I sat in the upper deck over one goal line, with my 8 layers of clothing and a good pair of binoculars. Here are my observations/impressions, made without the benefit of commentators, replays, or looking at the game stats. Some may hit topics mentioned in other threads, but I wanted to get these out before reading too much about the game.
1. The Ravens fans were not loud. Not even half as loud as the Steeler fans.
2. Brady's job looked DIFFICULT. By the end of the game, I was so used to seeing Moss standing out there on the wing, Welker in the slot (although he lined up wide, too), and when I would mentally image the play that was about to happen, it didn't look like we had obvious mismatches. Not many easy completions at all.
3. Did we drop like 8 passes? I can't think of a receiver who didn't appear to drop a catchable ball.
4. For the longest time, I didn't see our defense sack the QB, force a fumble, make an interception, or even pressure the QB. A couple times I isolated Seymour to see what he was doing, and he mostly was just standing there, making sure a run wasn't coming his way. It looked as if he was not asked to pass rush. Curiously, he was also off the field in some situations like 3rd and 1.
5. I kept waiting for Adalius Thomas to do something --- anything! I'm still waiting.... He must have made a tackle? I did see PatsDeb made the point that this could be related to Colvin's absence and playing a new role.
6. I'll be darned if Brandon Meriweather wasn't back there playing deep back in some obvious passing situations late in the game! Appeared to drop an interception one time.
7. Sanders made his critical interception in front of me, and I couldn't see an intended receiver anywhere in the neighborhood. Sanders got to just stand still, unencumbered, waiting for the ball to arrive. Great runback too.
8. On the play where they play actioned to Maroney, then threw it to him for a big gain, he would have gained it on the run, too. That offensive left side was empty!
9. Rodney Harrison walked off the field late in the game looking just like Wile E. Coyote when the boomerang got glued to his legs: walking without bending either knee whatsoever. He stood on a bench while someone worked on his leg --- does that sound like cramps?
10. Ellis Hobbs left in the first half, and they gave him all sorts of attention but I couldn't see anything specific they did --- concussion? (just a guess!)
11. Most punts for both teams appeared to get minimal hang time. The wind down on the field was in the opposite direction from the wind up in the stands, so it was hard for me to tell which way it was blowing the ball.
12. Brady's crucial run on 4th and 6 was easily the best option by the time it happened. There was such a big void in the middle of the field, even I started yelling "Run!" before he took off.
13. Belichick kept to himself a lot. I hardly ever saw him talk to a player coming off the field.
14. On the way off the field after being interviewed by TV, Gaffney stopped to give something --- I think his gloves --- to a Pats fan he spotted in the stands by the runway.
15. From where I sat, I didn't see McGahee's running as resulting from missed tackles. It looked more like he got a lot of good blocks and had plenty of room to run. (He also followed the blocks well.)
16. Samuel seemed to quarterback the d-backs, in terms of ushering them over to the sidelines during a 30-second timeout, in case they didn't see the timeout called.
17. Before the Sanders interception, Wilfork could be seen (during a timeout, I think) walking around the defense, bumping fists with Rodney and Asante, clearly looking like he was still upbeat.
18. There was at least one play where Hobbs and Samuel lined up on the same side.
1. The Ravens fans were not loud. Not even half as loud as the Steeler fans.
2. Brady's job looked DIFFICULT. By the end of the game, I was so used to seeing Moss standing out there on the wing, Welker in the slot (although he lined up wide, too), and when I would mentally image the play that was about to happen, it didn't look like we had obvious mismatches. Not many easy completions at all.
3. Did we drop like 8 passes? I can't think of a receiver who didn't appear to drop a catchable ball.
4. For the longest time, I didn't see our defense sack the QB, force a fumble, make an interception, or even pressure the QB. A couple times I isolated Seymour to see what he was doing, and he mostly was just standing there, making sure a run wasn't coming his way. It looked as if he was not asked to pass rush. Curiously, he was also off the field in some situations like 3rd and 1.
5. I kept waiting for Adalius Thomas to do something --- anything! I'm still waiting.... He must have made a tackle? I did see PatsDeb made the point that this could be related to Colvin's absence and playing a new role.
6. I'll be darned if Brandon Meriweather wasn't back there playing deep back in some obvious passing situations late in the game! Appeared to drop an interception one time.
7. Sanders made his critical interception in front of me, and I couldn't see an intended receiver anywhere in the neighborhood. Sanders got to just stand still, unencumbered, waiting for the ball to arrive. Great runback too.
8. On the play where they play actioned to Maroney, then threw it to him for a big gain, he would have gained it on the run, too. That offensive left side was empty!
9. Rodney Harrison walked off the field late in the game looking just like Wile E. Coyote when the boomerang got glued to his legs: walking without bending either knee whatsoever. He stood on a bench while someone worked on his leg --- does that sound like cramps?
10. Ellis Hobbs left in the first half, and they gave him all sorts of attention but I couldn't see anything specific they did --- concussion? (just a guess!)
11. Most punts for both teams appeared to get minimal hang time. The wind down on the field was in the opposite direction from the wind up in the stands, so it was hard for me to tell which way it was blowing the ball.
12. Brady's crucial run on 4th and 6 was easily the best option by the time it happened. There was such a big void in the middle of the field, even I started yelling "Run!" before he took off.
13. Belichick kept to himself a lot. I hardly ever saw him talk to a player coming off the field.
14. On the way off the field after being interviewed by TV, Gaffney stopped to give something --- I think his gloves --- to a Pats fan he spotted in the stands by the runway.
15. From where I sat, I didn't see McGahee's running as resulting from missed tackles. It looked more like he got a lot of good blocks and had plenty of room to run. (He also followed the blocks well.)
16. Samuel seemed to quarterback the d-backs, in terms of ushering them over to the sidelines during a 30-second timeout, in case they didn't see the timeout called.
17. Before the Sanders interception, Wilfork could be seen (during a timeout, I think) walking around the defense, bumping fists with Rodney and Asante, clearly looking like he was still upbeat.
18. There was at least one play where Hobbs and Samuel lined up on the same side.
Last edited:
