New England Patriots vs Atlanta Falcons: 5 Matchups to Watch in Super Bowl 51
By Hal Bent
Eric Rowe, Malcolm Butler, and Logan Ryan vs Julio Jones, Mohamed Sanu, and Taylor Gabriel
This is the most talked about match-up going into Super Bowl 51: How do the Patriots cover Julio Jones? Simply put, they are going to feature all three cornerbacks in coverage at some point or another–because that is what they do.
The expectation is that the best cornerback for New England–Malcolm Butler–will cover the best receiver for Atlanta–Jones. It does not seem like the move that the New England defense under Matt Patricia would normally do.
Butler covers the top receiver–but only when there is not a significant size difference. With a long-armed finesse receiver like Jones, the Patriots traditionally try a different tactic. Last year against Demaryius Thomas in Denver it was Logan Ryan playing aggressive man coverage with safety help (either Devin McCourty or Duron Harmon) over the top. Thomas had one catch on 14 targets that game.
In week six against the Bengals this season, A.J. Green was held in check with just six receptions for 88 yards. Butler covered him for only a handful of plays while Logan Ryan and Eric Rowe (in his first significant action with the Patriots) roughed up the long, finesse receiver at the line of scrimmage and played tight man coverage with McCourty over the top.
What is likely is when Atlanta has three receivers on the field Rowe–with his size and strength–will be on Jones with safety help, Butler will be on Logan Ryan’s college teammate at Rutgers Mohamed Sanu, and Ryan will be in the slot using his size to try and lock down third-receiver Taylor Gabriel. With two receivers and a tight end, look for the man-coverage to have Ryan or Rowe on Jones and Butler again on Sanu with McCourty or Patrick Chung taking tight end Austin Hooper.
Despite the size matchups, the Patriots would be best served putting their best coverage cornerback on Julio Jones. That would be Malcolm Butler. Rowe and Ryan are adequate and have done well with safety help on a premier target, but they can matchup with Sanu and Gabriel and leave Butler and Pro Bowl safety McCourty to show why they are among the best at their position.
Either way Butler will get his share of coverage on Jones and New England is not going to play man-to-man coverage the entire game. The Patriots always incorporate zone looks during the game and Butler will find himself responsible for Jones during that those times as well. With 83 catches for a staggering 1,409 yards, Jones is the big match-up for the New England secondary in Super Bowl 51.
Jones averages 17 yards per reception and like against Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship game, the Patriots will key on him to take away the big plays. Sanu is more of a possession receiver like he was in Cincinnati. Gabriel, like most third wide receivers, sees only a few targets per game but is explosive and turn a short crossing route into a touchdown in a hurry.
This is a big test for the New England secondary. Fortunately, they match-up well with Rowe and Ryan being able to stay with Jones and use their aggressiveness and strength to get him off his route at the line of scrimmage. With Butler able to take away the second option, it should again force the opponent to find third or fourth options and increase the likelihood of drops, bad routes, and turnovers.