INSIDE THE NUMBERS: No Carries by Patriots Backs on 3rd Down Sunday

[PatsFans.com Article]

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: No Carries by Patriots Backs on 3rd Down Sunday
By: Ian Logue

Taking a look inside the numbers from Sunday's win over Dallas, it's pretty clear that the right side of New England's offensive line had a bit more luck keeping the Cowboys at bay when it came to the running game....

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[ALP]

this is concerning...

we can say how many yards we get a game, but if its all in garbage time it coutns for zilch, and does not provide that 2D offense we seek

so long as we are not confident enough to run the ball on 3rd down, we have NO running game (this week it may have had to do with Boys #1 rushing D though)

also the fact that our "premier" offensive linemen are Matt Light and Logan Mankins, and that they are NOT producing is bothering me, we just paid mister Logan a hell of a lot of cash, he needs to perform, and do it well

Matt has also not been quite as consistent as we are used to, passing and rushing wise, he has his faults every so often, but not like this season (and I am not simply talking about this last game where he was up against Ware)

I want to see better play from those two guys period, they are supposed to be the strength of our O-line, and we should be bulldozing ppl in the running game on that side....

 

[Ring 6]

this is concerning...

we can say how many yards we get a game, but if its all in garbage time it coutns for zilch, and does not provide that 2D offense we seek

so long as we are not confident enough to run the ball on 3rd down, we have NO running game (this week it may have had to do with Boys #1 rushing D though)

also the fact that our "premier" offensive linemen are Matt Light and Logan Mankins, and that they are NOT producing is bothering me, we just paid mister Logan a hell of a lot of cash, he needs to perform, and do it well

Matt has also not been quite as consistent as we are used to, passing and rushing wise, he has his faults every so often, but not like this season (and I am not simply talking about this last game where he was up against Ware)

I want to see better play from those two guys period, they are supposed to be the strength of our O-line, and we should be bulldozing ppl in the running game on that side....

You need to consider sample size.
We were 8/13 on 3rd down, so I don't know why play selection on 3rd down is a concern.
I haven't looked, but how many 3rd were short enough that a run would be appropriate. I think the whole league throws 90% of the time on 3rd and more than 2.

 

[JJDChE]

I guess if the RBs got more on 1st and 2nd down we would have actually been able to run it on 3rd.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

this is concerning...

we can say how many yards we get a game, but if its all in garbage time it coutns for zilch, and does not provide that 2D offense we seek

so long as we are not confident enough to run the ball on 3rd down, we have NO running game (this week it may have had to do with Boys #1 rushing D though)

also the fact that our "premier" offensive linemen are Matt Light and Logan Mankins, and that they are NOT producing is bothering me, we just paid mister Logan a hell of a lot of cash, he needs to perform, and do it well

Matt has also not been quite as consistent as we are used to, passing and rushing wise, he has his faults every so often, but not like this season (and I am not simply talking about this last game where he was up against Ware)

I want to see better play from those two guys period, they are supposed to be the strength of our O-line, and we should be bulldozing ppl in the running game on that side....

They did a good job in the Jets game, Matt Light has some sort of injury so Im not sure hes at 100%, going up against Ware will make anyone look not so good. Im pretty confident the running game will continue to improve along with the defense.
Prediction, Ridley takes a long one to the house before the year is over.

 

[Metaphors]

You need to consider sample size.
We were 8/13 on 3rd down, so I don't know why play selection on 3rd down is a concern.
I haven't looked, but how many 3rd were short enough that a run would be appropriate. I think the whole league throws 90% of the time on 3rd and more than 2.

3-1-NE 36 (13:29) T.Brady up the middle to NE 38 for 2 yards (M.Spears).
3-1-DAL 29 (1:19) (No Huddle) T.Brady up the middle to DAL 27 for 2 yards (J.Ratliff).
3-4-NE 23 (5:08) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short right to R.Gronkowski to NE 31 for 8 yards (F.Walker, A.Elam)
3-4-NE 28 (3:52) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass incomplete short middle to A.Hernandez [S.Lissemore]
3-5-DAL 25 (10:02) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short left to W.Welker pushed ob at DAL 12 for 13 yards (O.Scandrick)
3-5-DAL 29 59) (No Huddle, Shotgun) T.Brady pass short left to A.Hernandez to DAL 21 for 8 yards (O.Scandrick, A.Ball).
3-6-DAL 8 (9:01) (Shotgun) T.Brady sacked at DAL 13 for -5 yards (D.Ware).
3-6-NE 48 (3:29) (No Huddle, Shotgun) T.Brady pass short middle to R.Gronkowski to DAL 44 for 8 yards (A.Elam).
3-6-DAL 40 (2:18) (No Huddle, Shotgun) T.Brady pass short middle to A.Hernandez to DAL 39 for 1 yard (O.Scandrick).
3-9-NE 22 (15:00) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short left to D.Branch to DAL 33 for 45 yards (G.Sensabaugh)
3-9-NE 38 (10:35) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short middle to D.Branch to 50 for 12 yards (M.Jenkins).
3-16-NE 32 (12:04) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass incomplete short middle to W.Welker [J.Ratliff].
3-18-DAL 18 (12:52) (No Huddle, Shotgun) T.Brady pass short right to B.Green-Ellis to DAL 7 for 11 yards (A.Spencer).

I don't see a lack of rushes on 3rd down as being a problem in this game. I was a little disappointed that there were so few screen plays called since it looked to be a good counter for the Cowboys jamming the middle.

An interesting point for me was the fact that the Cowboys next-to-last drive was the first time all year that an opposing QB took a snap with the lead. 3-n-out. 2 negative runs. 0 net yards. Punt with only 1:05 (and 2 timeouts) taken off the clock. Big-time stand by the defense. But to be fair, the Cowboys were hampered by their coach having his hand up Romo's anus (and his head up his own).

 

[ALP]

3-1-NE 36 (13:29) T.Brady up the middle to NE 38 for 2 yards (M.Spears).
3-1-DAL 29 (1:19) (No Huddle) T.Brady up the middle to DAL 27 for 2 yards (J.Ratliff).
3-4-NE 23 (5:08) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short right to R.Gronkowski to NE 31 for 8 yards (F.Walker, A.Elam)
3-4-NE 28 (3:52) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass incomplete short middle to A.Hernandez [S.Lissemore]
3-5-DAL 25 (10:02) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short left to W.Welker pushed ob at DAL 12 for 13 yards (O.Scandrick)
3-5-DAL 29 59) (No Huddle, Shotgun) T.Brady pass short left to A.Hernandez to DAL 21 for 8 yards (O.Scandrick, A.Ball).
3-6-DAL 8 (9:01) (Shotgun) T.Brady sacked at DAL 13 for -5 yards (D.Ware).
3-6-NE 48 (3:29) (No Huddle, Shotgun) T.Brady pass short middle to R.Gronkowski to DAL 44 for 8 yards (A.Elam).
3-6-DAL 40 (2:18) (No Huddle, Shotgun) T.Brady pass short middle to A.Hernandez to DAL 39 for 1 yard (O.Scandrick).
3-9-NE 22 (15:00) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short left to D.Branch to DAL 33 for 45 yards (G.Sensabaugh)
3-9-NE 38 (10:35) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short middle to D.Branch to 50 for 12 yards (M.Jenkins).
3-16-NE 32 (12:04) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass incomplete short middle to W.Welker [J.Ratliff].
3-18-DAL 18 (12:52) (No Huddle, Shotgun) T.Brady pass short right to B.Green-Ellis to DAL 7 for 11 yards (A.Spencer).

I don't see a lack of rushes on 3rd down as being a problem in this game. I was a little disappointed that there were so few screen plays called since it looked to be a good counter for the Cowboys jamming the middle.

An interesting point for me was the fact that the Cowboys next-to-last drive was the first time all year that an opposing QB took a snap with the lead. 3-n-out. 2 negative runs. 0 net yards. Punt with only 1:05 (and 2 timeouts) taken off the clock. Big-time stand by the defense. But to be fair, the Cowboys were hampered by their coach having his hand up Romo's anus (and his head up his own).

looking at those 3rd downs i would agree, but still....3rd and 3 or maybe 4 should be a run

btw, our second to last offensive series was the first time our offense hit the field trailing in a game this season....and they went 3 and out as well

 

[patsfan-1982]

the cowboys are the #1 run defense in the NFL you are not just going to line up and run the ball on them they only give up 69 yards a game and the pats got 101 yards they did a good job running the ball IMO

 

[Metaphors]

btw, our second to last offensive series was the first time our offense hit the field trailing in a game this season....and they went 3 and out as well

Yep, the frustrating part of that series was the 2nd-n-1 call...a BJGE run right into the teeth of an overload blitz. Loss of 3 setting up the failed 3rd-n-4 attempt. Don't mind the run call in general, just that anyone could tell it would fail before the snap. Not sure why Brady didn't check out of that play. I have to admit that I wasn't feeling very optimistic at that point in the game.

 

[smg93]

Each week's strategy is based on the opponent they face. You've got to look at the whole season's worth of games and not just this game to make a claim that the Pats are not running the ball on 3rd down.

The Cowboys were the top team against the rush and weaker against the pass. Why force the issue when you have a game plan type offense?