POST Game Thread: It was the Best of Times, It was the Worst of Times Edition

Let's begin:

• This was definitely a game of two halves. Other than a block kick and an INT, not much went right in the first half. The entire team slept walked through the entire first half. Nothing was going right. The second half adjustments on both sides of the ball were spectacular.

• I think the person who was the most indicative of this was Brady. He just seemed off in the first half. He stared down receivers. He under threw wide open receivers deep. In the second half, he was on fire.

• The biggest adjustments I saw in the second half were sending Gronk out there more where he was blocking on the line a lot in the first half (obviously), but the did something with the o-line. Not 100% sure what it was. The o-line sucked at run blocking in the first half and was inconsistent on pass blocking (some times great, other times not so much). In the second half, they were much better at run blocking although inconsistent. They didn't even let a defender sniff Brady at all in the second half.

• Good to see Chandler Jones back. In his first game back, he definitely made his impact felt. I am not sure how many plays he actually played, but he certainly made the best of his snaps. I still don't know why people think he sucks against the run, he blew up a run in the backfield at one point. He held up against the run when I watched him. He struggled against the run for a few games earlier in the season (who didn't), but typically isn't bad against the run.

• Today was the only time I was upset with Browner's penalties (only mildly). I don't mind him getting physical because it sets a tone, but some of the penalties were stupid and could have been costly.

• I think the initial game plan on offense was working, but they went away from it too quickly. I think they were doing well against the Dolphins with the short passing game, but they seemed to scrap it too soon after the INT. They were right to take advantage of the depleted LB corp. It didn't matter since the Pats made great adjustments in the second half.

• I love the aggressiveness on special teams. This has been the difference between the Pats and a lot of teams this year with their special teams play. Yes, the special teams let the team down a bit at the end of the first half on that horrible punt coverage, but the Pats definitely have the advantage in this area against virtually every team.

• Time to pay Revis whatever he wants. He truly has become Revis Island. Two weeks in a row that the opposing QB doesn't even look in Revis' direction. He truly makes opposing defenses play left handed. He is just as important as Brady to this Super Bowl run.

• And that allows the Pats to be more aggressive up front. The Pats have been able to blitz more and do more exotic things with the front seven. The Pats played a lot of contain in the first half, but they started to send more rushers in the second. Also, it allowed the Pats to get to Tannehill with even a three man rush a time or two.

1. Jamie Collins, Dont'a Hightower, Chandler Jones. Wow! Just wow!

2. Solder and Vollmer did well today. The interior OL, not so much.

3. It's interesting that BB and/or McDaniels don't trust Gray without giving him an extra blocker whether it be an extra TE, 6th OL or Develin. But the way he played today, they should just keep doing it.

4. The defensive front 2-7 was fascinating to watch today. So many varieties of lineups. Never thought I'd see a Nink-Wilfork-Chandler Jones front three with Hightower and Ayers playing OLB as well. Fascinating.

5. Harmon and Wilson have found a nice spot on the roster as respective backups to McCourty and Chung. Regardless of the draft position, they fill out the roster nicely.

6. Sort out the Butler/Dennard position and this defense is close to perfect.

Phil Perry ‏@PhilAPerry 18m18 minutes ago
Ninkovich now has eight sacks on the season. First Patriot since Andre Tippett to record at least eight sacks in three consecutive seasons.

Rob0729 said:

Let's begin:

• This was definitely a game of two halves. Other than a block kick and an INT, not much went right in the first half. The entire team slept walked through the entire first half. Nothing was going right. The second half adjustments on both sides of the ball were spectacular.

• I think the person who was the most indicative of this was Brady. He just seemed off in the first half. He stared down receivers. He under threw wide open receivers deep. In the second half, he was on fire.

• The biggest adjustments I saw in the second half were sending Gronk out there more where he was blocking on the line a lot in the first half (obviously), but the did something with the o-line. Not 100% sure what it was. The o-line sucked at run blocking in the first half and was inconsistent on pass blocking (some times great, other times not so much). In the second half, they were much better at run blocking although inconsistent. They didn't even let a defender sniff Brady at all in the second half.

• Good to see Chandler Jones back. In his first game back, he definitely made his impact felt. I am not sure how many plays he actually played, but he certainly made the best of his snaps. I still don't know why people think he sucks against the run, he blew up a run in the backfield at one point. He held up against the run when I watched him. He struggled against the run for a few games earlier in the season (who didn't), but typically isn't bad against the run.

• Today was the only time I was upset with Browner's penalties (only mildly). I don't mind him getting physical because it sets a tone, but some of the penalties were stupid and could have been costly.

• I think the initial game plan on offense was working, but they went away from it too quickly. I think they were doing well against the Dolphins with the short passing game, but they seemed to scrap it too soon after the INT. They were right to take advantage of the depleted LB corp. It didn't matter since the Pats made great adjustments in the second half.

• I love the aggressiveness on special teams. This has been the difference between the Pats and a lot of teams this year with their special teams play. Yes, the special teams let the team down a bit at the end of the first half on that horrible punt coverage, but the Pats definitely have the advantage in this area against virtually every team.

• Time to pay Revis whatever he wants. He truly has become Revis Island. Two weeks in a row that the opposing QB doesn't even look in Revis' direction. He truly makes opposing defenses play left handed. He is just as important as Brady to this Super Bowl run.

• And that allows the Pats to be more aggressive up front. The Pats have been able to blitz more and do more exotic things with the front seven. The Pats played a lot of contain in the first half, but they started to send more rushers in the second. Also, it allowed the Pats to get to Tannehill with even a three man rush a time or two.

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The o line was awful in the first half and really got it going in the second half.

Revis is great and needs to be resigned, but I was surprised he gave up a 4th down conversation.

manxman2601 said:

1. Jamie Collins, Dont'a Hightower, Chandler Jones. Wow! Just wow!

2. Solder and Vollmer did well today. The interior OL, not so much.

3. It's interesting that BB and/or McDaniels don't trust Gray without giving him an extra blocker whether it be an extra TE, 6th OL or Develin. But the way he played today, they should just keep doing it.

4. The defensive front 2-7 was fascinating to watch today. So many varieties of lineups. Never thought I'd see a Nink-Wilfork-Chandler Jones front three with Hightower and Ayers playing OLB as well. Fascinating.

5. Harmon and Wilson have found a nice spot on the roster as respective backups to McCourty and Chung. Regardless of the draft position, they fill out the roster nicely.

6. Sort out the Butler/Dennard position and this defense is close to perfect.

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The young core of this defense is shaping up to be very good. Good thing both Jones and Hightower are first round picks because the Pats can pick up the option with both if needed. Although I think they need to lock up one this offseason if they can.

Yeah, I don't remember seeing Cameron Wake today at all. He was credited with one tackle all game.

heavyde050 said:

The o line was awful in the first half and really got it going in the second half.

Revis is great and needs to be resigned, but I was surprised he gave up a 4th down conversation.

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Well, Revis is not a chatty guy. So I figured he would give up a 4th down conversation.

Rob0729 said:

Well, Revis is not a chatty guy. So I figured he would give up a 4th down conversation.

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Good catch. I was typing too fast. I meant conversion. Haha.

Rob0729 said:

Well, Revis is not a chatty guy. So I figured he would give up a 4th down conversation.

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One of the most unheralded stats in football...and ironically Revis is a HOF at this one too.

Good recap

Obviously there are a TON of takeaways from this game - both on D and O

Offense is what jumps out at me, despite some great plays by Chung, Ninkovich and of course Revis and the entire secondary - but when you score 41 with 24 in a quarter one comes back to the offense

The biggest thing I notice this season is the Red Zone production - be it the pass or the run (credit to Brady for not being a ball hog like a stat-happy Manning)

Obviously the return of a healthy Gronk is a big part of that - and I seem to recall in past seasons, despite the AFC East titles I often had some concern about red zone production

If anyone more keyed into fantasy stats can confirm my general observation/memory of Red Zone efficiency this season compared to the 2009 - 2013 era I'd appreciate it.

Overall I'd have to say strong Red Zone production bodes well for a team heading to the playoffs - and the opposite of course is true

I was very surprised by how Chandler Jones tallied so many snaps. Reiss noted 55 of 81. And here I thought he'd have 10-15 reps.

Welcome back Chandler!

Oline has to get better. They can't have good halves and bad halves. They have to earn toms trust and block all game

Rob0729 said:

Two weeks in a row that the opposing QB doesn't even look in Revis' direction.

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You might want to watch again, Revis was beat several times, including a third and long. He was very good, but he wasn't as dominant as he's been lately.

Rob0729 said:

Yes, the special teams let the team down a bit at the end of the first half on that horrible punt coverage

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And the blatant block in the back that created the final 10 yards. Can't forget about that!

Rob0729 said:

Yes, the special teams let the team down a bit at the end of the first half on that horrible punt coverage

Click to expand...

Anyone who says that is putting far too much weight in the start of this year when NE kept playing him as a 5-tech in a 3 man front. You might as well say Tom Brady isn't good in pass coverage. Chandler was an above average run defender the first day he stepped on the field and has become a terrific one.

patriot lifer said:

I was very surprised by how Chandler Jones tallied so many snaps. Reiss noted 55 of 81. And here I thought he'd have 10-15 reps.

Welcome back Chandler!

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He said he was on crutches his first few days after the injury

Jeff Howe ‏@jeffphowe 2m2 minutes ago
Revis on the Dolphins' trash talk: "You might want to watch what you say."

Oswlek said:

You might want to watch again, Revis was best several times, including a third and long. He was very good, but he wasn't as dominant as he's been lately.



And the blatant block in the back that created the final 10 yards. Can't forget about that!

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I exaggerated the Revis thing. But he was barely looked at.

And the block in the back happened long after the the Pats gave the Dolphins a huge gain.

Great review just wanna add that Collins grows on me everyday. The guy is amazing to watch how fast and athletic he is

This defense is incredible good right now. They are like assassins out there just waiting their enemy out, just waiting for them to make a mistake.

Although Watt is clearly the Dpoy, Revis is absolutely 2nd and the best cornerback in the game bar none. I love his play out there. A far cry when he was a Jet and much hated.

The dark days of the craptastic LBs are over. Remember when BB didn't select a LB in the first 3 rounds to our dismay? Now they are made up of a majority of 1st and 2nd round picks with star written all over them. Even the DEs on this team play better at the position than a vast majority of the starting LBs on other teams. Simply, this team is loaded all over the defense.

Like Rob mentioned, most of Browners penalties I've been ok with because they were tone setting penalties that can fire a team up. Today's is one I am very wary of. Much unneeded and if the Dolphin wasn't equally stupid might have let them back in as the Pats were starting to pull away.

It's only a matter of time before Grays ability forces himself more carries. May be premature but this kid is shifty as they come. Losses into gains, 5-10 yards pretty consistently. Has shown some catch passing ability out of the backfield. I predict a bright future for this RB as long as he can show up on time.

Offensive hiccups in the first half left something to be desired. But when Brady is clicking with Edelman and Gronkowski the offense looks unstoppable. As long as the offensive line keeps blocking(they were great today btw) and Lafell is chipping in and remains a threat, I think the sky is the limit for this team.

Too bad Wright isn't used more. It would be nice to see that 2 te set in there to really throw the opposing defense a wrinkle. Maybe they are saving it for the playoffs? Who knows? What I do know is that when they have used it, it has been effective.

Great second half adjustments by the coaches and hats off to the players that executed them flawlessly.

Rob0729 said:

I exaggerated the Revis thing. But he was barely looked at.

And the block in the back happened long after the the Pats gave the Dolphins a huge gain.

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He was barely looked at because there were wide open receivers all over the place. But when Miami needed one, Revis was beaten. It was not a good day for NE's DBs.

Without the block in the back, Miami has the ball on the 40-45 and is playing for the FG. Add in the penalty yardage and Miami is on their own 45 and playing for a prayer. It was a big play, as was the atrocious DPI call on Browner that handed Miami their second FG.

It was a bizarre half. I don't think I could have been less impressed by NE's performance, yet not only did they have a 14-13 lead, but 7 of Miami's points were ref aided.

manxman2601 said:

1. Jamie Collins, Dont'a Hightower, Chandler Jones. Wow! Just wow!

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Seriously. Who would ever have expected the Patriots to get a sack just rushing these 3 guys (not to mention all the other plays). Collins and Hightower are making Mayo look like the 3rd best LB on the team (and that's a great problem to have until these guys are finished with their rookie contracts).

Rob0729 said:

• Time to pay Revis whatever he wants. He truly has become Revis Island. Two weeks in a row that the opposing QB doesn't even look in Revis' direction. He truly makes opposing defenses play left handed. He is just as important as Brady to this Super Bowl run.

Click to expand...

Is it that Revis is so good that he doesn't get much chatter (i.e. people assume he'll be great) or did he seem to get more chatter when he played on bad teams? This defense seems loaded with starters so maybe the talking heads have trouble spreading the credit around. Though they may have to start using the term playmakers for our defense...which should stick mightily in their craw (for the haters).