Game Thoughts: The Pats got their tundras frozen in Green Bay edition

A man named Brady said:

When you hold Nelson/Cobb under 100 yards and overall the packers under 30 points at Lambeau you have to win that game

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And also to 0 turnovers, which has been a key to their success.

Other note: Sam Barrington played out of his mind yesterday. Who is this kid? I think he single handedly caused McDaniels to abort the run, which was a mistake.

SacPete1 said:

Did you notice Belichick talking to McCarthy after the game? He doesn't usually take that much time, particularly after a loss but based on his body language, he seemed to be quite complimentary and respectful.

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I noticed that too, would love to know what was exchanged between the two good coaches

luuked said:

I would love it to be that way but I doubt that BB would hold things back the way the third and fourth quarter went. The game was easily in reach and I don't see him giving up a game when nothing had been clinched yet.

Now, the caveat with all I wrote is that obviously we held back everything that we were not able to run due to injuries or other circumstances (Ch. Jones, Fleming, Easley still working his way back, Siliga, Dennard playing rarely).

Having then available obviously makes it possible add new wrinkles. But I somehow doubt that BB held back stuff that might have helped us to stop GB 2-3 times more often (and thus win).

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Idk if they held back and don't think would, but i do think the game was very conservative. Something was just odd. I don't get the Bolden touches over Blount, I don't get the lack of Blount touches, or lack of blitzing and stunts. The fact we let Rodgers sit back there for 6-12 seconds is weird. Their OL isn't that good and our DL isn't that bad. It's strange.

Disappointing result but an interesting game to watch.

Rodgers is an amazing QB. So impressive. If he keeps this up he'll be in the GOAT discussion.

Since it's holiday season ... here is my wish list after the game.

I wish the Pats offense didn't waste them first few drives and that the OL played better on crucial downs. I also wish that Ryan didn't suit up and that Nink didn't pick this game to be one of his worst played this season.

A man named Brady said:

When you hold Nelson/Cobb under 100 yards and overall the packers under 30 points at Lambeau you have to win that game

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Besides a couple of bad plays, the secondary played very well when you consider how long Rodgers had to throw.

VrabelJr said:

Other note: Sam Barrington played out of his mind yesterday. Who is this kid? I think he single handedly caused McDaniels to abort the run, which was a mistake.

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Good LB from of University of South Florida. Watched him for years down here. Excels in run tackling, decent in pass coverage, quick but only 6'1. Would have been a great prospect late in the draft for us.

deters said:

Idk if they held back and don't think would, but i do think the game was very conservative. Something was just odd. I don't get the Bolden touches over Blount, I don't get the lack of Blount touches, or lack of blitzing and stunts. The fact we let Rodgers sit back there for 6-12 seconds is weird. Their OL isn't that good and our DL isn't that bad. It's strange.

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Pats pass a lot more when Bolden is in. I think they were trying to catch GB off guard.

PatsFan2 said:

A Rookie WR Devante Adams made us look like crap yesterday wish our 3rd and 4th options were that good.

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If the Pats 3rd and 4th option could push off like Adams did yesterday they would look that good.

deters said:

Idk if they held back and don't think would, but i do think the game was very conservative. Something was just odd. I don't get the Bolden touches over Blount, I don't get the lack of Blount touches, or lack of blitzing and stunts. The fact we let Rodgers sit back there for 6-12 seconds is weird. Their OL isn't that good and our DL isn't that bad. It's strange.

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The 6-12 seconds thing is easily explained b playing contain first. Keep your players in the running lanes don't give him a path to scramble. Situationally send in a (delayed) rusher. It is one of the more predictable aspects of a BB team.

Of course if the lesser players of the opponent are able to make plays against your 3rd corner then this will not work.


I didn't understand why we suddenly had Bolden on the field. I am not complaining but his use was a bit out of nowhere.

Bobs My Uncle said:

Disappointing result but an interesting game to watch.

Rodgers is an amazing QB. So impressive. If he keeps this up he'll be in the GOAT discussion.

Since it's holiday season ... here is my wish list after the game.

I wish the Pats offense didn't waste them first few drives and that the OL played better on crucial downs. I also wish that Ryan didn't suit up and that Nink didn't pick this game to be one of his worst played this season.

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I think he's been the best QB in the game for a while now He's going to have to get a couple more SB wins to be in the GOAT discussion because of his staring late and time missed to injury. His accuracy, quick release, excellent decision making and great movement are an awesome combination.

I really think the offense needed to rise to the occasion and fell short. (Yeah I know, I shouldn't open this can of worms, and yet, stupidly, I am). While we may have put up similar points per drive on the season, that is hardly representative of recent play. If you examine only the recent games, I imagine these numbers look a bit different. Teams evolve over the course of a season and they just aren't the same team after some time passes. If you also adjust for the difficulty of defenses we've faced, the performance becomes pretty unreasonable. Plus, the run game against what was supposed to be one of the worst run defenses in the league was abysmal and in the passing game, the O line looked like we brought in the turnstiles from the T. I really place a lot of this at the feet of the O line. They got burnt. And don't even get me started on time of possession...

Additionally I really felt let down by special teams. Slater wasn't much of a factor in this game. Seeing GB start a drive at the 45 yard line was ugly. Gost/Allen didn't manage the touchbacks when we needed them plus the missed FG. Given how great we think our ST unit is, they didn't show a lot of dominance.

The defense wasn't exactly a rose either but with a lot on their plate I really felt like they did well. A lot of people are citing a lack of pass rush, but I don't think that a rush was the idea behind the defensive game plan. You can have a rush or you can contain Rodgers in the pocket. I'm not entirely sure you can have both. Maybe, but it will not be the same look and feel as our Denver pass rush and it certainly won't be as fast.

I don't take issue with too much in the game plan except for the decision to start Bolden over all three other options. He was even listed in the opening of the game as the starter which floored me. I also don't much care for how Vereen has been used lately. He used to be more of an up the sideline or quick dump off guy. Now it's as if all the RBs have to run the same kind of plays instead of gearing plays to each person's strength.

What I'd really like to know is what was the deal with all the cramping and pulled muscles yesterday. Brady was stretching, Edelman was stretching, Dobson pulled a hammy, I can't even remember who else but it seemed like there was something odd about all that.

Nikolai said:

Watching Rodgers yesterday is what it's like for fans of other teams to watch Brady. He found the mismatches quickly and delivered perfect passes. I was definitely disappointed with the loss, but this was one I had as a loss in my preseason prediction thread. Green Bay, with Rodgers firing on all cylinders, at Lambeau is no gimme.

I love the red zone defense, and I'm fine with the contain game. If we had spent the game sending extra pass rushers, it might have gotten more ugly. The defense didn't get torched because of a lack of a pass rush. It got torched by a QB who is one of the two best in the NFL, doing what he does. Rodgers Bradyed the Pats.

As for the running game, the only thing I didn't really like was trying to run Vereen through the tackles early on.

The D held the Packers to 26 points at home, no small feat, but the offense stalled at critical moments. The O-Line had a subpar game, and Brady did as well. He missed a couple key 3rd down throws.

That said, this loss doesn't hurt a ton. The Pats are still #1, still "control their own destiny", and I feel good about the outcome of a possible rematch in February.

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Agree completely. Rodgers did to the Patriots what Brady does to other teams. While the Patriots lost up in Green Bay I'm very comfortable with their chances of winning a rematch in February if both teams make it that far. Think Seattle can beat GB up there and if Denver keeps running the ball the way they have they're a threat to win in Foxborough.

Rob0729 said:

To the running replies, the Pats did not really line it up and run the ball. Most of the runs early were draws and they didn't commit with Blount early.

I think people overrate Jonas Gray for killing a really bad Colts' run defense. Blount is the best RB the Pats have, but the Pats lead with Vereen and Bolden.

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I still am intrigued by what we saw with Gray, but I was going to post something similar as I'm in the "we didn't commit to the run" camp. The Colts' game plan was EXACTLY what I was talking about - lining up Gronk and an extra lineman and going jumbo. Putting Bolden and Vereen in the backfield and running draw plays is NOT what I was talking about.

PatsFan2 said:

What I don't understand is with a chance to take the lead and force Greenbay to call time outs why were we in so much of a rush to score?? Thought that was horrible clock management by our Coaching staff. Also why was Gronk lining-up so much on the Outside he's a TE and not a WR...that negates his effectiveness Gronk ain't Jimmy Graham fast or quick.

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Seriously? The move him outside to force the other team to show who goes with him. EG Gronk's TD against Denver. A LB can't cover him in space, and a DB is overpowered.

luuked said:

I remember somebody posting a tweet from one of the beat guys in the game thread during the first half that Wright had a hamstring issue or something like that. I never checked up any further on it though.

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Tim Wright actually got more snaps than usual. 30 or 31 I think.

luuked said:

The 6-12 seconds thing is easily explained b playing contain first. Keep your players in the running lanes don't give him a path to scramble. Situationally send in a (delayed) rusher. It is one of the more predictable aspects of a BB team.

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I understand they wanted to contain Rodgers, but also giving him 6-12 seconds will also kill you. I guess pick your poison.

mayoclinic said:

For the most part (the Nelson TD catch being the notable exception), the Pats made GB beat them with their 3rd, 4th and 5th options. Those guys played well, so give them credit, but if not for Aaron Rodgers extending plays it wouldn't have been close. Rodgers was the difference in this game.

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Yep. Brady needed to match Rodgers drive for drive, and simply did not. There were no turnovers, they both had the same number of possessions, but our offense just couldn't keep pace.

Haley said:

Additionally I really felt let down by special teams. Slater wasn't much of a factor in this game. Seeing GB start a drive at the 45 yard line was ugly. Gost didn't manage the touchbacks when we needed them plus the missed FG. Given how great we think our ST unit is, they didn't show a lot of dominance.

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Given the conditions and situations the ST played good enough.

On that drive that GB started at the 45 yard line, it was a fair catch and the defense held them to 0 points on the drive.

Green Bay fielded 1 punt for 0 yards in 4 punts. Allen had 2 that landed inside the 20 and his average was about 8 yards lower than his season average but given the conditions and trying to stick it inside the 20 is a reason for that.

Sorry but not many punters were going to be booming 50-60 yard punts in the weather yesterday and on the punt you cite where GB started at the 45 that was what Allen would have had to do given that the ball was hiked at the 17 yard line.

As for kick off returns Green Bay's biggest return was on a completely blown block in the back on Slater that the refs missed. Slater normally doesn't look at refs for calls but he was absolutely livid after that one.

Green Bay's returns
19 yards from the 4 yard line
24 yards from the 4 yard line
19 yards from 1 yard inside the end zone
27 yards from 2 yards inside the end zone (The missed block in the back)

I think if we have malcom butler in instead of logan ryan we win.