked off the edges; The entire line was occupied by Seymour and Green up the middle with Davis and Hawkins blitzing in with them.
c: man
a: The three ‘wide’ receivers ran short upfield routes for the first down; The inside right was jammed hard off the line and curled underneath as the outlet receiver; The RB in slot left ran an out and go; ‘Wide’ left ran a square-in at the first down mark; The six man blitz pressured Losman as he threw the ball, perhaps causing him to throw short as Evans went low to make the reception and was immediately touched down by Hobbs - inches short of the first down - the throw also may have been made low to prevent Hobbs having a play on the ball.

m: 4th and 1
r: Run, right side, no gain.
o: 1 wide right, 2 TE, I formation.
d: 6-4 goal/short yardage formation, CB in press on WR.
CB Samuel
DL Vrabel, Warren, Wilfork, Wright, Seymour, Colvin
LB Harrison, Seau, Davis, Izzo
b: Wilfork penetrated against the C and was probably pulled down the way he went down; Wright went to one knee avoiding the LG’s cut block, then dived forward after the runner; Seymour lost inside position to the LT; Colvin was occupied by the TE; Vrabel set an edge against the TE, who released him to the FB; Harrison was picked up by the TE as he started to fill underneath Vrabel; Warren was doubled by the RG/RT; Seau stuck his nose in and was held off with one arm by the RG who kept pushing at Warren with the other; Samuel was sparring with the WR outside.
a: McGahee initially started left, but was turned back by Wright, he changed direction which slowed him for Davis; Davis shooting the interior gap, created by Wilfork and Wright’s penetration, wrapped up the RB’s legs in the backfield; Warren held the line against the double-team which prevented the RB from falling forward for the first down as he fell into the RT, his knee was down, but the ball had not yet been advanced beyond the first down mark; Good spot by the officials, they placed the ball right where Mcgahee had been holding it when his knee hit.

n: The ball was turned over on downs.

Score: 7:17

Can I ask how you manage to collect all this data? On TV you only can see what they show you. In person, you can't watch every matchup simultaneously. And you don't have replay.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Can I ask how you manage to collect all this data? On TV you only can see what they show you. In person, you can't watch every matchup simultaneously. And you don't have replay.

I record the game on my DVR, then replay it using slow motion and frame advance. TV shots are horrible for following the action, no question there, but if I need to, I will replay it using frame advance for each individual player. The network color analysts will somtimes replay the action with an end zone camera or reverse angle, those allow me to check my analysis from the standard sideline camera shot and refine my understanding of what I was seeing. Pats1 and I worked on this last season, and while we can't claim to be 100% correct or to even be knowledgable about the game, we enjoy being amateur sleuths trying to figure out what happened and sharing it here. It has given me a greater appreciation for each player on the team, especially for the guys fans seem to love to hate, like Kevin Faulk and the dreaded Monty Beisel.

 

[Dragda]

Pats1 and I worked on this last season, and while we can't claim to be 100% correct or to even be knowledgable about the game, we enjoy being amateur sleuths trying to figure out what happened and sharing it here. It has given me a greater appreciation for each player on the team, especially for the guys fans seem to love to hate, like Kevin Faulk and the dreaded Monty Beisel.

Well, please keep it up. It is really good info to digest. Not that you need my approval, but I certainly respect your opinion a lot more than say my own where I base my opinion on one play I observed while I was in a foul mood.

You appreciated Beisel? Why? His hot wife?

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Well, please keep it up. It is really good info to digest. Not that you need my approval, but I certainly respect your opinion a lot more than say my own where I base my opinion on one play I observed while I was in a foul mood.

You appreciated Beisel? Why? His hot wife?

That two.

 

[pats1]

Offensive Series #9 Field Goal

Contributor: Pats1
Time: 1:05 remaining in the third quarter
Statistics: 14 plays (9 run, 4 pass, 1 field goal), 63 yards (28 run, 35 pass), time of possession was 6:32
Breakdown: 7 green plays (4 run, 2 pass, 1 field goal) for 59 yds. (24 run, 35 pass), 1 black play (1 run, 0 pass) for 4 yds., 6 red plays (4 run, 2 pass) for 0 yds. (0 run, 0 pass)

1st and 10 NE 23

Result: Run, Maroney, stretch play left, 7 yds.
Offense: 2 WR, Caldwell wide left, Brown wide right, 2 TE, Watson down off LT, Graham motion right to left wing, Maroney lone RB.
Defense: 4-3, DL shifted defensive left, SLB showing blitz left wing, both CBs 5 yards off, SS runs in and SLB backs off just before snap.
Blocking: Graham drives the SLB towards the sideline
Watson seals the inside against the RDE before Watson breaks off but is beaten to the ball carrier by the WLB
Light seals the RDE inside
Mankins stops the blitzing SS
Koppen can’t reach the MLB in the second level
Neal let’s the RDT penetrate on the backside and chase
O’Callaghan chips the LDT outside before picking up the LDE backside
Caldwell blocks the RCB well ahead of the run

Analysis: Maroney had to avoid the chasing RDT, who blew past Neal, while he turned the corner, but a solid seal was built inside to give him space to turn downfield. Koppen couldn’t get the second level angle on the MLB, who helped the WLB overpower Watson trying to seal inside for Maroney.

2nd and 3 NE 30

Result: Run, Maroney, left tackle, 7 yds.
Offense: WR Brown wide right, 2 TE, Graham down off LT, Watson down left wing, I-form backfield with Evans at FB and Maroney at RB.
Defense: 4-3, RCB tight right edge, LCB 10 yards off.
Blocking: Watson gets a lick on the WLB in the second level
Graham gets a powerful thrust on the MLB to get the angle
Light body slams the RDE into the ground inside
Mankins pulls left and kicks the RCB out
Koppen chips the RDT before looking for blocks ahead of the run
Neal starts to pull left before turning back and is shed by the LDT
O’Callaghan gets to the SLB in the second level before he trips over the MLB/Graham
Evans leads through the hole but completely misses the oncoming SS

Analysis: We need not any more examples of why Evans can’t lead block. Lots of general commotion in the line play here, with defenders and offenders alike tripping, jumping, tackling, etc. as Maroney simply ran right around it. The key block that sprung Maroney for the first down was Mankins giving Maroney just enough room to squeeze by with a kickout block on the free RCB. Evans should have taken care of the SS to give Maroney plenty of yards after the first down, but rather Heath tried to dive into Whitner and fell flat on his face. Maroney would fight off Whitner with a stiff arm to ensure the first down, but the scurmish led him out of bounds. The sad part was, Whitner didn’t even try to fake Evans, who just plain missed.

1st and 10 NE 37

Result: Run, Maroney, left guard, 0 yds.
Offense: 3 WR, Caldwell wide left, Brown right slot, Childress wide right, TE Graham down off RT, Maroney lone RB.
Defense: 4-3-5 nickel, NB and RCB 5 yards off, LCB 10 yards off.
Blocking: Light slides laterally towards the sideline with the RDE
Mankins is beaten outside by the RDT but the run comes inside
Koppen drives the WLB off in the second level
Neal is beaten inside by the slanting LDT
O’Callaghan can’t reach the SLB in the second level
Graham can’t get an angle on the LDE

Analysis: While Light had a good block on the outside, Mankins’ was much more shaky, all but taking away Maroney’s options to turn the corner. He instead turned back downfield, where only Koppen was able to stop a cutback protection defender from converging on Maroney. The quick Buffalo defenders won of the first step, not allowing blockers to obtain angles. Neal, being the the closest to the run, was naturally the main culprit out of this group. Once the LDT had penetrated into the backfield, a fast hold by Neal allowed Maroney to get back to the line of scrimmage, but Neal released from behind to avoid a penalty and Maroney was toast.

Note: End of 3rd quarter.

 

[pats1]

2nd and 10 NE 37

Result: Pass, Watson, Incomplete, 10 yard hook underneath, pass underthrown under pressure.
Offense: 2 WR, Caldwell wide left, Brown wide right, 2 TE, Graham offline right, Watson online right wing, Faulk lone RB.
Defense: 4-3, DL wide splits, LBs bunched, both CBs 5 yards off.
Blocking: Light rides the RDE outside, but can’t corral him on a cutback attempt and the RDE pressures Brady
Mankins and Koppen double the RDT
Neal rides the LDT outside before pushing him down on a cutback attempt inside
O’Callaghan rides the LDE behind Brady, but the LDE breaks off and takes down Brady after the throw
Coverage: Faulk circles around and underneath the SLB
Caldwell goes deep against the RCB
Brown goes deep against the LCB
Graham does a wheel route behind LB coverage
Watson hooks in the MLB/WLB zone

Analysis: Brady had to step up because of pressure from the LDE behind, but he stepped straight into the RDE. Both would converge on Brady right after the throw. Caldwell and Brown cleared out deep, while Graham and Watson tried to high-low the WLB zone. The timing was thrown off because of the pressure, and by the time the throw came in on one bounce, the MLB and WLB were about to crush Watson.

3rd and 10 NE 37

Result: Pass, Watson, 10 yard square-in, 11 yds.
Offense: Shotgun 3 WR, Childress wide left, Caldwell wide right, Brown motion wide to slot right, TE Watson standing left wing, Faulk RB to right of Brady in shotgun.
Defense: 4-2-5 nickel, both CBs pressure coverage, NB 5 yards off.
Blocking: Light chips the RDE inside before riding the stunting RDT outside
Mankins picks up the RDE coming inside
Koppen sits back in reserve
Neal chips the stunting LDT
O’Callaghan chips the stunting LDE inside before riding the stunting LDT outside
Coverage: Faulk pushes through the line and turns free underneath
Childress goes deep inside on the RCB
Brown takes a deep square-out between the CB and S zones
Caldwell is jammed inside by the LCB before taking a 10 yard outside hitch
Watson stutters up to the SLB before cutting across the middle

Analysis: All the Bills DL stunting produced nothing, as the Pats OL switched blocks smoothly to prevent penetration. Brady had time to sit back and attack the weakness of the Tampa 2 – the short middle, as the MLB drops back deep. With the NB essentially acting as the WLB, Watson found the void between the SLB and NB and underneath the MLB, and held on as the NB and SLB converged on the tackle to push him back to what would look like short of a first down. Watson’s forward progress immediately after the catch would give the Pats a first down.

1st and 10 NE 48

Result: Run, Maroney, up the middle, 8 yds.
Offense: 2 WR, Caldwell wide left, Brown wide right, 2 TE, Watson down off LT, Graham down off RT, Maroney lone RB.
Defense: 4-3, both CBs 5 yards off, SS 5 yards off Graham.
Blocking: Watson seals the SLB outside
Light lets a over-aggressive RDE drive himself 5 yards upfield, past the run
Mankins turns the RDT outside
Koppen drives the WLB off in the second level
Neal slides laterally across the hole with the LDT
O’Callaghan pulls left and pancakes the RDT
Graham slides laterally across the hole with the LDE
Caldwell blocks the RCB
Brown blocks the LCB

Analysis: The only unblocked Buffalo front seven defender would be the MLB, who slid to the left with the original direction of the play, but then was caught in traffic as Maroney cut back downfield and was just barely tripped up by the pursuing SS. It wasn’t the cleanest job of blocking, but it got the job done. Maroney could have probably gotten through the original hole between Light and the pulling O’Callaghan, but lateral movement away by the LDT and LDE opened up a cutback lane on the backside.