Random thoughts going through my head

[SuperPatsFan]

Now for Brady...

Are you saying Brady's done?

 

[The_Riddler]

"Now for Brady. I love Tom Brady; I even put his name in the "from" part on some of my boys Christmas gifts. I want my sons to see him as part human, part mythical figure. But Brady sucked tonight. Where was the Brady from Pitt yelling "we need to be perfect on every play!"? You know, the QB who is probably going to be named MVP in a couple weeks. Because all I saw was some guy who was going through the motions. I imagine getting sacked 5 times doesn't help, but still...Tom looked like he could have cared less. All that sh!t they talked all week, and that's how our team leader comes out? Tom is morphing into Peyton Manning (on the field). Great regular season QB, but someone we cannot count on in playoff games. Before I get bashed, ask yourself when Tom's last good playoff game was? 07 vs. Jacksonville. Before that? SB39, maybe that Jets Wild Card game in 06. It's depressing that the guy who was so clutch in the past isn't playing like that anymore."

You look at him out there during these last 3 playoff games and the common thing you see here is this. It seems like as soon as he gets hit the first couple of times from an OLine breakdown, he tends to morph towards that "Deer in the headlights" guy that we've seen all to often now in the POs, where he almost waits and expects to get hit instead of maintaining his focus and staying the course. He never used to be like this, in the last 4 years or so, for some reason, he's different now during the big moments. His focus goes down the crapper and he almost appears to feel sorry for himself. Man I wish his PO fire would come back esp when things go wrong early.

 

[JackBauer]

Not sure why you'd largely absolve Chung and excoriate Meriweather when it was Chung who was torched by Cotchery in the first quarter. If it were Aaron Rodgers (or any other decent QB making that throw), that's a long gainer and possibly a touchdown.

 

[The_Riddler]

Not sure why you'd largely absolve Chung and excoriate Meriweather when it was Chung who was torched by Cotchery in the first quarter. If it were Aaron Rodgers (or any other decent QB making that throw), that's a long gainer and possibly a touchdown.

HI Jack, what was that Clay Matthews trade again?

 

[DaBruinz]

Our team, again, showed up small in a big game. Going through the team: The depleted DL seemed to be the only ones playing really hard, and it just wasn't enough. The LB's were lackluster at best...the middle of the field was wide open Where was Spikes the whole first half? CB's; Devin McCourty must be feared, since it seemed like they rarely threw at him. But Butler and Arrington looked like chumps tonight. Arrington has been playing over his head all season, I guess this is what happens when those types come back to earth. Can Bodden fill that hole next year? S's; James Sanders was another that came back to earth after a pretty great season. Chung was good (I don't fault him for the fake punt, what a STUPID play with 1:30 left in the half), I really don't remember much about him. The 1st and 2nd year players, like I was worried about, looked like they were awestruck/nervous/something this whole game. Maybe it's the growing pains of a young team, I don't know. Now, Brandon Meriweather. Ugh. I have been pulling for him all season, but I give up. Getting dragged into the end zone was my breaking point. I get you're going for the strip, but there gets to be a point where just tackling is ok. Try it. I bought his jersey when he was drafted and have worn it almost every game. Since then; 18-1, Brady's ACL tear, Ravens b!tchslapping us at home, Jets b!tchslapping us at home. Call me superstitious or whatever, but it is currently sitting in my trashcan. We need a real safety. He can stay for now, but please draft a replacement. If by some miracle a new CBA is in place before the draft, trade him to the highest bidder. He is not going to be another Rodney, Ed Reed, or Polamalu. He's at his peak. Sad.

How did Butler and Arrington look like chumps?? Butler got beat on 1 beautiful pass by Sanchez to Edwards.. Other than that, their coverage was excellent..

How did Sanders "come back to earth?" Are you referring to the PI call?

Are you going to fault McCourty for getting dragged into the endzone as well ??? Or are you going to be a hypocrite about it?

Offense: The OL keeps screwing us in big games, and I am tired of it. Besides Volmer and Mankins, they are expendable. I've had it with them letting Brady get clobbered when it matters most. The TE's looked like, well, rookies. I said before the game that I was nervous about these 1st and 2nd year players, and I was sickeningly right. WTF happened to Hernandez? Why did Gronk's first catch come in the 3rd? How did Crumpler drop that TD? Ugh, terrible. The RB's played pretty well. BJGE always seemed to produce, and Woodhead was fine, but covered really well. They learned their lesson from the last game, and weren't going to let Woodhead beat them again. Tonight was the very first time I said "Boy, I wish we still had Randy Moss." I know it's been touched on in other threads, so I won't get into it. But the Jets had no one deep, because they didn't need to. Welker and Branch are fine going into next year. Edelman looked like the one guy out there who actually cared, and played well. Tate needs work but I thought he did ok...that pass he missed was on Brady IMHO. And his endaround was good. But we're missing something.

I agree about the O-line. Koppen looked terrible again as I've mentioned before. In fact, the pressure basically came from the right side A and B gaps with Koppen blowing the calls, imho.

As for Gronk and Hernandez, you do realize that the Jets were flooding the middle of the field, right? And that most of the passes during the season went to the middle of the field. So that took away a good section of the passing game.. Honestly, I felt that there were some plays that Brady could have made, but that is beside the point.

And finally the coaching. Hated the fake punt call. Hated it. You don't do that with 1:30 left in the half. I am all for gutsy playcalling, but that was just trying to be way too cute and blew up in our faces. Also, I HATE when we get down and immediatley ditch the running game. BJGE was running well, let him get a few more chances. I also miss the bubble screens to guys. Everyone used to catch those; Wes, Stallworth, Moss, Gaffney. I think Edleman has 2 today, and that was it. Branch and Welker are quick, get them moving in traffic and get a few yards.

Sorry if this post bothers anyone. I am not trying to bash any players unnecessarily, I am just giving my overly emotional post game thoughts. I was trying to explain to my older son how sometimes the right person/people don't always win. Today in Foxboro, thuggery and unmitigated trash talk prevailed. The bully won. And it is sickening.

As for going off about Chung and the fake punt. Had it worked, you'd have been praising BB as a genius. Instead, he put his faith in Chung, Chung dropped the ball, and you are going off on him? You either give the guy the credit or you don't.

I felt that the fake punt was the correct call because it certainly caught the Jets by surprise and it would have worked had Chung not fumbled. Why would it have worked? Because Coleman took himself out of the play by running up field so far. Chung had the whole right side to run and he'd have easily gotten the 1st down. Now, that being said, I'd have preferred the Pats to send Brady and the offense out there and either spread the defense out and run a QB sneak or try to draw the Jets off-sides.

 

[blackglass3]

Sorry, DaBruinz. I am not looking for an argument and am not claiming to be an X's and O's expert. They were just feelings from last night. I would imagine, from a coaching standpoint, alot of them aren't correct. I am just saying what I remembered from a game where I was an emotional wreck pretty much from kickoff.

I am a fan; a diehard, passionate, live and die by the Patriots fan. I do not work for the Patriots, I do not play for the Patriots. The lowest intern in Foxboro knows more than I probably ever will; and a fair amount of posters do, too (PatFanKen comes to mind). So if you're going to bash the crap out of my feelings from last night, go ahead.

 

[blackglass3]

Are you saying Brady's done?

No, not at all.

Not sure why you'd largely absolve Chung and excoriate Meriweather when it was Chung who was torched by Cotchery in the first quarter. If it were Aaron Rodgers (or any other decent QB making that throw), that's a long gainer and possibly a touchdown.

I think it's fair to say everyone in the secondary was torched at one point or another. I am just willing to give Chung more of a chance because he's younger and will hopefully learn from his mistakes.

HI Jack, what was that Clay Matthews trade again?

************, would you just f#cking let it go? WE GET IT, you wanted Clay Matthews. If you're such a genius, go apply for a job on the scouting staff. I am sure they are hiring.

 

[upstater1]

I agree with some of what you said, especially about the pass rush but I definitely disagree on the criticism about Arrington and Butler.

McCourty is inconspicuous because he's left out of your criticism on the Edwards TD at the end of the half. He needed to bring Edwards down. You can't cut him slack and give Arrington/Butler grief, when they only gave up one big play all night.

On the Butler play, he stuck on Edwards all the way downfield... but Sanchez literally had 7 seconds to throw. No pass rush. He was even pointing at Edwards for heaven's sake. The Santonio Holmes TD was indefensible, a great pass and great catch. I don't see the point at all in getting on Arrington and Butler.

The lack of a pass rush had a lot to do with things.

Going into next year, if I'm the Patriots, I take Akeem Ayers/Von Miller with the first pick and then a stud DE like Allen Bailey with the second pick.

They need a lot more help on the front 7, that much is obvious.

Obviously, they need a WR too. I hear Vincent Jackson is available.,

 

[The_Riddler]

Going into next year, if I'm the Patriots, I take Akeem Ayers/Von Miller with the first pick and then a stud DE like Allen Bailey with the second pick.

They need a lot more help on the front 7, that much is obvious.

Obviously, they need a WR too. I hear Vincent Jackson is available.,

Upstater? You are waving the white flag on Brandon Tate ? Why?

 

[sieglo]

Are you going to fault McCourty for getting dragged into the endzone as well ??? Or are you going to be a hypocrite about it?

FWIW, McCourty wasn't really dragged into the EZ. He was trying to punch out the ball rather than 100% focused on making the tackle. Which in that situation might have been the better play to try to make.

 

[sieglo]

Upstater? You are waving the white flag on Brandon Tate ? Why?

Because he's about as threatening as a wet fart.

 

[Keyser Söze]

Upstater? You are waving the white flag on Brandon Tate ? Why?

Tate is a good #4/5 at best, nothing more.

 

[The_Riddler]

Tate is a good #4/5 at best, nothing more.

Ya Think????

 

[shakadave]

The Santonio Holmes TD was indefensible, a great pass and great catch. I don't see the point at all in getting on Arrington and Butler.

If you look back at recent playoff wins by the Steelers and Jets, you'll find that nearly every game, Santonio Holmes makes an amazing catch (getting two feet in, etc.) to help win or flat-out win the game. To me it always feels like bad luck that the QB threw it so perfectly, since 12 inches in either direction and the play fails.

 

[JeffChicago23]

I didnt have a problem with the fake punt but had it been executed to perfection we could have had gained 50+ yards that right sideline was wide open with no Jet in sight, unless if Sam Aloosi showed up, but instead Patrick Chung bobbled the snap and went to the left and it blew up in our face.