Bedard's Breakdown II: Mohamed Sanu's productive night was fine, but just leave it at that for now

Earlier this week I wrote and said on radio that I thought Mohamed Sanu's "coming out party" for the Patriots was overrated. Figured I'd clarify and explain it — thoughtful nuance alert — since anything short of a tongue bath is considered "hating" a player or being overly negative. BLEH

Neither is true. Sanu did fine catching 10 of his 14 targets for 81 yards (8.1 yards-per-catch average) and a touchdown. Considering it was his first real game action and the opponent, it was a good, solid game.

But the Patriots are going to need a lot more, and for Sanu to be a lot more dangerous to really help this offense and be worthy of a second-round pick. Something along the lines of Emmanuel Sanders' second game with the 49ers on a short week: seven catches on nine targets 112 yards (16.0 average) and one touchdown. You felt like he was a threat on any given play. A weapon for his quarterback. This Patriots offense doesn't just need someone to catch the ball on 5-yard hitches and slow-developing low crossers — they have those — they need someone who might break a tackle and go for 20-plus yards.

I mean, look at this route tree. How is this going to do anything but compact the defense when Tom Brady is looking to pass?



And here's Brady's spray chart, without much of a pass rush and the aid of the no-huddle defense and a middling Ravens defense.



Brady attempted 7 passes beyond 10 yards. He completed two.

That's not totally unusual for the Patriots. We've seen then operate a spread offense that hits things quickly. But the difference was you feared basically any of their targets (hello Gronk) breaking a tackle and busting a 50-yard gain. Or even 20.

Sanu may be very capable of delivering more playmaking the longer he is in this offense. Even though he's never really been that, we don't know. We, or at least I, can only go on what I see. And what I saw were a bunch of simple receptions that just about anyone could make.

A breakdown of Sanu's night:

FIRST QUARTER

2-10-NE 25 (8:10) (No Huddle, Shotgun) T.Brady pass incomplete deep middle to M.Sanu [M.Pierce].

In what looked like a planned deep shot against a specific Ravens look (Brady changed the play at the line), Brady heaves a deep pass that doesn't have much of a chance as he's hit. He missed Julian Edelman coming wide open underneath. Might not have seen him with the pass rush.

3-10-NE 25 (8:04) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass incomplete short right [E.Thomas].

Brady was under a lot of pressure, but I don't think that he was thrilled that Sanu continued across the field against zone coverage instead of just sitting against a corner with a big cushion (bottom of screen)



3-7-NE 38 (1:29) (No Huddle, Shotgun) T.Brady sacked at NE 29 for -9 yards (P.Onwuasor).

This is a guess, but I think Brady was expecting Sanu to make himself available as a hot route against a Ravens blitz (Brady stared down Sanu), but he turned up field as Brady double-clutched and was sacked.





SECOND QUARTER

3-1-NE 40 (12:55) (No Huddle, Shotgun) T.Brady pass incomplete short middle to R.Burkhead (M.Peters).

Patriots finally have a chance to get their first third-down conversion of the game and stay on the field. Brady again changes the play at the line, sending Rex Burkhead wide of Sanu to the right. Burkhead runs a slant, but he hesitates because it looks like Sanu wasn't supposed to be there. He was likely supposed to run another slant, or another type of clearing route. You can see Brady and Burkhead both motion to Sanu after the play.



3-4-BLT 4 (12:06) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short left to M.Sanu for 4 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

The touchdown. Plenty of space, pretty much the only option with the contact by Edelman and Ben Watson on three defenders.

1-10-NE 21 (10:26) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short right to M.Sanu pushed ob at NE 27 for 6 yards (M.Peters).

Comes out of the backfield with a lot of cushion.



1-10-NE 39 (9:33) (No Huddle) T.Brady pass short left to M.Sanu pushed ob at NE 49 for 10 yards (C.Clark).

Low crosser, a ton of room as the Ravens clamp down on the middle of the field.



2-6-BLT 15 (6:04) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short middle to M.Sanu to BLT 7 for 8 yards (L.Fort; C.Clark).

Zone defense again. Another crosser. Decent play. Wasn't targeted again in the red zone as the Patriots are held to a field goal after starting at the 19-yard line.



Red zone



THIRD QUARTER

3-7-NE 28 (14:23) (No Huddle, Shotgun) T.Brady pass short middle to M.Sanu to NE 39 for 11 yards (C.Clark)

You can't be more wide open than this.



1-10-NE 39 (13:50) (No Huddle) T.Brady pass short left to M.Sanu pushed ob at BLT 46 for 15 yards (L.Fort).

This was the flea-flicker. Sanu did a nice job continuing across the field and he was left relatively wide open.



1-10-NE 37 (11:28) (No Huddle) T.Brady pass short right to M.Sanu to NE 48 for 11 yards (B.Carr; M.Peters).

A speed out. Nice job of seeing it the same way as Brady, but a huge cushion.



FOURTH QUARTER

1-10-NE 25 (14:54) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short middle to M.Sanu to NE 29 for 4 yards (M.Peters).

This was Sanu's best play. Tight coverage, contested catch, but it went for just 4 yards.



1-10-NE 40 (13:57) (No Huddle) T.Brady pass short left to M.Sanu pushed ob at NE 43 for 3 yards (C.Clark).

Left wide open against zone coverage. Last-minute outlet.



2-7-NE 43 (13:33) (No Huddle, Shotgun) T.Brady pass short right to M.Sanu to BLT 48 for 9 yards (M.Peters). 

Big cushion.



1-10-BLT 48 (13:13) (No Huddle) T.Brady pass incomplete short left to M.Sanu (J.Bynes).

Sanu stumbled coming across the middle and Brady almost threw a pick to the linebacker as Sanu couldn't run away from him.



(13:01) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass deep middle intended for M.Sanu INTERCEPTED by E.Thomas [M.Judon] at BLT 8. E.Thomas to BLT 32 for 24 yards (S.Mason).

We went over this play in the video.



So, to recap, there were a few possibly questionable plays when it comes to being on the same page as Brady. That's fine and to be expected.

Sanu had one contested catch and he made it, but he was tackled immediately. His other nine receptions were made in the short area of the field with a lot of space to operate.

To me, that's a good, solid game. Nothing great, nothing bad because he just got here. And there's nothing wrong with that. I just think it was wrong to take his performance and make more of it than it was, just because the Patriots lost and you were searching for a silver lining.

Sometimes you just get beat, and you should just leave it at that.

Here are the positional ratings against the Ravens:

OFFENSE

[table id=385 /]

Quarterback (3 out of 5)

Tom Brady came out and missed his first throw to James White and missed a wide-open Julian Edelman on second down and then Mohamed Sanu ran the wrong route on third down. ... Good throw by Brady on the crosser to Sanu after the flea-flicker. That's not an easy throw. ... The only two deep throws of the game to Edelman and White were Brady's best of the game. They are going to need more of those in the big games. Where do they come from? That's my question. ... They need to figure out where to play Phillip Dorsett compared to Sanu. Dorsett is not at his best on the boundary. He's better in motion with speed. Maybe they switch Sanu and Dorsett at some point. ... If this is how they're going to play, with 11 personnel most of the time, they're going to need N'Keal Harry to play over Dorsett. Brady has to be given a mandate to incorporate Harry. It has to happen. He's too talented and you need talent.

Running backs (2.5 out of 5)

Oh, Sony Michel. Had a nice 10-yard run and a nice blitz pickup, and then he ran the wrong route and was banished to the bench. Something to watch there. ... Phenomenal catch from White. He might have to be the big-play guy down the field if this keeps up. ... Have been underwhelmed by Rex Burkhead in his return. He doesn't look like the same guy. Not terrible.

Receivers (2.5 out of 5)

Sanu is supposed to be a really good blocker but his poor block on Marcus Peters — not the most physical player — prevented a touchdown on James White's screen after the Cyrus Jones fumble. ... Watson had a drop. Man is he slow. Please come back Matt LaCosse.

Offensive line (3.5 out of 5)

The pace was the great equalizer in this one. There was a ton of early pressure but once the Patriots stayed on the field, that backed the Ravens off. The run blocking was decent for a change. It was all on the tempo, which is not sustainable for multiple games. It's basically the last resort when you can't block. ... In order of effectiveness: Joe Thuney (as usual), Marcus Cannon, Ted Karras, Shaq Mason, Marshall Newhouse.

DEFENSE

[table id=386 /]

Defensive line (4 out of 5)

Believe it or not, I only had three errors for the linemen — one Danny Shelton gap, and a gap and penalty by Adam Butler. ... Kyle Van Noy was great again, just not as impactful. No one was. ... The Lawrence Guy Revenge game was real with a sack, hurry, stuff and another good run play. ... I was surprised we didn't get more Chase Winovich in this game. His speed might have been an asset.

Linebackers (1.5 out of 5)

Dont'a Hightower was terrific in this game outside of one gap and a penalty. Most of the plays where he looked out of place, he was left out to dry by a teammate. ... Jamie Collins (factored into two touchdowns), Elandon Roberts and Ja'Whaun Bentley had really poor games for them. They were chasing ghosts or just getting pushed around a majority of the time.







Secondary (2 out of 5)

Terrence Brooks (maybe Duron Harmon but I doubt it) looked like he busted the coverage on the Nick Boyle touchdown. Brooks had good coverage on the big 18-yard reception by Mark Andrews. Maybe Patrick Chung mucks that up and makes the play. ... Jason McCourty got caught up on the fourth-down rub, and had that huge third-down penalty away from the ball.



THREE UP

Kyle Van Noy: One of the few Patriots defenders who did his job on a consistent basis. Too bad others couldn't say the same.

Joe Thuney: Had by far the toughest assignment up front and he allowed a team-low one pressure and blocked well in the run game.

Marcus Cannon: Allowed just two pressures in his best game in some time. Hopefully this was a confidence boost.

THREE DOWN

Elandon Roberts: Had a few poorly timed lapses on some of the Ravens' biggest plays. He's counted on to be a top run defender.

Jamie Collins: Looked like he factored into two touchdowns and lapsed on a few plays against the run.

Ja'Whaun Bentley: He's been chasing his tail in the run game for a few weeks.