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<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of different things you can do with them. Some teams try to take them away more than others. Some teams try to adjust and defend them quickly during the game. We were fortunate we had a few different ways to try to do them yesterday, they all weren\u2019t the same. And CP is obviously a good guy to do it with; he\u2019s fast, he\u2019s explosive, he can run and he\u2019s hard to tackle. And Phillip had a heck of a run down there late in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the Patriots acquired Patterson in the offseason, many thought it was solely due to his skill as a kick returner, but it’s clear that the Patriots had bigger plans for him on offense, and he has become a big-time factor.<\/p>\n
As McDaniels noted, the impact of the jet sweeps goes beyond the yardage the Patriots get when they do hand the ball off to the receiver, usually Patterson, and James White\u2019s touchdown was a perfect example.<\/p>\n
Three plays before White\u2019s 27-yard touchdown, the Patriots ran a fly sweep with Patterson that gained 15 yards.<\/p>\n
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On the play, the Patriots had tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Dwayne Allen on the perimeter as blockers. The Pats ran an outside zone scheme to the right, with the offensive line and running back faking a traditional handoff, but Brady handed it to Patterson. As you can see, the Bills were in man coverage, which gave the Patriots an advantage on these runs because the Buffalo defense defended them by chasing the ball carrier with a defensive back instead of bumping down the responsibility to a flat defender on the other side of the formation. Once Patterson gets the ball, all he has to do is out-run the corner lined up over him to the edge with the rest of the defense flowing in the other direction.<\/p>\n
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Three plays later, the Patriots faked the jet sweep to Patterson, and watch the impact the fake had on the defense. The linebackers at the second level all react to Patterson, remember that action is now in their heads after a few successful sweeps, but this time the Patriots ran a traditional power handoff to running back James White. With the linebackers already out of their gaps, White follows a pulling Shaq Mason through the hole, and all Mason has to do is kick out a linebacker that\u2019s already out-leveraged to spring White for the touchdown.<\/p>\n
Although Buffalo defended the passing game well, the Patriots got the Steelers with another complement to their fly sweep package.<\/p>\n
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On Chris Hogan\u2019s 63-yard touchdown, the Patriots incorporated a play-action fake with an orbit motion from wide receiver Julian Edelman. Brady fakes the handoff to Burkhead and the end around to Edelman which freezes the linebackers and interior defensive line. When the Steelers bust the coverage downfield, there\u2019s nobody underneath Hogan\u2019s route at the second level with the front seven focused on the backfield making the throw that much easier for Brady.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think most of the things you try to do in the NFL nowadays is build in complement to what you\u2019re doing,\u201d McDaniels said. \u201cSo if you\u2019re running these style of runs then you have to try and complement it with something off of those runs, or if you\u2019re throwing a lot of this pass, then you might have to complement that route with something that gives the defense the same look, but it’s a different route. We always try to be conscious of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur guys do a really good job of making sure they bring that information to us during the week and say, \u2018hey this is something we\u2019ve shown a lot, what about this?\u2019 Any idea is a good idea. We try to encourage these guys to be imaginative and creative and also protect the things we are really good at because if you never protect them, at some point your going to stop being good at them because they\u2019re just going to defend the heck out of them. We are trying to be mindful of that as long as it’s something we feel we are going to execute well.\u201d<\/p>\n
After Sunday\u2019s win, head coach Bill Belichick praised the receivers and the tight ends\u2019 blocking on those jet sweep handoffs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe receiver running plays which, again, involve a lot of receiver perimeter blocking which is critical to those plays. I thought Julian, Chris [Hogan], Rob [Gronkowski], Dwayne [Allen] were out there some too…there were a number of plays where the ball was at the edge so fast that it was really all about the perimeter blocking. Those guys did a good job,\u201d Belichick said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a fundamental that we definitely take a lot of pride in,\u201d wide receivers coach Chad O\u2019Shea told me. \u201cWe talk to the players a lot and emphasize not only the passing game but the run game, and it\u2019s an area we can display our unselfishness and our team-oriented attitude to the team by our effort in the run game.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s a better way to show that you\u2019re a team player than to give great effort and finish in the run game, and I know the guys take a lot of pride in that and know they can be the difference in blocking downfield.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although all of the Patriots\u2019 receivers contributed, it\u2019s hard to miss the impact that wide receiver Julian Edelman had in the running game in the win against the Bills.<\/p>\n
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On Patterson\u2019s first carry, a 12-yard gain, Edelman\u2019s block was essential to the success of the play as he blocked the slot corner on the perimeter nearly seven yards downfield. If Edelman doesn\u2019t seal that block, the slot corner likely cuts off Patterson\u2019s path to the sideline.<\/p>\n
As you\u2019d expect, O\u2019Shea said that Edelman\u2019s skill as a blocker stems from his fiery and competitive personality.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s obviously very competitive by nature which allows him to be a good blocker, and I think that\u2019s probably the most important trait you can have is to be competitive and give great effort. That\u2019s something he\u2019s surely done in other areas of his play, and this is just another area that he uses his strengths of being a hard worker and very competitive, and it helps him in the run game,\u201d O’Shea said.<\/p>\n
And then there\u2019s the tight ends, Gronkowski and Allen, who both are among the best in the league at their position at blocking in the running game.<\/p>\n
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On Patterson\u2019s longest rush of the day, a 27-yard gain, it was the two tight ends on the perimeter leading the way.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s team execution and that comes from a lot of reps on the practice field, a lot of time spent in the meeting rooms to get those things right,\u201d Belichick said.<\/p>\n
McDaniels told me that the Patriots will incorporate jet sweeps and other complements off of those actions as long as they\u2019re successful but did note that, \u201cyou can\u2019t get speed sweep happy. You can\u2019t go to the well too many times because at some point you’re going to have a bad play.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the Patriots gear up for the playoffs, their passing offense might not be hitting on all cylinders, but the running game continues to be a strength thanks to an array of play calls that threaten the defense from every angle imaginable.<\/p>\n
For all CLNS Patriots Videos\u00a0SUBSCRIBE to our CLNS Media YOUTUBE Channel<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n For the most in depth and comprehensive player and game analysis check out Patriots All-22 with host and Patriots beat reporter Evan Lazar.\u00a0Listen and Subscribe HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Get the inside scoop on the Patriots every week on CLNS Media\u2019s Patriots Beat Podcast with host Mike Petraglia. Listen and subscribe here\u00a0iTunes<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Stitcher<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Spotify<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n For all your Patriots content needs throughout the 2018-2019 season follow us on Twitter\u00a0@PatriotsCLNS<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0as well as\u00a0Patriots Insider Mike Petraglia\u00a0@trags<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and Patriots Beat Reporter Evan Lazar\u00a0@ezlazar<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [arve url=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=NrxLqTCCepo” \/] FOXBOROUGH — The New England Patriots with the greatest quarterback of all-time are turning into a run-first football team. Well, not exactly, as Brady and company still throw the ball more than they run, but the Patriots do rank third in the NFL through 16 weeks in rushing attempts (29.9 per game).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":131993,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[207,436,219,391,210,348,344],"class_list":["post-73360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-bill-belichick","tag-cordarrelle-patterson","tag-josh-mcdaniels","tag-julian-edelman","tag-patriots","tag-rob-gronkowski","tag-tom-brady"],"yoast_head":"\n
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