This week I had a tough choice at LB2. I have Patrick Willis, and so he’s a no brainer, but if you look in my signature you’ll see I have some pretty decent linebackers behind him. And, to this point in the season, I’m still not real sure who I can trust.
I went with Curtis Lofton for two reasons: when NE won in week one, they gave their opponent tons of tackle opportunities (thanks, Larry, for the Excel spreadsheet on that!), and the official scorer in NE is notoriously generous with assists. I got lucky this week and picked the right guy. Lofton had 13 solos and 6 assists...or did he?
I was watching the game live and I have to say that I wasn’t too happy after the first NE drive. I thought maybe Lofton had two or three stops. But, I had a quick look at Yahoo Sports, and damn if he wasn’t already at the 7 tackle mark!!! I was really curious and since I had DVRed the game, I went back and had another look at that first drive. I thought you all might be interested.
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PATRIOTS DRIVE #1, PLAYS WHERE LOFTON GOT A TACKLE
1-10-NE 16 (9:18) 12-T.Brady pass short left to 34-S.Morris to NE 35 for 19 yards (54-S.Nicholas, 50-C.Lofton).
Morris was already clearly on his way to the ground. All Lofton really did was make sure he got there faster!
3-1-NE 44 (7:58) 34-S.Morris up the middle to NE 45 for 1 yard (98-J.Anderson, 50-C.Lofton).
Big pile of bodies in the middle of the line. It did look like Lofton was one of those who grabbed Morris, but it was very hard to tell.
1-10-NE 45 (7:21) 39-L.Maroney right end to 50 for 5 yards (29-B.Williams, 50-C.Lofton).
Another play were the runner was clearly already on his way to the ground. Lofton didn’t contribute anything.
2-5-ATL 23 (5:15) 39-L.Maroney left guard to ATL 18 for 5 yards (29-B.Williams, 50-C.Lofton).
Lofton piled on after Maroney was already headed to the ground.
1-15-ATL 23 (4:08) (Shotgun) 33-K.Faulk left tackle to ATL 16 for 7 yards (50-C.Lofton).
Nice job–came off a block and got him.
3-1-ATL 9 (2:51) 12-T.Brady up the middle to ATL 7 for 2 yards (50-C.Lofton).
Another huge pile of bodies, though Lofton may well have been in on it.
3-5-ATL 5 (1:25) (Shotgun) 12-T.Brady pass short middle to 33-K.Faulk to ATL 3 for 2 yards (50-C.Lofton, 26-E.Coleman).
Lofton nailed him and probably should have been awarded a solo rather than an assist.
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So, by my count, Lofton could have easily ended that drive with no more than four tackles (removing the plays where the runner was on his way to the ground already) and maybe even just two (if we also take out the big pile ups where it was hard to say who was responsible for the tackle.
As I mentioned above, one of the reasons why I decided to start Lofton was the NE scorer’s reputation for giving lots of assists, so I’m definitely not disappointed or surprised. However, I found it interesting to go back and have a look at exactly where the generosity played a role. Based on this very small sample size, it looks like in NE, if you grab a guy who is already falling to the ground, they give you an assist. Good news for those of us who started Lofton this week!
I went with Curtis Lofton for two reasons: when NE won in week one, they gave their opponent tons of tackle opportunities (thanks, Larry, for the Excel spreadsheet on that!), and the official scorer in NE is notoriously generous with assists. I got lucky this week and picked the right guy. Lofton had 13 solos and 6 assists...or did he?
I was watching the game live and I have to say that I wasn’t too happy after the first NE drive. I thought maybe Lofton had two or three stops. But, I had a quick look at Yahoo Sports, and damn if he wasn’t already at the 7 tackle mark!!! I was really curious and since I had DVRed the game, I went back and had another look at that first drive. I thought you all might be interested.
*******************************************
PATRIOTS DRIVE #1, PLAYS WHERE LOFTON GOT A TACKLE
1-10-NE 16 (9:18) 12-T.Brady pass short left to 34-S.Morris to NE 35 for 19 yards (54-S.Nicholas, 50-C.Lofton).
Morris was already clearly on his way to the ground. All Lofton really did was make sure he got there faster!
3-1-NE 44 (7:58) 34-S.Morris up the middle to NE 45 for 1 yard (98-J.Anderson, 50-C.Lofton).
Big pile of bodies in the middle of the line. It did look like Lofton was one of those who grabbed Morris, but it was very hard to tell.
1-10-NE 45 (7:21) 39-L.Maroney right end to 50 for 5 yards (29-B.Williams, 50-C.Lofton).
Another play were the runner was clearly already on his way to the ground. Lofton didn’t contribute anything.
2-5-ATL 23 (5:15) 39-L.Maroney left guard to ATL 18 for 5 yards (29-B.Williams, 50-C.Lofton).
Lofton piled on after Maroney was already headed to the ground.
1-15-ATL 23 (4:08) (Shotgun) 33-K.Faulk left tackle to ATL 16 for 7 yards (50-C.Lofton).
Nice job–came off a block and got him.
3-1-ATL 9 (2:51) 12-T.Brady up the middle to ATL 7 for 2 yards (50-C.Lofton).
Another huge pile of bodies, though Lofton may well have been in on it.
3-5-ATL 5 (1:25) (Shotgun) 12-T.Brady pass short middle to 33-K.Faulk to ATL 3 for 2 yards (50-C.Lofton, 26-E.Coleman).
Lofton nailed him and probably should have been awarded a solo rather than an assist.
*******************************************
So, by my count, Lofton could have easily ended that drive with no more than four tackles (removing the plays where the runner was on his way to the ground already) and maybe even just two (if we also take out the big pile ups where it was hard to say who was responsible for the tackle.
As I mentioned above, one of the reasons why I decided to start Lofton was the NE scorer’s reputation for giving lots of assists, so I’m definitely not disappointed or surprised. However, I found it interesting to go back and have a look at exactly where the generosity played a role. Based on this very small sample size, it looks like in NE, if you grab a guy who is already falling to the ground, they give you an assist. Good news for those of us who started Lofton this week!
