‘D’ gets down to nitty-gritty
Big practice ahead to stop problem area
FOXBORO — If the Patriots defense is going to improve upon the thirddown deficiencies that plagued the unit in Sunday’s win against the New York Jets, this is the day to get it done.
Every Thursday, the Pats harp on third down during practice, both offensively and defensively. A critical factor in beating the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday night will be limiting the long drives that nearly sabotaged their trip to the Meadowlands. That was a major talking point in the locker room after the Jets converted on 9-of-17 third downs, including four conversions for 70 yards on the opening drive of the game.
The players will be well aware of coach Bill Belichick’s prominent teaching point today when they hit the practice field.
“It’s execution,” safety Duron Harmon said. “Third down is a big emphasis on Thursday. When you’re out there, tell the whole defense, ‘All right, we didn’t have a good week on third down. We need to be better.’ This is the second-best third-down team in the NFL, so we need to be ready, be locked in, all the adjustments and know how they’re trying to attack us on third down so we can be better.”
The Patriots have the 26th-ranked third-down defense in the NFL, as they’ve allowed opponents to convert on 43.4 percent of their opportunities. The six teams ranked beneath the Pats have a combined record of 11-22, so this isn’t exactly a trend that is conducive to long-term success.
On the flip side, the Falcons have converted 45.5 percent of their third downs, and Harmon was right about their ranking. How’d he know? It’s written in the playbook, and Belichick mentioned it long before the players hit the practice field for their third-down workout.
That’s not the only midweek scouting the Patriots have done on the Falcons’ third-down success.
“It’s all about execution and focusing on the things we’ve got to do, understanding what type of quarterback we’re going against and what they want to do, and just making a play to get off the field,” defensive end Trey Flowers said.
The defense’s thirddown conundrum starts on first and second down. Opponents have faced an average of 6.2 yards on third down, which is the lowest in the league. Basically, the Pats are making it as easy as possible for them on third down.
But the defenders have had some issues on thirdand-long as well. On thirdand-7 and longer, the Patriots have yielded a 34.4 percent conversion rate, which is tied for the fifthworst mark in the league.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston hit DeSean Jackson for 29 yards on a fourthquarter third-and-15. Jets quarterback Josh McCown found Robby Anderson for 23 yards against Malcolm Butler on third-and-10 and Travis Cadet for 13 yards against a stacked zone at the sticks on third-and-10, and McCown scrambled for 16 yards when defensive end Deatrich Wise had a rare missed containment on third-and-8.
On a pair of third-and-9 plays, Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton completed a 43-yard pass to Kelvin Benjamin and the New Orleans Saints’ Drew Brees connected with Brandon Coleman for 42 yards on a couple of blown zone assignments. Defensive end Cassius Marsh also lost containment, once outside on the edge and once inside with his gap control, on two of Newton’s thirddown scrambles during a third-quarter touchdown drive.
“One of them was a QB scramble that gave us trouble,” Flowers said of the McCown run. “It’s just being disciplined in our rush lanes and things like that, mirroring our rush with the coverage to get off the field on third down. We know we can play good on first and second down, but we’ve got to get off the field on third.”
The Patriots aren’t just going to rip up their thirddown game plan at this point. They’re confident in the strategy, but they know the execution has fallen short of expectations.
That’s why today might be their most important practice session of the week as it relates to beating the Falcons at Gillette Stadium.
“We’ve got to be good with what we’re running, and we’ve got to know what they’re running,” Harmon said. “It’s practicing against routes and schemes that they’ve had success on, and we’re practicing stuff that we maybe haven’t been that good on, that needs extra practice.”