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OK, I'm not staying up untill 3 in the morning to put this out in a timely manner, So without any further ado, let's get started.
1. Make not mistake about it. This game was won because we turned the ball over, not only against the offense, but on ST's TWICE. They accounted for half our points. Plus we didn't turn the ball over to the Texans, tho Cyrus Jones tried really hard.
2. The reason why I thought we were going to lose this game was that I couldn't see us scoring 20 points without lots of turn overs. And TO's are hard to predict because they are dependant on what the other team does too. Given how many weapons the Texans had on offense, I figured if the Pats scored 20 they MIGHT be able to squeeze out a win. But I had a really hard time trying to figure out where those points were coming from.
Well we all saw where those points came from last night, and getting 27 points on about 270 yds of offense is a testament to the Pats coaching and discipline.
3. I think we can see how far behind Jacoby is behind JG. I'm guess about 2 years worth of work. If JB plays in 10 days, I would suspect he'll be better. Not great, but better.
a. What he DID do right was to stay with the game plan, run the huddle, and take what the defense gave him.
b. What he needs to improve on is how fast he processes what he sees. He was late getting the ball to Bennett in the Endzone and it was almost picked off. BUT IIRC, it was the only pass the Texans got near.
4. Gronk played but wasn't even a miniscule factor in the game.....and that's a good thing, long term. He got a little rust off and hopefully didn't tweak his hammy, and in the end didn't need him
5. I could write paeans about this coaching staff. What they did last night was the stuff of legends and it will be talk of the league this week. Anything I have to say at this point would be redundant. It wasn't just BB, but Josh's game plan was masterful, as was Matty P's and of course the game turned on what the special teams play.
6. The defense obviously got the message and played a full 60 minutes. I'd be hard pressed to think of more than a handful of passes that were completed that weren't tightly contested. Again it's a function of coaching. You could see the CB's and S reading the Texan's routes and running right with them. Even on those plays where the Texans had completions, great catches or perfect throws had to be made.
a. The DL got some pretty consistent pressure on Osweiler. It was nice to see Flowers flash some. Another consistent game by BOTH Long and Sheard. Another good game by the run defense, especially before garbage time.
b. Jamie Collins kind of answered the critics (including me) with 14 tackles to go along with his pick. He looked MUCH faster and decisive tonight compared to Sunday.
c. Above all the 2ndary coverage was excellent, their tackling was even better. That almost pick by Butler, really was just like his superbowl play. You have to love Butler he is positively FEARLESS. I love that about him. Every play is a new season for him
7. Any talk about the offense HAS to start with the OL. Dante has to be a God. JJ Watt was rendered invisible except for one play, and I don't mean he didn't have any stats, because I have seen JJ Watt be extremely disruptive even in games where his stat sheet isn't there. BUT tonight Vince Wilfork was a bigger factor than the DPOY.
And the good blocking goes beyond the OL, our TE's and receivers were AWESOME down the field. I had Edelman with at least 2 pancakes that I saw, and Jacoby doesn't get into the endzone without Malcolm Mitchell's block near the GL.
b. BTW- I really like what little we've seen from Mitchell so far. It's not like he's getting a lot of looks with all the guys ahead of him, but every time he HAS been thrown to, he's made the most of them. Tonight was no different. He took a 5 yd pass and turned into a 27 yd gain. So far so good.
c. DAmendola once again just made important plays over and over and over again.
d. Bennett had 2 catches for 10 yards and on the sidelines at the end of the game, no one was having a better time than Marty.
8. I don't think I have remember a game where special teams had more of an impact on the outcome. Not only the 2 turn overs, but SIX punts inside the 13. It seemed like EVERY time Houston got the ball, they had 90 yds to get for a TD. That is huge for the defense. And the only time Houston got a KO to the 25 were the 2 or 3 time that Gotskowsi ALLOWED it to happen, by kicking it through the endzone. Kudo's to Nate, Brandon, et al for their stellar work.
9. General Comments.
a. You could almost hear the wrists being slit down at 354 Park Ave last night as their attack on the Patriots goes further and further downhill. I cannot WAIT to see this week's Hitler parody.
b. In the first half I thought the refs were bad because of the 2 spots that hurt the Pats and the 2 bad calls that were overturned by challenge. HOWEVER I have to say how much I enjoyed watching a game where I don't think there was a single holding call on either side. Nor IIRC, was there a single defensive holding. On the first PI that was called on the Texans, I thought was correct but weak to my mind. The second was one HAD to be called, since the kid tackled Bennett.
So Bill will be happy. This was the first time this season the OTHER team got penalized more than the Pats. BTW- I'm hope one of the mediots will ask Bill this week, why he didn't challenge that first bad spot.
c. That pass to Gronk in the red zone showcased perfectly the difference between Brady and his young padawans. If you recall it was 3rd and 2 from the 6 and they had Gronk split wide. The Texans chose to play OFF Gronk and the attempted fade, failed miserably when Gronk couldn't get passed the defender. If Brady had been the QB he would recognized the off coverage and given Gronk the nod, and Gronk would have taken a step across the LOS, gotten the quick look in and at least gotten the first down.
This of course isn't going to happen with Jacoby, and maybe not even Jimmy (though with Jimmy it might) So it's not exactly an error on JB's part. It's just too soon.
d. Interesting to note that for the 3rd time in the last 3 games the Pats have managed to get a man deep (by yards). Sadly we only have one completion for our troubles, but it IS comforting to know we can get guys deep WITHOUT having to mortgage our top draft picks for a speed ball WR. BTW- the Texans HAVE 2 guys who fit that description and didn't get ANYONE deep.
e. If you listened to BB's post game presser, it was clear to anyone who bothered to listen that BB really likes BOTH his team and coaching staff.....and is having the time of his life coaching this group.
f. The only thing I worry about this win is how ridiculously high the expectations are going to be going forward. This was was spectacular, but this is STILL the NFL and ANY team can beat you if you don't play good football. Sometime teams can beat you even when you DO play good football, with the right calls and bounces. I don't worry about it that much during the regular season, since I'm pretty sure we are going to disappointed 2-3 times, regardless. But I do worry about it during the playoffs, because you only need to fall short once to end your season in bitter disappointment.
g. Finally perhaps the BEST thing that came out of this game is that it seems like we got out fairly healthy. I'm still worried about Gronk's hammy, but other than that I didn't see anyone get zapped. So Bill will likely have every one in tomorrow to look at film and get treatment, and then not have them back in until next Tuesday to get ready for Buffalo. A nice mini-break as reward for a job well done.,
h. I opined earlier in the week that I worried about this short week because I thought it minimized the effect coaching can have on the game, because you only had 3 days to prepare. Well Thursday's game proved just how massively I got that wrong. BB's had HIS team just SO much better prepared than the Texans were. Not so much with the X's and O's, but with the MENTAL preparation. The preparation that allows the players to focus on their jobs more consistently than the other team.
I could actually be that on these short weeks, the coaching aspects of the game come into play even more than in regular weeks just because of the additional stresses the short week puts on the players and staffs. I can't tell you all how happy I was to be WRONG on this!
It's just ANOTHER great night to be a Pats fan. God are we spoiled. With every passing year the pre Kraft years fade deeper into my subconscious. Soon those painful years will become almost mythic memories which may or may not have actually happened. Good night all. I can't wait for tomorrow to see this team get recognized for their efforts.
1. Make not mistake about it. This game was won because we turned the ball over, not only against the offense, but on ST's TWICE. They accounted for half our points. Plus we didn't turn the ball over to the Texans, tho Cyrus Jones tried really hard.
2. The reason why I thought we were going to lose this game was that I couldn't see us scoring 20 points without lots of turn overs. And TO's are hard to predict because they are dependant on what the other team does too. Given how many weapons the Texans had on offense, I figured if the Pats scored 20 they MIGHT be able to squeeze out a win. But I had a really hard time trying to figure out where those points were coming from.
Well we all saw where those points came from last night, and getting 27 points on about 270 yds of offense is a testament to the Pats coaching and discipline.
3. I think we can see how far behind Jacoby is behind JG. I'm guess about 2 years worth of work. If JB plays in 10 days, I would suspect he'll be better. Not great, but better.
a. What he DID do right was to stay with the game plan, run the huddle, and take what the defense gave him.
b. What he needs to improve on is how fast he processes what he sees. He was late getting the ball to Bennett in the Endzone and it was almost picked off. BUT IIRC, it was the only pass the Texans got near.
4. Gronk played but wasn't even a miniscule factor in the game.....and that's a good thing, long term. He got a little rust off and hopefully didn't tweak his hammy, and in the end didn't need him
5. I could write paeans about this coaching staff. What they did last night was the stuff of legends and it will be talk of the league this week. Anything I have to say at this point would be redundant. It wasn't just BB, but Josh's game plan was masterful, as was Matty P's and of course the game turned on what the special teams play.
6. The defense obviously got the message and played a full 60 minutes. I'd be hard pressed to think of more than a handful of passes that were completed that weren't tightly contested. Again it's a function of coaching. You could see the CB's and S reading the Texan's routes and running right with them. Even on those plays where the Texans had completions, great catches or perfect throws had to be made.
a. The DL got some pretty consistent pressure on Osweiler. It was nice to see Flowers flash some. Another consistent game by BOTH Long and Sheard. Another good game by the run defense, especially before garbage time.
b. Jamie Collins kind of answered the critics (including me) with 14 tackles to go along with his pick. He looked MUCH faster and decisive tonight compared to Sunday.
c. Above all the 2ndary coverage was excellent, their tackling was even better. That almost pick by Butler, really was just like his superbowl play. You have to love Butler he is positively FEARLESS. I love that about him. Every play is a new season for him
7. Any talk about the offense HAS to start with the OL. Dante has to be a God. JJ Watt was rendered invisible except for one play, and I don't mean he didn't have any stats, because I have seen JJ Watt be extremely disruptive even in games where his stat sheet isn't there. BUT tonight Vince Wilfork was a bigger factor than the DPOY.
And the good blocking goes beyond the OL, our TE's and receivers were AWESOME down the field. I had Edelman with at least 2 pancakes that I saw, and Jacoby doesn't get into the endzone without Malcolm Mitchell's block near the GL.
b. BTW- I really like what little we've seen from Mitchell so far. It's not like he's getting a lot of looks with all the guys ahead of him, but every time he HAS been thrown to, he's made the most of them. Tonight was no different. He took a 5 yd pass and turned into a 27 yd gain. So far so good.
c. DAmendola once again just made important plays over and over and over again.
d. Bennett had 2 catches for 10 yards and on the sidelines at the end of the game, no one was having a better time than Marty.
8. I don't think I have remember a game where special teams had more of an impact on the outcome. Not only the 2 turn overs, but SIX punts inside the 13.
It seemed like EVERY time Houston got the ball, they had 90 yds to get for a TD. That is huge for the defense. And the only time Houston got a KO to the 25 were the 2 or 3 time that Gotskowsi ALLOWED it to happen, by kicking it through the endzone. Kudo's to Nate, Brandon, et al for their stellar work.9. General Comments.
a. You could almost hear the wrists being slit down at 354 Park Ave last night as their attack on the Patriots goes further and further downhill. I cannot WAIT to see this week's Hitler parody.
b. In the first half I thought the refs were bad because of the 2 spots that hurt the Pats and the 2 bad calls that were overturned by challenge. HOWEVER I have to say how much I enjoyed watching a game where I don't think there was a single holding call on either side. Nor IIRC, was there a single defensive holding. On the first PI that was called on the Texans, I thought was correct but weak to my mind. The second was one HAD to be called, since the kid tackled Bennett.
So Bill will be happy. This was the first time this season the OTHER team got penalized more than the Pats. BTW- I'm hope one of the mediots will ask Bill this week, why he didn't challenge that first bad spot.
c. That pass to Gronk in the red zone showcased perfectly the difference between Brady and his young padawans. If you recall it was 3rd and 2 from the 6 and they had Gronk split wide. The Texans chose to play OFF Gronk and the attempted fade, failed miserably when Gronk couldn't get passed the defender. If Brady had been the QB he would recognized the off coverage and given Gronk the nod, and Gronk would have taken a step across the LOS, gotten the quick look in and at least gotten the first down.
This of course isn't going to happen with Jacoby, and maybe not even Jimmy (though with Jimmy it might) So it's not exactly an error on JB's part. It's just too soon.
d. Interesting to note that for the 3rd time in the last 3 games the Pats have managed to get a man deep (by yards). Sadly we only have one completion for our troubles, but it IS comforting to know we can get guys deep WITHOUT having to mortgage our top draft picks for a speed ball WR. BTW- the Texans HAVE 2 guys who fit that description and didn't get ANYONE deep.
e. If you listened to BB's post game presser, it was clear to anyone who bothered to listen that BB really likes BOTH his team and coaching staff.....and is having the time of his life coaching this group.
f. The only thing I worry about this win is how ridiculously high the expectations are going to be going forward. This was was spectacular, but this is STILL the NFL and ANY team can beat you if you don't play good football. Sometime teams can beat you even when you DO play good football, with the right calls and bounces. I don't worry about it that much during the regular season, since I'm pretty sure we are going to disappointed 2-3 times, regardless. But I do worry about it during the playoffs, because you only need to fall short once to end your season in bitter disappointment.
g. Finally perhaps the BEST thing that came out of this game is that it seems like we got out fairly healthy. I'm still worried about Gronk's hammy, but other than that I didn't see anyone get zapped. So Bill will likely have every one in tomorrow to look at film and get treatment, and then not have them back in until next Tuesday to get ready for Buffalo. A nice mini-break as reward for a job well done.,
h. I opined earlier in the week that I worried about this short week because I thought it minimized the effect coaching can have on the game, because you only had 3 days to prepare. Well Thursday's game proved just how massively I got that wrong.
BB's had HIS team just SO much better prepared than the Texans were. Not so much with the X's and O's, but with the MENTAL preparation. The preparation that allows the players to focus on their jobs more consistently than the other team.I could actually be that on these short weeks, the coaching aspects of the game come into play even more than in regular weeks just because of the additional stresses the short week puts on the players and staffs. I can't tell you all how happy I was to be WRONG on this!
It's just ANOTHER great night to be a Pats fan. God are we spoiled. With every passing year the pre Kraft years fade deeper into my subconscious. Soon those painful years will become almost mythic memories which may or may not have actually happened.
Good night all. I can't wait for tomorrow to see this team get recognized for their efforts.
