It may have been Cam Newton's first game as Patriots quarterback on Sunday, but what we got on the field was to be expected, especially if you've read BSJ the past few months.
The offense was going to run through the strength of the team: the offensive line. Sure, it might not look as good next week against the Seahawks, but for one game, the line was outstanding in every respect.
They were going to be physical and play bully ball — the Patriots pulled a blocker a ton in this game, at least 20 times. That allows the blocker a running head start to block downhill on a defender.
The Patriots were going to use Newton and/or the threat of Newton to open up more space in the passing game. They ended up running or using a run deception an astonishing 83 percent of the time.
Josh McDaniels had a very simple yet effective gameplan where, basically, every play was designed to look the same. Pull a guard with a handoff, and either give it to the back, have Newton keep it and run, or have Newton deliver a quick pass (he attempted just three passes over 10 yards).
It basically had Dolphins linebackers Elandon Roberts and, especially, Jerome Baker spinning like tops — they had no idea whether or not to go forward or back, and often ended up doing nothing productive. Maybe McDaniels used some of his inside knowledge on Roberts, who often got suckered by run action (who could forget him tackling a player in the backfield who didn't have the ball last year against the Ravens).
All of it worked wonders, as the Patriots scored 21 points without any exhibition games, and left a ton more points on the field.
That was great. It will get headlines because, well, it's offense.
But what I came away most impressed by in this game was the improved play of three important players to this defense: Chase Winovich, Ja'Whaun Bentley and Deatrich Wise. Look, the Dolphins had five new starters on the offensive line, including two rookies (one at LT) and another starter in center Ted Karras who really isn't a starter (Byron Cowart said hello, Steady Teddy), so this wasn't exactly the most formidable line. But you can't run without walking, and this was a very good start.
Winovich is, essentially, replacing Kyle Van Noy. Bentley covers some of what Dont'a Hightower did. Wise ... well, he's manning his same spot as a 3-4 end but he needs to be a heck of a lot better than he was last year for this defense to continue to be the backbone of this team.
Nobody is saying, especially after just one game against a 5-11 team from last year, that Winovich and Bentley will make us forget about Van Noy and Hightower, but it looked pretty good.
Winovich (7 impactful plays), Bentley (4) and Wise (5) combined for 16 impactful plays. Toss in Byron Cowart, who stepped in for Danny Shelton/Beau Allen, and Adrian Phillips (Patrick Chung) and the grand total was 21 impactful plays and five negative plays (Phillips had three of them, but also had a QB hit that caused Stephon Gilmore's interception, and a pick by himself thanks to Bentley).
The replacements, for one week, were a-ok.
A look at some of the highlights:
Winovich's development from a situational pass rusher to an every-down threat is a big factor for this defense. He was very weak against the run last year, and he admitted to reporters on Monday that he realized he needed to be better.
"I realized the version that I needed to be wasn't what I currently was and so I had to kind of expand," he said. "And part of that process is recognizing some of your weaknesses. ... I felt like just watching the film from yesterday -- and I think this is a relatively general observation -- I look stronger, I look bigger, I feel like my technique was better. I felt like some of those changes were in a weird -- I don't want to say obvious but there is definitely an improvement and a lot of that goes back to my coaches for guiding me in the right direction and putting me in a great position."
Winovich is obviously feeling himself a little bit, which is the type of emotional player he is. Let's see if he's still sky-high after seeing a lot of Seahawks veteran LT Duane Brown on Sunday night (RT Brandon Shell can be taken advantage of).
(Adam Richins for BSJ)But, hell, right now Winovich is doing so well the Patriots put him at nose tackle in the goal-line package, and he factored in on two tackles! To say this development couldn't even be fathomed during last season would be an understatement.
Here are the positional ratings against the Dolphins:
OFFENSE
Quarterback (3.5 out of 5)
Had Newton for six plus plays and they all came on the ground, including his two touchdowns, a broken tackle and a 12-yard scramble on third down. He did have some negative plays, including three passes that were high (two were to Edelman on the drop and on a reception where the pass caused Edelman to take an unnecessary hit). Newton has a tendency to be high with his passes, but it was fine for the opener. He also had two passes batted down. ... The sack he took that knocked the Patriots out of field-goal range was a big mistake and there was some mixup on the play as both Bill Belichick and McDaniels were waiting for him on the sideline. ... Newton had many terrific reads on the read-option and twisted Van Noy into pretzels a few times. Only one poor read. ... All in all, a very successful debut, but now there's film on the Patriots so we'll have to see how the offense continues without the element of surprise.
There were a handful of instances where the Dolphins showed pressure and coverage looks that normally would be checked out of by a Patriots QB. It seemed like Newton wasn't given those controls and that's not unexpected. This sequence in the second quarter — including when Newton took that sack — shows how the Patriots were locked into some plays against bad looks, how the triple option with a pass might be coming, and as a bonus, the outstanding block made by David Andrews on Newton's first touchdown.
Running backs (4 out of 5)
Very little in the way of spectacular plays out of this group — even Rex Burkhead's big run came off a deception thanks to read option — but not many negative plays either. ... Jakob Johnson was solid in the season opener but he's capable of much better. ... J.J. Taylor definitely showed good burst in his limited time and his catch of a deflected ball was yet another example of his best quality — his hands. Still think the Patriots are just biding their time until Damien Harris can be a more dangerous option.
Receivers (2 out of 5)
Ryan Izzo had a great route adjustment on his 25-yard pass, and a key downfield block on Newton's second TD (which shouldn't have been a TD). But he also allowed a hurry and a stuff. Blocking along the line continues to be the big issue for him. ... N'Keal Harry got dropped by a cornerback and fumbled out of the back of the end zone. I did not have a plus play for him. ... If Damiere Byrd can't be a downfield threat on this team — and Byron Jones locked him down — then that is going to be an issue for this offense. ... Edelman had an outstanding snag over the middle and the big run, but he also had a drop and couldn't execute his block on Harry's flop. ... I did have Devin Asiasi for one good run block, so that's something.
Offensive line (4.5 out of 5)
Surprisingly, the standout interior players had the biggest issues on the line with five negative plays between them (pending all-22 review). Joe Thuney and Shaq Mason both had two. Mason was better watching the film than he was live. The tackles, Isaiah Wynn and Jermaine Eluemunor, were outstanding. Eluemunor had three plus run blocks, including one where he basically tossed a linebacker down the field. He plays with a nasty edge. Good to see. ... Michael Onwenu (half sack, poor run) was a mixed bag in his debut. But that is one big boy. Hard to tell how big a player is in camp, but on the field, he is large and wide from head to toe. ... Order of effectiveness: Eluemunor, Wynn, Andrews, Thuney, Mason, Onwenu.
DEFENSE
Defensive line (4.5 out of 5)
All told, this looked almost exactly like a game from last year in terms of output, just with different players. The line (including edge players) had 25 impactful plays and 3 negative plays. That's outstanding. Again, the Dolphins aren't the 1990s Cowboys or anything up front, but the Patriots needed to dominate and they did. ... The pressure generated was much better on film (34.2 percent) than it was in person. They made Ryan Fitzpatrick feel them, including pressure on two of his interceptions. ... Quiet game from Adam Butler. ... Derek Rivers' sack was mostly due to the receiver falling down. ... Lawrence Guy was Lawrence Guy.
Linebackers (4 out of 5)
Terrific game from Bentley, who has a ton of pressure on him. ... Nothing outstanding from Brandon Copeland or Anfernee Jennings.
Secondary (2.5 out of 5)
The normal amount of standout plays from this group, including three interceptions (we gave Joejuan Williams a half pick for his coverage/penalty that led to JC Jackson's turnover). But some unusually sloppy play with three big interference penalties (all legit) and three missed tackles (two by Phillips, one by Devin McCourty).
THREE UP
DE Chase Winovich: A team-leading seven impactful plays. He was fast and pursued like crazy, which was to be expected, but he was much better against the run and was terrific in goal line.
RT Jermaine Eluemunor: Totally locked down his side of the line and was a strong force in the running game.
QB Cam Newton: He was basically the entire offense and that's fine for one week, but he's not going to last the season with that much on his shoulders.
THREE DOWN
WR N'Keal Harry: The whole point of that screen to Harry was to give him a head of steam so he could run over a defensive back and make a big play. And he got knocked back by a corner who's six inches smaller and about 40 pounds lighter. If he fails to develop, that will be on Harry's Patriots headstone. And the fumble ... oy. He might be thinking too much. Patriots need him to get out of his head.
CB Stephon Gilmore: Two big penalties and gave up a 21-yard reception. Who knows what might have happened if DeVante Parker stayed in the game.
K Nick Folk: Really don't have a No.3 and I don't even care that Folk missed — all the kickers were missing this weekend — but that kick wasn't really close.