- Joined
- Nov 14, 2006
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Here we go:
- Get this out of the way first, that punt formation was the dumbest coaching decision I have seen in a long, long time. Say they got the Pats to commit a penalty (which was the point of the formation). It would have been offsetting penalties anyway and they would just replay the down. That play had literally zero chance of succeeding.
- Kudos to the Pats' special teams for reading the play and lining up in the right way so quickly.
- The biggest difference between the Pats and Colts (and there are many) is the halftime adjustments. The Pats make them and the Colts don't. Look at most of Belichick's and Pagano's head to head match ups and it is usually close in the first half and the Pats dominate the second half.
- This game was not nearly as close as the scoreboard showed. The Colts got a gift pick six. The Pats took the foot off the gas on offense to try to run out the clock. They played a really soft prevent on that final drive. The scoreboard doesn't show the blowout that the last four Colts games have been, but I think it as or more one sided as at at least one or two of them.
- I do have a concern that this is the second time the Pats had a huge lead in the fourth and couldn't ice the game. I will give them a bit of a free pass because the o-line was makeshift on the fly last night.
- I'm giving the o-line an A for last night. They didn't play like an A effort, but I am giving them a sliding scale with Cannon went down and they shuffled the line. I know the Colts' d-line is not anywhere near as good as the one they will face Sunday, but they did a solid job considering.
- It is amazing at 38 that Brady is the most mobile in his career. One of the more underrated skills he has had in his career is the ability to step up in the pocket and avoid the rush. But when he was young, it used to be a small shuffle or a step or two. Now Brady is running around like (as Collinsworth pointed out) Aaron Rodgers.
- I love Collins' ability to jump the line to block the punt, but why do it in this game. That blocked kick really didn't really help the Pats. It would have only really helped the Pats if someone recovered it and returned it for a 2 point conversion.
- That said, the guy is a freak of nature. It is amazing how much ground the Pats give him to cover on any given play. Because he isn't making as many highlight reel plays that other defenders get, he doesn't get the credit of being the difference making elite player he has become.
- People are writing off Mayo as being done, but remember Victor Cruz had the same injury around the same time and still hasn't seen the field. Yes, he is a WR, but it shows that this is a type of injury that takes a long time to recover from. That said, either Mayo takes another significant pay cut in the offseason or he is gone.
- Chandler Jones showed in the second half that he can be a dominant pass rusher. I am guessing that in the first half he was playing more contain and when they showed that Constanzo was beating Jones on every play, a lot of it may have been Jones trying to be in the running lane of Luck. There were a few they showed where Jones clearly got beat, but I am not sure he wanted to get to Luck on all the plays.
- Amendola's performance last night kinda got lost in the shuffle. The guy got 7 catch and 105 yards and no one is talking about it at (well, I haven't read all the threads this morning). This was the type of performance that we were hoping for when the Pats signed him.
- I can't believe that the Pats will have yet another receiving weapon when JoJo LaFell comes back this week. You count the TEs and RBs and I don't think Brady has had more viable receiving targets in his career. Even in 2007.
- I hate to say it. Josh Kline didn't recover that onside kick. The refs gave the Pats one. Once they gave it to the Pats, there was absolutely no way they could give it to the Colts based on the visual evidence.
- Where did that screen pass with about 5 down field blockers come from and why haven't we seen it more? Yes, most screen passes have a few down field blockers, but last night it looked like a stampede of blockers mowing down defenders on a couple of plays.
- Last, but certainly not least, congratulations Gronk on your 60th TD. He got his 60th an amazing 41 games faster than the previous record holder (Antonio Gates).
- BTW, anyone who wants a good laugh, check out the Colts message board for some of their "The Colts really won the game because they outplayed the Pats, but the refs stole it from us" thread.