Things I learned from the game (Seahawks) - Page 2 - New England Patriots Forums

***PatsWickedPissah*** · 12-08-2008, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ctpatsfan77

Not-so-minor point: defenses cannot score points on a PAT or 2-point try, period. If they gain possession of the ball, the attempt fails, and a kickoff follows, as normal.

DUH!

Not even the excuse of having a senior momemt.

LEARN THE GAME, Phil!

stcjones · 12-08-2008, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BradyManny2344

I gotta disagree on this one. Yesterday was not Cassel's best game by any stretch. In fact, I'd say it was a revert to some of the traits we saw before he really caught on fire - tucking and running too early, marginal pocket presence, inconsistent accuracy. He made a couple magnificent plays and hung in the pocket for some big hits, but I think Brady would've chewed that defense apart for 40+ points. Probably a lot of that can be attributed to an O-Line that was not as consistent as it was in some previous weeks.

I'm glad we got the W, and I'm glad Cassel made some big plays, but in terms of his stock and trade-ability, I don't think it was helped by his play yesterday. I don't think it was hurt either, though. We need him to play a little bit better down the stretch both to get us into the playoffs and earn us a bounty of picks in the offseason.

good realistic post man......

BoTown · 12-09-2008, 12:24 AM

I watched the game again, to appreciate it a little more. 4th and goal with under 3 minutes left in the game, Patriots can't stop the clock because they have only 1 timeout... the season came down to one play. And thankfully, Morris got in to the end zone, and kept the Patriots' hopes alive. A few inches short and it would come to a disappointing end. What an exciting game.

***BlitzFritz*** · 12-09-2008, 07:10 AM

I thought it was too close for comfort, the 4th and goal touchdown by Morris. He got in by inches, and only because in mid air, he spun his body so that his ball carrying arm ended up coming down forward.....

Sicilian · 12-09-2008, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSn

Our depth on defense is better than we though. Or at least better than I thought. I was genuinely impressed with our patchwork D-Line. Absolutely everyone was playing well by the second half. Fundamental football ended up saving the day. After this game (two unretired vets and a slew of untested kids taking the field) Bill cannot be questioned as being the best coach in the NFL today. NO other coach can overcome these losses. Look at each key loss and think of how many other teams JUST ONE of them would have brought down.

I think this is a sign of a good defensive philosophy that just needs a good in flux of talent in the off-season to be great. Look at a team like San Diego, who's defensive drop off is substantial when they lose one guy (Merriman). Or the Colts when they play without Sanders. Those teams have noticeable drop-offs from one guy.

We've lost some huge pieces, seemingly one every game, and keep fighting. We're not a great defense, but our starters by half-time of that game were Seymour-Wright-Smith/Green on the DL, Vrabel-Mayo the rookie-Seau off the street-Guyton the undrafted at LB, and Hobbs-Wilhite a 4th rounder-Meriweather-??? I don't even remember who our other safety was when Sanders left.

I don't care who you're playing, you're basically playing your second string defense against them and practically shut them down in the second half. I'm impressed.

PATSYLICIOUS · 12-09-2008, 09:05 AM

Morris is a short yardage stud. I pray he stays healthy as 3rd/4th and short will be crucial down the stretch.

Most encouraging part of the game to me was having Seau and Colvin play the entire 2nd half with the team just giving up 7 points (a half where Seattle got the ball first). Take away Branch's big play and it's a shutout with those 2 in.

PatsFan2 · 12-09-2008, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BradyManny2344

I gotta disagree on this one. Yesterday was not Cassel's best game by any stretch. In fact, I'd say it was a revert to some of the traits we saw before he really caught on fire - tucking and running too early, marginal pocket presence, inconsistent accuracy. He made a couple magnificent plays and hung in the pocket for some big hits, but I think Brady would've chewed that defense apart for 40+ points. Probably a lot of that can be attributed to an O-Line that was not as consistent as it was in some previous weeks.

I'm glad we got the W, and I'm glad Cassel made some big plays, but in terms of his stock and trade-ability, I don't think it was helped by his play yesterday. I don't think it was hurt either, though. We need him to play a little bit better down the stretch both to get us into the playoffs and earn us a bounty of picks in the offseason.

Gotta agree there i saw some plays where the Blitz was picked up and Cassel instead of going through his reads he tucked it and ran for zero gain or was sacked. He needed to have a little more patience on those plays...he left alot of plays on the Field with some Bledsoe like passes falling at the receivers ankles. That said he made the plays when they counted on the last drive converting some fine 3rd down plays.

***PatsWickedPissah*** · 12-09-2008, 11:17 AM

Interestingly, BB on WEEI said it was one of Cassel's better games. He said Cassel made the right decisions, throwing the ball away several times when nobody was open to prevent lost yardage. BB was impressed by Cassel's toughness as he mentioned that several times Matt steped up right into the rush to throw the ball for a completion knowing he'd get smacked in the middle defenseless. Just Bill's opinion.

Gotta say that he is relaxed & fun loving on WEEI's Patriot Monday.

***JSn*** · 12-09-2008, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PatsWickedPissah

Gotta say that he is relaxed & fun loving on WEEI's Patriot Monday.

He definitely responds differently to different interviews. He's always super jovial with Mike Lynch, too.

captain stone · 12-09-2008, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSn

Over one game, we saw the defense step up. Really, they were never "bad" after the first half. I think they let up for a split second on the Branch scamper thinking he had stepped out. And it was a good play by Deion. He was loved here for a reason, right?

I still don't understand how the zebras didn't rule him OOB. It looked like a no-brainer from my bar's-eye view.

In some of these games, I'm not sure Brady would have done more than marginally better, though again, those deep route passes would be more spot on.

Brady wins the Dolts & Squeelers games, and maybe the Jesters, too.

Wes Welker and Randy Moss are both receivers that genuinely warrant double coverage and will be a fierce tandem for the foreseeable future. Moss did a lot more in that game than he'll be credited with. The connection for him and Cassel seems hard to read, and maybe it's more a product of Cassel being undeveloped than chemistry. Still he made key plays from drawing coverage to making a nice sideline catch.

Moss doesn't need to be double-teamed after Thanksgiving, and he continues to get away with OPI. The FO needs to find & develop a WR of the Future, just not with a Top-100 pick.

Gaffney is underrated. Seriously, we ride this guy and undercredit him, but he's a good football player. I think if it's reasonable, he will re-sign. He's made us angry a couple of times, but he's also been downright clutch.

He catches the more difficult passes, but drops the easier ones, esp. those that would've resulted in TDs. Very frustrating.

Our depth on defense is better than we though. Or at least better than I thought. I was genuinely impressed with our patchwork D-Line. Absolutely everyone was playing well by the second half. Fundamental football ended up saving the day. After this game (two unretired vets and a slew of untested kids taking the field) Bill cannot be questioned as being the best coach in the NFL today. NO other coach can overcome these losses. Look at each key loss and think of how many other teams JUST ONE of them would have brought down.

I think that it was more a case of the SeaHags just being the SeaHags rather than our defense executing better, though they certainly couldn't have played any worse than they did on those first 2 drives.

I don't know what will happen next week and the Cards game certainly looks a little spooky from here. Regardless, as of today I feel like I am watching a second legendary season in a row being played out by the New England Patriots, and it's a great feeling!

Good post, and I like the pics. They made it look like an SI article.