- Joined
- Nov 14, 2006
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Here we go:
- To all the mediots who were licking their chops to lay into Belichick last week. To all the trolls and chicken littles who were in rare form last week and talking how this team would be lucky to be 8-8. To the "I told you so" crowd who were doing victory laps and patting themselves on the back about how they are better GMs than Belichick. To all the fans of the other teams in this division who were putting in preorders for their team's division winner hats and T-shirts. I hope you all had a good week last week because this morning you all look like a bunch of idiots. A special FU to Trent Dilfer and Steve Young.
- Before I go overboard with praise for the team, I will say something I should have said last week. Last night is not a true indication of how either team really are. The Pats are probably not as good as they were last night and the Bengals clearly aren't as bad. If anyone saw The Replacements, the Pats were victims of quicksand last week and the Bengals were last night.
- Game balls to the o-line. They still were perfect, but it was a solid job against a very good d-line. Brady got sacked once (I think that one was on Gronk) and hit once. Impressive considering the Bengals came into the game with 7 sacks in three games and have several very good pass rushers. There is still some work to do, but I think they found a good mix to build off of.
- Belichick usually holds back a lot early in the season and unloads it late. I think a lot of what we saw last night was originally going to be rolled out slowly over the season, but the timeline was expedited because of the poor start to the season.
- The Patriots absolutely have to get Tim Wright more involved. He has been targeted 10 times this season and has 9 catches. He catches everything thrown to him. He only played about a quarter of the snaps last night and was a major factor. The two TE running seam routes is probably going to make this offense potent again. I know someone on this board likes to dismiss him calling him TE in name only, but last night he was clearly a TE and a TE who can be a valuable asset for Brady. I think a year or two from now, people may feel the Pats absolutely fleeced the Bucs in the trade for Mankins.
- Good to see Shane Vereen get out of his funk. He danced so much last week that.... (Oh hell, insert your own Ben Vereen dancing joke here. It can't be any worse than the ones I came up with). He showed last night exactly what we all hoped he would be all season. He was decisive yet shifty. He picked his holes and ran. With Burfict out, they knew the middle of the field was going to be a weakness for them and the Vereen exploit it.
- Glad to see them finally let Revis be Revis. He is still the best CB in the league when used right. He has been unfairly criticized this year because he as been good all year, but he is elite when he is given a receiver to lock down on. As Bedard asked for, Revis was all over Green as soon as he got off the bus.
- An underplayed thing that helped Revis was the return of Dennard. With Dennard, they have a CB who can lock down the other WR. Yes, he got two holding calls last night, but they were BS to ticky tack at best.
- Congratulations to McDaniels and Patricia for brilliant game plans. Both were killed this week and they came out with game plans that absolutely stymied the Bengals. The Bengals moved the ball, but it was assisted by penalties.
- On that, someone tell me how Jerome Boger has a referee job and Mike Carey is sitting in the studio as an analyst. Boger makes Ed Hochuli look like a competent referee. I seriously don't know how he still has a job.
- Finally, congratulations to Tom Brady. Getting 50,000 yards is quite an accomplishment. After a week of people questioning whether he was done or at least his Patriots' career was just about done, he answers with a brilliant game.
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