Idle thoughts - the exultation edition

[patfanken]

Lets get right into it.

1. This game was the perfect example of why Brady is the winner and Manning is merely a stat machine. Peyton had over 430 in passing and I'd bet 2/3rds of them came after the game was out of reach

2. Manning is a great QB. A legitmate HOFer and ONE of the best QB's in NFL history. You really aren't a football fan if you can't admire some of those perfect sideline throws against tight coverage that he made over and over again. That. being said, "god I hate that whining little *****" . Like I said, Manning padded his stats in a blow out. Both times the game got tough for him, the league seems to change the rules to his benefit. Quite frankly its unseemly and I wonder why the mediots who constantly ball wash him, never mention this obvious fact.

3. I think the universal reaction to Gronk's catch on the GL must have been "holy crap"

4. We had a great thread pre-game concerning the importance of the run game. Er, we were all wrong. Not only did the run game never get close to 4ypc goal lwe'd like to see, we also didn't see the 40% run/pass balance that would have been nice. 25 runs for 67 yds is not what we want to see.

5. As bad as the Pats running game, what was surprising how well the Pats run defense performed. Don't forget that Hillman had over 100 yds rushing in his last 2 games, but tonight only had only 16yds in 10 attempts. It was simply outstanding. I know a lot of people here were very worried about the run game. I was not one of them, but I didn't think it would turn around overnight.

6. I tried to watch DEasley tonight more closely tonight. I'm still disappointed that he hasn't become more of a factor behind the LOS, but I was very impressed how well he held up vs the run game tonight playing out of position at DE. I also caught a bit of the Ravens/Steeler game and couldn't help notice that Timmy Jernigan was playing the way I hoped Easely would be playing at this point.. I saw a couple of times he was just blowing the Steeler OG back into the backfield. Perhaps I'm being too critical and expecting too much at this stage of his ACL recovery.

7. Patting myself on the back (just a bit) In my pre-game thread, I hoped the Pats would run multiple fronts which showed immediate pressure, yet rarely blitzed, and for the most part, that's what happened. When the Pats did blitz, they did it from the middle with various degrees of effect. In the secondary they mixed it up with both man and zone coverages and people changing up who they covered from time to time. Sometimes Browner was on the TE, sometimes not.

I'm not sure how you'd characterize the 2nd half defenses since I think the Pats played much more zone and much less of an aggressive strategy.

8. The officiating was a major concern, since Walt Anderson's crew seemed to be tailor made for Manning's game. And while there were several calls that were fairly ludicrous, they were fairly ludicrous on both sides of the ball, and the penalty stats ended up being almost identical. Though when the Pats got 5 penalties on the Bronco's drive that literally gifted them a TD, I thought I was going to have a stroke. But in retrospect this crew hurt both teams. BTW- the worse call imho, was the illegal shift call that wiped out a Pats first down. On the replay it looked to me that both Edelman and Lafell got set before the snap. There was no need to throw that flag.

9. On of the things I liked about this game was that the Pats played far from a perfect game and STILL blew the donkeys out. Brady missed at least 3 open receivers. The receivers dropped 5 balls. The OL had a few plays they'd like to forget, and the running game was still anemic. Still the offense was responsible for 29 points against one of the so called best D's in the league, and Brady was complaining about leaving so many points on the field. I agree. It was good, but can be even better....and that's a nice thought

10. The OL continues to improve, just as the schedule gets tougher. There were a number of times the rush got to Brady, so it wasn't perfect, but Stork did a great job on Knighton in the middle. The interior guys as a whole were very solid. I can think of only one play where there was fast pressure up the middle. Miller and Ware were held to one sack, and while Miller got his share of hits, on the whole Solder and Volmer did a decent job. No perfect, but they won a whole lot more times than they lost.

11. They miss Chandler Jones. Ninko had a few pressures, but with the exception of the Ayers sack, the Pats pass rush was at best inconsistent. Manning was never under as much pressure as Brady.

12.Speaking of Ninkovich, isn't it about time we stopped thinking of him as solid guy who is OK until we find someone "really good". He's really good. Textbook solid in the run game, a better than average pass rusher, decent in coverage, and versatile enough to play inside or outside, standing up or with his hand in the dirt. People sometimes forget ALL the things he does. He is much more valuable than someone who can JUST rush the passer from the edge.

13. I liked that Devlin and DA got some looks today. Even Hooman had a 17 yd catch called back on a bogus illegal shift call. I'd like to see them used more.

14. BB clearly out coached Fox....again No one should be surprised.

15. I sincerely hope that no one is stupid enough to try and blame DA for the Brady pick. The ball was clearly uncatchable..... and one of the 3 Brady misses I saw.

16. It was a great win and as of this moment we are the #1 seed in the conference. But 3 of the next 4 games will not only be against some very tough opponents, they will also be on the road. I'd be surprised if we don't lose one of the next 5 games, and I could live with 2.

17. Great win for the Dophins, and another hard fought moral victory for the Jets (lol). I'm not sure whether that 37-0 win over SD showed just how good the Fins are, or how much of an over-hype the Chargers were. It could just mean that its tough to play in the heat of Miami if you're not used to it.

18. OK its time to wonder what's the deal with Alphonso Dennard. Is he injured? Is he being punished? Or is it just a simple case of Butler playing better than him right now. Butler was consistently around the ball tonight. He had some receptions against him, but most of those time he was in great position, but was a victim of a great throw. So I'm not unhappy to see him in there. He also seems to have surpassed, Logan Ryan as well on the CB depth chart. However I don't remember Dennard playing that badly when he was in there, so I'm still curious to find out the story behind the story on this.

Summary - I'm sure the media will over hype this win and try and present us as conference favorites until we lose. But in the same way it was stupid to bury the team after the KC loss, its equally stupid to think this team (as it currently stands) is better than any of the other contenders. Lots of improvement still has to happen if this team is going to make a long run in the playoffs. Staying healthy will help....a lot

 

[hwc]

4. We had a great thread pre-game concerning the importance of the run game. Er, we were all wrong. Not only did the run game never get close to 4ypc goal lwe'd like to see, we also didn't see the 40% run/pass balance that would have been nice. 25 runs for 67 yds is not what we want to see.

The run game will come around. After the last few weeks of game film, opponents are no longer going to have the luxury of keying on the run. They are going to have to re-deploy their assets to defending the passing game.

 

[mgteich]

[QUOTE="patfanken, post: 3972880, member: 3697"
18. OK its time to wonder what's the deal with Alphonso Dennard. Is he injured? Is he being punished? Or is it just a simple case of Butler playing better than him right now. Butler was consistently around the ball tonight. He had some receptions against him, but most of those time he was in great position, but was a victim of a great throw. So I'm not unhappy to see him in there. He also seems to have surpassed, Logan Ryan as well on the CB depth chart. However I don't remember Dennard playing that badly when he was in there, so I'm still curious to find out the story behind the story on this.
[/QUOTE]

Our starting 5 defensive backs were awesome as a unit, and individually. Even #6 DB Butler did a fine job.

Was Arrington injured a bit and saved for this game, as some have suggested?

Ryan seems to go up and down the depth chart.

We'll see the reps in the morning, but I didn't seem to see a lot of Harmon, Wilson and Ebner. Perhaps Chung is finally playing more in passing downs. IMHO, he's earned the trust.

And, as you say, Dennard is a mystery.
============

One somewhat obvious answer is that our defensive scheme depends on who we are playing. I'm sure that's true, but our four starters seem set. It is the nickel and dime back that seem to change. And, yes, assignments change.

 

[patfanken]

BTW- Just another thought to ponder. Another 333 yds passing, 4 TD passes to 4 different receivers, and we STILL haven't fully played the Tim Wright card yet.

 

[Joker]

I can't remember seeing Wright today. Hooman made a nice 1st down grab in the 4th that sorta stuck a fork in the Donkos, though. I can only say the game I watched from the stands, without the benefit of replay and announcers and fantasy geekaloid individual stats,THIS game was a clear example of a TEAM win. All three phases.Players that get stabbed in the back on this board because they aren't starting or seeing lots of snaps, players like Logan Ryan, well, I can TELL YOU...I SAW Ryan show up on special teams today and I SAW Ryan make contributions that fit into the overall team win. To ME, that is what matters.

 

[patfanken]

Another thought I wish I included in the original post.

Anyone else notice Brady flinching at shadows in the couple of series. I think he was mentally prepared for a better pass rush than he eventually got. It was only about 3 time and happened very early in the game and was never seen again.

 

[Joker]

What NO ONE has mentioned in all the threads I've read and all the criticisms leveled at OUR team, as usual...is the play of Stork today.In fact, Wendy,who I openly despised as a center and Connolly, along with Stork, created a nice triangular pocket for Brady to step up into as Vollmer and Solder rode the edge rushers outside. A couple of breakdowns when a DE broke free to the inside but overall a very good job...against a very stout defensive front. PERIOD.

 

[mrbean]

Joker is spot on. I'm honestly shocked as to just how well the interior trio of Connolly, Stork, and Wendell are playing as of late. I'm really loving that Stork is flanked on both sides by two guys with center experience as I really think this is helping him progress. Also seems the relative stability on the interior of the line has has positively affected Solder and Vollmer. I've gone from full on panic mode to cautiously optimistic looking at this o-line.

 

[Se7eN]

Stork may be the best pick of this draft for the Pats.

 

[doesntmatter1]

In some ways, this game was a little similar to the afccg last year. Our run game was just as ineffective and the oline gave Brady adequate time. The biggest difference on offense was that we swapped Collie and Slater for Gronk and Lafell.

This time around our dline amazingly held up in the run game and we didn't have Talib on our side go down and ruin the secondary.

Going forward, our run game must get better and Amendola somehow needs to do something more than be the intended target when Brady throws a pick(KC game too). The two teams that beat us, KC and Mia, both play the Broncos and seem to be very dangerous as of late. A lot of teams besides the Jets lol are positioned for a playoff run and I will enjoy monitoring them more closely during our bye.

 

[woolster22]

Another thought I wish I included in the original post.

Anyone else notice Brady flinching at shadows in the couple of series. I think he was mentally prepared for a better pass rush than he eventually got. It was only about 3 time and happened very early in the game and was never seen again.

Absolutely. Solder played very well today, the exorcism of early happy feet attest to this.

 

[Username]

Chung has been a whipping boy in the past, and deservedly so, but credit where it's due, he is playing pretty consistent, solid defense at the moment and has earned his starting role.

 

[woolster22]

What NO ONE has mentioned in all the threads I've read and all the criticisms leveled at OUR team, as usual...is the play of Stork today.In fact, Wendy,who I openly despised as a center and Connolly, along with Stork, created a nice triangular pocket for Brady to step up into as Vollmer and Solder rode the edge rushers outside. A couple of breakdowns when a DE broke free to the inside but overall a very good job...against a very stout defensive front. PERIOD.

Check out my post in robs post game thoughts. To your credit I may have thrown that up after you pointed it out here.

Edit: should have jumped in here first, I'm a victim of high response counts lol.

 

[Batman]

The Brady pick was unlucky Brady only just managed to get the ball over the DL I think it was tipped. This meant DA had to ajust got his hands too it but couldnt make the grab. A time I think brady should have just went down rather than force the throw. Overall we played well I thought when Browner was called for PI in the first qtr on the goal line that it was going to be a long day for us. The refs ended up making bad calls for and against us and it was pretty much evend out over the course of the game.I am pleased that we won but I hope we have more left on the D and did not show Denver everything before the playoffs, I don't like the idea of win at all cost in the regular season if it means we lose in the playoffs.

 

[Gumby]

Lets get right into it.


15. I sincerely hope that no one is stupid enough to try and blame DA for the Brady pick. The ball was clearly uncatchable..... and one of the 3 Brady misses I saw.

This ball was 100% tipped by a Denver DL before it came to DA; and the tip definitely made it come to DA higher than it would have.

So I am not sure you are right hanging that one on TB either.

It is a little tough to tell what the original trajectory would have been (very short path before it was first tipped); and although it definitely would have been lower (chest -to helmet height; rather than above the head); I "THINK" it would have likely still been behind DA at the speed he was running across. And with the traffic that was around there; could have still been a bad play.

But in my book this one was more 'bad-luck' / good play by defenders than it was patriots mistakes.

 

[Gumby]

addendum: If you want to talk about bad tosses/misses by TB; you have to talk about the throws in the flat to Vereen (werent there at least 4 of those?) . A couple of them he was under duresss and had to unload. But, it seemed to my recollection that on at least 2 of them if he had waited another second and vereen turned upfield; that he could have a straight line of sight/throw. (instead of trying to lob over the top of a 6'4" defender)

Of course, that presumes that the play is designed with an option for the RB to turn upfield if he doesnt get the initial toss; and not just sit down in the dead space in the flat (in which case the defender would be all over him).

Since we can't know if that was even an option; it is hard to blame brady for the decision; but his execution of those lobs was consistently not very good. Something he can work on.

 

[Gumby]

5. As bad as the Pats running game, what was surprising how well the Pats run defense performed. Don't forget that Hillman had over 100 yds rushing in his last 2 games, but tonight only had only 16yds in 10 attempts. It was simply outstanding. I know a lot of people here were very worried about the run game. I was not one of them, but I didn't think it would turn around overnight.

I am not sure how much of this to attribute to a much stronger Patriots run-D; and how much to attribute to "Pay-me-a-ton (and give me all the accolades)".

Granted, they did GREAT at run D in the first 2-3 series. But after that, Denver pretty much never even tried again .

As the 'offensive coordinator on the field'; they got into Pay-me's head early that running was not gonna work; and he (true to his nature); preferred to toss the ball around the rest of the day. Essentially this was the opposite of the 'let them run it' gambit that BB did the last time. When they get away from balance it allowed the patriots to key on stopping him.

Note that when the Broncos ran the short tosses to the delayed-coming-out RBs ; they had great success for a lot of yards. I think because the patriots seemed to stop watching the RBs. So if they had not become so 1-dimensional; they would have been a tougher match-up.

So it will be interesting to see if they can sustain that run-stopping performance in the coming weeks. At least the stat #s will make their run defense look better after this game. LOL.

 

[Marinlik]

I think the illegal shift was a fair penalty. All players have to be set for atleast a second or so when 2 guys shift. They wheren't. The refs seemed to let both lines play. Lots of holdings on both sides that wasn't called, for good and bad.

 

[DarrylS]

I can't remember seeing Wright today. Hooman made a nice 1st down grab in the 4th that sorta stuck a fork in the Donkos, though. I can only say the game I watched from the stands, without the benefit of replay and announcers and fantasy geekaloid individual stats,THIS game was a clear example of a TEAM win. All three phases.Players that get stabbed in the back on this board because they aren't starting or seeing lots of snaps, players like Logan Ryan, well, I can TELL YOU...I SAW Ryan show up on special teams today and I SAW Ryan make contributions that fit into the overall team win. To ME, that is what matters.

Wright had 12 offensive snaps today, and did not show up in the box score...

Thought Casillas was a factor along with Ayers... so the new guys are chipping in.

Malcolm Butler, surprisingly was on Emanuel often.. he seemed ok.

What always amazes me is the lackadaisical clock management by other teams, the Bronco's had no sense of urgency... they were down, but seemed as though they should have been playing for pride. We are so conditioned by this team, not to give up and using the clock effectively. Seems every week and whoever we play that most teams shyt the bed in this area...

 

[Gwedd]

On their final possession, everyone watching could see that Manning and his offense were offensive. They had absolutely NO sense of urgency, no hurry up and play like a professional should.

Nope. They just played like there was all the time in the world. Rather than just go through the motions, it would have been easier for them to just do a series of kneel-downs and let the clock expire. If you aren't going to TRY and win, you might as well give it up and kneel down, rather than risk getting someone injured in a meaningless series.

I hope that the Denver press pounds Manning and his offensive over this point, and hopefully the rest of the NFL media will point it out to. It was not only unprofessional, but disrespectful to their opponent, and to the game. BUT....... that's how Manning is. If he isn't in charge, if he isn't basking in the lime light of adoration and hype, then he's a miserable little man.