The Agony of Victory

[Ring 6]

I agree with most of what you said Andy.

With that being said, what is the point at which we should worry about the inconsistent pass rush ? I don't mean this as critique but honestly wonder why we could not produce a single sack against the Raiders after last weeks fireworks. Was it by design ? Why should I not worry about the struggles against Miami and Oakland ? I am just trying to make sense of what I saw.

Finally, the otherthing to keep in mind is that the defensive rankings are obviously connected to the opponents we have faced so far. They will be way more indicative once we are 2-3 games into the gauntlet that is the rest of the season.

There is always good and bad with any team in any game.
I can't understand how you can say there were 'struggles against Oakland'. Their offense produced what would rank them last and our defense first. What yardstick are you using?
They ran a lot of quick passes that are very difficult to get sacked on and Carr is very mobile and outran the rush a few times. I don't care if we ever get a sack if the pass defense is that effective.

You can only play who is on your schedule. That is kind of the point.
OMG we only beat the Raiders by 7, we stink, is just stupid, and has been the general tone of this board.

No win is a perfect win, but every win is better than any loss.

 

[Captain Cliche]

Thank God. After the game I'm thinking "What a great game. Let's see what PatsFans has to offer."

All I can see for miles is a bunch of whiney, entitled fans *****ing that we didn't smoke the Raiders. "Danny Amendola isn't lightin' it up." "We lost the opener...there goes our undefeated season."

I don't know as much about football as the rest of you guys, but I do know this:

• BB builds his teams for December, not September
• Some teams are not what last year's record indicates
• The Raiders just lost their Super Bowl
• This team is solid from top to bottom. I don't see any Earthwind Morelands, Reshead Caldwells, or Patrick Pass's taking up starter spots.

Show some friggin' patience.
For Christ's sake enjoy the ride...and the win...and Wilfork's interception to seal the deal.

 

[Ring 6]

a win is a win.......there's nothing to talk about

Morons like you make this board unreadable.

 

[Ring 6]

of course I did......but I'm not complaining about you......you're the one always complaining about the complainers.....but guess what??? they're still here and they'll always be here......get over yourself

How about you put me on ignore? Then you don't have to know what I say and I don't have to deal with your childish trolling.

 

[deters]

Terrible coverage? They allowed an amount of passing yards and a passer rating that would rank last among 32 teams.

So you are one of those guys that think we should get a 3 and out every drive. Gotcha.

There were multiple times in the game where coverage was poor and allowed the raiders to extend drives. I'm not saying they were terrible all game, but in spots they were. I'm also a realist and anyone who thinks that showing against a rookie QB and bad raiders team was impressive, is a hardcore homer and lying to themselves. The way we played defensively, we would have been torn apart by a better offense with an experienced QB. So far outside of the 2nd half at Miami which heat played a major role, they have played better than the previous 3 years, but until we face a good QB, I'll keep my reservations on this defense.

 

[SalemPats]

There is always good and bad with any team in any game.
I can't understand how you can say there were 'struggles against Oakland'. Their offense produced what would rank them last and our defense first. What yardstick are you using?
They ran a lot of quick passes that are very difficult to get sacked on and Carr is very mobile and outran the rush a few times. I don't care if we ever get a sack if the pass defense is that effective.

You can only play who is on your schedule. That is kind of the point.
OMG we only beat the Raiders by 7, we stink, is just stupid, and has been the general tone of this board.

No win is a perfect win, but every win is better than any loss.

Agreed, lets look at the game

Offense:
Brady and the offense started to get into a rythm at the end of the 2nd and 3rd which is a positive. The running game was solid.

Defense:
I thought Carr was very good, the defense only allowed 9 points, yes they allowed some long drives, but they did their job.

Special Team
Slater showed why he is a pro-bowler.

Do we have room for improvement yes, but like you said it's not the sky is falling

 

[Ring 6]

Agreed, lets look at the game

Offense:
Brady and the offense started to get into a rythm at the end of the 2nd and 3rd which is a positive. The running game was solid.

Defense:
I thought Carr was very good, the defense only allowed 9 points, yes they allowed some long drives, but they did their job.

Special Team
Slater showed why he is a pro-bowler.

Do we have room for improvement yes, but like you said it's not the sky is falling

Offense. Was pretty average, shot itself in the foot a few times. Did what it needed to do. If the game went differently and they needed to put up 23 would they have? We just don't know. How they play the next 16 games depends a hell of a lot more on how they practice than what they did yesterday.

Defense. Played exceptionally well. For some reason people want to think allowing a not so good team to produce at the level of the worst offense in the NFL is bad thing. I don't. I'll take 9 points allowed vs any NFL team any day of the week.

Special Teams.
That was a great play, otherwise special teams did nothing wrong, and nothing special.
I really wish they would allow KO returns in the NFL.

 

[AzPatsFan]

I agree with most of what you said Andy.

With that being said, what is the point at which we should worry about the inconsistent pass rush ? I don't mean this as critique but honestly wonder why we could not produce a single sack against the Raiders after last weeks fireworks. Was it by design ? Why should I not worry about the struggles against Miami and Oakland ? I am just trying to make sense of what I saw.

Finally, the otherthing to keep in mind is that the defensive rankings are obviously connected to the opponents we have faced so far. They will be way more indicative once we are 2-3 games into the gauntlet that is the rest of the season.

We didn't get any sacks because the Raider coaches did just we did versus the Vikings, implement a dink and dunk passing game, with nothing long and run a lot for balance.

But the Pats did it much better, and scored much more than just 9 points. In the general euphoria about the Vikings win, seemingly no one noted that Brady was constantly being knocked down despite the 5 yard dump-offs, while giving up no sacks.

This game we tried to go a little deeper and in showed in the sacks yielded but the outside WRs caught some passes. Stork insertion at C, and Connolly 's shift to RG, seemed to add a significant mount of time and Brady threw several deeper completions.


,

 

[skspikex2]

Was that PI call as horrendous as it looked in person?

It was offensive pass interference. Holmes have both his hand on Ryan chest, pushing him to the side, Ryan while looking at the ball have to use his left hand on Holmes to regain balance.
The side judge did not see the 2 hands on Ryan at all. They should either have a no call or OPI.

Hence I think the holding call was a makeup call afterward.

 

[JMC00]

Defense:
I thought Carr was very good, the defense only allowed 9 points, yes they allowed some long drives, but they did their job.

Define long drives

Because there was only 2 drives where they gained more than 30 yards and only 2 drives of more than 8 plays

 

[Sicilian]

Defense. Played exceptionally well. For some reason people want to think allowing a not so good team to produce at the level of the worst offense in the NFL is bad thing. I don't. I'll take 9 points allowed vs any NFL team any day of the week.

To add your point, think of it this way: Even if we assume that the Patriots are viewed around the league as one of the top defenses in the NFL, do you think the Raiders (and their fans) came out of that game saying, "Wow! We put up 241 yards and 9 points on THAT defense? We're on the rise!"

If they're not happy with their offensive performance, we should be happy with our defensive performance.

It all comes down to many fans don't care about results, they want their team's defense to succeed a certain way. They want constant pressure no matter who they're playing. They want the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl every week, and if they don't see that, even if the results are terrific, they assume it must be smoke and mirrors. Because clearly there's only one way to have a good defensive game in the NFL.

 

[luuked]

They ran a lot of quick passes that are very difficult to get sacked on and Carr is very mobile and outran the rush a few times. I don't care if we ever get a sack if the pass defense is that effective.

We didn't get any sacks because the Raider coaches did just we did versus the Vikings, implement a dink and dunk passing game, with nothing long and run a lot for balance.

But the Pats did it much better, and scored much more than just 9 points. In the general euphoria about the Vikings win, seemingly no one noted that Brady was constantly being knocked down despite the 5 yard dump-offs, while giving up no sacks.

This game we tried to go a little deeper and in showed in the sacks yielded but the outside WRs caught some passes. Stork insertion at C, and Connolly 's shift to RG, seemed to add a significant mount of time and Brady threw several deeper completions.

Thanks.. I have not rewatched the game yet due to a lack of time. Usually, I can't really focus on whats going on during the game because I am to excited/nervous. Usually, it takes another calm watching through it to see some things clearly. Others I don't even pick up yet.

And Andy.. I am in no panic at all unlike some of the people on the board. I am just picking up trying to understand football games and not only watching them and not everything comes that easy. Especially, for a European that is only used to watching soccer his entire life.

 

[IllegalContact]

How about you put me on ignore? Then you don't have to know what I say and I don't have to deal with your childish trolling.

LOL.....childish.....talk about a projection

I don't put anyone on ignore......

it's funny.....I'm doing what you do, enjoy it

 

[PatsDeb]

Good name for a thread! I was at the game and here are my thoughts:

Brady (and/or the running back) really had no time on many plays to get the play going. The quickness of the pocket collapse on many plays was astounding. BUT there were a few times where the protection was decent and when it was he was able to make some nice throws. Gresh's suggestion on the radio that BB immediately take over the o-line (or we all march on Dante Scarneccia's house and demand he come out of retirement) to whip it into shape is a good one. I think if this gets addressed a lot of other things will fall into place.

Gronk is playing with one arm. More than his knee I think this affects him. Not sure if his arm is permanently damaged, or if the brace he wears is so constricting, but he's always dragging that arm around. I don't think he can or wants to lift it above shoulder level. It's the reason he dropped that 2nd potential TD. That said, he made a couple of nice catches yesterday (TD and 15 yarder for a 1st down were great) and it's a testament to him that he is out there still making plays when it seems he has two major limitations. Hopefully he continues to improve, but that arm is a problem for him.

Julian Edelman is awesome! He has a motor and an attitude that never stops, even when the other team is trying to kill him. I formally apologize to him as two years ago I thought he was nothing and could not understand why the Pats kept him around. Maybe our other wide outs just need time to mature in the system too.

Amendola either isn't open or somebody gets a holding penalty on any catch he makes. We let Welker go for this why? On another note, they should try to get the new tight end, Tim ? involved more. He is a big target and looked good on the one pass Brady threw to him.

Ridley looked solid and confident holding onto the ball, even if the Oline could not open very good holes for him.

The defense is looking good. The other team had 2nd & 1 and we got the stop! Hello? When was the last time that happened! The only thing I wish was better yesterday was the pass rush. Carr was mobile and did a good job of avoiding the rush all day long, which did not happen so much in the first two weeks.

These were some of the things that stood out. Yes, I know it was the Raidahs and yes, I know we barely won, but a win is a win. At the end of the year a win against the Raidahs will count the same as a win against San Diego, or hopefully, the Chiefs.

All we have to do is continue to improve and we'll be okay.

 

[SalemPats]

Define long drives

Because there was only 2 drives where they gained more than 30 yards and only 2 drives of more than 8 plays

You look at the 1st half they had drives of 3, 6, and 4.5 minutes .

 

[PatsGuy]

Yes, it was clearly blatant OPI and a bad call.

It wasn't blatant..I was at the game and the play happened right in front of me. Ryan arm bared the receiver and in turn got shoved away from the ball. It could have gone either way but as you undoubtedly know, Offensive P.I. is called far less than Defensive P.I.

 

[Ring 6]

LOL.....childish.....talk about a projection

I don't put anyone on ignore......

it's funny.....I'm doing what you do, enjoy it

You are trolling. I am done with you.

 

[JackBauer]

It wasn't blatant..I was at the game and the play happened right in front of me. Ryan arm bared the receiver and in turn got shoved away from the ball. It could have gone either way but as you undoubtedly know, Offensive P.I. is called far less than Defensive P.I.

https://twitter.com/MarkDanielsPJ/status/514087688048488448/photo/1

I don't think it gets any more blatant than that.

 

[JMC00]

You look at the 1st half they had drives of 3, 6, and 4.5 minutes .

And scored how many points? Oh ya 3.

 

[The Brandon Five]

I think it's a little different this time- he has a new set of rules to get used to, in this DPI happy league.

It would be great if Revis could get away with the kind of holding that Sherman was getting away with yesterday.