NFL Matchup’s Executive Producer shares notes from his review of the Super Bowl XLVI game tape. Here are Greg’s observations of the Giants defense vs. the Patriots offense.
- “Big nickel” with 3 safeties again personnel foundation of Giants defense
- Vollmer started at RT with Solder the 6th OL on the game’s 1st play
- Boley and Blackburn were the LB in the base “big nickel”
- Williams replaced Blackburn when the Giants went to their pass “big nickel”
- Giants great DL flexibility out of pass “big nickel”: Pierre-Paul, Tuck and Kiwanuka aligned at both DE and DT
- Pierre-Paul also aligned at DT in the base “big nickel”, Giants felt they had favorable matchups versus the Patriots OG
- Solder was primarily the RT in the 5 man OL although Vollmer played some snaps as well
- Giants played snaps of dime with Webster and Amukamara on the outside, and Ross and Rolle inside; Boley was the only LB in the dime sub-package
- Giants a lot of rotation from 2 deep shell to single high at the snap, Pre snap to post snap safety movement a defining feature of Giants defensive concept
Danny Woodhead scores a touchdown as Michael Boley and Kenny Phillips fail to stop him (AP)
- Kiwanuka did not play LB, He only played on the DL based on down and distance
- Patriots a short to intermediate passing team, Almost no vertical element to their offense
- Brady very few throws outside the numbers, He’s primarily a between the numbers passer
- On Woodhead 4 yd TD catch the Giants doubled Hernandez and Welker, and singled Branch, Gronkowski and Woodhead – Woodhead great route versus Boley, who then was impacted by inside rub element; Brady had too much time
- Patriots must be consistently efficient with the pass game, Very few explosive plays unless it’s a function of run after catch
- 1st play of 2nd half was designed to get the ball to Gronkowski down the seam but Pierre-Paul jammed him at the line; Brady great pocket patience hit Ochocinco on deep comeback, a rare outside the numbers throw – Patriots 6 OL personnel with Solder utilized as motion TE
- Vollmer played more snaps at RT in the 5 man OL in the 2nd half
- Hernandez 12 yd TD came out of empty, Hernandez inside slot was matched on Blackburn; Blackburn tried to wall Hernandez but was badly out-athleted – Easy throw for Brady
- Patriots again tried to get a seam throw to Gronkowski on 2nd possession of 2nd half, Again Pierre-Paul jammed Gronkowski and disrupted the route – Brady late in the down incompletion
- What stood out was how shallow the Giants safeties played in coverage, They were not concerned with getting beat over the top – A great example was Tuck sack on 3rd + 8 in the 3rd quarter
- Brady at times played a little fast, Not as comfortable playing late in the down as he is early in the down
- Giants defense, especially the underneath coverage defenders, were very patient; They did not attack run action, They forced Brady to play late in the down on a number of snaps
- Giants utilized bracket concepts between the numbers, in-and-out man concepts, matchup zone principles, straight man-to-man; They were patient and disciplined
- Patriots little attempt to run, No balance in their offense
- Giants game plan was to wall off the inside with their underneath defenders; Take away the shallow crossing routes, dictate specific throws and then tackle for short gains
Chase Blackburn intercepts a pass intended for Rob Gronkowski (AP)
- Blackburn interception result of 2 things: Great man coverage by Rolle on Welker in the slot (Brady’s initial read) and quick inside pressure by DT Joseph versus Mankins; Brady forced to move and not enough arm when he re-set to get the ball out in front of Gronkowski
- Brady was not a comfortable QB in the 4th quarter, At times perceived pressure; Giants continued to do an excellent job early in the down
- Woodhead 19 yds in the 4th quarter was the result of a Giants coverage mistake off a zone blitz concept, Pierre-Paul did not read Woodhead’s flat route
- Brady / Welker incompletion in the 4th quarter: Because it’s Welker we expect it to be caught but it was not an accurate throw, Both Brady and Welker underperformed on the play
- 3rd down play immediately following Welker play was a poor throw by Brady, Time in the pocket and Brady threw it behind wide open Branch on dig route late in the down
- What surprised me was the Patriots rarely attacked Blackburn in the pass game, He’s the weak link in coverage for the Giants
- LB Williams played deep middle safety on the Patriots final possession
- Patriots a very condensed and restricted passing game, Very little intermediate and downfield passing – They were easy to defend
- Tuck sack on final possession resulted from inside stunt with Tuck and Kiwanuka in “nascar” DL
- LG Mankins had a bad game, Looked slow and plodding versus Giants DL
