Brady and Moss vs. Atlanta - a Second Look

[Zeus]

While everybody is already on to the Ravens game, I finally got around to watching the DVR of the Atlanta game last night. The game always looks a bit different on television than it did in person.

Based on a second look, here's what I think:

1. In general, Brady did not play as well as I originally thought on Sunday. There were a lot of misfires (see comments on individual plays below). He did seem to settle down as the game wore on; the fourth quarter was his best. He looked comfortable in the pocket, didn't rush throws and wasn't having any trouble finding the open receiver. He was simply less accurate with his throws than we are accustomed to seeing. Brady still made some plays (4th and 3 form the Atlanta 37 -see more on this below) that other QBs don't even dream about.

2. I had said elsewhere that I thought Moss was the best player on the field for either team. He actually played even better than I thought. He was a legitimate threat to score on four different plays and could have had 150 -200 yards receiving and 2+ TDs had things played out a bit differently. The notion that he dogged it through this game is beyond absurd.

3. I can't understand why NE didn't run the ball more in the red zone. They were consistently gashing the Atlanta run defense but quit trying to run the ball once they got inside the 10 yard line. More success running in the red zone will open up the play action passes that don't seem to be getting open much right now.

4. The defense and OL played great. This was a solid win against a better than average opponent. There's still great potential for this Patriot team to be outstanding. Most of the problems seen to date are correctable.

Comments on individual plays ...

First Quarter

1. (8:41) 1-10 NE 35 Galloway runs 20 yards downfield and sits down in the middle of the zone wide open; badly overthrown by Brady.

2. (5:59) 1-10 ATL 43 Moss runs down the right sideline and cuts across the field, CB falls down, Moss blows by safety and is wide open for easy TD; again overthrown by Brady.

Second Quarter

1.(14:10) 1-10 NE 49 Moss has a step on ATL DB at the goal line; a little longer on the throw by Brady and this is a TD.


2. (1:08) 1-10 ATL 26 Brady loses his balance and throws while falling down, missing Moss who is open crossing the middle of the end zone.

Third Quarter

1. (11:54) 1-10 ATL 43 Brady overthrows Watson who appears open deep down the right sideline. Crowd was a bit impatient with TB at this point. I thought at the time that this was a very difficult throw. There were two defenders in the passing lane so Brady had to put some air under the ball rather than gunning it in there. (Aikman made the same comment on the broadcast).

2. (10:33) 1-10 ATL 29 Brady hits Watson at the Atlanta 6 for 23 yard gain. Great catch by Watson who turned to face the ball and caught it while falling backwards. I might be splitting hairs here, but had the throw been delivered an instant sooner and been thrown a bit more inside, Watson would not have had to turn and might have scored easily. It's possible that Brady was concerned about the DB coming in late from the inside and decided to throw the ball outside.

3. (0:55) 4-3 ATL 37 What I noticed on the broadcast that I didn't see in person is that Moss appears to have adjusted the pattern. The CB jumps the short inside route, Moss waives his hand while breaking up the sideline Brady makes a superb throw and the play gains 21 yards. At the time, I couldn't understand why they would call such a high risk play on 4-3. Given that the score was 16-10, it took a lot a guts for Brady and Moss to do what they did here. There's not too many players around the league who have the savvy and the guts to pull this off. Huge play!

Fourth Quarter

1.(8:03) 2-6 ATL 36 Brady to Moss in right corner of the end zone; well thrown pass, good pattern and good coverage, although Moss may have been interfered with. Moss has made this sort of play before, but this time was unable to hang on to what would have been a great catch.

 

[mgteich]

The good news is that this offense will improve a lot over the course of the year. As of now only the OL, TE's, Moss, and Taylor seem to be playing well.

 

[JSn]

Thanks for posting, Zeus. I'm hoping to re-watch too.

Brady did look better in the fourth quarter. Hopefully as the weeks go by, he's able to turn it on earlier in the game.

Gotta say, Watson looks like the real deal this year.

 

[BradyManny]

I just spoke on the overthrows in another thread. I notice the overthrows were all in the same direction, I wonder if wind was a factor. Either that, or as I said in the other thread, I might be concerned about Brady's shoulder. In training camp and in preseason, he showed absolutely no signs of inaccuracy, and his pocket presence looks just fine so far.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Thanks for posting, Zeus. I'm hoping to re-watch too.

Brady did look better in the fourth quarter. Hopefully as the weeks go by, he's able to turn it on earlier in the game.

Gotta say, Watson looks like the real deal this year.

I agree. Watson will never be the next Tony Gonzalez or Ben Coats-type player, but if the can consistently catch the ball when thrown to him and make plays inthe flow of the game, that would be a raised-level of play when comparing it to prior years. He has the physical tools no question.

Maybe knowing he was potentially a roster casualty or because he is in the last year of his contract has lit a fire under him and now hes playing with a little more determination or that proverbial "chip" onhis shoulder.

Either way, I like what I am seeing from him this year. Keep it up!

 

[Patspsycho]

1.(8:03) 2-6 ATL 36 Brady to Moss in right corner of the end zone; well thrown pass, good pattern and good coverage, although Moss may have been interfered with. Moss has made this sort of play before, but this time was unable to hang on to what would have been a great catch.

There was a blatant non-call (holding) on that play. If you look at the replay in slow mo you can see the PI clearly.

 

[BradyManny]

There was a blatant non-call (holding) on that play. If you look at the replay in slow mo you can see the PI clearly.

No doubt, that was brutal PI, Moss would've def had that if it weren't for the contact.

 

[racicotm]

I was at the game and i couldn't wait to rewatch it, I thought he was quite a bit off but he cooled down and made some great plays. My concern was that he was just zippin balls without even waiting for the play to develop the one to Moss in the endzone was one of them. He had great pass protection but he was takin 2 steps and just getting rid of it too quick. I think with a little more time he will gain a little more trust in his OL. BTW, what happened to throwing the fade to Moss in the endzone how come we never take that shot? I know it's not the most successful play but with a guy like Randy a fade is practically unfair.

 

[ALP]

There was a blatant non-call (holding) on that play. If you look at the replay in slow mo you can see the PI clearly.

LOL

so was the one where he was coming over the middle of the endzone, i would say even more than the one at the corner

 

[JMarr]

Brady and Moss seem totally locked in--very fun to watch. And Moss is showing as much, if not more leadership, than TFB at this point. Most people never would have imagined that. When Welker comes back our offense is going to be sick, especially if Fred Taylor can stay healthy.

Funny how things work out, but instead of having a fantasy team of pro-bowlers at every skill position, we have an abundance of secret weapons that are going to keep defensive coordinators awake at night (newsflash: Sammy Morris is still just a flat-out gamer even if he's lost half a step). I think the Galloway signing and BB's keeping a stable of running backs again are going to prove to be brilliant moves when all is said and done.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

I just spoke on the overthrows in another thread. I notice the overthrows were all in the same direction, I wonder if wind was a factor. Either that, or as I said in the other thread, I might be concerned about Brady's shoulder. In training camp and in preseason, he showed absolutely no signs of inaccuracy, and his pocket presence looks just fine so far.

I was at the game. No wind to speak of. Mostly light rain or none.

 

[nashvillepatsfan]

I just spoke on the overthrows in another thread. I notice the overthrows were all in the same direction, I wonder if wind was a factor. Either that, or as I said in the other thread, I might be concerned about Brady's shoulder. In training camp and in preseason, he showed absolutely no signs of inaccuracy, and his pocket presence looks just fine so far.

I never really thought about the shoulder being responsible. My only problem with that is, why do some balls appear on target with good velocity? Im guessing this is just a matter of shaking off the rust, and nothing to do with the shoulder.

 

[AzPatsFan]

The good news is that this offense will improve a lot over the course of the year. As of now only the OL, TE's, Moss, and Taylor seem to be playing well.

...and Faulk, as always.

 

[AzPatsFan]

It just seemed to me that they were all very conscious of the red zone problem, and all were pressing.


Brady was trying to be too fine and almost aiming instead of throwing the ball. The Adrenalin was kicking in as well, to add some extra oomph to his throws making them a little over thrown. The receivers were trying to be too perfect, and make the last adjustment, too fine, and screwing up.

For example, one of the receivers didn't just stop in the endzone, he had found a little empty zone where he was open, and was trying to settle into it, but it was just a step too soon for Tom.

It seemed to me once the Baker completion came, all the pressure was suddenly off, and everyone simply relaxed. It was as if a ballooon just deflated right there. There wasn't much time left in the game but the Pats marched down the field. They did so with a few crisp passes and runs, and were in position to score in the Falcons red zone had there been a need, when the clock ticked the final seconds.

 

[BradyManny]

I was at the game. No wind to speak of. Mostly light rain or none.

Thanks for the info, we can cross that off the list of possible reasons then...I just hope he hits a few deep balls on this Sunday so I can cease worrying about the shoulder.

 

[BradyManny]

I never really thought about the shoulder being responsible. My only problem with that is, why do some balls appear on target with good velocity? Im guessing this is just a matter of shaking off the rust, and nothing to do with the shoulder.

I re-watched the first half last nite.

I stand by the so-called "underthrow" to Moss, that was a great thrown ball, he stepped into it and rifled it down field. Again, and I'll give Moss the excuse of his back, b/c when I watched it again, you could really see him hurting - but Moss didn't raise his hands above his waist. Perhaps he couldn't. But that ball was pretty much a strike, Aikman said as much on the telecast and said Moss could've made a play for it.

Which brings me to my second point, might as well lump it in this thread - but after re-watch, that article about Moss "dogging it" is even more BULLSHYT. My god, that man, Freeman, should be fired. It's disgraceful - its a blatant lie. I watched the game, Moss was blocking hard, and you could tell the guy was in pain, walking gingerly, especially once the play was over. Moss really toughed it out, and its a shame for his effort to be questioned by some jacka** who clearly didn't watch the game with any intention other than to find a way to slander Moss (and I still don't know how he could come to the conclusion he did).

Other quick feelings after re-watch:

1) Gary Guyton is a good fill-in, but he is no Mayo. He missed a couple tackles on the drive that yielded a TD in quarter 2, and he isn't as good as Mayo at getting off blocks. Don't get me wrong, he's done an admirable job filling in, but this defense is going to be much stronger once Mayo gets back.

2) I don't like taking Adalius off the field in the dime. He's our most versatile player on the field - and at this point, has Burgess done anything to show he's a better pass rusher than Adalius?? Unfortunately, not. TBC, maybe, but Adalius should be on the field for all downs, even in a 4-1-dime - you have to find a way to get him out there.

3) Speaking of the dime, the Pats were in that package quite a bit when the Falcons scored their TD, but it really wasn't all bad. The big 3rd down stop came on a zone blitz when TBC dropped into coverage and McGowan blitzed to force the incompletion. The Falcons got the first down on the 4th down play, and then got it to the two with a good pass to Jenkins (Springs close in coverage). The Pats D was pretty aggressive, and used man coverage a little more than I remember them doing last season.

 

[BradyManny]

One more thought from the final series which I looked at again last nite:

- It wasn't just two plays in a row that Brady was irked with his receivers, it was three. The first down play that preceded Galloway's drop and Aiken's poor route running was a pass intended for Kevin Faulk. After the play, you can see Brady telling Faulk he expected him to cut his route off, presumably b/c Faulk was running right into safety help, I guess.