Patriots Report Card: Special Effort Picks Up Some Sloppy Work
The gauntlet is complete. The Patriots emerged as the best team in the AFC and arguably the entire NFL. They are rolling as the playoffs approach.
Sunday night's 23-14 win over the San Diego Chargers was yet another signal that the Pats can win any which way. Shootouts, on the ground, night, day, home, away, on turf, on grass and even in a gritty, gutty, defensive battle, this team is complete and built to succeed no matter what the conditions or the game plan.
Tom Brady overcame an unseemly first three quarters to pass for over 300 yards, the defense overcame as brutal a bad call as you will see all year to pound the Chargers into submission and Bill Belichick achieved yet another milestone.
Patriots: 12th straight 10-win season, 2nd-longest streak since the merger
- ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 8, 2014
So with that, let's get into this week's report card. Give us a kiss, Tom.
OVERALL GRADE: B+
OFFENSE - First things first: Even when the offense is malfunctioning, Brady is lobbing ducks up for grabs and there are four consecutive three-and-outs, Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski are still out there ready to snap off some mighty important plays when necessary. At the end of the third quarter, after having not made a first down since the final minutes of the first half, Brady went to Gronkowski for nine yards, then again for nine yards, then Edelman three times in the next five plays to get the Pats in position to kick a field goal and take their first lead since 3-0 in the early stages.
Of course, Brady and Edelman would deliver the backbreaker moments later when he came free across the middle against a soft defensive look that was expecting run, took advantage of a bad angle by one Chargers' DB and a poor tackle by another to glide in for a 69-yard touchdown, the longest pass play of his career. Edelman now has 85 catches for 884 yards, putting him on pace for 105 and 1,088. Not bad.
Julian @Edelman11 says 'GET OFF ME!' And Tom Brady is going bananas on the sideline.#NEvsSD http://t.co/bOe80EdHPg
- NFL (@nfl) December 8, 2014
And Gronkowski, who benefited from a fortuitous brainfart by the Chargers' defensive coaches when they allowed five-foot-nine corner Brandon Flowers to be singled up on him out wide late in the second quarter, turned that stroke of luck into his 10th TD of the season. That score made him the first tight end with four seasons of 10-plus touchdowns in NFL history. Yo so fiesta.
Anyway, it's a comfort to know that those guys (and to a lesser extent, Brandon LaFell) are around. Luckily, they all got to do their thing after that three quarter-length mess which featured virtually no running game, a happy-footed Brady, some confused looking stuff out of Nate Solder and his O-line mates and some strange play calls by Josh McDaniels.
The Pats seemed to be in rhythm all the way down the field on their opening possession that went 89 yards in 17 plays. But when they got to the goal line by pounding the ball only to abandon the run despite the presence of battering ram LeGarrette Blount in their backfield, they lost their mojo.
They moved the ball at times. And by no means do they need to run it as much as they did against the Colts a few weeks ago on a regular basis. But when they get away from it as quickly as they did, when there is not even a threat of the run even in the red zone, defenses can take advantage up front and flood the throwing lanes in an area where it's already tight quarters. If you're looking for a reason why the Pats were just 1-for-4 inside the 20, that may explain it.
Yet they grinded, and they did so successfully. That's what you need to be able to do in the playoffs much more so than get into a shootout. When the game was in the balance, the line protected Brady and he responded with two scoring drives to secure the win (including even a couple of Crazy Legs-esque scrambles to pick up important first downs). It took two and a half quarters but Solder figured out how to deal with the size and speed of the Chargers' Melvin Ingram and old nemesis Dwight Freeney. And like they always do, Gronk and Edelman saved the day. It wasn't awesome, but it was good enough. GRADE: C+
DEFENSE - If the old cliché that defense wins championships is indeed true, the Patriots are well on their way to hoisting a fourth Lombardi Trophy in a few weeks. Because the way they are playing on that side of the ball – both now and for the majority of the season -- is on a title-winning level no matter who suits up or who doesn't.
Patriots held the offenses of the Broncos, Colts, Packers and Chargers (arguably the 4 best passing O's they could play) to 18.5 PPG.
- Scott Kacsmar (@FO_ScottKacsmar) December 8, 2014
The Chargers scored zero points on offense from the 13:29 mark of the second quarter on. They amassed just 216 total yards, made just 13 first downs and converted only one third down in the second half. The Patriots dominated them, with big time performances all over the place.
Want pass rush? Well have a looky at Jamie Collins, Rob Ninkovich, Akeem Ayers and even Sealver Siliga and Chris Jones.
How about coverage? Enter Collins and Ayers again, Kyle Arrington, Jonathan Casillas, Devin McCourty and of course, the human cloak of invisibility, Darrelle Revis.
Dig physical, punishing hits and brute force against the run? Feast your eyes on Browner, Tavon Wilson (!!!), Alan Branch, Siliga, Ayers and once again, Collins.
Some names have been left out but every last member of the defense in uniform deserves recognition. And it begins with Collins, who wore the green dot helmet with Dont'a Hightower ailing and responded with arguably the best game of his career. He was everywhere. Two sacks, three tackles for a loss, two QB hits, two hurries, and multiple plays on which he was right there in coverage. He played every snap, timed his pass pressure perfectly and was forceful and explosive. There's really not much more to say than that. Collins was absolutely tremendous and as big a reason the Pats won this game as any.
#SNF Game Ball - Jamie Collins Edition @Patriots http://ift.tt/12mECdo
- SundayNight Football (@SNFonNBC) December 8, 2014
Meanwhile, Ayers, who mastermind Ken Whisenhunt had no use for in Tennessee on his 11-loss team, continued to excel in all aspects of his hybrid, defensive end/linebacker role, getting consistent pressure on Chargers' QB Philip Rivers, setting a solid, physical edge against the run and making a massive interception just five plays after the Pats were hosed out of a pick-6 by McCourty due to that brutal call against Browner. He just disappeared into coverage and came out of nowhere with an athletic grab of a pass over the middle.
And while Rivers was dealing with consistent pressure from the jump, he had pretty much nowhere to go with the ball. Outside of a terrific, diving grab for a TD by Malcolm Floyd against Browner, the Chargers' pass catchers had very little room to operate - give or take a catch here or there. McCourty played up on several occasions, using his corner skills to help contain Antonio Gates and it worked. Wilson and Duron Harmon rotated in and out for Patrick Chung in obvious passing situations to play deep, while McCourty crept upfield and not only survived but in Wilson's case, made a crushing hit on Gates late in the game that typified the kind of physical edge the Pats maintained all night. And Arrington made us all forget about the Logan Ryan nightmare from Green Bay, doing his usual solid job as the No. 3 corner in the slot against Eddie Royal.
And of course there's Revis, who turned Keenan Allen, he of the 11 catches for 121 yards and two TDs a week earlier, into dust.
Revis Island: Last 6 games, Cutler, Manning, Luck, Stafford, Rodgers, Rivers were 10 of 37 for 149 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs (30.3 rating).
- Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) December 8, 2014
Again, all of this against a playoff-caliber offense, on the road, without Hightower and Jones. The Pats are versatile, deep and powerful on D. The postseason can't come soon enough. GRADE: A
SPECIAL TEAMS/COACHING - In case you forgot, the Patriots are outstanding on special teams. This week's example came in the form of Brandon Bolden's perfectly executed punt block, which both set up the Pats' first touchdown and broke Chargers' punter Mike Scifres' clavicle.
Bolden's play changed the game – the offense capitalized with the Gronk touchdown four plays later and the defense really found its groove starting with the Chargers' next possession. Along with three field goals by Stephen Gostkowski and the typical sound tackling covering kicks, the Pats' success in this phase complemented the defense in a big way while the offense got its mojo together. The Pats will almost always have the edge on special teams and have taken advantage of that time and time again throughout the season.
As for the coaching, Belichick and staff got back to facing a group that didn't belong on the same field with them after meeting their match last week in Green Bay. Between the Flowers/Gronk mismatch, head coach Mike McCoy choosing to punt from midfield with 6:28 left and down by nine, the Chargers were simply outclassed in the coaching department. And while it would be nice to see the Pats show more balance on offense and McDaniels to allow the offensive line to get into more of a rhythm and get their feet under them more, it's tough to complain too much about a win like this one.
Again, games like this one are more likely to come in the playoffs than offensive explosions. That the Pats scored just 23 points and needed nearly the full 60 minutes to do it, yet still won rather handily is the sort of thing that used to happen in 2003 and 2004. Finally, the Pats have a defense that can consistently pick up the offense on a bad day. That hasn't been the case for years. And they're being coached and aligned beautifully on a weekly basis. Imagine what it will look like when everyone is healthy.
The toughest portion of the regular season is over. If the Pats can hold serve against their division rivals, the road to the Super Bowl will be completely in their control. They can win in any number of ways, including ugly. And that may be the truest test of a title contender this time of year. GRADES: SPECIAL TEAMS: A, COACHING: B
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