Game Thoughts: The fish were squished, filleted, diced, and used for chum edition

Here we go:

• First a little complaint. People have been watching this team for years yet it doesn't stop them from complain about how soft the defense is on the opening drive (talking about the complaining in the game day threads). People should know by now that the Pats play a softer defense and allow the opposing offense get plays which shows their hand and allows the Pats to make adjustments off the bat. I never get concerned how the Pats play defense on the opening drive (or the first drive of the second half). I am disappointed if they give up points, but the yards allowed are almost by design.
• Speaking of the defense, this defense is far better than people give them credit for. They may not be a top 5 defense. Their secondary may not be as good as it would be with Revis, but it is far better than people think. The good news is the Patriots' defense historically gets much better down the stretch of the season.
• I am going to say something controversial. I think Logan Ryan may be playing better than Brandon Browner did last year. I think people vastly underrate the guy and overrate Browner. Browner was great if he could jam the guy he is covering. But if he missed the jam, that guy was always wide open. I think Ryan has far better coverage skills than Browner. Browner was an one trick pony (although it was a very effective trick at times). Ryan gives up decent sized plays in coverage, but so did Browner.
• People want to compare Dion Lewis to Faulk, Woodhead, and/or Vereen. But you really can't. I think he may have the best traits of all of them, but plays like none of them. I could gush all of the receiving plays and rushing plays (deservedly so), but what impressed me is how well he picks up the blitz. I remember on one big pass last night, Wake got past Flemming and Lewis absolutely blew him up. He went end over end over Lewis.
• I think Belichick may actually be a Jedi. It is amazing how teams don't just do stupid things vs. the Pats, they do mind dumbing, drool running out of their mouth, monumentally stupid things. Last night was the Tannehill safety. How can they have such a stupid miscommunication in that spot?
• It still amazes me that the last two weeks, the offense has been inconsistent and downright mediocre at times and yet the Pats are still able to score 64 points on offense in the last five days. If I was the rest of the league, I would be petitioning the League to shorten games to three quarters because something happens to Brady and this offense in the fourth quarter that makes them unstoppable.
• Brandon LaFell really had a bounce back game. That over the shoulder catch was a big boy play and he made an amazing key block on Gronk's TD. Statistically it wasn't a big night (4 catches for 47 yards), but it was a solid performance after a turd on Sunday.
• Kudos to the front seven. Probably the best they have had since the early 2000s. It is crazy how they are using Hightower and Collins. I mean they didn't even let Bruschi, Phifer, McGinest, or Vrabel move around the field and be in playmaking positions as they do with Hightower and Collins. Chandler Jones is finally starting to become that DE that teams have to scheme for.

Rob0729 said:

It still amazes me that the last two weeks, the offense has been inconsistent and downright mediocre at times and yet the Pats are still able to score 64 points on offense in the last five days. If I was the rest of the league, I would be petitioning the League to shorten games to three quarters because something happens to Brady and this offense in the fourth quarter that makes them unstoppable.

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While I agree that the offense felt a bit off the last two games, I also have to acknowledge that if we get the deserved PI calls vs. Miami (LaFell + Gronk) there is a good chance we only punt once or twice before garbage time. And even those were mostly drives where we shoot ourselves in the foot with 10yd+ penalties. The offense is deceptively efficient.

Rob0729 said:

Kudos to the front seven. Probably the best they have had since the early 2000s. It is crazy how they are using Hightower and Collins. I mean they didn't even let Bruschi, Phifer, McGinest, or Vrabel move around the field and be in playmaking positions as they do with Hightower and Collins. Chandler Jones is finally starting to become that DE that teams have to scheme for.

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Yep, our front seven is borderline crazy. We don't have the flashy, big names on there but I feel like we have a considerably better spread of great players among our front seven whereas others have a handful stars but more individual weak links that can be exploited. That's why I take our front seven over almost any other among contenders (Denver, Carolina, GB, Bengals).

I know it is a bit controversial after the last couple of games but I still would prefer Hightower/Collins over Chandler Jones if we end up having to choose two of the three. They are considerably more versatile which is worth so much in the modern NFL.

luuked said:

I know it is a bit controversial after the last couple of games but I still would prefer Hightower/Collins over Chandler Jones if we end up having to choose two of the three. They are considerably more versatile which is worth so much in the modern NFL.

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Watch out. Such statements get folks' panties in a wad. As others have said, we have more depth at DE than at LB as well. Jones is playing head and shoulders above his previous seasons. If only refs called just the obvious holds on him & Ninko.

Nice summary Rob!

Great and important division win. Well deserved mini-break.

I got blown away by our D and even after the Fins scored the TD to start the second half, I was so sure that our D will stop them easily.

I will never forgot Tannehill's look on the snap that lead to the safety; thanks to CBS for playing that in slow motion. Priceless!

And Lewis: what a find! I had to rewind the plays many times to see the impossible Houdini like escapes he made to rake up those impressive long yards. So happy when he waltzed into the endzone for that TD.

To show what a rotten fan I have now become: I was as screaming at our D and ST to cause turnovers AND score a TD because our O seemed to score 'only' 3 points and punt often. I know... I know... I should add unreasonable expectations to the rotten part.

Hard to believe they were able to upgrade from Vereen in the offseason. This offseason, there was a lot of doom and gloom on this board about the RB position. Lewis absolutely embarrassed Koa Misi who almost pulled his achilles trying to recover from the juke.

Funny how fans are so high on Butler and so down on Ryan. To my eye, they each make big plays and they each give up big plays. But, that's the nature of the position in the modern NFL. Can't hardly touch a receiver without drawing a flag. The measure of their quality is even when the opposing O makes a big completion, at least they're in the frame to force the QB and receiver to actually make a play.

This defense will get better, too. Sheard is a weapon and adds a dimension to the front when he's healthy. And the young secondary, Coleman and Butler especially, are still on a steep learning curve. Every game is an opportunity for them to grow.

How opportunistic and clutch is Harmon? When the play is there to be made, he's there to make it. There's an art to reading the field, reading the QB and taking the right angle. We've had a lot of FS back in center field in the past... Tebucky Jones and Brandon Meriweather were complete stiffs compared to Harmon.

I forgot one.

People have been calling for the Pats to upgrade the CB position, but I don't know if they need a starter. They do desperately need a #CB though. Coleman gets burnt way too often. He is going to be a liability against an offense with plenty of weapons.

People want to compare Dion Lewis to Faulk, Woodhead, and/or Vereen. But you really can't. I think he may have the best traits of all of them, but plays like none of them. I could gush all of the receiving plays and rushing plays (deservedly so), but what impressed me is how well he picks up the blitz. I remember on one big pass last night, Wake got past Flemming and Lewis absolutely blew him up. He went end over end over Lewis.

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Can we re Rip-up Dion Lewis's current contract?? Kid should be signed for Ten years. Edelman in an interview called Lewis "little dirty" because he do em dirty! The Patriots are indefensible with Lewis on the field a poster said it best yesterday in a post. "He who tries to Defend everything Defends Nothing". The Offense now with LaFell getting up to Speed CANNOT! be Stopped 2015 Offene > 2007 Offense it's not even close.

Kudos to the front seven. Probably the best they have had since the early 2000s. It is crazy how they are using Hightower and Collins. I mean they didn't even let Bruschi, Phifer, McGinest, or Vrabel move around the field and be in playmaking positions as they do with Hightower and Collins. Chandler Jones is finally starting to become that DE that teams have to scheme for.

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I now have serious man crush on Hightower I gonna ditch my wife and ask him out. Seriously you cannot say enough about how Great he's becoming he's Big - Fast and Strong Dante Hightower is playing the way BB hoped Adalius Thomas would play after he signed him in FA many moons ago. Hightower should be Rushing the passer off the Edge more his pass Rush is Elite he came close multiple times last night. This has the be the Best Front Seven we have in the BB era. Our Defense Front 7 is really making up for "ok" Defensive Secondary.

It's good to see Chandler Jones progressing to the elite DE we hope they drafted. Many people forget he was considered a 3rd round pick and more of a project until the combine came around. This is one of those picks where the gamble pays off big time but it doesn't happen overnight. However he did well enough in his first few seasons to keep the doubters at bay. Not only is his pass rushing elite but he is now a solid contributor to the run where many considered his weakest strength. Actually solid doesn't do him justice. He is now very good vs the run.

I love Hightower, his versatility is huge and his blitzes have some much pop and aggression to them. He is a handful and a big reason why the Pats have had mega success vs the run the last two weeks.

A little concerned about the oline, not their ability but the overall health. They were one injury away from having to throw a TE or DT in there to block for their Qb. A little too close for comfort and shows how much they need Cannon to come back soon.

I could talk all day about the greatness of Brady and his weapons as it would be too repetitive. Ok, I will. There are just not enough words to describe how good they are right now. If you told me we would ever see another offense as potent as the one in 2007 I would tell you nice try. If you told me today that this offense is better than 2007 I would have a hard time arguing. Simply put, this offense can beat you in every way. It's like Brady has seen and knows everything. It's like the movie "the highlander" and Brady has beheaded the last immortal and has become "the one." In my life I have never seen someone so good and so in control of what he does out there on that football field than TFB. There would be nothing better to watch these guys raise their 5th banner. Super bowl banner to you Colts fans.

What a great game. A feel good game for the next 10 days.

Great summary as usual Rob.

I'm going to piggy-back off your secondary comment by pointing out how well Chung is playing this year. I, like many on this board, were against the resigning of him before the 2014 season. And even after he he played well last year, I was still skeptical about how he would do without Revis/Browner in front of him. He's not only made me look foolish, but has exceeded any expectations of him. It's the second straight week he's broken up a pass to the TE in 1-1 coverage (something he used to give up a lot) and he's continued to play well on ST. Another reason why BB is the guy with the job, and not any of us.

Our o line has to stay healthy. Only thing that worries me.

Rob0729 said:

I forgot one.

People have been calling for the Pats to upgrade the CB position, but I don't know if they need a starter. They do desperately need a #CB though. Coleman gets burnt way too often. He is going to be a liability against an offense with plenty of weapons.

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I wished we didn't put that young Rookie CB on IR the 7thRounder who looked good in preseason. I think he's healthy now.

PatriotsPimp136 said:

Our o line has to stay healthy. Only thing that worries me.

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OG:Trey Jackson walked off under his own power which is a good sign also we are Deep at G/C with now Ryan Wendell and *very soon* like next week *Bryan Stork*.

Rob0729 said:

I forgot one.

People have been calling for the Pats to upgrade the CB position, but I don't know if they need a starter. They do desperately need a #CB though. Coleman gets burnt way too often. He is going to be a liability against an offense with plenty of weapons.

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Both CB's who played last night were UDFA's and it showed, especially with Coleman. He has some upside but is a very raw product. Gets lost on double moves and has a hard time tracking the ball.

Patriot Missile said:

If you told me today that this offense is better than 2007 I would have a hard time arguing.

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I think it's hard to argue otherwise, really. By the second half of 2007, that offense wasn't the same as the first half of the season, and it couldn't really change. Moss was an absolute freak of nature, but he did what he did...meaning, the versatility of this offense is exponentially better than 2007. You could see hints of what Belichick said in 2009 about the offense (take away Moss & smother Welker and we got nothin') starting to emerge in 2007.

This offense? It's genuinely surprising when they punt. Ever. So many weapons and variations. It's like an affront to our sensibilities. What happened? Why is that man kicking the ball?

Another forgotten thought:

I was impressed how this depleted line manhandled Suh. Sure they doubled him all night, but he was a rag doll getting pushed off the line. When you pay a guy like Suh that much money, he should be able to beat the double team on a fairly consistent basis. At times, he barely gave them a fight.

aluminum seats said:

I think it's hard to argue otherwise, really. By the second half of 2007, that offense wasn't the same as the first half of the season, and it couldn't really change. Moss was an absolute freak of nature, but he did what he did...meaning, the versatility of this offense is exponentially better than 2007. You could see hints of what Belichick said in 2009 about the offense (take away Moss & smother Welker and we got nothin') starting to emerge in 2007.

This offense? It's genuinely surprising when they punt. Ever. So many weapons and variations. It's like an affront to our sensibilities. What happened? Why is that man kicking the ball?

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I think this offense is better. Crazy.

Honestly, the 2015 Pats's A-game beats any other teams A-game by what? 14? 20? They can only beat themselves IMO.

We saw hints of it today with stupid 10- or 15-yd penalties that kill drives. If not for those, they rarely are denied by an opposing D for long.

Rob, look forward to this thread every week. Great job, better than some syndicated writers. Good stuff !

Rob0729 said:

Here we go:

• It still amazes me that the last two weeks, the offense has been inconsistent and downright mediocre at times and yet the Pats are still able to score 64 points on offense in the last five days. If I was the rest of the league, I would be petitioning the League to shorten games to three quarters because something happens to Brady and this offense in the fourth quarter that makes them unstoppable.

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And that paragraph is why Patriot fans are spoiled as ****, myself included. I was watching the game last night, and I thought to myself that the Patriots' offense was looking hohum for most of the 2nd and 3rd quarters (I missed the safety as I was getting the kids to bed). And they still had put up 34 offensive points and were averaging slightly under a field goal per drive which is still very good. But looking at the game, they left at least 10 to 15 points on the field, and I expected them to get those points because at times the offense is clicking so well. And then I'll watch the Browns or the Bills play on Sunday and realize how spoiled I have become.

PatsFan2 said:

Can we re Rip-up Dion Lewis's current contract?? Kid should be signed for Ten years. Edelman in an interview called Lewis "little dirty" because he do em dirty! The Patriots are indefensible with Lewis on the field a poster said it best yesterday in a post. "He who tries to Defend everything Defends Nothing". The Offense now with LaFell getting up to Speed CANNOT! be Stopped 2015 Offene > 2007 Offense it's even close.

I now have serious man crush on Hightower I gonna ditch my wife and ask him out. Seriously you cannot say enough about how Great he's becoming he's Big - Fast and Strong Dante Hightower is playing the way BB hoped Adalius Thomas would play after he signed him FA many moons ago. Hightower should be Rushing the passer off the Edge more his pass Rush is Elite he came close multiple times last night. This has the be the Best Front Seven we have in the BB era. Our Defense Front 7 is really making up for "ok" Defensive Secondary.

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I agree on Hightower. On Miami's touchdown, I actually expected him to come of the block of the RT to make that stop. He almost did. For a guy his size, he is an amazing athlete.

Matthew Slater was phenomenol on punt return coverage against a dangerous Jarvis Landry. He is continuing his great play and I think eventually will be on the Pats ring of honor.