- Joined
- Jul 11, 2005
- Messages
- 15,518
- Reaction score
- 27,509
Even though the Moss situation is current in the forefront of most of us, that won't be the focus of this post....though I'm sure I'll get to it eventually. 
1. The most impressive stat I thought that came out of the Vikings game was the fact that Adrian Peterson had 43 yds rushing in the first period, and only 49 for the next THREE quarters. Peterson, I thought was great. He made the most of every opportunity, and on that first drive it looked like he'd be looking at a 150 yd day. He made great cuts and yds after contact. He is probably the best RB the Pats will face this season.
However the "stat" is very telling. It tells us that the Pats improved their rush defense as the game went on. It tells you that the staff is capable of making adjustments on the fly. It tells you that the Players are capable of being coached up on the fly. All very good signs that point to the expectation that this defense has the capability to be a championship caliber defense by the time the playoffs roll around.
3. As to 3rd down conversions. The Vikings converted only 4 of 11 3rd downs (36%) another improvement. Maybe enough to get us out of the cellar.
4. Another point to make was that this overall continued improvement came against a good offense and the "good" Brett Farve. He wasn't a bit generous on Sunday. It could have been one of his better games of the year, so whatever we got, we earned.
5. Want to know another reason we are 6-1 TURNOVERS. Can you remember the last time the offense turned it over? (the inconsequential half time Hail Mary vs the Ravens) ZERO in the last 2 games, and that's significant. Neither the offense nor the defense is good enough yet to survive a game where we lose the turnover battle.
6 Any questions about the last 2 drafts? The offense has 4 guys who are major contributors (Volmer, Tate, Hernandez, and Gronk) The defense has 5 starters (Spikes, Cunningham, Chung, McCourty, and Deadrick), while Pryor, Brace, Fletcher and Butler all get regular playing time in sub packages. Plus on special teams you have Mezko, Ingram and Edelman, who also gets run on offense though doesn't see the ball much. That's SIXTEEN players who are key players on the team with the best record in the the NFL.
7. On the other hand, we have to temper optimism with realism. This defense DID give up over 400 yds of offense to the Vikings, and they aren't the first team to out gain us.
Our youth is also why we are 28th in total D and 19th in total Offense. Not exactly stellar numbers, but while they clearly don't tell the whole story, they DO tell us that in every game we play, for next month or so, our margin of error is slim. We still cannot afford to gift any team points or field position through turnovers. And both the offense and defense has to continue to improve, if this early success is to have any lasting meaning.
7. The Zoltan has been one our of best weapons on offense. He consistently pins offenses inside the 20, and on several occasions has given us much better field position, on several key occasions, than we had a right to expect. The scary thing is he has room to improve. Well worth the pick. Do not underestimate how important the improvement in our punting game has been thus far. (and welcome back from the grave Jake)
8. Marvin Pryor is going to be fined for his hit on Farve.....and its going to piss me off. Its one thing to penalize/fine a player for a blow to the head, but incidental contact/touching shouldn't be penalized. How can a player effectively rush the passer when he is afraid to raise his arms because he's afraid he might TOUCH the QB's helmet Maybe we should just give the QB a flag belt, or whistle the play dead with a 2 hand tag.
9. OK time to talk about Moss. I was very surprise, but in retrospect, after his emotional presser, I think the Vikings did the right thing.
10. Now what happens if he should pass through waivers and he becomes a FA. Should we try to get him back. I say (after several flip flops) YES. He has clearly slipped some as far as his physical talent goes, but he'd still be our most talented WR. With Moss the offense (which is now rather erratic to say the least), would be better with him. Here are some other reasons.
a. His experience with the coaching in Minnesota must have been eye opening, per his presser. I think he realized what a big mistake it was to try and shoot his way out of town. He's been humbled
b. He's never been a locker room problem, in fact he's good in the locker room.
c. After he's cleared waivers we can get him for the minimum because the Vikings would still be on the hook for his current contract.
d. Now you may be able to sign him to a reasonable long term contract (ie, 3 years with a $3MM with incentives that could double that #, and guarantee the base for 2 years).
e. I don't buy into Felger's opinion that we sold our soul to the god of talent after 2006 and lost the "Patriot Way", with Moss being the prime example. We are probably the best place for him both emotionally and professionally. And talent DOES matter, within the context of your system.
Under most of those conditions he'd be a value.....and we get a 3rd rounder
I got some more but I'm sure it will come out in the discussion. Enjoy
1. The most impressive stat I thought that came out of the Vikings game was the fact that Adrian Peterson had 43 yds rushing in the first period, and only 49 for the next THREE quarters. Peterson, I thought was great. He made the most of every opportunity, and on that first drive it looked like he'd be looking at a 150 yd day. He made great cuts and yds after contact. He is probably the best RB the Pats will face this season.
However the "stat" is very telling. It tells us that the Pats improved their rush defense as the game went on. It tells you that the staff is capable of making adjustments on the fly. It tells you that the Players are capable of being coached up on the fly. All very good signs that point to the expectation that this defense has the capability to be a championship caliber defense by the time the playoffs roll around.
3. As to 3rd down conversions. The Vikings converted only 4 of 11 3rd downs (36%) another improvement. Maybe enough to get us out of the cellar.
4. Another point to make was that this overall continued improvement came against a good offense and the "good" Brett Farve. He wasn't a bit generous on Sunday. It could have been one of his better games of the year, so whatever we got, we earned.
5. Want to know another reason we are 6-1 TURNOVERS. Can you remember the last time the offense turned it over? (the inconsequential half time Hail Mary vs the Ravens) ZERO in the last 2 games, and that's significant. Neither the offense nor the defense is good enough yet to survive a game where we lose the turnover battle.
6 Any questions about the last 2 drafts? The offense has 4 guys who are major contributors (Volmer, Tate, Hernandez, and Gronk) The defense has 5 starters (Spikes, Cunningham, Chung, McCourty, and Deadrick), while Pryor, Brace, Fletcher and Butler all get regular playing time in sub packages. Plus on special teams you have Mezko, Ingram and Edelman, who also gets run on offense though doesn't see the ball much. That's SIXTEEN players who are key players on the team with the best record in the the NFL.
7. On the other hand, we have to temper optimism with realism. This defense DID give up over 400 yds of offense to the Vikings, and they aren't the first team to out gain us.
Our youth is also why we are 28th in total D and 19th in total Offense. Not exactly stellar numbers, but while they clearly don't tell the whole story, they DO tell us that in every game we play, for next month or so, our margin of error is slim. We still cannot afford to gift any team points or field position through turnovers. And both the offense and defense has to continue to improve, if this early success is to have any lasting meaning.
7. The Zoltan has been one our of best weapons on offense. He consistently pins offenses inside the 20, and on several occasions has given us much better field position, on several key occasions, than we had a right to expect. The scary thing is he has room to improve. Well worth the pick. Do not underestimate how important the improvement in our punting game has been thus far. (and welcome back from the grave Jake)
8. Marvin Pryor is going to be fined for his hit on Farve.....and its going to piss me off. Its one thing to penalize/fine a player for a blow to the head, but incidental contact/touching shouldn't be penalized. How can a player effectively rush the passer when he is afraid to raise his arms because he's afraid he might TOUCH the QB's helmet Maybe we should just give the QB a flag belt, or whistle the play dead with a 2 hand tag.
9. OK time to talk about Moss. I was very surprise, but in retrospect, after his emotional presser, I think the Vikings did the right thing.
10. Now what happens if he should pass through waivers and he becomes a FA. Should we try to get him back. I say (after several flip flops) YES. He has clearly slipped some as far as his physical talent goes, but he'd still be our most talented WR. With Moss the offense (which is now rather erratic to say the least), would be better with him. Here are some other reasons.
a. His experience with the coaching in Minnesota must have been eye opening, per his presser. I think he realized what a big mistake it was to try and shoot his way out of town. He's been humbled
b. He's never been a locker room problem, in fact he's good in the locker room.
c. After he's cleared waivers we can get him for the minimum because the Vikings would still be on the hook for his current contract.
d. Now you may be able to sign him to a reasonable long term contract (ie, 3 years with a $3MM with incentives that could double that #, and guarantee the base for 2 years).
e. I don't buy into Felger's opinion that we sold our soul to the god of talent after 2006 and lost the "Patriot Way", with Moss being the prime example. We are probably the best place for him both emotionally and professionally. And talent DOES matter, within the context of your system.
Under most of those conditions he'd be a value.....and we get a 3rd rounder
I got some more but I'm sure it will come out in the discussion. Enjoy
