The Quick Slant Week 6: Brady, Hernandez move the Pats to 5-1

After a week’s hiatus in order to provide an in depth preview of the Boston Bruins ‘The Quick Slant’ is back and better than ever. A brief synopsis of the game before I get into what I saw in particular and a few random thoughts on the game and its outcome. As most of you know the Patriots beat the Dallas Cowboys 20-16 yesterday with Tom Brady hitting Aaron Hernandez for an 8 yard score with :22 left in the 4^th quarter. Brady went 27/41 (identical to Romo) for 289 yards, 2 TDs, and 2 picks. Now that you’ve seen a final score and how Tom Terrific did on the day let’s get to some of the news and notes from the matchup.

-Thank God Buddy Ryan only had two defensive minded sons. Rex Ryan and the Jets (before last week) were 3-2 against the Patriots since he’s been at the helm and unceremoniously knocked the Patriots out of the playoffs last year. Rob Ryan, the current defensive coordinator of the Cowboys, was at the head of the Browns defense that before Sunday was the last d to hold the Patriots under 30 points in the regular season. Ryan guided defenses tend to give Brady and the Patriots some trouble for extended period of times. The common theme between the brothers Ryan ability to slowing down the Patriots is the ability to get pressure on Brady with 4 and a good amount of the time only 3 rushers. DeMarcus Ware is an absolute beast and he showed it again yesterday wreaking havoc on Matt Light and the Pats o-line all day long. He and the Boys d-line were able to take down Brady 3 times and the secondary picked up 2 interceptions. Until the final drive the Cowboys had done a great job of holding the Patriots in check but that’s just it: it’s almost impossible to hold them down for a full 60 minutes and Brady showed why when he marched down the field 80 yards with precision and accuracy to lead the Patriots to victory.

-Yesterday’s matchup between New England and Dallas provided a much clearer view of why Tom Brady’s one of the greatest of all-time and Tony Romo will never excel into the upper echelon. Brady scores TDs and is allowed to make plays when the game is on the line where Romo scores FGs and is forced to call a handoff dive off right tackle on 3^rd down in the Red Zone. Romo has been at this for almost 6 years now and he’s still not allowed to throw the ball late in the game with the game tied. The Cowboys would rather hand off and take 3 points instead of risking Romo throwing an INT. The Cowboys went 1-3 (TDs-atts) in the Red Zone yesterday with the Patriots going 2-4. Romo leads the Cowboys on long drives that yield 3 instead of the 7 points Brady and Patriots consistently put on the board.

-Andre Carter looked great yesterday putting 2 sacks on the board and disrupting multiple others. Carter is a strong presence in the locker room and the kind of guy you root for. He’s been in the league for 11 years and if he can continue the level of play that he brought to the table last week for the rest of the year the Patriots found them a gem on the scrap heap.

-If he’s healthy, and I know it’s a big IF, Albert Haynesworth can bring the noise. On one of Carter’s sacks yesterday Haynesworth occupied 3 (3!) blockers to allow Carter a free lane to Romo. His presence doesn’t always show up on the stat sheet but he is a beast and occupies multiple blockers on every play allowing the other linemen and linebackers free shots at the ball carrier. He can also provide some pressure up the middle, which for all his other talents and soft hands, Vince Wilfork isn’t the best at. He’s more of a run stuffer and block occupier than he is pocket collapser. Haynesworth is a pocket collapser.

-The Patriots turned the ball over 4 times yesterday including putting it on the ground for the first 2 times all year. They were lucky to win considering they lost the turnover battle 4-2. Yet, championship caliber teams win these games and the Patriots did just that.

-The Cowboys are way too skilled to be sitting at 2-3. They should pretty easily be at 5-0 with the talent they field at every position. If you look at the Pats and Cowboys man for man the only areas where you would give the Patriots a decided edge is Quarterback. Running Back is a close push and I’ll give the o-line to the Patriots slightly though the Cowboys have some talent but WRs? Cowboys. D-Line? Cowboys. DBs? Cowboys? LBs? Cowboys? The Patriots have 2 very good TEs whereas the Boys only have Witten but he just happens to be one of the 3 best in football. Not too shabby. Jerry Jones needs to figure out who is the right head coach for this team because Jason Garrett is nothing more than a glorified offensive coordinator. As we’ve all seen from when Belichick tried it a few years ago head coaches shouldn’t be the offensive coordinators at the same time. Find a strong personality to come in and lead this talented bunch to their place among the NFL’s elite.

-Finally, Chad Ochocinco might be close to putting ex-New England Patriot on his resume. He only made it on the field for 7 plays yesterday and none after the Patriots ran isolation for him on the left side and he ran the wrong route. Ochocinco ran an in instead of an out when the Patriots lined him up alone on the left with 4 WRs bunched on the right. After the game Brady said that he still believes Ochocinco can contribute but on the field you can tell that he’s lost all confidence in throwing him the ball and Ochocinco looks stiff and lot. He’s not playing fluid and loose like he did in Cincinnati. If he has any chance of making it in New England he has to dedicate himself to this offense play a little more carefree and think less. He’s a talented player and the Pats could use him down the stretch but we all know if he doesn’t produce soon Belichick won’t be afraid to cut ties and move on.

That’s all for this week folks we’ll see you again in two weeks since YOUR New England Patriots are on a bye this week. Until we cross paths again…

Geoff Jablonski

The Quick Slant: Some Thoughts and Notes on the Pats/Fins MNF Matchup

During the Patriots and Dolphins season opener last night I jotted down some random thoughts and notes I took away from the game. Going into the game the Patriots were burdened with some heavy optimism stemming from the additions of WR Chad Ochochinco and a slew of DL’s, namely Albert Haynesworth, Shaun Ellis, and Andre Carter. A spot to watch was also the safety position with 2 time Pro Bowl (as the 9^th alternate safety but a pro bowler none the less) Brandon Meriweather getting cut after the preseason finale. In light of this optimism I tried to pay attention to a few key details. If you watched the game you know that in the end the Patriots shellacked the Dolphins to the tune of 38-24 with Tom Brady throwing for 517 yards (career high and franchise record not to mention 5^th most all time) and 4 scores. Without further adieu here are the snippets:

-Tom ‘Terrific’ looked just that. He was in total control of the offense connection with weapons all over the field. It was opening night and yet the Pats were running a no huddle offense to perfection leaving the Dolphins gasping for air and unable to make any substitutes during the Patriots many scoring drives. The TE’s (namely Gronkowski and Hernandez…wait do I need to specify Rob now that his brother Dan is on the team?) torched the Dolphins DB’s and LB’s all night to the finally tally of 13 rec, 189 yards, and 2 scores combine.

-Chad Ochocinco is going to be fine but he’s just not caught up with the offensive lingo yet. He didn’t get much run and was only targeted 3 times making 1 catch for 14 yards. Check back later in the year when he’s on the same page as Brady and he’ll be the weapon we all hope and expect him to become.

-The acquistion of Deion Branch at the trade deadline last year is still paying dividends. Him and Brady have an uncanny connection. When Vontae Davis had to run off the field due to cramps Branch and Brady abused his replacement (Nolan Carroll) for a full drive. It got to the point where Brady wasn’t even calling plays but hiking the ball and just waiting for Branch to shake Carroll and grab 8 to 10 yards.

-Danny Woodhead looks just as good the second time around and BenJarvus Green-Ellis is a key goal line bruiser. Woodhead found a way to get to the edge and he ended up with a team high 14 carries for 69 yards. Green-Ellis is the team’s feature back but he only had 7 carries for 34 yards last night more due more to matchups and Woodhead’s effectivness than anything else. In the middle of the field though the Patriots still struggle to run up the gut and wear defenses down in the middle.

-The defense looks much improved against the pass and they put pressure on Chad Henne as the game progressed with Andre Carter and Mark Anderson racking up a sack each. The first drive the Dolphins marched down the field but they didn’t do it again until the game was seemingly out of reach. Albert Haynesworth was a beast in the middle in the 3^rd and 4^th quarters constantly beating up on rookie Mike Pouncey and wreaking havoc on Henne. Ninkovich also had a good game putting a good amount of pressure on the QB. Henne did finish with 416 yards on 30/49 passing but a decent amount of those yards came once the Patriots had pulled back and gone into a cover 2/3 shell. Don’t get me wrong though by no means does the defense look great but it does look better than it did at times last year holding the Fins to 2/14 on 3^rd downs.

-They still struggle to stop the run as Reggie Bush gashed them early though they got stingier as the game went on and you could see how Haynesworth is going to have an impact. On the first drive Haynesworth didn’t play until late in the drive and the Dolphins had a field day. When he got in though on one play he plugged the gap, shed two blockers and hit Reggie Bush at the line taking him down with his free arm while the other arm occupied blockers. Star LB Jerod Mayo moving to the outside means that someone (Brandon Spikes) is going to have to step up and plug the gaps in the middle of the field. Towards the end of the game when Vince Wilfork and Haynesworth were playing side by side the Dolphins realized they couldn’t run up the middle anymore. If that duo gets in sync together it will greatly alter the other teams ability to gash the defense for long runs.

-The CB’s are big which is new for the Patriots. Rookie Ras-I Dowling and second-year man Devin McCourty are both big corners who can play with large receivers unlike their cornerman of the past (Darius Butler). Ras-I Dowling got some playing time and looked good stopping Marshall from making a TD catch at one point and defending Hartline on another 4^th down and goal fade. He played much better than I anticipated he would being physical with the Dolphins. McCourty struggled a little bit getting beat on more than a few occasions by Brandon Marshall who racked up 139 yards on 7 catches. He’ll find his rhythm though and be fine he’s too good of a corner to get beat up on every game. At the safety position Patrick Chung is going to be able to fill the shoes Meriweather left and more. He’s a leader on that defense and Sergio Brown and Josh Barrett played all right alongside him. Chung was all over the field recording 9 solo tackles, a sack, and a pass defended.

Well there you have it folks that’s what I took away from the Monday night affair between the Patriots and Dolphins let me know what else you noticed or if you think that I’m totally off base.

Until we cross paths again,

Geoff Jablonski