Super Bowl 53 Matchup - The Patriots Report

Super Bowl week is upon us and it’s time to breakdown the final matchup for the ultimate prize,

The Vince Lombardi Trophy!!!

We’re starting to sound like a broken record, but the Patriots are back in the Super Bowl for the third straight season, this time looking to complete the transaction to hoist the trophy for the sixth time in franchise history.

Losing last year’s big game to the Eagles left many to believe that New England wouldn’t have much left in the tank to propel their outlook back on the largest stage. If we have learned anything from the Patriots history, the key is that they feed off or their doubters to prove there is no stopping this machine. Tom Brady an Bill Belichick are the catalysts to the success of this franchise and are putting their stamp on NFL record books that may never be broken, let alone seen again.

Super Bowl 53 should provide a great deal of excitement as the “G.O.A.T” (Tom Brady) will again have his troops ready for battle.

The Patriots Offense:

While the Patriots didn’t overwhelm in the winning column this year compared to previous campaigns, they still managed to win the division with an 11-5 record while scoring the 4^th most points offensively this season.

The Patriots offense has been viewed as a lesser product this year due in part to the explosive nature of the Chiefs, Rams, and Saints. In their own right, New England was quite dominant offensively holding the 5^th overall ranking in the NFL without great flash. Emphasis on the run game has been the guiding principle for this Patriots edition as the offense tends to lead with plays on the ground. Sony Michel and James White have formed a dynamic duo that complements each other perfectly, leaving Brady more opportunities to exploit the play action pass. The Patriots were a mere 500 rushing yards short from holding the top spot in the league on the ground, don’t kid yourself, this team knows how to run the ball effectively.     

From a statistical standpoint, teams who run the ball with this much success normally comes at the expense of their pass attack. New England, much like the Rams, have built offensive units able to lead the way running the ball while racking up solid numbers in the pass game. Even as the Pats rushed for over 2000 yards this season, Brady was able to muster a very healthy 4200+ yards passing, good enough for 8^th overall in the league. This balanced approach allows Bill Belichick & Josh McDaniels to be multifaceted creating mismatches all over the field. Again much like the Rams, having that extensive balance is the perfect formula to stamp your ticket to the Super Bowl.     

The Offensive Game Plan: 

The offensive plan in Super Bowl 53 for the Patriots should be much like it was against the Chiefs. Playing the time of possession game will be vital in dictating the pace while keeping the Rams offense sitting on the sidelines waiting. New England stymied the Chiefs with this plan putting together drive after drive eating up valuable minutes off the game clock.

While the plan may be simple in theory, having the ability to generate chunk plays against a Rams defense that has its share of elite level talent, could become problematic for Brady and company. Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh should continue to cause havoc in both pressuring Brady and stopping the run. To negate this tandem from doing extreme damage, we could see many runs move to the outside in hopes to trap the defenders in the middle. While Donald is versatile enough to move all over the line, Belichick surly will place a keen eye on his placement and expose the opposite side.

Even if the Patriots run game struggles to mount anything positive, James White should again have a ginormous role in the pass game to recreate the run with short dump offs and screen passes. Knowing that the Rams will focus on stopping the run, White could essentially open it back up with drawing coverage to his side once he make a few plays.  

The Rams should attempt to cover their basis in placing Aqib Talib on Rob Gronkowski hoping to eliminate that weapon, leaving Julian Edelman to face Marcus Peters which could in turn become a fantastic matchup for New England. With this chess game of player matchups afoot, Phillip Dorsett and Chris Hogan could be the X-factors that Los Angeles may not be able to contain. We could see a number of plays directed to both (Dorsett & Hogan) in hopes to free up other options if the Rams do in fact target this offense as we suspect.

In game adjustments will be key and has been the staple of the Belichick regime, as they are truly the best in the business in this regard.

The Patriots Defense:

Over the course of the 2018 regular season, the Patriot defense has shown both positives and negatives with inconsistent performances, untimely dropping their overall outlook to hold the 21^st rank in overall defense.   

Even as New England seemed to hemorrhage yards to the opposition, their bend but don’t break persona remained true in giving up the 7^th best in points against average to 20.3 per game. Leading into the post season, Belichick seemed to have this group reinvigorated as the overall level of execution seemed to rise as well.

New England does possess a great deal of talent on this side of the ball, leading with the strength of this group, the defensive backfield. With the McCourty Brothers playing extremely well of late, Stephon Gilmore is the reason this unit can do the things they do. Gilmore is an extraordinary talent that is as close to an island as they come in the new NFL, literally locking down one side of the field. With the coverage being as good as any in the league, New England does possess a sneaky solid unit that does make plays.

The Defensive Game Plan: 

The Patriots feast on coverage sacks, but aren’t limited to blitzing in bunches to rattle Jared Goff in this contest similarly to how they handled Patrick Mahomes. Historically, Bill Belichick prefers to keep young quarterbacks under pressure to force their hand potentially generating many mistakes in the process.

The Rams will try their best to run the ball with exclamation to open up the pass game, leaving great responsibility on the Patriots front four and line backing core. Our speculation increases feeling New England’s blitz packages will be so concise that it should provide a great deal of support in stopping Todd Gurley and CJ Anderson. Dont’a Hightower and Kyle Van Noy will have a monster role on the defensive side not only in stopping the run, but clogging up the middle of the field attempting to slow down Robert Woods from running free over the middle.

Taking away the deep pass to Brandin Cooks will be a top priority, essentially placing Stephon Gilmore with that duty on Sunday. If Gilmore is up to the task (which we believe he should be) Bill Belichick will get extremely creative in how he disguises his front seven alignments. Zone blitzing should be a common thread for this Pats defense while controlling the middle of the field, forcing Goff to move quickly through his progressions. The longer the secondary can secure coverage, the easier it will be for the likes of Trey Flowers to become a fixture in the Rams back field.

New England will undoubtedly lean on their offense in this contest, but the defense could be responsible for completing the victory. Stifling the run game while creating a one dimensional Rams attack will be the ultimate plan for New England on defense.

Good luck to the Patriots and their fans in pursuit of history and a sixth NFL Championship!