One Man Army

Peyton Hilis began his NFL career with the Denver Broncos as a fullback weighing in at 240 pounds. He was productive in Denver, but missed the majority of the 2008 season injured and was used on a limited basis in 2009. Somehow the Broncos miscalculated severely by trading away Hillis for quarterback Brady Quinn (on a team that already has Kyle Orton and Tim Tebow). Now the Browns are using him as their primary running back (now emerging as their best player). Last Sunday, ith a spectacularly dominating performance, Petyon Hillis defeated the Patriots single handedly.

Hillis's 184 yards and two touchdowns on 29 rush attempts (6.3 yards per carry) was the best performance by a running back against the Patriots this season. The Pats held Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, Cedric Benson, and the Dolphins dangerous tandem of RB's to under 100 yards rushing. Enter Peyton Hillis and the (at the time) 2-5 Cleveland Browns. This one man army took on the entire Patriots defense by himself and carried his team to an upset victory. It was disheartening to watch a Bill Belichick defense that was simply pounded into submission. The Browns completed 14 passes for 174 yards and zero touchdowns, with their leading receiver posting 58 yards. Cleveland would have never won this game without the clock devouring, defense exhausting, and flat out dominant running of Peyton Hillis.

The Browns held the football for just over 38 minutes (63 % of the game) as Tom Brady watched most of the game from the sideline. Cleveland out gained the Patriots on the ground 230 yards to 68 and when the Patriots did have the ball, no reciever could hold on to the football. Yes, it was not Brady's sharpest performance, but he threw no interceptions and made some good throws at key times. Brady could do nothing as he watched his receivers drop pass after pass, and the offense never really got into a rhythm.

The entire outcome of the game could have been different if the Patriots had scored before half time. Being down 17-7 in the waning moments of the second quarter, the Pats drove the ball to the Cleveland goal line. Then tight end Rob Gronkowski fumbled the football on the three yard line and instead of being down by a field goal, the lead stood at 17-7. New England never found their rhythm on offense and when they did it was fumbled away or dropped. The best way to defeat Tom Brady is to keep him off the field (by dominating time of possession) and that is exactly what Peyton Hillis did; by himself.

Sources Used


www.espn.com
www.si.com
www.http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/basketball/nba/
www.weei.com

Best Team in the NFL

Not many people could have envisioned the Patriots sitting 6-1 atop the NFL at the conclusion of week 8. Not even with my optimistic 12-4 preseason forecast did I see the Patriots defeating Miami, Baltimore, San Diego and Minnesota all in a row. Looking at the schedule heading in to week 1 against the Bengals I thought the toughest part of the schedule was the Ravens, Chargers, Vikings three game stretch. Not only a stretch against three postseason teams from last season, but a stretch of games prefaced by the Dolphins and leading into Browns, Steelers, Colts. Maybe the Patriots will still end up 12-4, but  at 6-1 traveling to Cleveland the sky is the limit.

At mid season the Patriots look like the best team in the NFL and are winning with their old ways. A team of (mostly) lesser known players working together. A team that runs the ball, plays situational football, and a team that morphs their play on the field to adapt to their competition. The reason Bill Belichick led Patriot teams have won so many games is that they adapt like no other team. With so many versatilie players the Patriots have been near impossible to game plan for because there is no one player you can take away. Outside of Tom Brady and Vince Wilfork there is no one player that other teams can eliminate from the game to win. How can you game plan when the opponent has a hall of fame quarterback in Tom Brady that favors throwing to the open receiver? How can you game plan When your opponent has enough team depth to adapt to whichever style of play you are implementing?

Another reason why Randy Moss was let go was due to this very concept, Belichick likes players who can do alot of different things. Moss was so amazing at one  task, running streak patterns deep down field catching touchdowns, that Belichick made an exception for a few years. However, Bill Belichick's has returned to his core philosphy of a team that plays as a team. A roster that is chalk full of versatile players, who can adapt and play situational football. Situational football is a term that Belichick has always used with his Patriots, and refers to moments in a game that are unforseen (in pre-game preparations). A situation in a game that is an important one and in which players must base their actions solely upon defusing the situation. Just like in yesterday's game when the Patriots stopped the Vikings on 4th & Goal at the New England one yard line. The players knew the Vikings were going to run the ball and they knew the importance of the situation.

The Patriots are the best team in the NFL right now because they are playing as a true team and are implemeneting Bellichick's situational football. Brady is again targeting the open reciever on offense and Belichick has the defense playing bend don't break, and adapt as you go football. These are the old Patriot ways that won them three Super Bowls. Dale Arnold said it best today on WEEI 850 AM in reference to the how the Patriots have been playing; "they kill you with 1,000 paper cuts". Arnold was referring to the fact that you cannot game plan for the Patriots because they have no player that overwhelms you on his own. All you can really do is try and apply as much pressure on Tom Brady as possible, because outside of the quarterback position its nearly impossible to know who to hone in on.  They are  running the ball with virtually unknown BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead, passing to Brandon Tate, Aaron Hernandez, Wes Welker, Deion Branch, Rob Gronkowski, and the running backs. 

You cannot game plan for the Patriots and they are no different than the "leaky wall" that the Celtics are this year. You can plug up one hole in a leaking wall, but when you do that water pours out of another area. The Patriots are playing as a true team once again and it has led them to first place in the NFL. Look for them to sharpen their skills in a convincing win over the Browns as they prepare for the AFC's elite, the Steelers and Colts.

Sources Used

www.espn.com
www.si.com
www.weei.com

Photos taken by: Michael Gens

bottom photo taken by: Mary Gens