Re-watch thread ATL @ NE

[Tony2046]

I think Tom screwed up. He should have thrown a bomb towards the sidelines. Would have been a bigger gain if not a TD

Might be that Cooks and TB12 aren't quite there with the non-verbal communication.

That's what it looks like to me as well but a part of me wonders if the safety covered Cooks differently than expected. For example if the DB is shading Cooks you would expect the safety to cover over the top which would have left that gap in the zone open but the safety moved into the gap. But yeah if Brady had thrown that deeper it would have been a TD.

Is my expectation for the safety incorrect?

 

[Ring 6]

I think Tom screwed up. He should have thrown a bomb towards the sidelines. Would have been a bigger gain if not a TD

Might be that Cooks and TB12 aren't quite there with the non-verbal communication.

Huh?
Brady hit cooks at EXACTLY the spot the route called for.
You want him to wait for the safety to get there? That’s crazy.

 

[Ring 6]

Huh?
Brady hit cooks at EXACTLY the spot the route called for.
You want him to wait for the safety to get there? That’s crazy.

Plus it’s 2nd and 9 up 20-0. Take that 100% of the time.

 

[NE-VT]

That's what it looks like to me as well but a part of me wonders if the safety covered Cooks differently than expected. For example if the DB is shading Cooks you would expect the safety to cover over the top which would have left that gap in the zone open but the safety moved into the gap. But yeah if Brady had thrown that deeper it would have been a TD.

Is my expectation for the safety incorrect?

The corner and the safety are both in deep zones. Any touch pass or long ball gives them more time to close in on the route. I think Brady was correct to throw a bullet type pass, I am just less clear on if the exact placement was correct.

I also agree with @AndyJohnson ; we don't need a touchdown at this point, so there is no reason to do a higher risk / higher reward type play.

 

[Mike the Brit]

I think Tom screwed up. He should have thrown a bomb towards the sidelines. Would have been a bigger gain if not a TD

Might be that Cooks and TB12 aren't quite there with the non-verbal communication.

Not sure about that.

If you look at the play, TB throws it while Cooks is still scampering downfield. It's only when the ball is in the air that Cooks turns round. Which tells me that TB was definitely expecting Cooks to turn in and be (more or less) where he was. So a bomb towards the sideline would have been a lost play.

Whether TB *should* have thrown it with the safety closing in and whether he threw it where he did to avoid the safety or was just lucky that it was available to Cooks but not the safety are other questions.

 

[luuked]

I think Tom screwed up. He should have thrown a bomb towards the sidelines. Would have been a bigger gain if not a TD

Might be that Cooks and TB12 aren't quite there with the non-verbal communication.

I completely disagree. And if you have seen my thoughts on this play a few posts further up you know that I also think that an option to switch the route to go would have been an easy TD.. but look at what point Brady is throwing the ball:



They have to be on the same page in terms of timing and route for this entire play to work. When Cooks turns around the ball will be almost next to him. At least thats the way I see it..

 

[RobertWeathers]

When I get time I want to see if he was held.

Tough to tell, IMO

 

[luuked]

When I get time I want to see if he was held.

Giardi and Koppen were pretty adamant on ExPats Podcast that he was held pretty badly on the first scramble. Will check it out in a bit.

 

[RobertWeathers]

That's what it looks like to me as well but a part of me wonders if the safety covered Cooks differently than expected. For example if the DB is shading Cooks you would expect the safety to cover over the top which would have left that gap in the zone open but the safety moved into the gap. But yeah if Brady had thrown that deeper it would have been a TD.

Is my expectation for the safety incorrect?

Not sure. He was camped on the left hash about 13 yards back which is a bit shallow for a FS but they were in zone so. If he broke sooner to his right he might have had a chance to break it up.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Huh?
Brady hit cooks at EXACTLY the spot the route called for.
You want him to wait for the safety to get there? That’s crazy.

No I want Cooks to keep going. The FS was only 13 yds back.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I completely disagree. And if you have seen my thoughts on this play a few posts further up you know that I also think that an option to switch the route to go would have been an easy TD.. but look at what point Brady is throwing the ball:



They have to be on the same page in terms of timing and route for this entire play to work. When Cooks turns around the ball will be almost next to him. At least thats the way I see it..

My point is Tom should have called a 'go" but he didn't b/c he and Cooks aren't on that wavelength yet.

 

[Ring 6]

No I want Cooks to keep going. The FS was only 13 yds back.

That’s not the play call. And shouldn’t be in this situation.

 

[NE-VT]

Yep. The motion was pretty much key to open up that little hole in the zone.

What I dont get though is what Alford (#23) was doing hugging the sideline so much. Yes, I understand that White (?) is ready for a dump off on split out wide on the left but the moment that Dola motioned and shifted the entire coverage of the Falcons he needed to be closer to Cooks potential route. Beasley (#44) was still close enough to White to slow him down if Brady went for a dump off instead.

As it played out Alford somehow hesitated between Cooks and White and then got nobody. In fact Cooks could have just ran a go route (which I guess was not an option) and had an easy TD on this here.

It is kinda funny how an entire defensive scheme can fall apart if you find that one weak link in the lineup that you can just pick on again and again.

I think #24 Alford should have dropped back more, as it looked like was responsible for a deep zone (I think ATL is in cover 4). #44 looks like he is in a shallow sideline zone, so there should be two players in the area to limit a dump-off to white. I would say it might be of the safety for over shifting. He left Cooks without a DB anywhere close to him. The underneath zone from #44 was not enough to stop it.

It reminds me of this play from AFFC:



The shift in this play is much different, of course. The Patriots start in I-formation with Blount and the Stealers bring their safety down threatening a blitz. I would guess that we were going to do a power run, and Brady thought it was silly to do so with 8 in the box. So he calls an audible and we shift to 5 wide.

From this point the route combination is very similar. Hogan on the left slot, Blount far left wide. Hogan goes down the seam between the corner and the safety playing deep zones, and the underneath LB is not enough to prevent the throw.

 

[AtomicDawg]

Good luck studying our game film Chargers!

 

[RobertWeathers]

That’s not the play call. And shouldn’t be in this situation.

Who gives a crap if its 2nd and 9 and their own 24? The FS was out of position. It was a cakewalk.

 

[Ring 6]

My point is Tom should have called a 'go" but he didn't b/c he and Cooks aren't on that wavelength yet.

The play call wasnt a go.

 

[RobertWeathers]

The play call wasnt a go.

I know that. Should have audibled is my point. As you know Jules, Gronk and Tom will change the routes based on the coverages and Tom will just know what they are doing and vice versa. I don't think Cooks is there yet.

 

[Tony2046]

Tough to tell, IMO

I agree that it's tough to see the hold but Marsh was being held. He was on the sideline side of the block and couldn't get away from the O lineman.

In this screenshot he's trying to pull away.

 

[NE-VT]

I know that. Should have audibled is my point. As you know Jules, Gronk and Tom will change the routes based on the coverages and Tom will just know what they are doing and vice versa. I don't think Cooks is there yet.

If you take the time to change Cooks route the safety might shift back over. Even with no audible, you also don't know he is going to stay in the middle, it could have been a trap coverage. I think the way it played out was fine, and a TD does not improve the win % much at all in this situation, but an INT does.

 

[Ring 6]

Who gives a crap if its 2nd and 9 and their own 24? The FS was out of position. It was a cakewalk.

Here are the flaws with your thinking.
1) there is an actual play called in the huddle.
2) it wasn’t a go because if it was cooks wouldn’t be looking for the ball wher he got it.
3) Brady’s progressions arent “see when you think the best time to throw to cooks is” it was to hit cooks right there and he was.

It wouldn’t make sense to be calling go routes in that situation.