The official Patriots Chargers POST game thread.

[patsinthesnow]

The surprise stat of the season so far for me:

Deion Branch through 2 games: 15 catches 208 yards

[DaBruinz]

Originally Posted by Peachhead

I thought plays like when Garay came in low on Brady just after her threw it were very illegal now? But the officials didn't even blink. That was bleepin scary. I hope Goodell fines the crap out of Garay.

They are supposed to be illegal. Clearly that official wasn't paying attention.

[Husse]

So, impressions..

The offense looked good as always, Brady is playing like a man possessed. I would have wanted a few more runs thrown in as a surprise, but the the pass was getting so much yardage that it didn't really matter.

On the defensive side it looks a bit bleaker. Although I gotta say V. Jackson looked pretty damn good out there. The things that might end up being a concerns later on is what seem to be like a definite lack of pressure on Rivers. That and the steady amount of yardage SDs RBs where getting for free by just a delayed route in the flat. There is so much empty space there and no one seemed to be spying for it.

[BendButDontBreak37]

Hahah they listed the wrong Gronk

[patchick]

Some things that pop to mind:

- Deion Branch runs really pretty routes.

- Philip Rivers throws amazingly accurate deep balls.

- Can we officially declare that "Mayo doesn't make big plays" meme dead? Two absolute game-changers in critical situations tonight.

- It's a lot of fun watching people try to tackle Rob Gronkowski when he has a full head of steam.

- Anybody else feel like they kept seeing the number 50 in the middle of good defensive plays? Glad they extended Ninkovich.

- I suspect a lot of the reporting on this game will be along the lines of NFL.com's headine: "Brady leads Pats, who capitalize on Bolts' miscues." IMO the word "miscues" doesn't do the defense justice this time. It's not like last year, when SD literally left balls lying on the ground unloved. Yeah, Tolbert was boneheaded running backwards. But by and large, those turnovers were forced. (Did you ever once find yourself laughing at Rivers, saying "what was he THINKING with that throw?")

[PATSYLICIOUS]

A win is a win. Somewhat concerned about a couple spots in our secondary but I think it'll solidifiy as the year goes on. Sometimes it's good to have some struggles early, a learning experience for a young defense. McCourty is struggling he needs to get it together. Hopefully it's just a result of a shortened preseason.

Brady and the offense was amazing yet again. To see them struggle a bit in the 2nd half then bounce back and lead 2 TD drives is VERY encouraging after what we've seen from this offense the past few years when it gets in a funk. Nice to see them close out a game instead of crashing and burning when the other team starts to come back like we've been known to do in the BOB era.

Our team overcame some very shady officiating, something to be very proud of alot of teams let that tear them down. Especially after the 'injuries' by Chargers defenders and diving at Brady's knee. Amazing composure. Great team win today, defense helped out the O when they were in a slight funk and then the O picked up the defense when they started to break.

[BendButDontBreak37]

Did Brady actually get hurt or did it just scare everyone?

[reflexblue]

Originally Posted by Peachhead

I thought plays like when Garay came in low on Brady just after her threw it were very illegal now? But the officials didn't even blink. That was bleepin scary. I hope Goodell fines the crap out of Garay.

Yeah i thought there was a rule against hitting QBs below the knees, Oh wait, i just remembered its called the Brady Rule. I doubt we hear a peep out of the Commish, it is the Pats and his team IS the Rats.

[DaBruinz]

Guys - When Rivers is forced to dump it to his RBs the way he was doing, it was because of the pressure the Pats were putting on him. The Pats were regularly pushing the pocket back and forcing him to dump it or to throw on the run. I think that Rivers only had 5 or 6 throws where he wasn't pressured.. Even on the one-handed TD grab by Jackson, there was pressure on Rivers.

[mgteich]

THE DEFENSE
It gives up lots and lots of yards.
No one is going to make a living running up the middle against us.
We take lots of chances.
We have will have lots of sacks and turnovers.
Three goal-line stops in two weeks - awesome!
I'm concerned about the injuries to the defensive backs.