Week 1 vs Tennessee: Ridley Runs Riot

With training camps still a few months away and NFL Network doing their highly confusing top 100 list to fill time, now seems like a good time to test out some ideas for next season’s coverage. Over the next couple of months I will be going back over each of the Patriots games from the 2012 season and looking at one aspect from the game that lead to the team’s success or failure (or just made their fans incredibly nervous).

The 2012 season opened up in Tennessee against the Titans and there were plenty of encouraging signs on both sides of the ball in a 34-13 win.

A run heavy game plan brought good results as Stevan Ridley totaled 125 yards on 21 carries. He had great success running to the left of the Titans defense and had 4 big runs which totaled 64 yards all behind Nate Solder, Rob Gronkowski and Logan Mankins. The gameplan called for the offensive line to outnumber and outmuscle the Titans front and they succeeded in those goals.

Play 1 – 7:43 First Quarter

3^rd & 1 from own 35 – Ridley runs 17 yards off left tackle

Needing a single yard to pick up a first down the Patriots rushed to the line without huddling and forced the Titans to make a quick decision about what to stop. In recent seasons the Patriots had relied on a quick Brady sneak for a couple of yards and the continuation of the drive. As highlighted in the picture below, Tennessee pinched their defensive line inside to try and stop Brady diving for a first down leaving space on the outside.

It was a good idea in theory given that seemed like the most logical call from Brady but it left the off tackle run to the left wide open. In the next photo the overlap on the left is highlighted. The Patriots are in their base two receiver, two tight end personnel grouping with Brandon Lloyd wide on the right and Welker is just behind the right tackle. Both tight ends are set up on the end of the line on the left and marked with the blue X’s. Hernandez is on the left, Gronkowski is the middle marker and Nate Solder is inside. With the line pinching inside, Solder is able to take the defensive end and seal off the inside of the lane with some help from Gronkowski and Hernandez is able to hold off the rush of the linebacker on the outside of the lane.

As the play develops, Ridley has a wide open lane to break through the first two lines of defense and easily pick up the first down. The blocking work of the tight ends is highlighted in the photo below with the two blue circles showing just how far they were able to move their man. After bursting through, the first defender Ridley encounters is the safety Michael Griffin who Ridley is able to sidestep (something that his predecessor struggled with) before being caught from behind by the defender marked with the red X.

Play 2 – 3:08 First Quarter

1^st & 10 from Titans 39 – Ridley runs 15 yards around left end

The Patriots have the same personnel group as the previous play here with Wes Welker replaced by Julian Edelman as he is a stronger run blocker. This time they are in a bunch set with Gronkowski and Edelman on the left ready to clear a path for their back. Gronkowski takes the defender directly in front of him, Edelman cracks back inside to take any linebackers or secondary players coming across. Meanwhile Nate Solder, a former tight end, pulls outside to act as the lead blocker for Ridley who takes a pitch and runs on a sweep.

The play becomes effective as the Patriots line is able to get to their spot ahead of the Titans defenders and create another big hole for Ridley. The blue circle on the left shows how Edelman and co are able to seal off the inside of the lane while the blue circle on the right highlights Nate Solder, who was matched up with a cornerback. Faced with a 6’8” man who weighs around 300 pounds, the Titans corner decides that he wants no part of Solder and hits the ground taking him out of the play allowing Ridley to go to the sideline after hitting the hole.

Play 3 – 2:57 Third Quarter

2^nd & 3 from Titans 41 – Ridley runs 15 yards off left tackle

The third big play to the left hand side looks like a stretch play that the Colts ran so well in the days of Edgerrin James. A six man line with Gronkowski outside Solder all slid to the left which immediately removed one Titans player from the fray (marked with the white X). Before the snap, the Titans had shifted their linebackers to the right of the Patriots line trying to get a rush on the open side of the line. From there it becomes a simple game of numbers which each lineman having a single defender to target and Ridley would take his time and find the right hole.

With the Titans also flowing left the hole for Ridley required a quick, decisive cutback for him to hit it as defenders were closing in from the backside. Some good pressure prevents him breaking this to the outside and forces him to look for another hole. A step off his left foot and he was gone into yet another big gap. His lead blocker on this appears to be Ryan Wendell the center who has already levelled one defender and is occupying another one downfield.

Play 4 – 5:42 Fourth Quarter

3^rd & 2 from Titans 26 – Ridley runs 16 yards off left tackle

This play is very similar to the first example right down to the formation, Hernandez and Gronkowski are lined up outside Nate Solder and the Patriots look to overpower the Titans front on their left side. This time the Titans defensive line is a bit more spread out as they are not as worried about a Brady sneak.

Ridley runs a similar pattern to Play 1 but this time he hits the ‘B Gap’ between the tackle and guard instead of the ‘C Gap’ on Solder’s outside shoulder. The team of Hernandez, Gronkowski and Solder clear out the defenders while Logan Mankins and Ryan Wendell handle the inside. This time around the hole for Ridley is not quite as big as in previous plays but his burst shone through here as he hit it decisively and was able to capitalize on his opportunity.

It may have only been week 1 but for the first time since 2005, it looked like the Patriots would have a running game worth respecting. While his predecessors of BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Lawrence Maroney and the post-Super Bowl Corey Dillon each had some degree of success as the lead back on the ground, fans had a reason to be excited that their backfield now had some electricity in it as evidenced by 4 big runs in the first game of the season.