Rewatch: Patriots vs Texans

[BaconGrundleCandy]

I'm still sad that play wasn't a safety. Ah well. We got the W at least.

One of those "how could it be" but great play nonetheless.

I thought it was a nice call. Plenty of beef up front, 3T 0 3T. Both Davis/Brown are capable of creating pressure inside & they absolutely did. VG work by those guys. And I'm always fan of sending HT via edge or blitz.

Really excited about the looks we can create.

 

[WaterfallJumper]

One of those "how could it be" but great play nonetheless.

I thought it was a nice call. Plenty of beef up front, 3T 0 3T. Both Davis/Brown are capable of creating pressure inside & they absolutely did. VG work by those guys. And I'm always fan of sending HT via edge or blitz.

Really excited about the looks we can create.

When I saw earlier this year that Davis had bulked up into the 280s, I speculated that he was slated for the old Jarvis Green role. Very similar numbers coming out. Green was one of our most underrated defensive players during his tenure here. I'd love to see Davis take a similar trajectory, particularly since I was so keen on him pre-draft.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

When I saw earlier this year that Davis had bulked up into the 280s, I speculated that he was slated for the old Jarvis Green role. Very similar numbers coming out. Green was one of our most underrated defensive players during his tenure here. I'd love to see Davis take a similar trajectory, particularly since I was so keen on him pre-draft.

I could see that. I know we talked about him a ton. Really happy for him.

 

[long distance]

Its preseason for Cannon. He showed glimpses of commanding PP already. Great to see him slowly coming back..

i like the background sounds w your clips

 

[long distance]

Another great play by the defense on so many levels there were troublesome to us last year (as Lazar points out):



Improvement against bunches and by LBs in space is huge. This doesn't mean that we should expect 100% success rate. Just double the success rate from last year and its enough to give us a much bigger margin of error overall.

I hope some of the “WTF we are drafting Bentley, we need cover LB“ crowd watches this..

 

[long distance]

Hence Keionta over Rivers (and Clayborn as well). Did a good job esp. early. On a different game plan i expect Rivers to get a nod..

 

[Wheelman]

Most of them are pretty self explanatory, but even if you don't know who the player is, I think Bacon does a great job of breaking down the play. You can just substitute "DE" or "LB" if you don't know who Clowney or Cunningham are.

I'd prefer the opposing players are numbered so I can know exactly who they're going against. I think that matters in trying to determine performance. Alternatively, use initials for pats players and last names for opposing team players.

 

[ralmat55]

Anyone who wants to use Sunday’s game as evidence that this defense will not be more aggressive bringing pressure than past defenses are missing one point.

Only a fool (Gregg Williams says hello) blitzes or runs stunts when their defense can bring a sufficient amount of pressure just by winning individual matchup along the line as the Patriots did against the Texans. It remains to be seen what happens when they encounter a more stout pass blocking Oline than Houston’s.

As for the other words Hightower used to describe the difference Flores is bringing to the defense, there was ample evidence of a “simpler “ and “faster” defense on display Sunday. There seemed to be few if any instances of defenders being confused of their assignments or being hesitant in performing them.

The other team gets paid too, so Pats defenders lost some matchups,but overall it was a very encouraging performance.

 

[long distance]

The thing i was nagging about all year in this thread last season and was glad about during roster building this season materialized perfectly in game 1: rotation, rotation, rotation.
So crucial to see competitive 4 deep rotation in all 3 front 7 units: DT, DE, LB.

Last year M.Brown and Guy played ver 60% per game and it showed. This game they were around 40% with only Shelton slightly surpassing 50%.

There is 4 deep rotation at DE and LB as well with no player besides Flowers and KVN surpassing 50% and the freshness showed throughout the game. Its the first time in the last years that LBs were so heavily rotated as well so it will be interesting to see if this continues. Hightower doesn't seem himself yet so if/when he comes to his form this might change.

It was also good to see RT rotation mainly to not force Cannon . but it helps to have fresh legs going against Watt and Clowney who played nearly 100% of snaps..

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

Hence Keionta over Rivers (and Clayborn as well). Did a good job esp. early. On a different game plan i expect Rivers to get a nod..

It's a good problem to have. Davis didn't standout in the run game from what I saw but he definitely brings some added versatility inside.
I couldn't be happier for the guy (I was the first person to bring him up ). Incredible comeback from injuries. He's been beat up all over & obviously didn't quit.

 

[patfanken]

I'm still sad that play wasn't a safety. Ah well. We got the W at least.

I'm wondering watching the replay if Watson's knee wasn't down. At any rate, he was at LEAST firmly in the grasp of Brown. BTW Is 'in the grasp' still part of the supposed QB protection system?

Watching that replay I now more convinced that was a Safety. Even more curious, I haven't read about anyone complaining about the call. It was close, but if they had called it a safety I doubt many in Houston would have complained.

Now that I think on it, I'm wishing I had mentioned it in my thread.

 

[long distance]

It's a good problem to have. Davis didn't standout in the run game from what I saw but he definitely brings some added versatility inside.
I couldn't be happier for the guy (I was the first person to bring him up ). Incredible comeback from injuries. He's been beat up all over & obviously didn't quit.

Showed all preseason that he is a sound edge setter, two-gapper, strong pocket pusher. Was able to mirror Flowers quite well in this game.

Does a nice job closing the pocket on the talked about Watson's non/safety..

 

[PP2]

I still stand behind my assertion that we're going to see a more aggressive style of D under Flores than we did with Patricia, and I think we're seeing that- a lot less read and react, simpler cues, simpler designs and just letting players play.

In the original argument/thread, what I meant by 'aggressive' got maligned by a poster's well known habit of moving goalposts all the way to China, and putting words into the mouths of posters he argues with all the time.

NOT once did I suggest that there would be any change to schemes, or a sudden increase in blitzing or some exotic schemes. Although we'll see more attacking as the season goes on, especially against pocket QB's.

Under Patricia, we saw a lot of players play on their heels and think too much, instead of just playing. We're not seeing that deer-in-headlights crap anymore, under Flores.

 

[PP2]

 

[PP2]

Gronk, beating bracket coverage. It's almost unfair.

 

[PP2]

Some more evidence that Dorsett is poised to take over the Dola role:





The toggle is a bracket-buster, where you see Dorsett run the option off leverage. Brady and Dorsett both read off the leverage and the ball is out of Brady's hand at the break. Dorsett isn't even looking. That is what trust is all about. This is something Amendola did on a regular basis.

It's ludicrous to envision someone like Patterson in this role. He is a one trick pony.

 

[luuked]

Under Patricia, we saw a lot of players play on their heels and think too much, instead of just playing. We're not seeing that deer-in-headlights crap anymore, under Flores.

I agree with this.

I think something similar was among the initial thoughts I posted back in March when we knew for certain that Patricia would leave. I called his defenses "over-engineered" to the point where he often went a few steps too far down the rabbit hole to have an "optimal" answer for looks which at some point became too much for his players.

That being said I still think he is a good DC and potentially a great one if he gets shiny toys to play with. Anyway this is a topic for another thread altogether.

 

[luuked]

It's ludicrous to envision someone like Patterson in this role. He is a one trick pony.

As cliche as it sounds but everyone has their roles and just needs to do their job. So him being the OTP is fine as long as the staff knows that and doesn't try to make him something he is not.

The secret to making CP work in this offense is not some miraculous way to fix his route running but to use him in a way that emphasizes his strengths. This is where the often talked about selflessness of players comes in because in some games he might actually be a key piece that enables Josh to manipulate defenses and in other games he might get no snaps or might even not be active.

 

[maineman209]

Watch Shelton (#71) at the end as he sheds his blocker, mirrors Watson and shoves the TE (the supposed intended target of Watson's desperation throw).

 

[maineman209]

Gronk, beating bracket coverage. It's almost unfair.

As close as I can get to timing it by pausing the clip, that looked like under two seconds from snap to throw.