1st Quarter
...In the first few games of 2014, New England has frequently been using a front-7 alignment that looks like a 4-3, but is in fact more like a 2-5. There are two linemen with their hands on the ground, while Rob Ninkovich and Chandler Jones are standing up on the ends, like outside linebackers. Three actual linebackers – usually Jerod Mayo, Dont'a Hightower, and Jamie Collins – are stationed in the middle. It seems to be a creative way for the defense to adjust its formation to suit the offensive situation, while maintaining the base personnel. Ninkovich and Jones, at times, line up with their hands on the ground, sometimes separately, other times together, giving New England a 3-4 look, or removing a linebacker or two when they go with a sub package (nickel or dime). This was the case once again at the start of the Oakland game. The Patriots showed the "2-5" base to the Raiders on the opening drive, but morphed into and out of it on nearly every play.
...The Raiders actually were moving the ball on the opening sequence and might've kept the drive going had WR Denarius Moore not slipped on a 3rd-down route. What initially looked like a nice defensive play by CB Kyle Arrington to knock the pass incomplete was more a product of Moore losing his footing as he tried to break off his route. Nevertheless, it forced an Oakland punt.
...Brady was lucky not to have had his first pass attempt of the day picked off by LB LaMarr Woodley. Brady was looking for WR Brandon LaFell on the right side. Woodley, who first showed blitz, then dropped into coverage and was just inches away from taking Brady's pass into his hands and into the end zone.
...Oakland's o-line did a good job against New England's front for most of the first quarter, both in run blocking and pass protection. The Patriots had their moments – Ninkovich nearly had a sack, Jones knocked down a pass – but advantage went to the Raiders up front.
...Right tackle Sebastian Vollmer deserved the holding penalty he incurred on 3rd-and-23 late in the first quarter. Woodley bull-rushed him to get to Brady, and had beaten Vollmer to his outside shoulder. Vollmer had no choice but to grab onto Woodley and wrestle him to the ground. Even so, Woodley nearly brought Brady down as well. Proper call, which Oakland declined because Brady's pass to Shane Vereen gained only a yard.
2nd Quarter
...Hightower made some nice plays on the next Raider drive, with two combined run stops with Mayo, and an individual tackle-for-loss on a pass play.
...On 1st-and-10 from the NE 28, Brady missed a wide open Rob Gronkowski on a crossing pattern following a play-action fake. Gronk had a lot of greenery in front of him and not a Raider near him on the perfectly-run route, but Brady's pass was a little overzealous and out of reach for the big tight end. Should've been a big gain for the Patriots.
...New England's struggling o-line did a fairly effective job run-blocking on the touchdown scoring drive in the second quarter. Fissures were evident, though, in pass protection, as a number of Raiders got close to Brady when he dropped back to pass.
...On the TD, it was a different formation entirely, and Gronkowski was standing up at the line of scrimmage, not with a hand on the ground, but it was an identical route to the one he ran earlier that Brady missed. This time, New England had the ball on the Oakland 6-yard line, but the Raiders weren't fooled. Two defenders followed Gronk, but he had better position against them on the crossing route and it was an easy throw for Brady. The Raiders were playing man defense, and Gronk was matched up against a linebacker, with a safety trailing futilely. Textbook mismatch in favor of Gronkowski.
...Jones made a nice move to bring down RB Darren McFadden for no gain on 1st-and-10 on the ensuing drive. Before the snap, Jones was lined up wide of the tight end who was next to the left tackle, and Hightower was gesturing to Jones to move closer inside. Jones did just before the snap, and, from a three-point stance, tossed aside the tight end and dove into the backfield to wrap McFadden by the legs.
...The Patriots could've put 7 more points on the board as the half expired, but a lousy shotgun snap by Dan Connolly to Brady cost New England dearly. The ball barely got off the ground, forcing Brady to lean over to pick it up, but he had trouble doing so. Eventually, he was able to control it and throw it out of bounds to stop the clock with three second remaining. Kicker Stephen Gostkowski came in and booted a field goal as time expired, but New England should've been able to punch it into the end zone against a weak Oakland rush defense. The o-line, on two prior running plays, failed to get leverage and were pushed back. Left guard Marcus Cannon, on the first attempt, was blown into the backfield by his man, then Vollmer's guy knifed past him to bring RB Shane Vereen down on a shotgun handoff.
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3rd Quarter**
...Right guard Jordan Devey's false start penalty at the start of the third quarter could have been a product of Tom Brady's hard cadence, which also fooled the Raiders d-line into jumping early, or the subsequent movement by Oakland. In either event, Devey certainly rocked back on his heels before the snap. I'm inclined to think it was more to do with Brady's cadence, based on the timing of Devey's movement.
[
](http://www.pjtra.com/t/R0BKSkdIREBKSElGRUBISEtERw)...Bad sequence for Devey, for on the very next play, he surrendered a sack of Brady by DE Justin Tuck. From a three-point stance, Tuck stood and made a nice, subtle feint to Devey's inside before darting to the outside shoulder. Tuck ripped underneath Devey's arms and forced his way into the backfield. Excellent move by the veteran pass rusher. Devey had no help and was overmatched on that play.
...Gronk also was flagged for a false start in this quarter. His was a blatant mistake on his part. None of the Raiders moved as Gronkowski just took off on what looked like Brady's first sound. QBs often call for a snap on the first sound they make, but there's usually a call in the huddle or a hand signal to indicate this. Gronk must have misunderstood the snap count or just had a mental lapse.
[
](http://www.pjtra.com/t/R0BKSkdIREBKSElGRUBISEtERw)...Brady and WR Julian Edelman have become adept at executing a new quick hand-off play, in which Edelman motions into the backfield and takes the ball as Brady wheels around from under center. The Patriots have run this play at least once in each of the first three games, and it has gained positive yardage each time. It's amazing they haven't bobbled an exchange yet, though, as the speed is such that the timing must be absolutely precise for the play to work.
...WR Danny Amendola went catch-less again this week, but he showed up in the third quarter with a nice block downfield to help spring RB Stevan Ridley on a swing pass from Brady. Ridley gained 7 yards on the play, thanks in large part to Amendola's key lead block on CB Carlos Rogers.
...Very next play was 3rd-and-4 from midfield. Brady in the shotgun had a balanced formation with Vereen in the backfield beside him to his left. LB Khalil Mack simply put a speed rush on Nate Solder that the left tackle just couldn't handle. Vereen had veered out of the backfield as a "hot" receiver, leaving no one else to pass protect. As Brady wound up to throw, he never saw Mack coming and was drilled in the back just as he was releasing the football. The pass never had a chance to reach its intended target, Edelman.
...CB Logan Ryan was beaten a number of times Sunday against Oakland, although he was almost always in close proximity to his receiver. Just wasn't tight enough, as exemplified by a 29-yard completion he surrendered to one-time Patriots practice squad member Andre Holmes. Ryan found himself a half-step behind the receiver and that made all the difference as Holmes extended fully to pull the ball out of the air. Ryan was left flailing in vain to try to knock it down. Again, solid effort by Ryan, just not enough to make the play. Happened several times against the Raiders.
4th Quarter
...No matter how many times I watch it, I still can't understand how Gronk dropped his fourth-quarter pass in the end zone from Brady. Yes, Raiders safety Charles Woodson got a hand on the ball, but it deflected directly into both of Gronk's hands. He actually had two hands on the football and it still squirted loose. It's one of the easiest catches he'll ever have. I'm at a loss to explain how he couldn't hold onto it.
...The Patriots should've had another TD on the next play, but Brady's pass to Amendola sailed just a few inches to far ahead of the diving receiver as he cross the goal line at the far right pylon. A better ball by Brady and that's a touchdown.
[
](http://www.pjtra.com/t/R0BKSkdIREBKSElGRUBISEtERw)...Vince Wilfork made a nice play, shooting a gap into the backfield to drop RB Latavius Murray for no gain on 2nd-and-1 at the OAK 29. That was a critical play, as on the next one, Ninkovich made another nice no-gain stop on Murray to force a punt. Raiders FB Jamize Olawale did a poor job of trying to block Ninkovich, who was coming off the left defensive edge from a stand-up position. Olawale just whiffed on the attempted block of Ninko, who brought the runner down at the line of scrimmage.
...LaFell's offensive pass interference penalty – his second this season so far – was just. LaFell made contact almost immediately with Rogers before Brady threw the ball to Amendola, then LaFell buried his shoulder into oncoming corner T.J. Carrie before Amendola made the catch. So, not one, but two PIs on one play. His coaches need to work hard with him on how to block those plays correctly.
...Brady appeared to get shaken up a bit when Tuck drilled him again as he unloaded a pass late in the fourth in the Oakland red zone. Tuck tossed aside Solder with a great swim move and nailed Brady in the midsection, driving him into the ground just after Brady'd released the football. The QB got up but looked like he was gasping for air at the very least on the next couple of plays.
...Brady was sacked on the next series when Cannon got beaten. D-lineman C.J. Wilson just overpowered Cannon, driving him back on his heels and ripping underneath him to get leverage. Cannon is a big body, but he gets pushed around far too often by other guys his size or even smaller.
...Ryan's PI against Holmes looked equal parts offensive. At the very least, there should have been offsetting penalties against both players, or else no call at all, but with contact clearly having been made, throwing a flag may have been the right move. I just question whether the receiver made more contact than the defender. It sure looked that way.
...It sure looked like nearly everyone on New England's defense was standing up on Darren McFadden's nullified touchdown run that would have brought the Raiders to within one point (pending an extra point attempt) with about a minute to go in the game. It looked like they weren't pressuring the Raiders much, perhaps in hopes of getting the ball back to the offense with enough time to try to drive for a final score. But if that was the case, the Raiders scuttled those plans – and their own score – with a holding penalty. Rookie left guard Gabe Jackson engaged severely undersized safety Patrick Chung on McFadden's goal-to-go rush. Initially, the block was legal, but as Chung spun around to try to get out of the block, Jackson hugged him as McFadden ran by. Easy call for the officials to make.
...On the game-clinching play – Wilfork's INT – it looked like intended target Moore took his eyes off the ball as he came across the middle and settled in a hole in the Patriots zone. As the ball arrived, Moore looked quickly to his right before securing the ball in his hands. It went right through, ricocheted off Ryan, and fell into Wilfork's hands. Good awareness by Wilfork to see the play develop and concentrate on holding onto the football.
DO YOUR JOB: Dont'a Hightower - The linebacker's seven total tackles (three solo) included a tackle-for-loss. He also registered a quarterback hit on the stat sheet. Through three games, Hightower may be the most consistent defender the Patriots have had. His awareness and instinctiveness have shown themselves in the plays he's made and in helping teammates get into the right position to make plays of their own.
