Each week we'll talk to former Patriots star and current broadcaster Gino Cappelletti. This week, Gino discusses the new look the Patriots showed the Ravens on defense and the NFL's new stance on helmet-to-helmet hits.
PFW: What did you think when you saw Bill Belichick's defensive formation on third down at the end of the Ravens' game with just one defensive lineman and two rushing linebackers?
Cappelletti: Well, this is what makes Bill, Bill. He's always looking at ways to bring surprises. Now, you mix up the formation like that, it looked like (QB Joe) Flacco really was affected by it. He went back and didn't know which way to turn with pressure coming from here when he expected it to come from there. All those things were beneficial to the Patriots' defense. He had to eat the ball a few times or throw the ball on the run. Defenses try to cause turmoil in the flow of the offensive play and the Patriots were able to do that with rushers coming from different places.
PFW: How will the Patriots slow down the Chargers' offense?
Cappelletti: They will need to do something to make (Chargers QB Philip Rivers) check on things when reading the defense and the coverages. I expect them to do some of the same things (they did against the Ravens). The Chargers are No. 1 in passing yardage and in total defense in yards allowed. The Chargers are holding teams to 163 passing yards, that's a problem the Patriots will have to deal with, and they will have to come up with a top defensive game. The Chargers have been unable to cap those drives off; they've had a number of turnovers in the red zone. They have been able to move the ball between the 20s, but their problem has been because of fumbles and turnovers in the red zone.
PFW: What did you think of the NFL's actions this week regarding helmet-to-helmet hits?
Cappelletti: I don't know if there's a way to determine that a hit is intentional or if it's just a collison that took place because no one could stop flying around. That's really what they have to determine. There are some guys who come in spearing, they do it because they feel like they are going to try and hurt you. That should be a different penalty than one that just takes place as a collision between two players, but they should all be going for the ball. When a defensive back sees a receiver getting the ball, so he's a shade late getting there and the next best thing is to dislodge the ball, in doing so, you try and create a big hit, but so much of the game is instinctive right now that I don't know if you can play football without those great instincts the great players have. They are flying around because of the turf, the shoes and working on speed, the game is evolving into that, and with that comes severe collisions. It's going to be a tough road to try and curtail that or control it. I'm not sure where they can go right now other than taking a good hard look at what is being taught and schooled. A lot of their players go through their different stages of development through high school and college that it's 'bang,' the bang theory; I don't know if that can change overnight. This used to happen when we played, if a guy was coming up to hit you and you didn't know he was going to hit you, he would almost shout 'look out' and that gave you a chance to brace yourself. No one wanted to hurt anyone, but they wanted to hit him as hard as possible to affect him in giving up the ball.
Whitney Able Whitney Port Willa Ford Xenia Seeberg Yamila Diaz
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