Zone Defense
I talked about this early today in our look through of the advanced analytics from yesterday’s game, but it’s something worth bringing up again. In the last few weeks, as Chris Harris has struggled with a shoulder injury, Wade Phillips has implemented more zone defense into Denver’s game plan, and it hasn’t really gone well.
This is a man-to-man team, these are man-to-man corners and all they’ve really played this season is man-to-man coverage. Consequently, they don’t seem very comfortable in zone.
Now, I don’t think it’s because they can’t play zone coverage; I think it’s because they haven’t.
Whether they’re getting lost in the mix, giving up too much cushion or taking the wrong guy, Denver has made several mental mistakes, leading to huge plays from the offense. On two occasions, Bradley Roby was supposed to have the deep outside in the Cover 3, but cut down on the short receiver, allowing what should have been his man to get open for a huge reception. The same thing happened in Week 17, when Aqib Talib allowed Tyrell Williams to break free for an 80-yard touchdown.
Again, in all of these cases, it’s much more of a dumb mistake than poor ability, but it’s crucial they get it fixed; Tom Brady won’t miss a wide open receiver next week.
