Atlanta's Defense

[deroc5050]

How many of you were surprised at how well Atlanta's Defense played for 3 quarters? I heard some people on this board saying that the Pats offense vs Atlanta's defense was the biggest mismatch in Super Bowl history. How do you feel about that now?

For now on if and when we get to anther Super Bowl I am throwing all stats out the window. Atlanta not only got a lot of pressure on Brady for about 3 quarters but they covered pretty damn well. I was surprised at how fast they were but they eventually wore out and the Patriots slowly took the game over.

Now I will say some of Brady's throws were just a little off at some points and at other points receivers dropped very catchable balls. But still Atlanta was a very good team, and an amazing win for the Patriots.

Also the Patriots defense is for real and they proved it, giving up just 21 points to a great offense. And put in incredibly difficult positions.

 

[LightSkinSmurf]

No doubt they played better than I expected... And our offense played worse than I expected for half the game. This whole game was nothing like I expected. Moral of the story? F*** what I expect.

 

[BelichickFan]

We struggled longer than expected (partly due to turnovers) but Brady did set Super Bowl reunion records for both completions and yards.

 

[deroc5050]

We struggled longer than expected (partly due to turnovers) but Brady did set Super Bowl reunion records for both completions and yards.

Well when your down 25 points, running the ball pretty much goes out the window and regardless Atlanta didn't allow to much on the ground. That doesn't take anything away from Brady and actually makes it even more impressive.

 

[PatriotsPimp136]

Our offense was just terrible early. No separation. Shaq Mason was just awful. I am hoping floyd's back. He would give us an added dimension to the offense.

 

[SONS_OF_BELICHICK]

In order to dominate...you need to gain momentum.....and its hard to do that ...when you cant sustain drives.....by turning the ball over, drop passes, and block like crap.
Atlanta's defense was better than I expected ...but our miscues...gave them all of the momentum during the first half....

 

[pencilneckgeek]

Meh. I knew they were good and fast and had the potential to match-up as well as one could hope against Brady and the Pats passing game (that is making some enough 3rd down stops with pass rush and decent coverage to give Matt Ryan and crew a chance to keep up. I thought the Pats would be able to run on them effectively, at least eventually, but as soon as the Pats started showing success, Blount fumbled, and soon thereafter, it was a game of catch-up. Aikman said something suprisingly insightful early in the NFC Divisional game against Seattle, where he called them "A good front-running defense," which I took to be similar to the Pats teams of a few years back, where when they could pin their ears back and rush the passer, they were a handful, but when they two-gapped to control the run, they were relatively easy to make short passes on. I had hoped the Pats would keep it close, before grinding the Atlanta defense down. In the end, they fell way behind before running them ragged. That pick six that put the Atlanta D on the field for two long drives in a row had a mini-upside in that respect, of laying the groundwork for wearing down Atlanta. Bennett commented on how gassed the Atlanta D seemed going into the half and that they thought they could take advantage of that in the second half by putting the pedal to the metal.

 

[Ring 6]

How many of you were surprised at how well Atlanta's Defense played for 3 quarters? I heard some people on this board saying that the Pats offense vs Atlanta's defense was the biggest mismatch in Super Bowl history. How do you feel about that now?

For now on if and when we get to anther Super Bowl I am throwing all stats out the window. Atlanta not only got a lot of pressure on Brady for about 3 quarters but they covered pretty damn well. I was surprised at how fast they were but they eventually wore out and the Patriots slowly took the game over.

Now I will say some of Brady's throws were just a little off at some points and at other points receivers dropped very catchable balls. But still Atlanta was a very good team, and an amazing win for the Patriots.

Also the Patriots defense is for real and they proved it, giving up just 21 points to a great offense. And put in incredibly difficult positions.

A football game is 60 minutes, sometimes a little bit more. Atlantas d over 60 minutes was bad. They allowed over 500 yards and 34 points despite 2 red zone (or close) takeaways.

I'd say over 500 yards and 34 points indicates a mismatch.

 

[BTTA]

Their D Line was better than I expected.

 

[BlueThunder]

The OL didn't handle Atlanta's pass rush very well....Time to look at OL help early in the draft? Scar can only do so much with talent he's handed.....even Cannon was getting beaten like a rented mule.....Just a bad day at the office or something deeper???

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

Shaq Mason had a Logan Mankins SB42 stinker. This after grading out as one of the top right guards in the 2nd half of the season. Poop happens.

Regards,
Chris

 

[Dr Pain]

It was like Josh was trying to lose the game when he kept going to Blount over and over again. I understand why he tried it but man he stayed with it way too long.

 

[Ring 6]

It was like Josh was trying to lose the game when he kept going to Blount over and over again. I understand why he tried it but man he stayed with it way too long.

BLount had 11 carries

 

[yukon cornelius]

I think they did a nice job with the two weeks off, and were able to exploit a few matchups - they were able to play above their heads for 2.5 quarters or so.....then the Patriots were able to readjust and reassert their dominance, so to speak......i think the way they were playing from about mid-3rd quarter on, and they would have been able to run the ball (they just didn't have time.....but they mixed in a few decent runs)

they have speed and they have good young athletes....and their staff was able to scout & prepare well with the 2 week timeframe.....the two weeks off is one of the reasons you see some anomalies in the Bowl, and why sometimes "stats go out the window"

i think the defense you saw the last 4-5 weeks out of Atlanta is what they are right now - not quite as good as they looked in the first half, not quite as young as they looked early in the season.....fast, well coached, young, high motor.....they are a good young defense, but still exploitable....

 

[deroc5050]

A football game is 60 minutes, sometimes a little bit more. Atlantas d over 60 minutes was bad. They allowed over 500 yards and 34 points despite 2 red zone (or close) takeaways.

I'd say over 500 yards and 34 points indicates a mismatch.

The Patriots were forced to throw the ball they fell behind 25 points, if Brady didn't put up those yards we lose. They forced a pick 6 and put pressure on Brady for 2 1/2 quarters. They also tackled very well besides a few james white catch and runs, the Falcons were right there. And Brady was throwing into very tight windows. Brady threw a bullet to Edelman in the 4th quarter with like 3 guys all around him.

I don't care what the stats say they shut us down for 2 1/2 quarters and they made the Patriots work for everything they got. Even that drive when the Pats scored there first touch down, it took them 6 minutes and a 4th down conversion just to put 1 TD on the board. And that was towards the end of the 3rd quarter.

 

[Ring 6]

The Patriots were forced to throw the ball they fell behind 25 points, if Brady didn't put up those yards we lose. They forced a pick 6 and put pressure on Brady for 2 1/2 quarters. They also tackled very well besides a few james white catch and runs, the Falcons were right there. And Brady was throwing into very tight windows. Brady threw a bullet to Edelman in the 4th quarter with like 3 guys all around him.

I don't care what the stats say they shut us down for 2 1/2 quarters and they made the Patriots work for everything they got. Even that drive when the Pats scored there first touch down, it took them 6 minutes and a 4th down conversion just to put 1 TD on the board. And that was towards the end of the 3rd quarter.

So you think Atlantas defense played a good game yesterday?

 

[TommyD4207]

BLount had 11 carries

That was about 9 too many.

 

[TommyD4207]

The Patriots were forced to throw the ball they fell behind 25 points, if Brady didn't put up those yards we lose. They forced a pick 6 and put pressure on Brady for 2 1/2 quarters. They also tackled very well besides a few james white catch and runs, the Falcons were right there. And Brady was throwing into very tight windows. Brady threw a bullet to Edelman in the 4th quarter with like 3 guys all around him.

I don't care what the stats say they shut us down for 2 1/2 quarters and they made the Patriots work for everything they got. Even that drive when the Pats scored there first touch down, it took them 6 minutes and a 4th down conversion just to put 1 TD on the board. And that was towards the end of the 3rd quarter.

And then they gave up 31 straight points in the last 18 minutes of regulation, and then overtime. And nearly 600 yards.

No. Defense had a nice run when they were amped up early, but in the end? Dogshit.

 

[deroc5050]

So you think Atlantas defense played a good game yesterday?

Yeah I do, better than I expected, it took some amazing and some lucky catches to catch back up to them. Lets face it Atlanta played well enough to win.. When Julio caught the ball at the 22 yard line with under 5 minutes left, they were in easy field goal range and should have gone up by 11 points. We all saw what they did to squander that thankfully. Everyone was counting on the Patriots going up and down the field and scoring at will. That didn't exactly happen.

down 19 points in the 4th quarter isn't exactly the position you want to be in. And teams down 17 points in the 4th quarter in the playoffs were 0-124. The Patriots now changed that stat to 1-124 lol.. amazing

 

[pherein]

Well what we see is pretty much what Drew was saying, Its a simple sceme, but they have 6-8 pass rushers that they cycle. DB's are pretty average. Think the problem with kind of play is its very high octain, so they lose gas if they cant make plays to keep it fueled. I mean guys just get tired doing constant pressure. So when Atlanta's defence is forced to step back and breath you see the average talent in the LB and DB core. Its kind of a weather the storm thing like the Patriots did. Then its just clear skies. I think by overtime they were just spent.