The Pittsburgh Steelers face the New York Jets Sunday seeking their fourth straight win after a 3-3 start. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has led the resurgent offense. Mark Schofield breaks down a key passing play from last weekend’s 43-21 win over the Baltimore Ravens. In the wake of their 31-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns, pundits…
A better performance from the New England Patriots rush defense in Week 8 against the Chicago Bears was expected; no NFL team can survive being as bad against the run as the Patriots were against the New York Jets in Week 7. In the final installment of this three-part series, it’s time to look at…
The New England Patriots run defense turned in a better performance in Week 8 against the Chicago Bears. The game plan for the Bears was clear: run at the Patriots. Early on, New England was stout, allowing the offense to open a large lead. In part two of this three-part series, Brian Filipiak will how…
The successful home underdog strategy in NFL lines helped popularize the use of data analysis in gambling and predictions. In Part I, we looked at basic tenets of home field advantage with a focus on wins, losses, and point differential. As one might expect, Seattle came out on top, performing almost 11 points better at…
Pass defense takes both individual effort and eleven players working in concert to be successful. The two biggest defensive plays in the New England Patriots win over the Denver Broncos demonstrate how eleven great individual efforts, within the team concepts, can create big plays. Not Fantasy Football Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning posted big statistics in…
The beleaguered New England Patriots run defense turned in a better performance in Week 8 against the Chicago Bears. The game plan for the Bears was clear – run at the Patriots. Early on, New England was stout, allowing the offense to open a large lead. In this three-part series, Brian Filipiak will show the…
Spectacular plays, like “greatest route ever”, are recognized as they happen. However, many of the most important plays in NFL games are not spectacular; they appear routine, the result of practice, technique, and teamwork. Brandon LaFell’s touchdown catch against the Denver Broncos doesn’t look spectacular ‒ until you review the film. Following Brandon Browner’s interception…
Each week, Inside The Pylon tracks the New England Patriots by the numbers and key statistics about the offense and defense. Offense – Areas of Emphasis Keeping Brady Upright: 1 sack in 54 dropbacks – 1.9% sack rate. League average: 5.9 % sack rate. Patriots season average: 4.0% Run/pass percentage on 1st & 2nd down:…
In the Week 9 NFL Picks: FC experts go 7-5 in favor of NE over Denver, including the current champ Super Dave. Will Brady & company reward their faith? The week 9 NFL picks also have our beloved Jets go 1-8 and San Diego prevailing over Miami in sunny Florida. How about the rest of…
Vince Wilfork is the rock upon which the Patriots defense is built. His torn Achilles tendon last season made the run defense porous and his loss to the pass rush hurt the pass defense. Jeremy Turner looks at Wilfork’s performance so far this season. Consternation abounds regarding the New England Patriots’ mammoth defensive tackle Vince…
It’s getting heated with weekly changes atop the leaderboard. Can Super Dave finally separate from the pack? Will Dave’s random picks get him out of the cellar? Scroll below for the complete results from last week. Yours truly is already off to a 0-1 start thanks to a bet on the Chargers (thanks zebs!) I’m…
If A Fake Punt Return Is So Good That No Reliable Video Exists, Did It Really Happen? I encountered a major problem when trying to write this piece. It wasn’t that I was feeling uncreative. It wasn’t that I didn’t know what to write about. It wasn’t even relentless pressure from my editorial staff to…
The New York Jets rolled up 218 yards against the New England Patriots run defense. What went wrong for New England? Part 1 of this four-part series explores what things look like when they go right, Part 3 the failure to flow and in Part 4 the dangers of losing the edge. Part 2 –…
During Jets Week, Inside The Pylon posited that New York’s run defense might be the best in the league, making it a tough night for the Patriots run game. Rex Ryan’s men delivered on that proclamation Thursday night, holding the Patriots to 63 yards on 15 carries. However New England ran the ball to the…
The New York Jets rolled up 218 yards against the New England Patriots run defense. What went wrong for New England? Part 1 of this four-part series explores what things look like when they go right, Part 2 on the failure to fit, Part 3 the failure to flow and here, the dangers of losing…