Bad Boys, Bad Boys...

In the midst of all of the craziness of the NFL free agent period this year, the Patriots seemed to be quiet and content with the team as it was.  Then again, it is in coach Bill Belichick’s nature to not let anyone know what he is really thinking in that massive, football focused head of his.

For a special edition of Cover 1, I’m going to go into the details on the two new star recruits for the Patriots: Defensive lineman, Albert Haynesworth and wide receiver Chad Ochocinco. 

Haynesworth was acquired on today in a trade with the Washington Redskins in which the Patriots only gave up a 5^th round draft pick for Haynesworth.  In comparison, that is like paying $10 for a new, unopened I-Pod straight from Bill Gates’ hand.  The only problem with this deal is that this I-Pod might have stepped on someone’s face in the past. 

While Haynesworth has had his share of problems in Washington, it is not unlike Bill Belichick to pick up players that have some issues.  He did the same with safety, Rodney Harrison, running back, Corey Dillon, and more recently, wide receiver, Randy Moss.  Haynesworth is worth the trouble however and if anyone can handle him, it is Belichick. 

Before signing a ridiculous deal in Washington and then being a bust there, Haynesworth was considered to be the top defensive lineman in the NFL, and in his last year with the Tennessee Titans, Haynesworth recorded 51 tackles, 8.5 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles.  He was a monster and still is today.  He just needs the motivation to play.

Speaking of motivation, what is the only thing more deflating than being a player on the worst franchise in NFL history?  The answer: Being an incredibly talented star wide receiver on the worst franchise in NFL history. 

Chad Ochocinco (formerly Chad Johnson before he changed his name to match his number in Cincinnati) was exactly that and as his desire to play for the Bengals declined, so did his playing abilities.  Here are his numbers through his career with the Bengals (as provided by ESPN.com):

Season             Receptions       Yards               Touchdowns

2001                     28                  329                           1

2002                     69               1,166                          5

 2003                    90               1,355                          10

2004                     95               1,274                           9

2005                     97               1,432                           9

2006                     87               1,369                           7

2007                     93               1,140                           8

2008                     53               540                              4

2009                     72               1, 047                          9

2010                     67               831                              4

While he’s had a steady 10 year career in the NFL, Ochocinco had asked to be traded out of Cincinnati in 2008, the same year that he had the lowest numbers of his career (besides of course his rookie season).  This on top of the fact that the 6 time Pro Bowler is infatuated with Bill Belichick.  In fact, they’re friendship is very well noted after the two met each other at a Pro Bowl game and at times throughout his career, it almost seemed like Ochocinco had more respect for Belichick than he did his own coach (Marvin Lewis).  Now with a chance for a championship title, Haynesworth and Ochocinco will have all of the motivation they need to take it to the next level in 2011. 

For the fundamentals portion of this post, I want to go back to Albert Haynesworth.  The Patriots play a 3-4 defense (meaning 3 defensive linemen and 4 linebackers).  With the current roster before the Haynesworth trade, defensive end Ty Warren and nose tackle Vince Wilfork had their spots on the defensive line pretty much locked up.  Now we add Albert Haynesworth to the mix.

In football, there are five definite offensive linemen that have to block and can do nothing else.  They are shown below as the numbers “1-5”. 

                                                                           

                                                      LB                           LB                  

                       LB                                                                                                  LB

                                    T.W.                         V.W.                               A.H.

                               1                     2                  3                  4                         5

In front of them is the Patriots 3-4 defense, with LB standing for the 4 linebackers and the 3 defensive linemen with their initials to identify them (Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork, Albert Haynesworth).  It is well known here in New England that it takes at least 2 of these offensive linemen to block Vince Wilfork, so let’s take linemen 2 and 3 out.

                                                            LB                   LB                                          

                                   

                       LB                                                                                                  LB

                                    T.W.                         V.W.                               A.H.

   1                                                    4                         5

With 2 and 3 blocking him, that leaves 3 linemen to handle Ty Warren and Albert Haynesworth.  No problem, right?  Wrong.  Albert Haynesworth is so big and so fast that he also requires two people to block him.  For Haynesworth, that means 4 and 5 are one him.

                                                            LB                   LB                                          

                                   

                     LB                                                                                                  LB

                                    T.W.                         V.W.                               A.H.

                                    1                       

This leaves just 1 person, offensive linemen “1” in the diagram, to block Ty Warren.  Warren himself is good enough to need two blockers on him too, but the offense might be able to slip by with blocking him with 1 lineman.  So problem solved, you just leave 1 on Warren, right? Here’s what it looks like if all of the blockers are taking away our 3 defensive linemen:

                                                            LB                   LB                                          

                                   

                LB                                                                                                          LB

                       

Do you see anything wrong with this picture?  With 5 offensive linemen having to block 3 defensive linemen, that means that there are 4 linebackers that have to be blocked by either tight ends or running backs, both of which are not the greatest at blocking!  Not to mention, now that these players have to stay in and block in case a linebacker blitzes, that means that there is one less person to give the ball to on the field, taking away the options that the offense has to move the ball.  The beauty of this is that if for some reason the Patriots wanted to blitz all 4 linebackers that would mean it would take 5 offensive linemen and 4 receivers/running backs to block everyone that is blitzing.  THERE ARE ONLY 11 PLAYERS ON THE FIELD FOR A FOOTBALL TEAM!  That means that the quarterback and one receiver or running back would be able to try and move the ball…on the 4 remaining defensive backs, all of which are highly qualified on the Patriots (see “Cover 1 goes to Court” a couple posts below). 

In closing, the Patriots are stacked.  Every team in the NFL is scared of playing this team and for us here in New England, it is starting to feel like 2007 all over again, when the Patriots nearly went undefeated.

Greg’s 2011 Projection for Albert Haynesworth:

60 Tackles

7 Sacks

2 Forced Fumbles

31 Frustrated Offensive Coordinators

Projected Overall Grade: A-

Greg’s 2011 Projection for Chad Ochocinco:

85 Receptions

1, 164 yards

6 Touchdowns

1 Very Happy Tom Brady

Projected Overall Grade: A

The Law Firm

It has been quite a while since New England had a premier running back.  Based on the success of the passing game over the past five years, it is difficult to argue that the Patriots needed one.  However, it remains a fact that we in New England have not seen a Super Bowl victory since 2004, coincidentally the same time New England had a running back that amassed 1,000 yards on the season.  That is before the 2010 season.

With the addition of huge blocking tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Algae Crumpler, along with the development of young tackle Sebastian Vollmer, the only thing missing from an explosive Patriots rushing attack to compliment Tom Brady's consistent greatness was...well, a running back.  BenJarvus Green-Ellis filled that void in 2010, rising from barley making the practice squad, to being the 16th leading rusher in the NFL.  This may not sound like much being that the league has a total of 32 teams, but what we must remember as fans is that this is the Patriots we are talking about, and when we think Patriots, we think passing. 

Since the 2007 season, the Patriots ran what was called a “Spread Offense”.  A Spread Offense does exactly what the name implies: it spread apart the offensive (and subsequently the defensive) players.  Below is an example of a typical Spread set called “Shotgun Formation.”

Y                     B                      O  O  O  O  O             Z                      X

     QB   HB

The “O’s” represent the offensive line, with the bold “O” being the Center.  Obviously, QB is Quarterback (Tom Brady) and HB is Halfback (BenJarvus Green-Ellis).  The Y, B, Z, and X symbols stand for the four receiver that are on the field.  With the minimum number of offensive linemen (5) and a large amount of pass catchers on the field, it is evident that this formation is meant for a passing offense.  This is in comparison to the “new” formation that we saw the Patriots run in 2010.  I quote the phrase “new” because if you’ve been watching the Patriots for as long as I have, you might recognize that the 2010 offense was the same style of offense that the Patriots ran from 2000 to 2006 (a time period in which they earned 3 Super Bowl titles).  The new formation looks more like this:

Y                                 TE  O  O  O  O  O  TE                                    X

   QB

                                                               HB

As I mentioned before, the Patriots acquired some new tight ends (TE) in 2010.  By taking away two of the receivers and substituting them with the new and talented tight ends the Patriots have created a balanced offense in which that had a 60/40 pass to run ratio last season (approximately).  This new formation (known as “Singleback”) allows for better protection for the running back.  It also makes for an effective passing attack because those tight ends are talented receivers as well as blockers. 

With the new set, BenJarvus Green-Ellis gained 1,008 yards in 2010, creating another weapon that defenses had to plan for when facing the Patriots which, in the end, helped to take some of the pressure off of Brady and the receivers.  Again, while there were 15 running backs in the NFL that had more yardage than Green-Ellis, where the newly found rushing attack was most effective was within the red zone.

The red zone is the length of the field from the 20 yard line to the goal line on either side of the field.  It is kind of like, in baseball, when a runner is on second base they say he is in “scoring position.”  The red zone is a 20 yard space where short runs and passes grind away at the defense towards the end zone in an attempt to score.  This is where the new offense shined because while having the new tight ends (tight ends are notorious for being a threat in the red zone) the real work came from the legs of Green-Ellis who earned 13 rushing touchdowns in 2010, tied for 2^nd best in the NFL with Pittsburgh Steelers star running back Rashard Mendenhall.  The only person with more touchdowns was the league’s top running back from 2010, Arian Foster, who ended the year with 16 touchdowns during his breakout season with the Houston Texans.  1,008 yards doesn’t sound too bad when you have the second most scores in the league, does it?

There is one special thing about Green-Ellis that many people do not know though.  The Law Firm, as his teammates call him because of his hyphenated name, has played football since he was an All-Star at St. Augestine High School in New Orleans.  From there he attended Indiana University in 2003 until he transferred to Ole Miss (University of Mississippi) in 2006 where he posted record breaking numbers for the school.  He was drafted in 2008 by the Patriots and started his first full season in the NFL in 2010.  What’s so special about the fact that he played football in high school and college?  BenJarvus Green-Ellis, since starting at running back for his high school as a freshman in 1999, has never fumbled the football.  By this I don’t mean that he’s never lost a fumble.  By this I mean that during a game, Green-Ellis has never dropped the ball at all…ever.

Knock on wood, please.

With it looking as though the Patriots star guard Logan Mankins will sign his tender and the acquirement of new tackle Nate Solder to possibly replace the aging Matt Light, it looks like this rushing attack for New England is only going to get stronger.  This means the rushing attack as a whole, though, as the Patriots do still have running back

Danny Woodhead and drafted two running backs, including the speedy Shane Vereen, in the 2010 draft.  Keeping in mind that veteran and captain Kevin Faulk

will be returning from an injury this year (should he choose to not retire), that is a lot of running backs to split carries with.  As it stands, though, Green-Ellis will still have the bulk of the carries and continue to be an effective weapon for the Patriots as long as he is resigned during this year’s free agent period.  His contract is up and will be an unrestricted free agent should the Patriots choose not to resign this hard working player that earned his way from the practice squad up to the starting spot.

Greg's 2011 Prediction for BenJarvus Green-Ellis:
753 Yards Rushing
11 Touchdowns
0 Fumbles

Overall Grade: B+  

Remembering Mother New England

            If Robert Kraft is the father of New England sports, then yesterday, New England lost its mother.  Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots and the New England Revolution, lost his wife Myra to her battle with cancer at the age of 68. 

            While this is not what you’d expect on a blog site about American football, a moment must be taken to look at an incredibly influential women that was seemingly behind the scenes to those of us that merely pay attention to the score.  Myra Kraft was a philanthropist, and used her fortune to donate millions upon millions to worthy causes including education, healthcare, and religious charities. 

            Her contributions to the Boys and Girls Club of Boston were unmatched and likewise were her non-fiscal contributions to the club.  Kraft was on the board and helped to run the program that helps to keep so many underprivileged children in the Boston area out of trouble, pointing them to a brighter future.  Myra Kraft was also on the board of the American Repertory Theatre,

United Way

of Massachusetts Bay and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.

   Football didn’t come as a natural enjoyment to Kraft, who truly questioned her husband upon purchasing the New England Patriots in 1994 because of their lack of success in the previous decade.  Myra grew to love the Patriots though, and their fans, and during last season, every home game was dedicated towards her work with the NFL’s “Kick Cancer” campaign.  The campaign that was searching for a cure for cancer was very successful in New England as Kraft herself donated millions into the worthy cause. 

            Nobody cared for New England and its residents in the way that Myrna Kraft did.  It was Myra Kraft, even, that made sure in each contract of every individual Patriots player, that each of them had to attend and contribute to 10 charritable events every year.  If you’ve ever seen kicker Stephen Gostowski hanging out with children at Boston Children’s Hospital or Vince Wilfork serving food at a local soup kitchen for the homeless around Christmas, then chances are you’ve seen Myra Kraft’s vision at work.

            Football is a game of heart, pride, and honor and is one where every child in America has a special player that he or she looks up to.  It is the people like Myra Kraft, who keep these idols working for the community and who contribute their lives to making their community better, that make the NFL special.  There is no other sport in the world that gives back so much to the community and no other woman in America was so fond and loving towards the people of New England. 

Cover 1 Goes to Court

            Personally, I had a special feeling about Devin McCourty from the time that training camp started and I read in the newspaper about how McCourty was practicing against future Hall of Famer, Randy Moss.  During every practice, every play, McCourty was stuck covering the fastest and most wildly talented receiver possibly in NFL history.  This was not a punishment but rather a blessing for McCourty, who in his rookie season, would go on to have a 7 interception season, second most in the NFL. 

            In the NFL, it is not enough to master your own position; you have to master the position you’re playing against as well.  Randy Moss, who was traded in week 4 of the 2010 season, gave that opportunity to McCourty, teaching him all of the tips and tricks to covering the most elite wide receiver in a Cover 1 defense that coach Belichek wanted to use McCourty for.  Cover 1 is a simple concept, but nearly impossible in today’s game as the athletes are becoming faster and more explosive every year.  It basically means that no matter what, if you are in a Cover 1 defense, then the man in front of you is the man that you cover, and you will follow him out of the stadium if the play calls for it.  Below is an example of Cover 1 defense.

Let’s say that “X” is the defensive player and “O” is the offensive receiver in the diagram below:

X

O

The solid line between them represents the line of scrimmage, where the play starts.  In a Cover 1 defense, typically, the concept is that each defensive player (X) is responsible for an offensive player (O).  Seeing as there are equal players on the field for both the offense and the defense (11 on each side), there should be no problem to contain the offense’s progression.  As shown in the diagram below, each “X” is responsible for covering each “O” to prevent a pass from being completed to them. 

                    X→→→→→

                     → →→→→

↑

O

The blue arrows represent the offensive player’s movement and the red arrows indicate the defensive player mirroring the offensive player.  The closer that “X” stays to “O” during the play, the more of a deterrent it is to throw the ball to that player because it raises the chances that a player like McCourty can get another interception and give the ball back to the Patriots.

            This is what Randy Moss helped to teach McCourty: how to stay close to the man he is defending, no matter what move is attempted.  That is the difference between McCourty and other defensive backs in the league: His ability to stay glued to his assignment.  Let’s take the league’s leader in interceptions last season, Ed Reed.  The safety for the Baltimore Ravens had 8 interceptions last season, one more than the Patriots’ McCourty.  Yet McCourty was just as, if not more effective as an overall defensive player.  According to ESPN, McCourty had 17 pass deflections (knocking down an airborne pass to a receiver), 1 more than Reed.  Even more significantly, Reed, who as a safety has the ability to roam the field and simply find the ball carrier, only had 37 tackles, while McCourty, who was assigned to one person every play, registered 82 tackles with ESPN.  The reason McCourty more than doubled Reed’s production in tackles is because of his ability to stay close to his target and not allow any separation, making sure that the ball wouldn’t come that way and if it did, that he was right there to prevent it from getting any further. 

            The disadvantage of Cover 1 only is found in the raw physical attributes of each player.  If one player is significantly faster or stronger than another, it would prove to be difficult to cover them “man to man.”  This is an exception in the case of McCourty, who, is of average speed for a NFL cornerback (4.48 seconds in the 40 yard dash) and is fairly short compared to many NFL receivers (McCourty is 5’11, in comparison, Randy Moss is 6’4).  Still however, McCourty is able to stick to his target flawlessly and showed it throughout the 2010 season.

            This is not the only thing the young cornerback sticks to though, as his unique experience at Rutgers College made him different than a majority of the players in the NFL.  McCourty’s brother, Jason, also attended Rutgers with McCourty, plays cornerback, and is currently playing for the Tennessee Titans.  Their connection is that of typical brothers, comical and competitive, as they compare each other’s stats on a game to game basis, but also on a practical level, as each brother will provide advice to the other on a weekly basis based on the receiver they will be playing against.  The two brothers grew were born and raised in Nyack, New York, only 1 hour away from their future scholastic home, Rutgers University.  While at Rutgers, Devin McCourty did not put up the all impressive stats that we are familiar with from his rookie season in the NFL.  In his senior year at Rutgers, McCourty recorded 80 tackles but only had 1 interception and 10 pass deflections.  While these statistics were enough to get him selected to the All Big East team (kind of like the college form of the Pro Bowl), it is evident that his production as a cornerback was significantly greater during his rookie NFL season than during his college career.  This in itself shows just how much working against receiver Randy Moss did for the young McCourty, even if they only worked together in training camp for a short few weeks.  While McCourty had a better year than his brother in the NFL, Jason McCourty still looks like he will be a solid cornerback for the Titans for years to come.

            McCourty will be back this year as the number 1 cornerback for the Patriots, meaning that again he will be taking on the league’s most elite receivers “mano a mano”.  Looking forward, some of these players include Colts receiver, Reggie Wayne, Giants receiver, Hakeem Nicks, and the speedy Eagles receiver, Desean Jackson.  It will be a challenging year, but the young Pro Bowler already has all the experience he needs to contribute greatly to this team. 

Greg’s Prediction for Devin McCourty 2011-2012 Season:

73 Tackles

8 Interceptions

0 Sacks

21 Pass Deflections

Predicted overall grade: A