Playbook - 2 Running Backs
In the first quarter against The Jets, The Patriots mounted a long drive on their 3rd possession of the game. They converted all four 3rd downs en route to a TD that occurred at the very beginning of the second quarter. The most interesting 3rd down conversion is shown below. This was a 3rd and 1 situation, and The Patriots showed a new wrinkle of their offense, a 2 RB set with both Shane Vereen and Stevan Ridley lined up in an I-formation.
As you can see, Ridley is lined up in a 3-point stance as a FB, and Vereen is behind him in a more traditional RB stance. I instantly liked this formation because it creates an interesting dilemma for Defenses. In essence, this is a run-oriented formation that threatens every gap. Vereen is very adept at attacking the edges on off-tackle runs, and Ridley has the bulk to attack between the Guards. Likewise, this personnel group has enough passing threat with Hernandez, Edelman, and Vereen to force The Jets into Nickel.
The way I saw the blocking develop, The Patriots could have gone with either option and been successful, but the ball goes to Vereen on a quick pitch. The speed and flow of this play is impressive as Brady gets a nice fake to Ridley on the dive, and hits Vereen in stride on the pitch. It almost looks like an NFL version of the triple option.
Whether or not this is a dive/toss option, I don't know. However, both sides of the line seem to execute with the assumption that the play could go either way. The right side, anchored by Hernandez and Fells fires off to try to get just enough push for a 3rd and 1. The left side however, bunches together to prevent any interior pressure. In particular, Nate Solder leaves #56 DeMario Davis unblocked because the action of the play is designed to trick him.
Brady does well to hide the ball from DeMario Davis by keeping his back turned to him. Davis can't quite see if Ridley has it or not, but he bites down anyway. Brady sees him take a step, and fires it out to Vereen. The run goes for 7 or 8 before #37 Yeremiah Bell can come up and make the tackle. Overall, this is a tough formation to defend, and I would very much like to see it again.
As you can see, Ridley is lined up in a 3-point stance as a FB, and Vereen is behind him in a more traditional RB stance. I instantly liked this formation because it creates an interesting dilemma for Defenses. In essence, this is a run-oriented formation that threatens every gap. Vereen is very adept at attacking the edges on off-tackle runs, and Ridley has the bulk to attack between the Guards. Likewise, this personnel group has enough passing threat with Hernandez, Edelman, and Vereen to force The Jets into Nickel.
The way I saw the blocking develop, The Patriots could have gone with either option and been successful, but the ball goes to Vereen on a quick pitch. The speed and flow of this play is impressive as Brady gets a nice fake to Ridley on the dive, and hits Vereen in stride on the pitch. It almost looks like an NFL version of the triple option.
Whether or not this is a dive/toss option, I don't know. However, both sides of the line seem to execute with the assumption that the play could go either way. The right side, anchored by Hernandez and Fells fires off to try to get just enough push for a 3rd and 1. The left side however, bunches together to prevent any interior pressure. In particular, Nate Solder leaves #56 DeMario Davis unblocked because the action of the play is designed to trick him.
Brady does well to hide the ball from DeMario Davis by keeping his back turned to him. Davis can't quite see if Ridley has it or not, but he bites down anyway. Brady sees him take a step, and fires it out to Vereen. The run goes for 7 or 8 before #37 Yeremiah Bell can come up and make the tackle. Overall, this is a tough formation to defend, and I would very much like to see it again.
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