Some goal-line plunges on this Sunday morning as we get ready for the latest Bills fast start that will fade into oblivion (sorry for the late start today, but there are times where my body says get some sleep, and I listen. Just crashed last night) ...
Through three games this season, the Patriots' run defense (and pass defense, and total defense ...) ranks first in the league in efficiency, according to FootballOutsiders.com. That's a huge change from last season, when the Patriots finished 19th.
Largely, the personnel is the same outside of Jamie Collins. And while he's certainly made an impact, he's not responsible for all of that improvement. The biggest reason why the Patriots are much better on the ground: look inside.
Last year, when the Patriots were historically bad against the run, the interior run defense was Lawrence Guy at DT — who had an outstanding season — and Malcolm Brown and Danny Shelton at nose tackle.
Basically, Brown and Shelton were sieves as they were pushed around all over the place. Shelton was so bad that he was a healthy scratch for multiple games in the middle of the season. The Patriots let both Brown and Shelton hit free agency. Brown quickly signed with the Saints, while Shelton returned very late to the Patriots on a bargain deal.
What was the problem with Shelton last year, and why is he better this season It took him a long time to understand how the Patriots play the run, and to conform to their expectations.
We identified this as a possible problem early in training camp last year. Shelton was outstanding in pass rush drills, but the Patriots don't care about their interior rushers getting after the quarterback. They want their nose tackles to take up a lot of space and stay in the gap(s).
Think of it this way. If you're looking at the Patriots' run defense from the sideline or up above, you want to see the defensive line along the same line, basically making a wall, with the linebackers filling the cracks.
You had to wonder if Shelton would be able to do that, after being allowed to penetrate offensive lines in college (Washington) and as a first-round pick (Browns).
Unfortunately, we were right, as Shelton just could not stay in his gap against the run.
The picture below is one of the first runs of the season vs. the Texans and goes for 31 yards. Shelton is the defender closest to the ball carrier. The back doesn't run through Shelton's gap on this play, but if you notice Bentley behind him, he's actually starting to cover for Shelton, who is now out of his gap. Lamar Miller could have cut back and had a huge run. Instead, he stayed front side and still had a huge run. This was a microcosm of the Patriot's run defense last year.
The picture below is from the Jets game last week, against a back in Le'Veon Bell who loves to find the cut-back lane. Look at how Shelton got a little penetration but still held his gap. There was nowhere for Bell to go and he was held to 1 yard.
This is why the Patriots' run defense is better this season. It always starts on the line, and it starts with Shelton.
"I think Dan's really improved a lot from year one to year two here," said Bill Belichick. "Not that this is his first year in the league, I don't mean it that way, but last year was his first year with the Patriots. This year, going into the year was really a lot better I think for me and for him, so I have a better feeling for what his style of play is and what things I think we can really take advantage of in the defense. I'm not sure that we did a great job of that last year, but he's very good at some things, and we'll try to get him to do those as much as we can.
"He's been great all year. First guy in, last guy out type of attitude. He's very attentive and has worked very hard on the things that we've asked him to do, and some of those are a little different than they were last year, again based on the things I just mentioned, but he's really improved now I'd say in every area. Run defense, pass defense, read blocking schemes, and just overall awareness and communication on the defensive front, which there's a decent amount of. So I like having him on the team, and I think his role and his understanding, and the confidence he has in the defense and the confidence the defense has in him, it's definitely taken a couple steps forward."
NFL NOTES
- The Bengals and Steelers will feature two teams who just can't run the ball. The Bengals have rushed for a league-worst 125 yards. The Steelers are not too much better. Pittsburgh’s rushed for a whopping 192 yards, which ranks 29th. The Bengals' offensive line has completely fallen off and is to blame. James Conner has the luxury of having one of the best O-lines in football, but teams are keying in on the running back because of the lack of playmakers Pittsburgh has offensively outside of Conner and wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.
- The Steelers admit they're desperate for a win. “Damned determined,” Cam Heyward told DK in Pittsburgh. “We need that first win. We need it.” Since 1980, of the 176 teams to start an NFL season 0-3, only six have gone on to make the playoffs.
- If Baker Mayfield can't bust out against the Ravens, it could be a long season in Cleveland. The Ravens rank 27th against the pass and are surrendering 290.3 yards per game, and will be without top cornerback Jimmy Smith. Their other starter, Marlon Humphrey, is questionable with a hip injury.
- The Lions will be trying to keep Patrick Mahomes off the field today. Good luck with that. The Lions 'offensive line has struggled to open holes — Kerryon Johnson is getting just 2.6 yards per carry this season.
- T.Y. Hilton is doubtful for the Colts against the Raiders with a hip injury. That means Deon Cain and Parris Campbell and the tight ends will be counted on. Campbell caught three passes last week.
- Jacoby Brissett is averaging just 4.4 air yards per attempt. Oakland has given up 17 passes of 20 yards or more this season.