BRINGING THE HEAT
Pats must keep pressure on opposing quarterbacks
Three weeks ago, the Patriots defense was an opposing quarterback’s dream. It had a nomuss, no-fuss approach.
Deshaun Watson was made to feel right at home as he sat in the pocket, left free to inflict whatever damage he could against the unit.
The Patriots just couldn’t generate any pressure from their front. They didn’t even try to bother the Texans quarterback by blitzing.
The pass rush was a complete zero.
So it came as no surprise Watson picked the secondary apart, especially in the first half when he was throwing lasers all over the field.
But in the past two weeks, the script has changed.
And drastically so.
Kyler Murray and Justin
Herbert weren’t made to feel nearly as welcome, or as comfortable as Watson. They had no freedom to wheel and deal. The Patriots pass rush gave Murray and Herbert fits.
The defensive front applied suffocating pressure, came away with multiple sacks, and hugely impacted the quarterback.
During the last two games, the defense registered five sacks and 15 quarterback hits.
Of course, there’s a trickledown effect. That bump in pressure aided the secondary’s ability to erase pass-catchers the past few weeks.
The question is whether or not they can sustain that kind of pressure going forward.
The Rams offensive line is first up, and they’re a significant step up from the Chargers unit.
It’s no secret Jared Goff can
be taken off his game with an effective pass rush. Earlier this year, Brian Flores and the Dolphins used the same blueprint Belichick devised to rattle Goff in Super Bowl LIII.
The Patriots sacked Goff four times in that game, while pressure forced a pivotal fourth-quarter interception.
So Flores pumped up the pass rush, blitzed like crazy, and Goff turned to mush.
Adam Butler, who has emerged as a major pest to quarterbacks, understands how important it is to make an opposing quarterback miserable.
“I just try to be as disruptive as I can, and try to just stay in the face of the quarterback for most of the game. No quarterback wants to play like that. No offense wants to play like that,” Butler said via video conference. “So that’s what I try to go in there and try to do. I try to go in there and be as disruptive as I can, while at the same time trying to help us get off the field.”
Against Murray, the Patriots effectively disguised their rushes. They would bring guys before the snap, and then drop them back into coverage in some cases, while sending them in on others. They wound up blitzing 19 times in that game.
The second-year quarterback couldn’t quite figure out who was coming, or when.
Against Herbert, they weren’t anywhere near as exotic. They trusted the three or four guys up front to generate pressure on the rookie, and dropped everyone else into coverage, creating smaller windows for Herbert to throw through.
Whether it was Butler, Deatrich Wise, Lawrence Guy, Chase Winovich, Byron Cowart or rookie Josh Uche, they proved an effec
tive nuisance to Herbert. They were consistent and persistent.
Now, it’s going to be hugely important for that effective marriage between pass rush and secondary to continue, with Goff up first.
The Rams quarterback is coming off one of his best games, after being scolded by coach Sean McVay for being too careless with the football. Obviously, Goff is still prone to making mistakes.
The Rams offensive line did lose stud left tackle Andrew Whitworth, but still have a formidable group with LT Joseph Noteboom, LG David Edwards, C Austin Blythe, RG Austin Corbett and RT Rob Havenstein.
Goff has been sacked just 16 times all year. So this line won’t be as easy to penetrate as the Chargers unit.
While the Patriots have missed some starters at times during the year, namely Butler and Guy, the front seven is pretty much at full strength now.
Butler said health has been the most important issue toward having better play up front in recent weeks.
“I think any team would want all of its players healthy. When you have a group of healthy players, obviously it allows you to do more and sort of maximize your strengths as a team,” said Butler.
“Because everybody has something they bring to the table. To have everybody and all the pieces that make us a team, that’s obviously a positive thing. I definitely think that’s helped us.”
Being able to pressure the quarterback goes hand in hand with having an ability to limit big plays. Pestering the quarterback helps the Patriots get the most out of an elite secondary.
And with all of the weapons (Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, Josh Reynolds) the Rams have, the Patriots need to continue their positive run with the pass rush, and make Goff ’s life miserable Thursday night.