Patriots vs. Colts Post-Game Thread

[Oswlek]

the Colts' D was not inspiring fear in many people before and certainly not after that game.

That is a different statement entirely from the one you originally contested. And I didn't "pull out whatever stat I wanted" I listed pretty much every meaningful one (and a few not-so-meaningful ones). FWIW, Indy was 9th in defensive DVOA before being dismantled by Pitt so the statement that they were considered good with one major blemish is pretty much spot on.

In fact when taken in context, my original argument was that NE has things to work on despite the win.

Of course. That is always the case.

 

[Ivan]

27th ranked in what? Even after NE steamrolling them, Indy is 24th in ypg, 16th in defensive PR, 30th in rushing ypc (though only 17th in rushing ypg!) and they were 18th in defensive DVOA heading into the game. An average defense by nearly every measure, certainly not terrible.

Did you predict that NE would run for over 200 yards on them?

Luck scared the hell out of me, especially if he got them up early, however I wasn't the least bit surprised by the Patriots ability to run the way they did given the way the game went. The Colts simply are not able to match the Patriots offense physically and the Patriots have been able to run the ball right down their throats the last two times they have met, and I would expect thee same thing to happen if they meet again this season. The Colts do not have the personnel defensively to stop the Patriots run game, and that was obvious when the Patriots basically declared runs pre-snap and ran with impunity. If I were on the Colts staff I would not want to face the Patriots again until they have brought in players who can stand up to them physically, and that will take a number of changes on D.

 

[OhExaulted1]

Yeah, I was legitimately concerned when Fleming hobbled off the field late in the game, but the camera caught him chumming it up afterward, so I have to assume it isn't a season ender.

As for KC, I have to admit to not feeling the concern everyone else seems to. They were seriously outplayed in Buffalo and then had a nail biter at home against a Seattle team that is secretly mediocre. With games against Denver, @Arizona and @Pitt, there is no way they run the table. Even 12-4 would shock me.

Agreed. Not terrified by Alex Smith at all. Just would rather not see us have to revisit Arrowhead.

 

[Ivan]

Agreed. Not terrified by Alex Smith at all. Just would rather not see us have to revisit Arrowhead.

If they see the Chefs again I really believe it will be in Foxborough and Belichick will have the game plan to get them the win. I love this team, they have all the ingredients to get them a Lombardi and none of the concerns we have had in recent years. I have felt that Belichick's focus the past few years has been to give Brady a top 5 defenses and see what he can do with that and this is the result. Really good offensive balance and a top 5 defense, just what they need to make the playoff run.

 

[vyrago]

I don't know, I hate politics so much I never saw that result. However if she is that means Scott Brown will be running for whatever seat he can find in Maine in a couple of years. He just needs a little time to move his stuff and claim he is actually from here.

Charlie Pierce referred to Jean Shaheen as the senator with the Dr. Seuss tribute name.

 

[DaBruinz]

BTW - I hope Sergio Brown gets fined for punching Gronk in the face on Gray's 4th TD run (the one where Gronk threw Brown to the ground out of bounds).. I fully could understand why Gronk did it after seeing his bloody mouth..

 

[DaBruinz]

And this is without the D having any pass rush. Should get even better when Jones gets back.

Not sure what game you watched, but they had plenty of pass rush.. They got Luck off his spot several times..

 

[DaBruinz]

Heres the block

BTW - That is former Pat Sergio Brown that Gronk is locked up with.. And what the ref didn't see is that Brown busted open Gronk's mouth before that.. That's why Gronk took him to the ground..

 

[ensoul]

Well beside Brady not playing all that well there is not much to complain about. Gray was an absolute beast, defense was good and Brady was spreading the ball around.

Right now the pats appear to be the best team in the AFC. Tough three games coming up as well.

Here is the pats next few games

Lions
@Packers
@Chargers.

Broncos have:
Dolphins
@chiefs
Bills


Broncos have a much easier schedule so it is great they lost against the Rams yesterday. Its critical that the pats have home field this playoffs.

 

[DaBruinz]

Some of you are acting like I said they had a bad game. Brady threw two INT's. The Patriots, who already lead the league in penalties, had some that could have been avoided. A better D tonight would have made for a closer game. The Colts have a terrible D so they could not take advantage of NE's mistake, other than the one touchdown on a very short field. A better defensive team, and that game would not have been so easy.

I am very happy with the win and I will reiterate that it was a very solid win overall. However, there's plenty to clean up and I'm sure you'll hear as much in the post game talk.

They had 5 Penalties and 2 turnovers.. The Illegal block in the back on Tavon Wilson wasn't. The call on Butler was marginal at best.

The call on Gronk was a result of Brown punching him in the face to start the play. So Gronk drove him to the ground out of bounds. I have no issue with that.

The two turnovers by Brady, only one was Brady's fault, the 2nd one. He should have taken the sack..

 

[manxman2601]

Interesting fact. In 2007, we topped forty points four times in the whole season. we've already done that in 2014.

I should note that there were 4x38 point and 3x34 points as well in '07 though. I do think it says something about the level our offense is playing at right now however.

 

[RobertWeathers]

The two turnovers by Brady, only one was Brady's fault, the 2nd one. He should have taken the sack..

The throw to Tymes was pretty bad as well...

 

[kennyb]

I thought LaFell...played very well.

 

[Oswlek]

Not sure what game you watched, but they had plenty of pass rush.. They got Luck off his spot several times..

It wasn't dominant, but it was successful. And it is very likely that they were being overly cognizant of rush lanes to contain Luck in the pocket.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

remember this after the KC game?

"The Patriots just aren't good anymore" trent dilfer Idiot

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Even with the W...Browner had a rough go of it last night on Fleener when he was matched up on him

But i want to give a lot of credit to Arrington. Matched up on Hilton A LOT last night and held him to nothing

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

It is clear that Browner is not very fast, quite slow for a CB. Better coordination with the safety up top is in order.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

It is clear that Browner is not very fast, quite slow for a CB. Better coordination with the safety up top is in order.

We all knew this when we signed him becasue we saw it in Seattle. Better to get very physical on line quick and then help over top a little but more

 

[pencilneckgeek]

27th ranked in what? Even after NE steamrolling them, Indy is 24th in ypg, 16th in defensive PR, 30th in rushing ypc (though only 17th in rushing ypg!) and they were 18th in defensive DVOA heading into the game. An average defense by nearly every measure, certainly not terrible.

Did you predict that NE would run for over 200 yards on them?

To answer your question literally, even thoough I can't speak for Patsboy, they are 27th in Expected Points Added (EPA) and EPA per play, but that just shows how they have played from ahead and allowed yardage, if it eats up the clock. They are 14th in Win Probability Added (WPA), which accounts for game situation. Those stats combined are reasonably consistent with the DVOA value that you quoted (a stat manufactured from a series of subjective judgments that tries to get at points and wins) and indicate a mediocre defense that can manage a game when their offense is lighting it up, as it does most weeks.

I hadn't really given the offensive gameplan much thought, figuring simply that the Pats defense would slow down Luck better than Indy's defense would Brady. The running game was a welcome revelation, because nothing is more fun than an old-fashioned beat-down. It's going to be interesting to see whether Indy has been exposed and will now be vulnerable to lesser teams than the Pats, like Cincy and Chicago were once Belichick was done with them.

 

[Ivan]

Interesting fact. In 2007, we topped forty points four times in the whole season. we've already done that in 2014.

I should note that there were 4x38 point and 3x34 points as well in '07 though. I do think it says something about the level our offense is playing at right now however.

The thing I am most impressed with is the versatility. Even though Gronk is all world they have a variety of options and can put up points many ways. They aren't focused on two guys the way the 2007 team was and that should really help in the Playoffs.