dbair1967
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I guess the excuse for the bad offense is "Al Saunders is holding everything back!!!"...ok, so whats the excuse for the bad defense?
Protect and serve: Line was up to the challenge
By Mike Reiss, Globe Staff | August 28, 2006
FOXBOROUGH -- When a team sends an extra rusher more than 50 percent of the time, as the Commanders did Saturday night against the Patriots' first-unit offense, the challenge to protect the quarterback can be immense.
Yet the Patriots came up aces in this category in their 41-0 victory, as Tom Brady wasn't sacked, and absorbed only a few hits.
``Washington gives you some tough situations to block, so it was good for us," said coach Bill Belichick. ``We got a lot of good looks."
With Brady under center, the Patriots attempted 33 passes, including three plays in which pass interference was called. The Commanders brought extra rushers 17 times, going 14 times with five rushers and once each with six, seven, and eight rushers.
The team's top six offensive linemen -- left tackle Matt Light, left guard Logan Mankins, centers Dan Koppen and Russ Hochstein, right guard Stephen Neal, and right tackle Ryan O'Callaghan -- fended off the charge while also receiving help from the running backs and tight ends.
``Blitz pickup is such a team thing," Belichick said. ``There is a lot of coordination that has to happen, just from a blocking standpoint."
Several of the Patriots' biggest offensive plays by the first team came against the blitz, as Corey Dillon's 39-yard screen pass was against a six-man rush and Brady connected with Troy Brown for a 13-yard strike in the face of a seven-man rush. The connection with Brown set up Benjamin Watson's 6-yard touchdown reception, when Watson initially stayed in to block before releasing as the Commanders rushed eight players.
Even on the few occasions rushers did get to Brady, the Patriots still had success. Normally reliable Kevin Faulk missed one second-quarter assignment, but before Brady was knocked to the ground he found Watson over the middle for a 35-yard hookup.
Brady praised the offensive front after the game.
``Every challenge that gets thrown at them, they take it," he said. ``The pass protection was great. I love having those guys out there in front of me."
Protect and serve: Line was up to the challenge
By Mike Reiss, Globe Staff | August 28, 2006
FOXBOROUGH -- When a team sends an extra rusher more than 50 percent of the time, as the Commanders did Saturday night against the Patriots' first-unit offense, the challenge to protect the quarterback can be immense.
Yet the Patriots came up aces in this category in their 41-0 victory, as Tom Brady wasn't sacked, and absorbed only a few hits.
``Washington gives you some tough situations to block, so it was good for us," said coach Bill Belichick. ``We got a lot of good looks."
With Brady under center, the Patriots attempted 33 passes, including three plays in which pass interference was called. The Commanders brought extra rushers 17 times, going 14 times with five rushers and once each with six, seven, and eight rushers.
The team's top six offensive linemen -- left tackle Matt Light, left guard Logan Mankins, centers Dan Koppen and Russ Hochstein, right guard Stephen Neal, and right tackle Ryan O'Callaghan -- fended off the charge while also receiving help from the running backs and tight ends.
``Blitz pickup is such a team thing," Belichick said. ``There is a lot of coordination that has to happen, just from a blocking standpoint."
Several of the Patriots' biggest offensive plays by the first team came against the blitz, as Corey Dillon's 39-yard screen pass was against a six-man rush and Brady connected with Troy Brown for a 13-yard strike in the face of a seven-man rush. The connection with Brown set up Benjamin Watson's 6-yard touchdown reception, when Watson initially stayed in to block before releasing as the Commanders rushed eight players.
Even on the few occasions rushers did get to Brady, the Patriots still had success. Normally reliable Kevin Faulk missed one second-quarter assignment, but before Brady was knocked to the ground he found Watson over the middle for a 35-yard hookup.
Brady praised the offensive front after the game.
``Every challenge that gets thrown at them, they take it," he said. ``The pass protection was great. I love having those guys out there in front of me."
