Unofficial Week 12 Pats at Lions Post-Game Analysis

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

Where is the Pats-Lions Post game thread?

A caualty of Thanksgiving?

 

[RayClay]

Re: Where is the Pats-Lions Post game thread?

A caualty of Thanksgiving?

Answered your own question?

 

[Kontradiction]

Re: Where is the Pats-Lions Post game thread?

This appears to be a suitable thread.

 

[PatsFans.com Article]

The Best and Worst: Patriots at Lions

The Best and Worst: Patriots at Lions
By: Ian Logue

Looking back at Thursday afternoon's game between the Patriots and Lions, here's a look at the Best and Worst from New England's 45-24 win over Detroit....

CLICK HERE TO READ THIS STORY​

 

[jmt57]

Yeah, it's way late. Better late than never.

Put your post-game thoughts and analysis here, as well as any links and quotes to columns that are worth reading.

 

[Ring 6]

F-ing 9 and F-ing 2
Is there any more to say?
Have the Patriots ever been 9-2 and NOT gone to a SB?

 

[ATippett56]

Re: Where is the Pats-Lions Post game thread?

A casualty of Thanksgiving?

A casualty of Thanksgiving? My wasteline after Thanksgiving dinner. Thanks for asking!

 

[jmt57]

Some of The best and worst of Patriots-Lions by Tom Curran and Mary Paoletti of CSNNE

WORST ELUSIVENESS
Brandon Tate can motor. But when it comes to making people miss using anything other than raw speed, he's not gifted. After a Lions' first-half touchdown, Tate ran straight into a mess of defenders and basically stopped before trying a half-hearted spin.

BEST LIVING UP TO BILLING
Lions rookie DT Ndamokung Suh had a sack and a three-yard tackle for loss on the Patriots' first two drives and New England was soon in a position where it was double-teaming him on most every snap.

BEST PLOWHORSE IMITATION
BenJarvus Green-Ellis hammering home a 15-yard touchdown run at the end of a forgettable first half, capped by his carrying a Lion the final five yards into the end zone.

WORST ATTEMPT TO GET CREATIVE
The Patriots tried to execute a flea-flicker early in the third quarter. It would have been a neat little trick if it had worked. But Green-Ellis seemed to hold the ball too long and Brady got hit as he released the ball. Pass incomplete.

 

[jmt57]

Patriots 45, Lions 24: Postgame report - Extra Points - Boston.com

WHY DID THE PATRIOTS WIN?

They got a big assist from the Lions who, as has become customary for them, had a few key penalties, turnovers and blown plays to hurt themselves in a game where they had leads of 14-3, 17-10 and 24-17. But the Patriots did win this game because quarterback Tom Brady was perfect (no, really, he was with a 158.3 rating) and both sides of the ball found a way to make big plays (mostly from CB Devin McCourty and WR Deion Branch). When you limit your mistakes – Patriots had no turnovers and just five penalties – you’re going to be hard to beat when you make explosive plays.

THREE THINGS TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT

1. Passing offense: After seeing his completion percentage go down after the Randy Moss trade (61.4, 59.4, 59.3 to 52.8 vs. Browns), Brady has been on the rebound with 69.8, 76 and 77.8 against the Lions. Brady had a perfect passer rating of 158.3 against the Lions as he went 21 of 27 for 341 yards and four touchdowns. The emergence of WR Deion Branch has really helped the offense. He played on one hamstring against the Vikings and the Browns. You can see what a difference a healthy Branch makes.

2. Growth of McCourty: Rookie cornerback Devin McCourty continues to play better with each game. He had two interceptions against the Lions and the first was on a beautiful read against Calvin Johnson. It’s obvious McCourty is studying his butt off because you can’t just make those plays on instinct, you have to know tendencies of the opposing offense. He did the same thing agains the Colts. It’s hard to imagine where the Patriots’ shaky secondary would be without McCourty. He’s just been so solid, which is a great thing for a rookie.

3. Offensive line adjusted: Maybe the veterans were a little creaky in the early going or they figured out the Lions’ games on the lines, but for whatever reason the offensive line was much more sound in the second half. Brady was beat up in the first half but was kept much more clean in the second half when he was 10 of 14 with four touchdowns.

THREE THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT

1. Safety play: James Sanders does a decent job in the back end even though the Patriots could really use Patrick Chung’s athleticism back there. Brandon Meriweather continues to struggle. The Lions had two big plays to Calvin Johnson and on both of them, Johnson was the only receiver on that side of the field – same side as Meriweather’s. Yet Meriweather was slow each time getting over. The Patriots will need him to make better and quicker reads as the games become more important – like next Monday night’s showdown against the Jets.

2. Brandon Tate: The Patriots could also use a legitimate deep threat to keep defenses honest and Tate hasn’t been getting it done. He had a crucial drop in the first half on third down. Tate needs to make those plays more consistently.

3. More hits on the quarterback: OK, so you don’t need the huge sack totals (although those help) but the Patriots definitely need to thud the quarterback a little bit more. Officially they had three quarterback hits and two of them were sacks recorded on the Lions’ final drive in garbage time. Patriots will need to rattle the likes of Mark Sanchez and Aaron Rodgers more.

 

[jmt57]

Postgame Quotes: Lions vs Patriots | DetroitLions.com

On if the Patriots changed something to neutralize the pass rush later in the game:

"They started protecting up a little bit more; they started keeping their tight ends in the protection; they were mixing; they were throwing some balls really quick. Brady doesn’t take a whole lot of sacks anyway. But I thought that there were some that they schemed that they were going to protect up with seven or eight guys and try to take shots down the field, flea-flicker, things like that, to try to take the heat off of him. Other times he was throwing really quick. But I think your point is that we didn’t maintain that pressure. We had good pressure early but I think Brady in particular did a good job of getting rid of the ball in some of those situations. When he was holding it, it was a calculated hold because they had play action and a lot of guys in protection."

On if the 79-yard touchdown was a missed play in coverage, or if they were just beat:

"That’s man-to-man coverage. We were looking in the back field and didn’t cover our guy."

On CB Alphonso Smith:

"They went after him. He didn’t play his best. He’s played very well for us this year. He made a lot of plays for us. But this game wasn’t one of his best games. It was probably a lot of things, but one of which was trying to do too much. In man-to-man cover, your man, don’t worry about trying to do more than that. I think that’s where, in particular, on two plays, in one play it broke down, in another one he was a victim of the double move. (In) man-to-man your job is to stay with your man."

 

[Patspsycho]

Some of The best and worst of Patriots-Lions by Tom Curran and Mary Paoletti of CSNNE

WORST ATTEMPT TO GET CREATIVE
The Patriots tried to execute a flea-flicker early in the third quarter. It would have been a neat little trick if it had worked. But Green-Ellis seemed to hold the ball too long and Brady got hit as he released the ball. Pass incomplete.

WRONG. Spievey (Lions RCB) slipped in unblocked and rushed Brady. First fault belongs to Brady who did not assign a blocker to Spievey or identify him as a rusher. As the OL was in an inner zone blocking scheme, it then becomes the responsibility of Vollmer to release to meet Spievey who you will see shoots the lane to Vollmer's right.

You out there Winston Smith? Don't you know you can't betray the play action too soon; you have to allow the receivers to release upfield before you complete the flea flicker. That being said, it is ridiculous to point the finger at BJGE. He did his job to a T.

 

[jmt57]

Response to adversity says everything about New England Patriots against Detroit Lions - ESPN Boston

Reiss' keys to the win:

1. - Defensive Toughness
2. - Brady 21/27/341/4
3. - Deion Branch
4. - Devin McCourty Int
5. - Pats are an NFL best 9-2

"We fight, man. The one thing we have on this team is heart," Wilfork said in a jubilant postgame locker room. "This game was all about character, all about guts, who you really are."

"When things are going wrong, instead of trying to make a play on their own, I think guys focus in a little more and have enough pride to take it upon themselves to do their job. The times we didn't do that this season, we lost," he said.

"At halftime, everybody came in and decided that we weren't going to feel sorry for ourselves. We were on the short week, coming off a tough game against Indy, and then we traveled here to play against a team that plays this game every year; it's like their Super Bowl. We had guys beat up, we had guys tired, but I don't think anybody felt sorry for themselves. We challenged each other in the locker room."

 

[jmt57]

Jim Donaldson: May not be perfect, but it’s all good for 9-2 Pats | The Providence Journal

The Pats also were troubled, early on, by the scrambling playmaking of Detroit quarterback Shaun Hill, a nine-year vet who has had to step in after Matthew Stafford — considered the future of the franchise after being drafted first overall last year — was sidelined by a shoulder injury for the second-straight season.

The game was going Detroit’s way, and very well might have gotten away from the Patriots, had it not been for a timely interception by rookie cornerback Devin McCourty that set up a touchdown, and then two TD receptions by Deion Branch, including a dazzling, 79-yarder you’ll be seeing on highlight films for the next several days — and perhaps years.

By the time it was mercifully over, the Patriots had outscored Detroit in the second half 35-7.

Yes, the Lions are a bad — albeit improving — team.

But this was a very good win for the Patriots, who, after playing three games in 12 days, now have 10 days to prepare for their apocalyptic showdown with the Jets, a week from Monday in Foxboro.

Devin McCourty Delivers Game-Changing Performance for Pats in Thanksgiving Day Victory - Jeff Howe - NESN

"Devin's interception was a huge play in the game," Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said at his postgame news conference.

Belichick added, "That was a big play by Devin there that kind of really swung the game, I think, a little bit, with giving us the field position, putting us back to where we could be on an even par with Detroit instead of chasing them all the time like we were in the first half."

That’s for sure. Brady led the offense down the field for the tying touchdown early in the third quarter, and it sprung a 35-7 run for the Patriots to close out the game. Naturally, McCourty didn’t do it alone, as Brady had a perfect passer rating of 158.3 to go along with 341 yards and four touchdowns. All the while, wide receivers Deion Branch and Wes Welker and running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis each found the end zone twice.

It was McCourty, though, who stole the show and might have earned some votes for Defensive Rookie of the Year, as well. While Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh is having an otherworldly season, McCourty might actually be more valuable to his team because he's an integral piece on a playoff-bound club.

McCourty, who also picked off a pass in the fourth quarter, became the first Patriots rookie to intercept two passes in a game since Mike Haynes in 1976, and McCourty's five interceptions are second to Haynes' franchise rookie record (eight).

Belichick has dropped tons of praise on McCourty throughout the season, which is nothing to scoff at. He compared McCourty's film study to the likes of Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, who some contend is the greatest player in NFL history, and Belichick said earlier this week that McCourty looks like a guy who has been playing in the league for five or six years.

That’s hardly the case. Thursday was the 11th game of McCourty's career, and he put the Patriots on his back.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

One more worry, the STs on KOs were putrid. Detroit outplayed the Pats on KOs bigtime.

 

[Simkin]

Re: Where is the Pats-Lions Post game thread?

4 days off practise seems so much isnt?

 

[RobertWeathers]

Re: Where is the Pats-Lions Post game thread?

4 days off practise seems so much isnt?

They've played 3 games in 12 days. For this time of year, it's a much needed mini bye-week. They need it.

 

[Gwedd]

Re: Where is the Pats-Lions Post game thread?

They've played 3 games in 12 days. For this time of year, it's a much needed mini bye-week. They need it.

They need it big time. Get the guys rested and the lesser injuries healed up as much as possible. The one very positive thing I see thing about this next game is that it is played at Gillette.

 

[Uncle Rico]

Response to adversity says everything about New England Patriots against Detroit Lions - ESPN Boston

I was just about to post this. Great story. Really sums up this team, not just the game. Such character and resilience. To think they're 9-2 and there's a lot of improvement ahead.

"Young guys realize they're professionals. To be young and realize that, that's tough. These guys really do, they know it's a profession, it's their job. They work their tail off," (Wilfork) said. "For me to see that, I feel happy. Here I am seven years into the league, and here is this rookie right with me, working his tail off. It gives me a lot of support on the field."

He must feel so good about this turn-around from the AD era. Such a change.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

Detroit Lions QB Shaun Hill accuses Patriots of trying to break his arm ... again - theoaklandpress.com

Lions quarterback Shaun Hill said one of the Patriots tried to re-break his left forearm when he ran a quarterback sneak on a fourth-and-1 from the New England 2.

“That’s why eventually I gave up the ball. Some guy was literally down there trying to break my arm which is already broken. Literally trying. I guess that wasn’t seen (by the officials),” Hill said.

Sounds like excuses from a QB who had a sucky second half...

 

[fair catch fryar]

Detroit Lions QB Shaun Hill accuses Patriots of trying to break his arm ... again - theoaklandpress.com

Lions quarterback Shaun Hill said one of the Patriots tried to re-break his left forearm when he ran a quarterback sneak on a fourth-and-1 from the New England 2.

“That’s why eventually I gave up the ball. Some guy was literally down there trying to break my arm which is already broken. Literally trying. I guess that wasn’t seen (by the officials),” Hill said.

Sounds like excuses from a QB who had a sucky second half...

Poor wittle Shaun. Seriously, it's the NFL where football is played by super-jacked, fully-grown men who get paid millions of dollars to do exactly that you douchebag.