A Look Back - A Look Ahead (Week 13)

Welcome to “A Look Back / A Look Ahead,” where we break down one play from the Pats’ most recent game and one play by the upcoming opponent. This is a new playbook segment brought to you by the newest member of The Flying Elvis team. If you enjoy this breakdown, check out his blog at http://davebreaksdownfilm.blogspot.com/

A Look Back - Last week, I diagrammed a play where the Jets flooded the middle of the field to take away the Patriots' interior passing game. But football is a game of adjustments, and the Patriots had a new wrinkle to combat what the Jets did in the first meeting.

The Pats line up with two tight ends right and two wide receiver left (which they did a lot this game). Before the snap, WR Wes Welker (#83) heads in motion to put him in a stack with slot man Julian Edelman (#11).  This puts the Jets' cornerbacks in space and takes the sideline away as a defensive weapon. Throughout the game New England used this formation to take the Jets out of their comfort zone; they also hit on a 19-yard completion to Welker and a 24-yard strike to TE Daniel Fells out of this alignment. 

Welker and Edelman run routes that cross to the other side of the field, taking Jets with them. While they do that, running back Shane Vereen (#34) leaks out into the left flat. The linebacker in pursuit of Vereen has a lot of ground to cover and is rubbed off by Welker's and Edelman's routes. The sideline is completely deserted (see red rectangle in the second screen shot). Vereen catches the ball and sprints for the 83-yard touchdown. It was the third-longest touchdown pass of Brady's career, and maybe the easiest.

This is smart game-planning by the Patriots, adjusting to how New York defended them in their first meeting. The Jets want to clog the middle? That leaves open a lot of space on the outside. The Jets want to play man? The Patriots shifted players to put linebackers covering the sidelines and cornerbacks covering in the middle of the field. In the great chess match of the NFL, the Patriots checkmated the Jets in their Thanksgiving showdown.


A Look Ahead - Like the Patriots, the Dolphins switched this year from a 3-4 to a 4-3, and like the Patriots, they still have some 3-4 personnel with 3-4 strengths. Specifically, they have big linemen up front that can absorb double-teams. This is a key factor in their outstanding rush defense; they allow a just 3.7 yards per carry, 4th in the NFL. Last week, they held dangerous Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch to just 46 yards on 19 carries, his worst per-carry average (2.42) all season.

This fourth-quarter play shows the Miami run D in action. The Seahawks are in "12" personnel, with Lynch (#24) in the backfield and 2 TE to the offensive right (left in the pictures). The inside TE pulls across the formation to cut-block backside pursuit, while the other TE and the linemen all block the defensive linemen in front of them. This results in double-teams on end Derrick Shelby (#79) and tackle Paul Soliai (#96).

Presumably, some of the blockers were intended to pass off their blocks and get to the next level to block the Miami linebackers, but as we can see in the second shot, it doesn't happen: Kevin Burnett (#56), Karlos Dansby (#58), and Koa Misi (#55) are totally clean. Shelby and Soliai each occupy two Seahawks. Lynch tries to cut back the run, but Dansby is right there to fill the gap and drop him for a two-yard loss.

The big guys up front are the key to the Miami run defense.  Football Outsiders had a nice spotlight on Soliai in their most recent "Any Given Sunday"; he is a Vince-Wilfork-like presence in the middle of the Dolphins' defensive line.  Seattle couldn't block Miami's big bodies one-on-one, so they couldn't get to the second level and block the Dolphins' linebackers. For the Pats to have success on the ground Sunday, they will have to execute better than the Seahawks did.