idle thoughts - first impressions (Pats - Saints preseason game)

[larryo]

Was anyone focusing on Ras-I? How'd he look?

 

[makoute]

Listening to Criqui and Cross is painful, they talk incessently about shyt do not even care about.. try to come across as some type of experts, however they do not translate all that well..

What was most encouraging were the defensive comments you articulated, this D (even though it is very early) looked a lot better than last year, less tentative and more attacking.

It's not only the announcers, the presentation itself is pretty awful, Kraft production is a major fail, they've had enough time to make this more decent.

 

[patchick]

Was anyone focusing on Ras-I? How'd he look?

Didn't see him much early in the game, but I'm not sure whether that was because he wasn't playing with the first string or whether he had good downfield coverage so the cameras ignored him. But in the 2nd half he showed up in a very positive way with a couple of nice pass breakups.

 

[Gronkandez]

3. Our RB's - Ridley ran hard and decisively for a 5ypc, Vareen completely took over the 3rd quarter and was the main reason we got the 7 points we managed, and averaged 6ypc, albeit against the NO scrubs. He still looked good. Bolden was less successful, but could be a very nice addition to the PS. I liked what Katani showed blocking and catching the ball. Granted he's the only FB left standing, but he is a binky of mine, and if the Pats DO keep a FB this season, he's my pick.

From everything I've read, I'd say Bolden will most likely make the team. I was watching him last night and unfortunately he didn't get much blocking, though he did break one nice run.


Hoyer and Mallet bummed me out but I suppose the upside is Cassel looked almost as bad in 2008 preseason.

 

[PatsSox363804]

I thought Hightower played better as the game moved on but it's about what I would expect from a rookie making his first pre season start. The plus is that I never saw him out of position and he played snaps at all 3 linebacker spots. Someone correct me if I'm wrong on that, but he looked like he generally diagnosed the plays correctly and just hesitated on a few of them. He'll be fine, hopefully Spikes starts game 1 and Hightower can settle in with him and Mayo.

Jones, on the other hand, looked like an absolute monster and did so against a very good left tackle. Let's hope that continues.

I was impressed with the coverage, and really it was sort of what we read from the 11 on 11's, the coverage was generally good and the Saints checked down a lot. Mayo seemed to keep good coverage on the backs when he was in the game and I thought he was the best linebacker when he was in, which of course he should be. Only real gripe was that Chung was late providing help over the top on the 3rd and long pass down the sidelines, that reminded me of the Superbowl.

As far as the offensive line goes, I think I'll get banned if I say what I want to say about them so let's just say "not good" and pray that Vollmer, Mankins, and Waters show up healthy for game 1 and that it coincides with Solder pulling his head out of his ass.

 

[Peachhead]

If it hasn't been mentioned yet, let me commend the playcalling. I know it was all vanilla but it was a breath of fresh air. :rocker:

Screens! Running with purpose, where it made sense and when we had to! Some rhyme and reason (and rhythm) to the playcalling, not switching up stuff just for the sake of "unpredictability"!

 

[patsinthesnow]

Another good thing is Tarpinian looked like glue towards the end of the game on TEs and RBs, I noticed it last year too. With such big linebackers on the team and Fletcher done for the year, a good young coverage LB is worth having.

 

[BradyManny]

Not all of us curbed our enthusiasm on Jones. As soon as I watched several games of his cutups on Youtube (thanks Ninja), it was clear the guy was way more NFL ready than people were giving him credit for.

 

[BananaRepublican]

You seen the cheerleadahs?

Be careful. One of them is Andre Tippet's daugh-daugh.

 

[shmessy]

I've said it for two years now, and I'll say it again: Something is bothering Brady. I don't know what it is, I haven't a clue, but it seems to be either mechanical, or something to do with his eyesight, or maybe both. Who knows? But I believe that there is a problem, probably a minor one, but it's contributing to those "errant" passes we have seen these past two years, and a couple again tonight.

V/R

75 TDs/16 INTs. 2nd most passing yardage in NFL history last year. Both years over 105 QB rating.

Whatever is bothering Brady the past 2 years, please order some up for the rest of the team.

 

[BananaRepublican]

I have one wish.

I want to see Tim Tebow in the wildcat for the Jets get through the line cleanly and meet up with Donta Hightower.

That's a moose hitting a barn.

 

[BananaRepublican]

I suppose the upside is Cassel looked almost as bad in 2008 preseason.

Worse. The worst.

 

[Rob0729]

One thing overlooked in the Chandler Jones euphoria last night was the impressive play by Mayo last night. He looked like the potential big playmaker that people have complained he hasn't shown yet. He was arguably had the best defensive performance by any player on either team. He was solid in coverage and vs. the run and caused that Gregory INT.

 

[WhiZa]

I'm not reading into much on Brandon Bolden from the stat sheet. He is a downhill runner who's specialty will be moving the pile 1 or 2 yards extra each run. He' not going to march the team down the field like Vareen did, but watching him run he's good at what he does.

I would put Scott and Bequette in the good category. Scott looked like a man possessed getting to the QB more times than not and Jake was making his tackles on the other side of the field. Both have great motors and have a good shot at making us forget about Anderson.

Mallet looked like he was throwing laser beams every pass and the WRs (albeit 3rd string) were having difficulty with the timing. I'd be interested to hear people's thoughts on how they thought Mallet looked.

I thought the officials were surprisingly not bad either. Maybe the NFL will keep them around longer

 

[Sicilian]

A few points to add from my perspective:

- Though they didn't connect consistently, the one completion to Lloyd did show me the type of hands this guy has. He has that praying mantis look, where his hands snap out and grab it lightning quick. Very fluid. I think once he and Brady get a few more reps, we're going to love this guy.

- Though against scrubs, I liked what I saw out of Vereen in the passing game. It was one of his strengths coming out of college, so it was nice to see it in action.

- OL was as awful as advertised, but I'm withholding judgment until I see how many of those guys will be starting week 1 (and whether they show any improvement week to week).

- Sterling Moore had a BAD play on the PI, but otherwise I saw him make a nice breakup, plus a couple of nice tackles. Overall, I didn't think he was that bad, though he's clearly behind McCourty, Arrington, and Dowling on the depth chart.

- Speaking of McCourty, it was good to see his tackling up to par this game. It was one of his strengths IMO his rookie year, but took a step back last year (like every other part of his game). Good to see in limited action last night.

- I don't think the Saints had their top guys last night, but the run defense looked pretty stout. Wilfork and Love look good clogging the middle, and the added athleticism of Jones, Hightower, and Gregory closed the holes a little faster.

 

[PP2]

The first preseason game is pretty much the only game you want to have a bad game so you can get it out of your system for the remainder of the season.

That being said, I found most things encouraging, but perhaps the most encouraging was a big improvement in the backfield (except for that 3rd and 22 and the Moore PI). I don't think I saw many missed assignments or breakdowns in communication.

 

[Kontradiction]

75 TDs/16 INTs. 2nd most passing yardage in NFL history last year. Both years over 105 QB rating.

Whatever is bothering Brady the past 2 years, please order some up for the rest of the team.

The stats are good because Brady is the GOAT. But it was pretty obvious that elbow issues were bothering him early on in games last season. Eventually, he would work the cobwebs out and return to his normal, dominant self.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

75 TDs/16 INTs. 2nd most passing yardage in NFL history last year. Both years over 105 QB rating.

Whatever is bothering Brady the past 2 years, please order some up for the rest of the team.

that "it"factor needs to resurface , especially in the playoffs. i personally think he's got a lot more to worry about with a wife and a couple of kids. he's no longer that single bachelor type without any cares in the world except for football.

 

[WhiZa]

A few points to add from my perspective:

- Though they didn't connect consistently, the one completion to Lloyd did show me the type of hands this guy has. He has that praying mantis look, where his hands snap out and grab it lightning quick. Very fluid. I think once he and Brady get a few more reps, we're going to love this guy.

- Though against scrubs, I liked what I saw out of Vereen in the passing game. It was one of his strengths coming out of college, so it was nice to see it in action.

- OL was as awful as advertised, but I'm withholding judgment until I see how many of those guys will be starting week 1 (and whether they show any improvement week to week).

- Sterling Moore had a BAD play on the PI, but otherwise I saw him make a nice breakup, plus a couple of nice tackles. Overall, I didn't think he was that bad, though he's clearly behind McCourty, Arrington, and Dowling on the depth chart.

- Speaking of McCourty, it was good to see his tackling up to par this game. It was one of his strengths IMO his rookie year, but took a step back last year (like every other part of his game). Good to see in limited action last night.

- I don't think the Saints had their top guys last night, but the run defense looked pretty stout. Wilfork and Love look good clogging the middle, and the added athleticism of Jones, Hightower, and Gregory closed the holes a little faster.

I missed the first half and I don't see Lloyd in the stat sheet. Did he make a catch? Maybe there was a penalty?

On the PI to Moore it looked like he got beat badly and there was no safety help. He had to make contact to prevent the completion, but he did minimize pretty well. He acted like he made contact on purpose afterwards admitting it was his fault.

 

[Sicilian]

I missed the first half and I don't see Lloyd in the stat sheet. Did he make a catch? Maybe there was a penalty?

That's right, I forgot the catch got wiped out due to a holding call. But the throw and catch itself was nice, very fluid, which is what I was referring to.