Pees breaks it down
FOXBOROUGH -- In a small gathering with media members today at Gillette Stadium, defensive coordinator Dean Pees touched on a few areas that he's focusing on this week with his unit.
Red-zone defense is near the top of the list. The Patriots had been ascending in that area until the season finale, when the Giants were 4 of 4.
"It was definitely a step back," Pees said. "We didn't do a very good job down there. We had a couple of individual breakdowns. I think overall, that's the way it's kind of been all year. It's been something where one person is in one [wrong] place, and that's all it takes. We definitely have to get back on track. I thought we kind of had, and we just had some breakdowns in that game that we shouldn't have had."
Pees said one breakdown against the Giants was a result of a miscommunication, as every player got the defensive call except for one. Another breakdown, he said, was poor technique.
Pees said looking back on the red-zone defense over the course of the season, the team's nemesis has been third down.
Pees also touched on how a player like cornerback Ellis Hobbs can sometimes be involved in plays that look like he's been beaten, when in actuality that isn't the case. He pointed to the 52-yard catch by Plaxico Burress on the second play of Saturday's game as one example.
"Without getting into great detail, sometimes based on a coverage what you end up seeing may not be the reality of what the coverage is. He should have had help on that and he didn't get it," Pees said.
"It's kind of like when you back to the Steelers game and he was hit a little bit on the fact that [Najeh] Davenport caught that ball in the end zone. Being truthful, that wasn't even Ellis' coverage. He was close, trying to help somebody else, but he gets blamed for the coverage. So sometimes what you may see from the stands or the media or someone else, it may not necessarily be what the breakdown was."
Pee's made some interesting comments regarding Ellis Hobbs, it makes me want to go back and rexamine some of those plays and see what is really happening from a scheme standpoint. Either way Ellis can run with a guy and be in position to make a play but he is just so much smaller than Plaxico is almost ridiculus. how can a 5-8 or whatever he is effectively cover someone who is almost 8 inches taller than him. Plaxico is no Randy Moss but he also demonstrates how size gives a tremendous advantage to the receiver.
The comments about Hobbs also are interesting to me. He seems to be the scapegoat for many fans but he's actually a pretty good player. Also note how classy Pees is in that he doesn't say which player(s) missed their assignments. Hobbs is small but he's a ball hawk.
My big issue with Hobbs is that even when he has help behind him, he still plays too far off his man, so that the WRs make the catch in front of him; usually just enough for the first down. He's usually not quick enough in closing - either to knock it down, or to knock it out after it's caught.
Mark--keep in mind that the distance a DB plays off of a receiver is almost always dictated by the defensive coordinator, not the DB himself. The Pats are usually content to give up the short completions in front of them rather than the long bombs behind press coverage.
Hobbs is the "weakest link" on the defense. Nice of Pees to cover for him. A nice gesture to keep team unity, but in fact, Hobbs is one of the worst starting CBs in the NFL. He belongs inside, at nickel, where he doesnt have to go one on one with bigger and faster receivers, while inside he can react to the play as it forms, in front of him. It's a no brainer.
Mike Allen, are you saying you know more about the Patriots defense than Pees or Belichick do? Consider returning to earth and enjoy the season. Hobbs is a good corner - in spite of what you, the expert, says. Sounds like someone's angry they didn't get an autograph at training camp.
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.
ask reiss
Questions will be considered for Mike's mailbagbrowse this blog
by categoryINside Boston.com