Gronk Smash, Amendola Bad: Denver Passing Recaps

[mascho]

Some stuff to chew on over your morning coffee.
 
 
 

In the Patriots’ big win over the Denver Broncos, New England quarterback Tom Brady turned in a stellar performance, completing 33 of 53 passes for 355 yards and 4 touchdowns and an interception. Slot receiver Danny Amendola is the subject of this week’s film review. In Part 1 we look at his involvement in the team’s lone offensive turnover of the day, while Part 2 examines his two receptions that produced clutch third-down conversions for the offense.

 
Here.
 
 
 

Rob Gronkowski put on a spectacular performance in New England’s victory over the Denver Broncos, hauling in nine passes for 105 yards and a touchdown. In our four-part passing preview we highlighted how Denver in the past used a jam on Gronkowski to deny him a free release off the line of scrimmage. Their reluctance to employ that concept on Sunday, coupled with creative design and his tremendous athletic ability, led to Gronk’s Big Night ‒ which we’ll celebrate with a two-part recap.

 
Gronk-fest Part 1 here.
 
EDIT: Part 2 of Amendola and Part 2 of Gronkowski, after midnight. - sf121

 

[simplyeric]

Love reading these.  
 
Question:
 

 
 
Amendola makes a split-second decision to reach for the football and he cannot secure the reception. Unaware of the coverage behind him, Amendola cannot simply let the ball fly by him, as it might come to rest in the waiting arms of another defender. He attempts the difficult catch and the play results in a tipped turnover.

 
It looks to me that the defender just to the right of your red-circled Amendola (I think it's #43) would very much be in a position to intercept that ball.  He's undercutting Gronk and seems to have his eye and route to the pass, which is high to Amendola but probably not (very) high by the time it got to the defender.
If Amendola doesn't make contact with the ball, at the very least it's a very good opportunity for a clean interception, with Gronk trying to get in and break up the interception from behind.
Am I seeing that incorrectly?
 
 

 

[Silverdude2167]

Links for the part two articles are dead.

 

[mascho]

Thanks for reading
 
No, you are seeing that right. Ward is breaking on that ball and might be in position to pick it off if Amendola lets it fly. That leads to the danger with this play, because Amendola doesn't know what's behind him and if he does let it go, maybe Ward does pick it off. Looking at that still I think Ward doesn't get there in time and Gronk makes the catch and has another big play. But I'm not tasked with a split-second decision. I'm just a guy posting from the mall using free WiFi and waiting for my iPhone screen to be fixed. I'm also staring at a TV in the Stuart Weitzman store showing Gisele on a continual loop. Man Brady is a lucky guy...
 
...where was I...
 
 

Links for the part two articles are dead.

 
Thanks for pointing that out. Those pieces should be up shortly.

 

[Dogman]

I think it should be mentioned that on Brady's lone TO, the ball was definitely tipped at the line.

 

[simplyeric]

I think it should be mentioned that on Brady's lone TO, the ball was definitely tipped at the line.

 
If that's the case then it would seem like Brady was actually targeting Amendola (because the ball would likely have been lower if it was not tipped) and that he would have caught it.
 
A pass to Gronk on that play would have been better even higher, to the downfield side of Gronk?

 

[mascho]

I think it should be mentioned that on Brady's lone TO, the ball was definitely tipped at the line.

 
Here's another angle of the INT:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZLz2dIhXmI
 
Wolfe maybe gets a fingernail on it. Maybe. And from that view it seems clearer he was throwing to Gronk.

 

[DaughtersofDougMirabelli]

Wolfe maybe gets a fingernail on it. Maybe. And from that view it seems clearer he was throwing to Gronk.

 
I'm pretty sure he's going to Gronk, as he's looking his way the entire time. But that tip probably led to the interception as the ball trajectory would have been slightly lower and Amendola probably could have snagged it (the nose of the ball is actually coming down before Wolfe tips it). 
 
It seems like:
a. It was a bad throw/decision (Ward could have made a play on the ball), or a bad route by Amendola that may have screwed up the timing of the play. Not often Brady throws to a spot with two guys. 
b. If it was a bad decision, got lucky Amendola was in a spot to make the catch and prevent an interception.
c. Was unlucky that it actually was tipped at the line, leading to ball off Amendola's fingertips, INT. 
 
Strange play all around. 

 

[DaughtersofDougMirabelli]

Here you can see the nose of the football significantly below the horizontal center of the football, showing the ball is coming down (right before the tip):
 

 
And right after:
 

 
Also the shape of the ball from this camera angle changes pretty drastically. 

 

[soxfan121]

EDIT: Part 2 of Amendola and Part 2 of Gronkowski, after midnight. - sf121

Links for the part two articles are dead.

 
Thanks for reading.

 

[mascho]

GIF-tastic:
 
http://zippy.gfycat.com/HelplessCapitalGemsbuck.webm
 
It isn't a perfect spiral out of Brady's hand, so the shape of the ball changes with each rotation before it gets to Wolfe. 
 
I don't think Wolfe changes the trajectory of the throw. 

 

[mabrowndog]

CLASSIFIED FOOTAGE RELEASED UNDER COURT ORDER:
 

 

[soxfan121]

 
 (the nose of the ball is actually coming down before Wolfe tips it). 
 

 
Eh, maybe. Or maybe it is is past Wolfe's hands and it wasn't tipped. I certainly doesn't wobble like it would if there was significant contact between Wolfe's hand and the ball. 
 
The angle you've provided shows there might have been insignificant contact. Or not. 

 

[Silverdude2167]

 
Thanks for reading.

I thought it meant it was posted after midnight, I guess that does not make much sense, sorry.

 

[Ed Hillel]

I was mad at Amendola during the game, but it turns out his deflection probably saved a TD from that DB Ward (works on so many levels!). So, good job Danny! Brady should have just taken the sack there.

 

[DaughtersofDougMirabelli]

CLASSIFIED FOOTAGE RELEASED UNDER COURT ORDER:
 

 
Really dude?! 
 
You couldn't be more wrong.
 

 

[mascho]

Holy crap DoDM, you're right. 

 

[Super Nomario]

Mark, re: Gronk's free releases - is this Miller screwing up or a coaching point? It seems insane to give Gronk a free release - but on the other hand, he's their best pass rusher, and having to chip Gronk is going to slow him getting into the backfield. Do you think the coaching staff is telling him, "Just get to Brady and let the other guys worry about Gronk?" Or do you think he's supposed to chip Gronk and is executing poorly?
 
Worth noting: on both the Gronk plays, Vollmer ignores Miller to block the interior guy (in a run action) and Connolly pulls from the other side of the formation to block Miller. This is the sort of thing we notice when it fails, but it worked pretty well here.

 

[Mr Mulliner]

 
Eh, maybe. Or maybe it is is past Wolfe's hands and it wasn't tipped. I certainly doesn't wobble like it would if there was significant contact between Wolfe's hand and the ball. 
 
The angle you've provided shows there might have been insignificant contact. Or not. 

The game broadcast clearly showed the ball was tipped by the Denver lineman. Not a whole lot, but there's no question it was tipped. Up and to the right...

 

[soxfan121]

The game broadcast clearly showed the ball was tipped by the Denver lineman. Not a whole lot, but there's no question it was tipped. Up and to the right...

 
It's not "clear" with "no question". The footage in this thread and the article don't support this claim.  
 
If you have another angle, I'd love to see it.

 

[mascho]

Mark, re: Gronk's free releases - is this Miller screwing up or a coaching point? It seems insane to give Gronk a free release - but on the other hand, he's their best pass rusher, and having to chip Gronk is going to slow him getting into the backfield. Do you think the coaching staff is telling him, "Just get to Brady and let the other guys worry about Gronk?" Or do you think he's supposed to chip Gronk and is executing poorly?
 
Worth noting: on both the Gronk plays, Vollmer ignores Miller to block the interior guy (in a run action) and Connolly pulls from the other side of the formation to block Miller. This is the sort of thing we notice when it fails, but it worked pretty well here.

 
I think he's supposed to chip him on these plays, but doesn't execute it. On the first one as Gronk gets past him you can see Miller throw his left arm at him, like he realizes he was supposed to get some contact on him but gives it a half-hearted effort. On the second play you can see his shoulders square to Gronk for a second, but then he turns away to the run action coming towards him.
 
I've been thinking about this a ton and I think, and this goes to your second point, the Patriots just execute play-action fakes very well. We crush them when a pulling lineman can't execute a block on play-action, but we see here the benefit of sticking with that blocking scheme. The pulling lineman just adds a bit more credibility to the run fake. And if it results in Gronk getting a free release, then it's worth it. 

 

[Dogman]

 
Here's another angle of the INT:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZLz2dIhXmI
 
Wolfe maybe gets a fingernail on it. Maybe. And from that view it seems clearer he was throwing to Gronk.

 
There is no maybe here.  He definitely tipped the pass and altered the trajectory.  
 
I have no idea what you guys are watching. 

 

[Super Nomario]

 
I think he's supposed to chip him on these plays, but doesn't execute it. On the first one as Gronk gets past him you can see Miller throw his left arm at him, like he realizes he was supposed to get some contact on him but gives it a half-hearted effort. On the second play you can see his shoulders square to Gronk for a second, but then he turns away to the run action coming towards him.
 
I've been thinking about this a ton and I think, and this goes to your second point, the Patriots just execute play-action fakes very well. We crush them when a pulling lineman can't execute a block on play-action, but we see here the benefit of sticking with that blocking scheme. The pulling lineman just adds a bit more credibility to the run fake. And if it results in Gronk getting a free release, then it's worth it. 

I tend to think about Gronk's ability to play inline versus a Jimmy Graham as helping the Pats in the running game, but I think what you're talking about here highlights how it can help in the passing game, too. If Gronk's in the slot with a DB on him, the DB probably isn't leaving him to play the run, but a linebacker's got responsibilities in the running game that can distract him in a situation like this. I don't think there's a human linebacker who can cover Gronk even without distraction, so this sort of thing is just unfair.

 

[RedOctober3829]

There isn't a human period who can cover Gronk. Maybe a three eyed Cyclopes or Zdeno Chara.

 

[Tony C]

 
It's not "clear" with "no question". The footage in this thread and the article don't support this claim.  
 
If you have another angle, I'd love to see it.

 
What? I think you're the only one who sees this as not clear. Can argue degree/direction/target, but it was definitely tipped.