Can we stop the run?

[RayClay]

RBs look awesome. Receiver situation should settle down. Cassel gutsy but inconsistent. Secondary fine, DL should be awesome BUT.....

It all don't mean diddly if we can't stop the run.

Bruschi gone for ???? (probably 8-12 according to doctors).

Cheer me up, tell me I'm wrong, show me the people that will hit, plug and dominate the running game while viciously attacking the Quarterback.

 

[BelichickFan]

I'm not trying to downplay it but Seymour, Bruschi and Harrison were all missing and Atlants led the league last year in YPC rushing so I'm not worried . . . yet.

 

[PromisedLand]

8-12? Where did you hear that?

I heard 4-6 a couple of places, and that Bruschi believes he will be ready by week 1.

 

[Kdo5]

I'm not trying to downplay it but Seymour, Bruschi and Harrison were all missing and Atlants led the league last year in YPC rushing so I'm not worried . . . yet.

Seymour out is like a catastrophe to the run stopping defense with Bruschi out its even worse. But Seymour is completely fine, Harrison is fine and practicing, Bruschi wont be out 8-12. He's freaking Tedy Bruschi he'll walk out on to the field at least in one of the first 3 games, f**k what the doctors say. :rocker:

 

[RayClay]

I'm not trying to downplay it but Seymour, Bruschi and Harrison were all missing and Atlants led the league last year in YPC rushing so I'm not worried . . . yet.

Beisel, Gardner? All I saw was our career Special Teamers looking like all pros compared to the supposed starters.

I would say Pierre Woods at least looked like he wanted the job.

Remember 2002?

 

[BelichickFan]

8-12? Where did you hear that?

I heard 4-6 a couple of places, and that Bruschi believes he will be ready by week 1.

6-8 is the worst I heard but most are saying 4-6.

 

[DefenseRules]

RBs look awesome. Receiver situation should settle down. Cassel gutsy but inconsistent. Secondary fine, DL should be awesome BUT.....

It all don't mean diddly if we can't stop the run.

Bruschi gone for ???? (probably 8-12 according to doctors).

Cheer me up, tell me I'm wrong, show me the people that will hit, plug and dominate the running game while viciously attacking the Quarterback.

Ray relax. It was the first preseason game, and remember, none of the following players played in this game:
http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/
Receiver John Stone
Receiver Chad Jackson
Cornerback Randall Gay
Running back/fullback Patrick Pass
Safety Rodney Harrison
Linebacker Tedy Bruschi
Center Dan Koppen
Offensive tackle Nick Kaczur
Tight end Daniel Graham
Receiver Deion Branch
Defensive lineman Marquise Hill
Defensive lineman Richard Seymour
Defensive lineman Jarvis Green
Outside linebacker Chad Brown

Much more than Bruschi was missing from the lineup.

Seymour, Bruschi, and Green all out of the lineup...and most of the starters were gone before the end of the first quarter. We haven't had our complete team on the field all training camp. And we just got a surplus of players off the PUP list. Incidentally, none of those guys played tonight. It's to early to push the panic button.

 

[BelichickFan]

Remember 2002?

I know but we were missing key guys who will be back.

 

[sarge]

RBs look awesome. Receiver situation should settle down. Cassel gutsy but inconsistent. Secondary fine, DL should be awesome BUT.....

It all don't mean diddly if we can't stop the run.

Bruschi gone for ???? (probably 8-12 according to doctors).

Cheer me up, tell me I'm wrong, show me the people that will hit, plug and dominate the running game while viciously attacking the Quarterback.

We have looked bad against the run in the preseason the past 3 years. They won the SB two of those years. In fact, I believe the 2004 team looked the worse against the run of all, and that just happened to be the best Patriot team ever.

Seymour didn't play, and even then the backups seemed to be the ones giving up the most.

While I won't sit back and say that I am comfortable with the D against the run (it was certainly better then Atlanta's run D), what really scares me is the receiver situation. That, I beleive can not be fixed with the current roster if Branch doesn't come back.

 

[PromisedLand]

Ray relax. It was the first preseason game, and remember, none of the following players played in this game:
http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/
Receiver John Stone
Receiver Chad Jackson
Cornerback Randall Gay
Running back/fullback Patrick Pass
Safety Rodney Harrison
Linebacker Tedy Bruschi
Center Dan Koppen
Offensive tackle Nick Kaczur
Tight end Daniel Graham
Receiver Deion Branch
Defensive lineman Marquise Hill
Defensive lineman Richard Seymour
Defensive lineman Jarvis Green
Outside linebacker Chad Brown

Much more than Bruschi was missing from the lineup.

Seymour, Bruschi, and Green all out of the lineup...and most of the starters were gone before the end of the first quarter. We haven't had our complete team on the field all training camp. And we just got a surplus of players of the PUP list. Incidentally, none of those guys played tonigt. It's to early to push the panic button.

DefenseRules, you're mostly right, but I'm still concerned by the lack of depth at LB and Beisel looked like SXXX tonight - I was really hoping to see a huge improvement over last year in his case.

 

[RayClay]

8-12? Where did you hear that?

I heard 4-6 a couple of places, and that Bruschi believes he will be ready by week 1.

http://www.arthroscopy.com/sp04013.htm


When should the fracture be treated in a cast and when does it need an operation?
The best results from cast treatment are in those patients who have a fracture that is incomplete or does not extend all the way across the bone. "Nondisplaced" fractures treated in a cast less than 28 days after the injury have a good chance of healing. Fractures that are complete, particularly if they are displaced to any degree, take a much longer time in a cast to heal and may not heal at all. The average time for a fracture of the waist of the scaphoid of a bone that is not displaced is three months in a cast. Since this is only an average, there are many patients who take much longer to heal than this. Studies have shown improved rates of healing in a long arm cast (thumb included), for up to 6 weeks, followed by a short arm thumb spica cast. Approximately, 10% take over six months in a cast to heal. A careful discussion with your orthopedic surgeon may result in a decision to operate and stabilize the bone with a special screw. These patients usually are allowed out of a cast within three weeks to begin flexibility exercises, but full use in sports is not allowed until motion and strength are restored and the x-ray shows that the bone has healed (usually 8 to 12 weeks after the operation).

Of course I hope Bruschi's right, but hope don't pay the bills. Or make the tackles.

 

[DefenseRules]

DefenseRules, you're mostly right, but I'm still concerned by the lack of depth at LB and Beisel looked like SXXX tonight - I was really hoping to see a huge improvement over last year in his case.

PromisedLand I saw some of the worst football fundamentals last year when I watched Beisel play, and from what I saw this evening, he still has them.
We can do better.

 

[RayClay]

Ray relax. It was the first preseason game, and remember, none of the following players played in this game:
http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/
Receiver John Stone
Receiver Chad Jackson
Cornerback Randall Gay
Running back/fullback Patrick Pass
Safety Rodney Harrison
Linebacker Tedy Bruschi
Center Dan Koppen
Offensive tackle Nick Kaczur
Tight end Daniel Graham
Receiver Deion Branch
Defensive lineman Marquise Hill
Defensive lineman Richard Seymour
Defensive lineman Jarvis Green
Outside linebacker Chad Brown

Much more than Bruschi was missing from the lineup.

Seymour, Bruschi, and Green all out of the lineup...and most of the starters were gone before the end of the first quarter. We haven't had our complete team on the field all training camp. And we just got a surplus of players off the PUP list. Incidentally, none of those guys played tonight. It's to early to push the panic button.

I was actually encouraged by the offense, even the WRs, cause I think Branch has to come back, Caldwell and others will be OK with Brady and there's Jackson.

The Secondary was fine too.

But fooling oneself in this crucial aspect of the game means runs straight up the gut. You just can't win like that.

 

[PromisedLand]

PromisedLand I saw some of the worst football fundamentals last year when I watched Beisel play, and from what I saw this evening, he still has them.
We can do better.

We agree then. But can we find someone better to replace him at this point in the offseason? And even if we do, if one of Bruschi, Vrabel or Colvin goes down for any length of time (as Tedy may have already done) we're still in trouble. We need 4 solid linebackers plus a solid backup to be a good 3-4.

 

[RayClay]

I know but we were missing key guys who will be back.

You're a solid fan and I hate to harp on things but, at inside linebacker we're only missing one key guy and according to doctor's he won't be back real soon.

Barring an acquisition, I would start Izzo and Davis at ILB with Woods to be worked in.

I stared at the middle of the Defense all game and couldn't even find Gardner and Beisel most of the time.

 

[Ichiro]

PromisedLand I saw some of the worst football fundamentals last year when I watched Beisel play, and from what I saw this evening, he still has them.
We can do better.

I saw the same thing from Beisel over and over again last year.
People were convinced he got better at the end of last year but I didn't see it. Gaining 8 pounds? A year in the system and he'll improve? These were just illusions. Beisel is not a starter on any team. His demotion to second team shows BB thinks the same as us.

 

[edzo44]

DefenseRules, you're mostly right, but I'm still concerned by the lack of depth at LB and Beisel looked like SXXX tonight - I was really hoping to see a huge improvement over last year in his case.

Beisel will look a lot better when he's got the real first string defense around him instead of a mish-mash of personnel that the coaches are throwing in to see what they can do. It's preseason, the coaches are more into evaluating the young players they have at the moment to figure out who to keep and who to cut without injuring any recovering players needlessly.

This was an excellent and exciting game for both teams, the game felt more like a regular season game to me for really holding your interest right up to the last couple of minutes. Enjoyed the hell out of it because it wasn't the usual listless and boring preseason stuff. both teams fought tooth and nail for the whole game. well worth watching.

 

[RayClay]

We have looked bad against the run in the preseason the past 3 years. They won the SB two of those years. In fact, I believe the 2004 team looked the worse against the run of all, and that just happened to be the best Patriot team ever.

Seymour didn't play, and even then the backups seemed to be the ones giving up the most.

While I won't sit back and say that I am comfortable with the D against the run (it was certainly better then Atlanta's run D), what really scares me is the receiver situation. That, I beleive can not be fixed with the current roster if Branch doesn't come back.

You're absolutely right, but we added personnel or tightened up and fixed the problem.

Except in 2002 where we stuck with Steve Martin and sucked.

we were really counting on Bruschi to carry the other ILB until we could strengthen the reserves.

Losing Bruschi is like losing 2 ILBs. We have 2 vacancies and no real candidates. 2 guys that are 20 lbs. underweight and a rookie that actually looked OK to me, (woods).

Duckett averaged 3.1 last year. I do think Maroney and Dillon are better than him.

WR is a sore spot also. I myself think Branch has to play and with Jackson returning and Caldwell hopefully looking better we'll get by since we have a lot of short range receivers and superior RBs. But it could hold us back.

I don't think linebacker can be addressed with the current personnel.

 

[PromisedLand]

...

WR is a sore spot also. I myself think Branch has to play and with Jackson returning and Caldwell hopefully looking better we'll get by since we have a lot of short range receivers and superior RBs. But it could hold us back.

I don't think linebacker can be addressed with the current personnel.

That's pretty much my take too.

 

[patsox23]

Bruschi gone for ???? (probably 8-12 according to doctors)

8-12???? I haven't heard this ANYWHERE. Try 6-8.