FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- For those who crave a deeper understanding of football X’s and O’s, Bill Belichick’s weekly breakdown of key plays from a victory (on Patriots.com) is a good place to start.
This week, he highlighted the anatomy of a second-quarter goal-line stand from the New England Patriots' 34-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
One thing that stood out was the unsung work of defensive end Chris Long on fourth-and-goal from the 1. If not for Long driving tight end CJ Uzomah back from the offensive left side of the line of scrimmage, the play might have had a different result.
That’s the type of grunt work that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet, and how while Long’s production is often associated with the pass rush, defending the run is an equally important part of his responsibility. It also serves as a reminder of Long’s improved health compared with long stretches of 2014 and 2015, as he played with a strong base and won at the line of scrimmage on the weak-side running play.
“Chris Long kind of pushes the tight end back into that hole and then Dont'a [Hightower] kind of comes around and finishes,” Belichick said in his breakdown. “Really the hole is taken up by the tight end’s body.”
Belichick also highlighted the overall defensive penetration on second-and-goal from the 1, with “a real good low charge” from linemen that helped re-set the line of scrimmage from the 1 to the 2.
“That creates some space for [linebacker] Elandon Roberts to come downhill and make the hit ... Elandon does a good job of taking a real downhill angle and coming underneath [Domata] Peko to make the hit. A good, strong tackle.”
Naturally, cornerback Malcolm Butler's pass breakup on third down was also part of Belichick’s breakdown.
“Great stand. Great stop on the 1-yard line. It really put a lot of energy into the defensive unit. You live for those,” Belichick said, as he went on to highlight James White's touchdown catch at the end of the second quarter (“haven’t had one this year”) and Tom Brady's touchdown throw to Rob Gronkowski, which was “really one of the well-executed plays of the game” because of the accuracy of the pass and sure hands of Gronkowski.
“Perfect location for the ball, where only we can get it,” Belichick said.
