Baltimore Ravens: New England Patriots Scouting Report
Dec 28, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots defensive tackle Sealver Siliga (96), New England Patriots defensive tackle Chris Jones (94) and teammates on the field against the Buffalo Bills in the second half at Gillette Stadium. Buffalo Bills defeated the Patriots 17-9. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
After watching film of the New England Patriots, two truths become readily apparent. First, the Pats are the most unique team in the NFL schematically, which poses problems for unprepared defense. Second, the Pats are beatable, especially for the Baltimore Ravens.
Let’s break down the Pats blow-by-blow.
Passing game
With Tom Brady at quarterback and Rob Gronkowski at tight end, the passing game is obviously the Patriots’ bread and butter.
Ironically, the team that popularized the spread in the NFL rarely runs the spread anymore. The Patriots run more plays under center than the average team, and they very rarely run personnel groupings with more than three receivers.
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The Pats’ preference is to run two tight end sets, with Gronkowski and either Michael Hoomanawanui (who I nominate for the NFL’s All-Name team) or Tim Wright (not as exciting of a name). Hoomanawanui is predominantly a blocker, with just three receptions this year, while Wright is more of a receiver, with 26 grabs this year.
Gronk is obviously the go-to guy in the passing game, a role he excels in. Few tight ends are better at grabbing jump balls, and his sneaky athleticism presents a nightmare for teams that try to cover him with a linebacker. After the catch, Gronk is a beast who breaks tackles like Larry Csonka. Bringing him down before he gets up a head of steam is critical.
In the receiving corps, the Pats are solid if unspectacular. Brandon Lafell has become a true threat in New England, showing savvy route running and surprising short-area quickness for his size (6’3″).
Julian Edelman is a nice counterpoint to Lafell, with similar route running skills and quickness, just in a smaller package. While Lafell is almost exclusively used outside the numbers, Edelman splits his time between being an outside receiver and a slot guy. He drops the ball a lot, with 11 on the season, which is the one blemish on his solid resume.
In terms of blocking, the Patriots have struggled mightily this year, with Tom Brady’s pocket presence bailing them out frequently. Nate Solder doesn’t always look comfortable at left tackle, something Terrell Suggs will undoubtedly take advantage of.
An interior of Dan Connolly, Bryan Stork and Ryan Wendell gives up a ton of interior pressure as well. Pernell McPhee, Haloti Ngata and Brandon Williams will be guys to watch, as they make their living rushing up the middle.
How the Ravens will defend Gronk is the question on most fans’ minds. We will get into that more in-depth in later articles, but for now, suffice it to say Will Hill will play a big role, just as he did against Jimmy Graham against the Saints.
Running Game
The Patriots have one of the most interesting running games in the NFL, which makes their lack of execution all the more frustrating.
On running downs, the Patriots often insert an extra lineman or two to block, which often kicks Nate Solder outside like a blocking tight end. Solder doesn’t look comfortable with this, especially when he lines up on the right side, as he can be taken advantage of by quick moves.
LeGarrette Blount has become the lead back of sorts, splitting carries with Jonas Gray. They are both power backs who rarely go down for a loss and rarely generate a big play.
Shane Vereen actually plays more than either of those two backs, yet he is rarely used in the running game. He is more often used as a receiver or blocker, but he is usually good for a couple of runs per game just to keep the defense off-balance.
Running Defense
With excellent speed in the linebacking corps and great size up front, the Patriots are an excellent run defense.
The Ravens are not fast enough to get outside against the Pats, so finding cutback lanes and pounding the ball up the middle will be critical. Vince Wilfork is still very effective and presents a matchup issue for Jeremy Zuttah, yet his lack of athleticism can be exploited.
A decisive runner can find lanes between the tackles against the Patriots, but hesitate for an instance and the Pats will swarm to the ball.
Justin Forsett has proven to be decisive and instinctive this year, so he should at least a semblance of balance in the Ravens offense.
Pass Defense
Though the Patriots are ranked 18th in pass defense this year, they have been among the NFL’s better units.
Darrelle Revis remains the best cornerback in the game in man coverage, though he is not invincible. The Ravens should not be afraid to test him.
That said, the guy the Ravens should look to pick on is Brandon Browner. Browner is a huge cornerback with excellent press skills, but his lack of short area quickness stands out on double moves.
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At safety, the Patriots are in great shape between Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung. Those two have a lot of chemistry, with McCourty being among the best coverage safeties in the league.
Kyle Arrington and Logan Ryan round out the defensive backs. They are nondescript depth cornerbacks, neither dominant nor horrible.
Schematically, the Patriots run quite a bit more man coverage than most of the league, as they have great confidence in their cornerbacks.
Where the Patriots will probably succeed the most is by masking some zone coverages into their usual schemes, something they’ve done to great effect this year. The Patriots are excellent at disguising their coverage and surprising opponents with various zones.
Diagnosing disguised zones is something Joe Flacco has always struggled with, so this will pose some problems for the Ravens.