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- Apr 3, 2006
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Just got back from our weekend trip to SD. My wife surprised me on Friday! We live in the Bay Area (I'm originally from Maine).
1. Fluff stuff. Our hotel was filled with Patriots fans; you couldn't go anywhere without seeing Pats gear. I've never gone to an away game before, and I was shocked at the amount of Patriots fans not just there but around town.
2. Game time. We sat just above the broadcast booth, at roughly the 50-yard line, top level but second row. I have to tell you I've never enjoyed seats as much as these. Although further from the field, there were no problems seeing anything, and I loved being able to see the plays develop and actually get a gauge of distance and depth. Typically, I have sat in the endzone or corners. We sat next to a middle aged Chargers fan lady who immediately turned to me and made a rude comment when I sat down, asking if I would switch seats with someone else, since I was wearing a Brady jersey. My wife is pretty loud and has a high-pitched, shrill cheering voice, so she made sure to make it even louder on every miniscule Patriots advantage
. BTW, the lady immediately exited upon Edelman's touchdown without saying a word.
3. Qualcomm is pretty crummy. Lots of Patriots fans pretty steamed at the ridiculous amount of time it took to get into the park. There are like two entrances. Also, you can't have purses, which no one knew about, and before the game, we had to walk a long distance to a tent to check our bags and then back again. Lots of angry fans who arrived a good 40 minutes early and still making a mad dash to get to the kickoff. Also, the stadium is just very old; going to the get a hot dog and virtually no TVs to watch the game; extremely slow, west coast laid-back cashiers who are inhumanly slow. Still, with a 60 degree night, I was pretty thrilled to be there!
4. Okay, enough of that- game stuff. You can probably observe a lot of these things on TV, but I thought I had a very good perspective and tried to pay attention to things. Oh, almost forgot, Belichick's comments were spot on; it was like a college crowd there with both teams equally represented. Patriots fans were actually louder; great energy in the air; Patriots bench was pretty fired up as well. Seemed almost like a pickup game that gains neighborhood watchers peering through the fence- that type of excitement.
5. To start with, Jamie Collins is an absolute monster. His physical presence is nearly as remarkable as Gronkowski on the offense; that is, he looks like a man among boys. Not sure about the finer points of his game and will leave that to the experts, but from an athleticism standpoint, he is truly gifted. Incredibly fast and fluid with great closing speed and power. Whether he develops further or not, it is obvious he was worth the risk in the second round.
6. Not sure what the heck Josh McDaniels was thinking on the Patriots' first drive. Really, really stupid to pass twice on second and third down after the running game was just bullying down that line. I particularly hated the third down call, shotgun, not even playaction. Why? Why? Why? I have absolutely no idea why this decision could possibly lead to a higher touchdown probability.
7. The Patriots should have won this game by a lot of points; this was just a perfect matchup for them with San Diego's downfield receivers versus their secondary, and on offense, SD's D was very soft in the middle of the field. Patriots had major advantages in the trenches as well. Some dumb mistakes ultimately kept the game close; if they played SD 10 times, they should win 8-9.
8. Revis IslandS. Yes, plural. The island took up half the field. I don't even think it was so much Revis being as good as he is as Rivers just being completely shell shocked and not willing to ever throw in his direction. He did cover Keenan Allen tightly, but Rivers never looked his way, not even in desperation time. Watching the game again tonight on TV, I actually saw a couple of times when Allen was WIDE OPEN and Rivers not even considering him.
More on Revis Island, though. The Chargers coaching staff was extremely dim-witted in their offensive gameplan. Most of their plays involved Allen on one side of the field and 2/3 receivers/Gates on the other side. Rather than putting Allen in with the heavy side of the formation, using some slants/picks and forcing the Patriots to play zone, they played directly into the Patriots' hands. Patriots just put a bunch of defensive backs on one side of the field and Revis on the other, creating chaos and laser tight windows all night. It felt as though the Chargers were playing Tecmo Bowl and had only one passing play.
Also, with all the blitzing the Patriots did, how many quick slants and screens did the Chargers call? Definitely not many.
9. As soon as Brady threw that interception, and I mean the split second it left his hand, I stood up and yelled "Nooooo!!!!" very dramatically. Just a head scratcher on that one; there was no one there except Chargers. Maybe he thought Gronk would cut back- even so it would have been a terrible decision. Weird that it was so similar to the play in Indianapolis just before halftime.
10. The Browner penalty was clearly a bad call from everyone's standpoint, even Charger fans who were pretty quiet about it. I believe I saw two officials throw flags. Even in real-time, from my far-away seats, I could tell it was a good hit but not helmet to helmet. Wilfork was going beserk about the call, as were Patriots fans (half the stadium). Patriots defense really showed some cahones by putting the clamps down at a time when they could have melted down, which is kind of the staple of past teams. This team is clearly a different beast from past teams, and they have a killer instinct.
11. When the Chargers punted on 4th and 5, I wanted to turn around to all the Chargers fans in my section and say "Aren't you outraged???" Couldn't believe that this terrible decision was actually happening, nor could I believe that most of the fans didn't even realize how stupid their coach was. That had to be one of the biggest win-probability swings you can find. The moment they decided to punt, the game was over, and everyone knew it. I don't see a lot of downside in missing on fourth down, considering the game is about possessions and not field position at that juncture.
12. Hey Phillip Rivers, welcome to Tom Brady's world, one where your best receiver is not always going to have a huge matchup advantage, and one where you can't rely on explosive downfield passing to get the job done. You need to throw lasers into tight windows, get creative, and pick apart the tiny flaws in the defense. That's what Tom Brady does in about half of his games and still figures it out. I don't think I recall more than three receptions last night where a Patriots receiver was really open with significant separation. There's a big difference between these two quarterbacks. I have always had a lot of respect for Rivers and still think he is very good, but like many QBs, he is very reliant on the athleticism of his receivers, whereas Brady's receivers rely on the intelligence and accuracy of their quarterback.
13. Last thing, just some observations about the offense:
A. I wonder if the Patriots have decided to keep Gronk from running up the seem on intermediate-deep routes due to injury concerns. I recall that his ability to burst off the line and deep into the secondary used to be a major threat, but now they prefer to run him in more traditional routes or sometimes split wide. I wouldn't second guess the decision if that's the case.
B. As alluded to above, I have concerns about how the Patriots handle short yardage situations, particularly third and short; I've always had a problem with McDaniels' playcalling in these scenarios, but now they really have the pieces to succeed but still try the same bad strategies.
In particular, running an empty backfield with four or five wideouts seems to be a dumb idea. They usually split Vereen wide and put in either Amendola or Tyms, and you know there's a 75% chance the ball is going to Edelman or Gronkowski and about a 20% chance it is going to LaFell.
I don't know why the Patriots don't utilize Vereen on third down; first, they could use the blocking help in the backfield; second, Vereen can be a threat coming out that backfield and can keep the defense from overcommitting to the pass rush. They used to kill teams with screens to Woodhead and Faulk, yet they use Vereen as a wide receiver and completely show their hand in their commitment to the pass.
Even on third and very short (1 or 2), they go out of shotgun and fail to utilize their two bruising running backs. These are the situations where Blount and Grey should be so devastating to bowl over the line for a few yards, and even their presence should setup the playaction very nicely.
14. Okay, would hate to end on 13, so I'll sign off. Hope comments weren't too garbled, as I'm going to bed now after a long trip.
1. Fluff stuff. Our hotel was filled with Patriots fans; you couldn't go anywhere without seeing Pats gear. I've never gone to an away game before, and I was shocked at the amount of Patriots fans not just there but around town.
2. Game time. We sat just above the broadcast booth, at roughly the 50-yard line, top level but second row. I have to tell you I've never enjoyed seats as much as these. Although further from the field, there were no problems seeing anything, and I loved being able to see the plays develop and actually get a gauge of distance and depth. Typically, I have sat in the endzone or corners. We sat next to a middle aged Chargers fan lady who immediately turned to me and made a rude comment when I sat down, asking if I would switch seats with someone else, since I was wearing a Brady jersey. My wife is pretty loud and has a high-pitched, shrill cheering voice, so she made sure to make it even louder on every miniscule Patriots advantage
. BTW, the lady immediately exited upon Edelman's touchdown without saying a word.3. Qualcomm is pretty crummy. Lots of Patriots fans pretty steamed at the ridiculous amount of time it took to get into the park. There are like two entrances. Also, you can't have purses, which no one knew about, and before the game, we had to walk a long distance to a tent to check our bags and then back again. Lots of angry fans who arrived a good 40 minutes early and still making a mad dash to get to the kickoff. Also, the stadium is just very old; going to the get a hot dog and virtually no TVs to watch the game; extremely slow, west coast laid-back cashiers who are inhumanly slow. Still, with a 60 degree night, I was pretty thrilled to be there!
4. Okay, enough of that- game stuff. You can probably observe a lot of these things on TV, but I thought I had a very good perspective and tried to pay attention to things. Oh, almost forgot, Belichick's comments were spot on; it was like a college crowd there with both teams equally represented. Patriots fans were actually louder; great energy in the air; Patriots bench was pretty fired up as well. Seemed almost like a pickup game that gains neighborhood watchers peering through the fence- that type of excitement.
5. To start with, Jamie Collins is an absolute monster. His physical presence is nearly as remarkable as Gronkowski on the offense; that is, he looks like a man among boys. Not sure about the finer points of his game and will leave that to the experts, but from an athleticism standpoint, he is truly gifted. Incredibly fast and fluid with great closing speed and power. Whether he develops further or not, it is obvious he was worth the risk in the second round.
6. Not sure what the heck Josh McDaniels was thinking on the Patriots' first drive. Really, really stupid to pass twice on second and third down after the running game was just bullying down that line. I particularly hated the third down call, shotgun, not even playaction. Why? Why? Why? I have absolutely no idea why this decision could possibly lead to a higher touchdown probability.
7. The Patriots should have won this game by a lot of points; this was just a perfect matchup for them with San Diego's downfield receivers versus their secondary, and on offense, SD's D was very soft in the middle of the field. Patriots had major advantages in the trenches as well. Some dumb mistakes ultimately kept the game close; if they played SD 10 times, they should win 8-9.
8. Revis IslandS. Yes, plural. The island took up half the field. I don't even think it was so much Revis being as good as he is as Rivers just being completely shell shocked and not willing to ever throw in his direction. He did cover Keenan Allen tightly, but Rivers never looked his way, not even in desperation time. Watching the game again tonight on TV, I actually saw a couple of times when Allen was WIDE OPEN and Rivers not even considering him.
More on Revis Island, though. The Chargers coaching staff was extremely dim-witted in their offensive gameplan. Most of their plays involved Allen on one side of the field and 2/3 receivers/Gates on the other side. Rather than putting Allen in with the heavy side of the formation, using some slants/picks and forcing the Patriots to play zone, they played directly into the Patriots' hands. Patriots just put a bunch of defensive backs on one side of the field and Revis on the other, creating chaos and laser tight windows all night. It felt as though the Chargers were playing Tecmo Bowl and had only one passing play.
Also, with all the blitzing the Patriots did, how many quick slants and screens did the Chargers call? Definitely not many.
9. As soon as Brady threw that interception, and I mean the split second it left his hand, I stood up and yelled "Nooooo!!!!" very dramatically. Just a head scratcher on that one; there was no one there except Chargers. Maybe he thought Gronk would cut back- even so it would have been a terrible decision. Weird that it was so similar to the play in Indianapolis just before halftime.
10. The Browner penalty was clearly a bad call from everyone's standpoint, even Charger fans who were pretty quiet about it. I believe I saw two officials throw flags. Even in real-time, from my far-away seats, I could tell it was a good hit but not helmet to helmet. Wilfork was going beserk about the call, as were Patriots fans (half the stadium). Patriots defense really showed some cahones by putting the clamps down at a time when they could have melted down, which is kind of the staple of past teams. This team is clearly a different beast from past teams, and they have a killer instinct.
11. When the Chargers punted on 4th and 5, I wanted to turn around to all the Chargers fans in my section and say "Aren't you outraged???" Couldn't believe that this terrible decision was actually happening, nor could I believe that most of the fans didn't even realize how stupid their coach was. That had to be one of the biggest win-probability swings you can find. The moment they decided to punt, the game was over, and everyone knew it. I don't see a lot of downside in missing on fourth down, considering the game is about possessions and not field position at that juncture.
12. Hey Phillip Rivers, welcome to Tom Brady's world, one where your best receiver is not always going to have a huge matchup advantage, and one where you can't rely on explosive downfield passing to get the job done. You need to throw lasers into tight windows, get creative, and pick apart the tiny flaws in the defense. That's what Tom Brady does in about half of his games and still figures it out. I don't think I recall more than three receptions last night where a Patriots receiver was really open with significant separation. There's a big difference between these two quarterbacks. I have always had a lot of respect for Rivers and still think he is very good, but like many QBs, he is very reliant on the athleticism of his receivers, whereas Brady's receivers rely on the intelligence and accuracy of their quarterback.
13. Last thing, just some observations about the offense:
A. I wonder if the Patriots have decided to keep Gronk from running up the seem on intermediate-deep routes due to injury concerns. I recall that his ability to burst off the line and deep into the secondary used to be a major threat, but now they prefer to run him in more traditional routes or sometimes split wide. I wouldn't second guess the decision if that's the case.
B. As alluded to above, I have concerns about how the Patriots handle short yardage situations, particularly third and short; I've always had a problem with McDaniels' playcalling in these scenarios, but now they really have the pieces to succeed but still try the same bad strategies.
In particular, running an empty backfield with four or five wideouts seems to be a dumb idea. They usually split Vereen wide and put in either Amendola or Tyms, and you know there's a 75% chance the ball is going to Edelman or Gronkowski and about a 20% chance it is going to LaFell.
I don't know why the Patriots don't utilize Vereen on third down; first, they could use the blocking help in the backfield; second, Vereen can be a threat coming out that backfield and can keep the defense from overcommitting to the pass rush. They used to kill teams with screens to Woodhead and Faulk, yet they use Vereen as a wide receiver and completely show their hand in their commitment to the pass.
Even on third and very short (1 or 2), they go out of shotgun and fail to utilize their two bruising running backs. These are the situations where Blount and Grey should be so devastating to bowl over the line for a few yards, and even their presence should setup the playaction very nicely.
14. Okay, would hate to end on 13, so I'll sign off. Hope comments weren't too garbled, as I'm going to bed now after a long trip.
