idle thoughts - London wrap up.....

[patfanken]

.....and other assorted thoughts

1. I can't help but wonder about Albert Breer's article of just this past week and think about how wrong a writer can be. Breer told us about the problems of the OL, the downward slide of Tom Brady, and a defense that couldn't keep anyone off the scoreboard. What makes his article so spurious is the fact he doesn't have the courage of his own convictions, but rather hides behind "anonymous league sources". He deserves none of our credibility. He wasn't good enough to keep a job in this market, and is another glaring example of the media "Peter Principle".

2. Still minus our one lone "star" (for now) the OL continues to do a great job both in the passing an running game. And that wasn't a "weak sister" DL either. Quinn, Brockers, and Long are all top 10 draft picks, and 2 that are in the top 25 sackers in the league (Long and Quinn).

They never came close to Brady. IIRC they only touched him a couple of times and I don't think they even put him on the ground. It was a total domination of our OL. I actually laughed out loud when the Nance tried to complement the Ram DL for putting pressure on Brady. What was funny was that in the example he used, Brady only dropped back 2 steps and STILL had time to throw, only no one got open before he threw it away

3. It certainly looked like it was going to get ugly after the first drive. Honestly, did you even THINK it was remotely possible that those would be the last points the Rams would score. Of course you didn't. Who did? That couldn't have been a worse defensive start for the Pats sp far. Which already included some bad ones

4. I noticed there were still some that wanted to blame McCourty for the TD pass, when it was far from the truth (not that that it stops the haters here). McCourty was on the other side of the field and made up a remarkable amount of ground to get even as close to the ball as he did. No that one was all on Wilson who got turned around by a good double move ....and an excellent pass.

5. Interesting to note that the Rams racked up about 260 yds of passing in that game, more than half of it came on the first and last drives of the game. I'm sure the haters would love us to forget about the other 50 minutes of good coverage

6. I felt that the Pats were really in a no win situation this game. If they lost or only won in a close game, it would be just another sign of their "imminent demise", or if they won big like they did, it would simply be because they were playing the Rams, who would get no credit even though they had beaten 2 teams that had beaten the Pats.

The haters would have you believe that the only way to get this stink off this team is to win a Super Bowl. Nothing short of it will satisfy the them, though I doubt even that will. So we might as well just get used to it. From now on there can be only one happy day during a football season and that's after the first Sunday in February. The other 16-19 weeks are just here to point out our shortcomings, and let you know that a certain few of the elite here knew all along that we were doomed to failure

God is that depressing....and NOT what this season should be all about. If it is for you, then you have my condolences. You lead a very pathetic and sad life.

 

[patfanken]

So Lets look at some of the optimistic things because there were a lot of them

A. All S's get beaten. Rooke S's get beaten even more, but Tavon Wilson has proven to be a pretty good rookie Safety who has been force to take a lot of snaps and seems to be a good tackler with a nose for the ball, who already has 3 picks. Not bad for a rookie 2nd round pick that no knew his name. He's been much better than we had a right to expect.

B. Last week the haters were calling for Brandon Llyod's head for simply being exactly what we expected Brandon Lloyd to be. He doesn't get great separation. He doesn't have "over the top" speed. What we all hoped for was that he'd be better than the guy he replaced (Deon Branch)., with a different kind of skill set.......AND he has been. So even though things can only get better for him as the season goes on and he has more tme with Brady. Lloyd is on a pace to have880 yds in receptions and 6 TDs. That's a very good year for a guy who has to share balls with the likes Welker, Gronk, and Herandez

C. Steven Ridely is just 60 yds behind the top rusher in the league (currently 4th @ 716) This despite the fact he rarely gets more than 22 attempts per game

D. For all his catching prowess, I don't think the Gronk gets enough credit for his blocking. He is awesome at it, and I wouldn't trade him for Jimmy Graham and a high draft pick. It should be noted that in addition to being a great blocker and averaging over 1000 yps as a TE, Rob Gronkowski will likely to have scored more TD's in his first 3 years than ANY receiver in the history of the game by the end of the season.

E. More OL Kudos - Seb Volmer is simply one of the best RT's in the game, and if he remains healthy the rest of the season, the rest of the league will start to see him as such

Hard to believe that Donald Thomas was the same guy who was here for a cup of coffee and looked so bad last season, could be the same guy who has filled in so well starting 4 games and playing 3 different positions this one. All HAIL DANTE!

The same can be said for Ryan Wendell, who I've been on a campaign for 3 years trying to figure out why they kept him around. Remember all the talk this off season about drafting a Center early. And then assuming either Koppen or Connolley would get the job. Who would have thought that the too short, too light, Ryan Wendell would not only get the job, he'd begin to look good doing it.

F. I hope M Cole isn't seriously hurt. I think he's earned some of Sterling Moore's snaps in some sub packages. Every time you see him in coverage he's tight on his man.

G. Rob Ninkovich just keeps on, keepin' on. He's not only on track for a double digit sack season, he already has 4 forced fumbles a couple of fumble recoveries and a few passes defended. Not bad for a guy who gets no respect.

7. Disappointments

A. If there was one person I was hoping would NOT get injured today (aside from all the usual suspects), it would have been Ron Brace. I've seen from him the same kind of surprising explosiveness (albeit from a DT/NT) that we've seen from Cunningham, though on a much more limited basis due to his inability to stay on the field. So you can imagine my disappointment when he wound up on the field again, and then flexing his elbow on the sideline.

We've got to start to limit Vince's snaps for the playoffs, and Brace looked like he was going to be a guy who was ready to step up and take some of that load.

B. Every game Chandler Jones has a few plays that make you go....... WOW. Donta Hightower......not so much. Before his injury I thought he looked like he was ready to break out and make some impactful plays. Since he's come back, he's been pretty much invisible, like he was today. Nothing bad of course, just nothing memorable. Who would have thought back in May that it would be Jones making all the noise.

C. Given that I coached a long time and have a better knowledge of what I DON'T know than most, I really shouldn't be one to complain about the coaching, especially since I thought both Matt and Josh both had great games. I just found it frustrating that I almost had to scream myself hoarse calling for Josh to call more play action passes, and then hve them work so well when utilized today. "See Josh. It's a lot easier than you think if you let it be.":

And I screamed myself hoarse...again... with others, calling for more blitzes and stunts, which also worked so well today.

I guess what I'm saying here is "Its about FREAKIN' time guys". You shouldn't have to wait for dolts like me before you start calling more of this stuff. We have the 5th best rushing attack in the league. Play action is going to work. We have a too young and inexperienced secondary with injuries. We need to create some pressure. What's so hard about that. Common Sense, right?

Nice to see it finally happen, and nice to see it work out so well

Miscellaneous

a. If you ever wanted proof that total passing yards is a useless statistic- Mark Sanchez threw for only 20 fewer yards than Tom Brady on Sunday. Both had zero picks. who would have thought that given the 2 scores

b. Old BC friend JoLon Dunbar had a great game today for the Ram Defense. They didn't make many big plays, but when they did, it was Dunbar who made them. Just someone to think about next off season.

c. Jim Nance's rather snide and constant negative remarks are starting to irritate me. Whenever he can throw in a dig at the Pats or cast them in a poor light he doesn't miss that opportunity. Its not like its overt, more like passive aggressive

You could sense his disappointment when replays showed CONCLUSIVELY that all those PI's being called on the Rams were MORE than legitimate calls, they were obvious calls. Yet he never missed the opportunity to make it seem like those calls were questionable and affected the game. Even when he was contradicting his partner, Phil Sims.

At some point BB must have pissed him off

d. The Giants have to be the luckiest good team in the league. They have escaped a few time already this season, and after having the Cowboys gift them a 23-0 lead to start the game, they had to come from behind again at the end of the game, despite more inexplicable gifts from Dallas. Jerry Jones has to fire that HC.....or QB.......or himself.

BTW- remember the next time you want to berate our defense, the Giant's D, with all those stars on the DL and in the defensive backfield, is averaging just 12 fewer yds than ours. I wonder when Bert Breer's article on the demise of the Giants is coming out.

e. Did ever a team look more dead in the water at the start of the season than the Miami Dolphins. A new coach. A rookie QB. a bad draft class A joke of GM. A bigger Joke of an owner Out laughing stock the Jets (hard to do) during Hard Knocks. It didn't look good.

Actually its hard to think of a team that looked worse since the 2001 NE Patriots, when in May of that year, Pro FootballWeekly called them the LEAST likely team to reach a super bowl in the next 5 years......oops

So I think its time to acknowledge what a nice job Joe Philbin has done in the first half of the season. That his GM isn't the total dolt we thought he was (though his owner still is), and to recognize they they are a mere half game behind us in the AFCE and playing their best football of the season.....AND we have 2 more games with them.

I know its hard to take them seriously, but we should. They look like they are building a griitty, physical club who will have 4 very winable game next month, while our next 3 are equally winnable. That should make it a very interesting December since we play them twice in the last 5 weeks

OK. Let the bye week begin. Nothing much to do the next 2 weeks get the team HEALTHY, and have us continue to b!tch and moan about everything.

 

[patfanken]

Just one item I left out that I thought my provoke some commentary.

I'm fine with keeping McCourty at safety while Chung and Gregory are out, but when they are ready to come back, I want him right back at CB. I think some of the rest of defensive back problems we are having are taking away from the reality that Devin McCourty is a LOT closer to being the CB we was in 2010 than the one he was in 2011. We will be a better defensive backfield with him at CB.....especially when we face some of the premier WRs in the league later on this season and into the playoffs.

JMHO

 

[Marqui]

Hightower slamming down Bradford hard and forcing a negative play wasn't memorable?

 

[ATippett56]

5. Interesting to note that the Rams racked up about 260 yds of passing in that game, more than half of it came on the first and last drives of the game. I'm sure the haters would love us to forget about the other 50 minutes of good coverage.

Focus on the two following statistics for the remainder of the season:

Points allowed

Points allowed in the fourth quarter

6. I felt that the Pats were really in a no win situation this game. If they lost or only won in a close game, it would be just another sign of their "imminent demise", or if they won big like they did, it would simply be because they were playing the Rams, who would get no credit even though they had beaten 2 teams that had beaten the Pats.

Injuries have played a part in the inconsistency of the New England Patriots this season:

Offense: Hernandez, Mankins, Connolly, Bolden

Defense: Chung, Gregory

Coaches: Josh McDaniels early season concussion "the Julian Edelman obsession"

 

[randomk1]

4. I noticed there were still some that wanted to blame McCourty for the TD pass, when it was far from the truth (not that that it stops the haters here). McCourty was on the other side of the field and made up a remarkable amount of ground to get even as close to the ball as he did. No that one was all on Wilson who got turned around by a good double move ....and an excellent pass.

This is a point worth reposting imo. I noticed that immediately. He recovered a lot of ground and was there to put a hit on the receiver. Wilson - C'mon man.

WK 8 Can't-Miss Play: St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford 50-yard TD pass - NFL Videos

 

[ATippett56]

7. Disappointments

A. If there was one person I was hoping would NOT get injured today (aside from all the usual suspects), it would have been Ron Brace. I've seen from him the same kind of surprising explosiveness (albeit from a DT/NT) that we've seen from Cunningham, though on a much more limited basis due to his inability to stay on the field. So you can imagine my disappointment when he wound up on the field again, and then flexing his elbow on the sideline.

We've got to start to limit Vince's snaps for the playoffs, and Brace looked like he was going to be a guy who was ready to step up and take some of that load.

Brandon Deaderick has played more snaps this season than Ron Brace. If anything, the x-factor at the defensive tackle position is the possible return of Myron Pryor (PUP) as a situational interior pass rusher.

 

[jsull87]

This is a point worth reposting imo. I noticed that immediately. He recovered a lot of ground and was there to put a hit on the receiver. Wilson - C'mon man.

WK 8 Can't-Miss Play: St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford 50-yard TD pass - NFL Videos

In all honesty... that was actually a pretty good route-throw and catch.

Annoying it happened but a good play is a good play.

 

[randomk1]

In all honesty... that was actually a pretty good route-throw and catch.

Annoying it happened but a good play is a good play.

Yeah it was. I just expected Wilson to have that play engraved in his mind from seattle.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

.....and other assorted thoughts

1. I can't help but wonder about Albert Breer's article of just this past week and think about how wrong a writer can be. Breer told us about the problems of the OL, the downward slide of Tom Brady, and a defense that couldn't keep anyone off the scoreboard. What makes his article so spurious is the fact he doesn't have the courage of his own convictions, but rather hides behind "anonymous league sources". He deserves none of our credibility. He wasn't good enough to keep a job in this market, and is another glaring example of the media "Peter Principle".

2. Still minus our one lone "star" (for now) the OL continues to do a great job both in the passing an running game. And that wasn't a "weak sister" DL either. Quinn, Brockers, and Long are all top 10 draft picks, and 2 that are in the top 25 sackers in the league (Long and Quinn).

They never came close to Brady. IIRC they only touched him a couple of times and I don't think they even put him on the ground. It was a total domination of our OL. I actually laughed out loud when the Nance tried to complement the Ram DL for putting pressure on Brady. What was funny was that in the example he used, Brady only dropped back 2 steps and STILL had time to throw, only no one got open before he threw it away

3. It certainly looked like it was going to get ugly after the first drive. Honestly, did you even THINK it was remotely possible that those would be the last points the Rams would score. Of course you didn't. Who did? That couldn't have been a worse defensive start for the Pats sp far. Which already included some bad ones

4. I noticed there were still some that wanted to blame McCourty for the TD pass, when it was far from the truth (not that that it stops the haters here). McCourty was on the other side of the field and made up a remarkable amount of ground to get even as close to the ball as he did. No that one was all on Wilson who got turned around by a good double move ....and an excellent pass.

5. Interesting to note that the Rams racked up about 260 yds of passing in that game, more than half of it came on the first and last drives of the game. I'm sure the haters would love us to forget about the other 50 minutes of good coverage

6. I felt that the Pats were really in a no win situation this game. If they lost or only won in a close game, it would be just another sign of their "imminent demise", or if they won big like they did, it would simply be because they were playing the Rams, who would get no credit even though they had beaten 2 teams that had beaten the Pats.

The haters would have you believe that the only way to get this stink off this team is to win a Super Bowl. Nothing short of it will satisfy the them, though I doubt even that will. So we might as well just get used to it. From now on there can be only one happy day during a football season and that's after the first Sunday in February. The other 16-19 weeks are just here to point out our shortcomings, and let you know that a certain few of the elite here knew all along that we were doomed to failure

God is that depressing....and NOT what this season should be all about. If it is for you, then you have my condolences. You lead a very pathetic and sad life.

I think you have a serious reading comprehension problem. Breer's article was one the the better and more balanced national pieces on this team in a while. You've posted more wrongheaded hatchet job attempts at analysis than Breer has over the last few seasons...and often when they weren't warranted and were purely personally emotion fueled in the moment kneejerk reactions.

And when it comes to courage of convictions, I find it comical that someone prone to absolute meltdowns is playing the pathetic people card when it comes to anyone rationally discussing the problems this team HAS experienced in the first half of this season. There are a lot of knuckleheads here who live to point the finger from game to game if not play to play particularly at targets of opportunity like say the QB... And while they may be vocal (although less so after a win like this) they remain in the minority.

Don't make the mistake of painting everyone with your broad guess that showed you brush. Again, doing so just underscores a comprehension problem. This team (coaching staff) took a different more balanced and less regimented or agenda driven approach to this game. That is what some of us have been calling for. The players seemed to respond and simply make plays like a talented team should. It started on offense, because that will always relieve pressure on a young and inexperienced defense, and it carried over to that unit as a result allowing talent and instinct to emerge as schematic reins eased up a bit.

Each team and season is a process. You can't force comfort and chemistry on your offense at the expense of flumoxing it and exposing your defense to the point you handcuff it and it starts going backwards. That is kind of what coaching put this team through early on this season. They seem to have begun to realize that and adjusted the approach, and that is a good thing.

 

[Fencer]

4. I noticed there were still some that wanted to blame McCourty for the TD pass, when it was far from the truth (not that that it stops the haters here). McCourty was on the other side of the field and made up a remarkable amount of ground to get even as close to the ball as he did. No that one was all on Wilson who got turned around by a good double move ....and an excellent pass.

Wasn't it Dennard who flailed weakly at space while missing his initial jam?

 

[ausbacker]

Wasn't it Dennard who flailed weakly at space while missing his initial jam?

Yes it was. They were both rookie learning moments for Dennard and Wilson.

BTW, Wilson has already hit my INT prediction for the season.

 

[DarrylS]

Wasn't it Dennard who flailed weakly at space while missing his initial jam?

Gotta keep this in perspective, 2 of the 4 starting DB's are rookies.. there is a tremendous learning curve for these guys, and didn't Dennard miss most of TC due to injuries????

I am not all that enamored with this D backfield, but am seeing some signs of encouragement.. wins are a good thing for them.

 

[Gwedd]

B. Every game Chandler Jones has a few plays that make you go....... WOW. Donta Hightower......not so much. Before his injury I thought he looked like he was ready to break out and make some impactful plays. Since he's come back, he's been pretty much invisible, like he was today. Nothing bad of course, just nothing memorable. Who would have thought back in May that it would be Jones making all the noise.

Hightower (ROLL TIDE!) did have a massive hit on Bradford that forced them to take a time-out. Just sayin'....... I'll be interested in seeing how that plays out for Bradford this coming week.

I guess my take on the whole Jones/Hightower thing is that although we SEE what's happening on SOME of the field, and most times we see the D-line pretty well, we still don't know just WHAT scheme was called, and what each player's responsibility is on each play.

It could be that Hightower was being asked to seal off one side while Jones rushed on this play or that play, or his job was to primarily engage a certain player. We fans just don't know so although we can kick and scream (and drink and beat the coffee table) we're still fairly out of the loop, just watching from afar, as it were.

V/R

 

[SaCaCh]

The upcoming game in Miami has Trap Game written all over it. That is going to be a very tough game.

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

The upcoming game in Miami has Trap Game written all over it. That is going to be a very tough game.

I think that may be more fan based than Pstriot based. Division games aren't usually that way and Miami has looked decent this year and has been on my radar as a potential wild card team for 2-3 weeks.

 

[RodThePat]

The upcoming game in Miami has Trap Game written all over it. That is going to be a very tough game.

When the time comes for us to play the Dolphins, they'll be right in the middle of a playoff hunt, and the game will be played in Miami, where the Patriots have struggled before under Belichick. The Dolphins are a pretty good football team, and the Patriots would be fools to overlook them. I see absolutely no reason to think of that matchup as a "trap game".

 

[resdubwhite]

final thoughts.

WTF is Vince chasing down an RB on a checkdown pass?

I did see that. or was it a dream?

 

[PatsSox363804]

The upcoming game in Miami has Trap Game written all over it. That is going to be a very tough game.

Is Miami ever really a "trap" game? They are a division rival that used to woodshed us twice a year for decades and still has given us crap regularly during Brady's entire career. I doubt the team takes them lightly, they have a legit defense and a better offense than the last 3 teams we played.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Wasn't it Dennard who flailed weakly at space while missing his initial jam?

Looked like Dennard purposely passed off his man to the safety. Problem being that Den could see that there was nobody else within 4 light years of his left corner zone so he ended up making his presence on the field irrelevant. He needed to make the jam if the coverage was designed for him to jam, cover short and pass off deep.