BB and analyzing matchups Arrington-Hilton

[Bobsyouruncle]

One of the more underrated things about BB is that he seems to be the best in the league at knowing one player matches up better than another. Two things stand-out last night, that happen almost every game.

BB sees a matchup that few have.

Arrington nearly shuts down one of the top receivers in Hilton. But Arrington is not a top CB. It would be obvious, and and most coaches would probably use Revis on Hilton. Put your best CB on their best WR. But he saw something in Hilton's game that made him think Arrington is a better match, and he was right.

Also, the Patriots are not the best running team in the NFL, but they're breaking playoff running records because they see something in the Colts line to make them believe they can dominate. It's no small thing, nobody dominated Indy like NE. The Broncos also can run, so can Cincy, but they didn't bring in an extra lineman and mow them down. Why?

Its not necessarily that the Patriots just have the players to do these things and other teams don't, it's that they recognize those matchups better than anyone else and tailor their plan to take advantage. Coaches have been killing it lately.

 

[mosi]

One of the more underrated things about BB is that he seems to be the best in the league at knowing one player matches up better than another. Two things stand-out last night, that happen almost every game.

BB sees a matchup that few have.

Arrington nearly shuts down one of the top receivers in Hilton. But Arrington is not a top CB. It would be obvious, and and most coaches would probably use Revis on Hilton. Put your best CB on their best WR. But he saw something in Hilton's game that made him think Arrington is a better match, and he was right.

Also, the Patriots are not the best running team in the NFL, but they're breaking playoff running records because they see something in the Colts line to make them believe they can dominate. It's no small thing, nobody dominated Indy like NE. The Broncos also can run, so can Cincy, but they didn't bring in an extra lineman and mow them down. Why?

Its not necessarily that the Patriots just have the players to do these things and other teams don't, it's that they recognize those matchups better than anyone else and tailor their plan to take advantage. Coaches have been killing it lately.

You are right. Indy was bad against the run but statistically, not nearly as bad as the Pats made them out to be. They were giving up ~113 yards per game in the regular season, and that includes the pats game in there. The Pats just were able to execute the run game against them.

Also keep in mind that Luck, for the most part, has played very well all year. The Pats just shut him down.

 

[dales804]

You are right. Indy was bad against the run but statistically, not nearly as bad as the Pats made them out to be. They were giving up ~113 yards per game in the regular season, and that includes the pats game in there. The Pats just were able to execute the run game against them.

Also keep in mind that Luck, for the most part, has played very well all year. The Pats just shut him down.

Yes, but I think his point is why have the Pats been able to run over IND three times in a row now while other teams haven't? As the OP mentioned, CIN has good RBs and Denver can run, too. But they were unable to do it to the degree NE did. Is that because Brady had success through the air unlike those other two teams or is it because of something schematically?

The NFL is about match ups but why hasn't IND been able to do anything to slow down NE on the ground for the past year?

 

[Bobsyouruncle]

You are right. Indy was bad against the run but statistically, not nearly as bad as the Pats made them out to be. They were giving up ~113 yards per game in the regular season, and that includes the pats game in there. The Pats just were able to execute the run game against them.

Also keep in mind that Luck, for the most part, has played very well all year. The Pats just shut him down.

Wilson had a better passer rating than Luck. 23.0

Everyone is talking about Wilson having one of his worst games ever, while the Pats held arguably a better passer, to a lower rating.

 

[IllegalContact]

Yes, but I think his point is why have the Pats been able to run over IND three times in a row now while other teams haven't? As the OP mentioned, CIN has good RBs and Denver can run, too. But they were unable to do it to the degree NE did. Is that because Brady had success through the air unlike those other two teams or is it because of something schematically?

The NFL is about match ups but why hasn't IND been able to do anything to slow down NE on the ground for the past year?

yes and no.....cincy was without green which allowed indy to put 8 in the box........at least until dalton proves he's not the worst playoff QB in the history of the game

same thing against the broncos.......once they realized manning was having issues, they decided to go man to man and got aggressive at the LOS.

as long as health is not an issue, opponents must respect both with the pats. be interesting to see how seahawks handle it if the pats go big running formations......while they are aggressive and fast, they're not that stout......3 yards and a cloud of dust could set up some nice play actions with the way the seahwks can over pursue

 

[patsderoer]

Yes, but I think his point is why have the Pats been able to run over IND three times in a row now while other teams haven't? As the OP mentioned, CIN has good RBs and Denver can run, too. But they were unable to do it to the degree NE did. Is that because Brady had success through the air unlike those other two teams or is it because of something schematically?

The NFL is about match ups but why hasn't IND been able to do anything to slow down NE on the ground for the past year?

Other teams don't have Gronkzilla

 

[dales804]

yes and no.....cincy was without green which allowed indy to put 8 in the box........at least until dalton proves he's not the worst playoff QB in the history of the game

same thing against the broncos.......once they realized manning was having issues, they decided to go man to man and got aggressive at the LOS.

as long as health is not an issue, opponents must respect both with the pats. be interesting to see how seahawks handle it if the pats go big running formations......while they are aggressive and fast, they're not that stout......3 yards and a cloud of dust could set up some nice play actions with the way the seahwks can over pursue

Good points. Dalton is horrid in the playoffs. I just find it interesting that NE steamrolled them last year on the ground without Gronk and Fleming as the 6th OL and Brady throwing for under 200 yards and 0 TDs.

 

[Bobsyouruncle]

yes and no.....cincy was without green which allowed indy to put 8 in the box........at least until dalton proves he's not the worst playoff QB in the history of the game

same thing against the broncos.......once they realized manning was having issues, they decided to go man to man and got aggressive at the LOS.

as long as health is not an issue, opponents must respect both with the pats. be interesting to see how seahawks handle it if the pats go big running formations......while they are aggressive and fast, they're not that stout......3 yards and a cloud of dust could set up some nice play actions with the way the seahwks can over pursue

Indy was 18th against the run. Not great, but the Patriots also played GB, SD, and KC who were statistically even worse then Indy against the run. And in all of those games they were below average at running the ball, and Tom Brady was also there. It looks to me like there's a matchup they exploited against Indy, and few others did, rather than it just being the Patriots taking advantage of seven in the box against a weak defense. Because that didn't work against anyone but Indy.

 

[letekro]

One of the more underrated things about BB is that he seems to be the best in the league at knowing one player matches up better than another. Two things stand-out last night, that happen almost every game.

BB sees a matchup that few have.

Arrington nearly shuts down one of the top receivers in Hilton. But Arrington is not a top CB. It would be obvious, and and most coaches would probably use Revis on Hilton. Put your best CB on their best WR. But he saw something in Hilton's game that made him think Arrington is a better match, and he was right.

Also, the Patriots are not the best running team in the NFL, but they're breaking playoff running records because they see something in the Colts line to make them believe they can dominate. It's no small thing, nobody dominated Indy like NE. The Broncos also can run, so can Cincy, but they didn't bring in an extra lineman and mow them down. Why?

Its not necessarily that the Patriots just have the players to do these things and other teams don't, it's that they recognize those matchups better than anyone else and tailor their plan to take advantage. Coaches have been killing it lately.

Arrington by no means had a 1 on 1 matchup with Hilton. Hilton would have torched him if that were the case. McCourty helped over the top the entire game. Much easier to play someone tight if you dont have to worry about them getting behind you. Since whoever was covering hilton (including Revis) wouldve required safety help, it makes sense to not waste Revis as part of a double team on Hilton but instead use him to eliminate the second best deep threat 1 on 1. If BB were forced to play everyone 1 on 1 he would most certainly put Revis on Hilton.

 

[Bobsyouruncle]

Arrington by no means had a 1 on 1 matchup with Hilton. Hilton would have torched him if that were the case. McCourty helped over the top the entire game. Much easier to play someone tight if you dont have to worry about them getting behind you. Since whoever was covering hilton (including Revis) wouldve required safety help, it makes sense to not waste Revis as part of a double team on Hilton but instead use him to eliminate the second best deep threat 1 on 1. If BB were forced to play everyone 1 on 1 he would most certainly put Revis on Hilton.

Okay, so every team can just shut Hilton down with a mediocre CB and safety over the top. Every team in the NFL has both of those things and he still had over 1300 yards. I don't think its that simple or obvious or everyone would have done it.

 

[letekro]

Okay, so every team can just shut Hilton down with a mediocre CB and safety over the top. Every team in the NFL has both of those things and he still had over 1300 yards. I don't think its that simple or obvious or everyone would have done it.

Arrington is a good corner, McCourty is the second best free safety in the league, and Revis is the best corner in the league. Yes, most teams with those elements would shut down Hilton. Thats a pretty short list though. Probably only NE and SEA.

 

[Marqui]

Okay, so every team can just shut Hilton down with a mediocre CB and safety over the top. Every team in the NFL has both of those things and he still had over 1300 yards. I don't think its that simple or obvious or everyone would have done it.

Every other team can't do it because they don't have a shutdown CB in Revis and another great CB in Browner to allow them to double team somewhere else. That's the difference.

 

[IllegalContact]

Indy was 18th against the run. Not great, but the Patriots also played GB, SD, and KC who were statistically even worse then Indy against the run. And in all of those games they were below average at running the ball, and Tom Brady was also there. It looks to me like there's a matchup they exploited against Indy, and few others did, rather than it just being the Patriots taking advantage of seven in the box against a weak defense. Because that didn't work against anyone but Indy.

you forgot the Cincy game as well as the Vikings game.

Let's face it....the pats don't pay brady and gronk to run the ball, and we don't have the OC who would really want to anyway......the pats had a rough start and put more time into getting the passing game pieces into place to be as good as they could be......brady started slow, gronk started slow, lafell started slow....everything started slow....brady didn't have a 300 yard game until week 6.

The Colts defense is a fraud........the whole teams feasts on the weak and gets crushed by the strong. not very physical on either side of the ball......the colts would not even be in the playoffs if the texans had an average QB

 

[hwc]

Okay, so every team can just shut Hilton down with a mediocre CB and safety over the top. Every team in the NFL has both of those things and he still had over 1300 yards. I don't think its that simple or obvious or everyone would have done it.

Revis allows you to design the entire coverage package to rotate safeties somewhere else. It's a huge advantage for the safeties to be able to focus on just half the field.

BTW, I think Arrington gets a bum rap here in the forums. The slot corner is now a starting position in the NFL and Arrington has to be considered when talking about the best slot corners in the NFL.

 

[mayoclinic]

One of the more underrated things about BB is that he seems to be the best in the league at knowing one player matches up better than another. Two things stand-out last night, that happen almost every game.

BB sees a matchup that few have.

Arrington nearly shuts down one of the top receivers in Hilton. But Arrington is not a top CB. It would be obvious, and and most coaches would probably use Revis on Hilton. Put your best CB on their best WR. But he saw something in Hilton's game that made him think Arrington is a better match, and he was right.

Also, the Patriots are not the best running team in the NFL, but they're breaking playoff running records because they see something in the Colts line to make them believe they can dominate. It's no small thing, nobody dominated Indy like NE. The Broncos also can run, so can Cincy, but they didn't bring in an extra lineman and mow them down. Why?

Its not necessarily that the Patriots just have the players to do these things and other teams don't, it's that they recognize those matchups better than anyone else and tailor their plan to take advantage. Coaches have been killing it lately.

Arrington is probably the fastest CB on the Pats' squad and one of the quickest, and he tends to match up well with quicker WRs, which is part of why he's so good in the slot. I think he would have been a tremendous match up on Randall Cobb when we played Green Bay, and would have significantly changed the complexion of that game.

 

[Bobsyouruncle]

Revis allows you to design the entire coverage package to rotate safeties somewhere else. It's a huge advantage for the safeties to be able to focus on just half the field.

BTW, I think Arrington gets a bum rap here in the forums. The slot corner is now a starting position in the NFL and Arrington has to be considered when talking about the best slot corners in the NFL.

You think he gets a bum rap but you're going pretty far out of the way to not give him credit.

If Revis gave such a huge advantage that his presence allowed Arrington to shut down Hilton then why didn't that advantage apply elsewhere. NE was not the best pass defense in the NFL, they were 17th in yards, and 10th in rating. Revis was playing for all those games. All of a sudden it's easy peasy to shutdown a top WR because of Revis on the other side. He was on the other side of Wallace, and half a dozen other WRs who put up good to great numbers receiving against the Pats that Hilton couldn't reproduce. The Colts also played several pass defenses that were better then the Patriots in almost every statistic, and Hilton racked up plenty of yards against many of those teams.

I find it incredibly hard to believe that Arrington's performance is just ho hum, the Pats can shut down any top WR with a safety over the top, because they didn't do it to several other WRs. If they could've, they would've. And if Revis' presence meant they could easily limit two sides of the field by cheating a safety to the other side, they would have been far closer to the top pass defense in the NFL than the 17th.