The Ravens at Patriots special teams preview looks at the kickoff and punt coverage units, the return teams, plus the kickers and the punters for both teams. The Baltimore Ravens face the New England Patriots for the fourth time in the postseason. Special teams proved decisive in their 2012 battle, as Billy Cundiff’s missed field…
Each week Inside the Pylon takes a look at the standout offensive plays from around the league in Reel Film Recap. In this Wild Card Saturday edition, Mark Schofield examines three ways the Carolina Panthers attacked the Arizona Cardinals defense in the run game, and the importance of Steve Smith, Sr. to Joe Flacco and…
Each week Inside The Pylon takes a look at the standout offensive plays from around the league in Reel Film Recap. In this Wild Card Sunday edition, Mark Schofield looks at Andrew Luck’s feet and left hand, and at the Cowboys’ offensive line. Keeping Plays Alive is Good, Keeping the Football is Better In the…
The New England Patriots’ pass defense has been a strength this season, with new arrivals Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner keying coverage that has been stifling at times. Dave Archibald explores a potential weakness for the team entering Saturday’s playoff opener against the Baltimore Ravens. If the Patriots defense has an Achilles’ heel, look no…
With no playoff seeding implications involved, the New England Patriots treated Week 17 against the Buffalo Bills like a glorified pre-season game, resting many key contributors and limiting the snaps for most of their remaining starters on both sides of the ball. An extremely vanilla defensive approach by the Patriots didn’t leave much to dissect…
The New England Patriots eeked out a victory against the New York Jets, who harassed Tom Brady and the offense into short drives. Defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson feasted on the Patriots offensive line, taking advantage of injuries to the “five guys” who protect Brady. New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan and defensive coordinator Dennis…
The stakes are high in special teams play. A routine sequence can go very well ‒ or very poorly. As Chuck Zodda shows us, even the little things can make all the difference between a fake being executed perfectly or ending in disaster. To say the Jacksonville Jaguars have had a forgettable season would be…
The New England Patriots edged the New York Jets 17-16 in Week 16, relying on their defense and some innovative play design from defensive coordinator Matt Patricia to seal the victory. New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan gets lots of praise for his imaginative blitzes, but Patricia showed Sunday that he too can design…
After a closely-fought first half, the New England Patriots pulled away from the Miami Dolphins after halftime, outscoring their opponent 27-0 to seal a 41-13 victory in Week 15. The Patriots, who evened the slate against a Dolphins team that defeated them in the season opener, locked up the AFC East with the win and…
For every great return, there are many great blocks. Eleven players working together in orchestrated chaos, punt return blockers are only recognized when they get penalized for blocking in the back. Not on Chuck Zodda‘s watch. Here is how one extraordinary individual effort earned Kansas City Chiefs Josh Martin the coveted title of Special Teams…
NFL defenses are often gauged by their success or failure once an opposing offense reaches the goal line’s doorstep. Dave Archibald explores how the New England Patriots have reinvented their red zone defense. At the bye in Week 10, the New England Patriots rated as mediocre when defending inside their own 20-yard-line, ranking 19th in…
The stakes are high in special teams play. A routine sequence can go very well ‒ or very poorly. As Chuck Zodda shows us, even the little things can make all the difference between a kick getting away safely and having it blocked. There are some in the NFL who believe success requires extreme trickery…
Calling a run play is easy enough. The end result is just as easy to grade. Running backs receive most of the glory on successful attempts while blowups in the backfield seem to focus on the defender recording the tackle for a loss. But it’s often the many and myriad intricate actions in between that…
Each week Inside The Pylon takes a look at some of the standout offensive plays from around the NFL in Reel Film Recap. In this edition Mark Schofield looks at the Pittsburgh Steelers dipping back into the well against the Atlanta Falcons, and the key to a huge Dallas Cowboys road win over the Philadelphia…
Each week Inside The Pylon takes a look at ins and outs of the latest offensive action from around the NFL in Reel Film Recap. In this edition Mark Schofield looks at how the first-ever Johnny Manziel start went for the Cleveland Browns against the Cincinnati Bengals. In his own words, his performance graded as…
The New England Patriots secured their sixth straight AFC East title with a convincing 41-13 win over the Miami Dolphins in NFL Week 15. After a disappointing first half offensively, Tom Brady and Company went on a 27-0 run in the second half, highlighted by this perfect touchdown pass on a Rob Gronkowski seam route.…