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Super Pats: How They Did It

February 5, 2019 by Digital Sports Desk

ATLANTA – The New England Patriots cracked the Los Angeles Rams’ defense in Super Bowl LIII by running the exact same play three times in a row.

New England ran the play out of its heaviest, non-goal line package. Strange as it sounds, the simple formula proved to be the antidote against an otherwise ferocious defense.

LA Rams vs New England Patriots Super Bowl LIII Highlights (NFL/Youtube).

Wade Phillips’ unit hounded Tom Brady and the passing game almost all night. The Rams pestered the 41-year-old with a myriad of different looks, timely coverage rotations and sporadic spurts of pressure, forcing poor reads, bad decisions, errant throws and even an ugly sack-fumble.

Almost all of Brady’s success came through Julian Edelman, who was named MVP, and occasionally Rob Gronkowski. Elsewhere, the Rams rendered the Patriots’ auxiliary passing-game weapons nearly useless.

To all other targets, Brady went 5 of 16 for 34 yards and an interception. Chris Hogan failed to catch any of his six targets, with one intercepted and another nearly picked. Phillip Dorsett — who caught a 29-yard TD two weeks ago — played sparingly and wasn’t targeted. Even James White was shut down, catching just one of his four targets for 5 yards.With no supplementary weapons helping in the passing game, the Patriots essentially took them off the field for the biggest drive of the game, instead favoring run-heavy personnel in order to throw the ball. That sounds counterintuitive, but it worked perfectly because it reduced Phillips’ defensive options and gave Brady the clearest possible picture of the defense.

In today’s pass-happy NFL, defenses use base personnel so little that most install only a few coverages out of it, sticking to basic man and zone calls with little disguise. This has been one of Phillips’ few problem areas in recent seasons — teams have forced his defenses into base personnel, spread it out and thrown the ball.

The Falcons and Patriots both did this with great success against Phillips’ Broncos team in 2016.

With the Lombardi Trophy on the line Sunday, New England did the same on the game-winning touchdown drive, picking the Rams apart for 67 yards on four straight passes.

The Patriots opened the series with a crafty design.With 21 personnel (two backs, one tight end, one wideout) in an I-formation, Edelman motioned left to leave Gronkowski as the only receiver to the right side. Edelman’s motion confirmed man coverage, and L.A.’s alignment meant only safety John Johnson or edge rusher Samson Ebukam could cover Gronkowski. At the snap, Gronkowski blocked Ebukam, who naturally assumed — as did Johnson — it was a run. Johnson flew downhill and Ebukam fought upfield, only to find Gronkowski leaking out for an easy 18-yard catch.

Then New England went empty with 22 personnel (two backs, two tight ends, one wideout) and ran “Hoss Y Juke” back-to-back-to-back, flipping the formation on the second play and changing the motion on the third. The play calls for two curls on the outside (run by Rex Burkhead and James Develin), two seams up the slot — by Gronkowski (inside Burkhead) and Allen (inside Develin — and an option route by Edelman from the slot inside of Allen.

On the first, Burkhead’s motion from the backfield showed Brady the Rams were playing Cover-4 zone (also called quarters), with four deep and three underneath. The seams and curls completely cleared out the middle of the field and isolated Edelman on linebacker Cory Littleton, who had no chance amid so much space. Edelman picked up an easy 13 yards.

The Rams adapted on the next snap, playing a matchup Cover-3 zone but sending two underneath defenders to jam Edelman and having another jam Gronkowski as Mark Barron carried his seam vertically. His preferred options taken away, Brady still got 7 easy yards by checking down to Burkhead under Marcus Peters’ cushion.

Phillips ran matchup zone on the next snap, too, but motion — this time Edelman instead of Burkhead — created confusion, as Littleton and safety Lamarcus Joyner both moved to align over Edelman. Joyner quickly corrected Littleton, but the linebacker was late returning to where he should be — over Gronkowski — giving the tight end a headstart up the seam. Brady held the centerfield safety with his eyes, then dropped it over Littleton for 29 yards, setting up the game-winning 2-yard TD.

Perhaps most striking about this sequence was how easy it was.

Gronkowski’s first catch was a one-read throw that was all but guaranteed to be open. All three plays out of empty defined Brady’s read either before the snap or immediately after it and produced wide-open targets.And it was all facilitated by run-heavy personnel, even though no runs were called.-McCourty’s miracle.

Of course, the Rams’ defensive efforts still should have been enough for a victory, if the offense could have just found the end zone twice.But L.A.’s best chance at paydirt was thwarted by the lesser heralded McCourty twin, cornerback Jason McCourty, who spent 2017 on the winless Browns and was playing in his first postseason.With 3:42 left in the third quarter, the Patriots called Cover-4, against a Rams formation featuring three receivers bunched right of the line and Brandin Cooks alone on the left. Off play-action, Cooks’ seam route perfectly bisected the deep zones of cornerbacks Stephon Gilmore (outside) and Jonathan Jones (inside), and Gilmore tried to pass Cooks off to Jones.

However, Jones was trained on a deep crosser from Robert Woods, who had come from the bunch formation. In Cover-4 against trips, the backside “safety” (played by a cornerback in Jones, in this case) is responsible for vertical routes from the trips side of the formation, which is why Woods drew his attention. As a result, Cooks came absolutely wide open in the end zone.

Then McCourty came to the rescue.The other two Rams in the bunch formation stayed in to block, leaving McCourty no receiver near his deep zone (outside to the offense’s right). But rather than sitting around, he went looking for work, reading Jared Goff’s eyes and spying Cooks open in the end zone. As Goff released the ball, McCourty was still outside the numbers at the 7-yard line, with Cooks on the far hash at the 3. Somewhat miraculously, the cornerback closed the gap just in time, arriving to jar Cooks’ arms in the back of the end zone.

The late intervention wound up saving four points, as L.A. settled for a field goal and a tie instead of taking a 7-3 lead.-Goff the goatAs great a play as it was though, McCourty never should have had the chance.Goff had just two routes to read, and he was looking right at Cooks when the wideout — who put his arm up to call for the ball while crossing the 13-yard line — sprung completely free. Despite his target coming wide open and on-time by design, Goff inexplicably took three hitches from the top of his drop before throwing.

Even then, it still should have been a touchdown. The throw was wobbly and too high, hanging in the air, and thrown unnecessarily out in front of Cooks instead of right on him or to his back shoulder. McCourty needed every bit of Goff’s help to make the play.More damning for Goff is that he should have known Cooks would be open. The Rams ran the same play with 4:19 left in the first quarter — out of 11 personnel (instead of 12) and with a different run fake, but otherwise identical — against the same coverage and it worked, freeing Cooks from Gilmore by 3-4 yards. Goff appeared to think about throwing to Cooks before hesitating, and then pressure forced him to throw it away.

The second time around, Goff should have known exactly what to expect. The design worked even better, with Cooks even more open. Goff had more time and space in the pocket. But for whatever reason, he still failed to make the play.

Unfortunately for the Rams, it was far from the only play Goff would want back.The third-year signal-caller struggled to see things clearly throughout the evening. He threw two would-be interceptions that were dropped — the first could have been picked by Devin McCourty OR Jonathan Jones if John Simon had not batted it at the line — then botched the aforementioned play to Cooks, and finally made three critical errors in the fourth quarter.On second-and-22 with 10:36 remaining, Goff failed to spot a likely 40-plus-yard gain. The Rams ran a “dagger” concept with Woods’ vertical route clearing out space for Josh Reynolds’ dig (the primary option on the play), which came wide open against the Patriots’ Cover-3 zone, with nobody within 10 yards of Reynolds. For whatever reason — perhaps a predetermined decision — Goff instead opted for Cooks’ out-and-up on the far side, which was blanketed by Gilmore.

On the next series, Goff went for the tying touchdown on a fade to Cooks and actually threw a terrific pass, dropping it in the bucket. But he failed to hold the single-high safety (Duron Harmon) long enough with his eyes, and Harmon was able to break to Cooks’ route (which came from a tight split) and help dislodge the ball.

Cooks still could have caught the pass — and Gilmore sneakily hooked one of the wideout’s arms before it arrived — but he very well might have hung on if not for a crushing hit from Harmon, whom Goff could have removed from the play with his eyes.

One play later, Goff all but sealed the defeat with a poor decision against 0-blitz, the Patriots’ first time all game sending six or more rushers. After showing a few 0 looks on earlier third downs but having Harmon bail to play free safety, New England brought them all this time, and Harmon came unblocked up the middle. With no short hot route available, Goff looked to Cooks’ vertical pattern but threw early and without definition, well before the receiver had the chance to turn and find the ball. With eyes on Goff the whole way, the 6-foot Gilmore easily elevated over the 5-foot-10 Cooks for the pick.

It wasn’t all bad from Goff, who made a few outstanding throws in the game. None was better than the 18-yarder to Woods on third-and-6 — one play before McCourty’s miracle break-up — as Goff fired a bullet past Jones’ tight man coverage despite Trey Flowers barreling into his face.But the missed opportunities were crushing, especially in a low-scoring game that was there for the taking

.-Brilliant Belichick does it again

Naturally, Belichick deserves plenty of credit for Goff’s struggles.

His game plan was geared toward exposing the quarterback’s weaknesses by shutting down the run game and taking away easy play-action completions.Up front, the Patriots used primarily five- and six-man fronts — with only one linebacker off the ball — and played aggressively uphill against the run. Extra men on the line created more single blocks, and penetration forced cutbacks into the waiting arms of other defenders. Belichick also employed various run blitzes and gap exchanges to distort the Rams’ zone-blocking assignments. Neither Todd Gurley nor C.J. Anderson found much daylight, with 57 yards on 17 carries between them (16 of which came on one play).

As we suspected in our preview, Belichick followed the lead of Matt Patricia’s Lions (and other teams that gave the Rams fits late in the regular season) by playing plenty of Cover-4 on early downs. The deep zones combined to double-team many of the Rams’ deep route combinations off play-action, limiting explosive plays. Goff wound up holding the ball, checking down, throwing it away or forcing it into coverage, as he did on Dont’a Hightower’s dropped interception to open the second half.

A better showing from New England’s offense would have forced Los Angeles to throw even more, but the Rams still wound up in plenty of obvious passing situations, putting all of the burden on Goff.

That’s exactly what Belichick wanted, and he made the 24-year-old miserable with an endless array of stunts, twists and blitzes, exactly like he did against Patrick Mahomes in the AFC Championship Game. None used more than five rushers — until the 0-blitz call on Gilmore’s interception — and many required only four. Hightower and Kyle Van Noy alternated between leading stunts and looping around the slants of defensive linemen, leaving the Rams’ highly touted offensive line helpless as it tried to pick up the weaving rushers.

The Patriots ultimately racked up four sacks and 12 QB hits, giving them eight and 21, respectively in the the final two playoff games. This from a defense that had only 30 sacks (tied second fewest in the NFL) and 100 QB hits in the entire regular season.

The suddenly terrifying pass rush was just another example of Belichick’s uncanny chameleon-like qualities, shaping his defenses to fit the opponent and deliver in critical moments.

–David DeChant, Field Level Media

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Filed Under: Boston Sports, New England Patriots, NFL, NFL Playoffs, Super Bowl LI Tagged With: NFL, Super Bowl LIII

MVP!

February 5, 2019 by Digital Sports Desk

ATLANTA – Julian Edelman is going to Disney World.

A flier draft pick – No. 232 in 2009 – from the Mid-American Conference, Edelman earned MVP honors Sunday for his latest standout performance in a Super Bowl. Edelman caught 10 passes for 141 yards and gained eight yards on one rushing attempt.Introduced Monday morning as MVP of Super Bowl LIII by commissioner Roger Goodell, who noted his “off the charts” playoff performances, Edelman will extend his latest ride with a parade this afternoon at Disney World. By Tuesday at noon, Edelman should be near the end of his third victory parade in Boston.

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“To see how this team grinded and worked each week, when things weren’t at its best, we constantly tried to improve,” Edelman said. “A resilient group. One you’ll never forget.”

Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Monday morning Edelman is one of the players he never could forget, putting him in a class with wide receiver Troy Brown and Mike Vrabel.

“No one has worked harder in my career to develop his skills and his craft at a position he’d never played,” Belichick said.Edelman caught 26 passes in the three playoff wins this postseason, going for 151 yards against the Chargers, 96 yards at Kansas City and polishing it off with his MVP performance Sunday. Edelman caught passes on all three scoring drives for New England.

“I’m just so proud and happy to be a part of the team,” Edelman said. “Guys that just battled, brought their lunchpail, hard hat to work. A lot of noises out there – we just continued to try to get better.”

New England converted only three third downs Sunday night – all Edelman receptions. But when asked what his favorite play in the victory was, Edelman went off script.”The knee at the end,” he said with a smile barely visible through a thicket-level beard.A close friend and confidant of quarterback Tom Brady, Edelman found Brady immediately after the game for a celebratory embrace.”He just said, ‘I’m proud of you.’ That was big,” Edelman said. “It’s pretty flattering. He’s a fighter. It’s a flattering comment to hear that from a guy you look up to.”

Edelman credited Brady for coming through in the clutch.”He’s just an awesome player, great teammate, friend, and I’m so proud of everything he’s done for our team,” Brady said.

Belichick recalled Monday, a few hours after the party in celebration of Super Bowl LIII ended in downtown Atlanta, unearthing Edelman as a seventh-round pick from Kent State playing like he belonged on the same field with Ohio State.

“It’s an incredible story. He played the game with an intensity that was hard for them to handle,” Belichick said. “I go back to his first playoff game against the Ravens, he was probably our best player on the field. He played that game the way he played the Ohio State game against Kent State. We didn’t play very well that day. But I know he did. He caught a slip screen, broke about five tackles for a first down.”

“He’s there every day competing against himself trying to get better,” Belichick said.

Following Sunday’s effort, Edelman, 32, now ranks second all-time in playoff receiving yards with 1,412. Edelman has at least five receptions in 13 consecutive postseason games, the longest streak in playoff history. His 115 career postseason receptions rank second in NFL history. Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice holds the record with 151 career catches in the playoffs.

Not all celebrated Edelman’s honor.

USA Today published an editorial Monday arguing Edelman shouldn’t even have been on the field due to the performance-enhancing drug violation, revealed when the 198-pound receiver was suspended four games to start the 2018 season. Edelman, who missed the 2017 season with a torn ACL, said he was driven by watching New England lose in the Super Bowl last season to the Philadelphia Eagles.

“My head was down, just trying to go out and try to win ball games and help the team,” he said.

–Field Level Media

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Filed Under: Boston Sports, New England Patriots, NFL, NFL Playoffs, Super Bowl LI Tagged With: NFL, Super Bowl LIII

Sixth Sense!

February 3, 2019 by Digital Sports Desk

New England Patriots 13, LA Rams 3

When: 6:30 PM ET, Sunday, February 3, 2019
Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Attendance: 70,081
Special to Digital Sports Desk by Field Level Media

ATLANTA – The New England Patriots claimed the Lombardi Trophy for a record-tying sixth time, defeating the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in a Super Bowl LIII slugfest Sunday in Atlanta.

Embed from Getty Images

A clash of generations at quarterback and head coach, this was billed as a battle between 41-year-old Tom Brady and 66-year-old Bill Belichick of New England and 24-year-old Jared Goff and 33-year-old Sean McVay of Los Angeles.

Instead it was the placekickers, punters and the defensive play-callers, Wade Phillips of the Rams and Brian Flores of the Patriots, who controlled much of the action — or lack thereof. It was the first Super Bowl without a touchdown by either team through three quarters, and the lowest-scoring Super Bowl (3-3) entering the fourth.

Brady being Brady, he came through when it mattered and helped the Patriots match the Pittsburgh Steelers with six Super Bowl rings.

Taking over at their own 31 after the Rams’ ninth punt, the Patriots marched 69 yards in five plays to score the game’s only touchdown and take a 10-3 lead with 7:00 to play. Brady was 4-for-4 for 67 yards on the drive, including a 29-yarder to Rob Gronkowski to set up Sony Michel’s 2-yard touchdown run. It was the rookie’s sixth TD of the postseason.

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The Rams roared right back, driving to the New England 27 in five plays. On the sixth play, Stephon Gilmore and Duron Harmon broke up a potential touchdown catch by Brandin Cooks. On the seventh play, Gilmore picked off an errant throw to Cooks with 4:17 left as Goff tried to avoid a Patriots blitz.

Capping a nine-play, 72-yard drive, Stephen Gostkowski then iced the game for the Patriots with his second field goal. His 41-yarder stretched the lead to 10 with 1:12 remaining.

Brady completed 21 of 35 passes for 262 yards and one interception. Julian Edelman caught 10 passes for 141 yards, and Michel rushed 18 times for 94 yards.

“It was an unbelievable year,” Brady told CBS on the field after the game. “We just fought through it more so than anything. It’s unbelievable to win this game. …We’ve been this far and lost, which is really tough. I wish we had played a little better on offense, but we won and it’s unbelievable.

“…I’m so happy for my teammates. This is a dream come true for all of us.”

Goff finished 19 of 38 for 229 yards and the one pick. Cooks had eight grabs for 120 yards.

After eight straight Johnny Hekker punts to begin the game, the Rams made it 3-3 on Greg Zuerlein’s 53-yard field goal with 2:11 left in the third quarter. Los Angeles left some points on the field, however, as three plays earlier, Goff was late throwing to a wide-open Cooks in the back of the end zone, with the throw broken up by Jason McCourty.

After two weeks of buildup, the showdown started slowly with the ninth scoreless first quarter in Super Bowl history. The Patriots have been involved in five of those — and won all five. New England took a 3-0 lead into halftime on Gostkowski’s 42-yard field goal in the second quarter.

The Rams had more punts (six) in the first half than first downs (two) or completions (five). The NFL’s No. 2 offense in both scoring and yards during the regular season, L.A. reached intermission with 57 total yards.

The Patriots tallied 12 first downs and gained 195 yards in the half but mustered only three points, despite four trips inside the Rams’ 35. Gostkowski missed his first field-goal attempt (46 yards), and Brady had the half’s only turnover, a deflected interception on his first pass attempt. New England also failed on fourth-and-1 late in the half.

Neither team reached the red zone before the break. It was the second-lowest-scoring first half in Super Bowl history. The Pittsburgh Steelers led the Minnesota Vikings 2-0 at halftime in Super Bowl IX.

–Field Level Media

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Filed Under: Boston Sports, New England Patriots, NFL, NFL Playoffs, Super Bowl LI Tagged With: NFL, Super Bowl, Super Bowl LIII

Edelman is the Man

February 3, 2019 by Digital Sports Desk

ATLANTA — Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman was named the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl LIII.

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Edelman caught 10 passes for 141 yards, including seven catches for 93 yards before halftime, to help New England claim a second Super Bowl in three seasons. He caught one of the most memorable passes in Super Bowl history to help New England rally over the Atlanta Falcons in 2016.

Edelman now ranks second all-time in playoff receiving yards with 1,412. Jerry Rice is the all-time leader with 2,245.

Quarterback Tom Brady was MVP of four of the Patriots’ six Super Bowl wins. Edelman joins Brady and wide receiver Deion Branch, who was MVP of Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005, as players to earn the award in Patriots’ Super Bowl wins.

Edelman is the seventh wide receiver to win the award, and the first since Pittsburgh’s Santonio Holmes in Super Bowl XLIII.–Field Level Media

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Filed Under: Boston Sports, New England Patriots, NFL, NFL Playoffs, Super Bowl LI Tagged With: NFL

Brady’s Back for More

February 3, 2019 by Digital Sports Desk

ATLANTA – Tom Brady made history by winning his sixth Super Bowl ring Sunday night.

Now, Brady is determined to win No. 7. He shook his head when asked whether he might step away after his record-setting victory.

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“It doesn’t change anything,” Brady said in a postgame interview with CBS. “I can’t wait to spend some time with my family and my kids and my wife. I couldn’t do it without their support. It’s just been a great year. I’m so happy for my teammates. This is a dream come true for all of us.”

The 41-year-old quarterback completed 21 of 35 passes for 262 yards in the New England Patriots’ 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams. He was picked off once.

Questions about Brady’s future have persisted for several seasons, but he shows no signs of slowing down. He passed for 4,355 yards and 29 touchdowns during the regular season and has thrown for 517 touchdowns in his career.

–Field Level Media

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Filed Under: Boston Sports, New England Patriots, NFL, NFL Playoffs, Super Bowl LI Tagged With: NFL, Super Bowl LIII

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