Cleveland Breakdown

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Sorry for taking a few weeks off, guys. I've been pretty busy with stuff and the breakdowns for most of the first 5 games would be "domination, domination, and domination."

But since the Browns game wasn't as dominating a performance as we've come to expect, I feel this is a pretty good game to take a look at. Here's the first part of that loooooong 14-play opening drive. I'll get the rest up within the next hour or so.

First Half

Kickoff: Hobbs from the NE 2, 18 yd. return, Hobbs bobbles the ball at first then is taken down by two defenders, one who shed Andrews and one who beat Evans.

Offensive Series #1 Field Goal

Contributor: Pats1
Time: 15:00 remaining in the first quarter
Statistics: 14 plays (6 run, 7 pass, 1 field goal), 78 yards (21 run, 57 pass), time of possession was 6:59
Breakdown: 9 green plays (3 run, 5 pass, 1 field goal) for 74 yds. (17 run, 57 pass), 1 black play (1 run, 0 pass) for 3 yds., 4 red plays (2 run, 2 pass) for 1 yd. (1 run, 0 pass)

1st and 10 NE 20

Result: Draw, Morris, right guard, 3 yds.
Analysis: Shotgun 3 WR, 2 left (Stallworth, Welker), 1 right (Moss), TE Brady right, Morris RB left vs. 4-2 nickel, NB and LCB press. After making some pre-snap adjustments, Brady gave the draw off to Morris back across the line. Particularly noticeable is how much push the OL got off the snap. Mankins pulled playside and had plenty of room with which to work after Neal and Kaczur bulldozed the LDT back, even swallowing up the WILB in the process. Light and Hochstein also did a great job of sealing the RDT and RDE backside. However, Mankins was only able to neutralize the SILB and not move him, clogging up the hole enough for the LDE to spin free from Brady inside and take down Morris.

2nd and 7 NE 23

Result: PENALTY on NE-R.Moss, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at NE 23 - No Play.
Analysis: Shotgun 3 WR, 2 left (Stallworth, Welker), 1 right (Moss), TE Brady with Moss in bunch right, Morris RB left vs. 4-2 nickel, LCB press. Out of the no huddle, Moss jumps on the first count.

2nd and 12 NE 18

Result: Pass, Brady, 5 yard curl, 7 yds.
Analysis: Same formations, except with the LDE McGinest standing as a LOLB. This time the Pats do go on the 1-count. The NT drops back into a zone here, leaving only the LDE and RDE to rush, and with the LDE riding behind Brady and Morris going up against the WILB, a large throwing lane was opened. This play was a simple high/low on the LCB, sending Moss in a fly up the seam and Brady in a quick outside curl underneath. Very easy way to cut the 3rd down yardage by more than half. This is the type of play you come back to later on. If a LB covers Moss to compensate, you go to Moss. If a S covers Moss to compensate, you open something up deep.

3rd and 5 NE 25

Result: Pass, Moss, 15 yard post, 16 yds.
Analysis: Shotgun 3 WR, 2 left (Stallworth, Welker), 1 right (Moss), TE Brady right, Morris RB right vs. 4-2 nickel with SLB tight and all 3 CBs press. Back to the no huddle, this time with the formation much more spread out, but with a strong right side, prompting the Browns to put both LBs (high/low) over that side. No blitzing again, giving Brady an immaculate pocket and wide open throwing lane to the left, where his first reads are. After a good few seconds, Brady shifts over the right where a Hochstein block inside opens up another throwing lane. This time Brady is covered low, Stallworth and Morris mid, but Moss is open deeper. He originally was covered by the LCB well on a post, but as soon as Moss pulled up to go back outside, the LCB turned upfield to follow Moss outside, and in the process ran into the SS, sending both to the ground. If the Browns had avoided running into each other and the pass rush was even the least bit effective, this probably would have been a 3-and-out.

1st and 10 NE 41

Result: Run, Morris, up the middle, 8 yds.
Analysis: Shotgun 3 WR, 2 left (Stallworth, Welker), 1 right (Moss), TE Brady right, Morris RB vs. 3-3 nickel, LCB and RCB press. Quite simply, the OL cut through the interior of the Browns defense like a hot knife through butter on this one. Both the SLB and MLB cut across to their right on the snap, taking the MLB out of the play but drawing the SLB right into the running lane. Hochstein and Neal both did a good job of peeling off their blocks inside to seal these guys off, but Neal took an extra second getting away from the NT and couldn’t get an angle on the SLB who made the stop.

2nd and 2 NE 49

Result: Run, Morris, left guard, 5 yds.
Analysis: 3 WR, 1 left (Stallworth), 2 right (Moss, Welker), TE Brady right wing, RB Morris vs. 3-3 nickel, all 3 CBs press. Tremendous push by the OL again, along with Light and Brady sealing off the edges. Mankins pulled off a double on the RDE to take on the MLB, but just as Morris tried to split Hochstein and Mankins, both the RDE and MLB regained some ground and closed the gap. Still enough for the 1st down though.

1st and 10 Cle 46

Result: Pass, Welker, crossing pattern underneath, 7 yds.
Analysis: Shotgun 3 WR, 1 left (Stallworth, 2 right (Moss, Welker), TE Brady right wing, RB Morris left vs. 4-2 nickel, LCB press. The Browns again refrained from blitzing, instead opting to drop both of their LBs back into coverage. So, it goes without saying that Brady could pitch a tent in the backfield with the time and space he had. Perhaps not sending a LB was a good idea, though, as both Morris and Brady ventured out in passing routes. This was purely a timing play, as a quick Brady fly drew the SLB deep, opening up underneath for a Welker crossing pattern. Brady nailed Welker on this pattern, a second before Morris’ route culminated just ahead of Welker with a nasty block on the WLB. However, the RCB was in a zone this time, causing Welker to slow up and the NB, trailing, to catch up.

2nd and 3 Cle 39

Result: Run, Morris, left guard, 4 yds.
Analysis: 3 WR, 1 left (Stallworth), 2 right (Moss, Welker), TE Brady right, RB Morris vs. 2-4 nickel, NB press. A rather exotic defensive formation left the Browns with only two big uglies (3 if you count Willie) to protect against the imminent danger of a first down. I don’t know if it’s a new microphone, but this play, along with the last few, feature a whole lot of OL/DL grunting and other “man sounds.” It is quite symbolic of the playing style though, as this was just another case of straight-man, bulldozing blocking. This play was designed to go through the ‘a’ gap between Hochstein (WILB) and Mankins (RDE), but Neal was pushed back into this gap by the SILB while still engaged with the LDE. No problem for Morris though, who simply doubled back behind Neal and Kaczur and won a pushing match against the SS for the first down.

 

[pats1]

1st and 10 Cle 35

Result: Pass, Moss, fly pattern, 20 yds.
Analysis: 3 WR, 2 left (Stallworth, Welker), 1 right (Moss), TE Brady right, RB Morris vs. 4-2 nickel, LCB and NB press. Pretty simple deal here: pitch and catch. No Browns blitz, standard formations, Brady takes a 3-step drop, plants, and fires it to Moss on a fly pattern to the right. The rookie LCB, a half foot shorter than Moss, never even turned to look back for the all. This made is easy for Brady to just fire it in right above the LCB’s head and into Moss’ hands, seemingly effortlessly.

1st and 10 Cle 15

Result: PENALTY on CLV-W.McGinest, Encroachment, 5 yards, enforced at CLV 15 - No Play.
Analysis: 3 WR, 2 left (Stallworth, Welker), 1 right (Moss), TE Brady right, RB Faulk vs. 3-3 nickel, LCB and NB press. Back to the no huddle after one play off. The SLB initially showed blitz, but backed off after Brady stopped to call adjustments. The SLB then blitzed at the last moment. At the same time, Brady called a hard count (what would normally be a quick count, “BLUE GO!”, but with a second, softer “GO!” added as the snap signal), and McGinest, the WLB, stepped over the LOS.

1st and 5 Cle 10

Result: Run, Faulk, right tackle, 0 yds.
Analysis: 3 WR, 2 left (Stallworth, Welker), 1 right (Moss), TE Brady right, RB Faulk vs. 4-2 nickel, LCB and NB press. More adjustments after the huddle breaks, as the Browns kept their entire defense on its feet until the last possible second. Backside blocking was solid with Light and Hochstein neutralizing the RDE and RDT. Neal drove the LDT back a good couple of yards. But from there things got ugly. Kaczur doubled with Neal to start off, then peeled off as the WLB came through the line. Kaczur was too late, though, and the WLB ended up making a great tackle on Faulk. However, Faulk ran into trouble before this, as Brady got too low on the LDE (Wimbley) and was turnstiled into the backfield and Faulk’s path. Mankins pulled right and got a good initial push on the SLB to kick him outside, which would have opened up a nice ‘d’ gap hole for Faulk.

2nd and 5 Cle 10

Result: Pass, Stallworth, wheel pattern, 7 yds.
Analysis: Shotgun 3 WR, 2 left (Welker wide motion to slot, Stallworth slot), 1 right (Moss), TE Brady right wing, Faulk RB left vs. 3-3 nickel, all 3 CBs press. More adjustments again, just identifying the MLB, but enough to send the LDE McGinest into a 3-point stance. Welker and Stallworth also flip-flopped on the outside, but Welker then motioned inside to behind Stallworth. Finally a blitz, this one coming from the SLB, but the 4-man attack was still picked up without a hitch. Brady’s first read was to the right at Moss, but ended up going to the left to Stallworth on some type of a wheel route. I’d love to see another angle on this play, because it looked as if the Pats had drawn up some great complimentary routes between Welker and Stallworth. It appears as if Stallworth took a wheel route outside and then cut inside, where Welker had taken a flag pattern to the corner to clear out the NB and FS. The throw came in high and Stallworth had to jump, but this wasn’t a problem as the RCB was trailing a good 5 yards outside.

1st and 3 Cle 3

Result: Pass, Stallworth, Incomplete, quick hitch, pass batted down at line.
Analysis: 3 WR, 1 left (Stallworth), 2 right (Moss, Welker), TE Brady right, RB vs. 4-2 nickel, all 3 CBs press and Ss tight. Alas, more adjustments this time, as Brady stepped out to signal Faulk, Moss, and then Stallworth. With the Ss playing in tight essentially as LBs in the goalline situation, this looks like a hot route to Stallworth on the outside against the lone RCB. The problem here was the blitzing FS, who jumped up in Brady’s throwing lane before Faulk could knock him down. Brady’s pass was batted down before it could become almost a sure touchdown to Stallworth outside.

2nd and 3 Cle 3

Result: Run, Morris, right guard, 1 yd.
Analysis: 2 WR, Stallworth left, Moss right, 2 TE, Brady right, Watson right wing, RB Faulk vs. 3-4, both CBs press, SS tight on Watson. The Pats had the numbers to make this run happen (7 OL/TE vs. 8 DL/LB/SS), but they simply didn’t execute. Light was lined up with his right shoulder just outside of the RDE’s right shoulder, and when the RDE immediately slanted to his left on the snap, Light’s cut block failed miserably. The blocking inside was decent, as Kaczur cut blocked the RDE inside, and then Mankins, Hochstein, Neal, and Brady all drove the NT, LDE, and SILB into a scrum. However, this occupied 5 Pats blockers to only 3 Browns defenders, and Mankins would have been better off either picking up the RDE behind him or pulling across to pick up the WILB on the other side of the scrum. The two key playside blocks, though, were executed beautifully by Neal kicking out the LOLB and Watson driving the SS into the endzone. Morris was able to evade that initial pressure from the RDE, but still was swarmed by the WILB and FS before he could reach the end zone.

3rd and 2 Cle 2

Result: Pass, Gaffney, Incomplete, crossing pattern, pass broken up.
Analysis: Shotgun 3 WR, 2 left (Welker wide motion to slot, Moss slot), 1 right (Gaffney motion inside), TE Watson right, Faulk RB right vs. 3-3 nickel, MLB and SLB showing blitz, LCB and NB press. Again the Browns gave a new look to Brady, who made his adjustments accordingly, sending both Gaffney and Welker inside. McGinest, the MLB here (strange, like I said), blitzed against Neal but was picked up nicely, as was the rest of the rush except for the LDE, who got too close to Brady before Kaczur kicked him out. This caused Brady to step up and search for a receiver in a fairly crowded endzone. Faulk had taken the WLB out to the right pylon, while Welker and Moss criss-crossed in front of the NB, RCB, and FS. This left only Gaffney, who had motioned inside, to come across the middle, and back into the endzone. Brady’s throw was later than what was expected, causing Gaffney to drift too far back and the SS and LCB to converge on the ball in front of Gaffney and break the pass up.

4th and 2 Cle 2

Result: Field Goal, Gostkowski, 20 yds.

Score: New England 3 – Cleveland 0

Assessment

Well, that wasn’t the ideal ending to a drive that moved the ball almost 80 yards downfield in almost 7 minutes. 3 points is better than what the Browns managed on their first drive (a long drive ending in an interception in the endzone), but you have to set 7 points as the standard in the red zone for an offense of this caliber. The Browns did what the Pats expected them to do – give Brady plenty of different looks, delaying fully setting up their defense, and prompting Brady to identify the MLB and make adjustments on every play. Even so, the Browns did very little blitzing, even out of their nickel personnel package, which they stayed in for almost the entire drive. The Pats’ approach was to pound the ball with the run, but they did so using exclusively 3 WR sets and the no huddle, spreading out the Browns defense. As soon as the Pats got in the red zone, the Browns kicked it into high gear, and all the credit to them. They brought an accounted DB in on a blitz to disrupt the Pats’ first attempt, pursued the runner well on their second attempt, and blanketed the Pats’ WRs on the third and final try.

Drive Grades

QB ‘B+’
RBs ‘A’ - running woes not their problem
WRs ‘B’ - not getting separation
TEs ‘C’ - Watson’s blocking better than Brady’s
OL ‘C’ - run blocking mediocre
OC ‘B+’ - some well drawn-up plays