Prelude To A Championship, Part VII - Run Defense A Product Of Health...On Both Defense And Offense

The last time the New England Patriots went to Denver the Broncos rushed for 5.6 yards per carry.

That's bad, but that number is misleading.

Rushing 32 times for 179 yards and two touchdowns is an epic performance in anyone's book, but it doesn't tell the entire story that for three quarters of football, the Patriots' defense had held the Broncos to a far more reasonable 92 yards on 23 carries, a 4.0 yards per carry.

That still isn't that good, but enough to have held the Broncos offense to just seven points - but one muffed punt later, and a tired Patriots' run defense surrendered 87 yards on just 9 carries, as the Broncos erased a 14 point lead and would eventually beat New England in overtime, with running back C. J. Anderson breaking loose for a walk-off 48 yard touchdown run in the free period.

Hightower (54) and Brown (90) should have a better outing this time around

For the game, the Patriots gave up an abysmal 12.5 yards per carry off the weak side and 6.4 off the strong side, and the press in both cities are treating those numbers as an advantage for Denver, but a closer look at the numbers tells a different story.

The Broncos had two lengthy touchdown runs, both by Anderson. The first one was a 15 yard job off the strong side immediately after Patriots' punt returner Chris Harper muffed the punt that ignited the Denver comeback, and the second was Anderson's 48 yarder in overtime. If you take away those two plays, the weak side gave up just 4.5 yards per carry and the strong side gave up just 2.6.

Obviously, the Broncos were able to run on New England, and they started tearing off yards in chunks as the game wore on. But the real factor in that loss for the Patriots was that the offense could not sustain drives, leaving their defense with precious little time for rest.

Of the fifteen possessions the Patriots had in the game, ten ended in punts with six of those being after the offense had gone three-and-out. To compound those numbers, their four scoring drives took 2:03 (four plays), 1:32 (3 plays), :17 (3 plays) and 1:09 (5 plays). In fact, the longest possession for New England on that day was a six-play, 3:08 drive that ended at midfield with a Ryan Allen punt.

As a result, the Broncos won the time of possession battle by a robust 11 minutes, wearing down the New England defense with long, time consuming drives, and were rewarded with wide open running lanes as the game went later and later.

Still the Patriots held a 21-7 lead going into the 4th quarter, and were it not for the muffed punt, this Sunday's game is played in Foxborough, not Denver.

That said, how can the Patriots prevent that same scenario from playing out this Sunday? First of all, 15 possessions for each side is too many - the offense needs to put together a better plan to sustain drives this time around, which shouldn't be that difficult given that in that last encounter, the Patriots were without wide receiver Julian Edelman and played half of the game without tight end Rob Gronkowski, who left with a knee injury.

Secondly, the team was without strong side linebacker Jamie Collins, who made his first Pro Bowl this season despite missing four games with a mysterious illness. With Collins back and teamed with Dont'a Hightower - who left the November game with a knee injury - the Patriots can run their Big Nickle package (4-2-5) to get more speed on the second level so that Anderson doesn't find those holes off tackle and around the edge.

What else can they do? They played well enough to win the first go around, even being handicapped by massive injury.

The Broncos' offense lives and dies with the run. One would think that with a name like Peyton Manning running the show on offense that wouldn't be the case, but the simple fact of the matter is that Manning hasn't been himself for the past year and a half, so the onus has been on Denver's running game and top-ranked defense to keep them in games...

...and it's been a winning formula for them to the tune of a 12-4 record and top seed in the AFC playoffs, and a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Divisional round - but it hasn't always been that way.

Early in the season behind an offensive line missing their two starting tackles while breaking in left guard Evan Mathis and two interior linemen that had never played in an NFL game before, the Broncos rushed for just 86 yards per contest, a number that bumped up significantly once Denver head coach Gary Kubiak benched Manning in favor of young Brock Osweiller to 122 yards per game as Kubiak scaled back the offense a bit...

...increasing even more when Osweiller was benched for the final game of the regular season and the divisional round win over Pittsburgh to a whopping 146 yards per game as Kubiak sought to protect his veteran signal caller from opposing pass rushers.

Of course, part of that also has to do with the fact that the Broncos' line - Tackles Ryan Harris and Michael Schofield, guards Mathis and Louis Vasquez and center Matt Paradis - have started every game this season and have gained a large measure of chemistry together - and while the Broncos have had the most success running between Harris and Mathis all season, they have slowly been able to gain traction to the right and up the middle as well.

Running left, the Broncos go for nearly five yards a pop, with four yards a carry to the right and 3.9 up the middle - not bad at all under the circumstances.

The full benefit of that running game was on display against the Patriots in their regular season meeting and should be again on Sunday, though the Patriots are a markedly different team than they were in late November, mostly on offense, but the return to health of the skill position players on offense should hold the total possessions for each team down to a more reasonable number - say around ten...

...which, if the Patriots run their four-minute offense the way that it is designed, should afford their defenders their proper rest between series - should being the key word, as that wasn't the case against the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round as New England had scoring drives of 4:37 and 5:36, but averaged less that two minutes per possession on their other seven possessions.

Fortunately for the Patriots, they were able to score on three of those brief drives to put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter, when the defense was able to go into their three-deep shell and force the Chiefs to burn time with short gains, doing so with their big nickle defense, when Pat Chung came up into the box like a weak side linebacker, covering tight ends and shedding blocks to make a statement in the running game.

There shouldn't be a lot of room up the gut against the Patriots as defensive tackle Alan Branch is finding his groove and All-Rookie team nose tackle Malcom Brown has become a force inside with Akiem Hicks flexing his muscles in a backup role. On the strong side, Rob Ninkovich is one of the better edge setters in the league and is flanked by Collins on the second level.

The issue this time, as it was in November, is the weak side. Chandler Jones has been limited in practice since tweaking a knee in the Kansas City game, and linebacker Jerod Mayo is gone for the rest of the season with a bum shoulder and should be replaced on the weakside by Dont'a Hightower, whose "Mike" spot will probably be filled by Jonathan Freeny.

If Jones can't go, talented edge setter Jaball Sheard will get the call at defensive end on the weak side.

The Patriots are indeed healthier than they were in November, and as the offense gains chemistry with all of the players coming back from injury and the defense fills the hole left by Mayo with bigger and faster personnel, they should be in much better shape to finish what they started on that Sunday night in Denver...

Patriots' Defense Reaches Elite Level, Can It Be Sustained Through The Post-Season?

How many times do Patriots' fans have to hear a commentator called the defense "underrated" before they finally get their due?

Now, being underrated is not necessarily a bad thing, but the New England Patriots' defense has evolved past a point now where the moniker no long fits. They are no longer the surprise unit that lost both of their starting corners from last season to free agency. They are no longer the unit that lost the anchor from their defensive line.

Newcomers Sheard (L) and Brown (R) have had major a impact on the defense

Rather, this is a defensive unit that started out well in the secondary despite the heavy attrition suffered in the offseason and have allowed just 230 yards per game through the air, with only two quarterbacks - Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger and New York Giants' Eli Manning - to top the 300 yard plateau...

...and including a front seven that started out slowly - allowing 115 yards per game on the ground in the first five games - but have become miserly since, decreasing that average by a full 30 yards per game.

As a result, New England stands 8th in pass defense and 10th in rush defense, their averages making them the sixth-ranked defense in the entire National Football League - not bad for a unit that was supposed to wilt under the pressure of not having Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner locking down the secondary and for not having Vince Wilfork occupying offensive linemen so that others can plug gaps and make tackles.

That perception is now officially blown away. In fact, this Patriots' defense is better all the way around, statistically speaking, than last year's championship edition.

Through 16 games last season, the Patriots were a Top 10 unit against the run, allowing 104 yards per game, but 17th against the pass at 240 yards per game, bringing them in at 13th in overall defense while logging 40 sacks and 81 passes defended, Revis leading with 16...

...but through 14 games this season, New England's defenders are surrendering 95 yards per game on the ground and 230 yards per game through the air, and are the 6th ranked defense in the entire league. They have already logged 48 sacks and 77 passes defended.

Those numbers alone should be convincing enough for anyone, but for the hardcore who will look you in the eye and call you flat moronic for thinking any defense could be better minus Revis - consider that both Logan Ryan and Malcolm Butler are within one pass defensed of what Revis accomplished all of last season, both far surpassing what Brandon Browner was able to do as well.

These facts have not been lost on coaches around the league. In fact, New York Jets' coach Todd Bowles - he no stranger to coaching elite corners in his day - calls the duo one of the best tandems in the league.

"They can play zone, they can play man." Bowles said during a recent press conference "They're both big, they're both physical. They can tackle. Their defense has been outstanding. Those two corners are a big reason, a big part of it."

Bear in mind that this is the man who has coached names like Patrick Peterson and Darrelle Revis in the past two seasons, which makes his gushing assessment all the more remarkable, but he didn't stop there. Bowles went on to qualify his statement concerning Butler in particular, saying, "He's not just a man corner, he's a zone corner, too. he's fiesty and he's got good techinque too, which is rare."

"You can tell he works at it. I enjoy watching him play."

Another reason why the secondary is outproducing last season's crew is because of the play of the safeties.

As you know, the Patriots employ a "Big Nickle" base about 70% of the time, which means there are two free safeties and one strong safety on the field at the same time - and they are all far more involved in coverage this year than last, Patrick Chung (9 passes defended), Duron Harmon (5) and Devin McCourty (5) are all solid in underneath and / or over the top work, while Ryan and Harmon lead the team in interceptions.

Up front, Belichick has an embarrassment of riches, starting with defensive end Chandler Jones who has finally been healthy for a full season and is having a Pro Bowl year - probably an All Pro year as well - with 12.5 sacks, 43 tackles and four forced fumbles. Rob Ninkovich (6.5/43/1) starts on the strong side opposite Jones and Jabaal Sheard (7/31/3) completes a three-man rotation that is keeping these pass rushers fresher than their mirrors as the game goes on...

...while the same holds true for the interior of the defensive line, as off-tackles Alan Branch and Akiem Hicks rotate in with nose tackle Malcom Brown. The benefit of the rotation along the line becoming evident late in games, when the Patriots' pass rush always appears to be a step faster than their counterparts.

Sometimes you'll see a huge four-man package with Brown, Branch, Jones and Ninkovich, sometimes their version of a NASCAR alignment, bringing in Akiem Hicks and/or and Sheard to rush from the inside. Other times you'll see Hicks at the three tech with Branch at the nose and Sheard on the strong side. There are literally dozens of situational subpackages where the Patriots get their best athletes for the circumstance all on the field at the same time.

Among the linemen, the aforementioned riches consist of the draft picks used to select the players, which Belichick sees as solid-gold bullion - there are two 1st round draft picks in Jones and Brown, two second rounders in Sheard and Branch, a third rounder in Geneo Grissom and a fifth-rounder in Rob Ninkovich.

And then there's the linebackers. Just like the safety corps, there is probably not a more talented group of linebackers in the NFL, and all living up to their lofty draft statuses. with Mayo (2008) and Hightower (2012) taken in the first round and Jamie Collins (2013) in the second, though that second round selection was the Patriots first pick in the draft.

Reserve linebackers Jon Bostic (Chicago, 2nd round) and Jonathan Freeny (UDFA Miami) were not on the team last season, while Darius Fleming (San Francisco, 3rd round) was part of the rotation in Foxborough in 2014.

The Safeties are diamond-studded as well, with a 1st rounder in Devin McCourty, second rounders Pat Chung, Tavon Wilson and rookie Jordan Richards and a third-rounder in Duron Harmon - all told, that's a lot of high draft capital expended by Belichick and others as compelled by their evaluation processes - but what about the corners?

Well, that's the amazing thing. Ryan has the highest draft ranking in the bunch, being taken in the third round, and he's matched up with three undrafted free agents, rookie Justin Coleman, fourth-year man Leonard Johnson and, of course, Butler - not a first or second rounder in the bunch, and together with the rest of the fellas comprise the sixth best overall defense in the National Football League.

They are starting to get some attention on the national scene, which is fine, but most compelling is how a third year cornerback and an undrafted cornerback have been able to come of age right before our eyes - and all you have to do is to look at how all three levels of the defense work in harmony with each other to realize it's not just one unit or another stepping up.

The Patriots just have a solid defense that's always fresh, seems to get stronger as the game goes on, and flat gets after the opposing quarterback.

But none of this makes any difference if it doesn't translate to the playoffs.

We've already pointed out that, statistically, this year's Patriots are superior to their 2014 counterparts, and it's a trend that must continue if New England plans on retaining their world title. Last season it didn't, and it nearly resulted in disaster.

In the two games that were competitive in the playoffs - meaning the divisional round game against the Baltimore Ravens and the Super Bowl against the Seattle Seahawks - the two opponents rushed for 136 yards and 162 yards respectively, and both eclipsed the season average for passing yards surrendered.

Both, however, lost the game when challenging the Patriots' defense with the final seconds ticking off, and both on interceptions - once by Harmon to top a 14 point comeback for New England over Baltimore and once by Butler to secure a come-from-behind victory and a world championship over Seattle.

And that's important to remember going forward with this defense. nine of the twelve starters from last season's Super Bowl are still on this team and of the other three, Butler and Ryan played and had an impact in the big game and throughout the post-season. Only nose tackle Malcom Brown hasn't been exposed the brightest lights on the biggest stage...

...while everyone else is battle-tested tough, and with impressive depth backing them up everywhere except at corner, where an undrafted rookie free agent and a seldom-used journeyman back up a third-round pick and another undrafted free agent.

That doesn't sound like a recipe for success, nor is it likely to translate to such a high ranking pass defense - but these are the New England Patriots, and they've done more with less than any other team in the league.

But please don't call them underrated. We're beyond that.

And we're on to New York.