Metaphors
In the Starting Line-Up
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I think it is at least partly on O'Brien. The first read was clearly the go. The first read is determined by the playcall.
Absolutely. BOB sending in that personnel grouping was a mistake. The Pats had everything they needed (the ball, the clock, field position, momentum) to end the game with a DRIVE...not a big play. When you have someone in a choke-hold, you carefully and slowly squeeze the life out of them. You don't loosen your grip to grab a knife to finish them off.
Brady should've checked out of the play before the snap anyway, so yes a lot of it falls on Brady as well.
He didn't need to check out of the play. If the Ravens brought pressure, he could go long since it would have been Slater v. Pollard with no help, which is a winner. The Ravens dropped off immediately and a key thing happened...Brady was under absolutely no pressure. The Ravens rushed 3, Light had one guy on the ground and the other two were double-teamed and going nowhere. That tells Brady 2 things:
1) They have 8 in coverage
2) I literally have all day to throw the ball
That read is a giant red 'X' on any deep pass without even seeing Slater's situation. His eyes should have gone to his slot guys but those routes were crowded. Welker ran a drag route from the offensive left to right and that completion would have effectively been a long hand-off. Brady even had a clear throwing lane that way. 5 yard completion and the potential for solid YAC. Either a 1st down nearing FG range or a 2nd and short.
So that was a key error that can't happen in the Super Bowl and BOB and TB share the blame. You have to like learning experiences that don't end up costing you. As long as this turns into a learning experience about what the Pats offense is (efficiency machine that kills with a thousand paper cuts) and what it isn't (aggressive downfield attack). The former will wear out the Giants and pressure Goober Jr into mistakes. The latter will get Brady knocked around and allow the Giants offense to stay within themselves.