Patriots Report Card: Week 11 at Indianapolis

Welcome back to the Patriots’ victory tour, which stopped in Indianapolis this week to wipe out Andrew Luck and the Colts. The Pats used a combo of dominant play on both sides of the line of scrimmage and a record setting performance from former practice squad running back Jonas Gray to win 42-20, their sixth straight victory.

Oh, and Gronk.

The win placed the Pats in firm control of the AFC and increased their total margin of victory during this current stretch, thought to be their toughest of the season, to 136-64. So with that, let’s not waste any more time and get right into this week’s report card. Sound OK to you, Gronk?

Cool.

OVERALL GRADE: B+

OFFENSE – We have a slightly tricky situation on our hands when considering the offense. On the one hand, the quarterback, one Mr. Tom Brady, took a whole half to realize the bye week was indeed over, and made a massive, uncharacteristic mistake that could have seriously cost his team.

On the other, we all saw how the offensive line completely road graded the Colts’ defensive front and how Gray took advantage of that physical domination to explode for 199 yards and four touchdowns. Across the board, from the regular starters to rookie Cameron Fleming playing 37 productive snaps to Gronk “blocking competitively,” as Bill Belichick put it, this group was the key to the latest 40-plus point outburst. This performance mitigated Brady’s slow start and not only allowed the Pats to succeed despite his first half struggles, but also pretty much eliminated any doubt about the game’s eventual outcome.

Even after Brady’s duck pick almost immediately led to a Colts’ touchdown and just a four-point halftime lead, there was never any real anxiety regarding how the game would play out. The way the Pats had taken control of the line of scrimmage – in almost the exact same way as in last year’s divisional playoff win against the exact same team – provided a comfortable cushion against worrying that momentum would swing after halftime.

Last year’s Pats gained 234 yards on the ground against the Colts at 5.1 yards per attempt with LeGarrette Blount (24 carries, 166 yards, four TDs) playing the role of Gray. Granted, the Pats needed to rely on the ground game back then because they had no Gronk and no Brandon LaFell. But the staggering success they achieved in that game rendered Sunday night’s game plan fairly predictable in retrospect. The Colts were, and are, weak against the run so why not take advantage? And because this plan was so wildly successful (again), it made sense to assume that even if Brady wasn’t able to get his act together, everything would still be OK.

Brady did get his act together though (9-for-11, 173 yards, two TDs, perfect passer rating after halftime), flipping his first pass of the second half to a wide open Shane Vereen, who took it 39 yards from the flat down the sideline. Six plays later, he tossed a two-yard TD pass to red zone master Tim Wright (18 catches on 20 targets, four TDs) and all was right with the world. The Pats would score touchdowns on their first four possessions of the second half, and went 9-for-12 on third down against a defense that came in allowing just a 20 percent conversion rate. They sustained their drives, which kept Luck off the field and their defense fresh and, oh yeah… Gronk.

But in the end, even though Sergio Brown probably disagrees, the game was won by the offensive line, which obliterated the Colts’ defensive front and turned Gray into a star. There were a couple of instances in the first half in which Brady felt some pressure (Sebastian Vollmer was turned around a couple times and the duck pick came as a result of up-the-middle pressure due to some miscommunication on the interior) but this win came down to old-fashioned power football and the Pats’ ability to play that way when necessary. Not every front seven is the group of pushovers the Colts proved to be, but that’s OK. The fact that the Pats showed they can succeed even when their best player isn’t playing his best stands as a hugely important development. GRADE: B+

DEFENSE – Is this the best defense the Patriots have fielded since 2004? Ty Law thinks so. And why would we doubt the newly minted Pats’ Hall of Famer? He’s only the franchise’s best defensive player of the last 15 years and belongs in the discussion for best in team history?

We shouldn’t doubt Ty. He’s onto something. This defense, led by a secondary that may be better than any he ever played in (don’t forget, ’04 was the year of Hank Poteat, Earthwind Moreland and Troy Brown, slot corner), is allowing 21.8 points per game, 21.3 during the current six-game winning streak. The Colts were the latest test case, forced to try to win with one arm and one leg tied behind their backs thanks to the elimination of their running game.

Just as the Pats dominated the line of scrimmage on offense, they were equally as proficient on the other side of the ball. The Colts’ two running backs, one of whom was the third overall pick in the draft just three years ago (!!!), totaled four yards on 14 attempts. That’s four.

4!

As good as Luck is becoming, it’s pretty tough for any quarterback to execute what he wants when there’s not even a whisker of a threat to run the ball. And when you put a group of guys like the Pats have in their secondary to slow him down, you may hit a few throws (especially to tight ends like Coby Fleener, who went for 144 yards on seven catches), but it’s ultimately going to prove very difficult to win.

The Pats seemed to perhaps get a little too cute with all of their mixing and matching of coverages at times (see Reggie Wayne’s 46-yard catch and run) and Brandon Browner had a few issues in man-to-man situations. And the usual issues covering tight ends cropped up, hence Fleener’s monster game. But the decision to sic Darrelle Revis on Wayne while letting Kyle Arrington and some safety help over the top corral T.Y. Hilton mostly took away the Colts’ ability to go deep. Hilton, who came in among the league leaders in yards per catch and catches of 20-plus yards, was held to just three grabs for 24 yards. He was a complete non-factor.

Add to that another tremendous game from the linebacker law firm of Collins and Hightower (seriously, they could make bank using that on the masthead of a personal injury outfit), who are thriving in the absence of Jerod Mayo. Hightower in particular has really come into his own as chief signal caller, organizer, occasional pass rusher (three hits on Luck, a couple of hurries) and run support tackler. His smarts and all-around ability combined with Collins’ freakish athleticism and quickness in the open field make them some kind of impressive duo. Pro Football Focus gave them the highest marks on the entire defense, a +5.5 for Collins and a +4.9 for Hightower.

It should only get better once Chandler Jones returns (best educated guess for that is Week 13 at Green Bay). Akeem Ayers has far exceeded expectations since his arrival, adding six hurries in 33 pass rushes in this game to that monstrous, fourth down sack of Peyton Manning in the Denver game. And we all know what Rob Ninkovich is capable of doing. The end product, provided everyone stays healthy, is a multiple, diverse group that can adjust to matchups and make plays against all different kinds of offenses.

Just like in 2004. GRADE: A-

SPECIAL TEAMS/COACHING – There were a couple of penalties on special teams that you don’t normally see out of this bunch and with Don Jones sitting out, an element of aggressiveness was missing. Danny Amendola also made a really bad decision when he fielded a first half punt inside his five-yard line and that weird kickoff play that should have been a safety but instead led to the Colts’ best sustained drive of the game wasn’t their fault, but still worked against the Pats. Stephen Gostkowski didn’t seem unnerved to see the man he replaced, Adam Vinatieri, drill a 53-yard field goal as if he was 20 years younger, making all six of his extra point attempts. And Ryan Allen’s one punt was a 59-yard boomer.

On the coaching front, Belichick and friends had to know coming in that they could own the line of scrimmage given the way the game plan looked. The addition of Fleming to the mix combined with how much Gronk stayed home to block was evidence that the Pats were out to control tempo and they have to know that when the running game is working, it opens up their deadly play action, which they do more than anyone.

Another reason why the run game is key to the Pats offense? Brady has more play-action drop-backs (113) than any QB in the league, per @PFF.

— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) November 17, 2014

Credit Josh McDaniels for sticking to the run throughout the second half even after Brady found himself. And big ups to Matt Patricia and the defensive staff for the continued perfect use of Hightower and Collins as well as managing the entire operation with only two pure, every down linebackers. With the exception of that Thursday night game against the Jets, losing Mayo has barely affected this defense and the play of Hightower and Collins combined with how they’ve been employed is the reason why.

This win represented another example of the Patriots having evolved into a team that can win in any number of ways. Those kinds of teams are the best ones. GRADES: SPECIAL TEAMS: B, COACHING: A-