Was Tonight the KC 2002 Game?

[shmessy]

I shudder to think about it.

 

[patsfaninpa]

Belichick terribly outcoached tonight. Cannot believe we came out with that junk offense like we were behind 21-0. No tight end? No Maroney? I guess McDaniel didn't know how good we are on play-action. Took that completely out of the game because of our formations. That's a game plan I would expect from Norv Turner.

As for the defense. We are not an all out blitzing team. I don't mind sending 5. But, anything more and we don't have the speed in the secondary to compensate. Did you see our blitz on their td that made it 21-17? We rushed 5 or 6. Then two players lined up at ilb..I think Rodney was one and not sure about the other. Started to creep towards line of scrimmage like they were in a delayed blitz. Instead of dropping into coverage and make Feeley's throw more difficult.

 

[SVN]

Belichick terribly outcoached tonight. Cannot believe we came out with that junk offense like we were behind 21-0. No tight end? No Maroney? I guess McDaniel didn't know how good we are on play-action. Took that completely out of the game because of our formations. That's a game plan I would expect from Norv Turner.

As for the defense. We are not an all out blitzing team. I don't mind sending 5. But, anything more and we don't have the speed in the secondary to compensate. Did you see our blitz on their td that made it 21-17? We rushed 5 or 6. Then two players lined up at ilb..I think Rodney was one and not sure about the other. Started to creep towards line of scrimmage like they were in a delayed blitz. Instead of dropping into coverage and make Feeley's throw more difficult.

our off gameplan was okay. we had 3 possesions and scored 17 points in the first half.i actually like the fact that we dont follow the media and expert theory that we need to run the ball X times. Had we run the ball and got stuff on 1st and 2nd down we would be up in arms about not throwing the ball. i think all the fault for this game lies with the D.

 

[MetalBleachers]

I don't think so, though I'm also shuddering to think about it. The 2002 Pats couldn't stop the run and had problems running the ball: it was the Brady show (didn't he lead the league in passing yards?).

the NFL is a weird animal. We pay too much attention to the spread and act shocked when it doesn't work out that way. I guess my one question is, where the heck has THAT Eagles team been all year? Where's the aggressive play-calling, the near-flawless pass-blocking, the pinpoint QB accuracy?

Usually, a team can regroup and learn from mistakes after a loss. We should all be thankful that they can do the same after a win. Not that I'm not concerned for the future, but I don't see many QBs or O-lines (or, for that matter, defenses) who will put up the same performance.

I hope.

 

[Trot]

Belichick terribly outcoached tonight. Cannot believe we came out with that junk offense like we were behind 21-0. No tight end? No Maroney? I guess McDaniel didn't know how good we are on play-action. Took that completely out of the game because of our formations. That's a game plan I would expect from Norv Turner.

As for the defense. We are not an all out blitzing team. I don't mind sending 5. But, anything more and we don't have the speed in the secondary to compensate. Did you see our blitz on their td that made it 21-17? We rushed 5 or 6. Then two players lined up at ilb..I think Rodney was one and not sure about the other. Started to creep towards line of scrimmage like they were in a delayed blitz. Instead of dropping into coverage and make Feeley's throw more difficult.

"I don't mind sending 5."

Wow, you should be a head coach! Any more insight, Lombardi?

 

[SoonerPatriot]

No way. THe difference is in 2002 we didn't have the talent on that roster that we do now. In fact it's not even close....on both sides of the ball.

 

[Solaris]

Why a blueprint? Because they pressured Brady? Imagine that, pressure the other team's quarterback all night long and they will play less then their top game. The Patriot's still scored 31 (38) for the night.

The defense has ALWAYS been soft underneath. That is nothing new, but usually the defensive line makes a lot more plays then they did tonight. I was not impressed with the play.

Overall, the "blueprint" had a lot to do with the level of play on the field. The Eagles were aggressive and intense and the Patriots were conservative and flat. It's a bad combination for sure. The Eagles simply played a lot better then the Patriots and beyond that I think the Eagles were making the adjustments to make the Patriots react rather then the opposite way.

 

[AFPatsFan12]

I hope this topic is brought up in jest. Can you really compare the third game of a season FIVE years ago to the 11th game of this year? Does one poor defensive effort negate the previous 10 brilliant ones (poor tackling was the achilles heel of this unit in Dallas)? This was an Eagles team that was remarkably hungry, was invigorated by a quarterback change (a la Jeff Garcia last year), played 56 stellar minutes of football, and the Patriots STILL got the job done. Say AJ Feeley had led the Eagles to a win, would we compare the game to the 2004 debacle in Miami, and claim the Lombardi trophy right away? You cannot compare across seasons, as each season, each GAME is its own entity, and the bottomline is that, after a thrashing last week, this team avoided the trap and got the job done. Was the gameplan poor, on both sides of the ball? Absolutely. Was there sloppy play in all phases of the ball? Yup. Despite all of this, the Pats still sit at 11-0....

 

[godef]

I shudder to think about it.

Only time will tell.

 

[Metaphors]

I was waiting for this specific thread since I didn't want to start it myself. This is not a "Steve Martin" moment in my opinion.

The first point to consider is that Feeley executed a very simple gameplan. Most of his passes were to his initial read (please put the "How do you know" replies in an email and send to yourself...it is my observation). The play calls were generally excellent and the throws were on time.

The problem is that if your play call is bad or the throw a little late...you might as well be throwing to the DB. Asante had 2 picks and should have had another. On a whole bunch of other throws, the Pats were literally a fraction of a second late. On a better night, you will see a lot of deflections and resulting punt formations.

There were definitely issues in this game, but none were fundamental (Steve Martin) and all are correctable:

1) The onside kick was inexcusable. Not only should any team expect that to happen at any time, but the Pats should CERTAINLY expect a team to try and steal a possession from their offense. Forget the humble pie, here is a boot up your arse (including ST coaches) for that one.

2) You've heard of Driving While Black? Well welcome to Receiving While Tall. The officials could save some time by just saying "Moss. 10 yard penalty. Repeat the down." I don't know what can be done about this, but it is getting embarrasing and could be huge sometime down the line. What is even worse, the official in position to make that call didn't throw the flag. The back judge made the call. (what angle could he have? seeing the DB backpeddle?) They are way too eager to make this call and way too focused on a single player.

3) The left side of the OL seems to be having trouble moving the LOS. Generally excellent in pass protection but runs to the left seem to be cooked before they can even begin. Obviously I haven't seen any game tape to back this up, but I'm pretty sure this is an area that needs to be cleaned up. Light and Mankins can drive block, just seem to be executing poorly of late.

Many good things to be taken from this game...wrong thread to discuss. I'll go look for the "Maroney Sucks", "I hate our defense" or "Why don't we run" threads now...

 

[JoePats]

1) The onside kick was inexcusable. Not only should any team expect that to happen at any time, but the Pats should CERTAINLY expect a team to try and steal a possession from their offense. Forget the humble pie, here is a boot up your arse (including ST coaches) for that one.

And the Eagles have done this many times, including one season-opening kickoff in Dallas a few years back.

Add: I'm not at all concerned about the offense. The Eagles are a pressure defense who is very good at getting to the QB but they also have excellent cover corners...This is a combination that I don't think we'll see the rest of the year and we still did quite well offensively.

Defensively, however, is a different story, esp in the secondary.

 

[Seymour93]

No way. THe difference is in 2002 we didn't have the talent on that roster that we do now. In fact it's not even close....on both sides of the ball.

Yeah and there's a huge difference between the stats of tonight's contest and the 2002 Chiefs game.

Westbrook... 17 carries for 52 yards (3.1 avg.)
Holmes... 30 carries for 180 yards (6.0 avg.)

We were also leading that game by 14 points in the 4th qtr, KC tied it with a minute left, but we won the coin toss in OT, marched down the field and kicked a FG.