Same Old Board

[Ian]

There was so much that was encouraging last night -- Cassel's poise, the play of the O-line, the fact that the secondary didn't give up big plays, the running game, the defense against the run. Overall, the discipline and concentration in a hostile atmosphere.

Now all we need is a pass rush, some effective red zone passes and some pass plays above ten yards and we'll have a pretty decent team.

I was impressed with the sustained drives and the clock management last night. My biggest concern (which only happened on Indy's second posession of 9-minutes) was that the Colts would eat the clock and march up and down the field and score points, which is what had happened historically. I was worried that Cassel would struggle and we'd see too many failed 3rd down conversions, and that the defense would stay out there and tire. Instead he kept the chains moving and put together some great drives and it's astonishing to think that we held such a time of possession edge against a team that one would have thought may have taken it to them. I thought if it came down to a "shootout" they'd be in trouble, but instead Cassel matched Manning drive for drive and did everything he could have done to put them in position to win. A dropped pass and a penalty were all it took to let that one get away, and at 5-3 the future really doesn't look that bad at all if they're only going to continue to get better.

I was also impressed with the speed at the linebacker position, and was impressed with how well Mayo played last night. The middle of the field was something that Manning really used to exploit, and all of a sudden they don't look as vulnerable there on defense or out in the flats as they used to. I have to say I'm looking forward to these last 8-games...I think they'll be in contention and as usual it will come down to who is playing well when the postseason gets here. Needless to say as a Patriots fan it's been a different type of year, and one that is getting more and more interesting each week

 

[BradyFTW!]

I'm usually one of the most even minded people on here but you have to admit the Thomas foul was ridiculous. There is abolsutely no excuse for that whatsoever. Am I blaming the entire loss on him? No. Because it's too easy to spread the blame. Do I think we SHOULD have won that game if not for his penalty? Yes I do. Field goal range, time about to expire, and going into overtime where a coin flip would have determined the outcome of the game (and if we got it, we would have won. The Colts let us move the ball on them all day last night).

Agreed. I'm not going to rake anyone over the coals for this loss... except Thomas. Dumb penalties are never acceptable, and dumb 15 yarders on 3rd down, when down 3 on a long drive with no timeouts in the fourth quarter... that's about as unacceptable as it gets. Everything else I can more or less write off under '**** happens', but personal fouls like that are always avoidable by just not being an idiot.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

I came here today with the following thuoughts in mind:
-Tough loss. Felt we had the game in hand, then that penalty happened, and all of sudden we are out of time.
-That was the fastest game I can ever remember
-Disappointing way to lose, but I feel better about the rest of the season after that game than I did before it
-Rough call on Thomas, looked like the right call, but hard to villify a guy for playing hard. Damn how does Gaffney not catch that? First 50+ FG in SEVEN YEARS????
-And finally, that was a good game, touch one to lose, I thought we played well on the road, and very much deserved to win, I wonder what Patsfans are saying, and.....
.....I come here and see a slew of people feeling the need to assign blame and criticize.
Still havent figured out how choosing a player or coach to place blame on makes someone feel better about a loss.

Not sure I agree. Well, OK. Of course there were a few of the doom and gloom posts that Ian has pretty much sidelined and that many of us just ignore as ill informed and childish. but I also thought there was some good discussion acknowledging a strong performance with some mistakes that cost the game.

i have decided not to treat the team like "the poor, brave patriots playing so gallantly without tom brady, etc" but rather like the patriots of the past few seasons.

thinking like that, i see a team that played a pretty good game. but i would disagree with your overall assessment.

on the thomas penalty. it was boneheaded and wouldn't have been excused in years past on a team that prided itself on disciplined execution. this wasn't a guy "playing hard" it was a guy playing stupid. Gaffney's paid to make tough catches, but that one wasn't tough, according to people who know more about this than I do. it was right in his hands.

the margin for error when good teams play good teams (and the 2008 Patriots are a good team, not some weak version of their former selves, deserving a pat on the back for a good effort) is very small and those two plays put the pats outside that margin last night. and if you can look at some of BB's decisions and not say he had an off night, then you were'nt watching the same game I was watching.

so, i don't think you have to be focused solely on the need to "assign blame and criticize" to take the view that the pats gave away a game they that they could/should have won last night, unless we're judging them by a different standard than we've come to expect in the Belichick era.

 

[DarrylS]

I came here today with the following thuoughts in mind:
-Tough loss. Felt we had the game in hand, then that penalty happened, and all of sudden we are out of time.
-That was the fastest game I can ever remember
-Disappointing way to lose, but I feel better about the rest of the season after that game than I did before it
-Rough call on Thomas, looked like the right call, but hard to villify a guy for playing hard. Damn how does Gaffney not catch that? First 50+ FG in SEVEN YEARS????
-And finally, that was a good game, touch one to lose, I thought we played well on the road, and very much deserved to win, I wonder what Patsfans are saying, and.....
.....I come here and see a slew of people feeling the need to assign blame and criticize.

Still havent figured out how choosing a player or coach to place blame on makes someone feel better about a loss.

It was kind of like a series of unfortunate events, the Thomas hit did not seem all that bad.. the play was continuing and he had his back to the ball carrier. Could not tell when the whistle blew.

Very impressed with Cassel being able to control the clock, Jarvis Green Ellis' running, Faulk of course.. and the way they used Moss to neutralized Bob Sanders.. the D game plan was good, considering our patchwork secondary.

This loss had to do with a bunch of little things, and those are the things we are not accustomed to seeing in this team. Considering how we looked against San Diego 3 weeks ago, this was a very encouraging game.

 

[DSal]

I'm not sure that I can form an opinion on the Thomas penalty - was it someone playing hard that didn't hear the whistle or was it just a bone head play? I just don't know. Gaffney's drop? - HUGE. Some of the coaching decisions were baffling.

With that said, I'm able to take a look at this game and realize we're disappointed with what amounts to be a small group of plays out of 60 minutes of football against the Indianapolis Colts. Take away the fact we lost (yes I know that's all that matters) and we come away from this with many more positives than negatives. The offensive game plan was a thing of beauty in terms of controlling the game. The Colts offense was kept off the field for long periods of time and ran only 51 plays vs. 67 for the Pats offense. The defensive game plan worked well in terms of stuffing the run, forcing the Colts to be one dimensional. The speed that we are able to exhibit on the defensive side of the ball is a huge plus. Cassel looked poised and under control more so than he has in the past. The coaching, for the most part, was spot on. This has developed into a team that is starting to hit it's stride at the halfway point of the season. The next 8 games are going to be a lot of fun to watch.

 

[RussFrancis]

I havent yet posted any comments on the other night's loss. And sure it sucks to see all those 'gaffs' at various times that cost the team the game. But my guess is that the L would be a little more tolerable to that incredibly frustrated group of fans if it had been versus any other team. But against the COLTS? A loss like that? When we had the chance to step on their throat and basically put a dagger in their season? My guess is that's the true source of frustration over this one. Not so much our boys not getting the win. Theyre obviously improving and right in the middle of the race. But to allow that team(the Colts) even the slightest glimmer of hope when they could have really been on their last ropes. Tough pill to swallow. I truly cannot stand that team.

 

[Julius]

I'm encouraged by the play of the defense in that game. Mayo and Guyton played very well againts a tuff offense. Mayo was covering Clark much of the time and the added speed at linebacker helped stop many short passes to Addai from turning into big gains. The defensive backfield played decently especially considering how young they are. When was the last time the Pats held a Peton Manning led Colts team to under 20 points? They did this without blitzing or getting many turnovers.
The offensive game plan was brilliant considering the state of the backfield. All those draws and screens kept the Colts d -line guessing and didn't allow Mathis or Freeney to make a huge impact. Aside from a few critical miscues from coaching staff and a coup[le players this was a encouraging game.

 

[JoeSixPat]

I came here today with the following thuoughts in mind:
-Tough loss. Felt we had the game in hand, then that penalty happened, and all of sudden we are out of time.
-That was the fastest game I can ever remember
-Disappointing way to lose, but I feel better about the rest of the season after that game than I did before it
-Rough call on Thomas, looked like the right call, but hard to villify a guy for playing hard. Damn how does Gaffney not catch that? First 50+ FG in SEVEN YEARS????
-And finally, that was a good game, touch one to lose, I thought we played well on the road, and very much deserved to win, I wonder what Patsfans are saying, and.....
.....I come here and see a slew of people feeling the need to assign blame and criticize.

Still havent figured out how choosing a player or coach to place blame on makes someone feel better about a loss.

Funny - I had the exact opposite reaction.

I look around at the threads and see the vast majority of fans recognizing how far this team has come, recognizing how the team has pulled together since the humiliating loss to the Dolphins - to the point where most threads are focusing on the positives of this game as they should be, and how well positioned the team is to equal or improve upon a 5-3 start in the first half of the season.

There's always some who like to nitpick - and in a game like Sundays where there was a key drop, a key penalty, a blown call, and even some questionable judgment from the coaching staff, that's to be expected.

I guess people see what they want to see - and my observation is that Patriots fans are pretty savvy. Most of them know quality play when they see it in a loss to Indy, and most of them know very poor play that they witnessed against the Fins, and they have acted accordingly in each case.

 

[JAYHAWKS34]

I came here today with the following thuoughts in mind:
-Tough loss. Felt we had the game in hand, then that penalty happened, and all of sudden we are out of time.
-That was the fastest game I can ever remember
-Disappointing way to lose, but I feel better about the rest of the season after that game than I did before it
-Rough call on Thomas, looked like the right call, but hard to villify a guy for playing hard. Damn how does Gaffney not catch that? First 50+ FG in SEVEN YEARS????
-And finally, that was a good game, touch one to lose, I thought we played well on the road, and very much deserved to win, I wonder what Patsfans are saying, and.....
.....I come here and see a slew of people feeling the need to assign blame and criticize.

Still havent figured out how choosing a player or coach to place blame on makes someone feel better about a loss.

You will always get people doing that

 

[letekro]

Funny - I had the exact opposite reaction.

I look around at the threads and see the vast majority of fans recognizing how far this team has come, recognizing how the team has pulled together since the humiliating loss to the Dolphins - to the point where most threads are focusing on the positives of this game as they should be, and how well positioned the team is to equal or improve upon a 5-3 start in the first half of the season.

There's always some who like to nitpick - and in a game like Sundays where there was a key drop, a key penalty, a blown call, and even some questionable judgment from the coaching staff, that's to be expected.

I guess people see what they want to see - and my observation is that Patriots fans are pretty savvy. Most of them know quality play when they see it in a loss to Indy, and most of them know very poor play that they witnessed against the Fins, and they have acted accordingly in each case.

Well put. I came to this board expecting to find a condescending, self-righteous post by Andy Johnson, and.....I got exactly what I expected!

 

[Ring 6]

Well put. I came to this board expecting to find a condescending, self-righteous post by Andy Johnson, and.....I got exactly what I expected!

I guess that makes me consistent.