AndyJohnson

I just rewatched the game, and among other things I was watching for the Brady leaning on Moss claim.
What I saw was, after thinking Brady played poorly while watching live, particularly on the Ints, that IMO both of the Ints were on Moss.
On the first one when Brady let the ball go, Moss was one on one vs Cromartie at about the 35, about dead even, maybe a step behind. Moss should beat Cromartie to that ball every time. I think Moss thought a fly on 3rd and 13 wouldn't come to him, and wasn't ready to accelerate like he normally does (like he did on the TD) when the ball went up. If he accelerated on that route like on the TD route, it was another TD, or pi at the worst.
On the second Int, flat out it should have been caught. No need to one handed tip the ball, he should have caught it.
I don't to start the Moss flaming but on those 2 plays, he failed.
That went a long way toward the failure of the offense.
On the 3rd deep ball, on 3rd and 7, Moss isn't in the screen until the ball comes down, so I can't tell if he should have made up the extra step it would have taken to get to the ball, because he had the man beat, or if Brady overthrew.
Frankly, Brady made the right decisions based upon what Moss has done with the ball in the air up until now, but if thats what Moss is going to do going forward, Brady needs to reassess what "Moss open" means.

Secondly, while I did not see a huge focus on Moss, I didnt really see any passes to him that were bad decisions, the areas of the field Brady was throwing to changed.
Up until the first Int almost every pass was defended by a LB, or sometimes a safety with only a handful thrown at a corner.
From that point forward, Bradys throws were at a corner 6 times, at a safety 3 and the only throws covered by LBs were the 2 in a row (screen and swing pass) to Morris. I dont know if the Jets changed something to create that, but out of 12 passes, more were down the field than in all of the first half, and nowhere near all were at Moss.

upstater1

The first INT was as good as a punt, and with every other player covered, not a bad decision at all.

Randy slowed out of his break on the second INT, but I could see equally valid arguments both ways on that one since he hadn't beaten his man.

What bugs me is all the runs that put us in 3rd and long. That's what kills you. The defense loads up on DBs and you have nowhere to throw to, and when Moss is one on one, and no one else is open, that looks particularly inviting.

That doesn't mean Brady gets a pass. He missed that gimme to Gronkowski that could have been a huge gainer.

But I too am not participating in the slam Brady/Moss/Butler fest that is going on.

I prefer to slam O'Brien.

HEY BRO! WHAT UP?

Throwing an INT is never a good idea, never got why people argue this. And BTW, didn't the Jets end up scoring a TD on that drive?

upstater1

First, you're twisting my words. I didn't say it was intentional.
I said it's as good as a punt. Heck, it's better than a punt.

The net result was excellent when you're weighing it against throwing it out of bounds or an incomplete. How could you possibly argue that?

The Jets scored a TD? The drive started at the 2! Please what kind of ****amamie argument is that?

AndyJohnson

But the first Int was not a prayer because no one was open.
When Brady threw the ball, which came down at the 3, Moss was running about even, maybe a step behind Cromartie at the 35. I guarantee that when Brady let go he saw TD written all over. How Moss failed to accelerate to the ball like he normally does is puzzling but thats what happened. If he ran to that ball just like he ran to the TD or the one he dropped at the back of the end zone, its a TD.
The second one simply should have been caught.

AndyJohnson

But the net result should have been Patriot TD and kicking off with a bigger lead.

AndyJohnson

And its not slamming anyone its looking at the play and assessing what happened. If Moss didnt go hard after the ball, its not a slam to say so.

emoney_33

The options were throw it away and punt or heave it up to moss and risk an interception in/near the endzone. Do you get why people argue this now?

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everlong

From a pure play calling aspect once Cromartie was moved to Moss I don't know why they didn't adjust and move Moss to the slot. Cromartie can cover the vertical routes but once you make him defend the lateral routes he becomes less effective. Soften him up with some 15 yard outs and some slants then double move and let him blow by the safety. They kept Moss out wide and had him running all vertical routes.

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Bonzo

Eh, I don't disagree that it wasn't a horrible decision, but punts generally don't happen on 3rd down.


AJ, why do you think the Pats seemed to have better success connecting on the deep ball to Moss (even if covered) in 2007? Has his athleticism eroded just enough to bring him back to earth? Just to remind folks exactly what that used to look like . . .

YouTube - Randy Moss 2007 Season Highlights/Tribute