Another JeMarcus Russell pass harmlessly fluttered to the ground in Oakland as the Patriots defense, at times duct taped together, demolished the Raiders in a 49-26 rout.
New England has been especially ravaged at the linebacker position with fresh-off-the-couch Roosevelt Colvin and soon-to-be-40 Junior Seau gracing the depth charts.
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Week 16 action
Colts 31, Jaguars 24 -- Recap | Box
Ravens 33, Cowboys 24 -- Recap | Box
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Steelers-Titans -- Preview | Notes
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Analysis
- Hench: Sundays of our Lives
- FOX Roundtable: Titans fading
- Marvez: Manning outrageous vs. Jags
Video
- Online OT: Complete NFL coverage
- Marvez: Plaxico done in New York?
Photos
- Colts take down Jags
- Ranking the games
This week Warner, now leading the Cardinals' explosive attack, will play against Belichick for the first time since that famous Super Bowl.
This bucket full of irony piqued my curiosity. Did the Pats really know what was coming that day? In this week's Film Study, we'll laser on the red zone plays from Super Bowl XXXVI.
Film study
Amazingly, the Rams were only in the red zone once the whole game, the first play coming from the 9-yard line in the 4th quarter.
As the offense huddled up, a few challenges were staring them in the face: a) they were down 17-3, b) Marshall Faulk, the most dominant player on the field, had barely been a factor, and c) time was becoming an issue with just 11 minutes left. Here is the sequence of plays as I saw them.
1st and goal. Playing out of a standard two-back set, Warner looks for Isaac Bruce on a short slant. Bruce is blanketed. Ernie Conwell slips behind him up the right hash mark but is picked up by linebacker Mike Vrabel. Trailing behind Conwell from the backfield is Jeff Robinson. Because Vrabel and Conwell are tied up, safety Lawyer Milloy is screened from seeing where Robinson is headed.
The Patriots seemingly are in the correct defense, but Vrabel — tangled with Conwell — allows Robinson to run free underneath. Warner hits the reserve tight end for six yards.
2nd and goal from the 3. This time the Rams employ three receivers: Torry Holt, Az Hakim, and Bruce. Faulk and Conwell are in the backfield. Warner's first read is to Bruce lined up right, running a slant for the third straight play. Forget it. Two defenders are glued so tightly to Bruce they pummel him. The Pats' Terrell Buckley and Milloy bracket Warner's second option, Hakim running a skinny post in the end zone.
Warner forces it...
Milloy drops a sure pick. You couldn't have even squeezed the word "open" in 8-point font between the receivers and DB's. Wanting to get the ball to his star receiver, Warner screams to the officials that Bruce was interfered with.
3rd and goal. The sense of urgency is growing. The noise level in the Louisiana Superdome picks up considerably, especially for a crowd full of celebrities, account managers for IBM, and other fat-cat executives with keg bellies and comb-overs. Warner barks signals with Faulk directly behind him this time. Surely Faulk will be involved this play, right? Wrong.
After running slants three plays in a row, Bruce head fakes to that effect, but corner Ty Law ain't buyin'. With safety help inside, Law sits on Bruce's fade route as if he just found the last stool at the Double Deuce. He too drops a potential interception.
4th and goal. The film's raw feed shows a close-up of the Rams' huddle during the commercial break. Warner is talking, breathing heavily between words. Conwell is drenched, his hair matted to the scalp. Bruce peers at the scoreboard as if to make sure it's really fourth down. Faulk looks like he's dividing 692 into 33,486 in his head. They've got to get him the ball. Must-read:
- Marvez: Cowboys boggle the mind
Author's Website:http://www.foxsports.com
Added: December 20, 2008
