My Thoughts: NE @ MIA

[ALP]

Ras I as others have mentioned played as well as McCourtey, much less an untested rookie, we have our outside corners for the season, the question is now the slot corner

Nate played very very very well, as did the O line for like 95% of the game, in both pass protection and run blocking, Connoly filled in exceptionally at C and waters may have been our best pickup this season

the rb's were both very very very good, especially woodhead, even b/w the tackles

welker is our best WR by far, but branch and ocho seem serviceable #2's after welker, our TE's are incredible, and hopefully stay that way

we may have a deep threat in slater, he just needs some more playing time as WR, he was prob targeted 2 more times this season than all of last season

Haynesworth had his moments, Vince was a little invisible for some long stretches, our lb's were OK, many ppl here dont like guyton...im starting to join them...but hopefully he is a backup to spikes so...

didnt see as much from our DE's as I would have liked (ellis and carter), anderson had some production as our rush specialist

wright started in the middle but then was never seen again...not sure what was up there, i think our pass rush was better with him on the line

Devin is not playing as well as he had last yr, but then again i Would expect a lesser year from him....i think for some reason he's rusty, should be back to older self in a couple of weeks

the safeties....i dont think we missed EIThER meriweather or sanders, chung is a good starter, barnett also played pretty well, did not see any glaring mistakes, no mess ups on the coverages, hopefully we see improvement from this as season goes on, can only go up really, where before it just stayed at that same level

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Nice thoughts ALP.

Ras-I was very encouraging. If he is starting though that means we're paying Bodden alot of money to be a #3.... wonder if he can play some safety and a more prominent role. Just had high expectations for him, maybe he is a bit rusty too that near pick is one he definitely would have had in '09. I expected him to impact the D alot this year.

 

[patchick]

Ras-I was very encouraging. If he is starting though that means we're paying Bodden alot of money to be a #3.... wonder if he can play some safety and a more prominent role. Just had high expectations for him, maybe he is a bit rusty too that near pick is one he definitely would have had in '09. I expected him to impact the D alot this year.

I'm not especially concerned. Right now it looks like the Pats have 3 quality corners, all signed through at least 2013, costing a total of around $8 million a year -- or about as much as Antonio Cromartie alone.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

I'm not especially concerned. Right now it looks like the Pats have 3 quality corners, all signed through at least 2013, costing a total of around $8 million a year -- or about as much as Antonio Cromartie alone.

Damn I never looked at it that way!

 

[MrNathanDrake]

McCourty never was, and probably never will be a SHUT DOWN corner.

There are very few true shut down corners in the league.


What McCourty has been, and will continue to be, is a playmaker with solid coverage. He makes INTs (almost had one today), Forces alot of fumbles, makes tackles, etc.

B. Marshall is also one of the best receivers in the league, so keep that in mind.

 

[patsox23]

B. Marshall is also one of the best receivers in the league, so keep that in mind.

A VERY fair point. Marshall is excellent. That's not to excuse some of the plays, but sometimes the other team does good things, too.

My silver lining is that there were several plays tonight that the defense BARELY missed making. The best example is Guyton on Fasano's ridiculous one-handed catch. If we can have Guyton playing that close on receivers/TEs, we'll take that ten times out of ten. Fasano just made an AWESOME catch.

There were other moments of just BARELY not getting to Henne in time. Those hurries are valuable, cumulatively and otherwise. We just need to keep going with it, hope the D starts to improve a bit, and see what happens.

 

[Fencer]

I have no concerns about Bodden's salary.

The number of snaps you get as the #3 + top backup to the top 2 is not much different from the number of snaps you get as a top-2 CB.

What's more, would anybody be surprised if Bodden soon starts over a healthy Dowling? BB does shuffle roles a lot -- who except Brady, the OL, and the ST specialists can really be sure he'll get the same kind of usage from game to game?

 

[PatsFanNM]

I thought Branch was much better than just adequate. He and Brady went on a tear there where they just made completion after completion. That kind of stuff drives a defense nuts.

They really know what they're doing together. Combine it with Welker and the tight ends and it's a pretty tough offense to stop. It will be interesting to see what the Jets are able to do when we play them.

 

[Ghost of Ben Dreith]

I'm more worried about the Offense.....yeah....really....

I think the Defense has a chance to come around, but we are still the New England Colts on Offense......I thought with Vereen and Ridley along with the OL near the end of training camp, that we would take on the offensive personality that we had during the SB years.....pound it down your throats and pass it when we had to....now....it seems it was an illusion and we will just throw the ball all over the field.....


Then...after another early playoff exit....we will be left wondering what happened....and blame it all on the Defense....instead of an Offense that lacks the "clock-killin-Corey Dillon" feature.....just very dissapointed in what I saw on Offense tonight....it isn't always about the points...

But what the heck to I know....I'm just a fan....

 

[ALP]

I have no concerns about Bodden's salary.

The number of snaps you get as the #3 + top backup to the top 2 is not much different from the number of snaps you get as a top-2 CB.

What's more, would anybody be surprised if Bodden soon starts over a healthy Dowling? BB does shuffle roles a lot -- who except Brady, the OL, and the ST specialists can really be sure he'll get the same kind of usage from game to game?

Bodden is only gonna get older, Dowling is young, might as well start him at corner as it is if he can play it, because hes more of a long term answer...isnt Bodden's contract up after next year?

 

[patchick]

Bodden is only gonna get older, Dowling is young, might as well start him at corner as it is if he can play it, because hes more of a long term answer...isnt Bodden's contract up after next year?

Leigh Bodden is 29 years old and signed through 2013. And he played plenty -- a team that scores like the Patriots do ends up playing nickel a ton.

 

[Fencer]

Weird stuff happens with guys not getting reps Game 1 because they were insufficiently prepared, in ways that would seem pretty unlikely later in the season. Kevin Faulk once completely sat out Game 1 because he'd played Kordell Stewart on scout team and evidently hadn't prepared enough at his own position as a result.

 

[Sciz]

McCourty's worst possible matchup is a big guy like Marshall. I'd much rather have him taking on someone like Desean Jackson constantly, where he can overpower him at the line and run stride for stride down the field.

 

[Sciz]

Overpower him yes... Run with him, absolutely not.

D-Mac can run stride for stride with anybody in the NFL. And even more so after he jams D-Jax off the line.

(Btw, McCourty ran a 4.38 40 to Jackson's 4.35)

 

[livinginthe past]

Overpower him yes... Run with him, absolutely not.

Welcome back Mogamezdog.

 

[MrNathanDrake]

D-Mac can run stride for stride with anybody in the NFL. And even more so after he jams D-Jax off the line.

(Btw, McCourty ran a 4.38 40 to Jackson's 4.35)

There is Combine speed, and then there is GAME SPEED.

I watch every Pats game and Sorry but I do not think McCourty can run with DeSean Jackson.

 

[Sciz]

There is Combine speed, and then there is GAME SPEED.

I watch every Pats game and Sorry but I do not think McCourty can run with DeSean Jackson.

A go route is about the one time in a football game where 40 time is actually applicable.

 

[ALP]

McCourty's worst possible matchup is a big guy like Marshall. I'd much rather have him taking on someone like Desean Jackson constantly, where he can overpower him at the line and run stride for stride down the field.

i think McCourty can take any type of WR, i noticed today though that I think he was playing by taking the QB into account....

for example at some point Marshall was doing a go route, devin bumps at the line, Brandon gets free after a couple of seconds, and goes, at this point devin turns around and is right NEXT to Marshall....and then Devin slows down and allows Marshall to get separation

at this point Devin looks back, and sees that the throw is not short, and actually on the money, and speeds up....by the time the ball reaches marshal, devin is right next to him

it looked to me as if he didn't stick right next to marshal b/c devin thought that henne's throws would not be right on the money.....but this game they usually were


and i think Devin would be able to cover desean as well

 

[Joker]

Marshall has that Plaxico push off thing going on too, as he got separation afew times with other DB's. McCourty seems pretty strong and able to fight that arm off without losing coverage. I think there is a trend being established by the bigger WR's in the league.After watching most of the AFC games this week, I can say I saw the pushoff move dozens of times by big WR's in single coverage. Could this be a point of DE-EMPHASIS this season?

 

[supafly]

Ras I as others have mentioned played as well as McCourtey, much less an untested rookie, we have our outside corners for the season, the question is now the slot corner

Haynesworth had his moments, Vince was a little invisible for some long stretches, our lb's were OK, many ppl here dont like guyton...im starting to join them...but hopefully he is a backup to spikes so...

Devin is not playing as well as he had last yr, but then again i Would expect a lesser year from him....i think for some reason he's rusty, should be back to older self in a couple of weeks

the safeties....i dont think we missed EIThER meriweather or sanders, chung is a good starter, barnett also played pretty well, did not see any glaring mistakes, no mess ups on the coverages, hopefully we see improvement from this as season goes on, can only go up really, where before it just stayed at that same level

Nice post ALP, many good pts.

I think that if Dowling would improve enough + stay healthy, he could possibly take over the outside role. I think that will take another month or so of VERY consistant play, but anything's possible. To answer your question, Arrington will be the slot nickel for now, but if Dowling somehow took over the outside, Bodden would likely move inside--as he is versitile in both and has played both throughout his career. He just re-upped last yr, so we have his services for awhile yet. No matter what, he provides us with a very solid skill set IMO.

For what it's worth---Guyton is NOT necessarily a backup to Spikes. They have totally different roles and positive/negative attributes. Guyton is much faster, and much better in coverage, as we saw on his outstanding coverage on a couple of plays. He gets back there pretty far at times, lol. Spikes is more of a run-stopping thumper, something that Guyton is certainly not as good at. They both have good roles here, but the thought that Guyton is a backup to Spikes is a big misconception.

I agree that DMcC is not playing as well as I had hoped, at least throughout the preseason and game one. Hopefully it is what you said--knocking off some rust, and not a big dropoff from last yr. Even though he was not as good tonight, and got picked on regularly by Marshall, he was still in good position on many throws too. It is something that I am sure many noticed though, so hopefully that will improve.

I respectfully but strongly disagree on the safety play. Once again I saw us getting picked on down the middle of the field and by the TE. I think Chung's pass coverage skills are on the same level as my grandma personally, even as good as he is in so many other areas, but he needs to quickly improve in a dramatic way as far as his coverage goes. I am still sulky and salty about some of the positional moves at safety, but trust that we will be fine, and that coach Belichick knows what he's doing better than anyone. I am not sure if Barrett's invisibilty had anything to do with his rolled coverage to Marshall or not, as I have not watched the replay or DVR. Regardless, I expect improvement from the safeties, and hope it's quick. I still wouldn't mind seeing McGowan brought back, but we'll see what happens.