Pneumonic Posted October 8, 2014 Posted October 8, 2014 thanks. Glad we have Corey Graham. Plenty of chess like strategy also plays into this as well but the reality is "if the front 4 DL can pressure the 5 OL sufficiently" then very good things can take place in coverage. Of course, this holds true for both defenses.
YoloinOhio Posted October 8, 2014 Author Posted October 8, 2014 Plenty of chess like strategy also plays into this as well but the reality is "if the front 4 DL can pressure the 5 OL sufficiently" then very good things can take place in coverage. Of course, this holds true for both defenses. i saw an article that said Belichick played chess and Marvin Lewis played checkers on Sundsy night. Pretty much sums up the bengals.
Pneumonic Posted October 8, 2014 Posted October 8, 2014 i saw an article that said Belichick played chess and Marvin Lewis played checkers on Sundsy night. Pretty much sums up the bengals. It certainly helped that the Pats won almost all key individual matchups that game. Revis handled Green and the Bengals couldn't get to Brady which meant they had no answer for stopping Brady -> Gronk and Wright.
Luxy312 Posted October 8, 2014 Posted October 8, 2014 Very simply put, the Bills have to hit and put pressure on Brady. Go back and look at the statistics of games where the Patriots dominated versus games where they were dominated, and you'll see a theme. When Brady gets knocked around early and often, his completion percentage drops way off and he makes mistakes. Whether the Bills are able to do this with the front 4 or they bring an extra man doesn't really matter, provided that they get to him quickly. Cincy is in the bottom 20% of teams in the NFL getting pressure on QB's this year. Buffalo is #2 and Kansas City is #4. Miami is top-12. Bring the heat and drop the wood and they can come out of this game on top of the AFC East.
Pneumonic Posted October 8, 2014 Posted October 8, 2014 (edited) Very simply put, the Bills have to hit and put pressure on Brady. Go back and look at the statistics of games where the Patriots dominated versus games where they were dominated, and you'll see a theme. When Brady gets knocked around early and often, his completion percentage drops way off and he makes mistakes. Whether the Bills are able to do this with the front 4 or they bring an extra man doesn't really matter, provided that they get to him quickly. Cincy is in the bottom 20% of teams in the NFL getting pressure on QB's this year. Buffalo is #2 and Kansas City is #4. Miami is top-12. Bring the heat and drop the wood and they can come out of this game on top of the AFC East. This is true of any gameplan for any QB ... pressure them and they are more apt to struggle than succeed. Even the great ones like Brady and Manning. Opposing coordinators know this yet, implementing a gameplan to ensure such pressure takes place is rarely successful with these guys because it's not just about pressure. It's getting pressure without getting harmed whilst trying to do so. This is what separates guys like Brady and Manning from the rest. They are so football smart that they get the proper calls and protections in and they make very quick reads and throws to complete passes before harm finds them. Having said this ... now is probably one of the best chances to catch the Pats with a suspect OL, Edited October 8, 2014 by Pneumonic
TPS Posted October 8, 2014 Posted October 8, 2014 Interesting read and some well thought ideas. All I can add is that this will give us some really interesting insight to Schwartz to see how he defends it. will he be conservative or do something totally off the wall?
K-9 Posted October 8, 2014 Posted October 8, 2014 But they fixed all their problems last week! Per Collinsworth. They sure as hell fixed their running game which enabled Brady to kill them out of the 2 TE sets. I'm actually more worried about Hughes vs. their run game than I am about Spikes vs. their passing game. GO BILLS!!!
Deranged Rhino Posted October 8, 2014 Posted October 8, 2014 They sure as hell fixed their running game which enabled Brady to kill them out of the 2 TE sets. I'm actually more worried about Hughes vs. their run game than I am about Spikes vs. their passing game. GO BILLS!!! It'll be a good match up for sure, though there's no one in their offensive backfield who worries me. Vereen is great catching balls out of the backfield and lit us up last year, but he's not special. Same with Riddley who is capable for sure, but not electric. The threats of Forte, Moreno, Foster (even gimpy) scare me more than the *pats, and the Bills handled them okay.
Jared Posted October 9, 2014 Posted October 9, 2014 The Pats OL is kind of an interesting issue. Last year the Pats main OL was Solder/Mankins/Wendell/Connolly/Vollmer. Marcus Cannon was a swing tackle and primary backup (he got some action at guard). Vollmer and Solder were generally regarded as good but not great tackles, Mankins was an aging mauler who was still an excellent run blocker but declining pass blocker, and Wendell and Connolly were serviceable veterans. The Pats drafted three OL in 2014: C Stork (4th), T Fleming (4th), and G Halapio (6th). Mankins, as we all know, was traded away. Speculation was that they would be unable to resign him/reduce his cap value, so the decision was made to get value for him rather than release him next year. However, this meant that his interior spot had to be filled. Stork was the highest drafted OL, but he was hurt. They tried Cannon as a guard. They tried Halapio. They tried a couple cast off veterans and second year UDFA Jordan Devey. None of these combinations seemed to work, and for the first few weeks of the season the OL was wildly inconsistent. Additionally, during their two losses, they faced some excellent pass rushers (both Hali and Wake had amazing days on the outside), and faced hostile environments on the road (Miami in the heat, KC in the noise). In Week 5, the OL was seemingly stabilized with Solder/Wendell/Stork/Connolly/Vollmer. So basically their best OL this year can be summed up as "last year's OL, + their highest drafted rookie." When considered that way, their OL doesn't seem nearly weak as it was in previous weeks, when they were mixing and matching players. This is not to say that OL is a strength. However if they stay with this group consistently, and Stork continues to show progress, it should be a serviceable group, and not a significant weakness for the team. If they stay settled with this lineup (which I expect them to do), they should improve every week as they work together, barring injuries.
No Cease Fires Posted October 9, 2014 Posted October 9, 2014 They sure as hell fixed their running game which enabled Brady to kill them out of the 2 TE sets. I'm actually more worried about Hughes vs. their run game than I am about Spikes vs. their passing game. GO BILLS!!! Cincinnati's run D is atrocious though. Like bottom of the league bad. Is it possible the Pats fixed their running game? Sure. But It's more likely they just exploited a glaring weakness in the defense.
YoloinOhio Posted October 9, 2014 Author Posted October 9, 2014 Cincinnati's run D is atrocious though. Like bottom of the league bad. Is it possible the Pats fixed their running game? Sure. But It's more likely they just exploited a glaring weakness in the defense. this is true. They were ranked 31st before that game.
billsfan89 Posted October 9, 2014 Posted October 9, 2014 (edited) If the run defense can hold up I think the Bills have a good chance. Brady doesn't have great weapons and the team seems to be able to handle tight ends. Edited October 9, 2014 by billsfan89
YoloinOhio Posted October 9, 2014 Author Posted October 9, 2014 The Pats OL is kind of an interesting issue. Last year the Pats main OL was Solder/Mankins/Wendell/Connolly/Vollmer. Marcus Cannon was a swing tackle and primary backup (he got some action at guard). Vollmer and Solder were generally regarded as good but not great tackles, Mankins was an aging mauler who was still an excellent run blocker but declining pass blocker, and Wendell and Connolly were serviceable veterans. The Pats drafted three OL in 2014: C Stork (4th), T Fleming (4th), and G Halapio (6th). Mankins, as we all know, was traded away. Speculation was that they would be unable to resign him/reduce his cap value, so the decision was made to get value for him rather than release him next year. However, this meant that his interior spot had to be filled. Stork was the highest drafted OL, but he was hurt. They tried Cannon as a guard. They tried Halapio. They tried a couple cast off veterans and second year UDFA Jordan Devey. None of these combinations seemed to work, and for the first few weeks of the season the OL was wildly inconsistent. Additionally, during their two losses, they faced some excellent pass rushers (both Hali and Wake had amazing days on the outside), and faced hostile environments on the road (Miami in the heat, KC in the noise). In Week 5, the OL was seemingly stabilized with Solder/Wendell/Stork/Connolly/Vollmer. So basically their best OL this year can be summed up as "last year's OL, + their highest drafted rookie." When considered that way, their OL doesn't seem nearly weak as it was in previous weeks, when they were mixing and matching players. This is not to say that OL is a strength. However if they stay with this group consistently, and Stork continues to show progress, it should be a serviceable group, and not a significant weakness for the team. If they stay settled with this lineup (which I expect them to do), they should improve every week as they work together, barring injuries. so in other words, we are doooomed?
Rockinon Posted October 9, 2014 Posted October 9, 2014 Ok, I'm going to say it. The Buffalo defense is as good as any in the NFL. There is one reason and one reason only that they are not ranked higher.....the Buffalo offense. If the offense can stay on the field, sustain drives and score, the defense can easily move up to #1. These guys are good and defense wins championships. After watching Kyle Orton help to move the chains last week, I'm pretty confident about the offense, too. Suddenly the offense looks like it got just the spark it needed to explode. That being said, NE is going down.....hard. Can't wait. I'll be there along with my wife and sister. We're going to be there to watch the end of a dynasty. Going to get loud and raucous.
CardinalScotts Posted October 9, 2014 Posted October 9, 2014 Maybe it's just the people I know Bengals 27th against the run, 19th against the pass....27th over all
Jared Posted October 10, 2014 Posted October 10, 2014 so in other words, we are doooomed? I didn't say that. I just think that much of the Patriots OL issues were, to some extent, self inflicted. Assuming Stork continues to play solidly, their OL should be roughly equivalent to last year: that is to say, good but not great, and still susceptible to a strong inside pass rush or elite speed rushers. The Pats were still very beatable last year.
The Wiz Posted October 10, 2014 Posted October 10, 2014 so in other words, we are doooomed? Well I picked the bills this week so I'd say we will be outscored by at least 20.
YoloinOhio Posted October 10, 2014 Author Posted October 10, 2014 Well I picked the bills this week so I'd say we will be outscored by at least 20. never do that!
Don Beebe Posted October 12, 2014 Posted October 12, 2014 Play a 33 D. The old fashioned 33. Go find Dareus right now. Tell him he is the glue, the anchor, the big cheese. That he is going to be tasked with swallowing up OL - 3 of them if possible while Hughes and MWilliams blow up the OT's every play. Aggressive 3 man fronts. Put Bradham in at WLB and make him smack Gronk in the mouth every time he releases, no matter what. Let him then get picked up by Corey Graham who matches up perfectly to him at nickel. Bradham watches the backfield, Spikes let's no one pass - Gandolf style he lays the wood at anyone who tries. Brown seals the edge and watches the extra TE or FB. Gilmore and McKelvin straight up man over with Duke Williams coming at anyone up the middle in a cover 3 form while Aaron Williams does what Aaron Williams does. I could stop the Patriots this week. This sounds pretty good to me. I think it might work on some of the Patriots offense.
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