Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is known for playing things close to the vest when it comes to his football team, and in some ways, Thursday night’s preseason opener was no different.
After weeks of drilling Shanahan-style concepts during practice, New England’s offense in Thursday night’s loss to the Giants had a sprinkling of those new wrinkles. However, either by choice to keep the newer elements of their system under wraps or due to game situations, the Patriots weren’t as Shanahan-heavy as anticipated.
Based on Pro Football Focus’s charting, the Pats ran ten zone-blocking concepts to eight gap schemes, featuring outside zone (six runs), inside zone (four), duo (five), and power plays (three). With hard play-action a staple of the Shanahan tree, New England didn’t run a single traditional play-action pass but did incorporate one run-pass option.
New York’s blitz-happy game plan coinciding with the Patriots having only one active tight end were likely factors in those play-calling decisions to be more traditional in their approach.
Although we may have to wait to see all the Shanahan elements in New England’s arsenal this season, the lack of under-center play-action and outside zone sequencing gave us plenty of tape to dissect the Patriots drop-back passing game.
To first-year quarterback Bailey Zappe’s credit, he handled Giants defensive coordinator Don Martindale’s aggressive play-calling nicely, working with a new offensive line and mostly fellow rookies at running back.
The Patriots fourth-round selection faced 17 blitzes on his 33 drop-backs, completing 75 percent of his passes (12-16) for 135 yards (8.4 average) with a touchdown and an interception. Zappe’s poise was impressive, particularly staring down pressure or moving off his spot to extend plays.
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