Patriots banking on resiliency, personnel to beat Steelers
The New England Patriots lost to the Miami Dolphins last weekend setting up what was already going to be an interesting game with the Pittsburgh Steelers (11-2) at Heinz Field looking for a response to injuries and personnel issues in order to take the AFC. Head coach Bill Belichick insists his team is resilient enough to earn the ‘W’. The Patriots made some moves ahead of the game to increase their chances and anticipate a highly competitive game on Sunday. “They’re a strong competitor all of the times we’ve played them,” Belichick said of the Steelers this week. “Those games don’t really mean anything now. It’s just about this matchup this week…”
Britt, Jean Francois added; Freeny, Reed released
At this point in the season last year, receiver Kenny Britt was with the struggling Los Angeles Rams (who’ve made a huge improvement); he joined the Cleveland Browns before the 2017 regular season kicked off. It was no secret that Hue Jackson and Britt had a feud going and when he was given his ‘pink slip’ on December 8, after playing in just nine games, the Patriots made a call.
With injuries to receivers Chris Hogan (shoulder), Matthew Slater (hamstring) and Brandin Cooks (hand), New England wanted veteran depth at the position. Britt has 327 receptions for 5,114 yards and 32 touchdowns in his career, but his best season (statistically) was with the Rams (in L.A. after they’d moved from St. Louis) last season (68 receptions for 1,002 yards and five touchdowns). Whether Hogan or Slater will be available on Sunday is still up in the air after they were limited in practice on Wednesday.
Defensive lineman Ricky Jean Francois was on the Patriots’ 53-man roster as recently as November 7, of this year, but appeared in just three games as a reserve before being released at the beginning of December. Prior to that, Jean Francois spent six games with the Green Bay Packers this season. The journeyman lineman seemed a natural fit to bring back since he is acquainted with the schemes and playbook the New England defense is running. Jean Francois looks to be the Patriots’ insurance policy should defensive tackle Alan Branch, who sustained a knee injury, is unable to go against the Steelers.
With the return of tight end Rob Gronkowski to the roster (after serving a one-game suspension) and offensive lineman Marcus Cannon to IR, the Patriots released linebacker Jonathan Freeny and receiver/returner Bernard Reedy.
Patriots defense exposed, exploitable
The Patriots defense entered the game with the Miami Dolphins ranked ninth in points per drive, second in points from allowed in the red zone, second in rushing touchdowns allowed per game. They also ranked last in the league in yards allowed per drive, red zone conversions and yards allowed per rush attempt. In nearly every area, outside of the red zone, the Patriots defense has struggled; not in a major way, but in a way that teams have been able to exploit.
The Dolphins exposed New England’s weak spots by spreading their offense, especially when utilizing shallow crossing routes and slants. Bunch formations and favorable one-on-one matchups helped them to convert big downs and kept the Patriots defense on the field. Some of their vulnerability comes as a result of injuries. Branch isn’t the only defensive player that is missed on the field. Cornerback Malcolm Butler (ankle), lineman Trey Flowers (rib), cornerback Stephon Gilmore (ankle), linebacker David Harris (ankle), defensive back Brandon King (hamstring) and lineman Deatrich Wise (foot) are all on the injury report this week.
New England has gotten by with play that was just enough to get Tom Brady and the offense back on the field. They’re a talented group but experience won’t get guys healthy and back into a jersey come gameday. The Patriots will look to try to limit big plays, but the Steelers are not only anxious to end the dominance that New England has shown against them but to further expose holes in the defense with a high-powered offensive performance in front of their home crowd.
Three areas the Patriots hope improve quickly
The weakest areas lately on the Patriots’ defense has been their defense’s ability to stop the run, poor linebacker play and the strength of their offensive line.
The defense has been unable to pick up the pace, especially up front, against the run. Dolphins running back Kenyan Drake carried the ball 25 times for 114 yards and added another 79 yards on five receptions. In their game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Kareem Hunt had 246 yards. Per Pro Football Focus, Drake earned 122 yards on the ground after initial contact. New England will face the NFL’s top rusher in Pittsburgh, Le’Veon Bell, who is known for being hard to bring down. If they can’t improve their tackling and run-stopping ability quickly, this is an area of serious concern this weekend for the Patriots.
As for the play of the linebackers – it’s been on-again, off-again. Not only have they been exposed in the open field in the run game, but teams that have utilized tight ends and slot receivers have been able to force the Patriots’ defensive backs to have to help defend the short pass. With Kyle Van Noy on the sidelines due to a leg injury, the Patriots turned to Marquis Flowers, Trevor Reilly, Elandon Roberts and Freeny (who they just released). Bringing David Harris into the equation would have been favorable, but now he is injured as well. Belichick admitted there are depth issues at linebacker and it forced the team to rotate players in and out of their lineup.
The Steelers will get JuJu Smith-Schuster back this weekend. With Jesse James, Eli Rogers and Smith-Schuster, Pittsburgh has the potential to take advantage of the fact that whoever is on the field for New England will be making the calls snap to snap. It’s something they’re dealing with themselves with the loss of Ryan Shazier to serious injury, and they’re familiar with the results of miscommunication and rotating personnel. With the run and crossing patterns tied up, Ben Roethlisberger will look to find Antonio Brown and other receivers in favorable matchups on the outside. It’s a recipe that could be disastrous for the Patriots.
Last weekend, the offensive line let Brady down once again this season. Brady was sacked twice, pressured an additional six times and hit four. Left guard Joe Thuney has struggled and allowed three sacks in the past two games. Even the normally reliable Nate Solder has had issues. The result of poor overall play by the line was that Brady was forced to throw passes away due to pressure and watched balls hit the turf because he didn’t have a clean pocket. Brady completed just three-of-ten third downs and threw a pair of interceptions. That has to be cleaned up against a Steelers defensive front that is looking for a big game and continued success in pressuring opposing quarterbacks.
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