idle thoughts....am I the only one here that....

[Boston Boxer]

I have no problem with this or ever, even if it's against the Pats. Heck, teams used to do it to us all the time in the late 80s and early 90s. In any professional sport, I always felt that if a team needed to get pasted 'cause they can't keep up, then too bad. I hope NE hangs 100 on Indy when we play them just because we can.

Marino and the Dolphins used to do it all the time

 

[everlong]

Two things made me anxious in this game. When Gronk first landed I was holding my breath. The second was the miscommunications between Brady and Hernandez. They have to get that straightened out.

One thing made me angry during the game and that was when Pope tackled Edelman and at first there was no flag. The broadcast crew was late announcing the flag and I got several how the hell don't you call that and F-Bombs out before they did.

Sterling Moore has been steady if unspectacular. If the defense can get back Spikes, Fletcher, Tarpinian, McCorty and Chung that's going to give them a lot more flexibility situationally.

Carter and Anderson were two great FA signings. Deaderick has really come to play. The play of these three cannot be understated.

Watching the game I thought at one point Charlie would have dialed up a couple of screen passes at this point. Next series bang there it was. Kudos to BOB.

I was talking to a friend on IM and I said the Pats special teams are so blah this year. Not bad by any means but they never make a difference either. Next punt Edelman to the house. Thank you JE for making me eat my words. But overall I still don't think the units are as good as they've been in the past. They were really lucky on that onside kick and that would have been the second one this year.

I'd give the coverage teams a B for both kickoffs and punts. Edelman's return elevated the punt return until from a C- to a B-. The kick off team is a D-. There's been nothing out of them this year.

 

[borg]

1) D stats be damned...the Pats have finished playing the tough part of the schedule....the pattycakes will bump the #s in the right direction. In the meantime, alot of the premium Ds have had their pattycake games already and must face better Os in December. Playing the Indy's of the league helps every D.....now it is our turn

2) Listening to Felger yesterday pissed me off to no end. He just couldn't show any love for Edelman....referring to him as "aweful" and Mr. August. And because of Edelman's defensive snaps, with the natural Troy Brown comparisons...he shot down Edelman at every chance saying Edelman was "no Troy Brown....never will be."
Who knows if Edelman will get to the level that Troy achieved in the back half of his career. But lets remember a few facts: Brown didn't become a starting WR until his 8th NFL year. He didn't play defense until his 12th year.
To be clear I love Edelman. He showed early that he could produce as the starting slot receiver. Unfortunately, he is 2nd on the depth chart at the position. He has produced as a punt returner....Reiss indicating he has the highest ypr in Pats history. And now he has delivered some great shoulder tackles on D. Nice job Julian....Ef U Felger

3) Without rewatching the KC game, I'm remembering the Pats running game started clicking as soon as the Gronk started flashing in the passing game. The power of the Gronk.

4) Can't wait for Thursday football...2 key games and I'm probably most excited for the Dallas game....the power of Fantasy Football.

5) Sluggish O in the first quarter....let's add in a little razzle dazzle....flea flickers, double reverses, forward pitches. Let's have some fun boys...it's supposed to be fun

 

[patfanken]

-
2) Listening to Felger yesterday pissed me off to no end. He just couldn't show any love for Edelman....referring to him as "aweful" and Mr. August. And because of Edelman's defensive snaps, with the natural Troy Brown comparisons...he shot down Edelman at every chance saying Edelman was "no Troy Brown....never will be."
Who knows if Edelman will get to the level that Troy achieved in the back half of his career. But lets remember a few facts: Brown didn't become a starting WR until his 8th NFL year. He didn't play defense until his 12th year.
To be clear I love Edelman. He showed early that he could produce as the starting slot receiver. Unfortunately, he is 2nd on the depth chart at the position. He has produced as a punt returner....Reiss indicating he has the highest ypr in Pats history. And now he has delivered some great shoulder tackles on D. Nice job Julian....Ef U Felger

-

Agree totally, whether its here or elsewhere, Julian Edelman is going to be a productive WR in this league. Don't forget he's only in his 3rd year of playing WR anywhere. Hopefully he'll get a real chance here, If he doesn't get a 2nd contract here, then he'll get a shot somewhere else.

BTW - By being able to play special teams (including the coverage groups), defense, AND WR, he's making himself pretty damned near indispensable.

 

[Jangles]

1) D stats be damned...the Pats have finished playing the tough part of the schedule....the pattycakes will bump the #s in the right direction

So the defense will continue to be bad, but we'll all be fooled because the stats won't tell the real story?

 

[Rob0729]

So the defense will continue to be bad, but we'll all be fooled because the stats won't tell the real story?

Yes, if the Pats' defense continues to get smoked for 3 to 16 points a game, I'm going to throw caution to the wind and ignore the yardage stats.

Seriously, the defense has played great the last two games. Yes, the competition has not been very good, but points wins games not yards. One thing that cannot be ignored is the stellar performance by the d-line the last three or four games. As long as the Pats can bring the heat, the secondary will be covered for their liabilities.

 

[Patspsycho]

As long as the Pats can bring the heat, the secondary will be covered for their liabilities.

It's becoming less and less of a liability, and with Chung returning, I feel that there is now a legitimate rotation between Chung, Ihedigbo, and Sterling Moore.

 

[patsinthesnow]

It's becoming less and less of a liability, and with Chung returning, I feel that there is now a legitimate rotation between Chung, Ihedigbo, and Sterling Moore.

Mccourty/Arrington is one of the better CB combos of the BB era too.

 

[Horace's Ivories]

I dont get Guyton either....

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

May sound bad...but i was actually bored with Mondays game. Just..not a good team they were playing. I just couldn't get pumped for most like i usually do..eagles on the other had will be different

 

[shmessy]

Despite playing horribly for significant parts of those games, the Pats were in legitimate position to win both. Still amazed that the Steeler game was close late, but it was. The Steelers played close to a perfect game (no turnovers, no punts), scoring on every drive except end of half and a late missed FG (their only mistake). Despite that effort and being at home, the Pats got within 6 points with 3:30 left and 3 timeouts. If I'm the Steelers, I'm not confident I can replicate that effort in the playoffs and I'm wondering if anything less results in a loss.

The Steelers played that game without James Harrison, James Farrior and Hines Ward.

I'm not as confident as you are that the Steelers can't replicate that effort in the playoffs. The difference will have to be on the Patriots shoulders. They were manhandled and flat out crapped their pants that day. That was their flattest performance since the Jets playoff game last year.

 

[farn]

The Steelers played that game without James Harrison, James Farrior and Hines Ward.

I'm not as confident as you are that the Steelers can't replicate that effort in the playoffs. The difference will have to be on the Patriots shoulders. They were manhandled and flat out crapped their pants that day. That was their flattest performance since the Jets playoff game last year.

I agree - two of the three - Ward is a backup now.

The Steelers worry me. I hope someone takes them out early in the playoffs.

 

[SpiderFox53]

The Steelers played that game without James Harrison, James Farrior and Hines Ward.

Their replacements played as well or better than those three do anyway and they were not missed in this game.

I'm not as confident as you are that the Steelers can't replicate that effort in the playoffs. The difference will have to be on the Patriots shoulders. They were manhandled and flat out crapped their pants that day. That was their flattest performance since the Jets playoff game last year.

You are correct. That is possibly the worst I have seen this team play in years, and the Steelers played one of the best games I've ever seen them play (I do live in Pittsburgh), and the Pats were still only lost by one score. I don't see the Steelers or the Pats playing the same if there is a rematch.

I'm not saying the Pats will win, but I'm not giving up on them either.

 

[Metaphors]

The Steelers played that game without James Harrison, James Farrior and Hines Ward.

Ward just takes opportunities from their younger receivers. Harrison would have helped their pass rush but Farrior is a coverage liability. So a rematch against a fully healthy Pitt team may result in more Brady pressure.

I'm not as confident as you are that the Steelers can't replicate that effort in the playoffs. The difference will have to be on the Patriots shoulders. They were manhandled and flat out crapped their pants that day. That was their flattest performance since the Jets playoff game last year.

The Steelers threw out a completely unique gameplan (offense and defense) for the Pats game. Roethlisberger threw 50 times. The only times he has reached 40 attempts the last 2 years was in losses. His long pass was 26 yards and that was to a RB. He only attempted to go downfield a couple of times. Most passes were in front of the Pats coverage. On defense they generally played a single high safety and press man coverage, moving their LBs to crowd the middle.

The Steelers generally don't change their approach game-to-game, so good for them in throwing out something completely new. Much like the Miami "Wildcat" game, the Pats weren't ready and couldn't effectively adjust in-game. But now that game is on tape and won't be as effective in the future. The Steelers absolutely have the talent to beat the Pats in the playoffs, but I doubt it will look anything like the game last month.

 

[supafly]

I believe that the Steelers really showed all of their cards in the first meeting last month, and that the Pats would not be as ineffective a second time around.

That, and the fact that they played one of the best overall games in a long while, coupled with the fact that N.England played so poorly and still kept it to a one score game tells me that the 2nd meeting would fair better.

I am hardly worried about the lack of Farrior and Ward...to be honest, I'd rather see Ward out there a second time. There'd be less speed and therefore less cushion given to the other WR's such as E.Sanders. Plus, Cotchery just seems to give us problems anyway.

Harrison's absence, on the other hand--was big, although you never know who could/would be out for them the next time around.

 

[BaltimorePatsFan]

Mccourty/Arrington is one of the better CB combos of the BB era too.

Can't possibly be as good as Deltha O'Neal/Ellis Hobbs.

 

[TheComeback]

Two thoughts...you let media blather get under your skin way to easily - they have 3.5 hours to fill - and it's as if you were listening to an alternate feed because Gruden was pretty much ballwashing Bill and Tom once the jig was up on fellating the plucky little unknown QB who doesn't stick anywhere for long for a reason... Turn off the sound, watch the game and try and maintain perspective. The other guys get paid too, and we are the big test on most schedules. Been that way for a long time now...

Yes, and this wasn't the Colts, either. I believe the Chiefs have actually beaten a few teams this year.

 

[TheComeback]

The Steelers played that game without James Harrison, James Farrior and Hines Ward.

I'm not as confident as you are that the Steelers can't replicate that effort in the playoffs. The difference will have to be on the Patriots shoulders. They were manhandled and flat out crapped their pants that day. That was their flattest performance since the Jets playoff game last year.

They only beat us by one score. We also haven't been a healthy team all year long. I don't feel like we were "manhandled." I reserve that word for disasters like the 09 playoffs. We played a close game on the road against a very physical defense, and had the Pats played a little better, it could have just as easily been a loss for the Steelers. They only scored 6 points in the second half.

If we meet them again in the playoffs, I think we have a good chance of beating them. It would be a tough game, but that's the way the postseason works.