I have no idea whether Zak Kuhr is on another team’s radar as a defensive coordinator candidate during this hiring period, but he should be. The interim coordinator, with the help of Mike Vrabel and that defensive staff, cooked up one diabolical game plan for Sunday’s divisional round win over the Houston Texans. In fact, I’m fairly certain CJ Stroud is undergoing some intensive therapy sessions because he has no idea who’s coming at him and when.
The Pats blitzed the bejesus out of Stroud and that awful offensive line - zone-blitzes, man-blitzes, simulated pressures, creepers here, there and everywhere. Is it a corner coming? How about a safety? Maybe a linebacker? Are they dropping an edge rusher into coverage? Yes. Stroud turned into a puddle under pressure, completing just 5 of 18 throws for 57 yards and three sacks (-0.99 EPA per play per Sumer Sports).
With the exception of the one blown coverage early (Marcus Jones got caught betwixt and between a Stroud potential scramble and left Dalton Schultz all alone in the flat), the Pats were sticky in the back end, playing about 30% man coverage and employing that match-quarters concept that they love so much. Yes, life was easier in the secondary without having to defend Nico Collins and then the Texans losing Schultz early on (calf), but that doesn’t diminish what Kuhr and his group have accomplished.
"He’s been outstanding in his preparation and with his communication. There’s no wondering what he wants. He’s clear and concise, both when we practice and then on game day. He's been doing a great job," Robert Spillane told us.
No arguments here.
On to the rest of Musings...
THUMBS UP
Anytime you get a pair of interceptions, you’re making this list, even if, in Carlton Davis’ case, there were the usual three penalties to go along with it. Davis’ first pick came in quarters. Working from outside the numbers, he eyeballed/carried a post route before peeling back toward the sideline as Christian Kirk vacated the flat and worked down the field and toward the sideline and made a pretty INT on a ball Stroud should have driven but instead floated. The second INT was gift-wrapped by the errant QB; however, Davis’s ability to catch a poorly thrown ball and then go full Matrix to get his feet in bounds was commendable. Overall, he allowed just 2 catches on 6 targets. He did, however, get his bell rung early in the 4th quarter and had to leave the game, and didn’t return. Once again, we find ourselves on CB concussion watch this week (Christian Gonzalez last week).
K’Lavon Chaisson finished with four pressures, and his hit of Stroud served up Jones’ pick-six. Equally as impressive was some of his work as a run defender. Yes, I just typed that. He’s never going to be stout in that area, but that was about as well as he’s done that part of his job this season. When we talk about this defense becoming something it hasn’t been for a majority of the year, it’s efforts like that that stand out.
Christian Elliss has become one of my favorite players to watch as this season has gone on. Explosive. Fast. Smart. Two Sundays ago, he was spying Justin Herbert. This weekend, the linebacker is patiently picking his way through traffic to make Woody Marks hate everything about football. Elliss also had a PBU that nearly resulted in a red-area interception. His growth this year is a tribute to him, first and foremost, for overcoming some rough patches early in the season, and secondly, to the staff for continuing to believe their vision for the player would come to fruition.
I walked up to Anfernee Jennings in the locker room after the game and told him I appreciated how he’s kept grinding all year. Keion White didn’t. Hell, in the previous two seasons, so many guys let go of the rope. Jennings had every reason to - they wanted to trade him this spring, summer, and before the deadline. He never complained - “It’s just not in me. It’s not who I am,” he told me. And now, with Harold Landry’s knee clearly an even bigger problem (he played just 11 snaps vs. Houston), Jennings has a bigger role and is playing good ball. He had a couple of run stuffs and a couple of QB pressures, using his power to his advantage.
I kept wondering when Craig Woodson was going to start making plays on the football. He was almost always in a good position this season, but was still giving up catches and touchdowns. The last two weeks, the rookie has been shot out of a cannon, playing loose and free. A coincidence that he finally had ball production? I think not. Woodson had one interception, nearly got another, and his work as a blitzer and in the box has been notable. Kid hits like a cement truck.
I’ve gone back and forth on both Christian Gonzalez and Marcus Jones in this game. Both were victimized for some big plays, and Gonzalez surrendered four catches, a high number for him. But Gonzalez’s strip of Marks in the red zone was a massive play (give some credit to Elijah Ponder for being in on the play as well), and he also had a couple of PBUs. That was enough to get him on this prestigious list. As for Jones, he got beat for the 40+ yard play to Schultz and gave up the TD to Kirk, but the pick-6, getting two more PBUs (including a third-down red zone deflection) and a couple of nice punt returns is worthy.
The Pats consistently reset the line of scrimmage defensively. That’s Milton Williams, Christian Barmore, Khyiris Tonga, and Cory Durden’s handiwork. Williams also wrecked left tackle Aireontae Lamont Ersery on the Stroud pick-6, pushing the rookie into the tight end who was in motion. That tight end might have either blocked Chaisson or at least occupied his eyes for a half-second. Instead, free rush. Big Hit. Touchdown.
Big-play Boutte is back. The 32-yard touchdown catch was a thing of beauty. One-handed/one-armed over one of the best corners in the league (Stingley). But he had a pair of explosives leading to the Stefon Diggs touchdown, and to me, it looked like Boutte is back to running like he did pre-hamstring injury. Pretty good time for that.
This wasn’t a great game for the offensive line, but the right side (Morgan Moses and Mike Onwenu), along with 6th OL Thayer Munford and FB Jack Westover, paved the way on that “classy” 6+ minute drive in the fourth quarter. Once more into the breach, Josh McDaniels could be heard saying (not really), as the offense moved the ball from their own 4-yard line to midfield before punting. Sorry, not sorry for being the “back-in-my-day” guy, but that was football at its purest. No tricks. Just power on power. Helps to have Rhamondre Stevenson as the ball carrier for most of those, too. He was damn good (again).
THUMBS DOWN
Will Campbell got beat for two of the three strip sacks and had a few other reps where he was outclassed by Will Anderson. His life doesn’t get any easier this weekend in Denver. Nik Bonitto’s ‘get off’ is as good as Anderson’s. I went back and watched the way Campbell’s moving, and I don’t detect anything that would tell me the knee is that much of a problem for him. I’m sure he’s not 100%, but no one is at this time of year. My feeling is McDaniels simplified the plan somewhat because he assumed, correctly, that Campbell was going to have issues. I wonder if he approaches the Broncos the same way.