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- Jul 11, 2005
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I missed most of the game at a poker tournament, and what I saw gave me only impressions. I had hoped that when I finally got home, I read some game summaries and catch up. No such luck, so here are my questions. Hopefully some of you will answer them for me.
1. I got the impression that the the DL and front 7 was particularly effective against the run. The 3 & 1, followed by the 4th and 1 stops were particularly gratifying. However I don't know the reason for the success. Who worked with the starting DL. Were the Pats blitzing
2. I also got the impression that the DL was generating some good push, but again I don't know who and I don't know why
3. I particularly want to know about Dominic Easley and Malcolm Brown. How did they play. Have they let loose Easley yet to make any explosive plays. BTW- I thought I saw Jones in the middle on one play.
4. The secondary also looked like they were making a lot of plays on pass plays. Who was out there and how did they look. Were they going with 3 safeties a lot, or with 3 CB's in the nickle? Right now I'm feeling pretty good about that questionable secondary. They looked very competitive, even on some of the completions.
5. How was the coverage overall on ST's. I happened to catch the first drive before I left, and the coverage was poor on that punt. Did it improve over the course of the game?
6. It looked like Brady had time in the pass game most of the time, even though he had to step up a lot. He seemed to have had time to throw the ball. Is this correct?
7. The running game seems to need the most work. Anyone have some ideas why? Is the OL getting any Push? Are the RB's not being aggressive enough? Is the problem with the TE's or FB?
Commentary from a weak position:
a. Not having Edelman, Gronk, and LaFell are obvious problems for Brady. But I think the real problem is Brady not having a running attack because he's had to deal with the 3 rookies in the middle. Given Jackson's size and Mason's drive blocking experience, it is a little disappointing that we haven't been able to get some push, especially up the middle. Andrews could be the problem. Obviously it's never ideal to have an UDFA rookie starting at C between 2 fourth round rookie G's
b. I'm hoping Wendell and Stork are back for the Giants and the run game gets some work.
c. I saw the Dobson play where the defender came down with the ball after the hit the ground. I don't know what happened except that Dobson beat his man deep and went up hard for a heavily contested ball and came down with it. I heard later he had another deep pass from JG. Right now Dobson is a convenient whipping boy now that Boyce is off the scene. A whipping boy just like Edelman and Amendola have been so often on this board, so he's in good company. .
d. I think I'm gonna like this defense. It looks like the sum of the group is going to be a lot better than the individual parts.
e. Anyone really worried about the offense long term. I wouldn't be surprise to see much of the same sort of inconsistency through the first 4 games, much like we did last season. Not having so many of the WR's available this off season has been very disappointing. It's been a long time since Brady has been able to go into a season with most of his WR's intact. Unfortunately most of them have not been able to STAY intact, so much of this camp has been wasted.
OK, its almost 1:30 and I'm running out of gas here. I eagerly await your replies. Oh, BTW- I won the tournament.
6.
1. I got the impression that the the DL and front 7 was particularly effective against the run. The 3 & 1, followed by the 4th and 1 stops were particularly gratifying. However I don't know the reason for the success. Who worked with the starting DL. Were the Pats blitzing
2. I also got the impression that the DL was generating some good push, but again I don't know who and I don't know why
3. I particularly want to know about Dominic Easley and Malcolm Brown. How did they play. Have they let loose Easley yet to make any explosive plays. BTW- I thought I saw Jones in the middle on one play.
4. The secondary also looked like they were making a lot of plays on pass plays. Who was out there and how did they look. Were they going with 3 safeties a lot, or with 3 CB's in the nickle? Right now I'm feeling pretty good about that questionable secondary. They looked very competitive, even on some of the completions.
5. How was the coverage overall on ST's. I happened to catch the first drive before I left, and the coverage was poor on that punt. Did it improve over the course of the game?
6. It looked like Brady had time in the pass game most of the time, even though he had to step up a lot. He seemed to have had time to throw the ball. Is this correct?
7. The running game seems to need the most work. Anyone have some ideas why? Is the OL getting any Push? Are the RB's not being aggressive enough? Is the problem with the TE's or FB?
Commentary from a weak position:
a. Not having Edelman, Gronk, and LaFell are obvious problems for Brady. But I think the real problem is Brady not having a running attack because he's had to deal with the 3 rookies in the middle. Given Jackson's size and Mason's drive blocking experience, it is a little disappointing that we haven't been able to get some push, especially up the middle. Andrews could be the problem. Obviously it's never ideal to have an UDFA rookie starting at C between 2 fourth round rookie G's
b. I'm hoping Wendell and Stork are back for the Giants and the run game gets some work.
c. I saw the Dobson play where the defender came down with the ball after the hit the ground. I don't know what happened except that Dobson beat his man deep and went up hard for a heavily contested ball and came down with it. I heard later he had another deep pass from JG. Right now Dobson is a convenient whipping boy now that Boyce is off the scene. A whipping boy just like Edelman and Amendola have been so often on this board, so he's in good company. .
d. I think I'm gonna like this defense. It looks like the sum of the group is going to be a lot better than the individual parts.
e. Anyone really worried about the offense long term. I wouldn't be surprise to see much of the same sort of inconsistency through the first 4 games, much like we did last season. Not having so many of the WR's available this off season has been very disappointing. It's been a long time since Brady has been able to go into a season with most of his WR's intact. Unfortunately most of them have not been able to STAY intact, so much of this camp has been wasted.
OK, its almost 1:30 and I'm running out of gas here. I eagerly await your replies. Oh, BTW- I won the tournament.
6.