Patriots Third Down Defensive Struggles
by Richard Hill on Oct 31, 2011 5:35 PM EDT
in Opinion/Analysis
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Despite the close score, it never felt as if the Patriots' defense was in the game against the Steelers. The Patriots have dropped back down to 30th in the league in 3rd down defense and it's important to see why in order to fix those issues. I went through the game tape and took quick notes based upon what I saw. It's apparent what the weakness of the defense is, although the answer might surprise you.
At the beginning of the season, heck, even before the draft, if you were to ask me which position on the team was the most solidified for the upcoming season, I would have said the inside linebacker spot. Jerod Mayo, Brandon Spikes, Gary Guyton, and Dane Fletcher looked to create the strongest unit on defense. Injuries to Mayo and Fletcher have taken them off the field and, as a result, the strongest unit on the team has become the weak link. The Steelers attacked the linebackers the entire game and were able to effortlessly move the chains.
Brandon Spikes is not regarded as a strong coverage linebacker. It seems as if the defensive schemes have tried to write Spikes out of coverage and into the pass rush. However, this create gaping holes in the defense where opposing teams can capitalize for big gains.
Let's look at the third down attempts and we'll recap afterwards.
1st: Guyton and Spikes the LBs, Spikes steps up to threaten Ben, Heath Miler runs (unjammed) to vacated zone. First Down.
2nd: Pats rush 6 with zero LBs in middle of field. Miller runs (unjammed) to wide open space for a quick dump off. There are literally four receivers open as they all cut to the inside where there are no LBs. First Down.
3rd: For the TD, pick n roll with Arrington getting impeded by Chung. Spikes blitzes Ben, Ben throws into Spikes vacant space. Touchdown.
4th: 3rd and 5, Pats have 6 in the box, 1 LB drops to middle zone, NB/DB are 5 yards off, CBs are 11 yards off. Arrington with huge cushion. First Down.
5th: 3rd/3. 3/3/5. Nink "Harbaugh" taps Miller's back, he runs in front of Spikes. One move and he's free with no defenders near him. First Down.
6th: Goal line stop, forced a field goal, Great coverage and prevention of routes developing in the end zone. deterred Ben from throw. Stop.
7th: 17 yds. Guyton makes the interception. 3/3/5, Carter as a DE. Heads up grab by Guyton, wasn't much pressure on Ben. Stop.
8th: 4yd. Red zone. Poor communication, Molden pass Brown to Arrington, Brown runs back to Molden zone. Molden deep thinking Arrington has Brown.Touchdown.
9th: Mendenhall ran it. CBS showed it as a 1st down run. Guyton and Love get blown off line. First Down.
10th: 15yd. Guyton/Nink in coverage. Everyone drops to 1st down marker, Guyton picks up, turns his back to Sanders who stops on a dime. Nink wasn't in coverage of Sanders, but dropped back in coverage. Nink was in underneath zone of Wallace, with McCourty over top. Example of huge pocket exploited as LBs continue to struggle in coverage. First Down.
11th: 3yd. Red zone (3 of last 5 3rd downs in red zone. Steelers moving chains on first and second). Ben makes bad throw w/o pressure. Defense is able to take away pockets in end zone, leaves place open underneath and away from the goal line.Stop.
12th: 12yd. Sergio Brown runs from 15 yards deep to "pressure" Ben. Vacates a zone for A. Brown to cut inside. Sim play to Dez vs DMC. Seriously, don't know why Sergio did that. He had no way of getting close to Ben and just completely opened up the first down. First Down.
13th**: 5yd. Red zone (4 of last 7 3rd downs have been in RZ), force a false start to set up 10 yards to go.
13th: 10yd. Ben with a quick slant. Good coverage by the Pats, McCourty makes a sound tackle to stop the receiver. Stop.
14th: 3yd. Defense creates pressure, forces Ben to throw it up and the receiver is not on the same page. Stop.
15th: 1yd. Run by Redman. Love gets wedged down, Warren pushed over Love, Steelers run towards them and barely get the first. First Down.
16th: 22yd. Pats do not drop to first down (instead press closer to receiver) and defensive line has enough time to sack Ben. Stop.
So here are some base statistics from these 16 plays:
Conversions were allowed because:
2 due to blitzes opening zones (Brown, Spikes),
6 due to empty zones,
2 due to Steelers running on 3rd and 1.
As a result, most third downs weren't about bad tackles- it was a result of forced mismatches by the Steelers offense and by taking advantage of Patriots blitzes.
It's interesting to note that despite the Patriots weak cornerbacks, very few attempts to convert were on the outside. Most involved the seam, or In routes against linebackers in coverage. In fact, five of the defensive stops were due to solid coverage and stops by the secondary. In attempts directed towards the secondary, the Patriots stopped five of eight attempts, with one of the conversions due to the safety Sergio Brown blitzes and vacating his position. So while there is definite room for improvement at the cornerback position, they were far from the issue on 3rd down.
The flip side is that the Steelers were successful on seven of eight attempts against the linebackers, with the one mistake being the Guyton interception. It's clear that the Patriots must find a way to force receivers out of the middle of the field and towards the cornerbacks.
The follow players converted on third down for the Steelers:
Pass: Heath Miller 3/3, Mewelde Moore 1/1, Jerricho Cotchery 1/1, Emmanuel Sanders 1/2, Antonio Brown 2/5 conversion (3/5 completion, Devin McCourty made a stop)
Run: Rashard Mendenhall 1/1, Isaac Redman 1/1
The Steelers offense did a good job spreading the ball to make sure the Patriots couldn't hone in on one specific player to smother on third down.
Some other "fun" facts:
5/16 3rd down plays came in the Red Zone.
The Steelers threw on 3rd down 14/16 times
Of the six 3rd down stops, 4 resulted in FG attempts, 1 was Guyton's INT, and 1 was punt with 18 seconds left.
More fun: the punt happened after Ben Roethlisberger had been sacked on two consecutive plays for -19 yards- which means that the Steelers had been in position for 5 field goal attempts.
Most fun: Oh, and that interception saw Gary Guyton return it to the opposite Red Zone. Yeah- all six stops involved the ball being in field goal position.
It's clear the Patriots must find a way to improve their third down defense and it's not fair to point all the fingers at the thin cornerback position. Yes, Ben Roethlisberger had a great day, but a lot of the production was against the linebackers and the safeties. For some reason, the Patriots stopped jamming the tight end (Heath Miller) at the line and he had a monstrous first drive. Hopefully, the defense can find a solution quickly. The defense took a huge step step backwards against the Steelers, there's no doubt about it.
Hopefully these problems will be addressed.
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I'd also like to note that Brandon Spikes appeared to have the mic in his helmet...
…even when Mayo was on the field. Spikes quickly passed Guyton for the mic.
When Mayo is fully integrated and healthier
but a lot of the production was against the linebackers and the safeties
Can Jerod Mayo stop this particular type of bleeing?
Can I Scream?
Questionable.
He isn’t the best coverage linebacker. I do feel like he has better instincts than Guyton, but the team needs to find a way to keep players in place in coverage.
by Richard Hill on Oct 31, 2011 5:57 PM EDT up reply actions
I've been critical of Guyton, but he seemed to have a better game than
Ninkovich. His interception was quite sweet and critical to the Pats staying in the game.
It is what it is
Agreed.
Ninkovich was awful in jamming Miller at the line and didn’t impress.
by Richard Hill on Oct 31, 2011 7:55 PM EDT up reply actions
James Ihedigbo on the teams defensive blunder against the Steelers:
""I’ve never been around a group that wants to win more than the guys in this locker room."
“We’re definitely going to have chip on shoulder this week. I know our defense, we’re fired up. We’re ready to go.”
“You watch that tape and it’s nothing we want to represent us as a defense.”
“We’ll correct that, and come out next week ready to show how the New England Patriots play defense.”
Love what i read, but i’ll love to see it more on Sunday.
In GOD I TRUST>In BB i trust......faith where it belongs!!
Life is about who makes it, not who makes it the fastest! Drive slow homie.
Their defense has been this bad all year. The only reason why it is an issue this time is the offense didn't bail them out.
I’m with you. I would want them to show it to me on Sunday. This is a good test against the Giants. Eli’s a great QB. They have two good receivers and one up-and-coming one, and most of all, they have pass protected really well. This should be a shoot-out.
EVH+DLR=BFFs........ God I Hope So!!
The d hasn't been this bad all year and
Both teams had 9 drives, the same number. The defense let up 23 points and won a to that produced a 9 yr td drive. Give the d credit for 3 of those 7 pts and the d sits at allowing a defecit of 20. While the offense earned 14 points. 9 drives for the pats and 14 points that’s the issue.
23 or 20 points however u see it is not horrible and don’t give me time of possession as stated 9 drives each.
by gnatecolby on Oct 31, 2011 7:34 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I felt they bungled the first drive(see; Heath Miller),
and did okay later on in the first half. Struggled later in the game until the very-very end following that first special teams disaster when they did give our offense an opportunity(however hail-mary it was).
Pats offense failed to come alive on its own(without the help of an interception) until the 4th quarter drive that ended in a Gronkowski touchdow- oh right, that ‘Hernandez touchdown’.(btw, we lost a lot of crucial time because of that lack of a challenge)
Patricia needs to answer questions about his unit.
It is what it is
Bungled that;
“I felt they bungled the first drive(see; Heath Miller), and did okay later on in the first half. Struggled later in the game until the very-very end following that first special teams disaster when they did give our offense an opportunity(however hail-mary it was).”
should be;
“I felt they bungled the first drive(see; Heath Miller) and then struggled throughout the game except towards the end of each half. They got us an interception that finally gave the Pats a chance to score in the 1st half and made a key stop in the last two minutes to give our offense another hail-mary oppurtunty.”
It is what it is
I already said in a different post that the Pats played good red zone defense.
The D has been pretty bad all year. They were good against the Jets, but the Jets offense is not very good. The one good game they played was against Dallas. They got quite lucky against SD (Wilfork pick, Mathews weird fumble).
EVH+DLR=BFFs........ God I Hope So!!
Yes, we do, and by design too
When your LB’ers are very good at one thing – in this case, against the run – they will make offenses one-dimensional. Throw in the fact that our DB’s have far less territory to cover, so they needn’t be concerned about getting beat deep, and bingo! something our defense does better than most others.
And really, since the game is all about scoring and defending points, and not yards, necessarily, why the long face? When this team executes, it wins.
Yeah, but it doesn't always happpen.
Against Buffalo, the red zone defense was bad. Last year in the playoffs, the red zone defense gave up 4 TDs in 4 trips for the Jets.
EVH+DLR=BFFs........ God I Hope So!!
agree. The three-and-out offense was just as damaging as the 3rd-down defense.
The defense deserves criticism, but so does the offense – perhaps more so.
NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.
despite the atrocious 3rd down plays, the D did a fair job with the bend-dont break attitude in defending against the endzone.
too bad the offense didn’t do enough for 3/4 of the game
by i luv this site on Oct 31, 2011 6:55 PM EDT reply actions
Agreed.
However, the “bend-don’t-break” took up far too much time on the clock. The defense mostly accomplished their goal, but they took too much time.
by Richard Hill on Oct 31, 2011 7:33 PM EDT up reply actions
Bend but don't break can work really well
unless you’re playing from behind like the Pats were.
It is what it is
you said "bend" and then said "from behind"
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sorry that was immature
This message will self destruct
Its OK Beavis and Butthead are back!
It's your thing, do what you wanna do, I can't tell you, who to sock it to. The Isley Brothers
by sweetjesusihatethejets on Nov 1, 2011 9:18 AM EDT up reply actions
Time of possession was the fault of the off
The top hurts the d because they are tired, it’s to wear down the oppositions d so if we let them dominate this it’s the d hurting themselves. It didn’t hurt the d as they gave up 23 pts which is not terrible.
Pats offense had the same number of drives as Pitt and produced 17 points 7 off a 9 yr drive thanks to the d.
Finally the 3-out on the first drive ruined top from the get go.
by gnatecolby on Nov 1, 2011 1:08 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
TOP was the fault of both sides.
Steelers drove into the red zone almost every drive on long, sustained drives. That’s TOP that is the defense’s fault.
Patriots offense stalled all day and gave it right back to the Steelers after short, staggered drives. That’s TOP that is the offense’s fault.
"That’s TOP that is the defense’s fault."
The counter point is that the defense failed to get stops on those drives because they were gassed – because the OFFENSE couldn’t stay on the field.
It’s all connected. Team game. Team loss.
NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.
That defense came alive after that failed onside kick.
Too bad Belichick didn’t trust it enough to stop Big Ben. Now if only the D can carry that over to next week…
It is what it is
They denied the Steelers a chance for a FG that
would have made it a 9-point lead, AKA a two-possession game. Can’t overlook it when they kept the Pats in the game.
It is what it is
To be fair
That’s just as big on the Steelers having terrible play calling as the Patriots making plays sacking him. Playaction twice in a row against a run blitz resulted in them leaving huge chunks of yards when they could have just ran it a couple times for little to no gain then kicked the FG.
by indy pats fan on Oct 31, 2011 8:18 PM EDT up reply actions
It almost looked like it was planned.
If it was to a point, it was an interesting strategy. Kicking a long field goal in Heinz is dumb. I’m with Simms in that even if it was 4th and something, I would have punted. Make Brady go as long as possible.
EVH+DLR=BFFs........ God I Hope So!!
I have to agree with you on the "it was planned"
i think the coaches feel the same way i do. F Sushi..he sucks..
i would never feel comfortable putting ANY game in his hands (feet)
Long field goals at Heinz are dumb, but ten times dumber when your kicker is Sushi..
i can’t even watch when he lines up. Even from short range…
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Well, here's my analysis of the defense.
The third down conversions this week had more to do with failed schemes, then botched tackling. We can’t blitz and run a soft zone, especially if we’re not doing a good job slowing the TE down off the line. Are pass rush simply isn’t good enough, and Big Ben is too good a quarterback.
We lost our two press corners this week, Dowling and Bodden are both gone. It’s not the end of the season, but we just didn’t adjust quickly enough to beat the steelers, and BB was out-coached.
Bill made the decision at some point during the lockout that there just was not time to prepare the players to run a complicated 3-4 defense, and decided to run a simplified 4-3 defense, and that decision (i think) is what’s going to define our season. It’s the reason Albert Haynesworth was brought in, and our personnel is sort of all over the place. It’s causing a lot of mismatches.
Brandon Spikes and Jerod Mayo, our two best linebackers, are in danger of becoming redundant. Their weaknesses in coverage are being exposed, partly due to the weakened secondary. If Spikes is in, Mayo is forced to play out of position. We’re not playing to our strengths.
One roster spot is being held by Jermaine Cunningham, a 3-4 Outside Linebacker, who’s career is essentially being put on hold until next season by the switch to a 4-3 defense.
And switching to a 3-4 base this late in the season doesn’t seem like an option because we’ve brought in so many players to fill the gaps in our 4-3, and we have to many big defensive lineman and not enough linebackers.
So, umm, It’s just a puzzle Bill Belicheck is going to solve.
Brady > Mallett > Hoyer > Sanchez
- beantownboy171
I agree about the scheme-
This team can’t drop into zone and blitz because a good quarterback will find a hole every time.
As for the defense, they’ve actually been playing 3-3-5 a good part of the time. It’s the same as last season- it’s half 4-2-5, half 3-3-5.
by Richard Hill on Oct 31, 2011 10:22 PM EDT up reply actions
The Chang to a modified 4-3 better be long term
Otherwise what are we doing?
I like 4-3 long term because 1/2 NFL is now 3-4 so these talents are more in demand. BB could find 3-4 1st rd talent in later rounds but with all the 3-4 teams those days are gone.
by gnatecolby on Nov 1, 2011 1:13 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I don't know why some believe switching back to 3-4 is inevitable.
As far as personnel goes, you play 3-4 when you have quality LB’ers who can succeed with it, and 4-3 when DLine is your strength instead. Our present LB’ers are run-stoppers, not rangy athletes (Mayo aside, but who I agree with Rich is poor in coverage). As this article points out, and as many of us had already known for a good while, our LB’ers basically suck in coverage. So how do you play 3-4 with that? Or better said, how does that formation possibly trump getting your best defenders – your linemen – on the field at the same time?
I actually like BB’s idea of going to a 4-3, and want him to stick with it. He has a stable of good Linemen he can rotate all game to keep fresh, and they have consistently (sans this PIT game) pushed the pocket back all year long. If he moves back to a 3-4 without the appropriate personnel, and also by doing so sits better players, our defense hasn’t as good a chance of getting better. You gotta go with what you have.
they don't suck in coverage.
Mayo and NInk are good cover LBs, Spikes is decent, Guyton is very good, and Cunningham has shown flashes of decent coverage. Dane Fletcher looks to be fine in coverage.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
/facepalm
In GOD I TRUST>In BB i trust......faith where it belongs!!
Life is about who makes it, not who makes it the fastest! Drive slow homie.
you think they suck?
honestly, when I say someone is good I mean just “good”. When I say decent, I mean decent.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
not syaing they are great.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
Yeah, they are. IMO they are.
Our LB’ers have been terrible in coverage for a few years now. None of them are particularly good. Even Guyton isn’t good enough to write home about, although he’s probably our best. Why do you think it looks like our DB’s are trying to cover half the stadium every game?
This was recently validated by WEEI’s Mabry (Nuggetpalooza):
“Patriots linebackers have been targeted on 60 passes this year but have defensed only one of those (1.7 percent), the lowest percentage in the league. Ninkovich has the one pass defensed (in 12 targets). Guyton (0-for-16), Mayo (0-for-12), Spikes (0-for-12), Fletcher (0-for-7), and A.J. Edds (0-for-1) make up the rest. Entering this weekend, the 49ers (16), Ravens (12), and Raiders (11) lead the league in linebacker passes defensed.”
On the plus side, they had two against PIT, one being a pick!
My personal opinion on this, and one you’ve probably heard me address a few times, is that it’s by design. BB is most determined to stop running games, with which by doing turns opposing offenses more one-dimensional, which also give his defenders an advantage with turnovers because they know that 64% of the time, a pass it will be.
I believe BB knows this is what he has to do until he drafts some great talent.
League average % pass play: 57%
Pass happy pats % pass play: 61%
Pats Opp % pass play: 64%
And yes, I realize the argument against those numbers is, why run against the Pats defense when they suck defending the pass? Chicken and egg stuff there, but it is what it is.
Just want to point out
that 60 pass attempts is a low number. It can mean that generally QBs don’t look toward the LBs because typically they have their man covered.
And I do think we have an above average run defense. :P
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
It may not be after Sunday's game
Talking about a blueprint.
I’m still semi-convinced that the game had everything to do with PIT’s superior determination, and our… ummm, lack of the same, but I also don’t see any reason why other OC’s won’t try the same thing.
Consider, Ben’s strength isn’t his short game. He is a real good downfield passer. But he changed that preference for one game and damn, look how good he looked. He literally could not be stopped.
He is a good all around passer.
When we blitzed, he just passed it quickly to heath miller or whoever went down the middle.
What happened was that we couldn’t execute on both sides of the ball. I doubt we have that kind of performance again this season.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
Eli is playing well. Really well. And the Giants have great reason to be confident this Sunday. Do we?
I doubt we have that kind of performance again this season.
In GOD I TRUST>In BB i trust......faith where it belongs!!
Life is about who makes it, not who makes it the fastest! Drive slow homie.
The Chiefs double cover/ bump and run against vincent jackson a lot
why didn’t the pats do it? it worked decently
You can't blame the Pats defense
I have been watching Ben since his rookie year. that is is his strength.
it’s more surprising when he doesn’t convert a third and long than when he does.
It’s his “special power”
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Just because someone's good at exploiting mistakes made by the defense
Doesn’t mean that the defense isn’t at fault.
by indy pats fan on Nov 1, 2011 11:55 AM EDT up reply actions
To me it looked as if most of the 3rd down failures were the result of blown assignments
Unfortunately I was only able to watch the game on a computer which was not the greatest picture, so i am sure many of you had a much better look at the game. However, I remember a couple of those conversions and the defensive player, whether it was a linebacker, a cb, or safety, was in a zone coverage, and were in the wrong spot. It was a blown coverage, a communication breakdown, or poor technique. Whatever the case, as bad as we looked, I do think most of it is correctable. At least these mistakes were. It was more bad execution than it was lack of skill, it was I mean, and I do think we can improve the execution. How much, I am not sure, but I am confident we can and will play better, even with a secondary that looks thin.
Soft coverage.
I don’t get why we don’t jam more on the line with a team like Pitt.
Especially when trying to bring pressure. It is the same thing that happened in the Saints game a couple years ago – their DBs pounded our WRs but our DBs gave them big fat cozy cushions.
NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.
then don't bring a 4th rusher and give up on trying to pressure the QB.
We seemed to rush 4-5 while still playing soft. That left the underneath completely vulnerable.
If you bring pressure with 4-5 then you force the QB to release sooner – and if you are playing soft then he has an underneath outlet.
If instead you jam hard at the line, you disrupt the chance the receiver is in route for the quick pass. IF the WR does get past the DB, but you are bringing pressure, the ball will have to come out too soon for the deep route unless it is lofted high, which gives the safety time to help out. Further, the percentages on the deep route are lower and I’d prefer to take those chances.
NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.
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