Studs and Duds (defense): Redskins-Patriots

DE Stephen Bowen. It would have been understandable had Bowen been a little off again Sunday, considering he had to bury his mother-in-law over the weekend as well. Obviously a tough week for him. But Bowen showed why he was the Ed Block Courage Award winner for the Redskins. He had one of his better games – and he did a lot of it against a top guard in Logan Mankins. Not all of his plays came vs. Mankins, but that’s who he was paired against much of the game. Bowen had a good rush on a well-designed play at the end of the first quarter. Five defenders rushed, with Bowen stunting from right end to the inside. The center reached out to block Barry Cofield, rushing to the right. That lunge allowed Bowen to move to his left and through the middle – and run through RB Danny Woodhead’s attempted block. Cofield got credit for a half-sack on the play, but it really was Bowen’s doing. Later in the half, Bowen beat Mankins to the inside for a pressure. Bowen also had a quick pressure on a one-yard dumpoff to Kevin Faulk on the left, beating LT Matt Light to the inside. Finally, on consecutive plays in the fourth quarter, Bowen got off a Mankins block to stop Woodhead for two yards. Next play: Bowen drove Mankins two yards deep, got off the block and helped make a stop for no gain on third and 1. Earlier in the game Bowen had tossed Mankins aside for another stop for no gain. Just a terrific day for Bowen.

Duds

CB DeAngelo Hall. He’s given up some big plays this season, though he hasn’t been as bad as many have said. He just hasn’t made the big play like he did in 2010. Hall was also coming off a strong game vs. the Jets. But if he’s not intercepting passes, the warts of his game will show more, I suppose. Regardless, Sunday is a day he’d like to forget. Hall has always spoken after games and though he did so again Sunday it was only with a couple reporters and it happened as he walked out of the locker room. The point: He’s a smart guy, he knows how bad his day was. It started with him stopping on the 49-yard catch and run by TE Rob Gronkowski. It was an unusual play for Hall; say what you want but that’s just not him. Heck, later in the game he took out two lead blockers by giving himself up. That said, please don’t use the excuse that he stopped because of the rules and fines for late hits. When Hall ran up to the play Gronkowski was a good two yards from the sidelines and he was still dragging two defenders. If nothing else go for the strip. Or at least be ready should he escape. Later came the defensive holding vs. Wes Welker (a good call) and the subsequent unsportsmanlike conduct penalty when he picked up and threw the flag. If you’re going to be a captain, you can’t commit penalties like this. Heck, you shouldn’t do it anyway. But wearing a C on the jersey adds to the responsibility of a player. And those added 20 yards left the Pats at the Redskins’ 46 en route to another touchdown. Hall also was beaten by Welker for a 24-yard score, but Tom Brady deserves credit for keeping that play alive. When Welker saw Brady leave the pocket, he turned from his corner route and ran back across the middle for an easy score.  

LB Perry Riley. Love watching him because of his speed and power. Plays with passion too. But he had some rough plays in coverage that hurt Washington. Thing is, he also made a couple nice stops – like on the Faulk dump-off in which he drilled him. But on the next play, Riley appeared to get confused for about a half-second and it cost him. Off the snap, he bumped into Brian Orakpo, who was coming forward as Riley moved to his left. Then Riley saw Welker running a crossing route and went at him. Meanwhile, Gronkowski took off downfield for a 50-yard gain – 37 of which came after the catch. Riley also missed a tackle on a 14-yard gain by TE Aaron Hernandez, 13 of which came after the catch and Riley’s miss. Looked like he took a bad angle as Hernandez cut inside. Gronkowski had Riley beaten over the middle for another potential TD, but Brady’s bad throw bailed him out. This is a tough team to play for a young linebacker because so much will be in coverage and the heavy use of the no-huddle adds another dimension to the learning. But the Redskins did not use their dime package because it’s tough to sub vs. the Pats and with Riley’s speed they felt they could stay in nickel.

LB Ryan Kerrigan. Neither he nor Brian Orakpo got enough pressure on QB Tom Brady, but some of that was because of how quickly he threw the ball. Kerrigan did have one pressure in which Brady made a terrific escape. Still, Kerrigan did not have his best game and even allowed a rather big play. And one play in a tight game gets you on this list. Last week Wilson made one bad play, but it cost the Redskins. On the 37-yard scoring pass to Gronkowski, Kerrigan started to rush as the tight end appeared to be staying in to block. But he wasn’t and as soon as Kerrigan sold on the rush, Gronkowski took off. First Kerrigan held him. But then after the catch Kerrigan couldn’t make the tackle. In other games Kerrigan has made enough plays to compensate for bad ones. Sunday, though, he was quieter.

Notes

…Strong safety DeJon Gomes showed why a guy like LaRon Landry is so vital, at least when he’s healthy. Though Gomes had a nice pop on Gronkowski, he’s just not as strong as Landry and it shows on other plays. Still a good prospect, but this is more about what a different talent Landry is (again, when healthy). In a game like this Landry’s presence would have helped – even if coverage is not his strength. Gomes had a mixed day, missing a tackle on the 49-yard catch and run and allowing a TD catch over the top to Gronkowski. On the latter play, he was supposed to have inside help from Fletcher, but Brady moved him to his right just a little bit with his body action. It wouldn’t have mattered as Brady threw a perfect pass over the top of Gomes. The coverage wasn’t bad, but Gomes is 5-foot-11 and Gronkowski is 6-foot-6. Brady simply threw the equivalent of a lob entry pass in basketball. Gomes had no chance. Reed Doughty was on the other side, but his job on the play was to help with Welker. Gomes did make a few nice plays that helped, including an open-field tackle of Brady on a scramble inside the 10.

…Wasn’t especially crazy about CB Kevin Barnes’ day either. Tough for him to cover a bigger guy like TE Aaron Hernandez, who was able to create easy separation on at least two plays against him (one because he shoved off a bit; arm was extended). Barnes didn’t seem to change directions with much burst. But he wasn’t bad enough to be on the list.

…Didn’t like the roughing the quarterback call on LB London Fletcher during the game and like it even less now. Had Brady been more into his slide, I wouldn’t have had an issue with it. We saw earlier in the game what can happen when players pull up thinking one thing is about to happen and something else does. But the call had no bearing on the outcome of the game. New England was in field goal position already; the drive ended in a field goal.

…I had no problem with Fletcher’s reaction after the penalty. He’s a captain in part because he’s a passionate guy, but he didn’t cross a line. Yes, he yelled at the officials but he did back off and showed restraint. He also responded on the next play with a good tackle, forced in part by Gomes.

…One of the biggest issues in the game? Yards after the catch. Of Brady’s 357 yards passing, 231 came after the catch. It wasn’t always because of a missed tackle. On one play, the Pats ran a no-huddle and caught the Redskins still lining up; looked like that was the case on a Wes Welker 16-yard catch and run. Obviously, Rob Gronkowski was the biggest culprit with 116 yards after the catch. Aaron Hernandez had 61 yards after the catch while Welker finished with 52.

…As for yards gained through the air after first contact? New England managed 128, with 66 coming on two plays. Both of those involved Gronkowski, of course.

…New England ran the ball well to the outside at times (well, maybe one time) because of play design. Guess that’s how most teams do it, but they took advantage of the Redskins playing Welker man to man in the slot a couple times to open the outside. And defenders know Welker wants to run to the middle, so you must keep your eyes on him when he does. That’s what Hall did, but it prevented anyone from having outside contain (especially when the linebackers would get blocked inside, as happened to both Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan). On Benjarvus Green-Ellis’ 13-yard run around left end in the second quarter, Welker was aligned just wide of the numbers and slanted inside. Nobody was on the outside in contain and Green-Ellis bounced wide after the hole at left tackle closed for a good gain.

…Brady’s touchdown pass to Wes Welker near the end of the third quarter, which turned out to be the difference maker, should not have counted. Just add it to the list of things this officiating crew botched. (Before I continue: this was one of the worst officiated games I have seen in a while, on both sides.) On the play, the left guard Logan Mankins, in a two-point stance, rises up just before the ball is snapped.

…Brady did not have his best day, yet he still threw for 357 yards. There was plenty more available, but sometimes it was his footwork that betrayed him. He missed Gronkowski in the end zone for an easy score because he threw behind him. Maybe he wanted him to just stop on the route. But Brady also did not move his feet as he turned his body to throw. The same thing happened on a Welker drop at the goal line. The ball still should have been caught. But it was behind him because Brady, once again, did not move his feet. And another pass to Welker that gained eight yards could have been more had Brady, yes turned his feet in the direction of the throw and given him a chance for a better run after the catch. Somehow, the Pats managed despite Brady’s, um, off day. Must be nice.

…The Patriots tried to catch the Redskins off-guard with their no-huddle attack and there were a couple times they were successful. However, it didn’t always result in a positive gain. Take a Danny Woodhead run around left end late in the third quarter. The Pats snapped the ball 16.56 seconds (do you get the sense that I like timing things?) after the runner was tackled, giving the Redskins little time to actually read the offense and settle coverages. On the snap, Barnes is looking in the defensive backfield, Hall isn’t set and Gomes is switching sides to come over to his right. In fact, only six defenders were actually in place when the ball was snapped. Yet Woodhead gained just two yards and LT Matt Light was called for holding. Why did it fail? Because Brian Orakpo had good pursuit down the line (drawing a hold) and Barnes, Reed Doughty and London Fletcher all had free runs to the ball.

…On the play in which Hall stopped, thinking Gronkowski was going out of bounds, he wasn’t the only one who did so. Bowen and NT Barry Cofield, after done rushing, sprinted to the ball but they slowed up as Gronkowski drifted to the sidelines with two defenders on him.  Bowen even looked back to his right. Gronkowski then broke free. Not sure either one would have helped, but point is: they thought the play was done. Of course, they weren’t in front of him either.

…The Redskins used a lot of different looks among the front seven, including one in which Bowen lined up at right end and Cofield aligned over right tackle in a four-point stance. Orakpo was over the left guard while Ryan Kerrigan was standing up over right guard. Fletcher was on the outside, just off Cofield. This is the play in which Bowen beat Light inside, forcing Brady to dump off a pass to Faulk. Riley then drilled him.

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