The Broncos’ pass rush had a field day against the Patriots. No two players were more successful than Denver’s two great edge rushers, Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware. The pair teed off against the Patriots’ tackles, and consistently harassed Tom Brady in the backfield, being especially effective late in the game while the Patriots were trying to mount a comeback. The Broncos’ pas rush is likely the biggest reason they won the AFC Championship game and are currently in northern California to play the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50.
With how much pressure the Broncos got in this game, it’s not surprising to hear that the Patriots’ Center, Bryan Stork, had a tipoff that Miller and Ware were capitalizing on. While that certainly helped the Broncos get pressure on Brady, it’s no the only reason Miller and Ware were able to consistently get to the QB. It’s no accident that the Broncos’ defense had the most sacks in the NFL this season. Both Miller and Ware are supremely talented athletes, capable of winning one-on-one against the best pass protectors in the NFL. As such, Miller and Ware vs. the Panthers’ offensive tackles, Michael Oher and Mike Remmers, is going to be one of the biggest matchups to watch in the Super Bowl. It’s instructive to watch Miller and Ware at the top of their game against the Patriots to determine (a) how Miller and Ware reach the QB and (b) how the pressure they generate affects the offense. Looking at the tape reveals a number of things:
1-10-NE 13 (Q2, 14:46) 12-T.Brady pass incomplete short right to 11-J.Edelman [58-V.Miller].
It’s the beginning of the second quarter, and it’s already apparent that the Broncos have keyed in on Stork’s tell. Von Miller (at the top of the line) points to it when it happens. HOwever, the protection the Patriots are running actually negates any advantage Miller would have gotten from jumping the snap because of the tell. The Patriots are running a play action, and are trying to simulate a Power run to the right. This requires them to pull LG Josh Kline across the formation. The hope is that the combination of the play action and Kline will slow Miller enough to allow Brady to get pass off, but Kline gets summarily destroyed by Miller, who hesitated for the PA fake but wasn’t fooled by it. Miller simply jumps inside and knocks Kline’s hands away with a chop move, barely impeded on his way to Brady. Tom gets the ball away before hitting the turf, but it cost him as he took a big hit.The Patriots didn’t put Kline in a great position to succeed here, but how badly Miller beat him is telling. You simply cannot ask a guard to pass block against Miller in a one-on-one situation. He will beat him.
3-9-NE 44 (Q2, 11:08) (Shotgun) 12-T.Brady pass incomplete short middle to 87-R.Gronkowski [95-D.Wolfe]. PENALTY on DEN-59-D.Trevathan, Illegal Contact, 5 yards, enforced at NE 44 – No Play.
This play doesn’t go on the books because of a penalty. It wouldn’t have gone on the stat sheet for Ware either because he never laid a hand on Brady. But this play is a great example of how pressure can disrupt the timing of a play and cause an incompletion. Once again Stork gives his tell,a nd it allows Ware to get an explosive start of the snap. This is important, but Stork’s tell isn’t the only reason Ware is successful here. Both he and Miller are naturally good at timing the snap and are great speed rushers. When the tackle is worried about your speed rush, as Sebastian Vollmer is here, it allows you to set him up for that and then beat him with something else. Both Ware and Miller are very savvy at this. Here, Ware uses a spin, and devastates Vollmer. Tom Brady is quick to recognize his tackle is beat, and avoids the pressure well. However, it totally threw off the timing of the play. Brady is forced to move just as his receivers are entering their breaks, and that means the play design has been thrown out the window. Eventually, Brady has to basically throw the ball away. Buying time allowed for the illegal contact penalty, but it also let Brady get hit again. Ware did a great job of disrupting the timing here, it’s not his fault there was a penalty committed in coverage.
3-3-DEN 22 (Q2, 7:46) (Shotgun) 12-T.Brady sacked at DEN 28 for -6 yards (sack split by 94-D.Ware and 58-V.Miller).
This is actually not a case where Stork tipped the snap. He is raising his head while snapping the ball, which is different from earlier when he snapped the ball immediately after his head was up. However, Miller and Ware both get great jumps off the snap, and they simply run around the player they are matched up against. This reinforces the earlier point that Miller and Ware are great speed rushers whether they know the snap count or not. Here, the drop Brady for a failed third down attempt and force a field goal.
1-10-NE 8 (Q3, 6:42) (Shotgun) 12-T.Brady sacked at NE 2 for -6 yards (58-V.Miller).
On this play, the Patriots have Cameron Flemming in as a sixth lineman, and have put him next to RT Marcus Cannon to block Miller. Theoretically, this makes it a lot harder for Miller to speed rush around the edge, because Flemming is further from the C than a RT normally is. Stork’s tell helps Miller, but Flemming also has an awful reaction time off the snap. Still, the fact that Miller ran straight around Flemming untouched is spectacular. He’s incredibly fast, and his turn around the corner to get to Brady is amazing. Miller has the best bend of any pass rusher in the NFL, period. He showed it here.
3-10-NE 28 (Q3, :45) (Shotgun) 12-T.Brady sacked at NE 24 for -4 yards (58-V.Miller).
The key to a successful speed rush, as I alluded to earlier, is to get a lot of bend at your waist and to reduce your inside shoulder as much as possible. Miller’s freakish ability to do this is what got him drafted #2 overall in 2011. He shows a textbook example of it here. As he is turning the corner, look at the angle his leg is at. That’s about as impressive as you’ll ever see. It’s not easy to maintain balance with your feet that far out from underneath your frame, but Miller is a master at it. That angle helps him get his inside shoulder right underneath Cannon’s arms as he tries to engage Miller, and slingshots Miller into Brady, who he brings down for another sack, and forces a punt on third down.
4-1-DEN 16 (Q4, 6:03) 12-T.Brady pass short left to 11-J.Edelman to DEN 17 for -1 yards (25-C.Harris; 21-A.Talib) [94-D.Ware].
It’s now the fourth quarter, and Demarcus Ware started affecting the game in a very big way as the Patriots were frantically trying to come back. This is a crucial moment, with the Patriots facing fourth-and-one in the red zone. The design for the Patriots is to run play action and hope to leak Edelman across the formation to hopefully have enough space for the first. Ware gets a great jump thanks to Stork’s tell, and because the Patriots left him unblocked he’s right in Brady’s face. A major component of the Broncos success on this play is Chris Harris, who does a great job of staying disciplined and making the tackle on Edelman to stop him short. But Ware being in Brady’s face immediately also dramatically impacted the play, forcing Brady to have to float the ball off of his back foot. His throw was never going to have a lot of zip on it, but Edelman was forced to take a slight hop step to catch the ball, which could have ultimately affected his ability to break Harris’ tackle.
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