Official Patriots Bengals Post Game Thread

[shmessy]

I know which post you were responding to. Do you honestly think that poster would be referring to a potentially missed 58 yard FG as a choke? It's possible, but I think another answer is much more likely.

Seemed much more likely that he meant to post something along the lines of "If only the Lions kicker didn't choke" combined with "It's too bad the Lions kicker choked the game away yesterday" and got the two jumbled.

I gave the poster the respect that he knew what he was writing and replied to the post as it was written.

 

[West Philly Patriot]

Anybody know if this will be on NFL rewind or something, forgot to set the DVR . I NEED to re watch this one.

 

[DaBruinz]

• WR's still not getting it done. All Patriot WR's had 78 yards combined!! To put that in perspective, Tim Wright had 85 yards and Gronkowski had 100 yards.

So the WRs got 78 yards total.. Many of the routes McDaniels was having them run were shorter routes.. The game plan was clearly to rely on the TEs for the middle routes since that is where the mismatches were.. Oh, btw, can't you give credit to the Bengals CBs? Newman, Jones, and Hall aren't exactly Moreland and Harris..

• Still not getting enough pressure on QB's though. Ninkovich wasn't a factor all game and hasn't done much all season. Wilfork is a run stuffer. Easley was playing out of position at DE. Pass rush looks like the biggest weakness on defense. Dalton had way too much time on most of his passes.

Clearly, you didn't watch the game too well because they got all sorts of pressure on Dalton. They were primarily rushing 4 the entire game. Just because you can't give credit to the Line or to Dalton doesn't mean that the Pats didn't get pressure or that Dalton was able to avoid most of it. BTW, both of Dalton's runs were because of pressure on the QB.

• Revis had a great game. Good coverage on one of the best WR's in the NFL. Forced fumble. and an INT that got called back due to a ticky tacky flag (hate this damn "emphasis"). I think he got robbed out of that INT.

Yeah he did.. And the Pats defense got robbed on Green's TD catch where Green's left foot wasn't inbounds after he caught the ball.

• Too many damn FG's in the 4th qtr…. but the Bengals are one of the best defenses in the league and we put up 43 points on them. Guess I can't complain too much.

Sure you can.. You complain a tremendous amount since you are one of the many Chicken Littles on this board..The game was already over by the 4th Qtr and the Pats didn't want to be accused of running up the score. So they weren't quite as aggressive as they could have been. I blame McDaniels for this.

 

[PatsBoy12]

So CIN was 0-7 on 3rd down and 0-1 on 4th. Love seeing that.

I really hope Revis can go forward at 100% and the hamstring isn't a problem. And also that McCourty is able to get healthy quickly.

Sadly, they both sustained injuries that can become nagging things for the rest of the season. I would not be upset if they sat McCourty next week. Hopefully, Revis will be okay. Hamstrings can be very bothersome once aggravated.

 

[shmessy]

So eventually our offense is going to morph into a lesser form of the 2010-2012 versions:

Option 1 Gronk (Gronk)
Option 2 Edelman (Welker)
Option 3 Wright (Prisoner)

This is great, but I hope BB remembers what stopped these offenses in the playoffs, a lack of a legit outside WR threat.

2010-2011 Branch and 2012 Lloyd were the 4th and sometimes 5th options in the passing game. Why can't Dobson be our WR2/option 4? He's certainly a better decoy than Lafell at least.

I'm optimistic about the new OL combo and the return of the 2 TE offense, I just want us not to fall into the same problem that our previous offenses had in playoff time. Lafell won't be respected by defenses just as old Branch/Lloyd weren't.

The 2014 Defense is alot better than the 2010-2012 D's.

 

[shmessy]

BTW, it's almost 11:00 EST on the day after the Bengals game.

Has anyone seen the word "Homer" used in vain on this site yet?

 

[DaBruinz]

I"m not sure what you think you're talking about, since I didn't say anything that people watching didn't already know. There's nothing "I told you so" about the penalties, just for example. But tonight and tomorrow should be for celebrating a huge win, so you have a nice night.

Sure there is.. Easily half of those penalties were BS calls by the refs..And I'm not including the BS call for a "blindside block" by Easley when he hit Bernard from the the side or the "chop block" when Connolly went at the guys WAIST from the front. Or the "unnecessary roughness" call on Gronkowski when it was the Bengals player who got in Gronk's face.

And yes, the refs got stuff wrong both ways.. Like the DPI on Nelson.. that was a real head scratcher since Nelson didn't hit Amendola until after the ball got there.

Reality is that the calling was far more in favor of the Bengals than it was the Patriots.. And that was plainly obvious from all the lobbying they did after every play..

 

[DaBruinz]

BTW, I want to give KUDOS to the crowd last night. They CLEARLY had an effect on the game. Something that hasn't happened in a long time. When you can hear the crowd over the announcers, it's always a good thing..

 

[DaBruinz]

Now the negatives. Amendola is still m.i.a. The Connolly chop block was unnecessary and pissed me off. God forbid Slater is blocked on a punt return and the other guys actually have to do something lol. Hooman is still struggling with his blocking.

Not sure how you can say that Amendola is MIA when he was on the field for some running plays. He also drew a Pass Interference call on Reggie Nelson (even though I disagreed with the call).

The dynamics of the punting team was different because Nate Ebner wasn't there. That moved Chung to the Personal Protector spot and put Davis in Chungs normal spot. BTW, the refs missed a clear block in the back on that play that sprung Tate.

Hoomanawanui - He got schooled by Carlos Dunlap. So did Gronkowski. I believe this goes more towards the quality of player that Dunlap is than the quality of their blocking, which wasn't great.

Not really a negative, but Ninko should rush from the blind side. He is our best guy when it comes to strip sacks. Also, his lack of height/length really shows when qbs roll out to the right and consistently throw over him to dump offs. Would rather have Jones and his long arms in the qb's face when they do those rollouts.

Ninkovich plays the Strong side and Jones the weak side. Ninkovich is 2" shorter than Vrabel was and it shows at times, yes. BTW, having to lob the ball over Ninkovich means that the Players behind him can move up to take out the receiver.

 

[DaBruinz]

Unsurprisingly I disagree on this one point. I'm sure you are shocked. I'll just respond with the following:

2. How many RZ visits ended up with a FG? Was it four or five? I lost count. And that's with having four receivers over 6'2".

That was a very good offensive performance in parts but there were some questions. We will continue to have this debate I'm sure but that game made me more convinced that this offense gets improved with better skill players.

The Pats were 3 for 6 in the Red Zone. The problem that I saw, in the Red Zone, is that they didn't use their tall receivers. I don't understand why the Pats don't go with 4 receivers (2WR/2TE). Have the 2 outside receivers run INs 2 yards inside the Endzone and the 2 Inside receivers run OUTs at the line. You are sure to get someone open. And if you do this with Gronk, Wright, LaFell and Dobson, you can put the ball higher up or farther out in front of them where only they can get it. You can also use this formation to open things up for Ridley or Vereen to run it in..

 

[DaBruinz]

WTF, that's what I said to you last week and you kept insisting that it didn't matter because we have no weapons.

*snicker* that's Deus for you..

 

[JackBauer]

Hoomanawanui - He got schooled by Carlos Dunlap.

Not surprising. It's a little dispiriting that our third TE still can't block.

 

[DaBruinz]

Yeah I agree I know Lafell has made progress but 11 snaps for a Second year player who you hope make the jump is puzzling.

He's still recovering from the Foot Surgery.. The Pats are taking their time with him. Not wanting to force things and possibly have him get injured MORE. I honestly feel they don't want to have a repeat of what happened to Gronkowski..

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Not surprising. It's a little dispiriting that our third TE still can't block.

It's a mystery to me why Hooman is on the roster. An OT could fill his role, and better. That said, Gronk couldn't block that guy either. Sometimes you play against a guy who's better than you. It happens.

 

[Wheelman]

Some of the penalties really sucked, some undeserving, some deserving. Every time we had a big run or Ridley ran it outside I was expecting a flag, for once it didn't happen! Happy to see the line protect better this game. Let's hope that trend continues upward. I could definitely hear the crowd thru the TV! Props to the fans that were there.

We're on To Buffalo as BB would say.

 

[DaBruinz]

OH.. I totally forgot about the HORRIBLE spot on the Develin run during the 1st series of the game. They marked him back a good yard from where he got the ball..

 

[JackBauer]

It's a mystery to me why Hooman is on the roster. An OT could fill his role, and better. That said, Gronk couldn't block that guy either. Sometimes you play against a guy who's better than you. It happens.

Indeed. I do wonder how much that brace limits Gronk.

 

[Kontradiction]

So eventually our offense is going to morph into a lesser form of the 2010-2012 versions:

Option 1 Gronk (Gronk)
Option 2 Edelman (Welker)
Option 3 Wright (Prisoner)

This is great, but I hope BB remembers what stopped these offenses in the playoffs, a lack of a legit outside WR threat.

2010-2011 Branch and 2012 Lloyd were the 4th and sometimes 5th options in the passing game. Why can't Dobson be our WR2/option 4? He's certainly a better decoy than Lafell at least.

I'm optimistic about the new OL combo and the return of the 2 TE offense, I just want us not to fall into the same problem that our previous offenses had in playoff time. Lafell won't be respected by defenses just as old Branch/Lloyd weren't.

Agreed. We basically have to hope that Dobson makes the second year leap and becomes that receiver. If not, we're looking at defenses flooding the field between the numbers again. I'm as happy about the win as anyone, but there are still issues that need to be addressed. Hopefully we can catch a break this year...

 

[MrNathanDrake]

Jermaine Gresham was the first Tight End picked in a draft year that had Gronkowski, Jimmy Graham, and Aaron Hernandez.


Not only was he the #1 TE that draft, but he was picked wayyyy ahead of all those other guys.

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

My 2 cents.....

Revis shutting down AJ Green, that is exactly what I think we all envisioned when he signed here! He did a great job, the PI call on his INT was BS! So glad he came back after getting hurt.

Big difference with Dennard in there and not Ryan. I thought Dennard played OK, he got some really, really, bad calls against him. I fail to see how Ryan is not cut today for Browner. Actually I think Browner to SS, McCourty FS, with Revis and Dennard would be our best defensive backfield!

The Gronk is great!! Brady still missed a few passes to him last night. Of course the old Gronk would have caught a few of them too, but he is clearly getting more and more like himself every week.

I thought both Ridley and Vereen ran well. Was still disappointed in the 5 FGs, should have had a few more TDs.

Liked what I saw from Wright, Dobson clearly needs to play more. I think Cincy's game plan was to stop Endelmen and he still had 5 catches.

Seriously, of the 45 guys who dressed, the Pats can't find anyone more explosive than Patrick Chung to return KO?

Brady was Brady, I liked the pissed off version of Brady, last night reminded me of game two in 2007, after a week of crap from the media and a couple of great "We are on to San Diego" press conferences from BB, the Pats handed out a prime time whoopin.

Kudos to Bob Kraft for his 25k donation and the video/cheerleader tribute to Devon Stills little girl. He is just the epitome of class! He makes you proud to be a Pats fan!