MORSE: 15 Observations from Patriots’ Upset of Denver
(PHOTO: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports) 🕑 Read Time: 5 minutes
Posted Under: Patriots Commentary
(PHOTO: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports) 🕑 Read Time: 5 minutes
New England Patriots > Patriots Blog
(PHOTO: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports) I always want to win even at the cost of losing draft position. I must give the Patriots players credit; they have not quit. They are playing for pride, for their coach and they want to win. Just look at the players that were missing; Judon, Gonzalez, Strange, Smith-Schuster, Henry, Slater, Stevenson, and Peppers. That’s 8 starters! How many teams would have rolled over and died, with nothing to play for except their next contract? Don’t worry about the draft pick, it is only going to make the Patriots decision easier when it comes to the draft. I won’t spoil it here, but I have definite thoughts on the draft and will present those once the season has ended. Here are my observations.
1) My first and lasting impression of the game is the way that Christian Barmore played. He was as dominant a Defensive lineman as I have seen in a Patriots uniform. He was not playing against any old offensive lineman. Barmore is healthy this year and he went up against Quinn Meinerz who is ranked #4 by Pro Football Focus (PFF). Amongst Defensive Tackles, Barmore was ranked 8th thru 15 games and should go up this week. He had three sacks of the elusive Russel Wilson. Barmore led the team (tied with Bentley) with 8 tackles, 5 solo and 2 Tackles for Loss. This from a player that I thought was lazy coming out in the draft. Boy am I’m glad I was wrong. I watched his interview after the game, and he is just a young man that loves playing football. He was so hyped even a half hour after the game was over.
2) Bailey Zappe was terrific, 25 of 33 (76% completion rate), 2 TDs and no INT. He did have a fumble on the opening play of the game that appeared to me as an incomplete pass similar to the tuck rule. Zappe’s arm was definitely going forward. He was 5 for 5 on passes of 25 yards or more. When is the last time we have seen that? His mobility in the pocket, avoiding a sack and still getting the passes downfield was impressive all night.
3) None was better than Zappe’s game winning drive with 56 seconds left and starting on their own 19-yard line. It appeared that the Patriots were going to try and run the clock out, settle for overtime. With 3rd and 3 at their own 36-yard line, Zappe and Bill O’Brien crossed up Denver by passing deep down the sideline to DaVante Parker for 27 yards. Parker was one on one against Patrick Surtain the Broncos best CB.
4) You can call it a tale of two games for Kicker Chad Ryland. He missed a 47-yard Field Goal extremely wide right. It was so far right that he missed the Field Goal net, and some lucky fan got an early Christmas gift! Later he missed an extra point, doinking it off the goal post. However, that was not Ryland’s fault but that of longsnapper Joe Cardona. The snap was high and right, and Bryce Baringer did a terrific job catching it and getting it down. Ryland almost made that kick. Then came the opportunity for redemption. An improbable opportunity to kick a game winning Field Goal with just 2 seconds left. The kick was absolutely perfect, right down the middle and into the net. That kick would have been good from 65 yards out. I loved the reaction of the Broncos mascot. As the ball went through the middle of the uprights, the mascot just collapsed on his face. Ryland was excellent in his interview after the game and refused to blame the longsnapper for his missed Extra Point.
5) Everything starts and ends with the Offensive Line. Whose brilliant idea was it to start James Ferentz at Left Guard with Vederian Lowe at Left Tackle. Ferentz is an old (34) undersized Center and extremely undersized G at 6’2” 290 lbs. DJ Jones threw him out of the way like he was a ragdoll. It was Jones that had a direct line to Zappe and was credited with the opening fumble. Atonio Mafi was not great as he was called twice for holding, but he was stout in pass protection and gave Zappe enough time to complete those chunk plays downfield. I understand that Trent Brown is playing hurt, and the Patriots are trying to limit his playing time. Lowe is not the answer.
6) This was the best game that I have seen from DaVante Parker. He had 4 receptions on 5 targets for 65-yards. Many were underthrown balls that Parker made the adjustment to, and the DB didn’t. He had receptions of 29, 30 and 27 yards. None of his catches was better than the 27-yarder from Zappe at the end of the game.
7) Pop Douglas was a big factor too and he was 5 receptions on 8 targets. He did let one go right through his hands and it would have been a big gainer as he had plenty of room to run. He finished with 74 yards. During the game he broke the single season rookie record for most receptions with 44. Quite the accomplishment for a 6th round draft pick, especially having missed 3 games with concussions.
8) Ezekiel Elliott had a big impact on the game with 9 catches and 33 yards including a 15-yard TD. On that play he leaped over the defender like a high hurdler and continued to the end zone. He added 12 carries for 27 yards.
9) In the absence of Hunter Henry both Mike Gesicki and Pharoah Brown contributed. Gesicki had 2 catches for 15 yards and a TD. Brown added 2 catches for 25 yards. Jaelon Reagor added a nice 28-yard pocket pass reception. This was a pass that was over the CB and underneath the Safety coming over. Perfectly thrown ball by Zappe.
10) I must add a shout out to Denver linebacker Alex Singleton with his 12 tackles, 10 of which were solo. Tremendous effort by a player that will be a Free Agent next year.
11) I was impressed with Jalen Mills who finished with 7 tackles. He was everywhere but was banged up and didn’t finish the game. At one point with Jones and Mills out we were playing Wade, Bryant and Austin as the corners. It was a good game for Bryant who also had 7 tackles, a Pass Breakup and Tackle for Loss. Luckily Jones came back and had a good breakup late in the game.
12) The Pats Defense was immense in the 1st and third quarters. After the opening fumble at the 6-yard line the Pats defense held the Broncos off the scoreboard. The next drive Denver started at the Patriots 46 and the defense forced a three and out. Unfortunately, Bryce Baringer had a booming 53-yard punt that outkicked his coverage team and Mims returned it 50 yards to the Patriots 25. The Broncos would score on this short field. In the third quarter they dominated Denver and held them to -15 yards for the quarter, while the offense and special teams scored 20 points.
13) I am convinced that the rarified air at altitude in Denver was a big factor in the fourth quarter. The Patriots Defense looked gassed while the Offense did nothing with three straight three and outs. The Defense dug deep for a critical stop and 3 and out giving Zappe the chance to get into Field Goal position.
14) The Special Teams had a weird night and looked like they missed Matthew Slater. They gave up the 50-yard return by Mims to set up Denver’s 1st TD. Then they missed a Field Goal and Extra Point. However, Chad Ryland redeemed himself with that booming 56-yard game winning Field Goal.
15) The coaching staff needs to take a hit here with the decision to start Ferentz and Lowe together, but they quickly adjusted and got Ferentz out of there. In the second half, the use of an early timeout, then a loss of timeout for an unsuccessful challenge used up their second timeout. That left the Pats with just one Timeout for the final 56 seconds.
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