5 Plays That Decided It - Rams

Danny Woodhead stayed in to protect,
but there was no one to block.

1. Brady Finds Lloyd Wide Open - The Rams converted three 3rd downs all game, but The Patriots converted 3 on their first drive. They were aided by a subtle, but legitimate Rams pass interference penalty on a 3rd and 2. Then, on another 3rd and 2, Brady found Woodhead in space for 24 yards. Finally, when Brady faced a 3rd and 1, he found Brandon Lloyd wide open for a TD. As you can see in the picture, Brady had great protection to look at all his receivers. Lloyd got matched up on the Safety, and he beat him to the outside on a corner route. Janoris Jenkins gets burned because he lines up with too much inside leverage. This was a big answer to The Rams opening score, and The Patriots' ability to convert on 3rd down was very impressive. Brady set the tone for the game with a cannot-be-denied attitude that was made easy by wide-open receivers and great protection. Big opening drive to get the Offense going early.


Bradford is clearly scared of untouched blitzers,
especially ones that hit like Spikes

 2. Jones/Spikes Force Grounding -The game was tied at 7-7, and after the ensuing kickoff The Rams started inside the 20. Nevertheless, Bradford gained some yards, and moved the chains twice. Unfortunately for The Rams, Austin Pettis was charged with illegal touching, which forced a 1st and 15. Tavon Wilson made a nice stick after an Austin Pettis catch for 9 yards, and then Kyle Love stopped Jackson for 1 yard. Facing 3rd and 5, Bradford dropped back to find immediate pressure. The Patriots actually brought a creative blitz with Mayo and Spikes at the same time. The LBs criss-crossed, and Mayo did a nice job of pushing the blocker away from Spikes. Bradford tried to back up to avoid Spikes, but that freed up an angle for Chandler Jones. Bradford threw it just hoping to get it away, but Spikes was there to hit him causing the ball to fall helplessly short of the line of scrimmage. The Rams are forced to punt on 4th and 10, and The Patriots score another TD on their next drive.

Hoomanawanui did very well out of the FB spot blocking and catching

3. Going For It On 4th & Goal - The game was tied at 7-7, and Phil Simms was blathering about how The Rams will be A-Okay if they can just force The Patriots to kick FGs in the red zone. On cue, The Patriots faced a decision to kick and elected to try for 7. Stevan Ridley had lost a yard on 1st and Goal, and Brady had thrown wide of Gronkowski on 2nd and Goal. Danny Woodhead got pretty close on 3rd down, but not close enough to challenge the call. Still, the team felt confident facing 4th down, and McDaniels called in a play for Shane Vereen. It can be risky calling off-tackle runs near the goal line, but The Patriots Offensive Line did very well with a zone concept moving right. Vereen did not hesitate when he saw a crease, and The Patriots went up 14-7. Every RB had a chance, but Vereen made the most of his opportunity. This was a pretty deflating moment for The Rams, but they would receive the ball with a chance to tie the game, so it wasn't a blowout yet.



Richardson has lots of space to work with here,
but Wilfork can move very well for a big man.

 4. Vince Capitalizes On A False Start - The Rams got the ball back with a chance to tie, starting at their own 20 yard line. Daryl Richardson came in at RB for The Rams, and he gained 7 yards on his first carry. Deaderick stopped him for 1 yard on the next play, but Bradford was able to convert the 3rd and 2 with a 6 yard pass to Lance Kendricks. Unfortunately, Kendricks committed a false start on the very next play, forcing a 1st and 15. Richardson got 4 yards back on 1st down, but on 2nd down Vince Wilfork made a great play. He bluffed a rush, and sniffed out the short pass to Richardson for a loss of 4. On 3rd and 15, Bradford tried to test new slot-CB Marquise Cole with a short throw in space. Not only does Cole make the stick, he forced what looked like a fumble. The call was reversed, but The Rams were forced to punt back to the red-hot Patriots Offense. Overall, this was just a great job of the whole team making the opposition's mistakes come back to bite them, but the key play here was Wilfork's tackle for a loss. His ability to instantly read the play, and get to the sideline to chase down the speedy Richardson has to be praised.

Ebner has the athletic ability to play
man coverage against receiving TEs

5. Ebner Sticks A Tackle On 3rd and 10 - Steven Jackson had started off the half with a 4 yard run, but Bradford had followed that up with an illegal forward pass. So again, The Patriots Defense was able to make The Rams' Offensive mistakes come back to hurt them. The Patriots forced seven 3rd and longs, and stopped The Rams on all 7. Routinely, Bradford completed passes on 3rd down, but because of the down and distance The Patriots were able to force punts with good tackling. On this play, Nate Ebner lined up in a Money-LB role in a Dime package to cover the TE in press-man technique. Ebner played inside technique on the jam, but his man breaks outside. Nevertheless, Ebner makes up that lost step to be all over Kendricks as he makes the catch. The former rugby player finishes off his tackle in textbook form, driving his man to the pitch. This was a quality play by Ebner to stay with his man after a good jam gone bad. His ability to eliminate yards after the catch here forced a 3-and-out on The Rams opening drive of the second half. The Patriots then took their next possession in for a 5th TD, all but sealing the victory midway through the 3rd quarter.