Shaky pass defenses under pressure By Scouts, Inc.
Why To Watch
These are two storied franchises with two of the best coaches in the business, Bill Belichick and Mike Shanahan. The Patriots go to Denver with loads of confidence and a swagger that reflects their playoff success. They face a Denver team that somehow flies under the radar and doesn't get a lot of publicity or respect.
Both teams play good run defense, but both also struggle on pass defense. If their pass rushes up front are not there, both secondaries can be exploited. New England QB Tom Brady is carrying the offense on his back with a productive passing game. Denver conversely moves the ball by controlling the clock with a running game that leads the NFL in time of possession and also sets up Jake Plummer and the passing game. These are two smart teams that know how to make adjustments and play mistake-free football.
When the Patriots have the ball
Rushing: Though they don't run the ball very well, the Patriots stay committed to it. New England is 24th in the league in rushing offense, but 30th in yards gained per rush, which shows a lack of explosiveness and big-play capabilities. When you really study Corey Dillon, you don't see a guy hitting the hole with good quickness. More importantly, he's not getting a lot of yards after contact, which has been his career trademark. His longest run this year is 29 yards.
Right now Kevin Faulk looks like a better big-play option as a rusher than Dillon. Granted, the Patriots have not had a lot of consistency on their offensive line, but it's been better in recent weeks. If weather becomes a factor and if the field becomes sloppy, Dillon might be more effective because of his size and power. Denver is second in the NFL in run defense and its front seven, along with strong safety John Lynch, does a good job of filling gaps and attacking with good quickness.
It will be difficult for the Patriots to get anything going in the inside run game because the Broncos react fast and close holes closes quickly. The push up front comes from the defensive line, but most of the tackles are made by the linebacker trio of Al Wilson, D.J. Williams and Ian Gold, along with Lynch. This defense has allowed only three 100-yard rushing days this year.
Passing: Brady is doing a great job of spreading the ball around and using all of his weapons in the passing game to offset an average run game. The Patriots have 10 players who have a reception over 25 yards. Denver has a disciplined defensive front but doesn't create a lot of pressure. In fact, the Broncos are last in the NFL in sacks and are more of a read-and-react group than an attacking unit. That obviously bodes well for Brady, who should have time to throw. He may stay away from attacking shutdown corner Champ Bailey and instead look toward rookie CBs Darrent Williams and Domonique Foxworth in the Broncos' nickel package.
Denver will play a lot of man-to-man schemes, and Brady should be able to find favorable matchups. He will also look to attack Broncos safeties Lynch and Nick Ferguson in coverage with his tight ends, especially Ben Watson, and that could be a problem for Denver. The Broncos' linebackers are fast and active but will need to be aware of New England's screen game, which we will see multiple times in this game. The threat of it could freeze this linebacker trio. Look for New England to spread the field with multi-receiver sets and maybe some empty backfield schemes, especially if the running game struggles early as expected. Brady will attack the young corners and less-mobile safeties, but he'll likely stay away from Bailey.
When the Broncos have the ball
Rushing: The Broncos never change their approach to the run game. Their philosophy is certainly working; they have the second-leading rush offense in the NFL and rank first in time of possession. They use the tandem of Mike Anderson, who gets the tough inside yards, and Tatum Bell, who can bounce it outside and give the Broncos more explosive plays. This is a downhill rushing attack that hits the hole quickly behind an offensive line that does an excellent job in its zone blocking schemes.
The Broncos feel they can run the ball on any defense. The Patriots have played much better run defense in recent weeks because they are finally healthy and made some key lineup changes. With Mike Vrabel and Tedy Bruschi manning the inside linebacker positions and a much-improved Vince Wilfork at nose tackle, it is very difficult to run inside. Wilfork eats up blockers and Vrabel and Bruschi use their great instincts to step up and fill the hole and avoid the zone-blocking schemes. Also, RDE Richard Seymour is now collapsing the pocket with an excellent power rush and taking away the backside cut lanes. This is a confusing Patriots defensive front with a lot of pre-snap movement, and zone blocking is much better suited against it than man blocking, but the Broncos won't find this an easy defense to attack.
Passing: The Patriots excel when they face immobile pocket quarterbacks, but that will not be the case this week when they try to corral the active Plummer. You would think teams would load up versus the Denver run game and stack inside, but they can't really afford to do it because of Plummer's threat to use play-action and rollout or use the bootleg to get on the perimeter. Although Plummer has been more consistent this year, he's still capable of being a streaky passer.
The Patriots must get pressure on Plummer to avoid exposing their defensive backs. If they don't, the Broncos will have great matchups. Plummer has a wily veteran receiver in Rod Smith, who will find the soft spots in the Patriots' Cover 2 and will come over the middle. WR Ashley Lelie will provide the deep threat while TE Jeb Putzier can stretch the middle of the field. The Patriots won't likely play many man-to-man schemes, but it will be imperative for Plummer to make good pre-snap reads and not get confused by the movement of the New England defensive front. This is real simple: If Plummer has time, he will pick this secondary apart; if he's pressured, he will make one or two key mistakes that could be the difference in the game.
Why To Watch
These are two storied franchises with two of the best coaches in the business, Bill Belichick and Mike Shanahan. The Patriots go to Denver with loads of confidence and a swagger that reflects their playoff success. They face a Denver team that somehow flies under the radar and doesn't get a lot of publicity or respect.
Both teams play good run defense, but both also struggle on pass defense. If their pass rushes up front are not there, both secondaries can be exploited. New England QB Tom Brady is carrying the offense on his back with a productive passing game. Denver conversely moves the ball by controlling the clock with a running game that leads the NFL in time of possession and also sets up Jake Plummer and the passing game. These are two smart teams that know how to make adjustments and play mistake-free football.
When the Patriots have the ball
Rushing: Though they don't run the ball very well, the Patriots stay committed to it. New England is 24th in the league in rushing offense, but 30th in yards gained per rush, which shows a lack of explosiveness and big-play capabilities. When you really study Corey Dillon, you don't see a guy hitting the hole with good quickness. More importantly, he's not getting a lot of yards after contact, which has been his career trademark. His longest run this year is 29 yards.
Right now Kevin Faulk looks like a better big-play option as a rusher than Dillon. Granted, the Patriots have not had a lot of consistency on their offensive line, but it's been better in recent weeks. If weather becomes a factor and if the field becomes sloppy, Dillon might be more effective because of his size and power. Denver is second in the NFL in run defense and its front seven, along with strong safety John Lynch, does a good job of filling gaps and attacking with good quickness.
It will be difficult for the Patriots to get anything going in the inside run game because the Broncos react fast and close holes closes quickly. The push up front comes from the defensive line, but most of the tackles are made by the linebacker trio of Al Wilson, D.J. Williams and Ian Gold, along with Lynch. This defense has allowed only three 100-yard rushing days this year.
Passing: Brady is doing a great job of spreading the ball around and using all of his weapons in the passing game to offset an average run game. The Patriots have 10 players who have a reception over 25 yards. Denver has a disciplined defensive front but doesn't create a lot of pressure. In fact, the Broncos are last in the NFL in sacks and are more of a read-and-react group than an attacking unit. That obviously bodes well for Brady, who should have time to throw. He may stay away from attacking shutdown corner Champ Bailey and instead look toward rookie CBs Darrent Williams and Domonique Foxworth in the Broncos' nickel package.
Denver will play a lot of man-to-man schemes, and Brady should be able to find favorable matchups. He will also look to attack Broncos safeties Lynch and Nick Ferguson in coverage with his tight ends, especially Ben Watson, and that could be a problem for Denver. The Broncos' linebackers are fast and active but will need to be aware of New England's screen game, which we will see multiple times in this game. The threat of it could freeze this linebacker trio. Look for New England to spread the field with multi-receiver sets and maybe some empty backfield schemes, especially if the running game struggles early as expected. Brady will attack the young corners and less-mobile safeties, but he'll likely stay away from Bailey.
When the Broncos have the ball
Rushing: The Broncos never change their approach to the run game. Their philosophy is certainly working; they have the second-leading rush offense in the NFL and rank first in time of possession. They use the tandem of Mike Anderson, who gets the tough inside yards, and Tatum Bell, who can bounce it outside and give the Broncos more explosive plays. This is a downhill rushing attack that hits the hole quickly behind an offensive line that does an excellent job in its zone blocking schemes.
The Broncos feel they can run the ball on any defense. The Patriots have played much better run defense in recent weeks because they are finally healthy and made some key lineup changes. With Mike Vrabel and Tedy Bruschi manning the inside linebacker positions and a much-improved Vince Wilfork at nose tackle, it is very difficult to run inside. Wilfork eats up blockers and Vrabel and Bruschi use their great instincts to step up and fill the hole and avoid the zone-blocking schemes. Also, RDE Richard Seymour is now collapsing the pocket with an excellent power rush and taking away the backside cut lanes. This is a confusing Patriots defensive front with a lot of pre-snap movement, and zone blocking is much better suited against it than man blocking, but the Broncos won't find this an easy defense to attack.
Passing: The Patriots excel when they face immobile pocket quarterbacks, but that will not be the case this week when they try to corral the active Plummer. You would think teams would load up versus the Denver run game and stack inside, but they can't really afford to do it because of Plummer's threat to use play-action and rollout or use the bootleg to get on the perimeter. Although Plummer has been more consistent this year, he's still capable of being a streaky passer.
The Patriots must get pressure on Plummer to avoid exposing their defensive backs. If they don't, the Broncos will have great matchups. Plummer has a wily veteran receiver in Rod Smith, who will find the soft spots in the Patriots' Cover 2 and will come over the middle. WR Ashley Lelie will provide the deep threat while TE Jeb Putzier can stretch the middle of the field. The Patriots won't likely play many man-to-man schemes, but it will be imperative for Plummer to make good pre-snap reads and not get confused by the movement of the New England defensive front. This is real simple: If Plummer has time, he will pick this secondary apart; if he's pressured, he will make one or two key mistakes that could be the difference in the game.
