23 pass attempts, 33 rushes

[fumbrunner]

The new template for success. Looks like the playbook as been adjusted to a heavier dose of the run. Personally, I love it. And the best part, we don't have Cassel pretending he is Brady.

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

i thought they should have been more balanced prior to the brady injury.

we've become the 91 Giants!

 

[fumbrunner]

or like the steelers. What was Big Ben last week? 13 of 14? They ran the ball 39 times.

 

[emoney_33]

If this were a little later in the year and we were playing a team like the Vikings I would expect more like 40+ pass attempts and limited rush attempts.

Balance is definitely good, but it depends more on how the defense is playing. Right now balance is more important as Cassel needs to grow with the offense.

 

[TheGodInAGreyHoodie]

the lack of balance last year, and the additional runs this year, may have more to do with the fact we have healthy RB this year, than the QB situation.

 

[carolinatony]

Glad we have a extra RB this year.

 

[PatriotNMP43]

It was a conservative gameplan, ease Cassel into it, new gameplan every week, never expect the same offense week to week.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

We have 4 good RB's and this is great to see. I also agree with the above poster who said it has more to do with the fact we have all those RB's healthy more than who our QB is. I hope to see Lamont get the bulk of carries he seems to hit the hole much faster than Maroney/Morris.

 

[fumbrunner]

If this were a little later in the year and we were playing a team like the Vikings I would expect more like 40+ pass attempts and limited rush attempts.

Balance is definitely good, but it depends more on how the defense is playing. Right now balance is more important as Cassel needs to grow with the offense.

<aside>Hey emoney, I was looking at the clip in your sig. Everyone seems to think that it wasn't a dirty hit. But Pollard didnt only go low on Brady, but on Morris too as morris attempted to block. Dirty, dirty, dirty. </aside>

 

[fumbrunner]

the lack of balance last year, and the additional runs this year, may have more to do with the fact we have healthy RB this year, than the QB situation.

Well, we'll see. I dont see us relying on the pass as much as last year. Part of that is the fact that Cassel is in for Brady. The other part is having 3 very good RBs. All things being equal, it would be a more pass heavy offense with Brady. I could be wrong, but if today is any indication....

 

[dhamz]

2 of the runs were Cassel scrambles and there were 3 sacks. It was actually 31 running plays, 28 passing plays - very balanced.

 

[emoney_33]

<aside>Hey emoney, I was looking at the clip in your sig. Everyone seems to think that it wasn't a dirty hit. But Pollard didnt only go low on Brady, but on Morris too as morris attempted to block. Dirty, dirty, dirty. </aside>

<aside>Exactly, if every blitzer employed this tactic we'd have no QB's left in the NFL.</aside>

 

[Lloyd_Christmas]

I thought it was a good game plan.

The Jets were VERY aggressive with their pass rush. We ran a lot, through screens, ran draws... to throw that off balance.

 

[mgteich]

This is all possible because of our top two runners: Jordan and Faulk.

 

[ClevTrev]

So let's compare Cassel's first full game with one Tom Brady:

Order is Attempts Completions Yards TDs Interceptions & Final score
Cassel: 23 16 165 0 0 NE 19 NYJ 10 (14 Sep 2008)
Brady : 23 13 168 0 0 NE 44 IND 13 (30 Sep 2001)

Now the Pats racked up 177 yards rushing in Brady's first full game, but I'd say the game plans were quite similar in that Brady was managing a conservative game with Antowain Smith and Kevin Faulk rushing for the bulk of the yards.

Before anyone gets too far out on the ledge, it's obvious that Belichick is going to vary his game plan based on the opponent and his QB's experience level. I'm guessing that a healthy and well-protected Matt Cassel will start to open it up quite nicely in the coming weeks. His statistics compared with Brady's first full game are almost identical.

 

[BionicPatriot]

More deep passes to Moss please.

 

[patchick]

2 of the runs were Cassel scrambles and there were 3 sacks. It was actually 31 running plays, 28 passing plays - very balanced.

...plus the numbers include a final grind-it-out, run-down-the-clock string with 9 runs out of 11 plays. That's really not indicative of the "game plan," just situational tactics.

 

[Chevy]

i thought they should have been more balanced prior to the brady injury.

we've become the 91 Giants!

I had two thoughts watching today's game .... We're looking (possibly) at the reincarnation of the 76 Pats .... And (I'm already ducking) "Is this what a tougher, more mobile Tony Eason looks like?"


At half-time I fired up a nice savory humble pie (in a roasted garlic and rosemary cream sauce). I was in the Cassel can't be good enough crowd, but he just looked focused. Raw still, in many ways, but I am convinced he is up to the challenge.

2-0 and LOVING the HATE!

 

[Patriotic Fervor]

More deep passes to Moss please.

Well, BB and Josh have to take Cassel aside and explain to him the facts of life; i.e., "it's very, very difficult to overthrow Randy Moss in this offense."

 

[spacecrime]

The new template for success. Looks like the playbook as been adjusted to a heavier dose of the run. Personally, I love it. And the best part, we don't have Cassel pretending he is Brady.

I doubt the playbook is adjusted mid-season. Generally the plays are installed in OTA and TC.

What they do is to make a unique game plan for each week from that playbook. It would be foolish to say that what works against one team on Week 2 will work against all teams in all weeks. And last week they passed more than they ran. Look for more passing next week against a weak Dolphin secondary.

It is also hghly situational. The Pats ran a lot today because they had a two-score lead in the fourth quarter. Without such a lead, they would have passed more.

It is the old misconeption that teams that run a lot win more games. That's backwards. Teams that are winning the game run a lot more and teams that are losing pass a lot more.