MD5eahawks":2hjdrbup said:
That left it wide open for ole Billy boy to play his regular schemes.
You would probably have to have watched the Patriots during the regular season to understand how wrong that statement is.
Belichick/ Flores changed up everything about their defense for this one game. They came out in zone after playing almost exclusively in man-to-man in every other game this season.
The Pats dissected one of the top offensive lines, and were in the backfield on almost every passing down, by bringing novel pressures, without blitzing. (4 blitzes for the game). They set this up all season long by using specific players to bring pressure with certain looks. Then, in the final game, they changed it up. Whitworth said, "Guys who had been rushers all year, different guys were rushing.”
They stacked the line to stuff the run, but disguised who would bring pressure, and who would drop back, on play action and passing. The combinations they used, were new, specifically for this game.
The use of Jones, in a completely novel role of, flummoxed Goff and his line. Goff said, "They were able to keep us guessing."
MD5eahawks":2hjdrbup said:
The Rams were reduced to a one dimensional offense by their own cause. Kupp was out and Gurley played very little. That left it squarely on the shoulders of Goff. And you & I both know Goff can't carry that team in a big game, or any game for that matter.
He didn't have to worry about a RB catching a pass out of the backfield with C.J. Anderson. That was the Rams' bread and butter that set up Kupp for the long shots.
The loss of Kupp was huge, and the stats are there to back that up. The connection between Kupp and Goff has that intangible feeling, like Edelman and Brady. Goff definitely missed that security blanket.
That doesn't mean they were one dimensional. Anderson is a remarkable running back, and there is no reason they couldn't use him to catch a pass out of the backfield. Maybe that is a wrinkle McVay should have used, except I think the Pats were prepared for that the way they used their LBs in this game. In his time with Denver, Anderson was a 66-79% receiver. Nowhere near as good as Gurley's 72-81%, but fairly close when you consider how many of Gurley's passes have him as the primary receiver, instead of a dump off/ outlet for a busted play.
We agree that the Rams put on a nice defensive display. Of course, it was against a very conservative, Pete Carroll type, offensive game plan. The Pats came out to protect the ball, control the clock, and play the field position game. They didn't want to get into a high scoring affair against a McVay led team. So the Rams' defense looked better than it really was. That's not to say it wasn't a phenomenal defensive performance, I just thought the defensive game plan of the Patriots was masterful. Phillips got outcoached, and McVay got taken out behind the woodshed.
And of course we agree that there is no way that Goff was going to take over this kind of game. Now if we were in a "gassed defense, last possession wins it, high scoring affair" with Goff in a groove, then yes he could have carried his team to a win. Not this kind of game though. The Pats defense got in his head, and if he had to throw to win, the outcome was inevitable.
