{"id":57702,"date":"2020-09-29T15:53:03","date_gmt":"2020-09-29T20:53:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clnsmedia.com\/?p=57702"},"modified":"2021-08-30T04:09:46","modified_gmt":"2021-08-30T04:09:46","slug":"lazar-patriots-rushing-attack-gives-defenses-plenty-to-worry-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clnsmedia.com\/lazar-patriots-rushing-attack-gives-defenses-plenty-to-worry-about\/","title":{"rendered":"Lazar: Patriots Rushing Attack Gives Defenses Plenty to Worry About"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Raiders defense probably thought they had the Patriots\u2019 rushing attack figured out in the opening quarter last Sunday.<\/span><\/p>\n

New England\u2019s offense had ten rushing yards on their first eight carries in the win over Las Vegas, featuring their man and power-read concepts that went nowhere.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The first eight run play calls were as follows: draw, naked bootleg, jet sweep, power-read, man, jet sweep, and again, they only gained ten yards.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After two punts and a Cam Newton interception, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels pivoted, flexing his offense’s versatility and the wide berth of runs in his playbook.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Patriots got their ground game going by ditching all the misdirection tricks and quarterback runs, returning to their identity with Tom Brady as an under-center rushing attack.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the last three-quarters of Sunday\u2019s win, the Patriots gained 231 rushing yards while averaging 7.5 yards per rush en route to a blowout victory against an overmatched Raiders team.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although McDaniels downplayed the shift, the Patriots\u2019 run game is one of the most diverse rushing attacks in the NFL, giving opponents plenty to prepare for each week.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In their first three games, the Pats ran 16 different blocking schemes, each with unique wrinkles, quarterback read elements, and old-school under-center football that all change a little bit play-to-play.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are those 17 concepts broken out by the main blocking scheme and the secondary concepts that add a different flavor to the staple plays:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The diversity of New England\u2019s rushing attack, along with a terrific running quarterback, capable running backs, and an elite run-blocking offensive line, is producing tremendous numbers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the first three weeks of the season, the Pats lead the league in expected points added per rush (0.172) and are the only team that was successful on over 50 percent of their runs (52.1).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Currently, the Pats are on a ridiculous pace. Even if it\u2019s too early to say it\u2019ll continue, especially versus steeper competition, they\u2019ve averaged 233.5 rushing yards in their two wins.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In their victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1, Newton ran the ball 15 times against a two-gapping defense vulnerable to power runs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last week, the former MVP only carried the ball eight times on designed runs, and two of those were quarterback sneaks, a completely different approach with the same result: a win.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Along with putting different looks on tape for opponents to worry about, these Patriots are proving that they can do whatever it takes offensively to score points.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Throw in a nearly 400-yard passing performance for Newton in the loss to Seattle, and the three game-scripts couldn\u2019t be more different, while New England is a yard short from being a perfect 3-0.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur philosophy has always been the same, which is to try and take our guys that we have on our side of the ball and the strengths that they possess together and try and maximize those each week against the opponent that we\u2019re playing,\u201d McDaniels told CLNS Media on Tuesday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a pretty simple philosophy, but it also incurs some learning each week of possibly some new things that we want to try and do that may give us the best advantage to have success. They [the players] deserve a tremendous amount of credit for being able to execute different styles of offense from one week to the next.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s break down all the blocking concepts for New England through three games, starting with the zone schemes that gave the Raiders defense problems:<\/span><\/p>\n

WIDE ZONE (LEAD)<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

The Patriots found out early on that the Vegas defense wasn\u2019t going to fall for their misdirection or allow their power runs featuring Newton to get going, so they changed things up on the fly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

New England running back Sony Michel\u2019s breakout performance resulted from McDaniels\u2019s willingness to adapt the game-plan to what works, a testament to his acumen as a play-caller.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some play-callers would\u2019ve stuck with what wasn\u2019t working and banged their heads against the wall, but McDaniels went into his bag looking for a different angle and found one with Michel.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Patriots\u2019 two longest runs of the season, and Michel\u2019s career-long, came on a lead zone concept that only gained an average of two yards on six carries in their first two games of 2020.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Under defensive coordinator Paul Guenther, the Las Vegas Raiders are a one-gapping 4-3 system, meaning they want to shoot gaps at will and are susceptible to zone runs.<\/span><\/p>\n

With zone schemes, the offense uses the defenses\u2019 aggressiveness against them, getting them too far upfield, or overcommitting to one side, setting up cutback lanes for the ball carrier.<\/span><\/p>\n