Second Half
Kickoff: Wilkins from the Ind 13, 18 yd. return, Wilkins is forced to the sideline with decent blocking.
Note: Alexander came down strong and crashed right through the wedge, knocking over the lead blocker and forcing Wilkins to hurdle over the ground obstruction. Sanders broke free inside and forced Wilkins outside, where Spann, Davis, and Hobbs stacked up and made the stop.
Defensive Series #5 Missed Field Goal
Contributor: Pats1
Time: 15:00 remaining in the third quarter
Statistics: 7 plays (2 run, 4 pass, 1 field goal), 50 yards (4 run, 45 pass, 5 penalty, -4 fumble recovery), time of possession was 2:39
Breakdown: 5 green plays (2 run, 2 pass, 1 field goal) for 4 yds. (4 run, 0 pass), 2 red plays (0 run, 2 pass) for 45 yds., 5 penalty yards lost for the Patriots.
1st and 10 Ind 31
Result: Pass, Harrison, play action, deep sideline pattern, 36 yds.
Analysis: Vrabel beat the TE around the edge and skimmed Peyton from behind. Colvin jammed and released the other TE deep. Warren went outside, Wilfork was doubled inside, and Seymour stunted off the double. Both Wayne and Harrison were lined up on the right side, with Samuel way off Wayne and Hobbs press on Harrison. Hobbs backpedaled and never even laid an eye on Harrison, while drifting to the inside. Harrison drifted himself towards the sideline to find the void, and caught the strike from Manning. On the throw, Hobbs would find himself far away from Harrison, circle around deep, and come back up as the throw came in. Hawkins and Scott would come over to help Hobbs fake Harrison out of bounds. The TE Clark and Wayne criss-crossed on deep posts. Addai released underneath.
1st and 10 NE 33
Result: Run, Addai, left guard, 2 yds.
Analysis: Same formation as before, except with the WR duo on the left. Colvin and Seymour contained the outside on the TE and LT. Warren beat the RT on a quick move and squeezed Addai into the left ‘a’ gap, where Wilfork and Seymour converged. Bruschi took on the LG, while Seau dodged the RG but slipped or tripped on the RT.
2nd and 8 NE 31
Result: Pass, Wayne, Incomplete, 15 yard comeback pattern, pass underthrown under pressure.
Analysis: After his ritualistic pointing and waving and pushing and prodding, Manning finally snapped it out of the shotgun with 3 WRs. Colvin came down as a DE, while the ILBs showed blitz early, then only Bruschi threatened after the adjustments. Scott and Hobbs were both 5 off the right WRs, while Samuel was miles off Wayne left. Colvin came in off the edge and trucked over the RB Addai, who got far too low, and got right in Manning’s face to force the throw. It one hopped Wayne, who had Samuel trailing very tight in coverage on the comebacker. Wilfork got good penetration on the C, but was steered outside. Warren and Seymour were both double teamed. Bruschi was picked up by the LG.
3rd and 8 NE 31
Result: Pass, Harrison, Incomplete, sideline fly, pass broken up.
PENALTY on NE-M.Vrabel, Illegal Use of Hands, 5 yards, enforced at NE 31 - No Play.
Analysis: Banta-Cain set up well wide of the RT in a down stance, with Wilfork and Seymour tight inside. Colvin was tight left, while Vrabel was press on the slot. This wasn’t a nickel package – both ILBs stayed in, with Seau creeping down. Hobbs was in press, Samuel was off. Out of the 3 WR shotgun, Colvin and Banta-Cain both got trapped upfield as Manning stepped up. Seymour and Warren got nowhere on doubles. Hobbs stuck with Harrison all the way and made a superb athletic play, flying backwards in the air to tip the ball away from a sure catch on an accurate strike to the end zone. Unfortunately, Polian reared his ugly head again. In the slot, Vrabel gave a quick jam to the slot TE Clark inside, and then backed off. Apparently Polian instituted a new rule that the chest was part of the face, because that was the ONLY place Vrabel laid his hands on Clark. Even Madden was bewildered. The referee explicitly said it was hands to the face. Phantom call, unless the official got the number wrong.
1st and 10 NE 26
Result: Run, Addai, right guard, 2 yds.
Analysis: Vrabel and Colvin both pinched the edges on a blitz-look, while Bruschi was taken out of the play wide by the RT. Seau, playing a few yards deeper than Bruschi, shed the LG and dove down on Addai. Warren pushed the RG back to force the run between him and Vrabel, who broke off the TE to trip up Addai. Colvin was taken out, and Seymour and Wilfork were sealed away on the left.
2nd and 8 NE 24
Result: Pass, Wayne, play action, 10 yard comeback pattern, 9 yds., FUMBLES, ball out of bounds, loss of 4 yds.
Analysis: Hobbs pressed Harrison and used the sideline to constrict his running room, while Samuel continued to give Wayne a large cushion on the opposite side. The Colts used 8 in protection to put doubles on all 4 rushers, including sending Wilfork to the ground. Off the play action, Manning got deep in the pocket, but sidestepped as he found Wayne against single coverage. Seau and Bruschi were kept low by the play action and the obvious fact there was no one else to cover. Samuel gave Wayne a bear hug right after the catch, sending the ball bounding backwards. Hawkins made the greedy mistake of trying to reach down and pick it up, instead of just diving on it. The TE Clark would do just that, but the sliding collision between him and Hawkins would send the ball rolling out of bounds.
3rd and 3 NE 19
Result: Pass Clark, Incomplete, quick out, pass overthrown under pressure.
Analysis: Out of the shotgun again, the Pats kept in the 3-4, but bounced Colvin and Seau around in blitz looks. Seau blitzed but was pretty much blown up by the RB Addai or Rhodes. Vrabel came around the edge untouched, but the obstruction of Banta-Cain deep in the backfield kept him from getting the sack on Manning. Wilfork and Seymour were both doubled. The Vrabel pressure forced Peyton to loft it off his back foot, saving Scott, who had slipped when the slot TE Clark took a quick out pattern. He quickly caught up but neither he nor Clark had a chance at the sailed, pressured pass. Madden apparently thought that Peyton, visibly frustrated, was mad at Clark for running the wrong pattern.
4th and 3 NE 19
Result: Missed field goal, Vinatieri, 37 yds., wide right.
Score: New England 14 – Indianapolis 17
Assessment
Great run coverage, with outside containment forcing runs to be gobbled up in the interior holes.
The pass rush was nonexistent from the DL, but prominent from the OLBs. Colvin and Vrabel both forced arrant throws from Manning.
Samuel played off the entire drive (as he has the whole game), and the Colts continued to attack with comeback patterns. Hawkins made the mental mistake on the fumble, but was redeemed when Vinatieri surprisingly missed badly on his field goal try. Hobbs was caught trying to cover too much ground on the first play of the ground, where Harrison slipped free, ignored by Hobbs. Probable communication errors between the CBs and Ss.
Drive Grades
DL ‘B’ -Warren had the best performance of the group. Great against the run, swallowed against the pass
OLBs ‘A+’ - Getting the pressure on Manning was key
ILBs ‘C+’ - Seau getting blasted by the RB wasn’t a pretty sight
CBs ‘C’ - Samuel forced the fumble, but both he and Hobbs were caught out of position
Ss ‘B’ - Good job on the slot, but didn’t provide much aid to the CBs
DC ‘B’ - Better coordination is needed between DBs
The second defensive series is up should anyone need help with low blood pressure.
