PostGame Thread Official PostGame Thread - 2023 Week 7 - Patriots Win 29-25

[Jlaff]

Mac is exactly what the scouts said he would be. High floor low ceiling. Guys like that are pretty good when they are set up for success but they can’t make a team better than they are.

I've seen a pretty low floor with Mac. But today he definitely fit that profile.

 

[Real fan 02]

I think you could sell it based off his past success.

True. I like the guys that we're out there today. Reagor and pop should be part of the offense going forward. Pop Douglas gives us something we sorely need. Parker for a 4th and D lineman?

 

[Jim Beankie]

I graduated from USC’s medical school; I had season tickets for SC for a couple of years; I’m a SC fan.

I’m telling you: Caleb Williams is not who you think he is; he may very well be a good quarterback, but generational he is not.

I've only watched highlights packages on YT, and I just don't see it at all. Plays escaping the pocket with >5s Time to Throw isn't gonna do it for me. To paraphrase something I hear all preseason, he's playing against guys who will be studying how to sell insurance next year or in 2-3 years, so even worse than what we see in the 4th Quarter of the last game of preseason. Also, I used to think "generational" meant every 20-25 years, but it sounds more like every 3 or so now.

 

[Salsalife]

Douglas is Troy Brown jr. Love em. Mac looking his way but still great O-line time.

 

[1960Pats]

Anyone have the bills in the suicide pickem contest?

Yes, 4 players. They deserve to lose for picking against the Pats.
And 8 more have Seattle (myself included). If Arizona wins there'll only be 4 left.

 

[patsinthesnow]

Sow RG
Onwenu RT
Douglas WR2

Regardless of your thoughts on mac hitting on these 3 players will make next offseason more doable.

 

[upstater1]

Part of me wonders if they didn't expect the OL to hold up as well as it did today, so they were still calling plays that got the ball out of Mac's hands as quickly as possible. Maybe with some OL continuity they'll feel confident opening it up a bit more, but that remains to be seen.

Good point, probably a good reason

 

[alvinnf]

Mac is exactly what the scouts said he would be. High floor low ceiling. Guys like that are pretty good when they are set up for success but they can’t make a team better than they are.

This is so true. His arm strength doesn’t allow him to attack the middle of the field. The whole game plan revolves around him not putting the ball in harms way. Which is fine. He is not a threat in the red zone when the windows get smaller. Which is also fine. Happy to win, but a game changing QB is not what NE has. They have Chad Pennington with less grit.

 

[Real fan 02]

While everyone will be deservedly so speaking about Mac

This defense to be performing as well as this without Judon and Gonzo, and Marcus Jones is very good. JC has been very decent, although he will get flagged if the officials want to in almost every play

Dugger is playing out of his Max contract. Today his tackling was bad (as was the rest of the team), but overall Jabrill Peppers is outperforming him this season. Good for us If BB has learned from the Meyers/Juju thing.

Barmore is elevating his play, but can he stay consistently good? In any case, I felt like the DL won a lot today, same as last week. Some runs were Cook magic and putrid tackling

Wise is quietly becoming quite a player too. He might not be flashy, but he is always good, occasionally great. Gotta keep these guys around

Agreed. I've said this before on peppers. He had the ACL and took time for him to get 100%.. he was a former 1st round pick for the Browns. The guys a Rodney Harrison type presence we hadn't had since.. well Rodney... he's clearly the best safety we have. Barmore definitely has stepped his game up. He's playing like the guy we saw flashes of his rookie season. I hope we can get Keon white back becuase That will free up Barmore for more one on one opportunity. Peppers should be part of the future of this team going forward he's still young and has a motor for days. A game like this could really propel a team like this.

 

[1960Pats]

Mac pulled off a game winning drive which I did not think he was capable of. So kudos to him.

Bill gets 300 - so congrats to that.

Great win but can't help but think is this a pivot point or just a bad team having a great one off win?

Who cares? They won.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Dude you are killing my vibe at impressive speeds with this **** why don't you just stuff your fist into your mouth and enjoy the win

Saying "today Mac was good" upsets you?

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

On the defense, I also think the playcalling hurt them a bit on the second to last drive (not counting the one that started with 12 seconds). It felt like, with a two score lead, they went ULTRA conservative, and Allen was getting 8-10 yards on easy plays. I get the general idea, working the clock a bit, but it was too loose and things moved too fast. They then tried to get a kill shot on a bring-the-house blitz and Diggs ate it up. Then of course the fumble put them immediately back on the field which didn't help. I think you're right that they wore down a bit, but I would have liked to see them stay a little more aggressive with 8+ minutes on the clock. Stick to what you got you there at that point, IMO.

Yeah that drive was terrible , way too much time left to play so soft. I hope the win doesn’t mask the fact to them that they let up way too early

 

[upstater1]

Agreed. I've said this before on peppers. He had the ACL and took time for him to get 100%.. he was a former 1st round pick for the Browns. The guys a Rodney Harrison type presence we hadn't had since.. well Rodney... he's clearly the best safety we have. Barmore definitely has stepped his game up. He's playing like the guy we saw flashes of his rookie season. I hope we can get Keon white back becuase That will free up Barmore for more one on one opportunity. Peppers should be part of the future of this team going forward he's still young and has a motor for days. A game like this could really propel a team like this.

Dugger was fantastic last year. He played near the line. He's learning a new position but he is now out of position a lot and no longer making the big plays.

 

[A Defiant Goose]

Saying "today Mac was good" upsets you?

Don't play stupid. I know you aren't.

"He was good today BUT..." how about just he was good today. The end. The game just ended. You can save the qualifiers for tomorrow or for the 2-6 slot on 98.5

 

[Ian]

“That time he played well enough to help get us get to 2-5 against the Bills” lacks a lot of the flare people typically associate with signature wins.

LOL, one win at a time

 

[upstater1]

Don't play stupid. I know you aren't.

"He was good today BUT..." how about just he was good today. The end. The game just ended. You can save the qualifiers for tomorrow or for the 2-6 slot on 98.5

???

Seriously?

This thread is only for rah-rah comments today>?

 

[Pape]

Based on game results today, and an assumption that Chargers will lose to Chiefs, Steelers will lose to Rams, and Dolphins will lose to Eagles later today/tomorrow:

Division winners:
Chiefs 6-1
Dolphins 5-2
Jaguars 5-2
Ravens 5-2
----
Wild card:
Buffalo 4-3
Colts 4-3
Steelers 3-3
----
Browns 3-3
Texans 3-3
Jets 3-3
Bengals 3-3
Raiders 3-4
Chargers 2-4
Titans 2-4
Patriots 2-5
Broncos 1-6

Patriots would only be 1.5 games behind the last wild card spot. Certainly not insurmountable. Plus many of the teams ahead of them have to play each other still, or still have to play several tough games. The Pats are mostly clearing their "tough" stretch.

If they can go 2-1 against Miami/Washington/Indianapolis before their bye week then I think they'll be primed to rest up and make a run after their bye against Giants/Chargers/Steelers/Chiefs/Broncos/Bills/Jets. That's a much softer slate - those are all teams they can beat if they play their A game like today, with the possible exception of KC, though maybe still.

Thanks for the update... Lot of football left

 

[sb1]

Picked the Pats in Dingleberry’s casino but well you know.

 

[lancerman]

Mac is exactly what the scouts said he would be. High floor low ceiling. Guys like that are pretty good when they are set up for success but they can’t make a team better than they are.

Which is why we need baselines to see if he can continue to have good games when you have good blocking and WR's making plays. The problem always was that too much is wrong with this team to get a proper evaluation on him. If he's someone you think we can win with when surrounded by talent, you start talking about drafting someone like Marvin Harrison Jr in the draft instead of Caleb Williams and start looking at stacking up the offensive line.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Mac has made mistakes, but Lowe makes more mistakes on a single drive than Mac has all season.

Today Mac hit guys down the middle of the field. Today the ball was out of Mac's hands with Brady-esque speed. Today Mac hit Parker in stride on a slant (which has been open all year). Why did all of that happen in Week 7 all of a sudden? Because of Pop Douglas? Because Onwenu was a RT?

Nope, it is on Mac. We will see if Mac continues, maybe he can since it is year 3, and he might have hit rock bottom against Dallas and New Orleans. I hope so. Mac has the skill set. He only needs to have confidence and play freely like he did today. Going back into the draft to pick another QB will take a long time to mature. Mac is our hope for a quick turnaround.