Projo Pats Blog

CONTROLLING THE BALL: Players on the Patriots' defense gave a lot of credit for their success on Sunday to the offense's ability to control the ball for nearly 40 minutes of the game. (projo.com) Part of what the Patriots were able to do may have been a result of the multiple-tight end sets that were employed frequently throughout the game, with a newly healthy Ben Watson usually lining up along with David Thomas. Watson was on the field for 77 of the Patriots' 81 snaps, second only to Randy Moss among New England's skill players. (Boston Globe)

>> Continue reading: Football Today -- Controlling the ball was their key to controlling the game

Watching Matt Cassel drive the offense down the field in the last two minutes of the half, how much confidence does that give you in Matt [Cassel] to be able to pull off that type of drive?
I think it reaffirms the things that we already thought of Matt. He's had limited opportunities between the preseason and practices but I think we're all confident in Matt. He's got a lot of ability, strong arm and he's accurate as well. I think it just reaffirms our view of him already.

This team has taken different routes over the years of getting the running game going. When Corey Dillon was here he was the horse. Right now you guys seem to be sharing the load a lot. It seems to be effective, how do you feel about your role in that?
To use that type of backfield effectively you have to have the right kind of guys to do it, in the sense of, not [being] selfish, putting the team first and we're not focused on stats and that stuff. I think we have that here. Aside from the on-field talent we have in the backfield I think it speaks for the characters of the guys we have doing that. We're all our biggest supporters when the other one is on the field.

Do you see anybody taking a lead role in the backfield or does it look like it's going to go as situations dictate?
I don't think anybody is looking to see, I don't think it plays a factor in the way we approach practice or games. The biggest thing in finding the quote-unquote leading role is for the media guides and programs. Once the game gets there we let the coaches make that decision. In order to do that you have to have the right character guys in the mindset of 'we're all looking to make the most of our opportunities when we get them in the game and like I said, putting the team first is our biggest focus.

On the blockers up front did anything stand out to you? It seemed like when you ran off tackle or to the tight end there were some openings. Was there one blocker that was pretty consistently opening up holes for you?
Collectively they all played well up front and I think you have to include the tight ends and Heath [Evans] in that as well. Matt Light did a great job. He's such a powerful and quick guy so he gets on those blocks pretty quickly and that makes our reads a lot easier. Then Logan [Mankins] and Billy [Yates] on the inside and Dan Koppen as well, there are times when the zones come through the middle where getting their blocks quick and either keep moving them, pushing them back, or at least keeping it on the line [of scrimmage]. I think they did a good job up front of making our reads easier. I know a couple times with Nick [Kaczur], the right tackle, he's on the right side, they were running a stunt and you have to make a quick read and he was able to get his body into it and hit the guy out of the way. It clears up a lot of reads for us.

Can you expound on the tight ends in the blocking game?
I think with Ben [Watson] and Dave [Thomas] they've been doing quite a bit of blocking from a fullback set as well so I think that really opens it up for us in terms of their blocking but they're also receiving threats back there. A lot of times Dave [Thomas] is coming through and making blocks that Heath [Evans] will usually make and Ben is doing the same thing. That's not the path that they usually take to get a block but like I said they've adjusted well. They're very athletic and they're doing a great job of that as well.

How much did that early bomb [66-yard touchdown] to [Randy] Moss open things up for the running game yesterday?
It was huge. I think whether we hit that pass or not obviously any defense has to respect the fact that Randy Moss is out there and he's got blazing speed out there but to actually hit it, to connect on the pass is even more in there psyche. You have to honor that. You have to wait, even if its just a second or two longer, to make sure it's a run on the play action or you have to make sure that it is a run before the safeties start coming up quick. The second thing is that it gives you more time to eat up the yards.

When it comes to developing a running attitude, how much does gaining short yardage help? Meaning if you need one yard even though you might run for two it's a successful run. How much does that help the team have a running attitude?
That's situational football. That's one thing that Coach Belichick is always emphasizing. If it's third and one and you get two yards it's probably not good on the average but it keeps the drive going. I think short yardage and the goal line, those types of runs are close to 90 percent attitude and heart just to be able to find a little seam or a little crack and force your way to the first down and keep the drive going.

Do you think you will be the darling of fantasy football since you scored twice on the goal line yesterday against the San Francisco 49ers?
I have no control over that.

You passed former Patriots wide receiver Terry Glenn for fifth on the team's all-time receptions list. When you first became a Patriot did you ever think you would be that high on the receptions list as a running back?
You don't think about anything like that, you just think about helping your team - that's all it is. Helping your team win games and continue on.

How good was it to have success scoring touchdowns in the red zone yesterday against the San Francisco 49ers?
Every game that you play you try to improve. This week we tried to improve our red zone offense and I think we worked hard on it and it showed. You just have to be consistent with it and keep moving.

Coach Bill Belichick said that yesterday might have been the first time you scored two touchdowns in a game since the fourth grade. Is he correct with his research on that?
That might have been one of the few times that Bill [Belichick] was a little incorrect. I think it was in college that it happened.

Do you remember the last time you scored two touchdowns in a game?
No I don't remember. That is kind of far back for me. I can barely remember what happened a couple of weeks ago.

I know you were joking about Bill Belichick being a little incorrect but is he not a big SEC [Southeastern Conference] football fan because he said you haven't had a two-touchdown game since the fourth grade?
I think he is a big SEC [Southeastern Conference] football fan because he has a lot guys from the SEC.

You are a big part of the offense's two-minute package. How do you feel quarterback Matt Cassel did in running the two-minute offense yesterday against the San Francisco 49ers?
I think it is just about everybody doing their job, getting everything done correctly and just not trying to do too much. I think that is what we have to understand as an offense and a football team.

What did you see from quarterback Matt Cassel in that two-minute drive because that is probably one of the toughest things for a quarterback to do?
Well, like I said it was just him doing his job and with everybody else doing their job everything should pan out.

How well do you think quarterback Matt Cassel did on selling the bad snap on your direct-snap touchdown run?
By looking at the film it looked like he [Matt Cassel] did a good job. It was about him faking it, the offensive line blocking and me finding the right hole to run to.

Can you talk a little bit about the interceptions you guys had yesterday? You were involved in two of them and they were all on tip drills and came at key points in the game.
Our point of emphasis all week really was that we had to handle some balls and really start creating some more turnovers and be more aggressive. So, we came out with that in mind and we knew that [J.T. O'Sullivan] was a scrambling quarterback and he wanted to scramble to throw the ball. I read the play that I had been studying film off of for two weeks and made a good break and came up with it, as well as Brandon [Meriweather], he just made an incredible catch, and Deltha [O'Neal], we ended up getting him a good interception. The main thing was not to give up big plays, and eventually we came out and gave up some big plays and then calmed down a little bit. We settled down and were able to play some good, solid football.

How much easier is it for a defense when your offense is controlling the ball for that long? You're able to get a little break and also have some time to adjust.
It was good, because it gave us the opportunity to get some rest. I think that from a defensive standpoint when we came out and got down early, there was some extra time to get on the sidelines and get some adjustments taken care of. It gave us the ability to calm down, because we were all over the place. With the offense controlling that possession time, it gave us the chance to calm down and get things together.

You guys did a good job on third downs. I know that had been a point of emphasis. In your mind, what was the difference yesterday as compared to other points in the season?
I think that coverage is a combination of pass rush and covering down the field. Our guys up front gave us an opportunity and gave us some time to cover. I think the guys were a lot more aggressive. We knew a lot of the routes what they were trying to do and we were able to just play aggressively and make some plays on the ball. We went out there and competed.

How much of that was that you guys were able to put them into third-and-longs, slow down the run and really take Frank Gore out of the game?
I think every week your number one thing, with any NFL defense is the fact that you have to take away the run and not give them an opportunity to pass the ball as well as run the ball, especially with a guy like Mike Martz. His offense deals with so much trickery. Deep routes. Intermediate routes. Screen game. It's so tough to try to dictate what he's trying to do. Our point of emphasis was to take away the run, number one, and then be very competitive on the passes down the field. Eventually we weren't, but as we calmed down we played a lot better.

Rodney, there were a lot of different people involved in the dime package - [Terrence] Wheatley, [Jonathan] Wilhite, Gary Guyton - how did they acquit themselves in the time that they were on the field.
I don't know. I mean, you'd have to ask Coach Belichick that. I'll let the coaches coach them. That's not really for me to judge.

How about that dime package in general? It seems like we saw that more in this game than in the previous three. How did you feel in that package? Did it allow you to attack a little bit more or just cover better?
When they have their four athletic guys out there at wide receiver, we have to have a number of athletic guys to match up with them. Sometimes you win those match-ups and sometimes you don't. Like I said before, it's a matter of us going out there and being competitive. I thought our guys, Ellis [Hobbs], Deltha [O'Neal], Jonathan Wilhite and myself, we competed against those guys. This was a good team. They have a lot of skilled players and are very underrated. To be able to go out there and compete with those guys, that's huge. They're good. People across the country may not think so, but they're going to win a lot of ballgames this year, with Mike Martz, with his expertise in trying to showcase certain things and route combinations and things of that sort. I think the guys overall, we did a pretty good job.

Rodney, is it nice to have a relatively normal week to prepare for a team like San Diego?
No question. I think to play a game like [yesterday], such a physical game and a long and grinding game and then have to fly back six hours to the East Coast, try to get yourself re-acclimated and get some rest, then practice a few days and then fly right back, I thought that was the dumbest thing we could possibly do. For us to play a game and then come back here and be able to sleep in, get our rest, hydrate and get the bumps and bruises taken care of ... It's really nice to be on a regular schedule, one that you don't have to fly six hours and anticipate that when you're playing a football game, like, "God, we have to fly six hours after the game to the East Coast." I think it's great for us. I'm 35 years old so I need to feel as good as possible.

Rodney, just the way you guys played, you felt like you were a little bit helter-skelter. Was it encouraging to be able to make those in-game adjustments in this game as opposed to the last game you played where there was some difficulty making those in-game adjustments?
Once again, I think we were playing on our heels. If you study film, you understand that Mike Martz ... you never know what he's going to do. They could come out with a four wide receiver package, a five wide receiver package or regular base 21 personnel. I think initially we were trying to find our way and dip our feet into the water, testing the water instead of jumping right into it. If you play football, you can't test the water. You've got to go out there and jump right in and play very confidently and just play football. Once we settled down, I think we did a pretty good job of making adjustments and communicating and just making plays on the ball.

Can you talk about how you guys had more success with the passing game yesterday against the San Francisco 49ers, particularly with wide receiver Randy Moss?
Yeah absolutely. Being able to stretch the defense out like that and having a weapon like Randy [Moss], being able to do that definitely helps out the whole offense. Running the ball the way we did also helped us out. The time of possession and different likes that really helped us flow along through the game.

How much does it help you personally when the offense is able to throw deep so the opposition doesn't just focus on defending short-yardage throws?
Yeah, the more weapons you can have out there and the more plays you can make down the field along with the running game really helps us out the rest of the game.

How is it going with you guys staying out in California for the week?
I kind of like it. It almost has that training camp aspect where everything [is about] football. All the film is right downstairs and you are in your little confinement. For me, I don't have to worry about traffic with going back to Boston.

It's good to wake up here this morning, get on the film and get working on finishing up the San Francisco game, [instead of traveling] back and forth across the country. I think we had a good meeting today. I think everybody's refreshed and is positive after the game yesterday. We did a lot of good things, far from perfect but after the first quarter we got a lot of things straightened out and we were able to play, for the most part, progressively better as the game went on. That was definitely encouraging. We are now looking forward to moving onto San Diego. We have a lot of respect for the Chargers and what they do. The last time we played them was a tough football game and very hardly fought, [we can expect] that and more in San Diego Sunday night. It's good to win and it's good to be staying out here. We are looking forward to a good productive week in the San Jose area and on Sunday night in San Diego.

Logistically do things change for you dramatically this week in terms of what you tackle on certain days and when you do it?

No, it will be a normal week for us. We will treat it right now like it's a home game. We really didn't travel last night. We are doing the same thing today that we would do on Monday following a home game. It will be like that for the entire week. Then we will have our normal Saturday and travel like we would on a normal Saturday traveling day.

Can you talk about the three interceptions your defense had yesterday? Each were great individual plays but they also came at crucial points in the game.

That's true. They were big plays in the game. The first play, the 49ers were trying to take a shot down the field. They tossed it up there to Delanie Walker and I thought Brandon Meriweather made a real good play on the ball. He batted it away and fortunately it came back down in his lap when he landed on his back. On the second interception, Rodney [Harrison] got a good read on J.T. O'Sullivan and made a good break on the ball. It came down and it was kind of the same thing [as the first interception]. It got broken up at first, ricocheted up in the air and he was able to finish the play for the interception. The last play was a third down play on a crossing pattern where [J.T.] O'Sullivan scrambled out of the pocket. I think he was trying to make something happen on fourth down. [The ball] went threw Rodney's hands but fortunately Deltha [O'Neil] was right there behind him. From a field position stand point it would have been better for us if we hadn't intercepted it but it's always good to see the ball end up in our hands at the end of a play so we'll take it.

Getting that long pass for a touchdown to Randy Moss early in the game- how important was that to opening up other things for your offense throughout the game?

It always helps to score on a big play. I think that forces the defense to respect you and it opens up some other things. It's not always possible but I think you always like to throw a couple down there to at least let them know that you are thinking about it. We did that or tried to do it. Some plays it went down the field and some it didn't. But we had some deep passes designed as we always do, to try and test the defense on all three levels - the short, intermediate and deep level. It's great to have it all happen in one play like that. Matt [Cassel] did a nice job of stepping up in the pocket. They had a free blitzer coming from the backside with Tarell Brown coming off the corner. Matt stepped up and put the ball right on the money and Randy [Moss] ran threw it. It was a big play for us, one that you always like to see. It's always good to see it all happen in one play.

What was the biggest difference in your third down defense yesterday? I know that had been an issue before, did you do anything in the Bye Week in terms of changing your approach or personnel that worked out for you?

In yesterday's game we used different combinations in our sub-defense. Some four man lines, three man lines, two man line and at times we only had one defensive lineman out there - Jarvis [Green] or Mike Wright. That was probably more of a game planning week thing than a Bye Week thing. It was something strategically that we felt we would want to run this week against San Francisco. Those guys did a good job, although we had several players that really stepped up in some of those passing situations. A lot of them third down but some of it was two minute in the fourth quarter - Jonathan Wilhite, Terrence Wheatley, Gary Guyton, Pierre Woods and Jarvis Green. We had a number of those guys, including Brandon Meriweather, come in and play well in passing situations and be productive for us. The bottom line was we were able to do a combination of things. One was get ahead in the game and two [was] do a decent job against the running game. Those two factors helped to push it toward a passing game and more of a one-dimensional game. So we really only defended one thing and that helped us on third down and on fourth quarter, two minute situations.

Have you seen Matt Cassel's chemistry with his receiver's develop particularly with Randy Moss?

I think that through the course of the year everything develops a little bit. I hope everything we are doing now is better than what it was a month ago and I hope everything we were doing a month ago was better than what it was back in August. I think there is a natural progression and at the same time Matt has worked hard. So has everyone in the passing game - the offensive line, the tight ends, backs and receivers. We try to work hard and get things running efficiently and be able to execute things as well as we possibly can. Certainly having a few extra days of practice over the Bye Week didn't hurt any. But at the same time there were a lot of good plays out there yesterday that were good throws, good catches, good execution, good distribution of the pattern and we were able to make enough plays and convert some third downs that we didn't get the week before against Miami. We were able to keep the offense on the field, convert those third downs, keep the defense off the field and win that time possession and field position battle.

Will there be any update on LaMont Jordan today?

He came in and got treatment today. We will have to see how he is later in the week. We didn't practice today and we won't practice tomorrow. Everybody is just walking around today. We'll see where everyone is when we go out there and get on the practice field later in the week. But he looks like a pretty quick healer.

Can you talk about the job that Stephen Gostkowski did yesterday with the three field goals and the 49-yarder?

That was a huge kick. With a six point lead that made it a two score game and that was a huge kick. It looked like that would have been good from a lot further than 49 [yards]. Steve's been kicking the ball very well in all situations - kickoffs and all the field goal extra point situations. Not only is he hitting them straight, but with good elevation, get-off time and good hang time on the kickoff. I think he's really done a good job in every opportunity he's had here in the past four games. He's been outstanding - he really has. On that kick that made it a nine point game, the 49-yard field goal, that was an outstanding play all the way around not only from the kicking aspect but it was a very good situational play offensively being third and twenty. We needed to gain some yards to get the ball in field goal range. I thought Matt made a good decision there. We have a three level pattern going and he hit Jabar Gaffney in the middle of the three. Jabar made a nice run and had good awareness to know we needed a few more yards to secure that field goal. When I say secure, [I mean] get [the ball] under 50 yards [and] at least you are going to be able to kick it. Fifty-five or 60-yarders, you don't even know if you are going to try those or not. Jabar had the presence to get those extra six or seven yards - that was a big situational play for us too. Then, Steve came through with the kick and made it all work.

Can you talk about the running back situation? Do you see yourself using Kevin Faulk and Sammy Morris more often than Laurence Maroney?

No. With the running backs and our offensive game plans, you know those change and fluctuate week to week and even sometimes within the game. So depending on how we have our personnel grouped for a particular game or the situations that come up, it could be different players doing the same thing or it different players doing different things on a week to week basis. We will just take that as it comes. This week will be San Diego. We will try to set up the best combinations that we feel like will give us the advantage against the Chargers. We will see how it goes the week after that. Really it is a game plan thing week to week as to how some of those things mesh together. But I thought the backs ran well yesterday, the line blocked well and we had a good solid day running the ball. That was encouraging all the way around. To follow that up, I don't think if you had told me that Kevin Faulk's role in yesterday's game was going to be to score two touchdowns from inside the five-yard line - I don't think that's what anyone would have envisioned happening in the game. But that's the way it turned out. You never really know how those opportunities are going to come up or how those situations are going to break, or what personnel groupings will happen to be in there in certain situations. Its really more players being ready and able to capitalize and take advantage of the opportunities they get and their overall ability to execute offensively in different situations. You just never know which ones are going to come up. You just try to prepare for them and execute them when the time comes.

Do you think you are getting everything you should be getting from Laurence Maroney at this stage of his career?

I think Laurence has done a good job for us. He's a good back. He's played well and I think he will continue to play well.

Were you pleased with the way the defensive staff and players were able to make those in-game adjustments yesterday in light of what happened against Miami?

I think each game, as I have said many times, is it's own entity. I don't think one game necessarily has any carry-over or effect on another one. San Francisco is a team, with coach Mike Martz, that presents a lot of challenges offensively and I thought our players and defensive staff did an excellent job of preparing for this offense, the scheme and these players. For the most part [they] did a pretty good job of defending it. It wasn't perfect, it could have been better but we made our share of plays and I thought there were a lot of things that we defended pretty well. Everybody gets credit for that. The coaches did a good job and certainly the players are the ones that have to go out there and execute the plays and they did a good job of that yesterday. It started with stopping the running game yesterday and that made it into a one-dimensional game. The offense certainly helped that too by getting ahead, giving us a lead and making it harder for the 49ers to run the ball in the second half when the time situation became a factor.

BY JIM DONALDSON
Journal Sports Writer

SAN FRANCISCO -- First, I must quote an item in Monday's San Francisco Chronicle:

"The NFL is a copycat league and already teams are mimicking the Dolphins' 'Wildcat' offense featuring direct shotgun snaps to running back Ronnie Brown. Miami ran 11 times in Sunday's 17-10 upset win over the visiting Chargers, resulting in 49 yards, five first downs and a touchdown. The Dolphins used it six times in Week 3's victory over the Patriots.

"That inspired New England coach Bill Belichick to use the direct snap to running back Kevin Faulk on a third-quarter TD at Candlestick on Sunday."

Um, not really.

The Patriots have been using that play -- a direct snap to a running back, during which the quarterback throws his hands into the air as if he's missed the ball coming back to him -- for years, going back to the days when Charlie Weis, now in his fourth season at Notre Dame, was the offensive coordinator.

In fact it was the same Kevin Faulk, who ran for two touchdowns against the Niners, who twice scored crucial two-point conversions, running that same play, in the playoffs for the Patriots.

The first was in Super Bowl XXXVIII against Carolina, in Houston, when he took a direct snap into the end zone to give New England a 7-point lead, 29-22, with just 2:51 remaining. That proved crucial, because the Panthers tied the score at 29-29. But the Pats pulled it out on a field goal by Adam Vinatieri in the final seconds.

Faulk also scored on that play against the Chargers in San Diego in the 2006 AFC semifinal game. His run tied the game at 21-21 with five minutes to go, and the Patriots wound up winning, 24-21.

So, we ask -- who's copying whom?