A Look Back - A Look Ahead (Week 14)
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. If you enjoy this breakdown, check out Dave's blog at http://davebreaksdownfilm.blogspot.com/
A Look Back - Miami is a tough team to run on, currently fourth in the NFL with 3.7 yards per carry against. It showed in the first three quarters of Sunday's contest, as the Patriots had just 57 yards on 18 carries (3.2 YPC). That changed on the final drive of the game. With 8:28 left in the fourth quarter, clinging to a 7-point lead, the Patriots got the ball and proceeded to ram it down Miami's throats, rushing 11 times for 54 yards (4.9 YPC), eating 7:18 of clock in the process, and kicking a field goal that put the game out of reach for the Dolphins.
Head Coach Bill Belichick, in typical loquacious fashion, credited the success to "we did a good job of blocking." That isn't to say there weren't any wrinkles though. With four minutes left, the Patriots faced a 3rd-and-2 on the Miami 10. A first down meant the Pats could bleed the clock down to a little over a minute left. The Pats line up in their normal "12" personnel, with one TE at each side. But Sebastian Vollmer (#76), normally the right tackle, is lined up to the left of left tackle Nate Solder (#77). Daniel Fells (#86), their best blocking TE, is to the left of Vollmer. It's pretty obvious the Patriots are going to run left, but Miami doesn't shift to match the unbalanced line. DE Cameron Wake (#91) is lined up outside TE Aaron Hernandez (playing right tackle), and the two Dolphins interior linemen are lined up head-up on the guards. This allows Vollmer and Fells to get out to the left and block linebackers.
Middle linebacker Karlos Dansby (#58) shoots the "A-gap" at the snap and gets penetration. He ends up chasing Ridley down from behind for the tackle. But the broadcast shot shows the wall of blue jerseys in front of running back Stevan Ridley. There's enough push and enough space for Ridley to get the first down that effectively ended the game.
A Look Ahead - When I think of the Houston Texans, I think of the zone run blocking that Texans head coach Gary Kubiak helped make famous. Here's a typical stretch run left, with quarterback Matt Schaub (#8) handing off to running back Arian Foster (#23) while the offensive line blocks left, and you can see Kevin Walter (#83) throwing a cut-block on the back side... wait, what's fullback James Casey (#86) doing? This isn't a running play at all!
The Texans are first in the NFL in rushing attempts, second in rushing touchdowns, and 6th in rushing yards, which means opponents have to respect the run. This is true even when they're not running well, as on Sunday, when Tennessee held Foster to 38 yards on 14 carries. Houston takes advantage of this to run a lot of play-action - 27.9% of passes come off play fakes, 5th in the league. Here they run a bootleg right off the fake, with Schaub (blue arrow) running parallel to Casey (red arrow). Safety Alterraun Verner (#20) is sucked in by the play-fake and can't recover in time to prevent the touchdown. It's an easy pitch-and-catch for the 5-yard score. The play appears to only have one passing option, but Houston runs it so well that it doesn't matter.
The Patriot linebackers and safeties will have be very good to slow down Houston's running attack on Monday night, but it's just as important that they stay disciplined and watch out for the play action.
A Look Back - Miami is a tough team to run on, currently fourth in the NFL with 3.7 yards per carry against. It showed in the first three quarters of Sunday's contest, as the Patriots had just 57 yards on 18 carries (3.2 YPC). That changed on the final drive of the game. With 8:28 left in the fourth quarter, clinging to a 7-point lead, the Patriots got the ball and proceeded to ram it down Miami's throats, rushing 11 times for 54 yards (4.9 YPC), eating 7:18 of clock in the process, and kicking a field goal that put the game out of reach for the Dolphins.
Head Coach Bill Belichick, in typical loquacious fashion, credited the success to "we did a good job of blocking." That isn't to say there weren't any wrinkles though. With four minutes left, the Patriots faced a 3rd-and-2 on the Miami 10. A first down meant the Pats could bleed the clock down to a little over a minute left. The Pats line up in their normal "12" personnel, with one TE at each side. But Sebastian Vollmer (#76), normally the right tackle, is lined up to the left of left tackle Nate Solder (#77). Daniel Fells (#86), their best blocking TE, is to the left of Vollmer. It's pretty obvious the Patriots are going to run left, but Miami doesn't shift to match the unbalanced line. DE Cameron Wake (#91) is lined up outside TE Aaron Hernandez (playing right tackle), and the two Dolphins interior linemen are lined up head-up on the guards. This allows Vollmer and Fells to get out to the left and block linebackers.
Middle linebacker Karlos Dansby (#58) shoots the "A-gap" at the snap and gets penetration. He ends up chasing Ridley down from behind for the tackle. But the broadcast shot shows the wall of blue jerseys in front of running back Stevan Ridley. There's enough push and enough space for Ridley to get the first down that effectively ended the game.
A Look Ahead - When I think of the Houston Texans, I think of the zone run blocking that Texans head coach Gary Kubiak helped make famous. Here's a typical stretch run left, with quarterback Matt Schaub (#8) handing off to running back Arian Foster (#23) while the offensive line blocks left, and you can see Kevin Walter (#83) throwing a cut-block on the back side... wait, what's fullback James Casey (#86) doing? This isn't a running play at all!
The Texans are first in the NFL in rushing attempts, second in rushing touchdowns, and 6th in rushing yards, which means opponents have to respect the run. This is true even when they're not running well, as on Sunday, when Tennessee held Foster to 38 yards on 14 carries. Houston takes advantage of this to run a lot of play-action - 27.9% of passes come off play fakes, 5th in the league. Here they run a bootleg right off the fake, with Schaub (blue arrow) running parallel to Casey (red arrow). Safety Alterraun Verner (#20) is sucked in by the play-fake and can't recover in time to prevent the touchdown. It's an easy pitch-and-catch for the 5-yard score. The play appears to only have one passing option, but Houston runs it so well that it doesn't matter.
The Patriot linebackers and safeties will have be very good to slow down Houston's running attack on Monday night, but it's just as important that they stay disciplined and watch out for the play action.
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