Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - 2018 Revisited: Week 1 - Locked On Patriots May 20, 2019

Episode Date: May 20, 2019

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They're basing all that run game on the next RPO pass action. Here's second and three, and going for the deep ball. Back at the end zone, and it is New England with the football, and the interception by Gilmore, who picked off Watson last year in the matchup. We do have a flag down. This penalty be declined, the result to the play is a touchback new england's ball first down it was a penalty against davenport the left tackle the row right here is on smith and he's covered but

you've got to go back and see this play by gilmore is that a catch we're both beat in Hey there everybody, welcome on in to a Monday installment of the Locked on Patriots podcast. Mark Schofield back in the big chair for today, Monday, May 20th, 2019. And what you just heard in the little intro, the cold open there is a little glimpse into what we're going to be doing here in phase two of the Locked on Patriots podcast off-season program. We've just completed phase one, looking at all the new members of the New England Patriots from a draft and undrafted free agency standpoint. What we're going to do next in phase two, we're going to look back.

We're going to have 2018 revisited here at the Locked On Patriots Podcast, going through each game week by week via each show, breaking down weeks 1 through 17 of the regular season, the division-around game, the championship game, and the AFCS course, capping it off with Super Bowl 53. We're going to look at some of the critical moments of each week. We're going to break down the pivotal play from each week and also take a look at what we learned throughout each week of the 2018 season,

both on a micro and a macro level. So that's what we're going to be doing over the next couple of weeks or so, breaking down each of the 2018 games here on Patriots 2018 Revisited here at the Locked On Patriots podcast. Before we dive in, a couple of things to note. One, the usual reminders. Please follow me on Twitter, at Mark Schofield. Check out the work at places like InsideThePylon.com,

Pro Football Weekly, The Score, Matt Waldman's Rookie Scouting Portfolio, and of course, that trio of SB Nation websites, Big Blue View, Bleeding Green Nation, and of course, Pat's Pulpit. Also, I've got to thank our sponsors here at TheOutsideHotels.com, Big Blue View, Bleeding Green Nation, and of course, Pat's Pulpit. Also, I've got to thank our sponsors here at the outset, Hotels.com, Untuckit, as well as Grip6Belts. Of course, Hotels.com, look, we're getting into the holiday travel season.

Don't be jealous. Don't hate like your friend's trip. Book your own with Hotels.com and get rewarded basically everywhere. Hotels.com. Be there. Do that. Get rewarded. Let's talk about week one of the 2018 Patriots season.

It was a rematch of one of the most thrilling games from the year prior when Deshaun Watson made one of his first NFL starts ever, goes into Foxborough, and puts the Patriots on the ropes. Patriots needed a last-second miracle drive from Tom Brady and a very high-wire-act-type completion at the end from Brady to former wide receiver Brandon Cooks to eke out the victory over the Houston Texans. And this week one rematch was going to be a stiff test

for a couple of people for a couple of reasons. One, for Bill Belichick and his Patriots defense. Can they handle a mobile quarterback? Can Tom Brady and company handle the pass rush that we're going to see from J.J. Watt, Jadavian Clowney, and more? And for Deshaun Watson, could he come back from an offseason filled with rehabilitation

thanks to his ACL injury? Now this game got off to a rather difficult start for the Patriots offense. They failed to put together a drive on their first possession of the 2018-2019 season but then the defense took the field and their season began eerily similar to how the defense for the 2017 Patriots started their campaign and the ball is on the ground and just like year ago, the Chiefs in the opener here turned it over on their first snap against the Patriots.

And now the Texans do it to open up 2018. The Patriots defense coming up with a takeaway with the recovery by Dante Hightower. As you heard Jim Nance there, just like they did a year prior, the Patriots defense forces a turnover on the very first defensive snap of the season this time quarterback Sean Watson and his running back failed to properly exchange the football at the mesh point on an RPO design the ball pops free

Hightower recovers and the Patriots are immediately in business and they would capitalize although it would take a couple of plays to do so Tom brady got on track with a throw to one of his favorite targets brady from the gun fires it and bronkowski has it was he across the pylon yes he was touchdown new New England. This is why you never count out Tom Brady. He has double teamed on this play. It's not only double teamed by Cunningham, but over the top, you see Jackson. Brady hits his tight end Rob Gronkowski for a back shoulder throw to get the Patriots on the board. Their first touchdown of the 2018 season. And this was a play that's perhaps summed up the relationship between Brady and Gronkowski.

It was a back shoulder throw. Perfectly placed. But the quarterback also placed a great deal of trust in his tight end's hands. His ability to make that catch. Even though, as you heard Tony Romo point out, he was double covered. But Gronkowski was able to get his hands on the football, secure the catch, get both feet down and get into the end zone, and perhaps a bit bittersweet to see how nimble Gronkowski looked after the touchdown, does a bit of a jig before the Gronk spike.

It was not the Rob Gronkowski we saw at the end of the season, but at least here in week one, we saw the greatness of Gronkowski. And that touchdown sort of set the tone for what was going to be an interesting afternoon. The Patriots defense made a play after the offense struggled a little bit, and then the offense capitalized. That was going to happen again in what was going to be an interesting first quarter because later in the quarter the Patriots were backed up in their own territory and Tom Brady made his first mistake of the young season. pick and we have not mentioned him to this point but what a difference maker he could be as well for this Houston defense. This is a very fortunate. Angelo Blackson gets the ball tipped at the line

of scrimmage and the ball goes right behind White who's open and Matthew with a big time. Look at right there just off the edge of his hand. Brady's thrown in the direction of running back James White who was open on an angle route out of the backfield, gets tipped and deflected behind the running back into the way to the irons of Tyron Matthew, the talented and versatile safety for the Houston Texans. And that play came deep in New England's territory, and so it set the Houston Texans up with a chance to tie this game. But the Patriots' defense, as we would see throughout the season,

stepped up again when they needed a big play to perhaps hold the team to three or keep them out of the end zone they delivered and they did here at the end of this exciting first quarter man to man safety will suddenly get in here to help on the quarterback Gilmore on Hopkins at the top. Watson in trouble! And he's still not down. Now he is back at the 25. A lot of traffic in the pocket, and Flowers able to get to him for a loss of seven. So watch this. The safety comes into double team right here. You see in and out. They call that bracket. You got in, you got the other side in. And Watson looking to run. And Trey Flowers keeps contained. This critical third down stop is a perfect example of how Bill Belichick

crafts his defensive strategy. The pass rush and the coverage have to work in concert. And as you heard there, described by Tony Romo, the Patriots bracket cover DeAndre Hopkins, putting a cornerback and a safety to the inside, taking away Sean Watson's biggest passing target. As a result, Watson is forced to try to buy time and perhaps look to run. And that's when the coverage and the pass rush marry.

Because what results is a coverage sack. Trey Flowers gets home. Prevents the Texans from getting into the end zone. And forcing Houston to settle for a field goal. And that is how the first quarter would come to a close, with the Patriots holding a 7-3 lead. Up next, we're going to talk about the rest of this game, break it down, the Patriots' big second quarter, and their attempts to hold off a furious Houston comeback.

So that's next, but before we do that, a reminder that today's show is brought to you by Untuckit. Dads, we come in all sorts of kinds of shapes and sizes, and so should our shirts. Like tall, short, slim, relaxed. Ever wonder why your dad's button-ups look so lawn and baggy at the end of the day? It can be hard for guys to pull off a casual, untucked look that isn't sloppy. That's where Untuckit comes in. Untuckit is the solution that fits just right. Their shirts are specifically designed to look great untucked

and feel comfortable at work or on the weekend. No tucking or tailoring required. Go to untuckit.com. Use promo code NBA to get 20% off. Untuckit.com. It's perfect for Father's Day. Mark Schofield back with you now on this Monday installment of the Locked on Patriots podcast here on Monday, May 20th, 2019.

Kicking off our series, revisiting the 2018 season week by week. We are talking about week one's game against the Houston Texans. We just wrapped up the first quarter. What was an interesting first quarter in that season opener against the Texans. Now as we pick up the action here in the second quarter, the Patriots are on the move. They have a 7-3 lead and they're on the march on their first possession that wrapped from the end of the first quarter into the second. With a 7-3 lead, they looked to extend that lead, and they did,

thanks to Tom Brady and, yes, James White. Wide open is White. White makes the cut cut he's in for the touchdown right there wow that was a big time throw by brady getting through the progressions watch this right here though here's the safety and the corner as they communicate to each other right here you're going to see the corner look or hey who do we got who do we got here he didn't The Patriots are able to get into the end zone here thanks to Tom Brady reading and reacting to what he sees from the Texans secondary. Houston drops into a bit of a cover four look here in the red zone on this red zone opportunity. And the Patriots align with both tight ends, Dwayne Allen and Rob Gronkowski

to the right side of the formation. Both of them run routes, break into the inside. And the cornerback and safety to that side, they start to shade to the inside as the play develops. And White simply releases to the flat. He's wide open. The underneath coverage is worried about Gronkowski on his shallow crossing route. That gives White the opportunity to make this catch in space and puts one move on the corner and he's able to dance into

the end zone for the touchdown. They gave the Patriots a 14-3 lead. Now the Texans would tack on another field goal on their next possession, cutting the Patriots lead 14 to 6 and when Houston forced a punt the Texans then had a chance to perhaps tie this game trailing by eight they were on the move and then it was the big play from the defense yet again this time that play you heard in the cold open Stephon Gilmore making the interception over the middle in a play that would perhaps provide one of the two bookends to this entire season because this concept is something we'll be talking about as we get to the final game of the Patriots 2018 campaign. matchup. We do have a flag down. This penalty be declined.

The result of the play is a touchback. New England's ball first down. It was a penalty against Davenport. The left tackle. Rowe right here is on Smith and he's covered, but you've got to go back and see this play by Gilmore.

Is that a catch? We're both feet in. We've got to see his feet. Look at Gilmore's covered. But you've got to go back and see this play by Gilmore. Is that a catch? We're both feet in. We've got to see his feet. Look at Gilmore's feet. Right foot, left foot. Yep. That looks in from that angle. One more time. He has it there.

They're fighting for it, teammates. Right foot, left foot. Yep. That's a catch. That's an interception. Now watch right here. Gilmore's on this side. Gilmore's on this side. The receiver's on this side.

He's going to come all the way across the field. He's going to pass off the receiver to the safety who comes out of the middle and then run over. That is a great job. That's great coaching. That's great ability. As you heard there described at the end by Tony Romo, what happens on this play is that the Patriots execute a cut call.

It's a crossing route over the middle as well as a deep post route. And Gilmore is initially covering that crossing route. And he passes it off to the safety who then cuts, jumps down on it, and Gilmore replaces him back in the middle of the field. If that sounds familiar, it's because on a critical moment of Super Bowl 53, the Patriots do something pretty similar with Jason McCourty now filling that back half of the field. But in this instance, it's Gilmore. He makes the interception and the Patriots were able to stave off the threat. The teams would trade punts on the ensuing few possessions, but the Patriots would get the ball

right before halftime. And they do what they do so often, go down the field and score near the end of a half. And that's what they did on a Brady. It is Dorsett with the catch and the touchdown. The throw and catch from Brady to Dorsett would give the Patriots a 21-6 lead at the half. But Houston was not going to go away without a fight. After the break, the Houston Texans, they were forced to punt

on their opening possession the very first possession of the second half but then their defense stepped up Tom Brady made a throw over the middle to Rob Gronkowski the tight end caught it was running then fumbled Houston Texans recovered the fumble now they were held out of the end zone they went forward on fourth down in the red zone and toun Watson missed a throw in the direction of Ryan Griffin on a 4th down try. They kept the score 21-6. The Patriots would tack on a field goal on their next possession making it 24-6. It seemed like perhaps this game was out of reach. Not so fast. Houston would strike back. They would get a touchdown on their next possession. It was an Alfred Blue touchdown run that made it a 24-13 game.

Patriots would tack on their final points of the afternoon. Another field goal from Steven Gasolski to make it 27-13. But then the team traded punts a couple of times. But then, a big mistake. With 432 left in the contest, the Houston Texans were forced to punt. They were trailing 27-13. It looked like the Patriots could run out the clock on their next possession. But Riley McCarron, a young wide wide receiver muffs his punt return try and that gave the Texans possession yet again they would capitalize on it they would get a short touchdown pass from Sean Watson to Bruce Ellington to make it 27-20 with just over two minutes remaining the Patriots failed to run out the clock getting stopped on a third down try when

Rex Burkhead was running behind James Devlin Devlin get gets tripped up by one of the Houston Texans defensive backs his legs get into the path of Rex Burkhead Burkhead stumbles and he gets stopped short on a third and two that gave Houston one more try and on the game's final play a bit of foreshadowing for something we would see later in the season and look who's coming in for defensive purposes Tronkowski by the way this is what New England spends a lot of time in this I want to see exactly how they're going to rush the quarterback are they going to put four guys up? JJ's saying, so you're saying we've got a chance. Yeah, exactly.

So 57 yards away. So the four guy, but watch him right here. He's going to peel around and take the quarterback somewhere. He's pretending there, and then he peels when the quarterback moves left or right. We'll see which way the quarterback goes. And then he runs and he tries to get him. There you go. He's going to be short of the end zone.

And it's knocked down and the game is over. New England's going to take it. 27 to 20. Sean Watson's Hail Mary attempt falls short of the end zone of the Patriots but hold on to win 27 to 20. And as you heard from Jim Nance, on the field for this Hail Mary attempt was none other than Patriots would hold on to win 27-20. And as you heard from Jim Nance, on the field for this Hail Mary attempt

was none other than Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. Of course, some weeks later, some months later, when Patriots would face a somewhat similar situation down in Miami, they would use a somewhat similar defensive approach, and it would actually cost them in the end. But now, that is how the game ended. The Patriots secure a season-opening victory against the Houston Texans.

Up next, we're going to talk about the pivotal play of the game, that Gilmore interception, as well as what we learned on a micro and macro level about the Patriots in this Week 1 contest. That's ahead. But first, a reminder, friends, one of our great sponsors here at the Locked on Patriots podcast, Grip6.

They make the best belts ever made. Grip6 is an easy, thoughtful gift for dads, brothers, husbands, uncles, grandpas, and even moms and wives. They have a tremendous women's collection. They have ultra-lightweight belts with no holes, no flap. They carry a low profile with a buckle laying flat against the waist, making the belt super comfortable. Grip6 is the only belt with no holes no flap no bulk they have a special offer for you right now at grip6.com slash lock l-o-c-k-e so check out our great friends over at grip six mark scoffield back with you now i'm going to quickly close out this show talking about a the pivotal play of the game and b what we learned about the patriots

in this season opening victory over the houston texans now let's start with that gilmore interception because this is a play this is a concept this is a coverage tweak that we will see later in the year and in ultimate game, Super Bowl 53. And this came at a moment when the Houston Texans were in perhaps position to tie this game. They were trailing 14 to 6. They were on the move. Patriots had given the ball back to the Houston Texans and they were looking to capitalize.

But Gilmore stepped up. Now, this is called cut. It's a coverage call that is made in the secondary when you have a play where there's a crossing route over the middle. And rather than having a corner perhaps chase that route across the formation, the safety just cuts it. He jumps the route, which is that cut call. And then the cornerback fills his position in the middle of the field. On this play, it was sort of a variation of the Yankee concept. We know the Houston Texans love to run Yankee. They had one receiver run what was usually a post route, but he stays more vertical on it. So he has the cornerback that's covering him, and then you have

the deep crossing route kind of underneath that and that's the route that Gilmore is covering now when that route starts to break over the middle he could either chase that but that's sometimes a tough coverage for cornerbacks to implement because if you're giving up inside leverage to begin with at the start of the play but based on alignment and now that receiver is running away from you, you're at a disadvantage. And so secondaries and defensive coaches decided that rather than have that corner chase, he'll fill instead by filling the middle of the field. And then you have the safety who's in the middle of the field who has more of a leverage advantage sort of cut that route. That's the term, cut,

where he jumps it. He runs downhill on it. And that's what happens here. The safety in the middle of the field, he jumps that crossing route and stays with it and takes it away. And then Gilmore is tasked with filling back in the middle of the field, replacing that safety who's now vacated his spot to cover that crossing route. And that puts Gilmore in position to help out on this deep vertical route that's coming from the other side of the formation. Watson doesn't see it. He thinks he's got a one-on-one situation, but instead it's Gilmore who gets back there for the interception. Now, as I mentioned, this is very similar to the play in Super Bowl 53 where Brandon Cooks looks to be open in the back of the end zone,

and if Jared Goff makes a quicker throw, perhaps we get a different outcome of Super Bowl 53. But instead, Jason McCourty, he now fills that middle of the field and is able to make the interception. And if you watch some of the post-game videos, some of the mic'd up stuff after Super Bowl 53, they had this route called earlier in the game. The Patriots saw it, saw that that player was open.

They told Jason McCourty, you've got to fill. We're going to cut that. You've got to fill in the middle, the Patriots saw it, saw that that player was open, and they told Jason McCourty, you've got to fill. We're going to cut that. You've got to fill in the middle of the field. Sean McVay, they saw it, saw that Cooks was open, and they called it again, expecting him to be open, but instead, the Patriots were ready for it, partly because it was something that they, as you can see, they work on. That cut call with that corner fill in the back half of the field and that safety work in downhill in response to a cross route and so the seeds of a super bowl pivotal play sown in week one what did we learn about this team sort of on the micro bigger macro and micro levels well the defense was going to be better than we thought it was going to be that was one of the huge question marks about the 2017-2018 Patriots,

that defense was not good enough. We saw they were able to make some pivotal plays. This interception, the Trey Flowers sack, they were able to do enough things in this game to give their offense some extra opportunities, which paid off. Obviously, for example, the Gronkowski touchdown catch. That was going to be huge throughout this season. There was also the Trey Flowers sack that held them to three bend don't break those types of

things would start to mount up as we got in deeper and deeper into the 2018 campaign as for Tom Brady made a couple mistakes sure one was a deflected pass that interception but a crisp efficient performance and he capitalized in some opportunities such as the Gronkowski touchdown, such as the Dorsett touchdown before the half, that whenever he has the ball in his hands, chances are you feel pretty good about where this team's going to be. So that was a look at Week 1. Next week, we're going to talk about that AFC Championship Game rematch between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New England Patriots.

That's going to be tomorrow's show as we start working our way through the 2018 season revisited. That's going to be tomorrow's show as we start working our way through the 2018 season revisited. That will do it for today. Please do check out all our great sponsors, Hotels.com, Untuckit, Grip6Bouts. Give them a link.

Give them a click. Check out what they have to offer. Book your summer vacation through Hotels.com. Don't hate like your friend's vacation. That will do it for today. I'll be back tomorrow. Until next time, keep it locked right here to me, Mark Schofield, and Locked on Patriots. don't hate like your friend's vacation that will do it for today i'll be back tomorrow until next time keep it locked right here to me mark schofield and locked on patriots