Some Very Comforting Fundamental Truths

[Off The Grid]

Is it safe to come out, yet??

It's always morbidly amusing to poke around in here, after a loss, but only in that twisted, debauched, horrific car accident kind of way: The poisonous, toxic gases are so intense that this place becomes uninhabitable.

I can only imagine what it sounds like on the radio.

A few Notions...

1 ~ I hope that anyone still distraught over the loss will reflect on this fundamental truth about Coach Bill The Mad (Genius), as it really ought to vaporize every last ounce of concern about last week's loss: The truth is that because Mad Bill's top priority ~ even more so than winning every single Game ~ is clearly and demonstrably to develop his team in a way and at a rate to give them the best chance to win in the PlayOffs...one can look at the experimenting and tinkering and mind-boggling tactical moves with the calm and comforting knowledge that Mad Bill does that sort of thing all the time, throughout the years, and especially early in the season. I would think, by now, that it would be crystal clear to all that there is ~ and always has been ~ a method to'is madness, indecipherable though it may be.

2 ~ There isn't a Soul in New EngLand who's wailed longer and louder at Mad Bill's horribly bad judgment in letting incredibly cheap Grizzlies of great potential slide by in the last two drafts: OG Senio Kelemete, OG Jason Pinkston, OT Willie Smith, & OT David Mims could currently be developing their considerable talents under Coach Dante, while providing the kind of quality Depth of Talent that makes that fatal difference on Super Bowl Sunday all too often, as we ourselves have seen more than once.

3 ~ Even so, there is great reason, based on Coach Dante's rich and remarkable history, to speculate ~ and, indeed, to expect ~ that, sooner or later ~ and probably sooner ~ we will be rolling along nicely, despite how horrible the O Line looked, last Sunday. Whether or not they'll be able to compete effectively against the Giants, this Winter, should we take them on yet a 3rd time, remains to be seen...But if our Defense develops as I expect it to over the course of this year...that won't be as great a concern as it might've been.

4 ~ And of course: The Defense. Lost ~ or at least greatly muted ~ in all this wailing and gnashing of teeth regarding play calling, missed Field Goals, and WelkerGate, is the fact that our Defense is young, incredibly deep with Talent, and densely populated with brilliant, ferocious Leaders...and is kicking ass.

5 ~ And how many times has our Offense looked anemic or just plain helpless out there, over the last decade ~ again: especially early in the season, when Mad Bill is furiously experimenting with Schemes and Personnel ~ only to quickly turn it around and go on a long, sustained roll?? The Patriots have a couple of games like this almost every year. It's just part of the Formula...And after so many years of subsequently blasting our way out of such momentary lapses of explosive dominance...there really is no excuse for any of us to be hitting the Panic Button.

I presume nothing...but chances are very strong that we're gonna have an absolutely awesome year.

 

[shmessy]

Is it safe to come out, yet??

It's always morbidly amusing to poke around in here, after a loss, but only in that twisted, debauched, horrific car accident kind of way: The poisonous, toxic gases are so intense that this place becomes uninhabitable.

We Mods have no choice, Brother Grid.

Even bigger reason why I hate a Pats loss.

 

[DarrylS]

There is always the underlying theme that BB does not know what is best for this team, and this is fed by the continual haranging by the mediots who are only concerned about their ratings, twitter followers and face book crap.

BB is tinkering, what seems to have flown under the radar last week is that Ras I Dowling did not get any D reps.. doghouse, experimenting.. without regard in week 1 we took out Chris Johnson and in Week II we took out Larry Fitzgerald..

Our D seems significantly better, and our O will improve..

Heard Welker and Troy talking last week, and they said something to the effect that this year there were 24 or 25 practices before the first game under the new CBA.. in previous years there were 24 or 25 practices before the first preseason game.

Many of the high powered offenses are sputtering.. Green Bay, Saints come to mind..

 

[AzPatsFan]

There is always the underlying theme that BB does not know what is best for this team, and this is fed by the continual haranging by the mediots who are only concerned about their ratings, twitter followers and face book crap.

BB is tinkering, what seems to have flown under the radar last week is that Ras I Dowling did not get any D reps.. doghouse, experimenting.. without regard in week 1 we took out Chris Johnson and in Week II we took out Larry Fitzgerald..

Our D seems significantly better, and our O will improve..

Heard Welker and Troy talking last week, and they said something to the effect that this year there were 24 or 25 practices before the first game under the new CBA.. in previous years there were 24 or 25 practices before the first preseason game.

Many of the high powered offenses are sputtering.. Green Bay, Saints come to mind..

An illuminating observation. Why are Unions are ever this way?

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Good stuff OTG. We need a dedicated forum for us Pats Homos where it's safe to go after a loss.

 

[AzPatsFan]

OTG,

There was a lot of Offensive line FAs brought in this off season. Did you get any perspective on any of them?

I thought Matt Kopa was well liked by the brain trust, but his preseason was spent nursing an bad ankle. Weems seemed heady, but that is not neccessarily the same as talented. I never saw Marcus Zukesevic play in college. He seems to be an overgrown TE who needs to grow into this size, but that could mean he has LT quickness. Do you think he has genuine Tackle or perhaps Guard possibilities?

The reason I ask is that I think Marcus Cannon has demonstrated the power run blocking to really excel at RG; and if he can block as a RT, he should be way above average for a pass blocking RG. The RBs were conssitently turning the corner, so his run blocking must be excellent. I'd love to let him claim the RG position for the next decade.

But alas, he can't be spared for Guard duty, until a swing tackle emerges. Do you think any such candidate exists among the present reseves and PS candidates, or do we need to spend a 2nd rounder on an OL lineman, next off season?

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

[5 ~ And how many times has our Offense looked anemic or just plain helpless out there, over the last decade ~ again: especially early in the season, when Mad Bill is furiously experimenting with Schemes and Personnel ~ only to quickly turn it around and go on a long, sustained roll??
I presume nothing...but chances are very strong that we're gonna have an absolutely awesome year.

Great point. IDK, this next point may have been 100 times around here this week (I don't read everything; thought I admit to being kinda enthralled with the whole Linda/NEM-gate drama ), but consider...with 5:42 left...and after our offense had been "sputtering" to say the least...the kind of drive we put together:

New England Patriots at 5:42 ARI NWE

1st and 10 at NE 18 (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short right to J.Edelman ran ob at NE 27 for 9 yards.

2nd and 1 at NE 27 (No Huddle, Shotgun) T.Brady pass short left to W.Welker to NE 40 for 13 yards (W.Gay; J.Fleming).

1st and 10 at NE 40 (No Huddle, Shotgun) T.Brady pass short middle to R.Gronkowski to ARZ 41 for 19 yards (A.Wilson).

1st and 10 at ARI 41 (No Huddle, Shotgun) T.Brady pass short middle to J.Edelman to ARZ 36 for 5 yards (D.Washington).

2nd and 5 at ARI 36 (No Huddle, Shotgun) T.Brady pass short left to R.Gronkowski pushed ob at ARZ 28 for 8 yards (D.Washington).

1st and 10 at ARI 28 (No Huddle, Shotgun) T.Brady pass incomplete deep right to W.Welker.

2nd and 10 at ARI 28 (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short middle to R.Gronkowski to ARZ 16 for 12 yards (P.Lenon). NE 12-Brady 5,392 career pass attempts, passing Joe Montana for 12th most all-time.

1st and 10 at ARI 16 (No Huddle, Shotgun) T.Brady pass incomplete deep middle to R.Gronkowski (K.Rhodes).

2nd and 10 at ARI 16 (Shotgun) T.Brady sacked at ARZ 18 for -2 yards (C.Campbell).

3rd and 12 at ARI 18 (No Huddle, Shotgun) T.Brady pass short left to J.Edelman to ARZ 5 for 13 yards (J.Fleming).

1st and 5 at ARI 5 (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short middle to R.Gronkowski for 5 yards, TOUCHDOWN. NE 12-Brady 34th straight regular season game with a TD pass, 4th-longest all-time. NE 12-Brady 46th career 300-yard game, 8th most all-time.

DRIVE TOTALS: ARI 20, NE 18, 11 plays, 82 yards, 3:36 elapsed

Guys, this is not "the beginning of the Patriots demise". Not yet. 2012's just gettin started.

 

[fumbrunner]

Good stuff OTG. We need a dedicated forum for us Pats Homos where it's safe to go after a loss.

A forum for what? I think I'll avoid that sausagefest (no, I'm not coming on to you with the wink)

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

I find it interesting that the media never predicts a Patriots perfect season (16-0), but really kill them whenever they lose. And how often is it by more than 1 score?

Are those losses set in stone from who they think they will lose to or just an average saying they've got a 50/50 chance on these 2 games, so we'll give them a loss for one of them and then move on. I bet most peopel will even throw in the occassional, they should win these games, but let's assume they have an off day.

It's probably time that peopel stop thing of the media as reports and just call them forr what they are. What was it i nthe old days that people had "barkers" out trying to peddle/advertise their wares.

In this instance, it's getting people emotions whipped up to drive "viewship". It's even fariyl formulatic (if that's a word) on some show where you'll always have opposing viewpoints. If any of you have watched ESPN First take and surived a bought with Skip and Stephen and hteir nonsense, you'll understand what I mean.

 

[borg]

There is always the underlying theme that BB does not know what is best for this team, and this is fed by the continual haranging by the mediots who are only concerned about their ratings, twitter followers and face book crap.

BB is tinkering, what seems to have flown under the radar last week is that Ras I Dowling did not get any D reps.. doghouse, experimenting.. without regard in week 1 we took out Chris Johnson and in Week II we took out Larry Fitzgerald..

Our D seems significantly better, and our O will improve..

Heard Welker and Troy talking last week, and they said something to the effect that this year there were 24 or 25 practices before the first game under the new CBA.. in previous years there were 24 or 25 practices before the first preseason game.

Many of the high powered offenses are sputtering.. Green Bay, Saints come to mind..

"Many of the high powered offenses are sputtering.. Green Bay, Saints come to mind.."

The highest scoring first two weeks in NFL history

 

[DarrylS]

"Many of the high powered offenses are sputtering.. Green Bay, Saints come to mind.."

The highest scoring first two weeks in NFL history

So Green Bay, Saints and the Patriots are not sputtering????

 

[convertedpatsfan]

Good stuff OTG. We need a dedicated forum for us Pats Homos where it's safe to go after a loss.

 

[Gwedd]

Good stuff OTG. We need a dedicated forum for us Pats Homos where it's safe to go after a loss.

We have exclusive access to the VIP lounge.......

I do keep forgetting about that, though. Sigh.

 

[Gwedd]

So Green Bay, Saints and the Patriots are not sputtering????

I'd say that sputtering was a pretty accurate term.

It's all good, though. Many folks seem to forget that the other team also has a say in how the game turns out.

 

[Off The Grid]

OTG,

There was a lot of Offensive line FAs brought in this off season. Did you get any perspective on any of them?

I thought Matt Kopa was well liked by the brain trust, but his preseason was spent nursing an bad ankle. Weems seemed heady, but that is not neccessarily the same as talented. I never saw Marcus Zukesevic play in college. He seems to be an overgrown TE who needs to grow into this size, but that could mean he has LT quickness. Do you think he has genuine Tackle or perhaps Guard possibilities?

The reason I ask is that I think Marcus Cannon has demonstrated the power run blocking to really excel at RG; and if he can block as a RT, he should be way above average for a pass blocking RG. The RBs were conssitently turning the corner, so his run blocking must be excellent. I'd love to let him claim the RG position for the next decade.

But alas, he can't be spared for Guard duty, until a swing tackle emerges. Do you think any such candidate exists among the present reseves and PS candidates, or do we need to spend a 2nd rounder on an OL lineman, next off season?

Ah, Grizzlies!! One of my favorite subjects to discuss. I thank you for that, Sir...

1 ~ Matt Kopa's got an interesting background: in High School, he was a standout BasketBall player. Brother Mayo and I are equally relentless in pounding the table on how attractive "BasketBall" is on a FootBall player's resume, especially if the player in question excelled, as Kopa certainly did.

To excel at BasketBall, you need to bring ~ and to refine ~ Short Area Burst in quickly getting from here to there, as well as Fluidity, Lateral Agility, & Manual Dexterity ~ working with your hands, is what I mean ~ in your efforts to gain the advantage in small spaces.

So it seems to me that both boasting enough of these skills to win a spot on your BasketBall team and ~ having done so ~ having had the Opportunity to enhance and refine these skills on the Court and in Practice...are two substantial marks in any FootBall Player's favor.

Kopa was a two-way player in High School who started off as an highly rated Defensive End at Stanford, got hurt, and then ended up coming back as a reserve Tight End, the next year, eventually segueing to reserve Offensive Tackle, before winning the starting Gig...but got hurt and missed'is Senior year.

So when he graduated in 2010, he was still pretty raw as an O Tackle.

And I don't get the impression ~ this is 3rd Person, though, as I couldn't find any Tape on'm ~ that he commands exceptional Core Strength, Fluidity, or Lateral Agility, despite his background. But it's important to note that this impression ~ which I'm not doing much more than simply passing along, mind you ~ is not one I that have great resolve about, both because I haven't had the chance to watch any Tape on'm, and because he hasn't had time to develop.

In his favor, too, he gets excellent grades for Launch Velocity ~ that's "Burst", to you Earthlings ~ terrific Processing Speed, outstanding Diagnostic Acuity, exceptional Dexterity, and a tremendous Work Ethic, all of which go a long way with Coach Bill, of course...and, indeed, with the NFL.

My current impression is that he's a very smart, hard-working kid who already commands an exceptional grasp of Blocking Tactics, a clear appreciation for working with the unit to deploy these Tactics while reacting to those of to the Defenders, and sufficient Core Strength, Fluidity, & Lateral Agility to consistently implement his wisdom, as well as the Processing Speed to do so effectively in RealTime.

His upside, however, remains murky to me, based on my current inability to evaluate his physical capabilities for myself.

2 ~ Markus Zusevics is a Prospect I'm very excited about. He commands terrific Launch Velocity off the Snap, his Core Strength and Core Power are excellent and improving, and his Fluidity is very impressive.

He displays superior Dexterity and Lateral Agility, and superior Diagnostic Acuity and Processing Speed when implementing Blocking Tactics and reacting to Attacking Tactics as part of a unit.

Outstanding Work Ethic, too: Beasted up from a Freshman 225 to his current 300, and boasts the Frame to add a few pounds more, which should of course improve his already impressive Core Strength and Core Power.

I think you're right on the money regarding Projection: I think Zusevics could develop not only into a exceptional Swing Tackle, but an exceptional Swing Guard, as well. I would indeed go so far as to say that I believe that he will eventually develop to the point where he can deliver superior Starting Caliber performance at all 4 spots.

3 ~ I'm afraid I didn't get much'f an impression of Darrion Weems, and wasn't that intrigued with what I did see, although I did like his college Tape. The Colts've cut'm loose, so you never know what the future holds.

4 ~ Kyle Hix I didn't find impressive whatsoever: Dubious Core Strength and awful Fluidity & Lateral Agility, I'm afraid. Good kid. I hope he manages to make a few bucks and then finds a successfull career of some sort.

5 ~ In summary: Yes!! I think that our man Markus Zusevics does indeed have what it takes to become an exceptional Swing Tackle and Swing Guard at this level. I would much prefer to have two Swing Tackles, mind you, but I don't see any need to spend a 2nd Rounder on that gig. I've noted my previous affinity for the likes of Willie Smith and David Mims, of course, but while it's far too early for me to have a sense of what Raw Gems might emerge from the 2013 O Tackle Draft Class, there are actually a couple of current Practice Squad players on other teams that I'd love to see us yoink and add to our 53 Man Roster:

6 ~ David Mims ~ Chiefs. 6.8/336. A real Monster, blessed with extraordinary Athleticism. Raw as Hell, having come out'f DII as a UFA in 2011, and having missed most of last offseason, along with everyone else, but he's got the potential to become an absolutely dominating, devastating Beast.

7 ~ Matt McCants ~ Giants. 6.6/308. Also a raw DII guy, but with phenomenal raw athletic Talent. He's also light in the Trunk, but has the broad Frame required to take on the weight he needs, and commands a very natural Core Strength that could develop into a substantial advantage, once he develops the beef.

8 ~ I see both these guys as commanding multiple Pro Bowl potential, under Coach Dante's guidance. Frankly, much as I like Zusevics, I'd rather see us yoink both of those guys away from their respective teams.

9 ~ Hopefully, our man Sebastian The Cruel will be able to overcome this considerable threat to his career and become the marauding Force that he showed the potential to be, before his back problems transpired.

10 ~ But, if not, the Potential would certainly be there to replace him with High Caliber O Tackle Talent.

That's the Path I'd like to see us take at O Tackle. What are your thoughts, Brother Zona?

 

[Off The Grid]

Is it safe to come out, yet??

It's always morbidly amusing to poke around in here, after a loss, but only in that twisted, debauched, horrific car accident kind of way: The poisonous, toxic gases are so intense that this place becomes uninhabitable.

We Mods have no choice, Brother Grid.

Even bigger reason why I hate a Pats loss.

And your stout, steadfast courage in braving such treacherous landscape is greatly appreciated, Sir!!

 

[Off The Grid]

Good stuff OTG. We need a dedicated forum for us Pats Homos where it's safe to go after a loss.

A forum for what? I think I'll avoid that sausagefest (no, I'm not coming on to you with the wink)

I think we can safely assume that Brother Pissah had a Typo, there!!

...Or, if not...that he was talking "tongue in cheek"...if you'll pardon the expression.

 

[goheels22002]

I find it interesting that the media never predicts a Patriots perfect season (16-0), but really kill them whenever they lose. And how often is it by more than 1 score?

The Patriots deserved every ounce of criticism they got this week.

4 sacks, 8 penalties, 1 touchdown called back, 1 missed field goal, 1 blocked punt, 1 interception and several dropped passes.

Face it. The Patriots stunk last week. If the home opener is a taste of things to come, this offense takes a huge step backwards.

This is not about the media whatsoever. The Patriots made mental and physical mistakes all game long - mostly on the offensive side of the ball.

The upside is that the Patriots usually bounce back after a crappy game. The best example I can recall is the loss to Eric Rat Snitch Mangini and the Browns in 2010, The week after they scorched the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field for 39 points.

 

[RhodyPatriot]

Some fundamental truths:

Patriots D looks better. They're quicker, have more speed and are more physical but they haven't faced quality QB's yet.
Tonight will be the first quality test for this D.

Tom Brady looks like a 35 year old QB. TB is having difficulty hitting the long pass play. He looks skittish in the pocket. i.e. Tom drops like a rock at the hint of contact. He is what he is, a 35 year old on the downside of his career. Still great but not top shelf elite.

The incorporation of the physical run game is in response to playoff failures on the part of this offense. THANKFULLY they've finally figured it out....all those glittery and bedazzling passing numbers in the regular season don't mean jack in the playoffs. Tough hardnosed football on both sides of the line wins championships. Thrilled to see the Patriots getting back to their Championship roots. Enough of that Colt offense.

 

[Patriot_in_NY]

Ahhhh, A refuge thread in the stormy seas of a post-loss PatsFans week. Thanks Grid .......

I found this post to be particularly humorous. The perfect typo, and the perfect graphic to start my Football Sunday.