Idle Thoughts - The new beginnings edition

[zydecochris]

6. DL - Like with the Receivers, semantically we are going to have dispense with the usual DT/DE/NT designations as we are already seeing all those guys playing all those positions in various sets.

That being said, no one will be happy with giving up over 130 yds rushing and having a RB rush for 6 ypc. But it should also be said that defending a running game with just 6 men in the box is NOT the way to stop the run. I'm not sure Ninko's problems were the result of the holding going on, or that he was just a step too slow getting off the block when setting the edge, or that Williams was just unexpected quick. And it wasn't just Ninko. All the DE's seemed to be having an issue, so it could have been a design problem and BB was asking too much from the DE's The CB's an S's were rarely there to provide run support for the DE's, so perhaps the solution might be simply playing more Zone so the DB's will be in better position to support the outside. Clearly last night we played a lot man and the CB"s were being run off on run plays

Interesting to note that according to Reiss, Geeno Grissom played the most snaps of the DT's last night. Now that could be the result of Easley's injury, but it is another example of some obscure rookie making a significant contribution to a win.

7. LB- Hightower played every well last night and was easily the best defender we had in the front 7.. Collins (another one of my designated Binkies) was much too invisible for the impact player I hope he's to become this season. A number to times I saw him making very "Spike-like) attempts to shoot a random gap, leaving big holes for the rest of the D go cover. We need to see better from our supposed most talented defensive player.

Then there is the mystery of the lack of playing time for Mayo with only 11 of 73 snaps in this game. It seems funny that you'd have your best tackler off the field while someone is running amok on the offense. But I suspect that this is more a function of trying to stop all these explosive passing attacks and Mayo will be the LB who gets take off when we go to 5 or more DB's

8 DB - Yet another group that seems to defy positional definitions playing in the Pats secondary.

Malcom Butler - I thought he did an outstanding job of making life difficult for the best WR in the game. With a single except (what a great double move that was) he made almost every other catch an adventure for Brown. He was in great position for most of the night and it took super accurate throws to just barely get by him.

Now is Butler a true "shut down CB" I still don't know. Even Revis wasn't a true shut down CB in this defense. But I do feel that last night's performance went a long way to alleviate most of the fears fans have had about the Butler question coming into the season.

Fletcher and Brown - Both did OK. Both were beaten at times but most of the time they had good enough position that it took great throws to complete the pass. They are what they are, folk, and I think they passed the test. QB's are going to compete over 60% of their passes. They did last season when we had supposed an all star secondary, so why be shocked this season when we don't. All I know is I feel a little more comfortable with how the secondary played

Safeties - I'm sure McCourty would like to have another shot at that pass that seemed to magically go through his arms, but all in all the S's did a decent job for the first time out.

9. Over all I think the defense did an adequate job for now. Clearly we need to see more of a pass rush and the running game needs to tighten up. But in the only stat that matters, the Pats only allowed 21 points and 7 of those were in garbage time.

Its similar for the offense. I hated that the Pats last 2 drives ended in punts. (one due to penalty). They will need to close out games on offense better than that. Blount will certainly help in that area.

10. Radiogate - All I have to say its crap, **** and dung. Its more of the same from the brain dead media that seems to be following Roger Goodell's. game plan for destroying the Patriots' brand It seems like common sense and the truth is unable to overcome the simple envy, jealousy and general lack of good character from the loser elite. Mike Tomlin should be ashamed and is already trying back off his post game comments, but it's too late. His character has been laid bare, and we now know why the Steelers have devolved from an elite team to being just another example of NFL mediocrity. This was a game the Steelers easily could have won if they'd been better prepared and more disciplined. It won't be nearly as easy if they meet in the playoffs, because the Pats team they face then will be a much better team than they lost to last night

Questions I would ask Mike Tomlin if I had the chance. If he has had communications problems "every time" he came to Gillette, how come he wasn't prepared for for that eventuality. He HAD since April to prepare for it. That's 5 months to figure out a plan.

I would ask them what he did during those 5 months to try and figure out a way to at least slow down Gronk and Edelman. Did he think it might be important to make sure Gronk was always covered when he splits out? Or how come in your "hurry up" offense you only ran 2 plays in 60 seconds? Or if you knew the Pats often shifted their line on GL, why wasn't your team prepared???????

I found it interesting that while Mike Tomlin was blaming everyone BUT himself for the sloppy play his team exhibited, Bill Belechick told the press that he and his staff needed to do a better job as the season goes on.

Eventually I hope that people of good character will discover that its hard work and good preparation that has made the Pats what they are. They should make "Do your Job" mandatory watching for the predatory media. THEN they will understand what has made the Pats so great over the years. And that's all I have to say on this matter. They have already sucked most of the joy out of this win. I won't let them take the rest

Ahhh, life is good. After all of the nonsense during the last year, the Patriots played last night and won.

And, I have an "Idle Thoughts" post to read. Again, life is good.

 

[scott99]

PFK, why aren't you a writer covering the Pats for some newspaper ? So informative and on point. I read your stuff every time. Love it. One thing you didn't cover I think unless I missed it, was the choice of Grissom over Flowers. I thought Flowers outplayed Grissom in camp, so I was surprised he was an inactive. Now I know he got hurt and missed time. But he wasn't on the injury list for the game. Just wondering about your thoughts about it.

 

[The Gr8est]

PFK, why aren't you a writer covering the Pats for some newspaper ? So informative and on point. I read your stuff every time. Love it. One thing you didn't cover I think unless I missed it, was the choice of Grissom over Flowers. I thought Flowers outplayed Grissom in camp, so I was surprised he was an inactive. Now I know he got hurt and missed time. But he wasn't on the injury list for the game. Just wondering about your thoughts about it.

Flowers was listed as having a knee injury. I think he still practiced but maybe the Pats didn't want to chance with him.

 

[mgteich]

PFK, why aren't you a writer covering the Pats for some newspaper ? So informative and on point. I read your stuff every time. Love it. One thing you didn't cover I think unless I missed it, was the choice of Grissom over Flowers. I thought Flowers outplayed Grissom in camp, so I was surprised he was an inactive. Now I know he got hurt and missed time. But he wasn't on the injury list for the game. Just wondering about your thoughts about it.

Grisssom played almost all his reps at DT (per Reiss). I'm not sure that we wanted Flowers in that role.

 

[patsfaninpa]

I had to listen to the 3rd quarter on the radio. Steelers announcers were surprised we stayed in 4-2-5 when they had a 2-te look. With D. Williams running so well. Hard to fault front 6. Appeared we were giving them the run and not wanted to have them winging it all over the lot.

 

[patfanken]

I had to listen to the 3rd quarter on the radio. Steelers announcers were surprised we stayed in 4-2-5 when they had a 2-te look. With D. Williams running so well. Hard to fault front 6. Appeared we were giving them the run and not wanted to have them winging it all over the lot.

It wouldn't be the first time BB made that trade off.

 

[aluminum seats]

1) Good post. Thanks for taking the time. Send it over to Portnoy, he needs a guy.

2) Don’t let the silliness take away the happiness of the games…I seem to have reached a tipping point where it doesn’t bother me anymore. Join me!

3) The run D. Tricky, like others have noted it was partly a function of being determined not to have Pitt throw all over the place. But there’s definitely an element of frustration not having a tackling machine like Mayo out there more. (Nink also had an off game, which I would ascribe to just that, an off game. They’re human.) On some level, you’d like to get your top 11 guys on defense out there, of which Mayo is certainly one. But with such strength up front, hard to do—a few cornerbacks have to play. But I’d be willing to wager that we’ve already seen Mayo’s lowest snap total of the season.

4) Good point on Collins. I noticed in the Super Bowl where on at least one occasion he haphazardly shot the gap and lost containment, letting Wilson scamper free. He’s a terrific talent, but needs to play with a bit more discipline at times. But again, it’s game one.

5) Obvious in some ways, but your point about 60%+ completion rates, even last year, bears repeating. Good QBs are going to complete a lot of passes. The key is to minimize the damage, which I would say we can be cautiously optimistic about this secondary doing.

6) Don’t think Dobson is a mystery so much as an important guy to address your Brady/deep ball point. He could be the guy to get outside, and I think he will be that guy if they make an effort to do so. A handful of throws to Dobson per game would be a very nice complement to the existing offense.

 

[mgteich]

6) Don’t think Dobson is a mystery so much as an important guy to address your Brady/deep ball point. He could be the guy to get outside, and I think he will be that guy if they make an effort to do so. A handful of throws to Dobson per game would be a very nice complement to the existing offense.

Agreed.

When he's on the field, Dobson is Brady's #4 target after Edelman, Gronk, and Amendola. He could be #5 if Lewis is on the field as the RB. My presumption is that Dobson is on the field instead of Chandler.

I suppose that Dobson could get more reps if he shows himself to be more valuable than Amendola. I don't think that it is unusual for our #3 WR to get few opportunities when Gronk is healthy.

For now, Dobson has his role, and we should be glad that he is healthy and able enough to do it adequately.

 

[AzPatsFan]

Whenever there is a discussion about our "poor" WRs and BB never drafting high, I always group the TEs and the WRs as mere"receivers". BB has used high picks on Watson and Gronk and a TE before Watson whose name escapes me. And traded for others too, like Wright, Hoomanawanui and Chandler.

I agree that JD and Gronk were high on the read list, and often open, so Amendola and Dobson didn't get many looks. But still Both got balls thrown their way, which they caught.

Amendola took a while to earn TB's trust last year, and Dobson will have to do the same, which he is doing. Dobson will not get mnay oportunities as he has been assigned the taskof providing the "deep threat" routes needed ot keep the Defense honest, But these routes are not Brady's Forte`.

I note that many of Dobson's routes were clearouts to open things for Edelmen, just like LaFell's early season routes last year were. Our "receivers" are fine.

I am glad that BB is playing many Offensive line players, rotating them so they all get some experience. So they will not be raw and inexperienced, when needed.

Of all the recent UDFA projects that Dante was grooming, Kline seems to be the sole success. Devey did fetch a draft pick though. BB's comments that the O-line talent is better, is an indication that the young Draft picks will only improve with more playing time and experience. Miquel shows Cam Fleming to be on IR, yet other claim he was cut and not waived-injured. I wonder what is the true story, after Fleming made the cut to 53. (Note that Jon Halapio has made the Cardinal's squad and is playing LG.)

If Easley's hip is only a Hip Pointer I will be relieved. Grissom's call to play has also got be encouraging, since he seemed to be the least productive of the draftees, in TC.

 

[rochrist]

My only issue with what you wrote is that I think Tarrell Brown was much better than OK. Only gave up one completion and never looked troubled. Otherwise, an excellent write up.

PS. Second issue is that you didn't credit Shaq Mason when you wrote about the interior OL. He actually had one more snap than Tre Jackson and he had a double block to spring Lewis on one of his longer runs and he and Kline were the only two OL not to give up a pressure.

I wondered about that. Mason and Jackson had basically equal snaps, Kline had more. Where did Mason play when he went in? Was he at RG, or did Kline move to RG and Mason played left?

 

[patfanken]

1) Good post. Thanks for taking the time. Send it over to Portnoy, he needs a guy.

Who is Portnoy, what should I send him, and why should I be his "guy"?

2) Don’t let the silliness take away the happiness of the games…I seem to have reached a tipping point where it doesn’t bother me anymore. Join me!

I will eventually. But remember, I'm the guy who says something when someone tries to cut a line. If I see someone bullying some one or give crap to a service worker, I step in and say something. I would LOVE to just ignore the noise, but most of it is just plain WRONG, and if you don't stand up to the bully, things will NEVER change.

3) The run D. Tricky, like others have noted it was partly a function of being determined not to have Pitt throw all over the place. But there’s definitely an element of frustration not having a tackling machine like Mayo out there more. (Nink also had an off game, which I would ascribe to just that, an off game. They’re human.) On some level, you’d like to get your top 11 guys on defense out there, of which Mayo is certainly one. But with such strength up front, hard to do—a few cornerbacks have to play. But I’d be willing to wager that we’ve already seen Mayo’s lowest snap total of the season.

Well we will get a better look at the run D this week in Buffalo. After that game we'll know if we have a problem or not.

4) Good point on Collins. I noticed in the Super Bowl where on at least one occasion he haphazardly shot the gap and lost containment, letting Wilson scamper free. He’s a terrific talent, but needs to play with a bit more discipline at times. But again, it’s game one.

Yeah, our most impactful defensive player, had NO impact on Thursday night. That's got to change, or I'm going to have change my number.

5) Obvious in some ways, but your point about 60%+ completion rates, even last year, bears repeating. Good QBs are going to complete a lot of passes. The key is to minimize the damage, which I would say we can be cautiously optimistic about this secondary doing.

Yeah, people have to stop over reacting on every pass completion. Every week teams are going to complete a LOT of passes, and that would be the truth even if we had our pick of the best DB's in the league. It's just the way it is. I expect the numbers to be much better this week merely because we won't be playing against Rothlessberger and the Bills will run the ball more.

6) Don’t think Dobson is a mystery so much as an important guy to address your Brady/deep ball point. He could be the guy to get outside, and I think he will be that guy if they make an effort to do so. A handful of throws to Dobson per game would be a very nice complement to the existing offense.

On most plays there is one ball and at least 4 options and sometimes 5. I'd personally like to see the ball get spread around more, but if the first two options (usually Gronk and Edelman) are open, you have to give them the ball.

 

[pencilneckgeek]

Flowers was listed as having a knee injury. I think he still practiced but maybe the Pats didn't want to chance with him.

Grissom also crushed a kick returner at one point, so his ST skills are probably also part of the equation.

I wondered about that. Mason and Jackson had basically equal snaps, Kline had more. Where did Mason play when he went in? Was he at RG, or did Kline move to RG and Mason played left?

The latter.

 

[rochrist]

PFK, why aren't you a writer covering the Pats for some newspaper ? So informative and on point. I read your stuff every time. Love it. One thing you didn't cover I think unless I missed it, was the choice of Grissom over Flowers. I thought Flowers outplayed Grissom in camp, so I was surprised he was an inactive. Now I know he got hurt and missed time. But he wasn't on the injury list for the game. Just wondering about your thoughts about it.

He was listed as questionable pregame.

 

[manxman2601]

I wondered about that. Mason and Jackson had basically equal snaps, Kline had more. Where did Mason play when he went in? Was he at RG, or did Kline move to RG and Mason played left?

I believe Mason and Jackson alternated drives through the first 3 quarters but then played a couple of drives together in the 4th Q. However, they stuck to their respective sides with Kline switching from L to R. Clearly the intention is for both Mason and Jackson to start in time with Kline getting experience at both L and R as a backup for both.

 

[pencilneckgeek]

On most plays there is one ball and at least 4 options and sometimes 5. I'd personally like to see the ball get spread around more, but if the first two options (usually Gronk and Edelman) are open, you have to give them the ball.

Exactly. I'll shed no tears if Tom doesn't have to go to his 3rd or 4th read more than once or twice a game. Not spreading it around is decidedly a first world problem.

 

[Luxusdk]

I believe Mason and Jackson alternated drives through the first 3 quarters but then played a couple of drives together in the 4th Q. However, they stuck to their respective sides with Kline switching from L to R. Clearly the intention is for both Mason and Jackson to start in time with Kline getting experience at both L and R as a backup for both.

So whats the plan with Wendell?

 

[manxman2601]

So whats the plan with Wendell?

Good question.

 

[patfanken]

So whats the plan with Wendell?

Interesting question, given how well Andrews played. One would think that Wendell would get the nod. He is an excellent C in the run game, but suffers if he has a big physical nose tackle in pass protection. Not horrible, just not great. He's simply undersized,.

It will be both interesting and telling when he IS ready to come back, what BB will do.

 

[Luxusdk]

Safe to say, for the next 3 years. Stork, Mason, Jackson, Andrews and Kline covers the IOL and barely cost 3 Mill all together

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

Interesting question, given how well Andrews played. One would think that Wendell would get the nod. He is an excellent C in the run game, but suffers if he has a big physical nose tackle in pass protection. Not horrible, just not great. He's simply undersized,

Nice problem for BB to have. I'd like to see what Andrews can do against the Bills as that should be about as tough as it gets for him/us. Less experience to work from, Excellent defensive line, Rex knowing how to play Brady/BB.