Seymour a standout; Patriots missed Warren
When re-watching the Patriots' 33-10 loss to the Steelers, the performance of DE Richard Seymour stood out in a positive sense.
Seymour's final stat line -- 2 tackle, half-sack -- wouldn't lead one to believe he was a major difference-maker in the game. But for the most part, he played a big part in shutting down his side of the field in the running game.
Seymour lines up at right end in the Patriots' base 3-4 alignment, and there were also a few times he played more of an inside position when the defense moved its linemen out of their standard spots in a 3-3-5 alignment.
Accounting solely for the times Seymour was on the field in the base 3-4, the Steelers ran to his side eight times and gained just seven yards (Pittsburgh had three negative runs and two for no gain). One 5-yard gain in the fourth quarter -- in which Seymour shot a gap to his left and lost control of the gap to his right -- was the only play that Seymour appeared to contribute to Pittsburgh's success.
On the flip side, the Steelers gained chunks of yardage to the defensive left side, where Ty Warren would normally be lined up in the base 3-4 alignment (Mike Wright started in his place). Accounting solely for the times the Patriots were in the base 3-4 alignment, the Steelers had six runs to that side for 53 yards -- including carries of 13, 20 and 13 yards.
In terms of analysis, this highlighted how Seymour played a strong game despite his stat line, and that the Patriots missed Warren's presence on the opposite side in their base 3-4 defense.
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Mike, I got the impression that the line sorely missed Wilfork during the Jets encounter also - I'm not sure if you pulled any similar stats from that game to verify.
Cheers,
Davo
This was a major reason the Jets had so much success against us in Foxboro. When ever they needed tough yards, the Jets pounded on Mike Wright like he was a red headed step child. Now, it would have been helpful to have Warren on the field as it would have allowed the LBs to patrol the passing zones more regularly.
HOWEVER, the game was lost because of turnovers, not the because of the way the defense played.
Amen, Mike. Mike Wright's an undersized DT better-suited to effective passing down rush duties. He was consistently man-handled in Warren's spot all last night. I remember numerous times when Vrabel would set the right edge only to have Parker exploit the gap between him and Wright for big chunks of yardage.
Related, this is the first game I can remember where Mayo was a virtual non-factor. He, like Wright couldn't seem to get off blocks to make plays last night.
Did Pittsburg's OL do anything different to better account for him?
And speaking of LB's, any speculation on the severity of Pierre Wood's injury?
If Wright was so easily handled, then it left an extra lineman free to take care of Mayo.
David, I don't have those stats on the Jets game regarding Warren's absence. I'd be curious to see them, however. Mike, agree on Mayo. He did not seem to show up as much on film, and was slow to react at times (e.g. second play of the game, an 11-yard Willie Parker run). I don't think they did much different to him than we've seen all year. Not sure on Woods at this point.
--Mike
This defense should be playing better. The vaunted front 7 is not getting enough pressure or sacks. I am taking all the games played thus far into consideration. They have been relatively healthy in the front 7 as compared to other area's of this team. 23 sacks is good for a three way tie with San Diego and DETROIT for 18TH in the League. That really stinks for this talented bunch. That's the problem with the defense. DB's would be doing a lot better if the front was doing it's job. One or two more sacks a game and a little more pressure and our picks would be up as well. Sacks and INT are game changers and we don't have enough of them. In the immortal words of Vince Wilfork POINT BLANK - we stink.
I essentially agree with you, Zak, but I think they're doing what they can with what they got, considering:
- Patchwork secondary puts more pressure on front seven to make the game-changing plays alone. Blitz more and risk greater pressure on the fragile secondary? A no-win situation.
- Loss of playmaker Adalius Thomas - recall his sack of BOTH Favre and blocking back
- Loss of versatile Harrison (and Tank Williams) means zero linebacker-like help from safety position
- Tom Brady (and his 2007 fast-start offense) effectively hid many defensive shortcomings, as most opponent offenses were forced to abandon their game plans early and go one-dimensional.
Silver lining: this will/can only be a better defensive unit in 2009. With so many young guys getting game experience, it bodes well for both the individual players and personnel decision-makers.
I was afraid that warren's abscense would be difficult to overcome and it was.
I paid particular attention to his side of the line and there were a few times that Pittsburgh either opened gaping holes or they were able to keep Wright from shedding his blocks.
Great analysis on seymour's play Mike. As usual you point out something that's not obvious to the viewer.
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.
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