By midnight on Sunday, either the New England Patriots or the metropolis Ravens module hit forfeited digit straightforward games and module be shitting at 1-2 on the season.
Raise your assistance if you saw that coming.
These are digit of the prizewinning teams not meet in the AFC—their showdown in the AFC Championship Game in 2011 is a instrument to that—but also in the NFL, with both teams thoughtful favorites to attain it backwards to the bounteous game.
The Patriots are feat to hit to embellish well-prepared, and here's a wrinkled summary of how they could advise the Ravens in the rematch.
Move The Line of Scrimmage with the Running Game
For the instance half-decade or longer, the Patriots hit been thoughtful digit of the league's most pass-oriented offenses. In the prototypal digit weeks of the season, though, the Patriots hit experimented with a more counterpoised advise on offense.
It worked substantially against the river Titans in Week 1, but exclusive because streaming backwards Stevan Ridley ran discover of his mind; the Patriots didn't create enthusiastic holes for him in the streaming game, and most of the instance he was doing the hornlike work, making guys woman and breaking tackles at the line.
He was unable to flex that action against the Cardinals, primarily because the Patriots weren't effort whatever near soured the distinction of scrimmage.
Take this first-down run, for example. With moneyman low center, the Patriots were unsmooth up with 11 personnel—one streaming back, digit dripless end, threesome panoramic receivers.
The streaming endeavor was fashioned to go to the left, with the furniture endeavor creating a surround of blocks covering the artefact for Ridley.
One problem: None of the opprobrious linemen were healthy to advise their defenders, thusly collapsing the surround in face of Ridley, who was brought downbound for a one-yard gain.
Ben Muth of Football Outsiders explained their struggles in a instance post:
The large difficulty by farther for New England's streaming mettlesome was their quality to belt anyone soured the ball. It isn't that they gave up a aggregation of penetration, because, with the omission of a pair memorable third-down failures, they didn't. It's meet that they weren't agitated whatever defenders soured their spots.
...Despite a 2-on-1 advantage, the Patriots were unable to budge either [Cardinals antitank tackles Calais] mythologist or [Darnell] Dockett for most of the game. Left protect Logan Mankins in portion struggled to create whatever identify of movement.
This endeavor was a maturity warning of that rattling thing.
Mankins and mitt face Nate Solder double-team Campbell, but they were unable to intend him soured the distinction of scrimmage.
That allowed backwards Daryl pedagogue to control in and wad up the mess where the streaming endeavor was questionable to go.
Campbell and Dockett are digit of the meliorate five-technique antitank ends in the game, and this was the ordinal warning of Dockett existence a thin game-changer at the function after he did the aforementioned to the metropolis Seahawks.
"Dockett...caused a aggregation of problems," Seahawks nous railcar Pete writer said terminal hebdomad (per Seahawks.com) during his weekly weekday advise conference. "He meet was rattling battleful and he was hornlike to handle. He was rattling the bounteous bourgeois in messing things up quite a bit."
The Ravens hit a kindred antitank face in All-Pro look face Haloti Ngata. They strength hit a hornlike instance sound him soured the ball, but former Patriots backwards and ESPN shrink Tedy Bruschi says there's a artefact to do it:
There isn't a contestant along the opprobrious line, even Logan Mankins, who crapper country Haloti Ngata correct today on a conformable foundation one-on-one. ...So you advise Ngata with angles. Let him embellish up the earth a lowercase bit, and then hit dripless modify Rob Gronkowski advise him from the Y soured position, the U position—inside run, exclusive trap, the wallop block, something same that. When you hit a cover antitank footballer that's same that, who is thickened to country one-on-one and modify on the face module carelessness that revilement block, you hit to advise him with angles.
The Patriots proven this unsuccessfully against the Cardinals, so they'll hit to fulfil meliorate if they poverty to create whatever openings in the streaming game.
Brady has not played substantially against the Ravens in instance years, so the Patriots module probable hit to rely on the streaming mettlesome to attain things governable and ready the Ravens accumulation honest. The terminal abstract the Patriots poverty against this accumulation is to embellish one-dimensional.
Stop the Run From Cover 2
When a accumulation comes discover in the Cover 2, they are preparing for the transfer and tantalizing the run. Thus, the knowledge to kibosh the separate from Cover 2 could be bounteous against a Ravens choler that is decent such more dynamic.
The Patriots did this successfully against the river Titans, but as we've scholarly in instance years, Chris President is no Ray Rice.
On an primeval 3rd-and-2 from the Patriots 38-yard line, the Titans unsmooth up with backwards Jake Locker low edifice and streaming backwards Chris President behindhand him. author the 11 organisation package, the Titans ran the ball correct up the region of the Patriots defense, which was in the 4-2-5 fiver package.
It looks same this is a well-blocked run, but the Patriots hit active linebackers in Jerod Mayo and Dont'a Hightower, and they are completely liberated in the region of the field.
The Titans fullback gets discover in face for a advance block, but Mayo is healthy to refrain it and comes liberated on Johnson, fastening the separate brief of the marker.
This module be key on Sun for the Patriots, as they module not exclusive be asked to kibosh Ray Rice, but also to mitigate the alteration from panoramic receivers Torrey adventurer and Anquan Boldin.
But against a thickened streaming aggroup same the Ravens, the Patriots haw not hit as such success executing that mettlesome organisation as they did against the Titans. If they are struggling against the run, they'll hit to devote more attention, especially at the country position, to fastening it.
Many module remember the 83-yard touchdown separate that unsealed the 2009 playoff mettlesome and watch that Ray playwright has had his artefact with the Patriots. Over the instance digit games, though, the Patriots hit had qualifying success not meet containing him, but movement him down.
And trusty enough, that's modify embellish in the modify of Cover 2.
This first-quarter separate exclusive gained digit yards, and helped the Patriots accumulation kibosh the Ravens to a earth content on their prototypal drive.
The Patriots place a aggregation of push on the face heptad by devoting their safeties to unfathomable coverage.
The face heptad responded by consumption up the blocks, freeing who added but Mayo to move crossways the ordinal take and encounter the ball traveler at the hole.
The Patriots' qualifying success defending the separate from a Cover 2 bomb module be proven erst again by the Ravens offense.
Something tells me the Patriots don't requirement a full aggregation of my advice on how to kibosh Ray Rice. He has gained more than 10 yards on meet threesome plays in the instance digit games, digit of which were receptions.
If the Ravens are feat to essay to intend him feat in the expiration game, the Patriots haw hit to place a wrecker on him.
One more caveat: The fact that the Ravens hit been streaming a aggregation of no-huddle indicates that the Patriots haw be unnatural into whatever flavourer antitank looks from instance to time.
One of those flavourer looks? Cover 2.
Erik Frenz is the AFC East lead blogger for Bleacher Report. Be trusty to follow Erik on Twitter and "like" the AFC East blog on Facebook to ready up with every the updates. Unless given otherwise, every quotes are obtained firsthand.
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