Here's a look at the Patriots' improved play up front and a few other topics of discussion coming out of their big win over the Bengals, in this week's film review.

One of the most notable improvements occurred on the offensive line, which proved to be a catalyst for dramatic upticks in performance across the board on offense. Suddenly, Tom Brady looked like Tom Brady, the running game found its stride and the receivers had time to get open. The game truly is won (or lost) in the trenches.

Both their execution and their passion showed up on nearly every play when rewatching the game.

By the time the opening whistle sounded, the New England Patriots had already forgotten about anything that had been written about them during the week. At that point, they simply played with more energy and executed their game plan more effectively than the Cincinnati Bengals.

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Under Pressure:

Here's our weekly look at pressure stats for the Patriots defense.

Offense (38 dropbacks):

LG Dan Connolly: 38 pass snaps; 1 hurry

C Bryan Stork: 38 pass snaps; 0 hurries

RG Ryan Wendell: 38 pass snaps; 2 hurries

LT Nate Solder: 37 pass snaps; 1 hurry

RT Sebastian Vollmer: 34 pass snaps; 3 hurries

OT Marcus Cannon: 5 pass snaps; 0 hurries

RB Shane Vereen: 7 pass snaps; 0 hurries

TE Michael Hoomanawanui: 6 pass snaps; 0 hurries

TE Rob Gronkowski: 5 pass snaps; 1 sack

RB Stevan Ridley: 4 pass snaps; 0 hurries

In all, Brady was pressured eight times on 38 dropbacks. He was hurried seven times, and sacked once. The Patriots did not allow any pressure on Brady in the second half.

This marks a second straight strong performance for the Patriots offensive line in pass protection after a solid showing last week which went largely unnoticed thanks to shortcomings elsewhere.

The protection was there the whole night, from Brady's first pass in the first quarter:

...to his second touchdown in the fourth quarter:

Time after time, Brady dropped back and stepped up into a clean pocket.

Might it have something to do with the Patriots finally settling on (stumbling into?) a starting five on the offensive line? For most of the game, the Patriots stuck with a grouping of left tackle Nate Solder, left guard Dan Connolly, center Bryan Stork, right guard Ryan Wendell, and right tackle Sebastian Vollmer.

Marcus Cannon subbed in for Vollmer on a drive near the end of the first half, after Vollmer had allowed two of his three hurries on the previous drive. He also came in for Solder at left tackle on a fourth quarter series.

Those moves seemed less about unrest, and more about actual rest. From start to finish, it was a vintage Brady performance, made possible by a vintage looking Patriots' offensive line. Dante Scarnecchia would be proud.

Defense (31 pass snaps):

Vince Wilfork: 27 pass-rush snaps; 1 hurry

Rob Ninkovich: 25 pass-rush snaps; 1 hurry

Chris Jones: 21 pass-rush snaps; 1 hurry; 1 sack

Chandler Jones: 14 pass-rush snaps; 1 hurry

Casey Walker: 11 pass-rush snaps; 0 hurries

Dominique Easley: 8 pass-rush snaps; 0 hurries

Jamie Collins: 7 pass-rush snaps; 1 hurry

Jerod Mayo: 6 pass-rush snaps; 0 hurries

Joe Vellano: 2 pass-rush snaps; 0 hurries

Alfonzo Dennard: 1 pass-rush snap; 1 hurry

Kyle Arrington: 1 pass-rush snap; 0 hurries

Patrick Chung: 1 pass-rush snap; 0 hurries

The Patriots struggled to disrupt the pocket and only created pressure on eight of 31 pass plays. Chris Jones was the star of the night for the front seven, registering the first sack of Bengals' quarterback Andy Dalton this season.

He did it by splitting a double team block through the B-gap between left tackle Andrew Whitworth and left guard Mike Pollak (in for injured starter Kevin Zeitler).

The Patriots also utilized a three or four-man rush on 11 of the Bengals' 31 total dropbacks, but those numbers were skewed a bit from sending five or more defenders after the quarterback on five of their final six plays. With so much talent in the Bengals' offensive backfield, the Patriots were very focused on maintaining gap integrity rather than flying upfield to force Dalton to get rid of the ball.

The Patriots were also without linebacker Dont'a Hightower, who had been providing a lot of pressure in his new limited role as an edge pass-rusher (four hurries, five hits, two sacks in four games).



Identity Crisis Averted?

Over the years, the Patriots have identified as a team that will change its game plan each week in an effort to expose the weaknesses of its opponent. After watching all three Bengals games before Sunday, it was immediately clear that the Patriots could be successful running the ball behind fullback James Develin.

Power runs have been a weakness for the Bengals this season, and the Patriots took advantage by giving Develin a season-high 30 snaps.

He sprung Ridley for a nine-yard gain on the Patriots' first running play of the game, taking Bengals' linebacker Rey Maualuga out of the play and allowing Ridley to continue straight through the A-gap between Connolly and Wendell.

The power running game also featured the Patriots spreading the Bengals out with three-receiver sets that would feature either two backs and no tight ends ("20" personnel) or one of each ("11" personnel).

This is an example of the 20 personnel.

Here, the Patriots came out with Develin lined up in front of Shane Vereen, with Brandon LaFell, Danny Amendola, and Julian Edelman split out wide. This puts stress on the linebackers in the running game, as the front six must account for six blockers, while still posing a threat through the air, with four or five potential pass-catchers.

First off, let's give props to Develin for blocking Bengals defensive tackle Domata Peko straight out of the play.

The Patriots had a lot of success running the ball thanks to their offensive linemen getting downfield to block linebackers and creating space at the second level. Connolly and Wendell did a nice job of getting out in front of plays throughout the game, both pulling and getting out to the second level in general.

Notice the overall movement off the line of scrimmage by the Patriots' offensive line. It seems like everyone has control of their assignment, moving them all to clear room for Vereen on this 11-yard carry with 4:29 in the second quarter.

The Patriots also featured some two-tight end sets with one running back ("12" personnel), with either Tim Wright or Michael Hoomanawanui along with Rob Gronkowski. The Bengals responded to Wright by putting a defensive back on him, but the Bengals came out in their base 4-3 defense when Hoomanawanui was the second tight end.

Two tight end sets, two backs, and a balanced attack. Sounds like a good recipe for success  not just this week, but any week.

The point is, while the Patriots may have one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game, they may benefit from going heavier with their personnel groupings. They can still be multiple in their offense even with that approach, and they proved that by coming out with a smattering of personnel groupings and formations that helped spread the Bengals out without limiting their ability to pound the ball down their throats.



Tim Wright's Breakout

Make no mistake; Brady spread the ball around on Sunday, but it was still mostly the Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman show. Once again, those two combined for a majority of the targets  Gronkowski had 11, Edelman had 8.

But Tim Wright was right behind Edelman, with five targets. All of those resulted in catches.

It was a coming-out party for Wright, who had been a non-factor in the Patriots' first four games of the season. He had four receptions for 35 yards before this game and exceeded those numbers on Sunday night with five catches for 85 yards and a touchdown.

A majority of his damage was done on seam routes and he wasted no time, with catches of 30 and 17 yards to start the game.

On his first reception, a 30-yard gain with 13:41 remaining in the first quarter, he drew the coverage of Bengals' cornerback Leon Hall. The eight-year veteran got turned around by Wright's subtle outside-inside move in the seam. Wright was able to break up the field uncovered and at that point, the only thing that could stop him was...the turf.

His second-longest catch of the night was also on a seam route. The play design stood out on his 25-yard catch with 9:40 left in the third quarter.

He lined up in the slot with LaFell split out wide and Edelman motioning in the backfield. Brady faked the handoff to Ridley, then the bubble screen to Edelman. That double play fake forced linebacker Emmanuel Lamur and safety George Iloka to come to the line of scrimmage, and opened up the spot where Wright was running his seam route.

Brady delivered a nice ball and Wright came down with it easily.





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