Patriots pick on Tharold Simon after Jeremy Lane injury

The one silver lining to Tom Brady’s red-zone interception in the first quarter of Super Bowl XLIX might have been the injury to Jeremy Lane.

Lane picked off Brady at the goal line on third down to keep the Patriots off the scoreboard, but he left the game with an injury. His replacement was Tharold Simon, who immediately was targeted by New England.

On their next drive, the Pats went to Julian Edelman for a huge third-down conversion that took the ball down to the Seattle 12. Simon was on Edelman for the play and not only gave up the catch over the middle, but he also was unable to tackle Edelman and allowed nearly 20 yards after the catch. Two plays later, the Patriots threw at Simon again on their 11-yard touchdown pass from Brady to Brandon LaFell.

The Seahawks have an excellent defense, but even they are limited in their depth. The Pats spotted one weakness and took advantage.