Team Gronk
All glory be unto Gronk but, in truth, his touchdown run was the product of great play calling, blocking, execution, and everyone on the team doing their job even off the ball.
Jonas Gray and the Trap Block Quintet
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,…
Just Won Baby: Raiders Won Their First Game
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 –…
Reading the Lions Numbers
The New England Patriots return to Foxborough with an 8-2 record, courtesy of a 42-20 romp over the Indianapolis Colts. Coupled with the Denver Broncos 22-7 loss to the St. Louis Rams, the Patriots currently hold the pole position in the AFC race for home-field advantage. Next up are the Detroit Lions, whose strong defense…
Packers Take Eagles to Flight School
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…
Alchemy: Detroit Pass Rush Combos
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…
Double-Cross Stunt: Lions Front Four
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…
The NFC Playoff Picture After Week 11
Ten down, six to go and the NFL postseason is coming into focus. The NFC Playoff Picture after Week 11 is controlled by the Arizona Cardinals. Drew Stanton’s Arizona Cardinals control the NFC’s race for home field advantage. Shocking. The NFC West was expected to be the NFL’s toughest division, with the defending Super Bowl…
Jelani Jenkins, Dolphins Savior
The Miami Dolphins (6-4) visit the Denver Broncos (7-3) on Sunday in a battle for AFC playoff positioning. This season, the key to the Dolphins success has been their excellent defense. One of the most important pieces to the puzzle has been the emergence of Jelani Jenkins. In the first game of the 2014 season,…
The AFC Playoff Picture After Week 11
Ten down, six to go and the NFL postseason is coming into focus. The AFC playoff picture after Week 11 is controlled by the New England Patriots. While no teams are mathematical playoff locks yet, one is already assured of not participating this season: ladies and gentlemen, your Oakland Raiders! Big round of applause…
Colts Bruised: Patriots Run Defense
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…
Good Throw: Tom Brady Play Action Passes
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,…
Ugly Toss: Patriots Play Action Fake
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…
Bad Passing: Patriots Play Action
New England Patriots running back Jonas Gray tallied 201 yards rushing against the Indianapolis Colts, repeatedly gashing a defense that couldn’t slow him down. The success on the ground should have opened up the Patriots play action passing game but Tom Brady was unable to take advantage, starting the game 0-for-7 with two interceptions when…
Colts Battered: Patriots Run Defense
After a Week 7 struggle against the running attack of the New York Jets ‒ the first game without linebacker Jerod Mayo ‒ the New England Patriots run defense has turned a corner. The recovery started with a more competitive performance against the Chicago Bears in Week 8, followed by a dominant effort (40 yards…
Winless for Winston ‒ Week 11
The race for the #1 overall pick in 2015’s NFL Draft is underway. The Oakland Raiders hold the top spot but don’t count out the QB-desperate New York Jets For some NFL fans, it’s time to dream about next year. It certainly is for the Oakland Raiders, who were officially eliminated from playoff contention and…