Week 2 Thoughts: Wow

[Oswlek]

Open letter to the NY Jets

Dear Mangini, Tannenbaum and the rest of the New York Jets' front office:

**** You!

Sincerely,
Oswlek


Now on to my thoughts.

* I found it humorous that NE leaked the terms of the cintract this weekend. I got the feeling that the team was releasing this as a way to snub all the clamoring about NE's detractors. It seems as if BB is saying, "So, you don't like having me around? Suck it up. I aint going anywhere."

* Did anyone else catch that flop by Rivers after the Patriots sacked his ass out of FG range on the drive following the Hobb's fumble? At first I thought it was a really stupid move by Green, but then they showed a replay.....

All I have to say is wow. You sir, are a total wuss. He dipped his shoulder into Green's chest and then fell to the ground as if he had be shot. And he did the same thing late in the playoff game as well. Lame.

* I loved that they showed a closeup on Brady during Moss' first TD. I hate it when they do that crap during live action, but it really served a good purpose on that play. You could see that Tommy knew that Moss was going to be open at that spot right when the ball was snapped, but he didn't want to give it away, so he immediately turned his head to the other side of the field. Then, right before releasing the ball, he snapped his back back and let it fly.

I have a friend who coaches QBs for a local college (very small time) and he is adamant that Brady is the best QB he has ever seen at locking the safeties like that.

* More on Brady, this game was a microcosm of every QB in the league vs. Brady. I'm knid of disappointed that Madden brought this up, because I wanted to, but Brady is so much more comfortable in the pocket than any other QB in the league. Compare him to Rivers and you can see the difference that I am talking about. Rivers takes the snap, drops back and then look uncomfortably for a receiver to get open. He hops in his stance and you can just feel how badly he wants to get rid of that ball.

On the other hand, Brady just exudes serenity back there. Even when the pocket is collapsing, he still seems more relaxed than Rivers does at any point. As my dad like to say, "it looks like he is having a picnic back there."

* Does anyone still want to get rid of Wilson? He was a monster out there. That is the guy that patrolled secondaries in 2003 and 2004. Good to have you back Geno.

* I have been saying for a few weeks now that Thomas just doesn't look comfortable yet. Well, consider that one done. As impressive as his int return was, Thomas had a play where he snuck up just before the snap and slipped through the line and took LdT down in the backfield. You can't do it any better than that.

* That said, how does Thomas outrun two WRs to the endzone over 65 yards? Amazing.

* Stallworth doesn't look very good yet. It seems as if the only routes that NE has him run are gos and slants. And even on those, the timing with Brady isn't quite there yet. Moss will make a lot of guys look bad, but the difference between the two is staggering. I don't really need much more thought to determine who I hope is here next year.

* Colvin. Excellent game.

* That move by Welker was sweet. He looks like a little jackrabbit out there. How does someone hop backwards and then be in run sprint one second later? I wonder of Bil Barnwell of footballoutsiders is reconsdering his 450 yard projection yet?

* Did anyone catch when Al Michaels called #83 of the Chargers Wes Welker?

* As poorly as Rivers played, he did make some good plays where it seemed as if he had two or three Patriots draped all over him.

* I know this sounds crazy, but I would still like to see a little more consistency from the pass rush. That said, it could by a matter of what they werre showing. When NE *needed* a big play - in the first half the two times SD drove into NE territory, in the 3rd quarter after the fumble - they were in RIvers' face. I am more than willing to conceed that NE left a few bullets in the gun since they were in control of that game. I am also willing to conceed that SD has a good OL. Just nitpicking is all.

* The one other nitpick, and this goes back to the NYJ game, is 3rd down defense. Again, I am not willing to call it a major concern, but NE has given up some 3rd downs that I would expect a defense of their calliber to stop.

* Was anyone else surprised at how much SD tried to run to the right? If I had a choice, I would go after Jarvis myself, but I don't recall more than a couple runs in his direction. Am I mistaken?

* I am also surprised that SD avoided Samuel as if he were playing up to his 2006 playoff standards.

* I was disappointed when NE didn't score just before the half, but I was kind of glad to. I really didn't feel that NE should have gotten that PI call.

My wife had a great comment late in the game. Reflecting back on the all the cloak and dagger efforts of SD to stop the surveylence of NE, she said, "Doesn't this just make them look stupid? They go through all that crap and then get destroyed. Shouldn't you have just kept your mouth shut about all that?"

I welcome your thoughts.

 

[sieglo]

Good post. Pretty much right on.

Someone ought to videocap that Rivers dive and post it on the Charger's board under the title:"Is this classy?"

 

[PatsDeb]

I was at the game - the atmosphere was incredible. BB was late getting out on the field, and once everyone saw him, there was a standing "O" and he waved to the crowd - something I have never seen him do.

You knew from the opening drive that the Pats were going to back up their word that their "statement" was going to be made on the field.

All I could think of was the immortal words of the Bandit to Sheriff Buford T. Justice - Dear NFL, "Do the initials F.O. mean anything to you?"

GO GO GO PATS!!

 

[patsox23]

I agree with a ton of what you wrote, but below are my favorites:

* As poorly as Rivers played, he did make some good plays where it seemed as if he had two or three Patriots draped all over him.

* I know this sounds crazy, but I would still like to see a little more consistency from the pass rush. That said, it could by a matter of what they werre showing. When NE *needed* a big play - in the first half the two times SD drove into NE territory, in the 3rd quarter after the fumble - they were in RIvers' face. I am more than willing to conceed that NE left a few bullets in the gun since they were in control of that game. I am also willing to conceed that SD has a good OL. Just nitpicking is all.

* The one other nitpick, and this goes back to the NYJ game, is 3rd down defense. Again, I am not willing to call it a major concern, but NE has given up some 3rd downs that I would expect a defense of their calliber to stop.

My wife had a great comment late in the game. Reflecting back on the all the cloak and dagger efforts of SD to stop the surveylence of NE, she said, "Doesn't this just make them look stupid? They go through all that crap and then get destroyed. Shouldn't you have just kept your mouth shut about all that?"

Good stuff.

 

[bbabin]

I haven't watched the telecast yet but my thoughts from Gillette:

*I know it has been mentioned but BB really did get a ton of love from the crowd. He got the loudest ovation of any Patriot during the introduction.

*I've heard in the past that Gillette is not the loudest and that at times the crowd is not into it. I don't have much comparison but I thought the crowd was great.

*Colvin was all over the place. He made a ton of huge plays and was also talking his head off. Once when he was on top of Rivers after a sack, he was saying something right into the QB's face. Also he had a nice little shove on LT after an incomplete pass I believe. It was a little shoulder check but LT was complaining, looking for a flag.

*Faulk had a great (perfectly legal) block on a gunner on a punt for a touchback. The Charger felt differently and was whining after he was what looked like unexpectedly taken out at around the 10 yd line.

*Where did all the Randy Moss naysayers hide??? He looked fantastic, on the field and off. He was high-fiving the military guys on the sideline after one TD and pointed to the fans as he exited. It sure seems like he's ecstatic to be here and having a great time.

 

[psychoPat]

Someone ought to videocap that Rivers dive and post it on the Charger's board under the title:"Is this classy?"

Classy, schmassy.
I hope the refs' backchannel chatter about it
costs Rivers a REAL roughing call or two over the course of the season.

 

[The Gr8est]

Good post. Pretty much right on.

Someone ought to videocap that Rivers dive and post it on the Charger's board under the title:"Is this classy?"

I think you might even call it cheating.

 

[njpatsfan]

* I found it humorous that NE leaked the terms of the cintract this weekend. I got the feeling that the team was releasing this as a way to snub all the clamoring about NE's detractors. It seems as if BB is saying, "So, you don't like having me around? Suck it up. I aint going anywhere."

I agree. I think it was a smart move by Kraft. He raised the stakes for Goodell in case he was thinking of doing anything else.

* I loved that they showed a closeup on Brady during Moss' first TD. I hate it when they do that crap during live action, but it really served a good purpose on that play. You could see that Tommy knew that Moss was going to be open at that spot right when the ball was snapped, but he didn't want to give it away, so he immediately turned his head to the other side of the field. Then, right before releasing the ball, he snapped his back back and let it fly.

Great observation - the quickness with which he snapped his head back meant that the play was going there all the time.

* Does anyone still want to get rid of Wilson? He was a monster out there. That is the guy that patrolled secondaries in 2003 and 2004. Good to have you back Geno.

Another great observation.

* That said, how does Thomas outrun two WRs to the endzone over 65 yards? Amazing.

I think this is even more amazing than Ben Watson's saving the touchdown (which sees to be firmly embedded in NFL lore).

Ever ook at AD's arms ? They are freakishly long. There was a shot of him walking next to Vrabel - you could see his shoulders were 3-4 inches higher than Vrabels - and his hands ended 3-4 inches below Vrabe's. Everyone (including Madden) were preplexed as to why BB plays AD in the middle. Now we see why.

* Colvin. Excellent game.

Two sacks - with two Rivers fumbles - and a sweet INT to boot. OC's have to see this game and freak out.

* That move by Welker was sweet. He looks like a little jackrabbit out there. How does someone hop backwards and then be in run sprint one second later? I wonder of Bil Barnwell of footballoutsiders is reconsdering his 450 yard projection yet?

We haven't had a a receiver that was a serious threat YAC for a while. We will light up those teams with poor-tackling secondaries.

My wife had a great comment late in the game. Reflecting back on the all the cloak and dagger efforts of SD to stop the surveylence of NE, she said, "Doesn't this just make them look stupid? They go through all that crap and then get destroyed. Shouldn't you have just kept your mouth shut about all that?"

I welcome your thoughts.

Because the reason for telling people that was not because they thought anything would happen - it was all about embarrassing BB by making people believe they were worried ...... and perhaps cast aspersions about last years loss. Didn't turn out like they thought though.

R

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

My thoughts.........

First Off WOW, what an ass kicking!

Secondly not only is BB the best X & Os coach in the league, did any GM have a better off-season than BB? Think about last night's game.

4th rd pick for Randy Moss, is starting to look like the Varitek & Lowe for Heathcliff Slocum trade an absolute steal.

signing A. Thomas, he has been absolutely everywhere in the first two games, plus the fact that we can rotate Seau in to keep Tedy and AT fresh.

2nd & 7th rd picks for Wes Welker, Welker has been absolutely everything that we thought he would be, a very dangerous slot receiver, that can not be covered by a LB.

I absolutely love the way Sammy Morris hits a hole!, he is a stud, I remember when the Pats signed him, many of the Pats complemented thee signing, and had a higher opinion of Sammy, than the fanbase did, and it seems that those players were right.

The difference between last years game and last nights game was the new talent on the Patriots sidelines.

And the Pats still have two more Pro-Bowl defenders to come back to the defense!

 

[njpatsfan]

I welcome your thoughts.

Oh, and keep up these post-game threads - you've joined AJ and unoriginal as my favorite posters on this site.

R

 

[Oswlek]

Oh, and keep up these post-game threads - you've joined AJ and unoriginal as my favorite posters on this site.

R

Is there a blushing smiley? :eat2:

 

[PlattsFan]

I disagree a bit about the BB contract leaking ... I think the leak came from the NFL. King had something about how Goodell would've hit BB harder if he didn't know that he was going to be around for a while to "clean up the mess" or whatever.

I think that's ridiculous spin, but the combination makes me think the league asked about BB's contract status, and then someone there leaked it.

Either way, BB and the Patriots are going to be one pissed-off team for the rest of the season because of the whole way this went down. I know 11 other teams that should be very worried about at least one game on their schedule.

 

[Oswlek]

My thoughts.........

I absolutely love the way Sammy Morris hits a hole!, he is a stud, I remember when the Pats signed him, many of the Pats complemented thee signing, and had a higher opinion of Sammy, than the fanbase did, and it seems that those players were right.

And the Pats still have two more Pro-Bowl defenders to come back to the defense!

Sammy is making all the hand ringing over the RB depth look silly.

I know that it is likely that by the Big Sey and Rodney come back someone else will be on the shelf, but it is pretty damn exciting that even though NE is winning the war handily, reinforcements are on still on the way. :rocker:

 

[Oswlek]

Oh. One more thing, John Madden made a great point about SD. He discussed the possible negative implications of having the best player on your team be the RB. It really is a great point that having your best player be the QB or the ILB means that they are just as influencial on a game where they are down by 2 TDs as they are being up. But a RB is largely negated just by taking a sizable lead.

Never heard that point made before so I wanted to give Madden some props.

 

[Fixit]

Great points, but I disagree on Stallworth. He drew a big PI call, he beat his man on the very next play where Brady just overthrew him, and he held onto a ball after he got pasted. He's doing what's asked of him. Once everyone starts double-teaming Randy on every play (poor, poor Quentin Jammer) Stallworth will get some love.

 

[WhiZa]

I agree Al Micheals was an idiot. He kept calling Craig Davis, Buster Davis, and he made the analogy that Brady was Manning-Like before the snap *sigh* thankfully Madden shut him up and said Brady was actually better than Manning pre-snap because he doesn't look like he forgot to take his ritialin.

Stallworth is not getting the separation he used to get with the Eagles. Maybe he just needs more reps, but last year with the Eagles he could easily blow by his defender and caught most of his TDs that way.

 

[Fixit]

I agree Al Micheals was an idiot. He kept calling Craig Davis, Buster Davis, and he made the analogy that Brady was Manning-Like before the snap *sigh* thankfully Madden shut him up and said Brady was actually better than Manning pre-snap because he doesn't look like he forgot to take his ritialin.

Wasn't even the worst Manning ball-wash of the day. Late in the Colts game, with them trying to burn clock, the announcer (Randy Cross?) said, I swear: "You know what's great about this? Manning's letting the play clock go down to one second before he's snapping the ball."

 

[Oswlek]

d%#*!@t!

I forgot to mention my non-NE thoughts.

* I watched 8-10 of Indy's offensive plays, including the entire first drive. Their RT was getting absolutely schooled and I saw 3 uncalled "Bucking Bronco Blocks" in just those few plays. I call them BBB's because it amounts of a guy holding on to the back of a players jersey and hoping to just last a few seconds. Two of those plays came on the first drive - the first play of the game and the long pass to Harrison that got them inside the 10. I will be *furious* if Indy is able to get away with that crap.

Indy fans always ask why I bring up their blatant holding, just go and watch that first drive and you will see what I mean.

 

[PonyExpress]

I agree Al Micheals was an idiot. He kept calling Craig Davis, Buster Davis, and he made the analogy that Brady was Manning-Like before the snap *sigh* thankfully Madden shut him up and said Brady was actually better than Manning pre-snap because he doesn't look like he forgot to take his ritialin.

Stallworth is not getting the separation he used to get with the Eagles. Maybe he just needs more reps, but last year with the Eagles he could easily blow by his defender and caught most of his TDs that way.

Craig Davis was called "Buster" at LSU. Al Michaels was correct.

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

d%#*!@t!

I forgot to mention my non-NE thoughts.

* I watched 8-10 of Indy's offensive plays, including the entire first drive. Their RT was getting absolutely schooled and I saw 3 uncalled "Bucking Bronco Blocks" in just those few plays. I call them BBB's because it amounts of a guy holding on to the back of a players jersey and hoping to just last a few seconds. Two of those plays came on the first drive - the first play of the game and the long pass to Harrison that got them inside the 10. I will be *furious* if Indy is able to get away with that crap.

Indy fans always ask why I bring up their blatant holding, just go and watch that first drive and you will see what I mean.

I watched the end of that game too, and the Colts got away with the most obvious holds, the defender already behind the tackle with the guy having a fistful of his shrit right in front of the ref, and no penalty. The should have lost that game, if the Tennessee guy doesn't drop that pass in his hands, they are in FG range.