Random Game Thoughts

[RayClay]

No props for Hobbs? I've been one who thinks nickel is his best position, but he looked like our top starter today.

 

[JSn]

All the good bits:

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter?game_id=29557&season=2008&displayPage=tab_gamecenter

 

[Rob0729]

No props for Hobbs? I've been one who thinks nickel is his best position, but he looked like our top starter today.

I gave the entire secondary props. I did signal out Hobbs in abother thread. He did do a fantastic job today.

 

[PromisedLand]

How about Deltha O'Neil? He has really solidified our secondary. And Brandon Meriweather actually hung on to an INT! We can't be stopped now!

 

[scout]

How about BB out foxing Manfink on that punt. If only Hanson had pooched the ball.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

I understand the rule, but it really only applies in the last 2 minutes of a game if the offense is playing from behind. Since the 10 seconds were taken off the clock, you have to assume that the penalty was accepted. If it was:

No, the rule is inside of one minute in either half. Specifically:

Section 7 Actions to Conserve Time
Article 1 A team is not permitted to conserve time inside of one minute of either half by
committing any of the following acts:
(a) a foul by either team that prevents the snap (i.e., false start, encroachment, etc.)
(b) intentional grounding;
(c) an illegal forward pass thrown from beyond the line of scrimmage;
(d) throwing a backward pass out of bounds;
(e) spiking or throwing the ball in the field of play after a down has ended, except after
a touchdown; or
(f) any other intentional foul that causes the clock to stop.

Any of these can result in a 10-second runoff.

a) Why would the Jets choose to take 10 seconds off the clock? They were losing. I know the game was basically over but it still doesn't make sense.

b) On a penalty on the offense, the clock shouldn't restart. You would have to assume the Pats were given a new play clock so they had 40 new seconds to run off the clock. Thus the confusion about Cassel taking a final snap to end the game.

If the game was always called this way, you could never lose if you had a lead and the ball in the last 2 minutes. Just false start every play, take the penalty, run 40 seconds off the running clock, repeat. Not saying it made a bit of difference, but that doesn't diminish the stupidity.

a) Because Ratgini knew that he wasn't going to make up nine points in under a minute?

b) I don't know exactly what happened with the clock restarting. Heck, the play-by-play on NFL.com stops at ~1:15 to go.

 

[BelichickFan]

How about BB out foxing Manfink on that punt. If only Hanson had pooched the ball.

Hanson has been booming his punts but his placement is about as good as a high school punter; and I'm getting tired of it.

 

[sebman2112]

On Meriweather's INT: Brett shouldn't have thrown that ball, but it was a very nice play by Meriweather as well. He read the QB, and snuck into the passing lane to make the INT (I watched his footwork, and positioning during the replay). In 2007 he got into position a few times which was a good sign, but he didn't make the INT. I'm glad to see him holding onto the ball, and I think he's got even more to come.

A few other things I'd like to mention.
1. Hobbs made some important plays, and generally had good coverage.

2. I thought O'Neal continued to play well, especially for a newcomer to the system. I thought he would be a good signing for NE, but he looks way better than Bryant, who had an entire training camp in the system, which is at least slightly surprising to me.

3. Mayo is already starting to look like one of their best defenders.

4. Richard Seymour looks to finally be getting back on track after some injury marred seasons.

5. Kevin Faulk looked like a man on a mission today, and still has a good amount of speed.

6. AD's sack of Favre....golden.

 

[DaBruinz]

- If Eli Manning's jersey held together as well as Favre's, the Pats would be defending champs.
- I've never seen someone false start on a kneel-down play. Spach can't be cut soon enough.
- Two weeks in a row, Meriweather with under coverage leads to a key interception. Think we might see more of that this season.
- Cassel lesson of the week: You can't overthrow Moss.

Without nitpicking, it is hard to say much negative about this game. Even the O'Neal coverage that led to the Coles big play was a reasonable read and gamble. Big ups to the Pats for circling the wagons in a tough situation.

Yes, lets cut the Pats best blocking TE because the Refs are a bunch of morons. Watching the play, Spach jumped because the Jets guy came into the neutral zone. However, the last that I looked, it benefited the patriots because they didn't have to run any more plays...

But I can see how the negatives overwhelm the positives.

 

[KY Pats Fan]

This is the first game that I've actually been able to watch this season and I must say that I am higly impressed with the defense. I thought Hobbs did an excellent job today as well as Deltha.

The DL was a beast and Mayo shows why is was our #1 pick.

But I have to believe the player of the game was Gost. Given that the Jets have a pretty lethal return game, I really feel he was the difference maker.

 

[DaBruinz]

I have to say that I am amazed that no one has mentioned the following:

1) The pass blocking was mediocre at best. 3 sacks in four plays is what the Jets got at one point.

2) The run blocking for Maroney was horrible. Particularly the last running play where I believe it was Yates was pushed so far into the backfield he was standing next to Maroney when Maroney got the ball.

3) Dan Koppen plays against one of the top 3 NTs in practice, yet Kris Jenkins man-handled him all night long.

4) I counted zero calls for Maroney to make a run through the gap between Mankins and Light or the outside of Light. Maroney has the speed to turn the corner. In fact, most of the calls for Maroney were from Mankins Right over to the right side of the line.

5) Maroney needs to be looking for the bounce outside to his left. On 3 occasions, if he'd bounced it outside to the left instead of trying to plough up the middle, he gets 7-15 yards, possibly more.

6) Maroney needs to get rid of the hitch that he takes before he explodes, it slows him down way too much. He should have made his read before that....

 

[Robdude]

How stupid was that whole episode. The Pats commit a penalty and the refs allow the clock to run AND take 10 seconds off just for good measure. The ref wanted to start drinking before it got too late.

Yeah I was wondering the same thing. If this is the way the rule works we should just false start 6 times in a row and take a full minute off of the clock. I do not think the rule works the way they used it. But, it really did not matter the game was already over

 

[Leave No Doubt]

I have to say that I am amazed that no one has mentioned the following:

1) The pass blocking was mediocre at best. 3 sacks in four plays is what the Jets got at one point.

2) The run blocking for Maroney was horrible. Particularly the last running play where I believe it was Yates was pushed so far into the backfield he was standing next to Maroney when Maroney got the ball.

3) Dan Koppen plays against one of the top 3 NTs in practice, yet Kris Jenkins man-handled him all night long.

4) I counted zero calls for Maroney to make a run through the gap between Mankins and Light or the outside of Light. Maroney has the speed to turn the corner. In fact, most of the calls for Maroney were from Mankins Right over to the right side of the line.

5) Maroney needs to be looking for the bounce outside to his left. On 3 occasions, if he'd bounced it outside to the left instead of trying to plough up the middle, he gets 7-15 yards, possibly more.

6) Maroney needs to get rid of the hitch that he takes before he explodes, it slows him down way too much. He should have made his read before that....

Good game eye, DaB. Yates again...*sigh*. Your points on the OL and LoMo are good ones, especially #4 and #6.

 

[vyrago]

One more thought, for those of you who love to trash McDaniels, try being a Jets or Vikings fan today. People who trash McDaniels sometimes don't realize what our play calling could be.

This is an excellent point. Though by no means a blow out, it was an efficient game and I had confidence throughout that the players and the coaches knew what they were doing. The Moss underthrow was disappointing, but the guy who hasn't started at qb since seventh grade, did better than o.k. in my book. He looked poised and confident and, best of all, did not fumble or throw a pick.

At game's end, I was giddy and would have loved to be able to get onto this site to say that here, but after enumerable tries, I decided my difficulty in accessing Patsfans.com was draining all that good feeling, so I put the laptop away and hoisted a drink to my favorite football team and smiled away the rest of the evening.

 

[DaBruinz]

A major thought that I had was the dejected look on Randy Moss' face at the end of the game. Not sure what was up with him. Maybe he was upset over the pass that was dropped. Maybe he didn't care for the plays being called. I don't know. But we can't lose Moss' focus. I hope that Brady pulls him aside and puts a foot up his ass. Moss' play is even more important now than it was with Brady under center.

 

[mosi]

A major thought that I had was the dejected look on Randy Moss' face at the end of the game. Not sure what was up with him. Maybe he was upset over the pass that was dropped. Maybe he didn't care for the plays being called. I don't know. But we can't lose Moss' focus. I hope that Brady pulls him aside and puts a foot up his ass. Moss' play is even more important now than it was with Brady under center.

That scares me also. Moss made it clear when he came, he came to play with Brady. Will he be happy with Matt? The have to do things to get Moss involved in the game.

 

[Rob0729]

A major thought that I had was the dejected look on Randy Moss' face at the end of the game. Not sure what was up with him. Maybe he was upset over the pass that was dropped. Maybe he didn't care for the plays being called. I don't know. But we can't lose Moss' focus. I hope that Brady pulls him aside and puts a foot up his ass. Moss' play is even more important now than it was with Brady under center.

Actually what concerned me more is when CBS put up the package of plays showing him going up against Revis during the game, he didn't seem to sell his routes or give a full effort on every play. It is tough to tell if he had fallen back into his old ways of not giving an effort when the ball isn't going his way since the Pats threw a lot of short passes and he could have let up after the ball was thrown. But on its face, I saw that as a worrisome sign.

 

[Rob0729]

I have to say that I am amazed that no one has mentioned the following:

1) The pass blocking was mediocre at best. 3 sacks in four plays is what the Jets got at one point.

2) The run blocking for Maroney was horrible. Particularly the last running play where I believe it was Yates was pushed so far into the backfield he was standing next to Maroney when Maroney got the ball.

3) Dan Koppen plays against one of the top 3 NTs in practice, yet Kris Jenkins man-handled him all night long.

4) I counted zero calls for Maroney to make a run through the gap between Mankins and Light or the outside of Light. Maroney has the speed to turn the corner. In fact, most of the calls for Maroney were from Mankins Right over to the right side of the line.

5) Maroney needs to be looking for the bounce outside to his left. On 3 occasions, if he'd bounced it outside to the left instead of trying to plough up the middle, he gets 7-15 yards, possibly more.

6) Maroney needs to get rid of the hitch that he takes before he explodes, it slows him down way too much. He should have made his read before that....

I think Phil Simms made a good point about the pass blocking. With Brady they were used to him stepping up after a few seconds which Cassel didn't do. The pass blocking could be corrected by Cassel learning when to step up or the o-line getting used to Cassel's styles.

One thing about Maroney I didn't get is why didn't they run him to the outside. Bryan Thomas isn't know for his run defense. I think Maroney could have been dangerous running to the outside.

 

[BradyManny]

1.) Cassel did a good job managing the game and not make mistakes. If he can keep this up, this team can still contend as long as the defense plays like it has.
2.) On that subject, this defense played the best I have seen it since maybe the 2004 season. They forced the Jets to play their game. Favre looked like the guy who hasn't started since high school nine years ago, not Cassel. Favre only sporatically got to down field and he was forced to throw a lot of short passes that went nowhere.
3.) Special shout out to Seymour. He is definitely playing like the All Pro he is. Rumors of his decline were greatly exaggerated.
4.) What happened to the Pats' supposive suspect secondary? Other than a play or two, they didn't give up much.
5.) Gostkowski had an amazing game. He might shatter the touchback record at this point.
6.) Why has Lamont Jordan been burried deep on the depth chart. Right now, he is arguably the Pats' best RB. He's got a lot of Corey Dillon in him. He is a bowling ball.
7.) I think the Jets being a trendy playoff pick is a little premature. Even before today, I thought they were the third best team in the division.

I agree w most of your thoughts. But I would point out that Jordan's successes against the Jets D came late in the game when they were worn down. By design, perhaps he will come in for the 2nd half with fresh legs and roll right over the D. I doubt he would've had any more success in the first half than Maroney, when the OL was not opening up running lanes.

I agree re: Seymour. I took a close look at that Chiefs game and what I saw was him being dominant. He wins battles every play and affects every play. Same goes for Wilfork and Warren, as well.

The secondary has looked great so far aside from 3 big plays, 1 against the Chiefs and 2 against the Jets. If they tighten those up, then they can be stifling. A healthy Ellis Hobbs looks pretty damn good, and O'Neal is playing well. Lewis Sanders is good depth. Wonder if we'll see Whealtey anytime soon.

Our 3 safeties have been playing well - Sanders, Meriweather & Harrison. Rodney has missed quite a few tackles in these first two games, that is the only negative I see there. Sadly, I'd say its fair to say he's lost a step in that regard, but he still has done a good job in coverage. If the trend I've been seeing continues (Meriweather looking good in run support and Rodney missing some tackles), then I wouldn't be surprised if Sanders and Meriweather become the safeties in the base D and Rodney enters in the nickel package.

I wouldn't be opposed to signing Lynch for depth and rotationally purpose. We have 3 safeties on the field a lot, and an injury to any one of the 3 would alter our nickel packages.

 

[Rob0729]

I agree w most of your thoughts. But I would point out that Jordan's successes against the Jets D came late in the game when they were worn down. By design, perhaps he will come in for the 2nd half with fresh legs and roll right over the D. I doubt he would've had any more success in the first half than Maroney, when the OL was not opening up running lanes.

I disagree a bit. They did rotate Morris and Maroney in there at the end of the game and neither had the success of Jordan.