What do a lot of the Patriots remaining opponents have in frequent?
Superstar expertise at receiver.
Toss in a couple of elite quarterbacks, and it’ll be attention-grabbing to see if the Patriots secondary can proceed the run of success its had over the course of the primary half.
This is the actual litmus take a look at for this Patriots protection, the secondary specifically. Discovering how they fare towards a high quarterback who has high flight weapons at receiver.
Can they shut down the NFL’s greatest?
Because that’s what’s on faucet this coming week and past.
Thanksgiving evening towards the Vikings, they’ll get a wholesome dose of Kirk Cousins taking goal at the NFL’s high receiver, Justin Jefferson, whose insane one-handed catch towards the Bills remains to be being talked about. Add in Adam Thielen and the Patriots could have their palms full.
After that, it’s Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis hauling in missiles from Josh Allen. The Patriots will see that Buffalo mixture twice.
Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are additionally within the combine with Joe Burrow, together with Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa and his celebrity tandem of Tyreek Hill and Jalen Waddle.
The Patriots didn’t precisely shut down Hill (8 catches, 94 yards) and Waddle (4 catches, 69 yards, 1 TD) in Week 1, though it might have been worse.
Deandre Hopkins (Arizona) and Davante Adams (Las Vegas), who couldn’t be coated within the Patriots joint practices with the Raiders in August, are additionally a part of the second-half schedule.
Jefferson (117.8), Hill (114.8), Diggs (109.4), Hopkins (99.0), Waddle (87.8), Adams (87.1) and Chase (86.4) stand as seven of the league’s high 10 receivers in receiving yards per sport.
Thus far, the efficiency of the Patriots secondary has been a nice shock given the lack of high nook J.C. Jackson in free company through the offseason. The Pats additionally traded Stephon Gilmore, who was an enormous contributor on the 2018 Super Bowl profitable crew, throughout final season. That meant when the season began, there was no signal of a shutdown nook anyplace within the combine.
Looking on the numbers, that hasn’t been an issue. Statistically after 9 video games, the Pats secondary ranks second within the league by DVOA, whereas Pro Football Focus has them ranked eighth as a protection crew.
The group has additionally picked off 11 passes in 9 video games, which is second greatest within the NFL.
Moving Jonathan Jones from the slot to the skin was a grasp stroke, whereas Jalen Mills has additionally carried out effectively out on the boundary. Myles Bryant has primarily been used within the slot, whereas rookies Jack Jones and Marcus Jones have each offered optimistic contributions.
Jack Jones, specifically, has stood out. Heading into Week 11, he was PFF’s highest graded rookie defender. The fourth-round choose is tied for the Patriots crew lead in interceptions (two) and passes defended (5).
The Patriots’ proficient group of safeties is a part of that protection grade, with Devin McCourty having a pair of interceptions within the first Jets sport, however it could even be remiss to not point out the move rush.
That’s been important to the protection grade, with Matthew Judon, Josh Uche, Deatrich Wise and the Patriots entrance attending to the quarterback frequently through the first 9 video games.
Will it proceed, even towards Zach Wilson and his group of receivers, led by rookie Garrett Wilson, who has extra catches (42) and yards (521) than any Patriots receiver?
Former Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson, now an area speak present character, would like to say sure, however couldn’t say with any certainty.
“I want to say they’ll be able to handle those receivers, but my honest answer is, I’m not sure,” Johnson stated when reached Wednesday. “I’m not totally confident that they can because they haven’t played any elite receivers outside of Week 1 (Miami).”
At the very least, it’ll be attention-grabbing to see how Belichick schemes to deal with the upcoming groups that characteristic two big-time threats.
He doesn’t have a shutdown nook, per se, to lock down one, whereas double-covering the opposite. So he’ll seemingly go along with what he feels are the matchups that give him the most effective likelihood.
Against Miami, he primarily used Jonathan Jones, his quickest defender, on Tyreek Hill. Jones had success with Hill prior to now, and actually didn’t enable any explosive performs. Mills took on Waddle, generally with security assist.
As for the 6-foot-1, 203-pound Jefferson, who has emerged because the league’s high receiver, the Pats will seemingly double him, with single protection on Thielen.
That will in all probability be the identical plan with Chase, who has been out with a hip damage however anticipated again as quickly as Week 12, and Higgins.
Johnson additionally believes it’s going to come back all the way down to the Patriots move rushers, and the way they fare. While Judon (11.5 sacks) has been just about unblockable, the entrance has benefitted by dealing with some suspect offensive strains. See Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and the New York Jets.
“I just think the offensive lines are going to be much better over the course of the second half, making it more difficult to put pressure on,” stated Johnson. “Quarterbacks are going to have extra time, and the secondary goes to be examined in a means it hasn’t been up up to now.
“So I don’t feel comfortable saying they have it figured out, and they’ll continue this excellent play in the second half of the season.”
If the Patriots need to give themselves an opportunity to make the postseason, the protection, and secondary specifically, are going to should ship.
While the Vikings and Bills have two of the better-ranked offensive strains, there are nonetheless a couple of cupcakes with the Raiders (21), Bengals (22) and Cardinals (23) close to the underside of PFF rankings. So we’ll see if the move rush can pace up the quarterbacks.
Johnson can also be hesitant to go all-in on the protection and secondary as a result of a number of extremely rated Patriots models crashed and burned late within the season.
The 2019 unit falls into that class. So does 2021.
It stays to be seen if this group can get the job performed.
Allen combating demons
The usually reliable Josh Allen has become a turnover machine not too long ago, making ill-advised throws which have value the Bills, losers of two straight.
Specifically, he’s had 4 picks within the purple zone within the final two video games alone. While he’s thrown 20 landing passes, his 10 interceptions lead the league.
Speaking with the media Wednesday, Allen addressed his play of late.
“There’s a play here or there that maybe I did cross the line. I wouldn’t say it’s all the time, but there might be a situation where it’s like I shouldn’t have made this decision, obviously,” he stated. “You’re going to have bad throws, you’re going to have tipped balls, those are the interceptions you’re going to have to live with. It’s the bad decisions I’ve made a couple of times in the last few games … we’ve done a lot of good things. I don’t want to take that away. Guys are working really hard. We’re running the ball really well. But sometimes that one or two decisions can cost you a game and it’s come back to bite us. So it’s just cleaning that up.”
Allen talked in regards to the debate he battles when he drops again to throw the soccer. It’s whether or not he can belief any individual else to make a play, or if he ought to simply do it himself.
“I’ve battled that my entire football career in trying to do too much sometimes,” he stated. “It’s playing quarterback the right way, the smart way and relying on our guys to make plays in space, and not always trying to force the ball downfield. Just getting back to that.”
Ken Dorsey, his offensive coordinator, doesn’t need to mute his aggressiveness, he simply desires him to make higher selections.
“I’m going to have the same mindset in terms of being aggressive. Coach (Ken) Dorsey talks about smart but not conservative. I’m just trying to get back to that,” stated Allen. “Go out there, play freely, and not try to not to make a mistake, play football and be the quarterback I know I am and my teammates think I am and trust me to be. That’s what it comes down to.”
McDaniels will get assist
Maybe it was the dreaded vote of confidence, however Raiders proprietor Mark Davis did come out in assist of head coach Josh McDaniels in wake of the crew’s 2-7 begin.
The former Patriots offensive coordinator additionally noticed a number of the crew leaders applaud Davis’ backing of McDaniels.
“It kind of let us know, the process, trust that process,” stated quarterback Derek Carr, by way of the crew’s web site. “There is a process and we do have time during the season that we know who our leader is, and we know that we’re rolling, and that gives us confidence as a football team. So, absolutely, when he came out and did that, ‘Whew, thank goodness.’ That kind of thing.”
The Raiders had been a playoff crew at 10-7 final season. Davis opted to rent McDaniels and former Patriots government Dave Ziegler to run the ship as the final supervisor.
Davante Adams, who arrived in a blockbuster commerce with the Packers in March, appreciated the endurance being proven by proprietor Davis.
“You look at the history of this place, I mean, I don’t think a playoff game has been won in over 20 years here,” Adams stated, making reference to the Raiders’ AFC title win over Tennessee on Jan. 19, 2003.
“There’s no magic coach that’s going to come in and change that,” Adams added. “And I think that Josh is doing a great job and he does deserve that, in my mind. We can all be better in certain instances but some of the greatest coaches that this league has seen had some tough times and I’m sure they didn’t all come out the block sprinting like Usain Bolt, starting their career off, or starting with a new organization. So, I think it’s a good move by (Davis) doing that. It’s good for Josh, good for the rest of the guys, too.”
AFC Beast
The AFC East has gotten some discover given it’s the one division, outdoors of the NFC East, that doesn’t have a crew under .500.
Of course, that might change this week relying on what occurs with the Patriots.
That being stated, ESPN analyst Damien Woody thinks it’s “the most interesting division in football.”
Why?
Woody talked about how every crew has one thing completely different that makes them click on.
“The Jets and New England play good defense, while their offenses are nothing to be scared about. If they manage it, they can win games,” Woody stated. “Miami is high-powered, but they don’t play all that great defense. But they score so many points. We’ll see how long that lasts. But Tua’s playing great. And Buffalo? They’re going to be in it to the end, because I believe from top the bottom, they got the best roster in the league. Their quarterback (Josh Allen) just gotta stop turning the ball over.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com