New England Patriots Links 9/28/09 - Defense The Story In 26-10 Win Over Falcons

by Marima on Sep 28, 2009 9:42 AM EDT in News Comment 9 comments

TE Chris Baker celebrates his 4th quarter touchdown with teammates against the Atlanta Falcons (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

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Bill Belichick talks about the Patriots' short-yardage 4th-down attempts.

Well, the short yardage in our own end ... I felt like we could get a yard. There would have been plenty of criticism if we didn't, but then we were able to get that and basically hold onto the ball. If I'm not mistaken, we were able to hang onto the ball for pretty much the rest of the third quarter. And the other fourth down, we were right on the edge of field goal range. It would've been a long field goal, so I felt like we had a pretty reasonable chance to pick that up.

Fred Taylor on Tom Brady's frustration and demeanor in the huddle and at halftime.

That's why he's great. If he was the type of guy that didn't demand that type of perfection, we'd just get another guy. But he's Tom Brady and he hasn't won all those championships for nothing. As a player, you get in line, you listen, I'm an older guy but I pay attention. He's the leader, he calls the shots, you got to do what he says. That makes the offense go.

[H]e's always speaking to us. He motivates us, he's a competitor, and he makes sure that we're not going to fall into complacency. He's a great person, great player, thank God I'm on his team.

Bob Ryan says "when you play the kind of sound, classic two-way football the Patriots did yesterday, the players have every right to feel they’ve earned their money."

Just remember that it took Peyton Manning a long time to become Peyton Manning after missing all the 2008 exhibition season in the aftermath of knee surgery. In his third game of 2008, Manning was a measly 15 for 29 for 216 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. It can be argued that he didn’t really find his true rhythm until a 320-yard, 2-TD performance against Houston in Week 11. So file all that away as you watch Tom Brady play this season.

TEAM TALK

Erik Scalavino Falcons-Pats analysis: 4th-down call said it all. Talk about gutsy.
Game Notes Patriots vs. Falcons. Interesting milestones, stats and good info here; well worth a read.
Post-Game Pressers: Bill Belichick (6 min.), Fred Taylor (5 min.), and Tom Brady (5 min.)

LOCAL LINKS

Chris Gasper recaps Sunday's win over the Falcons, saying the Patriots played much better than last week.
Ian Rapoport says the Patriots drummed the Falcons yesterday, using a physical running attack to build the lead, and then watching Tom Brady close it out with a 36-yard touchdown strike to Chris Baker.
Shalise Manza Young offers her own recap of the game, saying the team definitely took a step in the right direction.
Ron Borges furiously notes Falcons head coach Mike Smith was the defensive coordinator for the Jaquars in January 2008 when his playoff game plan against the Patriots didn't work then - and didn't work again on Sunday.
Monique Walker reports Tom Brady recorded his 200th career touchdown pass yesterday, becoming the fourth-fastest player in NFL history to accomplish the feat.
Michael Vega notes the Patriots’ defense put a great deal of pressure on Ryan by taking away Pro Bowl TE Tony Gonzalez (1 catch, 16 yds), and by keeping in check RB Michael Turner (56 yards on 15 carries).
Jim Donaldson liked the defensive dominance he saw from New England.
Chris Forsberg reports the Falcons challenged Moss with single coverage, and Moss responded with another 100 yard game. His 26 receptions are tops in the NFL and better than the 22 catches he made through three games at the start of his record-shattering 2007 season.
Joe Sullivan catches up with Tony Gonzales, who noted the respect Belichick showed him by consistently double-teaming him yesterday. Gonzales was one Falcon Belichick sought out after the game.
Bob Ryan focuses on the Pats Defense, especially in the 2nd half, while recapping the Patriots 26-10 win over the Falcons. (3.27 min. video)
Kirk Minihane says any Patriots fan worth a nickel should know that the effort put forth by Moss in Sunday’s win over the Falcons is the kind of stuff that truly separates the good from the great.
Dan Duggan notes Fred Taylor ran hard all day, hitting the sizable holes opened by the line and lowering his shoulder to finish in the secondary.
Dan Duggan gives credit to the Offensive Line, saying Brady was never sacked and rarely hurried.
Christopher Price offers his Ten things we learned yesterday: in character test, Patriots earn a passing grade.
Chris Gasper looks at the Ups and Downs from yesterday's win.
Herald Staff offers it's Best and Worst of Sunday's win.
Chris Forsberg reports that so far that there are no updates on Vince Wilfork's injured ankle.
Chris Forsberg offers a quick link to all of the postgame reaction from the Patriots' 26-10 triumph over the Falcons at Gillette Stadium, in transcripts provided by the teams' media relation staffs.
Mike Petraglia offers post-game quotes from Matt Ryan and the Patriots locker room.
Chris Gasper Patriots Notebook: Wilfork upbeat after ankle injury; Belichick showed confidence in his offense by going for it on 4th and 1 from their own 24; Chris Baker scored his first TD as a Patriot, and his first TD since November, 2007; Maroney left the game with a thigh injury; tough day for WR Joey Galloway.

NATIONAL NEWS

NFL Game Center Atlanta Falcons at New England Patriots. Recap, analysis, stats and that nifty highlight video.
Mike Reiss (ESPN Boston): Three stars go to the O-Line, Brandon McGowan and Fred Taylor; Moss toughs it out with 100 yards and a bad back; Taylor comes up big; How the Patriots stopped Tony Gonzales; Brady by the numbers; Snaps played by offensive skill positions (Moss played 76/83 with back pain.)
Albert Breer (Sporting News) Patriots again morph into an elite team.
Michael Silver (Yahoo! Sports) Belichick call rekindles image of recent glory.
Albert Breer (Sporting News) For a change of pace, Patriots rely on running game to beat Falcons.
Jim Corbett (USA Today) Angry Tom Brady wills Patriots into sync, past Falcons.
Peter King (SI) MMQB: Palmer, Favre and an unsung receiver added to Week 3 drama. Brandon McGowan gets his defensive player of the week award for stopping Tony Gonzales.
Don Banks (SI) Week 3 Snap Judgments.
Matt Bowen (Nat'l Football Post) Sunday rewind: Week 3. "Pats controlled the clock, took away Gonzalez and played good defense up front against RB Michael Turner."
John Clayton (ESPN) observes Tom Brady is still rusty.
The Huddle (USA Today) Rex Ryan: He and Belichick talked after 'quick handshake' in week 2.
Mike Florio (Pro Football Talk) Richard Seymour sparks more Raider craziness.

VIEW FROM ATLANTA

Mark Bradley (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) The Falcons suffer a thumping loss, but learn a needed lesson.
Tim Casey (AJ-C) Patriots' approach surprised Falcons defense.
D. Orlando Ledbetter (AJ-C) Falcons falter late against Patriots.
Tim Casey (AJ-C) Patriots double up on Falcons' Gonzales.

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Comments

Just a coupla offensive thoughts

I love watching Fred Taylor run the ball. He’s got this shifty (though nevertheless straight-ahead) approach to the hole, he gets there in a hurry, and when it comes time for the hit, he delivers it. He kind of slings his trunk forward and hammers the tackler with his head and shoulder pads. Awesome. Linemen love that sh*t — it just fires you way up when your back hates the defense like that.

Second, it’s really nice to see Ben Watson getting more involved in the game. He kind of disappeared the last couple of years, and I was pretty sure we’d seen the last of him. I was surprised when Thomas was traded, as I’d thought he was the up-and-comer. But here comes Ben, making some great grabs over the first three weeks. I like seeing the TE’s involved in the passing game. They’re ideal play-action targets, especially in an offense without a true fullback. And it seems like Baker has speed that approaches Watson’s own. It’s a nice duo.

Yep, I love me some tight end.

err…

As Mr. Sloan always says, there is no "I" in team, but there is an "I" in pie. And there's an "I" in meat pie. Anagram of meat is team... I don't know what he's talking about. --Shaun of the Dead

by JohnHannahRules on Sep 28, 2009 10:59 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Sammy Morris has been doing a good job as a fullback.

There has been some TE lead blocking, but Sammy fills the role nicely for a lighter back.

The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.

by SlotMachinePlayer on Sep 28, 2009 11:11 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yep --

what I mean by that is that we’re frequently in 1-back sets on running plays, which means that the TE’s are often stuck on the line as blockers when we run it. That sets a read for the d, so when it’s play-action, the TE’s are more likely to be ignored and can slip into the pattern more easily.

As Mr. Sloan always says, there is no "I" in team, but there is an "I" in pie. And there's an "I" in meat pie. Anagram of meat is team... I don't know what he's talking about. --Shaun of the Dead

by JohnHannahRules on Sep 28, 2009 11:29 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I love TE play

A quality TE is a matchup problem for any defense. Combine that with a catching back, and it’s easy to keep your quarterback upright.

The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.

by SlotMachinePlayer on Sep 28, 2009 11:43 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Offensive Co-ordinator

Josh McDaniels wasn’t a huge believer in a pass-catching TE, so when he was doing the playcalling it was a lot of TE-in-close-blocking, WR-catching-only kind of thing. I guess the new system is going to be closer to the 2004 Weis era than not; fairly mixed use of RB screens and TE on posts/flats.

I wonder if Thomas blew it with that massive penalty against (I think) the Colts. That kind of brain-explosion is the kind of thing you just know Hoodie won’t forget. Big game, big situation, big letdown.

by Comedic.Sans on Sep 28, 2009 3:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

well... coincidence or not

the two guys who lost that Colts game for us, Thomas and Gaffney, are now in different cities.

Keep the faith!

by Marima on Sep 28, 2009 4:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think that's the difference between the guys who get cut and those who don't

There are the guys who have so-so performances in general and then pull out game-winning/game-saving/almost game-saving plays (Ben Watson, Laurence Maroney in the ’07 playoffs) and there are guys who are solid throughout but then lose the plot when it most matters (Thomas, Caldwell, Gaffney, even Hobbs).

In saying that… kinda ruing the Greg Lewis cut. Hell, I was at the time he got cut. Heh.

by Comedic.Sans on Sep 28, 2009 5:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I was undecided

Frankly, I didn’t have much confidence from what I had seen from either of them in Training Camp or Pre-season. I would have felt the same way at the time, had Belichick cut Galloway and kept Lewis.

Keep the faith!

by Marima on Sep 28, 2009 5:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Falcons were surprised by the screen

True, the last two weeks the Patriots didn’t use them, but I wouldn’t have thought any team would think they threw them out of the playbook.

I agree that Fred Taylor is the man. He knows how to run with authority, lowers that shoulder, grinds his legs, and gets through the hole before it closes up. He doesn’t have the sheer force (or angry-at-the-world attitude) of Corey Dillon, but it was so good to see him get his number called and watch him make the plays.

Ron Borges’s article reminded me about Mike Smith being the defensive coordinator for the Jags back in the playoffs of ‘07-’08. I thought it was interesting to note that his game plan yesterday didn’t involve bring-the-house-blitzes on Brady – even at least to try and see if he could negatively affect Brady in the pocket. It ended up that most of the time he had all day to throw. That surprised me a bit.

Keep the faith!

by Marima on Sep 28, 2009 1:38 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs