Super Bowl LIII is officially less than a week away, the New England Patriots are in Atlanta, and Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are diligently working to get their sixth championship. Scheme can only get you so far, as games are typically won and lost in the trenches. After a rough start to the season, the New England Patriots defensive line and linebackers have played some of their best football in the past few weeks. Will it be enough to win against the Los Angeles Rams‘ star-studded offensive line?
Super Bowl LIII Preview: Patriots Offensive Line vs Rams Defensive Line
Super Bowl LIII Preview: Quarterback Report
New England Patriots Defensive Line, Linebackers vs. Los Angeles Rams Offensive Line – Super Bowl LIII Matchups
The New England Patriots will have their hands full in this matchup. The Los Angeles Rams offensive line is one of the best in football, if not the very best. Andrew Whitworth, Rodger Saffold, Austin Blythe, and Rob Havenstein all rank in the top 10 at their respective positions, per Pro Football Focus. The lone “weak” spot is center John Sullivan, but he’s hardly a liability.
This line can do just about everything well. Football Outsiders ranks this offensive line as the best run-blocking and sixth-best pass-blocking unit in the league. New England is going to need a big day from their usual superstars Trey Flowers and Kyle Van Noy. Flowers is one of the best edge defenders in all of football, and no single player has proven capable of taking him out of the game. Flowers has remained his dominant self throughout the playoffs, recording two sacks and four quarterback hits during two postseason contests.
Van Noy, normally a good defender, is playing like a man possessed this postseason. According to Pro Football Focus, Van Noy has the highest pass-rush win percentage, pressure percentage, and pass rush productivity of any defender with at least 25 pass-rushing snaps. He’s a solid tackler in the run game and can hold his own in the passing game.
New England’s Secret Weapon
The Patriots defensive line has improved dramatically in January, and that’s largely due to the increased usage of John Simon. Simon joined the team back in Week Four against the Miami Dolphins, but never saw that big of a role. The defensive end played in just 17.74% of defensive snaps and never more than 42% of snaps in a single game. However, Simon has played in 57.8% of defensive snaps this postseason. The results speak for themselves, as New England only allowed 3.0 yards-per-carry on edge runs in the postseason. By comparison, New England allowed an average of 5.01 yards-per-carry on edge runs throughout the regular season.
Former Patriots great Rob Ninkovich retired prior to the 2017 season, and New England never managed to find an adequate replacement. Whether it was Cassius Marsh, Eric Lee, Kony Ealy, or Adrian Clayborn, nobody was capable of adequately starting alongside Trey Flowers. Simon appears capable of filling the Ninkovich role and has a very similar build to the former Patriot. The Rams love running to the outside when Todd Gurley is healthy, so Simon’s play will be critical to the overall success of the unit.
Breaking Down the Rams Tendencies
The Rams rushing attack varies dramatically depending on which running back they have in the game. When Todd Gurley is on the field, the Rams love to widen the field and run off the edge. According to Sharp Football Stats, 68.3% of Gurley’s rushing attempts have gone to the edge. Gurley’s at his best running to the left, as the fourth-year running back averages 6.3 yards-per-carry when running behind his left tackle. As previously mentioned, New England’s defense has played lights-out defense against edge runs this postseason. However, they’ve never seen a rushing threat this good, assuming Gurley is healthy.
C.J. Anderson, meanwhile, is a completely different story. The longtime Denver Broncos running back came out of nowhere to power the Rams rushing attack with Todd Gurley injured. Anderson is clearly not as shifty and quick as Gurley, but he has the massive frame to run guys over. Because of this, Anderson has seen a staggering 45.1% of his runs go directly behind center. This strategy works, as Anderson is averaging 6.9 yards-per-carry on runs up the gut.
When compiling all the data together, it’s clear to see that the offensive left side of New England’s defense is going to be the most crucial part of stopping the running game. Just over 68% of the Rams rushing attempts have gone either behind center or to the left side of the offensive line. Because of this, New England should have Trey Flowers spend most of the night opposite left tackle Andrew Whitworth. Simon is a helpful starter, but Flowers is still the better player against the run. Bill Belichick loves to take away what an opposing offense does best, and for the Rams, that’s running to the left. In that same vein, Kyle Van Noy, Dont’a Hightower and Elandon Roberts should cheat to the left on all carriers, especially when Gurley is in the game.
Last Word on the New England Patriots Defensive Line, Linebackers in Super Bowl LIII
The New England Patriots defensive line faces its’ biggest challenge of the season in the Super Bowl. The Los Angeles Rams offensive line could very well be the best collective unit in football. Featuring four superstars and a solid starter at center, the Rams offensive line has the ability to push around any defensive line which comes in its’ way. Fortunately, New England’s defensive line has improved dramatically in January and should make difficult on the Rams offensive line.
Trey Flowers and Kyle Van Noy are the stars of the show, and they’ll need to bring their A-game. Los Angeles loves to run the ball to the left when Gurley’s in the game, so Flowers will need to win his one-on-one matchups with left tackle Andrew Whitworth. Likewise, Van Noy will need to continue his excellent work as a blitzer against the best competition he’s faced all year. It will be up to Brian Flores to come up with elaborate blitz packages to try to give Van Noy and company easy shots to quarterback Jared Goff.
John Simon has emerged over the last two games and should earn the start on the right side of the line. While he’s not quite as good as Rob Ninkovich, he has a similar skill set and can adequately play opposite Trey Flowers. Todd Gurley is significantly better when running towards the edge, so Flowers and Simon can dramatically impact the game by not letting Gurley get outside.
Whenever C.J. Anderson is on the field, it will be up to the trio of Malcom Brown, Adam Butler, and Danny Shelton to stuff the interior. Anderson’s had great success running up the middle, but John Sullivan is the weak point of the Rams offensive line. These three, combined with Dont’a Hightower and Elandon Roberts, should crash the middle whenever Anderson’s in the game and hit him before he can get a full head of steam.
Super Bowl LIII Preview: Patriots Offensive Line vs Rams Defensive Line
Super Bowl LIII Preview: Quarterback Report
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
