Patriots Need More Consistent Pass Rush, More Ayers, Rotation
When the Patriots meet the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship on Sunday, they’ll be facing a familiar foe and a familiar problem for the defense. QB Andrew Luck and the Colts are facing the Patriots for the fourth time in the past three seasons. But the biggest issue facing the defense this week will be with the consistency of the pass rush.
The Patriots have had good luck…. Er success (pardon the pun) against Luck in his first three matchups with the Patriots defense. As any young QB, Luck has struggled with Bill Belichick’s defensive wrinkles. Luck’s predecessor, Peyton Manning likewise struggled in his first meetings with the Patriots under Belichick before he figured things out and the matchups became much more contested.
Things are beginning to come together for Luck, he’s becoming much more efficient and is using the checkdown routes now much better than in the past when things aren’t there down the field. Rather than try to force things in too tight a space, he’s becoming better at taking the short, dump-off routes and living to fight another day. A great example of this was last night and the play of Luck in the Divisional Game against Manning and the Broncos. He did try to force two deep passes that weren’t there and turned the ball over, but for the majority of the night, took what was there and played very well.
Patricia Needs to be Creative: Which leads us to the issue and that is the Patriots pass rush. The pass rush has been very inconsistent this season and if the Patriots want to win Sunday and move on to (and win) the Super Bowl, they’ll need much more consistent pressure from Chandler Jones, Rob Ninkovich on the edges and Dont’a Hightower and Jamie Collins from the A-gap.
The Patriots pass rush against the Ravens and QB Joe Flacco on Saturday was not nearly productive enough and it nearly cost them in a close game. Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia and Bill Belichick may have to get creative if need be.
Dial up some of the A-gap pressures that worked against Luck and the Colts in the past. Jamie Collins broke out in the Divisional Playoff game last season against Luck and the Colts with just that. Hightower too has been very effective and can disrupt things in the backfield.
In the past the Patriots have sent blitzers off the slot, and Kyle Arrington and Logan Ryan have performed well in those limited opportunities. It never hurts to keep the defense off-balance and dust off on or two of those.
More Ayers: One solution that may sound blasphemous to some Patriots fans is to possibly spell Jones and/or Ninkovich on some passing downs and bring in Akeem Ayers to keep fresh legs out there and perhaps add a bit of productivity off the edge. Ayers was very productive while Jones was out hurt for six games in the middle of the season. Ayers has seen his playing time dwindle from around 78 percent, to less than 30 percent of the defensive snaps since Jones returned. Against the Ravens, Ayers barely saw the field and should be playing much more moving forward.
Ayers, is versatile, athletic and strong at 6’3, 255 studied the playbook as well as film hard to get up to snuff on the Patriots defense when he was brought on board and was rewarded with a big workload right off the bat. He was productive not only in rushing the QB but in setting the edge as well.
Having Jones, Ninkovich and Ayers sharing some snaps may not be a bad thing; it would keep fresh legs on the field all the time and keep the pressure on the defense.
With Luck and the Colts here this week, the Patriots typical M.O. against mobile QBs is to contain the opposing QB in the pocket and collapse it, not allowing him to get outside and extend the play with his feet. Luck is particularly good at this.
Last night against Denver facing the Broncos pass rush of Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware, the Colts offensive line did a fantastic job of keep those two off of Luck and they had zero sacks. Luck was able to take his time and methodically pick them apart.
That is a scenario that the Patriots don’t want unfolding. For a young QB on a young team that is just now beginning to learn how to win these big games, the last thing they want is a team that is still close in the fourth quarter thinking they can win a conference championship game on the road.
Eventually Luck will get it figured out, like Manning did in Indy, and the games will become much more contested. The Patriots don’t want that to happen Sunday. They have a much more talented team right now than the Colts and should win this game. Luck is the type of quarterback however, that can turn around a game and earn his team a victory against a tough opponent.
One way to ensure that it doesn’t is for the pass rush to come forward and be effective on Sunday. It has been very effective at times this season, but the consistency hasn’t always been there. Maybe a little tinkering by Belichick and Patricia this week, remedies that situation and they pack for Arizona.
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