Idle Thoughts - post game edition

[pencilneckgeek]

I would like to add an NFL observation that I had seen. A number of teams are now gone back to using a true fullback and the Pats are one of them.

Meh. Develin isn't much more a "true fullback" than Hooman. He was an undersized DL a couple years ago and it seems like he's still learning the role. He sometimes gets lost looking for the man to block in the hole and doesn't seem to offer much in the passing game, but he's a smart kid and still on the upswing of the learning curve. Maybe he'll become a true fullback someday.

 

[Wax Frog]

Maybe he'll become a true fullback someday.

 

[shmessy]

I would like to see more Consistent pressure on the QB, and i emphasize the word consistent. So far it appears to me at least that there are long stretches where the opposing QB has an in-ordinant amount of time to sit back and throw. Also I don't know if its just me but it seems the Defense works extremely hard for ever sack they get, nothing comes easy.

Well, given that this was the second game in a row where the opposing QB had "inordinant amounts of time" and a completion rate under 50% , I would surmise BB had them in heavy coverage mode.

 

[shmessy]

I would like to add an NFL observation that I had seen. A number of teams are now gone back to using a true fullback and the Pats are one of them.

The Pats don't have a true fullback. They have James Develin.

He is the Jake Bequette of the offense.

I really don't like BB wasting these roster spots when they could use more OL depth.

 

[reflexblue]

Well, given that this was the second game in a row where the opposing QB had "inordinant amounts of time" and a completion rate under 50% , I would surmise BB had them in heavy coverage mode.

Yes that thought had occurred to me, i'm using the Defense from a decade ago as a yard stick, and maybe unfairly so. But then again they did this against two rookies and a poor TB offense. Its going to take a few more games against a quality offense to make me a believer. I hope you right, i love watching a good defense throttle the other team....The End

 

[ThatllMoveTheChains!!!]

12. I think by now we can safely say that Julian Edelman is a decent NFL WR, and one of the best PR's in the league. There are some apologies due him by certain posters. (you know who you are.)

.....#15. Gostkowski critics? (you know who you are):


.....crickets.

I think you guys are overestimating the resident 'realists' here. It's much more likely they're thinking

 

[Big-T]

"Hey! Tom! Tom! Over here! Look, look!"

He did admit in his post-game presser that missing those 2 was terrible though.

 

[bostonia3333]

My thoughts:


Zach Sudfeld is the shortest 6'7 person I have ever seen

Resign Talib please....yeah he gets burned a lot, but I like the risks he takes with the position--he's had some huge takeaways for us this year

Dobson has been getting some sick separation from NFL DbS...he's been doing it for 3 weeks, I think he becomes a matchup nightmare for Atlanta...Brady's at fault for missing him in the endzone twice in two weeks

 

[PATS68]

The Pats don't have a true fullback. They have James Develin.

He is the Jake Bequette of the offense.

I really don't like BB wasting these roster spots when they could use more OL depth.

My point was I have seen a lot of teams use a FB more than I ever have IE Colts, Bears, and Jets. The Colts FB were huge in that win and they used 2 of them. I saw the Bears line in the I a few times. Devlin played 15 snaps at FB.

 

[fnordcircle]

Bolden is a better receiver. Think of him as getting Vereen's reps.

What I don't understand is Blount getting play ahead of Ridley. About the best spin I can put on it is preserving Ridley for later in the season.

Since game 1 they've been pretty much playing Ridley or Blount every other series. Now I think Bolden is getting Vereen reps since he's the best receiving option out of the 3. Which is like saying "I'm sharing a cell with the prison rapist with the smallest junk."

 

[mgteich]

I don't see much reason in even keeping Blount, aside from having another body in there for a RBBC to allow Ridley some rest once the game is in hand and/or if injuries occur, and I surely don't see the reasoning in keeping him as a KOR. The only explanation is that L.Washington is either hurt or not up to speed on something. I am sure that Belichick has to realize that this is an absolute failure, and common sense would point to it being changed as soon as possible.

So, you would get rid of Washington and Blount??????????????????

1) RIDLEY is doing fine. Sharing the reps should help him have fresh legs later in the season.

2) BLOUNT has filled a needed role in the past three weeks. I'm sure that Josh and Bill are happy that he has been available. And yes, Ridley's reps has gotten some rest, almost always a good idea for the top of your committee running backs. I see no reason to even be disappointed in the performance of Blount (our #4 RB). Poster disagree with his being used as a kick returner.

The fact is that Belichick seems happy enough to have the choice of Blount available.
We NEED three running backs that can contribute as needed, even if we primarily use only two during a game. Those running backs are clearly Ridley, Bolden and Blount. When Vereen is back, he will take reps away from this troika, but for now, we have few options. I like Belichick's choice of using all three.

3) Yes, BOLDEN looked great in his first time out this year. I wanted him on the team as a backup and STer. He performed better than I expected. Also, with Slater out, his being available on Special Teams helped.

4) I don't know why DEVELIN is on the 53. Hopefully, he can go when Gronkowski is back, and Hooman can be a back.

5) None of us know the situation with regard to WASHINGTON. When he was brought in, he was supposed to be our replacement for Woodhead (kick returner, receiver and 3rd down back), with the understanding that we all hoped Vereen would take many of those reps/responsibilities. Washington has been injured, but he is practicing.

6) What makes little sense is that we have 5 running backs on the 53, two of which are contributing nothing at all, and have shown no ability to contribute. It seems that at very least, we should be adding a running back to the Practice Squad.

 

[SVN]

"Hey! Tom! Tom! Over here! Look, look!"

He did admit in his post-game presser that missing those 2 was terrible though.

He explained it today

On the second-quarter play when he missed seeing two wide-open receivers and threw an incomplete pass to a covered Sudfeld: “We were trying kind of a trick play, and we were expecting those other two to be covered, so I didn’t even really look at them. I wish I would have, obviously, because Julian [Edelman] came back and said they set him free. … And Thompkins, too. … It was a play where we were trying to use those other guys as decoys to get Sudfeld open. And it ended up Sudfeld was the one that was covered. Those are ones I wish I would see the whole play and the concept. We just kind of missed an opportunity there.”

 

[SVN]

"Hey! Tom! Tom! Over here! Look, look!"

He did admit in his post-game presser that missing those 2 was terrible though.

He explained it today

On the second-quarter play when he missed seeing two wide-open receivers and threw an incomplete pass to a covered Sudfeld: “We were trying kind of a trick play, and we were expecting those other two to be covered, so I didn’t even really look at them. I wish I would have, obviously, because Julian [Edelman] came back and said they set him free. … And Thompkins, too. … It was a play where we were trying to use those other guys as decoys to get Sudfeld open. And it ended up Sudfeld was the one that was covered. Those are ones I wish I would see the whole play and the concept. We just kind of missed an opportunity there.”

It Is What It Is » Tom Brady on D&C: ?I?ve got to play better at quarterback?

 

[SVN]

Curran had some decent notes about the offense routes being tweaked in the 2nd Quarter

Brady, offense show signs of hope in win | Comcast SportsNet - CSNNE.com

The fact that McDaniels worked to make the offense more user-friendly cannot be emphasized enough. Praise from all corners of the locker room for the efforts of the Patriots young receivers has been constant. But they had too much heat on them. New England adjusted. And when they sputtered on their first three drives, they adjusted some more with short crossing routes.

“We did a better job on the drive starts,” said Brady. (Tampa) has done a great job last year and through the preseason of getting teams into third-and-long. They do a great job with their run defense to get you in second-and-10s, second-and-10-plus, which forces you into third-and-long … We definitely made some adjustments of routes that we thought would be better against what they were playing. And then we ended up making the plays. It's one thing to make the adjustments and say ‘Look, this is going to give us a better chance,’ and we did end up doing a better job and guys made a lot of really good catches out there, good catch-and-run plays like the touchdown. We had a bunch of third-down plays with guys crossing the field so that was important.”

 

[shmessy]

2) BLOUNT has filled a needed role in the past three weeks. I'm sure that Josh and Bill are happy that he has been available. And yes, Ridley's reps has gotten some rest, almost always a good idea for the top of your committee running backs. I see no reason to even be disappointed in the performance of Blount (our #4 RB). Poster disagree with his being used as a kick returner.

The fact is that Belichick seems happy enough to have the choice of Blount available.
We NEED three running backs that can contribute as needed, even if we primarily use only two during a game. Those running backs are clearly Ridley, Bolden and Blount. When Vereen is back, he will take reps away from this troika, but for now, we have few options. I like Belichick's choice of using all three.

This.

Blount isn't there to compete with Ridley, Vereen or Bolden.

Blount is there for one thing and one thing only (and so far, he's doing it well).

In baseball parlance, it is called "being a pitcher who eats up a lot of innings". He's Reggie Cleveland.

My guess is that, unless there is an injury, we won't see as much of Mr. Blount after Thanksgiving.

He is there to 1) keep Ridley and Bolden from being overworked, 2) to punish DLs/LBs and 3) to close out games with clock killing, non-fumbling ball control running. Yesterday, I didn't want to see Ridley or Bolden out there deep in the 4th quarter.

 

[Rob0729]

Curran had some decent notes about the offense routes being tweaked in the 2nd Quarter

Brady, offense show signs of hope in win | Comcast SportsNet - CSNNE.com

And yet week after week, McDaniels gets killed on this board for horrible play calling and being too predictable. I think people just don't get how lucky the Pats are to have McDaniels many of the time. The guy is a master for retooling this offense to get the most of it and exploit the opposing team's weaknesses.

 

[PatsDeb]

And yet week after week, McDaniels gets killed on this board for horrible play calling and being too predictable. I think people just don't get how lucky the Pats are to have McDaniels many of the time. The guy is a master for retooling this offense to get the most of it and exploit the opposing team's weaknesses.

I killed him yesterday for play calling in the first quarter only. This article said he adjusted, which he needed to do. Thanks Josh.

Count me in the camp that doesn't like Blount much, but he did a good job of eating up the clock yesterday at the end of the game, which I suppose is the reason he's here. He only seems to gain about 2 yds. per carry, or so it seems and he is s-l-o-w. But he does spell Ridley and now Boldin which fills a role. Hopefully someone will teach him to pitch forward at the end of a run, as others have mentioned as this would probably net him an extra yard or two on every carry.

 

[PatsDeb]

He explained it today

Wow, that pic says it all on that play.

 

[bostonia3333]

Blount is a very valuable player early on this year because he extends the shelf life of our feature back Ridley. We don't need Ridley against crappy teams like TB, we need him against Balt and DEN in January.

Looking back a few years ago, Belichick's use of running backs in 2007 was awesome. Knowing Maroney's fragile health history, he'd go to Maroney somewhat sparingly during the regular year , but would rely on him heavily in the playoffs.....where he was a stud. We need a HEALTHY Ridley if we have any shot at going deep in the playoffs this year. If we overuse Ridley now, and he gets hurt, we are toast because Vereen doesn't come back till week 8.

 

[supafly]

So, you would get rid of Washington and Blount??????????????????

No, not at all. I think you may either have misread, or my intent was not expressed in a clear enough manner.

I am suggesting that I do not care for Blount and that I feel that he has a limited talent, and explaining why I feel his kick off duties are only temporary, until Washington is up to speed or no longer injured.