We can look at last season’s AFC championship game for clues on how the New England Patriots will match up with the Denver Broncos on Sunday, but each team has new players who might change the matchups.
Specifically, receiver Emmanuel Sanders has become a real wild card for the Broncos. How the Patriots cover Sanders could dictate the rest of their defensive matchups.
Sanders is a far more explosive and versatile player than Eric Decker, the player he replaced. Sanders can line up anywhere in the formation. Decker usually lined up outside the numbers. Sanders can do that, line up in the slot, line up in the inside slot in three-by-one sets – and he’s dynamic from any spot. That raises questions for the Patriots.
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In last year’s AFC championship game, the Patriots played man coverage concepts on almost 80 percent of Peyton Manning’s drop backs, even after then-Patriots cornerback Aqib Talib got hurt. They stuck with their man concepts. As part of their strategy in that game, they would usually have Talib on Demaryius Thomas and linebacker Jamie Collins on tight end Julius Thomas. I think the Broncos would like the Julius Thomas-Collins matchup again.
Talib plays for the Broncos now, and the Patriots added cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner. Revis normally doesn’t travel to match up with an opposing receiver. Sometimes he does depending on down and distance and field location (he did travel on third downs to match up with Chicago’s Brandon Marshall last week), but usually Revis usually stays on the outside. He might be the best matchup for Sanders though. Browner is a big, physical guy, but not a quick guy. He wouldn’t be an effective matchup against Sanders.
A big question to watch is, if the Patriots play man coverage, how do they handle Sanders if he’s the inside slot in a three-by-one set? A play from Week 3, when the Broncos played at Seattle, shows the potential conflict.
On a play early in the third quarter, the Seahawks lined up with cornerback Richard Sherman on Demaryius Thomas, who was the “x iso” receiver on one side. On the three-receiver side, Julius Thomas was split wide and cornerback Byron Maxwell took him. The slot corner, Marcus Burley, matched up with Wes Welker. Nobody was over Sanders on the inside slot, but the safety was essentially covering him. Sanders ran a crossing route and gained 19 yards. It’s a tough matchup.
How would NE match up with that? Patriots coach Bill Belichick does unconventional things. He could have his defensive end hit Sanders as he releases. Belichick does things like that; he could sacrifice a pass rush for a moment and hit Sanders, which would slow down Manning. That could be an effective strategy. I have no idea how Belichick will play it, I’m just throwing out possible tactics.
There are many strategic decisions to watch in this Broncos-Patriots matchup. One of the most interesting ones to keep an eye on is how the Broncos use Sanders and how the Patriots match up against it.
Cowboys vs. Cardinals' blitz
In the Dallas Cowboys-Arizona Cardinals game, how the Cowboys handle the blitz will be the biggest key. We know the Cardinals will blitz; they blitz anyone at any time. And the Cowboys did not handle the Redskins’ blitz well in their last game.
The Redskins went with a lot of “zero blitz,” which means they blitzed with no deep safety. They did so on the final three plays of regulation with the score tied. On the play Cowboys quarterback Romo got hurt, it was against a “zero blitz” that the Cowboys didn’t pick up.
On third and 11, the Redskins rushed seven. The Cowboys had seven to block, but the Redskins had a great scheme to create an inside lane for linebacker Keenan Robinson. The pressure concept put the burden on running back Lance Dunbar to block inside against Robinson or block outside against safety Ryan Clark. Dunbar went outside and Robinson was clean to get Romo. Romo believed Robinson would be picked up by the blocking scheme.
If Romo plays, or if it’s Brandon Weeden, the biggest priority this week for the Cowboys will be handling the Cardinals’ blitz better than they did against Washington.
Chiefs defense dominates Rams
The Chiefs are playing well, and it’s worth pointing out some players who are excelling on their defense.
The Chiefs’ front seven overmatched the St. Louis Rams’ offensive line last week, especially with the defensive line and pass rushers Tamba Hali and Justin Houston. Others are playing well too. Inside linebacker Josh Mauga continues to flash in the run game. He has excellent play recognition and reaction. Safety Husain Abdullah is asked to do a lot in the base defense and sub-packages, and he has played very well week in and week out. Dontari Poe, who can align at both nose tackle and defensive end, is as good of a nose tackle as there is in the NFL. He has an excellent combination of initial explosion, leverage, power and secondary quickness. Defensive end Allen Bailey is improving too; he’s becoming an effective inside pass rusher.
The Chiefs are playing well, and they dominated the Rams – St. Louis could not run the ball at all. The strong front seven is a great foundation for them.
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NFL analyst and NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell watches as much NFL game film as anyone. Throughout the season, Cosell will join Shutdown Corner to share his observations on the teams, schemes and personnel from around the league.
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