Thank You For Your Service B.O.B. - Why Don't You Start FT at PSU Now

[shmessy]

There was nothing wrong w the play call, for the last time. Brady didn't have to throw the ball. He could've dumped it underneath to Welker or thrown it out of bounds. He made a mistake, and fortunately, the team was able to recover. He won't make that mistake again in 2 weeks you can be sure.

It's the ENTIRE body of work in that game that is being discussed.

And I have nothing against BOB. Thought he did a GREAT job this year. But NOW, he's dealing with taking over a major college program in a very heated atmosphere with a (now) recently deceased and beloved predecessor.

How can THAT now NOT be a distraction?

Crennel was replacing some jamoke in Cleveland as was Weis in South Bend. Neither were facing riots in the streets over their predecessors.

Also, there were no former OC's sitting in the press box behind them.

This is a very different situation.

 

[shmessy]

I don't know Darryl but i think the Ravens Choked the game away. That was a great play by the DB knocking the ball out of Lee Evans hands but if it was ruled a TD on the field i'm not sure it would have been reversed. Watching it, it seemed it could have just as easily called the other way. And the kicker spit the bit on that tying FG.

I can't see the Giants making those same mistakes.

Ask Kyle Williams if the NY Giants got any lucky breaks last night.

 

[Betterthanmost]

I'm sorry, but that was a ridiculously badly called offensive game yesterday.

BJGE/Woody and the OL are PLOWING the Ravens down the middle consistently - - - so let's go AWAY from that!

Let's start lofting post passes to midget Julian Edelman!!!

The Pats D FINALLY gets the big key INT turnover with 7 minutes to go in the game at the 50 yd line. Yeah, don't take time off the clock with the punishing run game - - have Brady heave it up in double coverage to......get this - - - 5 foot zero Safety Matthew Slater.

I think Josh can handle things from here. We need a FULL-TIME OC.

I don't know why I am still angry with the call to bomb to Slater. It does not matter but I am still seething.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

We don't know that, unless you review the tape and discover everybody else was covered on that play as well.

Given that Slater was double-covered, I'm guessing that in fact somebody else was pretty open.

We do know that without even reviewing the tape because he could have thrown it away if a checkdown wasn't available. Taking a sack there isn't even the end of the world.

That said, for those who disremember...this was a play right out of Charlie Weis playbook. The problem was we don't have the personnel to execute it well enough to pull it out in an AFCC game where we're up by 3 with less than 3 minutes remaining. Brady has now further said in his AM spot on WEEI that it was the play that kept him up all night.

 

[Deus Irae]

The bomb call was monumentally stupid, but the people crying for the running game are missing part of the equation. The reason the running game was working was because of how it was being used. If the Patriots had used it differently, it would likely not have worked as well.

 

[FalconHeavy]

I don't know why I am still angry with the call to bomb to Slater. It does not matter but I am still seething.

I still can't get over it ! Also the fact that they couldn't get that crucial first down that would have sealed the game. Not even attempted to run with Benny or woody

 

[goheels22002]

I agree with everybody who is not blaming Bill O'Brien for yesterday's grinder.

I agree that the bomb was a bad idea at that point in the game, but Brady already said he saw something and he took a shot at the end zone right after Spikes' interception - gutsy. If Slater catches it, B.O.B. is a genius and we'll miss him. The play by Smith and Pollard was spectacular to get the interception - unbelievably great. If that is what it takes, so be it.

Nobody called for O'Brien's head after the 45-10 rout of the Broncos. The Patriots played a great Ravens defense and got out of there by the skin of their teeth, with Brady having an off day. Yay!

The first interception on the throw to Edelman was completely Brady's fault, and the pass to Hernandez that HOFer Ed Reed batted down was also a poor read by Brady - good idea, but Hernandez was covered.

Bill O'Brien is lucky, by the way, that Joe Paterno took his mortal leave this week. O'Brien will be coming off a trip to the Super Bowl, Paterno will be out of the picture and not up in the press box next fall, there will be no creepy trial of an old man on negligence charges or lawsuits by victims for his money, and the Penn State alumni won't have an option to call for Paterno to be brought back in some capacity.

I still think O'Brien's nuts for taking that particular job with zero head coaching experience in that sort of an environment. He has a better shot now at success than if the Pats lost and if Joe Pa had survived and there was an option to give him some emeritus role in the PSU football program.

I thought PSU should have emptied the vault for a bigger-than-life personality like Jimmy Johnson to come in for three years and set the program on a new course. No one would have cared if he won or lost and he could shield the football program while the Sandusky trial and civil suits unfold. What a mess.

Good luck to Bill O'Brien and good luck to the Paterno family as they start working on healing from all they've been through. Prayers for the victims of the Sandusky crimes as this thing grinds on with civil and criminal trials. This mess has a long way to go.

 

[Tunescribe]

The long bomb INT was really brady. He even admits to Tom curran here
Curran: Imperfect Patriots finding ways to win



Even if BOB called it Iam sure he assumed that just like every play, if the called play is not there go somewhere else with the ball.

Even then, it was a ridiculous circus play by the Ravens to intercept it. But it definitely should not have been thrown.

The play concept was a good one, though. Slater is our fastest wideout and they hoped to catch the Ravens napping.

 

[PatsDeb]

I didn't really have a problem with the call, just Brady throwing it when he saw the coverage. Now that I think about it, this bomb is what the Pats (and other teams) do when they get a deflating turnover. Put the dagger all the way in. The Ravens were obviously ready for it, so there should have been an alternate play in mind if Slater was covered. Just blindly heaving it was stupid. Brady just had an off day. It's like he panics in recent years when he hits a rough patch in a big game. I was marveling during the game that they really were moving the ball most of the time, then they would stall in the redzone or Brady would throw a dumb INT.

He needs to calm down and focus when things get a little rough and he will be fine. We shouldn't change them that brung ya to the dance. We are who we are. Let's GO!!!

 

[DarrylS]

I don't know Darryl but i think the Ravens Choked the game away. That was a great play by the DB knocking the ball out of Lee Evans hands but if it was ruled a TD on the field i'm not sure it would have been reversed. Watching it, it seemed it could have just as easily called the other way. And the kicker spit the bit on that tying FG.

I can't see the Giants making those same mistakes.

It makes no difference, whether we win(which we will) or lose the Superbowl we won this game, despite a game plan that was less than stellar.. not sure if it was the game plan, the Raven's Defense or poor execution.

A win is a win.. 10 in a row is beyond my dreams for this team, as is going to the Superbowl.. take it for what it is worth. There are no extra credit for "style points", "what if's", "should've lost" or "yeah buts" in the game of football.

 

[jarnhestur]

One reason why the running game was working was because of the threat of the passing game and the how the Ravens were defending our TE's. If we ran it more, the Ravens would have adjusted accordingly. We were playing a top level defense so it's going to look ugly at times.

That being said, Brady's throw looked off. It looked like he had more room to the left of the end zone. Maybe Slater didn't adjust properly, but it looked to me like just a bad throw. Also, let's face it, it was an incredibly lucky bounce.

That's the risks you take, though. While the outcome sucked, it was a nice pattern at the time, given the game situation. Obviously Brady should have checked down, assuming someone else was open.

I won't dwell too much on the fact that other then Welker, our WR corp is embarrassing. We could grab guys off the street to fill in for Branch, Ocho, and Slater (or is that where we got them from?!?). I'll cut Edelman some slack because he's spending a lot of time on defense.

 

[Bostonian1962]

I think many of us were surprised at not continuing to run, when it was being so successful. On top of it all, while Brady was, for the most part, getting alot of time to throw, he did not have a good game. So, why not run the ball more?

It all doesn't matter, because they won.

 

[Betterthanmost]

I really think Brady wanted to be the hero as he might have thought he had not done anything to that point and also deep down, he does not trust the defense. Yes that was the call from the coaches, but there were so many players opened. Welker was open, another guy was also open on the deep down. All we needed Brady to do was be a game manager in this game but he did not want that roll. Wanted to be the hero and nearly turn into goat.

 

[robbomango]

We do know that without even reviewing the tape because he could have thrown it away if a checkdown wasn't available. Taking a sack there isn't even the end of the world.

That said, for those who disremember...this was a play right out of Charlie Weis playbook. The problem was we don't have the personnel to execute it well enough to pull it out in an AFCC game where we're up by 3 with less than 3 minutes remaining. Brady has now further said in his AM spot on WEEI that it was the play that kept him up all night.

Why's Matthew Slater on that play? he's seen 1 reception all season They're Playing against the top rated Ravens Defense in an AFCCG, Slater's not going to start pulling in grabs like that all of a sudden.

Very little in game experience for the #3 and below WR's total of 23 catches from that group in the regular season. Umm, thats a bit low for 4 guys that are going to play in these types of games. imo

EDIT: I'll be looking forward to JMcD not underutilizing those guys next season.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

I'm not the biggest BOB fan but I think he called a good game. The offense sustained 5 solid drives and just didn't convert as well in the red zone. Brady's picks were 100% Brady and he's admitted that. I do wish BJGE would have gotten closer to 20 carries he was running very well, and I hope he gets it around 20-25 times in the SB.

The PA after Spikes' INT was a good call. Gotta go for the jugular IF the pass is there. It wasn't there. Brady should have checked down or thrown it away, he had zero pressure. Not BOB's fault.

 

[DaBruinz]

I wish BOB would explain the rational behind these brain farts...trying to be cute gets ugly every time.

Good luck BOB and Don't forget to take your XBox playbook

It's clear that you don't understand that the Playbook is Belichick's. And he developed it a long time ago. He's been adding to it ever since. The OCs run what's in the playbook with only minor tweaks.

 

[DaBruinz]

We don't know that, unless you review the tape and discover everybody else was covered on that play as well.

Given that Slater was double-covered, I'm guessing that in fact somebody else was pretty open.

We DO know that because Tom said as much in his interview with Curran..

 

[Seacoast Fan]

My only beef with the gameplan was the lack of running BJGE. He was KILLING the Ravens - had an 8+ YPC at one point. Yet, he'd rip off two big runs, then come out of the game for the rest of the series. Woodhead would come in for some strange reason.

WTH?

Agreed. It would be one thing if Law Firm wasnt making any headway, but he had only 15 carries and still had 68 yards...
that one series when he ran up the gut and had two straight first downs, then they take him out... I couldn't figure that one out.

 

[DaBruinz]

Geez DB, your sarcasm meter is broken this morning.

When someone says "This apple is sweet as sugar" you don't need to get out the science kit to measure.

I'll be honest, Shmessy. It sounded more like whining than sarcasm.. In fact, I had to do a double check to make sure it said SHMESSY and not Sean Da Patriot..

 

[Ivan]

I'm putting the blame on Brady, period. Brady was the one choosing to throw ducks when he should have been firing and Brady was the one who chose to make the worst throw of his career at the worst time. The Ravens made life difficult yesterday but the gameplan wasn't the problem Brady's decisions were. While I don't think the call that gave Brady the option of going into the endzone with 6 minutes to go made much sense the decision to follow through with it was much worse. That was a point in the game where eating up clock should have been a major priority and instead they gave it back in one play. In all my years of watching Brady manage situations that was the single worst decision I have seen him make.

I also think that if Belichik had challenged the call on Gronkowski we probably wouldn't even be talking about this right now because they would have won by at least 7.

Blaming the OC is always the easy kneejerk response when an offense doesn't have a big day but BOB isn't the problem and he won't be in the Super Bowl. Fortunately for NE Brady follows up bad days with big days and he's always better when facing a team the second time around.

I'm glad McDaniels is here for next season but BOB has done a great job with this offense all season and replacing him for the last game is a terrible idea.