New England Patriots Stock Watch: Offensive Line Struggles In Win
By Cyrus Geller
Here is this week’s New England Patriots stock watch.
Up
Julian Edelman
Four catches for 120 yards and the touchdown that really broke this game wide open. Edelman was his typical productive self in this one, and his 59-yard score helped give the Pats their fourth win of the year. Oh, and he also crushed Morris Claiborne’s hopes and dreams.
Front Seven
Three sacks, eight quarterback hits, and stout run defense all game? Yup, the Patriots’ front seven continued to prove its elite status in this game, as they absolutely manhandled arguably the best offensive line in the league. Dont’a Hightower left early with a rib injury, but Jamie Collins made up for his absence.
Devin McCourty
McCourty was tasked with covering Jason Witten for a good portion of this game, and he was brilliant as usual. I haven’t seen the game tape yet, but based on my initial viewing of the game, it seemed like D-Mac spent an inordinate amount of time lined up as a cornerback/linebacker rather than his deep safety post. He was excellent nonetheless.
Dion Lewis
Lewis hasn’t just replaced Shane Vereen with ease, he has emerged as a legitimate dangerous threat on an offense filled with dangerous threats. That touchdown of his was ridiculous.
Down
Offensive Line
We should break up the offensive line’s performance into two halves, because the big boys up front were much, MUCH better in the second half. Before halftime, the Cowboys were getting to Brady with ease, pressuring him on every play, and sacking him five times. In the second half, Brady’s pocket was clean, and he was able to dissect Dallas’ secondary.
The Pick Play
Poor Danny Amendola. He had two huge gains negated by offensive pick plays, the first by Keshawn Martin, and the second by Julian Edelman.
Short Yardage Play-Calling
Josh McDaniels is probably the best offensive coordinator in the league, but the Patriots have to stop giving the ball to LeGarrette Blount in short-yardage situations. Blount is a big, physical back, but he isn’t explosive, and because of that, he rarely converts on short-yardage runs. The Pats failed a few times in that department yesterday.