Relax

[skri65]

Some of you are clearly overreacting to the game today.

First off, there were a LOT of plusses to take away from the game today.

1.) Our Run D. was pretty incredible. I believe we held their rushing to a total of 50 some-odd yards or so (and they ran the ball a hefty amount too). Seau had a great game. We may have the best front 7 in the game.

2.) Our Pass Coverage was pretty solid too. I'm not going to say it was amazing, but it was impressive (more so in the first half, of course)

3.) Maroney and Dillon were, not surprisingly, great again. They both averaged more than 4.0 yards a carry. Our Running game this year is most certaintly something to be scared of.

4.) O-Line. No surprises here, our O-Line gave Brady much more time to throw than last week. O'Callighan continues to surprise me. Light played a better game. We have a very skilled very underrate line this year.

5.) We got CJ involved. Given, he only got 2 catches, they were 2 solid catches and one of them was a TD. Also, Maroney got his TD.

6.) We led 24-0. Jesus guys, that says something about our team. We aren't lacking in skill. We DOMINATED both sides of the game for more than half the game.

7.) The final drive, minus the blocked FG, had Patriots written all over it.

8.) The Cotchery play was a freak accident. Our DB's layed a solid hit on him. This was a momentum-changer, unfortunately.

As for the negatives, there's only 3 that come to mind.

1.) Brady isn't lacking in skill. Relax people. We all know he has it. His mind was somewhere else last week and it was somewhere else this week too. Give him a break. He'll pull it together. I think the fact that Troy is the only reciever he's comfortable with has taken a toll on his confidence level. As he grows more comfortable with CJ, Gabriel, and Caldwell, he'll show us once again the brilliance we all know he has.

2.) Tackling! Tackling! Tackling! This is what bugged me the most. BB is a great coach. He can teach these guys how to tackle. This is somethign that bugged me, but I don't think it's somethign that can't be improved upon.

3.) Play calling towards the end of the game. I saw no reason for that Gabriel throw/play. This will be improved as well.


Overall, Relax people. We're 2-0 and we have a easy schedule in front of us. The Dolphins aren't a real threat and the Bills aren't quite there yet. We're fine. We have 14 games left to sure up some holes (holes that can be sured up in a game or two).

 

[ctpatsfan1]

Jets were in this game at the end because of 4 plays

Cotchery TD
Coles TD
blitz and Brady fumble.
Brady INT - stupid play by Brady throwing (underthrowing) into double coverage.

Other than that the Patriots controlled this game.

 

[sieglo]

Pats dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. If you can do this consistently throughout the season, you are going to win games.

I am still predicting 16-0.

 

[Bella*chick]

I, for one, am not freaking out. I choose to believe the team that played in the first half is MUCH more representative of our team than the team in the second half. However, I think it is understandable to be a little peeved at the lack of concentration and focus that lead to a comeback that should not have happened. It's just frustration, but by no means, gloom and doom. I just know we can do better than we did in the second half.

 

[AirForcePatsFan]

What killed me as i was watching today. The defense continually giving up 3rd and long pass completions in the second half. I'm not talking about poor tackling because we all saw that first hand. If there was better coverage in the first place you don't have to worry about making a tackle. I mean its 3rd and long, you know they are going to pass. I remember pulling my hair out last year for the same reason.

 

[flutie2phelan]

The Bills game left me anxious and uncertain.

This game left me feeling much more secure and confident about what is to come.

 

[upstater1]

I have no problems with going for the long ball in that situation. Hitting Gabriel for a 60 yard TD makes teams think about us in future weeks. Now, I will say that brady better think of overthrowing that ball, not underthrowing it. Gabriel was wide open.

 

[onegameatatime]

Jets were in this game at the end because of 4 plays

Cotchery TD
Coles TD
blitz and Brady fumble.
Brady INT - stupid play by Brady throwing (underthrowing) into double coverage.

Other than that the Patriots controlled this game.

I'm not freaking out, but saying that we were in control except for 4 plays about describes our exit from last year's playoffs.

 

[mgteich]

If people are upset over this game, I suspect that they will ahve a very long season.

There are 2 question marks -
1) Can the OL keep Brady from being blindsided?
2) How good is our pass-defense?

The rest was awesome. BTW, I had predicted a couple of big passing plays, plus the resultant whining. The team can tackle.

Sure, if the team played this way in the playoffs, we would likely lose. So what! There will have many improvements by them, primarily the gelling of the OT and the wide receivers learning the offense.

 

[zippo59]

As well as better communication by the secondary. The unit was completelt different last year when they had some time to play with eachother than when it was a revolving door of players.

 

[rabthepat]

OK I am relaxed. I actually verified myself to be relaxed. I wasn't near the end of the game though. I agree with all your points. I would also add that I would like our defense to lay some wood on the opposition. Ok so the jets get lucky on that Cotchery play. Fine, then our D should bit*h slap them the next time they get the ball. Make a statement. Do some intimidating.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

1) Can the OL keep Brady from being blindsided?

Can Brady keep Brady from being blindsided? He blew at least one protection call that I saw.

 

[Willie55]

Other than I thought Brady had a bad game, every else was positive.

The momentum changer was the Crotchery TD.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Jets were in this game at the end because of 4 plays

Cotchery TD
Coles TD
blitz and Brady fumble.
Brady INT - stupid play by Brady throwing (underthrowing) into double coverage.

Other than that the Patriots controlled this game.

Actually, I'd replace one of those TDs with Wilfork's mental mistake (the roughing the passer penalty that set it up in the first place). . . .

 

[ctpatsfan77]

I mean its 3rd and long, you know they are going to pass. I remember pulling my hair out last year for the same reason.

Yeah, I was suffering from a bit of shell shock seeing the D morph into the first-half-of-2005 D in the second half.

 

[patsox23]

minor point, but gabriel HAS to do a better job breaking up the INT.

 

[chunkypony]

thank you, i am not freaking out at all. We all know that these arent the same Jets, I mean, they are coached by a guy who knows our team VERY VERY well. These arent your 2003-2005 NYJ. This is a new team that is young but might be a challenge sooner rather than later. My three points of concern are:

Pass Defense (especially on third down, as noted above)
Protection (not just OL, but also Brady's calls) and Brady surviving the season
Chemistry in the WR core

other than those three aspects, i think we have a solid team, and these things can be taken care of with practice; no personnel will need to be changed.

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

minor point, but gabriel HAS to do a better job breaking up the INT.

I thought the samething when it happened, but if you look at the replay Brady underthrew him, he was open! He did at least make sure the guy was down.

Brady simple was not sharpe again yesterday, maybe there is something to him being listed as "probable" every week. Does he get an injection prior to the game? What is really wrong with his shoulder? or is it just him and his recievers not on the same page yet?

The Pats looked great, and the Jets got lucky, Jackson made a very nice catch and will be a player, The run defense was absolutely incredible yesterday (Albiet the Jets can't run the ball). Bruschi looked great, and how bout that opening linebackers lineup Colvin, Bruschi, Seau, Vrabel! That is some serious pro-bowl caliber talent! Once again, no one in the NFL, (not even Baltimore) has more talent in the front seven (Seymour, Wilfork, Warren, and Green + the LBs) than the Pats! SO for all the talk about no-name players ans schemes, in the end the Pats are good, because they have some of the best players in the league up front! This is a SB caliber team, no matter what the guys at ESPN say.