Week 8 film breakdown: Browner, Ayers, Moore amongst new contributors on defense
Each week, PatriotsLife will check the tape of the Pats previous game using the NFL's "All 22 coaches film", posting our thoughts on the developments good or bad that shaped the outcome of the game. After a one week hiatus, we return to the film room to see how some of the new faces on New England's reshuffled defense fared in their 51-23 pummeling of the Chicago Bears.
Akeem Ayers
We'll start with the newest addition to the defense, Ayers, who was acquired in a trade last week from the Tennessee Titans. There was some question whether Ayers would even be active on Sunday due to his lack of time to get aclimated to the playbook and gameplan, but the linebacker wound up playing in 32 of the team's 70 defensive snaps. This was probably more snaps than either the team or player anticipated, but the lopsided score combined with Ayers primary role as a pass rusher (19 pass rushing snaps, compared to 11 against the run and only 2 in coverage) to carve out a larger role for him this week.
Overall, Ayers didn't particularly standout negatively or positively on Sunday, but its hard to say he didn't exceed expectations considering his lack of time to get acclimated to the Pats system. More importantly, his physical skill-set lends itself to Chandler Jones' vacated role as an edge rusher/outside linebacker, a role Ayers had success with in the past in Tennessee. If Ayers can carve out that niche for himself with more time in the system, it would really benefit the Pats by freeing up guys like Dominique Easley to play more snaps at their natural positions.
Zach Moore
Most thought it was unlikely Moore would see significant action as a rookie when the Patriots selected him in the sixth round of May's draft. The defensive end had some undeniably intriguing physical traits, but came out as a raw and inexperienced prospect from DII Concordia. It seemed like an obvious case of a future pick, with Moore likely to take at least a year to develop behind the scenes before possibly earning a role in future years.
However, injuries have thinned out the Pats depth at defensive end, leading the rookie to carve out a role earlier than anyone expected as part of the committee replacing Chandler Jones at defensive end. After making his debut in Week 6 against the Bills, Moore has seen his snaps gradually increase over the past three weeks, topping out with 21 of the Pats 70 defensive snaps on Sunday against Chicago.
The Pats may have no choice but to increase Moore's role if he continues to flash this kind of upside as a pass rusher. After producing two QB hurries in only 15 pass rushing snaps against the Jets, Moore racked up another hurry and a strip-sack in 10 pass rushing snaps on Sunday. At 6'6" and 275 pounds, power is Moore's best attribute and that was on display on Sunday. For example, take a look at the play with 8:33 remaining in the first quarter, where Moore and Dominique Easley combine to collapse the left side of Jay Cutler's pocket. Cutler manages to escape with a scramble to the unprotected right side of the defense, but the play was an impressive display of power from two young players the Pats are asking a lot of right now.
While Moore is part of the equation to replace Jones on the edge, the Pats have also looked to give their pass rush some juice by moving Moore inside on some pass rushing downs, where he has a quickness advantage against opposing guards. For example, Moore (#90) was aligned as a 3 technique (outside shade of the guard) defensive tackle on his strip sack of Cutler, when he used his combination of quickness and power off the snap to run over star guard Kyle Long before reaching in for the strip of Cutler. Look for the Pats to move Moore inside more often on passing downs, where he has the potential to emerge as a real weapon for them.
Dominique Easley
Ok, Easley is hardly a new face, as the first round pick has played in every game so far this season. However, he finds himself in a new role now, as he's taken up some of the snaps on the edge following the loss of Chandler Jones.
Easley's versatility was one of his biggest strengths as a prospect coming out of Florida, where he played every position and technique on the line during his three year career. Easley is best suited to rush inside, where he can use his explosive quickness to beat much slower guards off the snap, but he played the majority of his 42 snaps on Sunday playing off the edge, at times even standing up in a two-point snap.
While Easley didn't make many splashy plays in that role (his one sack was a coverage sack, with Cutler holding onto the ball for over four seconds), he made a number of smart plays that won't necessarily show up on the stat sheet. Take the Bears first possession of the game, when Easley sniffs out and breaks up an attempted screen to Forte on third down, forcing a Bears punt. He also did a solid job of setting the edge on a number of runs (Matt Forte 1 yard run with 13:17 to go in the first, Forte 4 yard run with 7:59 in the first).
Much like Rob Gronkowski, Easley simply didn't look like his explosive self early on in the season as he made his return from a torn ACL. The explosive quickness that popped on tape simply wasn't there, and the rookie struggled to make an impact as a pass rusher, registering just a solitary QB hit and two hurries through the season's first seven weeks.
For that reason, it was encouraging to see Easley have his most active game of the season on Sunday. The stat sheet has him show up with a sack and two hurries, but there were a number of times when Easley's power and penetration impacted the play without making the stat sheet. Take Akeem Ayers sack with 1:42 remaining in the second quarter. Lined up as a three technique, Easley (#74) gets a strong upfield push against a double team. Not only does this contribute to the pocket collapsing around Jay Cutler, but his ability to command multiple blockers creates favorable matchups for his teammates. Logan Ryan (#26) is able to come free on a corner blitz and a blitzing Jamie Collins (#91) easily beats Matt Forte, creating the chaos that Ayers (#52) cleans up for the sack.
Easley flashed the talent to be a disruptive force in college, and his play on Sunday was the first real sign of that explosion and power at the pro level. The "wow" plays still haven't come, but there were a number of times when Easley's upfield push as a pass rusher helped just to make Cutler a little uncomfortable in the pocket. Getting close isn't the same as getting there, but the number of times Easley got close to Cutler suggests that he's getting stronger and quicker as he gets more reps on his newly repaired knee. Continued improvement from Easley will really benefit this Patriots defense going forward, as he has the talent to be much better than he showed during the season's first half.
Casey Walker
At 6'1" and 335 pounds, the massive Walker was brought in to play in Sealver Siliga's role as an early down run stuffer. However, Walker has gotten exposed a bit the past few weeks after a promising start against the Bengals in Week 5.
Walker has brought little to the table as a pass rusher, and was practically invisible in his 28 pass rushing snaps on Sunday. Considering his primary role as a space-eater, the Pats can live with that. However, they can't live with their big guys getting pushed around against the run, as Walker has been at times the past few weeks. Take Matt Forte's 19 yard run at 7:34 in the second quarter, where the Bears back dashes through a huge gap created by left guard Matt Slauson bulldozing Walker (#98) out of his assigned gap.
The signing of the 6'6", 325 pound Alan Branch suggests to me that the Pats aren't satisfied with Walker's play, and his time on the roster might be up soon if he doesn't pick up his game.
Brandon Browner
This brings us to the biggest name on this list, as Browner made his presence felt in his first game in a prominent defensive role. The Bears game was one of the games I circled on the calendar after the signing of Browner, as the matchup of Revis/Browner against Marshall/Jeffrey had the potential to be a clash of the titans.
While Browner saw time against both Marshall and Jeffrey, his most intriguing usage came against athletic tight end Martellus Bennett. At 6'4" and 220 pounds, Browner has unique size for a cornerback, and is the rare example of a corner who can compete physically with the big, athletic monster tight ends that have become major matchup problems for defenses across the league.
How did Browner fare against Bennett? The best way to describe it would be borrowing one of Bill Belichick's catchphrases: he was competitive out there. Browner did a textbook job on his first target covering Bennett, holding his ground against the big tight end's attempt to box him out before reaching in and batting away Cutler's pass. However, it wasn't all good, as both of Browner's penalties came in coverage on Bennett, one negating a Devin McCourty interception and the other failing to prevent Bennett from making a spectacular touchdown grab.
Of course, it's important to keep things in perspective. There simply aren't many guys who can matchup one-on-one on a tight end like Bennett and not get exploited. Guys with the size and speed of Bennett aren't often shut down, but having a guy who can match-up with them and compete in coverage is a major benefit for the defense. Browner is far more capable of covering a big tight end like that than, say, a linebacker like Jamie Collins or a safety like Patrick Chung, options most other teams are forced to go with against those kind of mismatch tight ends.
The emergence of Browner also comes in the nick of time for the Pats, as they may be facing the best tight end not named Gronkowski in the league this week. Denver's Julius Thomas is an athletic marvel, with legitimate tight end size and receiver athleticism. The Broncos essentially use Thomas like a big receiver, with his primary usage coming out of the slot, and it wouldn't be surprising to see the Pats use the physical Browner on Thomas in those situations.
Finally, Browner's physicality and nastiness also adds something to the Pats run defense. He flashed his tacking ability against the Bears, with several solid open field tackles on the elusive Forte in space preventing the Bears from moving the chains. With Revis and Browner finally playing as the cornerback duo Pats fans envisioned all offseason, the Pats have a pair of corners who are not only excellent in coverage, but also in run support. It goes unnoticed by most, but having strong tackling from your defensive backs can be a major help to a defense in defending outside runs. With Browner in tow, running a sweep to his preferred right side just became a bit harder for opposing offenses.
Want to see these new guys at their best? Go back and rewatch Moore's strip sack at end of second quarter, a play on which Ayers, Easley, Moore and a blitzing Dont'a Hightower were all involved in a pass rush that envelopes Cutler. Hightower comes on a delayed blitz and easily beats the much smaller Forte, and while he's unable to pick up the sack, his pressure disrupts the play from the start. Even without Hightower's play, Cutler would have been in trouble, as Moore overwhelms guard Kyle Long with a power rush that leaves the 2013 first round pick on his back. Throw in some solid up field push from the edge rushing Ayers, Rob Ninkovich buzzing around the edge, and Easley getting in Cutler's face late after having his initial rush stiffled, and you have a recipe for disaster for the turnover prone Cutler.
