Oswlek
Veteran Starter w/Big Long Term Deal
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2006
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The next time a fan of a team looks down the list of scores and claims that NE, "hasn't been challenged" take heart in this win. When Dallas scored to go up 24-21, NE got the ball back having given up as many TDs offensively as they scored in their past three possessions, with a defense that had been scored on for TDs easily on Dallas' past two possessions, minus their top TE and top RB both of which whom had been injured on the two previous drives against a team that had scored more points in the final 30 minutes of their games than 2/3 of the league had scored in all 60.
And they proceeded to outscore them 27-3 over the final 25 minutes.
Even if you want to ignore the final TD, this was a great win over a tough opponent on the road. Very satisfying.
* The was, by a wide margin, the best game that I have seen Dallas play this year. I underestimated just how big that team is. Their receivers are big, their defenders are big, Barber is big and their OL is huge. They really took it to NE and if they were a little more disciplined, they could have given NE a bigger challenge than they did.
* Carrying over, just a few plays where the slppiness hurt Dallas:
a) On the obvious "tackled" of Bruschi, I find it hard to believe that Barber wouldn't have gotten the yard Dallas needed even if Bruschi was left alone. The blocking on that play was very good except for the hold, and Barber is a hard guy for one person to take down.
b) Dallas had a big play to Fasano called back due to a totally unnecessary illegal shift.
I will grant you that a lot of times penalties are what help create big plays, these are just two examples where it was more stupid that useful.
* I know that Jones had two big runs on one TD drive, but I have no idea why Barber doesn't see the field more. He runs with serious power and the speed differential isn't *that* great. It isn't like Parker/Bettis. Put it this way, if you could trade a 2nd rounder for either guy, would you need even 2 seconds to pick Barber?
* I was very surprised at the ferocity of Dallas' pass rush. This was one case where the prevailing thought was correct despite statistics seeming to counter that thought. That game was a great example of how much impact a pass rush can impact the game. Obviously when the QB has no time that is clearly an issue, but there were several example where you could clearly see an open receiver on the opposite side that Brady just didn't have time to get to.
* Obviously Brady was a little off on the deep balls to Moss. The first one wasn't a big deal, since NE scored a TD anyway, but the other two misfires did cost NE points. What is remarkable is just how little space there is between a TD and an incompletion. On the Moss TD that was correctly overturned, Had the ball been just one foot closer to the Moss, he can just let the ball fall into his arms and he likely corrals the ball tightly enough to hit the grond without issue. One foot on a ball that travelled 55 yards in the air. I was outside throwing a ball around prior to the game and I was pleasantly surprised if I was within one foot of my target on balls that I tossed 10 yards.
* Moss likely pushes off 5 times a game more forcefully than that. That was a "give the losing team one more shot at getting into this game" call if there ever was one.
* NE did follow my advice and used the Big Nickle on a significant amount of downs (I didn't even realize BB/DP read this board
) but they still allowed Dallas to move the ball quite a bit, considering the number of mistakes Dallas made. I am going to probably get some flak for this, but I think that Indy slaps at least 35 points on the board if NE's defense plays like that.
That said, Indy's offense is much different that Dallas. They don't have the power line that Indy has, nor does Addai possess the bruising abilities that Barber has. Pass rush contain isn't as much of an issue and Clark is used differently than Witten, etc. I expect a different performance against Indy purely because I think that you defend them in an entirely different manner.
* On the Stallworth TD, Stallworth did a Moss-type fake route. He jogged out as if he wasn't a main part of the play, and then burst forward leaving his defender in the dust. Moss also did that play on the flea flicker and double run fake play. Can someone who pays attention more than I tell me if the receivers act similarly on run plays? If not, why would a defender ever bite on it?
* I laughed when Simms raved about Romo's play-fake on the Crayton TD. That was a terrible fake. I knew immediately by the way he was holding the ball that it was a pass. It seemed more to me that rather than biting on the fake, Harrison thought he had help inside, possibly from Samuel.
* I'm starting to buy into that Welker kid. He might have potential. On a serious note, Welker really needs to learn when another yard or two is not worth the punishment. He's going to get himself killed one of these days.
* The Jets are going to have to move on from Pennington soon if they intend on contending any time soon. Teams are finally figuring out that he tosses a couple of easily pickable jump balls per game. He just doesn't have the strength to make bigger plays down the field any other way.
* Welker made a comment about how Brady puts you in good positions to make catches, which I think is an underrated part of his game. Not only is he excellent at finding the right guy, but rarely do you see a receiver get completely leveled right after the catch.
Going into Miami, I fully expect Morris and Watson to miss the game and I fully expect Maroney to play. I also won't be surprised at all if Eckel gets a decent amount of carries long before mop-up duty considering Miami's issues with power running this year. I am never comforable when NE heads down there, but this is close as I will ever be.
As always, I welcome your thoughts.
And they proceeded to outscore them 27-3 over the final 25 minutes.
Even if you want to ignore the final TD, this was a great win over a tough opponent on the road. Very satisfying.
* The was, by a wide margin, the best game that I have seen Dallas play this year. I underestimated just how big that team is. Their receivers are big, their defenders are big, Barber is big and their OL is huge. They really took it to NE and if they were a little more disciplined, they could have given NE a bigger challenge than they did.
* Carrying over, just a few plays where the slppiness hurt Dallas:
a) On the obvious "tackled" of Bruschi, I find it hard to believe that Barber wouldn't have gotten the yard Dallas needed even if Bruschi was left alone. The blocking on that play was very good except for the hold, and Barber is a hard guy for one person to take down.
b) Dallas had a big play to Fasano called back due to a totally unnecessary illegal shift.
I will grant you that a lot of times penalties are what help create big plays, these are just two examples where it was more stupid that useful.
* I know that Jones had two big runs on one TD drive, but I have no idea why Barber doesn't see the field more. He runs with serious power and the speed differential isn't *that* great. It isn't like Parker/Bettis. Put it this way, if you could trade a 2nd rounder for either guy, would you need even 2 seconds to pick Barber?
* I was very surprised at the ferocity of Dallas' pass rush. This was one case where the prevailing thought was correct despite statistics seeming to counter that thought. That game was a great example of how much impact a pass rush can impact the game. Obviously when the QB has no time that is clearly an issue, but there were several example where you could clearly see an open receiver on the opposite side that Brady just didn't have time to get to.
* Obviously Brady was a little off on the deep balls to Moss. The first one wasn't a big deal, since NE scored a TD anyway, but the other two misfires did cost NE points. What is remarkable is just how little space there is between a TD and an incompletion. On the Moss TD that was correctly overturned, Had the ball been just one foot closer to the Moss, he can just let the ball fall into his arms and he likely corrals the ball tightly enough to hit the grond without issue. One foot on a ball that travelled 55 yards in the air. I was outside throwing a ball around prior to the game and I was pleasantly surprised if I was within one foot of my target on balls that I tossed 10 yards.
* Moss likely pushes off 5 times a game more forcefully than that. That was a "give the losing team one more shot at getting into this game" call if there ever was one.
* NE did follow my advice and used the Big Nickle on a significant amount of downs (I didn't even realize BB/DP read this board
) but they still allowed Dallas to move the ball quite a bit, considering the number of mistakes Dallas made. I am going to probably get some flak for this, but I think that Indy slaps at least 35 points on the board if NE's defense plays like that.That said, Indy's offense is much different that Dallas. They don't have the power line that Indy has, nor does Addai possess the bruising abilities that Barber has. Pass rush contain isn't as much of an issue and Clark is used differently than Witten, etc. I expect a different performance against Indy purely because I think that you defend them in an entirely different manner.
* On the Stallworth TD, Stallworth did a Moss-type fake route. He jogged out as if he wasn't a main part of the play, and then burst forward leaving his defender in the dust. Moss also did that play on the flea flicker and double run fake play. Can someone who pays attention more than I tell me if the receivers act similarly on run plays? If not, why would a defender ever bite on it?
* I laughed when Simms raved about Romo's play-fake on the Crayton TD. That was a terrible fake. I knew immediately by the way he was holding the ball that it was a pass. It seemed more to me that rather than biting on the fake, Harrison thought he had help inside, possibly from Samuel.
* I'm starting to buy into that Welker kid. He might have potential. On a serious note, Welker really needs to learn when another yard or two is not worth the punishment. He's going to get himself killed one of these days.
* The Jets are going to have to move on from Pennington soon if they intend on contending any time soon. Teams are finally figuring out that he tosses a couple of easily pickable jump balls per game. He just doesn't have the strength to make bigger plays down the field any other way.
* Welker made a comment about how Brady puts you in good positions to make catches, which I think is an underrated part of his game. Not only is he excellent at finding the right guy, but rarely do you see a receiver get completely leveled right after the catch.
Going into Miami, I fully expect Morris and Watson to miss the game and I fully expect Maroney to play. I also won't be surprised at all if Eckel gets a decent amount of carries long before mop-up duty considering Miami's issues with power running this year. I am never comforable when NE heads down there, but this is close as I will ever be.
As always, I welcome your thoughts.
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