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By Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News
Posted October 2, 2007
While watching the Patriots dismantle their latest overmatched opponent, the Bengals, on Monday night, I was scratching my head trying to come up with the slightest chink in the chain mail.
The Patriots have a power running game. They have a deep passing game. They have a fine pass rush. They have good pass coverage. They can stop the run. They know how to protect the ball, and are just as good as taking it away.
Besides the rare Tom Brady interception -- which happened to set up the Bengals only touchdown last night -- it doesn't seem like any team has a chance to do anything against them.
Then you remember that that the four teams they've beaten now have combined for as many wins as the Patriots have -- four. But what each of the first four opponents have been able to do successfully might become a legitimate concern for when the competition is dialed up, to say, the Cowboys' level in Week 6, or the Colts' level in Week 9.
In Week 1 against the Patriots, the Jets went no-huddle to work themselves into the red zone in the first quarter. Chad Pennington then hit Laveranues Coles for a short TD strike. The same exact thing happened in the third quarter of that game.
In Week 2 against the Patriots, the Chargers also managed to score in their only two trips to the red zone, first on a short dumpoff to fullback Lorenzo Neal and second on a 12-yard bullet to tight end Antonio Gates.
In Week 3 against the Patriots, the Bills worked their way into the red zone early to get a 7-3 lead off of a run by rookie Marshawn Lynch. Last night, the Bengals' only trip to end zone was a TD pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh in -- you guessed it -- the red zone.
Yes, the Patriots are shockingly last in the league in something, allowing touchdowns on 100 percent of their opponents' red zone trips.
Of course, New York, San Diego, Buffalo and Cincinnati all had trouble moving the ball on New England on the rest of the field, but all those offenses are a bit out of sync at the moment.
There's nothing out of sync with the prolific offenses of either Dallas or Indianapolis, the two teams looking like they will pose the biggest threats to the Patriots' domination, both in regular-season matchups and potentially deep into the playoffs.
So what's with this weakness? Consider that it's hard to get too creative with coverage looks and spreading out defenders in the tight space inside the 20. That means the Patriots have more one-on-one responsibilities at linebacker and defensive back.
So let's look at those six touchdowns. All but one came off passes (three to a wide receiver, one each to a fullback and a tight end), and the last one was a surprise run by Lynch on a third-and-8.
Other than super versatile outside linebacker Adalius Thomas, the Patriots have minor speed (inside linebacker) and size (cornerback, safety) concerns in their defensive back seven. Coles is simply a very quick receiver, while Gates and Houshmandzadeh are two of the game's smartest intermediate route runners. Lynch already is making his mark as just a special runner.
So it's not just anyone having success against the Patriots in the red zone. They're some of the game's most talented offensive skill players.
That brings me to the Cowboys and the Colts. Tony Romo, with some Tom Brady-like poise, has Dallas rolling, and it helps that he has three of the NFL's best red-zone options in Terrell Owens, ultra athletic tight end Jason Witten and powerful tackle-breaking back Marion Barber III. Of course, we know the Colts are loaded with options near the goal line, and the Patriots know firsthand how dangerous running back Joseph Addai and tight end Dallas Clark have become.
The Cowboys and the Colts will move the ball on other parts of the field much better than the Patriots' first four opponents, setting up the chance to score more points. Also, both inside and outside the 20, the Patriots' Stephen Gostkowski and the Cowboys' Nick Folk are pretty good young kickers, but they don't quite have the clutch resume of the Colts' Adam Vinatieri.
Keep in mind that their red-zone defense should be considered to be only a small problem. They have their own awesome red-zone offense, led by Brady, and their defense elsewhere on the field and overall special teams have been exceptional.
But we also know in the modern NFL that no one's perfect, not even these precise Patriots. At least it gives the Cowboys and the Colts hope -- and gives us yet another reason why we can't afford to miss those two games.
Posted October 2, 2007
While watching the Patriots dismantle their latest overmatched opponent, the Bengals, on Monday night, I was scratching my head trying to come up with the slightest chink in the chain mail.
The Patriots have a power running game. They have a deep passing game. They have a fine pass rush. They have good pass coverage. They can stop the run. They know how to protect the ball, and are just as good as taking it away.
Besides the rare Tom Brady interception -- which happened to set up the Bengals only touchdown last night -- it doesn't seem like any team has a chance to do anything against them.
Then you remember that that the four teams they've beaten now have combined for as many wins as the Patriots have -- four. But what each of the first four opponents have been able to do successfully might become a legitimate concern for when the competition is dialed up, to say, the Cowboys' level in Week 6, or the Colts' level in Week 9.
In Week 1 against the Patriots, the Jets went no-huddle to work themselves into the red zone in the first quarter. Chad Pennington then hit Laveranues Coles for a short TD strike. The same exact thing happened in the third quarter of that game.
In Week 2 against the Patriots, the Chargers also managed to score in their only two trips to the red zone, first on a short dumpoff to fullback Lorenzo Neal and second on a 12-yard bullet to tight end Antonio Gates.
In Week 3 against the Patriots, the Bills worked their way into the red zone early to get a 7-3 lead off of a run by rookie Marshawn Lynch. Last night, the Bengals' only trip to end zone was a TD pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh in -- you guessed it -- the red zone.
Yes, the Patriots are shockingly last in the league in something, allowing touchdowns on 100 percent of their opponents' red zone trips.
Of course, New York, San Diego, Buffalo and Cincinnati all had trouble moving the ball on New England on the rest of the field, but all those offenses are a bit out of sync at the moment.
There's nothing out of sync with the prolific offenses of either Dallas or Indianapolis, the two teams looking like they will pose the biggest threats to the Patriots' domination, both in regular-season matchups and potentially deep into the playoffs.
So what's with this weakness? Consider that it's hard to get too creative with coverage looks and spreading out defenders in the tight space inside the 20. That means the Patriots have more one-on-one responsibilities at linebacker and defensive back.
So let's look at those six touchdowns. All but one came off passes (three to a wide receiver, one each to a fullback and a tight end), and the last one was a surprise run by Lynch on a third-and-8.
Other than super versatile outside linebacker Adalius Thomas, the Patriots have minor speed (inside linebacker) and size (cornerback, safety) concerns in their defensive back seven. Coles is simply a very quick receiver, while Gates and Houshmandzadeh are two of the game's smartest intermediate route runners. Lynch already is making his mark as just a special runner.
So it's not just anyone having success against the Patriots in the red zone. They're some of the game's most talented offensive skill players.
That brings me to the Cowboys and the Colts. Tony Romo, with some Tom Brady-like poise, has Dallas rolling, and it helps that he has three of the NFL's best red-zone options in Terrell Owens, ultra athletic tight end Jason Witten and powerful tackle-breaking back Marion Barber III. Of course, we know the Colts are loaded with options near the goal line, and the Patriots know firsthand how dangerous running back Joseph Addai and tight end Dallas Clark have become.
The Cowboys and the Colts will move the ball on other parts of the field much better than the Patriots' first four opponents, setting up the chance to score more points. Also, both inside and outside the 20, the Patriots' Stephen Gostkowski and the Cowboys' Nick Folk are pretty good young kickers, but they don't quite have the clutch resume of the Colts' Adam Vinatieri.
Keep in mind that their red-zone defense should be considered to be only a small problem. They have their own awesome red-zone offense, led by Brady, and their defense elsewhere on the field and overall special teams have been exceptional.
But we also know in the modern NFL that no one's perfect, not even these precise Patriots. At least it gives the Cowboys and the Colts hope -- and gives us yet another reason why we can't afford to miss those two games.
ray:
