Official Patriots/Falcons Post Game Thread

[Patspsycho]

I think it was a stupid move. There's a difference. Just because it worked doesn't mean it was smart, and if it hadn't worked I am sure you'd be pretty quiet instead of saying how smart it was.

EDIT: And I guarantee you we don't see him do it ever again (unless, of course, it's a situation where they are losing the game late).

Very good. You're calling BB stupid. You're smarter than him. You rock.

If our D was lousy, how in heck would we ever think about going for it on 4th in the first place? With a lousy D, that'd be gift-wrapping a TD for the other team if we failed on the 4th and 1. Now that's bullcrap for you.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Fred Taylor is the 2009 Corey Dillon imoh he just has to get chances which is a problem Corey never faced. Even though maroney ran well before he was injured today you can see the difference between the two easily. Fred Taylor looms really good and I expect him to carry the ball alot against Baltimore atleast 25-30 carries.

Not that it gets much easier through the air... but you really think one back gets 25-30 carries vs. Baltimore?

Isn't sticking to the ground game against Baltimore sort of like fighting a land war in Asia, historically?

PFnV

 

[BradyFTW!]

I hope we don't ever see Taylor get 30 carries. Not before the playoffs, anyways.

 

[Ring 6]

I don't think that the Pats' D is bad against the run. I just worry that we can be gashed, as we were in the Buffalo game. The reason why I think it is pretty simple: because we've played one good rushing team so far, and they ran all over us.

The Falcons were running for 3.4 YPC coming into this game, against Miami and Carolina. The Jets ran for 2.7 YPC against Tennessee today, and did well against a Houston run defense that got absolutely annihilated by JAX today (184 yards, 5.9 YPC, 4TD). So the Jets' running game got shut down in 1 non-Pats game, and did pretty well against a terrible run defense in the other.

To reiterate: I'm not saying that the Pats are bad against the run. And as bad as tehy were in week 1, I fully expect them to improve as the year goes on. But I'm definitely not ready to write off the Buffalo game on account of the fact that two decent-at-best rushing teams haven't done much against us since. Not saying we're bad- just that I haven't seen much since week 1 to swing me either way. If we can do well against the run next week, I'll be convinced.

How did we get GASHED by Buffalo. IIRC they ran about 17 times for 63 yards or some similar sub 4.0 rushing. If thats getting gashed i hope we get gashed every week.

 

[JackBauer]

I hope we don't ever see Taylor get 30 carries. Not before the playoffs, anyways.

Agreed. Hopefully Maroney is OK, and we can see more of him next week.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

I hope we don't ever see Taylor get 30 carries. Not before the playoffs, anyways.

You and me both. I kind of did not want to see him at the end when up 16, but luckily he came out alive.

 

[Patspsycho]

Isn't sticking to the ground game against Baltimore sort of like fighting a land war in Asia, historically?

PFnV

I think you'll see a modified ground game.. possibly more runs out of the shotgun up the middle.

I am sure BB will study the lapse they had against the Chargers (even though they won that game).

I wonder if we go no-huddle, same as we did in '07. Only thing is Ngata is not Jenkins.. his stamina is much better.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

We can rename him "Not as fragile as the other guy Fred"

 

[Scouse Patriot]

Nice win today, only seen highlights but it's nice to kick on from the loss with a win against a decent Atlanta team.

 

[Wolfpack]

Very good. You're calling BB stupid. You're smarter than him. You rock.

OK, this proves you've lost this argument because now you're just inventing things I never said. I said it was a stupid move. I never, not once, called Bill Belichick stupid. You're pretty gutless to put words in my mouth like that. Even smart people can make stupid decisions, and I consider this a good example of that.

Meanwhile, one can always tell an individual has lost an argument when they start following Dilbert's Law of Internet Debating. You've given us a great example of 2 such laws:

4. Omit key words. For example, if someone says that people can’t eat rocks, accuse the person of being stupid for suggesting that people can’t eat. Bonus points for arguing that some people CAN eat pebbles if they try hard enough.

5. Assume the dumbest interpretation. For example, if someone says that he can run a mile in 12 minutes, assume he means it happens underwater and argue that no one can hold his breath that long.

 

[Ring 6]

The Falcons run the ball a lot, but they don't do it especially well. Don't let that keep you from building obvious straw-men though- that seems to pretty much be your M.O.

I didn't say that hte Pats' run D was bad. I said that there are two obvious reasons why they couldn't run on us today: either our run D is much, much better than we thought, or their ground game isn't as good as most people think. I think it's a fair amount of both, but I'm leaning towards a little more of the latter. Now, if we can repeat this performance next week against Baltimore, then I'll be happy (and relieved) to admit that I was wrong. But considering that a lot of sources that I trust a great deal were putting up red flags about ATL's running game before the season even started (Turner piled up stats feasting on bad D's last year- was very unspectacular the rest of the time), it's clear to me which way to lean.

Please try to support your assertion that the Falcons are an "excellent running team". I'm like to see how you got that impression. And know in advance that if you just point to Turner's rushing totals, I'll just give you a game-by-game breakdown that shows that he was awesome against crappy teams, but that's about it. His eye-popping stats are pretty much the result of crazy stats against Detroit, KC, St. Louis, and Green Bay- a bunch of absolutely terrible Ds.

They were 2nd in the NFL in rushing and 7th in ypc. I say that is an 'excellent running team' you say that is a team so poor that our good run D against them is an illusion.

 

[Brady to Brown]

OK, this proves you've lost this argument because now you're just inventing things I never said. I said it was a stupid move. I never, not once, called Bill Belichick stupid. You're pretty gutless to put words in my mouth like that. Even smart people can make stupid decisions, and I consider this a good example of that.

Meanwhile, one can always tell an individual has lost an argument when they start following Dilbert's Law of Internet Debating. You've given us a great example of 2 such laws:

4. Omit key words. For example, if someone says that people can’t eat rocks, accuse the person of being stupid for suggesting that people can’t eat. Bonus points for arguing that some people CAN eat pebbles if they try hard enough.

5. Assume the dumbest interpretation. For example, if someone says that he can run a mile in 12 minutes, assume he means it happens underwater and argue that no one can hold his breath that long.

Stop and take the high road now.

You are right, it was a bad move and you will never see Belichick do it again. The guy you are discussing this with is grasping at straws. And he is not going to stop.

 

[Mike the Brit]

How did we get GASHED by Buffalo. IIRC they ran about 17 times for 63 yards or some similar sub 4.0 rushing. If thats getting gashed i hope we get gashed every week.

Jackson had about 130 or 140 "all-purpose yards" -- that is, short swing passes and screens included, which are, to all intents and purposes, runs. There's no denying he had a good day.

 

[Wolfpack]

Stop and take the high road now.

You are right, it was a bad move and you will never see Belichick do it again. The guy you are discussing this with is grasping at straws. And he is not going to stop.

Good advice and I will follow it. Thank you.

 

[Patspsycho]

OK, this proves you've lost this argument because now you're just inventing things I never said. I said it was a stupid move. I never, not once, called Bill Belichick stupid. Even smart people can make stupid decisions.

One can always tell an individual has lost an argument when they start following Dilbert's Law of Internet Debating. You've given us a great example of 2 such laws:

4. Omit key words. For example, if someone says that people can’t eat rocks, accuse the person of being stupid for suggesting that people can’t eat. Bonus points for arguing that some people CAN eat pebbles if they try hard enough.

5. Assume the dumbest interpretation. For example, if someone says that he can run a mile in 12 minutes, assume he means it happens underwater and argue that no one can hold his breath that long.

I said "You're calling BB stupid" in obvious reference to that scenario (what the heck else would we be referring to?) and you've extrapolated that into my calling you smarter than BB as a coach.

Also, speaking of Dilbertism, seeing that you are such a big fan of dorks, perhaps being one yourself- you still haven't answered the question of whether we'd really have gone for it on 4th if we didn't have any confidence in our D?

If we had zero confidence in our D to stop a TD, there is no way in heck we go for it on 4th and short on our 25. Pure, plain, and simple.

 

[maverick4]

Mike Reiss' blog - How the Patriots stopped Tony Gonzalez - ESPN Boston

[Gonzalez was limited to one catch for 16 yards, and here is a look at how the Patriots did it: Gonzalez said he faced bracket coverage, explaining that wherever he ran there always seemed to be two defenders around him.

He said it was Patriots safety Brandon McGowan who was the primary defender to engage him when he released from the line of scrimmage. Gonzalez also said that he faced consistent jams at the line, especially on third down.

"[McGowan] was pretty much going with me with man [coverage] and pretty much anywhere I would go he got help," Gonzalez explained. "I had someone in my face playing man and as soon as I'd go in someone else's zone, they would just be waiting right there.

"The way I feel is that you kind of better do that. For the most part, and I'd say this about anybody, you should be able to beat man-to-man coverage. The day I can't beat man-to-man coverage, I'll probably retire."

Patriots coach Bill Belichick acknowledged how many resources the defense devoted to Gonzalez in the middle of the field, which meant there were single-coverage matchups on the outer edges, putting added pressure on the team's outside corners.

"We doubled him a lot. I thought our guys stepped up and did a good job on him," Belichick said. "Then we held up in some other spots as well. Terrence [Wheatley] and Shawn [Springs] and Leigh [Bodden] they did a good job out there and we didn't give them very much help. They stepped up to the challenge against a good group of receivers, and did a competitive job."

The Patriots ran a few different packages in the game -- a 4-3, 3-4 and a dime (6 defensive backs). They did not play nickel.

The dime had a four-man line of Tully Banta-Cain, Jarvis Green, Myron Pryor and Derrick Burgess, with Gary Guyton the lone linebacker.]

 

[Mike the Brit]

Nice win today, only seen highlights but it's nice to kick on from the loss with a win against a decent Atlanta team.

Yes, it was a nice win. There are still problems with Brady's accuracy and getting into sync. with his receivers, but the D held when it mattered, the run game looked good (Taylor has still got a lot in the tank) and the Falcons didn't manage a significant pass rush.

Oh, and Randy Moss was just AWESOME! Not just the catches he made, but the way he was all over the field, taking short passes for third downs, stretching the field for Brady (not that he got the best throws). The more remarkable as it became obvious that he was the receiver that Brady was looking for all the time and the Atlanta D. was totally focused on him (Galloway had the dropsies and Edelman has been a WR for < 6 months). By far the best player on the field!

 

[letekro]

Good advice and I will follow it. Thank you.

I thought it was a good move at the time. I had the feeling that our defense was a little tired at that point and the game was just about to turn in ATL's favor. the 4th down prevented that momentum change, and was really the key play in the game. If it's fourth and a yard, there's no way he goes for it IMO. The key is that it was 4th and a foot, and I think the percentages are just overwhelmingly in favor of conversion from that distance.

 

[DaBruinz]

WOW.. U don't know football then.. Jenkins is top 3 NT in the league..

I'll go further.. He's the best NT in the league.. He's better than WIlfork..

ROFLMAO.. Jenkins isn't the best NT in the league. Jamal Williams is better than he is.. Casey Hampton is better than Jenkins. Wilfork is better than Jenkins... Sorry.

 

[Ring 6]

Jackson had about 130 or 140 "all-purpose yards" -- that is, short swing passes and screens included, which are, to all intents and purposes, runs. There's no denying he had a good day.

Screen passes are not run defense. There is a big difference.