Optimum Offense: Patriots Offensive Play of the Week
- Thread starter mascho
- Start date
Great breakdown. Really good example of how hard it is to cover that TE drag route.
In that vein, I'm interested in what's going on with the safety. The safety picks up help on Edelman when Gronk has his man beat by more, and even sticks with Edelman as a basically open Gronk runs right in front of him.
Anyone have any insight into why? I mean, seems like in a Cover 1, the safety should be especially mindful of the guy who's one of the greatest red zone threats in the league, shouldn't he? Was Brady's looking off of Gronk to Edelman that convincing? Was it because Grimes was on Gronk and is considered less likely to need help, even when covering a guy 8 inches taller and 50+ pounds heavier? Did Edelman hypnotize him with his "I'm open!!" wave?
In that vein, I'm interested in what's going on with the safety. The safety picks up help on Edelman when Gronk has his man beat by more, and even sticks with Edelman as a basically open Gronk runs right in front of him.
Anyone have any insight into why? I mean, seems like in a Cover 1, the safety should be especially mindful of the guy who's one of the greatest red zone threats in the league, shouldn't he? Was Brady's looking off of Gronk to Edelman that convincing? Was it because Grimes was on Gronk and is considered less likely to need help, even when covering a guy 8 inches taller and 50+ pounds heavier? Did Edelman hypnotize him with his "I'm open!!" wave?
Watch the safety's head pre-snap. Not once, but twice, he checks the Edelman/Amendola combo. So pre snap that is what he is focused on. Between that and Brady's initial look there, it is enough to influence him away from Gronk.
There is no Rev said:
Maybe, but I'd argue what's more important is what the safety did post snap. When Gronk and Edelman cross the safety had to make his decision and went with Edelman which just seems wrong. Gronk is obviously more of a redzone threat, its kind of tough to tell at that angle but it also looks like the corner was in a good position against Edeleman. But he also probably should have picked up on the pressure that was coming at Brady from his right which really limited his throwing lane to Edelman. This is a bit of a tough critique on the safety because obviously its really difficult to make a decision based on all of these things at game speed but he also probably should have just kept it simple and gone with 'Gronk most important, me cover'