BY SEAN DONOVAN
But New England isn't without flaws, and that showed this past week, as it needed all 60 minutes to beat the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars by a 23-16 margin.
The should-be overmatched Jaguars kept it close with their defense, by playing solid coverage while getting pressure on Brady.
In a second-and-9 situation early in the second quarter, the Jaguars lined up with four down lineman and linebacker Daryl Smith showing blitz on the right side of the formation. At the snap, defensive linemen Jason Babin and Terrance Knighton ran a stunt.
The Patriots' protection called for center Ryan Wendell to help to the right side due to Smith indicating blitz, isolating the left guard and tackle on the two defensive lineman.
As Brady dropped back, Jacksonville's linebackers settled into hook zones, preventing him from finding any of his short range targets. The Jaguars' pass rushers were too quick for the Patriots' linemen, and Babin forced Brady into a poor throw that fell incomplete.
On third down, the Jaguars got a little more creative with their blitz calls. With three down defensive lineman and three upright linebackers before the snap, it wasn't clear which players were rushing and which were dropping into coverage.
At the snap, all three linebackers blitzed, with Babin (1) getting instant pressure on the outside and the other two rushing up the middle.
Babin's quick pressure forced Brady to step up into the pocket, where he found more pressure from Jacksonville's defenders. Meanwhile, the Jaguars' defensive backs played blanket man-to-man coverage on Brady's first reads.
The sequence forced Brady to throw the ball away, resulting in a three-and-out.
While Jacksonville was doing an excellent job creating pressure, some of the Patriots' protection issues came from poor calls at the line as well. Later in the game, New England faced a 2nd-and-7 in the red zone.
In addition to four down lineman, the Jaguars showed two linebackers blitzing up the middle. To adjust, the Patriots crashed the right tackle to help in the interior. The protection also called for left guard Logan Mankins to pull to block the defensive end on the opposite side.
Brady had wide receiver Brandon Lloyd in a one-on-one situation and only needed enough time to set up a back-shoulder throw 10 yards down the field.
This protection call allowed defensive tackle Tyson Alualu a free line at Brady, with only a vain attempt by the center to slow him down. Brady could not set his feet after his play-action fake, and threw an inaccurate pass to Lloyd.
The poor protection scheme on this play helped the drive bog down and New England settled for a field goal, keeping the Jaguars within striking distance.
Jacksonville, a team that ranks near the bottom of the league in sacks, was able to consistently knock Brady out of his comfort zone with some basic defensive line calls, blitzes and solid coverage, with some help from unforced protection breakdowns. As a result, the usually dominant Patriots looked average for most of the game.
The Jaguars fell short of the upset in the end, but helped reveal the blueprint for beating the Patriots just as the postseason is about to begin.
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