Not so much Xs and Os observations but more strategy.
I've watched the game three times now. I believe that Belichick/Flores leaned heavily on the following:
1. Let McVay win the mental chess match, in terms of creating plays to get open, but making sure they are slow to develop in order to pressure Goff. It seemed there were often plays available, but Goff does not do well with pressure. My thought was that last year they made a big error in how they defended the Eagles. They seemed to have the Xs and Os covered decently. The problem was in doing so, they weren't exotic and risk-taking enough. Foles beat them by throwing to guys who were covered but having tons of space and time to place the passes on a dime; part of that was the Eagles o-line and a weaker pass rush, but some of it may have been strategy. I think the Front 7 was the bigger problem in SB52. They made sure this time around they would concede not accounting for every vulnerability if it meant pressuring Goff...hence the zone defense that caused that extra time for Goff to read and react.
2. I read several articles before the game which noted Robert Woods is the best receiver on the Rams. We all know Cooks. He's fast (but not really shifty), he's productive, yet there's always something about him that doesn't sit right. He just doesn't beat you on his own. A $17M receiver should have made that endzone catch (not the McCourty breakup - that was on Goff.) It seemed they dared Cooks to be the guy, in a way they would never do to someone like Julio Jones or Alshon Jeffrey. Cooks got a lot of yardage towards the end of the game nearing garbage time. His small frame makes him very containable, and he isn't physical enough to take over a game. My immediate thought was that Belichick thought lots of targets for Cooks was the best poison to pick. Almost like the Thurman Thomas strategy. And this is why I wanted the Rams over the Saints - because Michael Thomas is a world destroyer that Cooks is not.
3. On that first pick that Brady threw, Edelman was wide open. Brady really played poorly/was confused for much of the game, but he came through as always. But if came with an A game, that was the 38-10 Super Bowl waiting to happen. They were running over the Rams on that first drive and seemed to lose some confidence. But whatever, about time Brady gets one without his A game. I think of it like this: Pats scored 46 points in the last two Super Bowls (23 ppg). 1-1 is what to expect. The defense lost last year's SB and won this year's SB.
Sorry if this is not Xs/Os enough for this thread...curious if anyone has any comments on points 1 and 2 from game film.
