Patriots 45 - Rams 7 Postgame Analysis

As the 1^st quarter began of Sunday’s game between the Patriots and Rams began, Pats fans along with myself started thinking “here we go again”. Sam Bradford had just completed a 50 yard TD pass to Chris Givens on the 5^th play of the game and it seemed like this game would follow the familiar path that the previous 2 games had with the Patriots playing horrible defense against an average opponent. That thought soon left our minds very quickly as the next 6 possessions for each team ended like this:

• Tom Brady 19 yard TD pass to Brandon Lloyd – Pats 7 – Rams 7
• Rams Punt
• Shane Vereen 1 yard TD run – Pats 14 – Rams 7
• Rams Punt
• Tom Brady 7 yard TD pass to Rob Gronkowski – Pats 21 – Rams 7
• Rams Missed Field Goal
• Stevan Ridley 1 yard TD run – Pats 28 – Rams 7
• Rams have the ball when the 1^st half ends. Patriots receive the ball to start the 2^nd half.
• Tom Brady 9 yard TD pass to Brandon Lloyd – Pats 35 – Rams 7
• Rams Punt
• Steven Gostkowski 26 yard FG – Patriots 38 – Rams 7

And just like that, on 6 consecutive possessions, 5 of which ended in touchdowns, the Patriots had reminded us of how dangerous they can be. This was what we expected last week against the lowly New York Jets, who by the way lost 30-9 to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. Although the defense started off poorly giving up that 50 yards TD pass, they rebounded quite nicely limiting the Rams offense to only 81 total yards from the time they gave up that TD to the beginning of the 4^th quarter when the Patriots held a 45-7 lead. (The Rams then gained 166 yards in the final quarter but by that time, the game was all but over.) 

For the first time this season we saw this young defense using some of the famous exotic formations and blitzes we have seen from past Patriot teams, a sign that Belichick may be gaining enough confidence in these guys to implement a more aggressive defensive scheme, which we have all been waiting for. Guys like Chandler Jones (1 sack), Rob Ninkovich (1 sack), and Dont’a Hightower (1 QB hit) were all over Sam Bradford throughout the game forcing him to make inaccurate passes and poor reads. For the first time in 2012 it seemed like an opposing QB was actually uncomfortable in the pocket. The Rams threw 2 interceptions on Sunday, both in the 4^th quarter when the Rams had finally seemed to be moving the ball against this Patriots defense. The first occurred on a Bradford pass that was intercepted by Alfonzo Dennard at the Patriots 4 yard line and the second was a pass from backup QB Kellen Clemens that was picked off my Tavon Wilson at the Patriots 1 yard line. Once again, even with the game in the bag, the Patriots defense, although giving up 80+ yards on both drives, was able to cause turnovers in their redzone to keep points off the scoreboard. They have done this all year and if they continue to force turnovers this team will go a long way. This defense showed the rest of the NFL on Sunday that they are indeed capable of shutting down an opposing offense, and when combined with the Patriots offense, this team is very dangerous.

I’m sure many of you have played the video game Madden NFL Football at some point. Have you ever played against someone who isn't very good and you just run your offense to perfection play after play, drive after drive until you end you feeling bad for that person? I know I’ve done it many times against my good friends EJ with my patented screen passes, quick slants and half-back tosses. Well that is exactly what the Patriots looked like on Sunday. Every play they ran was executed to perfection. Whether it was a run, screen pass, slant or long bomb down the sidelines, everything was working. The Rams had no answer for the Patriots offense and this is a Rams defense that was thought of as one of the better pass rushing teams in the NFC. 

The Patriots set an NFL record on Sunday by gaining over 350 yards of offense for the 17^th straight game. Brady also extended another streak as he now has passed for a TD in 40 straight games, 3rd best all time behind Johnny Unitas (47) and Drew Brees (49 and counting). For all the complaining everyone has done the last few weeks (myself included) about this offense and how they haven’t been consistent, they actually have been the most consistent offense in NFL history according to the numbers.

This week we finally saw Brandon Lloyd play up to his full potential after having several games where he dropped more balls than he caught. If Lloyd can continue to be a reliable deep threat this offense becomes even more dangerous than it already is. It will force opposing defenses to double cover him on deep routes opening up the middle of the field for guys like Welker and Gronkowski, like they have trouble getting wide open as it is already. This bye week couldn’t have come at a better time for this team. Aaron Hernandez and Gronkowski are both injured and with this 2 week period of rest both should be ready to come back at full strength against Buffalo. Other guys who we should see returning after the bye week are Logan Mankins, Brandon Bolden and Patrick Chung. 

The Patriots are 5-3, a record most of us would have never thought this team would have after 8 games but as it happened, it took a little longer than usual for this team to start playing well. The offense is as dangerous as ever and as this season has progressed this defense has gained valuable experience and slowly but surely, they have gotten better. After absolutely dismantling the Rams in London, the rest of the NFL should take notice. The Patriots are back and are stronger than ever.

P.S. – Gronk has absolutely solidified himself as a worldwide superstar after his TD celebrations this weekend. I guarantee you his jersey sales in Europe went through the roof after that display he put on at Wembley last weekend.

P.P.S – On a serious note, I know many of you who read my blog live in areas that were absolutely decimated by Hurricane Sandy. I hope everyone made it through ok and my prayers are with you.