A Few Thoughts on Yesterday

[aluminum seats]

--Wow…just wow. Forget those 16 points Pittsburgh scored in the 4th—as Tomlin said, teams that far behind are usually able to move the ball. That was a domination.

--One of the things that was bugging me when Moss was still around was the feeling that Brady had to babysit—that is, sit next to him all the time. Winning or losing, the Brady of the Super Bowl years, charging around the sideline, talking to guys, was replaced by Brady sitting next to Randy. It started changing the minute Moss was traded, and yesterday the old Brady was all the way back.

--Chung Chung Chung. Seemed like the Pats D was finding its identity until he got hurt a few games ago, and then they found it again last night (and while the Steelers points were garbage time, wonder if they would have been as easy w/Chung in there.) One guy can make an absolutely huge difference. Remember the ridiculous W/L splits the Pats had with Rodney Harrison vs. without? They essentially never lost w/him. Chung’s starting to seem like that kind of guy. I hear on the board that he’s OK, so a big whew! on that.

--Speaking of Chung, he came out of nowhere to flatten the Pittsburgh receiver on the last play of the 1st Q—I thought he stopped him short of the first down. Second Q., it was first down w/no mention of a measurement or anything. Did I miss something?

--The line play was outstanding on both sides of the ball. Anyone who was getting pissy about Mankins holding out should realize now you gotta shake that stuff off. Brady could have drawn pictures of his receivers he had so much time. Fantastic.

--No matter how much time he had, Brady was awesome. Still trying to figure out how he got that one ball to Gronk, I think it was the first TD.

--Speaking of Gronk, many have been wishing he would be more involved, so his contributions were great. Wonder if it was partially motivated by his mistakes last week--get the guy back in the mix before he loses confidence. Whatever, that's what we've been looking for. And it gives Hernandez a bit of a breather too, which could help down the road.

--OT….man, the Jets are lucky, huh? All that matters is the record, as we always say, but wow. That’s 3 Ws in a row they easily could have lost. Having said that, I don’t have a problem w/the Pats getting pushed by another team in the division. Hell, maybe it helps ‘em in some way. Bring it on.

 

[ATippett56]

--Wow…just wow. Forget those 16 points Pittsburgh scored in the 4th—as Tomlin said, teams that far behind are usually able to move the ball. That was a domination.

The New England Patriots defense was dominant in the first half.

--One of the things that was bugging me when Moss was still around was the feeling that Brady had to babysit—that is, sit next to him all the time. Winning or losing, the Brady of the Super Bowl years, charging around the sideline, talking to guys, was replaced by Brady sitting next to Randy. It started changing the minute Moss was traded, and yesterday the old Brady was all the way back.

The New England Patriots have moved on from the Randy Moss Era. In the meantime, Brandon Tate is essentially a rookie wide receiver in this year's Patriots offense; Deion Branch needs to reacclimate himself to this year's Patriots offense; Wes Welker is returning from knee surgery alot sooner than most of us probably predicted. Throw in two rookie tight ends and a running back who was not in training camp for the New England Patriots, and it will take time for this offense to gel. The bottom line is the Pittsburgh Steelers game illustrated the potential of the New England Patriots offense near or at its best.

 

[Patriot_in_NY]

Yeah, this D is definitely different with Chung in there. No question.

Speaking of that. He left late in the 4th after what looked like minor leg cramps (??) and never returned. I hope they just put him on the shelf for the rest of the game and he's not gonna miss any more time.

Anyone know?

 

[Uncle Rico]

... The New England Patriots have moved on from the Randy Moss Era. In the meantime, Brandon Tate is essentially a rookie wide receiver in this year's Patriots offense; Deion Branch needs to reacclimate himself to this year's Patriots offense; Wes Welker is returning from knee surgery alot sooner than most of us probably predicted. Throw in two rookie tight ends and a running back who was not in training camp for the New England Patriots, and it will take time for this offense to gel. The bottom line is the Pittsburgh Steelers game illustrated the potential of the New England Patriots offense near or at its best.

Yeah, the parts were all (well, mostly) on display last night. Would like to see more from Tate -- I think if Brady led him more to the corner on that one deep ball to the end zone it would have been 6, but IIRC Tate also had a weak drop later.

We also saw very little of Hernandez, maybe because of the blocking help that was needed on the line. I'm guessing we see more of him next week; set him free while Woodhead helps take care of blocking Feeney/Mathis.

 

[JackBauer]

Chung is a beast. Seems like they're using him in coverage quite a bit, with Meriweather just playing deep in center field. Either way, wherever the ball is Pat Chung is sure to be nearby.

 

[Deus Irae]

Chung is a beast. Seems like they're using him in coverage quite a bit, with Meriweather just playing deep in center field. Either way, wherever the ball is Pat Chung is sure to be nearby.

Chung's pass coverage seems to be vastly improved from last year. He's still subpar, and he's a holding call just waiting to happen, but he's clearly getting better. Another year or two could see him turn into a truly complete safety.

 

[amazinPats]

Well said. I felt this way too. We don't have time to babysit prima donna players. There is nothing that he brings to the table which can offset this kind of damage.

 

[JackBauer]

Chung's pass coverage seems to be vastly improved from last year. He's still subpar, and he's a holding call just waiting to happen, but he's clearly getting better. Another year or two could see him turn into a truly complete safety.

I saw the same thing. Lucky for us he's only 23 years old... don't want to be premature but it's hard not to imagine what this guy could become under BB's tutelage.

 

[ATippett56]

We don't have time to babysit prima donna players.

That's why Randy Moss, Adalius Thomas, Derrick Burgess, and Shawn Springs are no longer on the roster.

 

[Speedy Welker]

Rodney said that first TD Brady threw to Gronk HAD to be a perfect a perfect, and he really. That should have been an incomplete pass if not throw perfect

 

[Bella*chick]

Isn't it awesome to be looking forward to the development of young guys instead of worrying about age, slowing down and wear and tear?

 

[apple strudel]

Our lines beat the cr4p out of their scrubs - 2 starting DEs were out, starting LT was out. And the Steelers had a bad O-line to start with. It was a great game, but not really an accurate barometer of anything, sort of like when we ran all over Buffalo who can't stop the run to save their collective life.

 

[aluminum seats]

Our lines beat the cr4p out of their scrubs - 2 starting DEs were out, starting LT was out. And the Steelers had a bad O-line to start with. It was a great game, but not really an accurate barometer of anything, sort of like when we ran all over Buffalo who can't stop the run to save their collective life.

True enough you have to take into account the other team. Having said that, the "scrubs" are part of the team, and starters on the Pats (eg, Ty Warren) being out shouldn't stop us from saying the Pats D line played poorly, or well, or whatever. The lines played well yesterday.

 

[apple strudel]

True enough you have to take into account the other team. Having said that, the "scrubs" are part of the team, and starters on the Pats (eg, Ty Warren) being out shouldn't stop us from saying the Pats D line played poorly, or well, or whatever. The lines played well yesterday.

Don't disagree, and the Pats have better depth (almost as a rule due to philosophy) than most other teams in the NFL. I just have a sneaking feeling that this game isn't a really accurate reflection of this team. Of course, I still don't have a handle on who this team is, exactly.

 

[ATippett56]

Our lines beat the cr4p out of their scrubs - 2 starting DEs were out, starting LT was out.

Meanwhile, the New England Patriots starting offensive right guard (Neal) and offensive right tackle (Kaczur) were out while the New England Patriots left defensive end (Warren) was out.

 

[BradyManny]

--Speaking of Gronk, many have been wishing he would be more involved, so his contributions were great. Wonder if it was partially motivated by his mistakes last week--get the guy back in the mix before he loses confidence. Whatever, that's what we've been looking for. And it gives Hernandez a bit of a breather too, which could help down the road.

I have to wonder if something is up with Hernandez right now, to see him have his PT reduced so dramatically. We won't know until next Sunday if it was purely gameplan or what. But he and Welker clearly had an issue on one of those plays he was out there for (they both ran to the same spot) - that can't be by design, and I would tend to think it wasn't Welker's mistake. We had Branch talking about guys running the wrong route the week before - maybe a couple of the rookies are hitting a wall, mentally to some extent. But hopefully we see Hernandez out there more in ensuing weeks b/c he may be our most explosive receiver all-around at the moment.

 

[apple strudel]

Meanwhile, the New England Patriots starting offensive right guard (Neal) and offensive right tackle (Kaczur) were out while the New England Patriots left defensive end (Warren) was out.

Um, no kidding? See post above about NEP depth. This board, I swear.

Anyway, the Steelers only had 2 starting O linemen play, one of whom is a rookie. Both tackles were out, and a starting guard was out. No wonder we got 5 sacks. It was a great win (necessary disclaimer for all the insecure panicky types), but it's not like our pass rush broke free from the chrysalis overnight.

 

[SVN]

I have to wonder if something is up with Hernandez right now, to see him have his PT reduced so dramatically. We won't know until next Sunday if it was purely gameplan or what. But he and Welker clearly had an issue on one of those plays he was out there for (they both ran to the same spot) - that can't be by design, and I would tend to think it wasn't Welker's mistake. We had Branch talking about guys running the wrong route the week before - maybe a couple of the rookies are hitting a wall, mentally to some extent. But hopefully we see Hernandez out there more in ensuing weeks b/c he may be our most explosive receiver all-around at the moment.

they clearly wanted to block the steelers pass rush and felt gronk and crumpler were better options than hernandez

 

[apple strudel]

they clearly wanted to block the steelers pass rush and felt gronk and crumpler were better options than hernandez

Agree, but I thought it was odd that they didn't line him up out wide some.

 

[BradyManny]

they clearly wanted to block the steelers pass rush and felt gronk and crumpler were better options than hernandez

Absolutely. The Colts may pose a different set of problems, so we may see more Hernandez next week - we'll see.