A Few Thoughts on Yesterday

[aluminum seats]

Good win, and as a bonus, we won’t have to hear how the Pats are “peaking too soon” now.

--On the Packer’s long TD pass, you saw exactly what the Patriots don’t want to do. Sanders was a step slow, and the guy who should have provided, you know, SAFETY, on the play, Meriweather, took a bad angle, and boom. Teaching moment, I guess, but come on.

--I’ve said before I’m not a fan of “no turnover” streaks (my superstitious side worries it sets up the “they didn’t have any turnovers for 6 games, but they have 4 today!” in the playoffs), but this is an amazing run. If the Pats don’t turn it over the next couple games, that’s half a season. Yikes.

--Good & bad announcing moments. On the Wilfork facemask, Collingsworth mentioned it could have gone either way before the replay, which isn’t something I picked up at all at game speed. Good eye. On the flip side, noting Connelly hadn’t played in the 2nd half only in the 4th quarter seemed a little slow (to be fair, the Pats didn’t have the ball much in the 3rd quarter.)

--Good goal line stand by the Pats in the 4th quarter, but absolutely pathetic for the Packers to kick the FG there to go up 6. Way to go for the jugular, guys.

--Noticed not for the first time that Fletcher plays w/some surprising quickness.

--Edelman hasn’t played much this year, but he’s missed a couple balls when he has….gotta make those catches.

--This week in Woodhead highlights: Brady quick snaps just to avoid a replay on the Branch catch, and Woodhead runs for what, 11 yards? Just another day at the office.

--OT, but yet another illustration of the Pats’ coaching edge, was the Giants meltdown. Everyone knows what happened, but I just want to comment on Coughlin’s post game comments. “I take responsibility….the punter was told to kick it out of bounds.” So how do you take responsibility, Tom? Just shut up already.

 

[RhodyPatriot]

Agree with much of what you said.
This is a "good" win for Belichick because it gives him plenty of ammo to get in the faces of his players. When this team comes to play from the opening minute they can and do beat everyone. Conversely when they don't come ready to play they can lose to anyone.
As a fan who's been really unhappy with the "Pats can't be stopped" and the "Pats are SB favs" chatter mostly coming from mediot nation I am THRILLED with last nights struggles. It will help this team in the long run.
Btw the Packers have one of the best defenses in footabll and have excellent WR's. Add a high level of motivation and they can play with anyone despite their injuries. Let's give some credit to the Pack also.

 

[WelshPat]

--OT, but yet another illustration of the Pats’ coaching edge, was the Giants meltdown. Everyone knows what happened, but I just want to comment on Coughlin’s post game comments. “I take responsibility….the punter was told to kick it out of bounds.” So how do you take responsibility, Tom? Just shut up already.

It's his responsibility that Dodge is the punter. It's week 15, and you still employ a guy who looks like he is about to cry everytime he's running off the field after a punt?

A loss like that can ruin a season. If the Giants don't make the playoffs, Coughlin is out of a job, and a big reason for that is he kept Matt Dodge

 

[RhodyPatriot]

It's his responsibility that Dodge is the punter. It's week 15, and you still employ a guy who looks like he is about to cry everytime he's running off the field after a punt?

A loss like that can ruin a season. If the Giants don't make the playoffs, Coughlin is out of a job, and a big reason for that is he kept Matt Dodge

Matt Dodge will be blamed but the Giants D allowed the Eagles to score 21 points in 7 minutes to tie the score. What's weird about the Dodge kick is that he was angling his body as though he was going to kick it out of bounds to the right but at the last second he hit it straight away.
Coughlin has always been a whiney coach on the sidelines. He doesn't hold his composure and yesterday was an example of a team mirroring their coach.

 

[SEA_Pat]

--On the Packer’s long TD pass, you saw exactly what the Patriots don’t want to do. Sanders was a step slow, and the guy who should have provided, you know, SAFETY, on the play, Meriweather, took a bad angle, and boom. Teaching moment, I guess, but come on.

I believe it was McCourtywho was beat on the coverage, not Sanders, but yes, an absolutely awful angle on the ball by Meriweather.

Agree with your other points. I am actually very pleased with this game, it showed that they are winning games where they're not clicking on all cylinders against good teams who are motivated and who are getting breaks. That was the hallmark of our SB winning teams, toughness and having the grit to make the big plays at key times. Just love this team since we dropped Moss.

 

[satz]

Forgot to add 1 very important point.

-Due to injury we dressed only 4 DL . Deadrick got injured and we where barely holding on with 3 DL / 2 DL when one needs a blow.

VInce had a herculean effort yeterday.We need brace,wright and pyor back .

 

[Haley]

VInce had a herculean effort yeterday.We need brace,wright and pyor back .

Yes, we really, really do. Anyone have the 411 on these guys? We have so little depth on D, this really hurts!

 

[SanAngeloState]

why don't they put some of those DL on IR so they can get some new players in? 2 months for Wright? What is he in a coma or something? When he comes back he won't be in football shape for a little while anyway. Probably hasn't had a helmet on for 2 months.

 

[mgteich]

There is plenty of room on the roster to bring in whoever they want. They have already have brought in Leonard and Moore.

why don't they put some of those DL on IR so they can get some new players in? 2 months for Wright? What is he in a coma or something? When he comes back he won't be in football shape for a little while anyway. Probably hasn't had a helmet on for 2 months.

 

[TomBrady'sGoat]

--Good goal line stand by the Pats in the 4th quarter, but absolutely pathetic for the Packers to kick the FG there to go up 6. Way to go for the jugular, guys.

I couldn't believe that they didn't run the ball on 3rd down (knowing that even if they didn't get in they could run again on 4th). Yes NE had just stopped them on 2nd but they were gashing NE with the run throughout the 2nd half and had two downs tp pick up two yards.

Between that and getting the ball at the 43 with over 4 minutes left and somehow running out of time without taking a single shot at the end zone McCarthy should be getting killed today.

 

[Ring 6]

I couldn't believe that they didn't run the ball on 3rd down (knowing that even if they didn't get in they could run again on 4th). Yes NE had just stopped them on 2nd but they were gashing NE with the run throughout the 2nd half and had two downs tp pick up two yards.

Between that and getting the ball at the 43 with over 4 minutes left and somehow running out of time without taking a single shot at the end zone McCarthy should be getting killed today.

Part of the reason is they were taking there time so that if they scored there would be no time left for Brady.
They did turn it over on downs though, not just run out of time like Pittsburgh did.

 

[Dutchmaster617]

I hear we are no longer a good team all over by fans/media today. I guess dominating 3 or 4 top teams doesn't allow one decent game (and who am I kidding anyone can score 31). So how bad does Buffalo beat us down? I can't see us winning this game since our defense is so bad and Brady is out of MVP contention. (only 2 TDs Brady? Against the best scoring D? How lame).

 

[scout]

On Coughlin; Reminds me of when Billy Cunningham had a very talented team (Dr.J) and would lose games when he lost his composure......repeatedly. Coughlin put the blame on himself..........you could tell, because when the game ended he graciously went over to his kicker who was on the field in front of national tv and a packed stadium and consoled him.

 

[aluminum seats]

Part of the reason is they were taking there time so that if they scored there would be no time left for Brady.
They did turn it over on downs though, not just run out of time like Pittsburgh did.

You're right, but the last couple of plays the Packers ran were atrocious in terms of timing.

Speaking of streaks, the Pats have won 63 in a row at home when leading in the 4th quarter, right? So if they beat Miami and the two playoff games, they'll beat the Pittsburgh record of 65. Amazing.

 

[Patspsycho]

why don't they put some of those DL on IR so they can get some new players in? 2 months for Wright? What is he in a coma or something? When he comes back he won't be in football shape for a little while anyway. Probably hasn't had a helmet on for 2 months.

Because at this point in the season, it is too late to be taking on new players and expecting them to become used to our system in the space of two games (before the playoffs). Also once you IR a player, they are out for the entire year, including playoffs.

Wright and Pryor should be back within a week or two, in time for the playoffs.

 

[NEPatriot]

Agree with much of what you said.
This is a "good" win for Belichick because it gives him plenty of ammo to get in the faces of his players. When this team comes to play from the opening minute they can and do beat everyone. Conversely when they don't come ready to play they can lose to anyone.
As a fan who's been really unhappy with the "Pats can't be stopped" and the "Pats are SB favs" chatter mostly coming from mediot nation I am THRILLED with last nights struggles. It will help this team in the long run.
Btw the Packers have one of the best defenses in footabll and have excellent WR's. Add a high level of motivation and they can play with anyone despite their injuries. Let's give some credit to the Pack also.

I agree with you. Hopefully this will bring some posters back down to earth. I'm sure it's going to be a tough week of practice. Let's hope we have Connolly, Brace and Wright back next week.

 

[Synovia]

--On the Packer’s long TD pass, you saw exactly what the Patriots don’t want to do. Sanders was a step slow, and the guy who should have provided, you know, SAFETY, on the play, Meriweather, took a bad angle, and boom. Teaching moment, I guess, but come on.

This is why TV coverage sucks.


I watched that play a bunch of times, and I've convinced myself that Neither Merriweather nor McCourty had much to do with that play (although McCourty did get beat a little bit, and it was going to be about a 30 yard gain if Merriweather didn't run into him).


What happened is this:

Chung had the slot, and the receiver basically shucked him at the line, and was running a route wide open in the middle of the field. Merriweather moved inside to cover him, and then the ball was thrown. Merriweather didn't really take a bad route, he was just out of position to deal with that pass because he was covering the guy who had beat Chung.

 

[Synovia]

Part of the reason is they were taking there time so that if they scored there would be no time left for Brady.
They did turn it over on downs though, not just run out of time like Pittsburgh did.

Well, a good part of the reason they turned it over on downs was that they let the clock run down so far that they couldn't throw/run in the field of play on that last play. If there's 35 seconds there when they hike the ball, they probably get the first down.

 

[TomBrady'sGoat]

Part of the reason is they were taking there time so that if they scored there would be no time left for Brady.
They did turn it over on downs though, not just run out of time like Pittsburgh did.

i know why they ran the clock down and McCarthy deserves to get killed for that decision. you score first and then worry about stopping the other team (especially when a NE FG only ties the game). they were so concerned about NE's offense that they forgot about the fact they needed to overcome their defense first.

and they turned it over because they ran out of time. with more time they could have converted 4th and 1 pretty easily i think.

 

[Metaphors]

1) This game showed how important it is for the Pats to "stay on schedule". The onside kick to open the game was a haunting reminder of the soul-sucking 10 min FG drive to open the game that shan't be mentioned. Also, here are the situations faced in every Pats drive where they didn't score a TD (in order):

2nd and 13 (False start)
2nd and 20 (Sack)
1st and 20 (Holding)
2nd and 9 (1 yard run)
2nd and 10 (No gain run)
2nd and 6 (4 yard run)

Only the last drive left Brady with a manageable down-n-distance. Mental mistakes and losing on 1st down are the recipe for rattling Brady. Keep him in rhythm and this game is much different. That is fixable on offense.

2) This game was unusual in that apart from the bomb TD, none of the Pack's scoring drives averaged 5 ypp (excluding penalties):

3 first downs required for 40 yards
7 first downs required for 60 yards
6 first downs required for 59 yards
4 first downs required for 53 yards

In summary, they went a little over 200 yards and it took them 20 first downs to do it. Not a single penalty for the Pack in any of those drives but multiple penalties for the Pats adding 32 yards to the drive total. The long play on those drives? 16 yards

The Pack played clean football, stayed patient and were happy getting just 1 more yard than they needed. Give them credit.

3) Points 1 and 2 are not a blueprint for beating the Pats. Point 1 requires a lack of execution by the Pats and point 2 requires amazing discipline, focus and luck. It can happen over the course of a long season (the Browns game is another example) but I wouldn't count on it for any one game.

4) People need to back off Flynn for that last play. With 20 seconds and facing 4th down, he did exactly what was needed. At that point, you are only going to have one good shot at the end zone. Take your time, get the right call and get your best chance for success. A great call by the Pats to drop 8 on that play when there had to be an inclination to big blitz. If anything, Flynn broke the pocket a little early but that is nitpicking for that situation.

5) OT...That Jets win seriously hurt the chances for the Chargers to make the playoffs. Even if the Jets lose out, beating the Steelers improved their SOV enough so that it should beat out the Chargers if they tie. This means that the #5 Ravens and #6 Jets spot is pretty much set with the #3 Chiefs/Bolts and #4 Colts/Jags still to be decided. That means for the Jets to get back to the AFCC game, they will have to beat the Pats in January in Foxboro with the Pats coming off a bye. Good luck with that.

6) OT...The Colts should place Collie on IR today to remove any temptation to play him for the rest of the year, including playoffs. He had 2 horrific concussions in 7 weeks and a recurrence of symptoms with minimal contact in between those incidents. Any neurologist that would clear him to play in the next 7 weeks (date of Super Bowl) should have his license revoked. Even though he is a Colt, Collie is hard not to like. Seeing his face on the sideline after the clinching Hagler touchdown was scary. Slack-jawed, distant stare, no emotion...dude is too young to have the rest of his life put in jeopardy.