Playbook - 3rd Down Offense
There are two failed 3rd down conversions that we'll be looking at from The Ravens game. The first is a Danell Ellerbe sack of Tom Brady on an 3rd and long. The other is a 7-man pressure that results in a completion short of the goal line to Wes Welker. We're going to look at how Brady and The Patriots reacted to the blitz to see what went wrong.
The first play is from the 2nd quarter, and it ends up in a sack because the pressure gets to Brady before the routes can develop on a 3rd and 14. Let's have a look-see:
The Ravens Safeties Pollard and Reed are very deep to keep everything in front of them. The Safety on the right side takes over-the-top on Brandon Lloyd. The other safety drives on the in-route of Gronkowski, who is in a favorable matchup on LB #99 Paul Kruger. Julian Edelman does a little inside-out move to get a step on his man, but the route takes too long to develop. Likewise, Wes Welker has to contend with some pushing and shoving nearly 12 yards downfield, which causes him to be later than Brady would have liked.
The Ravens bring a delayed blitz with Ray Lewis, which frees up Ellerbe on the second effort. Danny Woodhead stayed in to block, but Lewis' blitz causes a bunch up on the left side. Woodhead can't find a man to block, and bails out into his route. Solder does well on #90 Pernell McPhee, and Mankins absorbs the inital hit from Ellerbe. However, Ray Lewis attacks the same G/T hole as Ellerbe. #93 Haloti Ngata consumes the Center and Right Guard, which leaves a vacancy in the middle that Ellerbe can slip through for the sack. Ellerbe is the responsibility of C Ryan Wendell after Ngata slides to the guard.
Brady never had a chance. This is very good blitz execution by The Ravens, and the only way to avoid a sack in this position is to get the ball out fast. Unfortunately, when backed up in a 3rd and 14, there are no quick routes. We can sit and complain about illegal contact on Welker downfield, but as a team, The Patriots need to control what they can control. In this case, we want to avoid 3rd and longs as much as possible. Also, we need to try to protect Brady. Here, Brady takes a nice forearm to the helmet, and maybe even gets facemasked by Ellerbe, but regardless of the no-call, I just hate to see Brady get hit like this. Ryan Wendell, you need to rotate off Lewis faster than this.
The next play is a 3rd and goal to go situation. This ends with a Lardarius Webb tackle of Wes Welker at the 2 yard line, short of the endzone. The quick throw from Brady is forced by quick pressure from a 7 man blitz. Let's have a look:
As you can see, there are only 4 men in coverage. Meanwhile, DLs #91 Courtney Upshaw, #93 Haloti Ngata, and #90 Pernell McPhee attack the Center and ends (TE Gronk and T Solder) while LBs #52 Ray Lewis, #59 Danell Ellerbe, and #99 Paul Kruger attack the gaps that open up. Safety #31 Bernard Pollard uses his speed to rush the outside. Overall, The Patriots do a good job of picking this up, but 7 rushers vs. 7 blockers definitely favors the Defense.
Woodhead gets a nice cut block on Kruger, and Gronk holds the edge well. The problem came from up the middle, and rightly so. The running start of Ray Lewis combined with the size and strength of Ngata makes for a difficult assignment. The Center Ryan Wendell gets pushed back into Brady's lap, which forces the quick throw to the hot route, Welker.
Unfortunately, Brady needed just a fraction of a second longer to make this play to Lloyd, who gets open on the goal line. Still, Brady makes the smart move by getting the ball out to Welker. Welker caught the ball in stride, and had a chance to make a play for the line. However, Lardarius Webb did well to chase him down and make the tackle. Even if it was a horsecollar, Webb still made a good play to get there before Welker could turn upfield.
*All pictures are property of The NFL, I do not claim ownership, but use them educationally
The first play is from the 2nd quarter, and it ends up in a sack because the pressure gets to Brady before the routes can develop on a 3rd and 14. Let's have a look-see:
The Ravens Safeties Pollard and Reed are very deep to keep everything in front of them. The Safety on the right side takes over-the-top on Brandon Lloyd. The other safety drives on the in-route of Gronkowski, who is in a favorable matchup on LB #99 Paul Kruger. Julian Edelman does a little inside-out move to get a step on his man, but the route takes too long to develop. Likewise, Wes Welker has to contend with some pushing and shoving nearly 12 yards downfield, which causes him to be later than Brady would have liked.
Brady never had a chance. This is very good blitz execution by The Ravens, and the only way to avoid a sack in this position is to get the ball out fast. Unfortunately, when backed up in a 3rd and 14, there are no quick routes. We can sit and complain about illegal contact on Welker downfield, but as a team, The Patriots need to control what they can control. In this case, we want to avoid 3rd and longs as much as possible. Also, we need to try to protect Brady. Here, Brady takes a nice forearm to the helmet, and maybe even gets facemasked by Ellerbe, but regardless of the no-call, I just hate to see Brady get hit like this. Ryan Wendell, you need to rotate off Lewis faster than this.
The next play is a 3rd and goal to go situation. This ends with a Lardarius Webb tackle of Wes Welker at the 2 yard line, short of the endzone. The quick throw from Brady is forced by quick pressure from a 7 man blitz. Let's have a look:
As you can see, there are only 4 men in coverage. Meanwhile, DLs #91 Courtney Upshaw, #93 Haloti Ngata, and #90 Pernell McPhee attack the Center and ends (TE Gronk and T Solder) while LBs #52 Ray Lewis, #59 Danell Ellerbe, and #99 Paul Kruger attack the gaps that open up. Safety #31 Bernard Pollard uses his speed to rush the outside. Overall, The Patriots do a good job of picking this up, but 7 rushers vs. 7 blockers definitely favors the Defense.
Woodhead gets a nice cut block on Kruger, and Gronk holds the edge well. The problem came from up the middle, and rightly so. The running start of Ray Lewis combined with the size and strength of Ngata makes for a difficult assignment. The Center Ryan Wendell gets pushed back into Brady's lap, which forces the quick throw to the hot route, Welker.
Unfortunately, Brady needed just a fraction of a second longer to make this play to Lloyd, who gets open on the goal line. Still, Brady makes the smart move by getting the ball out to Welker. Welker caught the ball in stride, and had a chance to make a play for the line. However, Lardarius Webb did well to chase him down and make the tackle. Even if it was a horsecollar, Webb still made a good play to get there before Welker could turn upfield.
*All pictures are property of The NFL, I do not claim ownership, but use them educationally
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