The New England Patriots have faced a number of the NFL’s top receivers this year, such as A.J. Green, Demaryius Thomas, and Calvin Johnson. Using offseason signees Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner, the defense has employed different tactics and combinations to slow down these pass-catching weapons. There are number one receivers, and then there are…
The 9-2 New England Patriots travel to Green Bay to take on the 8-3 Packers on Sunday in a matchup between two of the hottest teams in the NFL. Throughout this season we have illustrated how Josh McDaniels utilizes the “high-low opposite” concept to attack opposing secondaries and Packers passing preview looks at how the…
Detroit Lions center Dominic Raiola took a cheap shot at the New England Patriots Zach Moore on the final play of the blowout 34-9 Patriots win. After the game, Moore took the high road, saying “Hey, when you look at the score, I’d probably be mad too.” But here’s the real reason Dominic Raiola was…
The New England Patriots posted 34 points on the Detroit Lions and the Lions still lead the NFL in fewest points allowed. Before the game, Mark Schofield previewed the Lions scheme and talent combined to make opposing offenses miserable. Brian Filipiak reviewed the Patriots film to find out the keys to taming the Lions pass…
Football is a game played with eleven players on each team. All NFL and college football fans know this. Aunt Sally knows this. So how do the Arizona Cardinals not know this? Chuck Zodda looks at the Seattle Seahawks punt block and renders a verdict. Math is an important skill for a number of professions.…
Spectacular plays happen every week in the NFL. Colin Kaepernick‘s throw. Rob Gronkowski’s slalom through the Colts secondary. The Rams’ fake punt return. Julian Edelman’ s wall of doom. The greatest route ever run. But the race for Play of the Year probably ended last night, as Odell Beckham Jr. became a household name. Facing…
Jamie Collins, the 52nd overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft by the New England Patriots, is having a breakout second season, excelling as an every down linebacker in Bill Belichick‘s inventive defensive schemes. Jeremy Turner looks at Collins’ performance in a variety of roles and notes the areas still in need of improvement. Since…
In the lead up to this week’s contest with the Detroit Lions, pundits and fans wondered how the New England Patriots would attack the league’s number one defense. The stout Lions front four has been making offensive linemen miserable all season long. In Week 12, the Patriots offensive line enjoyed a terrific performance, capped off…
The New England Patriots entered Week 11 with, at best, an inconsistent run game comprised of extreme highs and lows. While piling up big numbers on the ground against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2 (35 carries,141 yards), Cincinnati Bengals in Week 5 (37 carries, 206 yards), and Chicago Bears in Week 8 (28 carries,…
Winning in the NFL is difficult. Just ask the Oakland Raiders, who entered Thursday night’s game against division rival Kansas City with an 0-10 record and on a 16-game losing streak overall, dating to last season. But the Raiders won their first game of this season – and their first in 368 calendar days –…
Measuring special teams effectiveness with the stats can be tricky. There’s only one way to know which units are consistently performing at a high-level and which are barely performing: How many times has Chuck Zodda broken down your film? The Philadelphia Eagles make their third appearance this season; previously, Darren Sproles’s punt return and James…
The Detroit Lions (7-3) visit the New England Patriots (8-2) in a matchup of NFL division leaders, bringing with them the NFL’s stingiest defense. The Detroit pass rush has the Lions at the top of the league in fewest rushing yards allowed and sacks recorded. Mark Schofield looks at how the Lions front four has…
The Detroit Lions (7-3) visit the New England Patriots (8-2) in a matchup of NFL division leaders, bringing with them the NFL’s stingiest defense. The Lions front four have Detroit at the top of the league in fewest rushing yards allowed and sacks recorded. Mark Schofield looks at how the Lions front four has been…
Week 7 saw the New England Patriots run defense struggle against the running attack of the New York Jets, but they appear to have fixed their issues. A strong performance at home versus the Chicago Bears was duplicated in the contest with the Denver Broncos. After a Bye week, the Patriots continued their strong performance…
Starting 0-7 with two interceptions is surprising, given the usual high success rate for Tom Brady play action passes. In the second half Brady improved, completing four of five attempts including a touchdown, but he finished the night with a sub-40 quarterback ranking on play action passes. Mark Schofield looked at Brady’s bad first interception,…
When the New England Patriots play action fake, the intent is to open up passing lanes while coaxing the defense to read run, react to it, and be fooled by the pass. When the running game is rolling off 5.5 yards per carry, play action should leave mismatches in the secondary. So it was shocking…