Well, at least for the first three quarters, as the unit that had previously been yielding over 450 yards per game in total offense to their opposition gave up just 200 yards in the first forty-five minutes and held the potentially dangerous Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offense to a meager seven points - then surviving a furious Buc's rally to help eek out a 19-14 victory in Tampa.
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| Defensive captain Duron Harmon showed plenty of scrap in win over Bucs |
Eventually, the Buccaneers' offense did get untracked in the final frame, more than doubling their total yardage output and scoring another touchdown as New England's defense went into a three-deep shell to try and protect a two-score lead, which would have backfired on them had it not been for Tampa's kicking game going sideways on them, place kicker Nick Folk missing two fourth quarter tries that would have won the game for them.
So it wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it is something for head ball coach Bill Belichick to hang his hat on as his Patriots head into a ten-day stretch to build upon what they have discovered about themselves through this particular sixty-minutes of play.
What became increasingly obvious as the game wore on is exactly what we've suspected all along - the philosophies have changed on both sides of the ball and Belichick is attempting to implement them on the fly, which is either incredibly arrogant or amazingly bold, or both, even for the Dark Master.
We saw this first when the defense went as basic and vanilla as you will ever see in a regular season game, playing a 3-3-5 Big Nickel version of a hybrid match-up zone where in each defensive back matched up in man coverage against any receiver that came into their area of responsibility - and the results were encouraging, particularly in light of Stephon Gilmore's confession that he is much more motivated as a press-man cover corner...
...an admission that makes a ton of sense, given the communications problems that the defense has been experiencing in the secondary, and also that it plays to the strength of the safety-heavy alignment that also utilizes linebackers to patrol the gaps between quarter zones, with Gilmore matched up on Bucs' wide out Mike Evans.
A brilliant scheme from Belichick and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, designed to keep the chunk plays that the Buccaneers' offense is built for down to a minimum, but also to keep the board clean, as it were, to give the Patriots' coaches an uncluttered view of how their players performed, on a fundamental level.
What they discovered isn't necessarily what they wanted to see, but it gives them an idea of how to proceed.
In addition to Gilmore essentially shutting down Evans (five catches on eight targets for a pedestrian 49 yards), strong safety Pat Chung showed that his skill set hadn't necessarily completely eroded, as he demonstrated excellent technique in covering tight end Cameron Brate when going across the middle - though he also showed that covering on seam routes, ie, with his back to the quarterback, is a trend that needs to be addressed...
...while covering backs and receivers on flat, smoke and wheel routes continue to be an issue with the entire unit, regardless of the fact that the Patriots entered the game on reset to their default, fundamental settings, most of the time playing in that three-deep zone to keep from giving up the chunk plays that the Buccaneers' offense is built for, while keeping enough players in the box to defend against the run.
The latter turned out to be an issue as Tampa Bay running back Doug Martin ripped off gains of nearly six yards a pop while it also left the flats exposed as safe areas for quarterback Jameis Winston to escape and extend to when forced from the pocket, which happened a half-dozen times and resulted in some big gainers with Winston finding his improvising receivers down the field.
There appears to be no cure for that and is something that Patriots' fans are going to have to accept on the edges if the pass rush can't get to the quarterback, at least until strong side linebacker Shea McClellin returns from the IR - but there is also the fact that the scheme called for just three lone rushers most of the night, though Patricia called for blitzes at opportune times.
Still, the New England pass rushers generated enough pressure to keep Winston on his toes, but not enough to take him off his feet, as the Patriots recorded just two sacks to go along with two roughing-the-passer penalties in succession - those coming right before the half and giving Tampa the opportunity to cut into the lead, only to see kicker Nick Folks' 56-yard field goal attempt flutter harmlessly awry.
Good thing, as the Patriots offense continually shot themselves in the foot with penalties, turnovers and giving up sacks - not to mention another curiously-called game by offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
Growing pains? Perhaps, and as Belichick has earned the benefit over several hundred doubts, it is wise to consider that what's happening with the erratic play calling is simply a case of growing pains as the new-look Patriots try to implement a more vertical attack, but the new philosophy paired with injury and an imbalanced attack that sees quarterback Tom Brady drop back to pass twice as often as he turns to hand the ball to a back is flirting with disaster.
It happened again on Thursday night despite tremendous early success with the ground game.
Power back Mike Gillislee (4.3 yards per carry) hit the hole with purpose while Dion Lewis (7.6) displayed a level of explosiveness that has been missing from his game since he tore an ACL almost two years ago, yet there were only nineteen carries between them in a game that screamed for thirty.
In contrast, Brady dropped back forty times and completed thirty passes, hit hard as he released the ball seven different times, was sacked three more and pressured half-a-dozen more along the way, throwing his first interception on the season and losing a fumble on a third quarter strip sack - and all of that arcane punishment netted them less than twenty points.
They moved the ball, no doubt, but their finishes left sixteen points on the field and made Patriots' kicker Stephen Gostkowski a fantasy star with field goals of 27, 23, 45 and 48 to go along with one New England touchdown, a five-yard curl from Brady to Chris Hogan.
In fairness, however, New England's problems on both sides of the ball had more self-inflicted than anything the Buccaneers were doing.
On top of Brady's pressurized gaffes, drive-killing penalties on left tackle Nate Solder and receiver Brandin Cooks and the aforementioned sacks, the defense committed penalties that extended Tampa Bay drives, and while they suffered no points against on those drives, it still kept them on the field for an extra five minutes of game play.
But wait, they did win. The Patriots collectively reached down into their souls and pulled out a game that each player knew that they absolutely had to have, the intestinal fortitude required to do so trumps anything and everything else. Despite all of the errors, all of the points left on the field and all of the chirping by the fans, the Patriots rose above it and ground out a win.
Most of all, they learned that they could. There hasn't been a pretty game among their five already played causing blood pressures to increase by a dozen or so points among Patriots' fans of all ages along with rude dissension among the younger set - but the old-school crowd, the ones who used to pray for a 9-7 season just so they could say their team had a winning record, the opening quarter of the season has been a trip down memory lane...
...only this team has a chance to be much better than .500, but just like back in the days before Brady and Belichick, this team grinds, and those old-time fans know that the tribulations the team is going through right now are just going to make them more resilient as time moves on, and will make them incredibly dangerous come January.
Because they now know how to win. They beat the Houston Texans two weeks ago with an electric comeback and lost to Carolina last Sunday in similar fashion. They were competitive in both games but needed impact plays and last-minute heroics by the offense to get close in the end - but on Thursday night, they played with a slim lead - and while the offense struggled to score points, the defense made the lead hold up.
That's progress.
It's almost as if they had to learn how to lose to be able to learn how to win. And with the tough meat of their 2017 schedule approaching quickly, there couldn't have been a better time to learn that lesson.
"I know, nobody knows
Where it comes and where it goes
I know it's everybody's sin
You got to lose to know how to win" - Dream On, Aerosmith
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