Controlling the 'A-Gap' Key to Patriots Win over Broncos

The New England Patriots have long struggled against interior pressure, with the New York Giants controlling the A-gaps—the spaces in between the guards and center—in each of the last two Super Bowl losses.

Bill Belichick chose to be the bully—rather than the bullied—against the Denver Broncos in their 43-21 victory in Week 9. He unleashed Dont'a Hightower and Jamie Collins on Denver's unsuspecting interior offensive line and wreaked havoc in key situations all night long.

They started slow in the first and third quarters, but they made Peyton Manning make quick decisions when playing against the wind in the second and fourth quarters. As you can see in the chart below, New England was successful—holding the Broncos to less than five yards—whether they actually brought the pressure or merely threatened it.

Quarter	Threaten Pressure	A-Gap Pressure
1st	2-of-3	0-of-0
2nd	1-of-3	5-of-8
3rd	2-of-5	0-of-1
4th	5-of-8	4-of-7

Belichick spoke last year with Field Yates of ESPN.com about what that sort of pressure—or threat thereof—can do to an offense:

"

It puts six guys really on five. Your tackles, guards, and center are against their four defensive linemen and two guys in the A gap. You have to determine how you're going to handle those six players.

Sometimes they come, sometimes they don't. Sometimes they line up in there and bring people off the edge, so there's actually a seventh guy that's not part of that six.

"

Collins and Hightower each rushed the passer 12 times, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Despite not sacking Manning, they were able to hurry him a combined eight times and constantly kept him—and his offensive line—contained whether they were blitzing or not.

That guessing game allowed other rushers an easier path to Manning and gave Manning pause as to whether the middle of the field would be open or not.

The guessing game worked well for New England early in the second quarter. Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia lined up six defenders on the line, with Hightower and Collins each threatening the A-gap blitz. Hightower and Rob Ninkovich would drop into coverage, however. Ninkovich ended up in a spot that Manning believed would be vacated and hauled in a gift of an interception.

Looking forward, the Patriots may be able to have success with a similar game plan against the player who replaced Manning in Indianapolis: Andrew Luck.

While Luck is nearly as adept as Manning in picking up on defensive cues, his interior line has struggled greatly in dealing with interior pressure. Center Jonotthan Harrison ranks 36 out of 40 centers in pass-blocking efficiency and right guard Hugh Thornton is 59th of out 78, according to PFF.

Look for Collins and Hightower to be close enough pre-snap to hear Luck breathe as he is calling out his signals in Week 11.