Remember how the guy killed us in '02 at Foxboro with the underneath stuff? Chad Pennington is the #1 reason we can't say we've been in the playoffs six straight seasons.
. . . and Donald Hayes and Steve Martin are reasons 2A and 2B, lol.
Registered Members experience this forum ad and noise-free.
CLICK HERE to Register for a free account and login for a smoother ad-free experience. It's easy, and only takes a few moments.Remember how the guy killed us in '02 at Foxboro with the underneath stuff? Chad Pennington is the #1 reason we can't say we've been in the playoffs six straight seasons.
One of the trends that I'm beginning to see, as the Pats continually retool and improve their personnel is the expectation that they must be mistake-free. This trend is based on certain fans' perception that this team is so good, that any and all mistakes and sub-par play are unacceptable. Let's hope that's not the case, as fans should enjoy this, as those who followed the 1972 Bruins or 1986 Celtics can attest that this won't last forever.
As this was the first game of the season, the tapes will be reviewed and improvements made. With 16 regular season games, there will be many varied strategies employed to win, and with pressure applied by the opponent, no team ever deploys a clean strategy successfully.
That being said, I felt the Pats stopped the underneath, short passes when it was critical. Some errors are to be expected, and I thought the LBs played smart and strong for the majority of the game. The running game was effective at critical points in the game. When the Jets DBs cheated in to stop the run, the Pats put the ball in the air. When the DBs honored the pass, the Pats deployed the run effectively. Those dynamics were very successful in my book.
Maroney is on track, I don't know what game you watched. He wasn't hesitant, he was patient. And on several occasions he gained an additional 2 to 3 yards after contact. I don't want him to change anything, because as the blocking improves with the team getting more comfortable in the new scheme, he's going to have more and more opportunities to break long runs. Maybe it's because you were contrasting him against Sammy Morris and his downhill running style, and he had a few nice runs up the middle when the Pats line blew the Jets midgets on the d-line off the ball, but I sure as heck don't want Maroney changing anything. He was very close to gashing the Jets for a multiple long runs, and soon enough, when the blocking scheme matures, he'll be doing it on a regular basis.
I remember a running back we had about ten years ago who looked a little hesitant hitting the holes and danced a little too much the first couple years. He averaged under 4 yds. per carry too those first couple seasons.
Forget his name, Curtis something or other.
The game plan was a huge factor in this. I think it was Hobbs after the game that said they stressed "no big plays." He also said that they knew Pennington was going to be efficient, and if they had to, let the guys get the come back receptions and just make them eat clock and march the field to score. That way, they have to do it over and over and over to keep up.
As for Maroney, I think you got from him about what you're going to get, with some rust. He's an 1100 yard back (70 ypg), not a 1600 yard back (100 ypg). I'm not sure when 1100 yards a year became something to be concerned about.
Originally Posted by MDD
I remember a running back we had about ten years ago who looked a little hesitant hitting the holes and danced a little too much the first couple years. He averaged under 4 yds. per carry too those first couple seasons.
Forget his name, Curtis something or other.
nice try, and i hope your post turns out to be prophetic, but Martin rushed for 1,487 yards and made the Pro Bowl in his rookie year and 1,152 as a soph.
This is a good post.
My personal opinion of Maroney is that he is a typical starter in the NFL, like an 1100 yard back or so. I don't really view him as a Pro Bowl or HOF guy. I think he is a little bit undersized for starter, not just weight-wise but more in his slender build. If you can spring him a hole, that is good, but it is bad if he has to break tackles a lot.