The Patriots vs Packers POST Game Thread

[nabwong]

Is it just me or whenever we lose, there are some very "interesting" new posters around"contributing very "astute" observations?

 

[zipster9]

I'm not holding my breath, if C. Jones is our pass rush problem savior.

Supposedly, Easley is. But, he has bad knees..

 

[tmajr3]

Pats need to mix in Dennard with Ryan, throw a fresh body at whatever WR they are using to attack them. And please, SOMEONE explain why Tim Wright is not used more?

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Mccourty has to be better at getting to nelson and taking him down there...what a huge play it was

 

[Joey007]

Ryan was left on an island, tough situation and Rogers did what a good QB would do, no sure why Arrington wasn't put on that spot.

Ryan's island became a nice vacation resort today.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Is it just me or whenever we lose, there are some very "interesting" new posters around"contributing very "astute" observations?

It's about as much fun as reading the game day thread whenever the Pats are trailing.

 

[SeymourTrophies]

I'm not holding my breath, if C. Jones is our pass rush problem savior.

Not unless every team we face signs that Kalil chap that Jones d-slapped all game long in Minnesota.

 

[Hael]

I thought our secondary was actually pretty good. They played GB really tight on most if not all of the completions outside of one or two early in the game. Rogers just had 6+ seconds to throw, b/c of a combination of pass rushing difficulties and his great escapability. Further on the passes he did complete, he layed the ball in basically pinpoint zones. There is nothing any secondary can do (even Revis) against perfect routes/perfect throws.

The Dline was instructed to keep their gaps after he ran all over them early, but then there was no pass rush so its a catch 22.

Anyway, we've had that problem all year. Our fat DE's are too slow to contain fast qbs, so we have to give up a lb to spy on them. But then there is no pass rush, so eventually receivers get open. This strat might work against the Geno Smith's of the world, but not against one of the NFL's most deadly throwers.

Its a fundamental weakness of the Patriots line at the end of the day. It's no coincidence C Jones got a lot of sacks here. They were coverage sacks.

 

[rochrist]

Is it just me or whenever we lose, there are some very "interesting" new posters around"contributing very "astute" observations?

No kidding. I suspect Iapatsfan sockpuppets.

 

[BobDigital]

Main take aways from the game.

#1 Their 3rd and 4th options can beat ours. This is something i was curious about. Nelson and Cobb made plays but a lot of the Cobb made plays were designed to get him on a LB or set up to free him rather than truly beating one of our CBs. This is something that will likely not change. Our coverage played fairly well and the Pats had their best personnel out there. They made a few good adjustments in the 2nd half but I don't think it is fixable.

#2 The Pass rush was lackluster. Looking at the sack numbers one would think the Pats had a better pass rush but not the case at all. This is one area the Patriots can and need to improve not just with Jones but all around. We know GB can be the Pats DBs with their 3rd and 4th guy so the Pats need to figure out a way to not give him 4+ secs if the play again while also keeping contain.

#3 The run D held up pretty well. That awful first drive obviously sucked. After that they did what i thought they could and Lacy had a quieter night. Gotta play that way for 60 minutes.

#4 The OL had a bad showing. They allowed plays to get blown up. The play on the lines decided the game. The Pats oline can do better though and will have to.

Overall the Pats put forth a decent effort and it was not enough. You need to be better than okay to beat the Packers in their house. This will be a good experience going forward. Even though I think the Pats are still the class of the AFC I think 2 NFC teams (Packers and Seahawks) both have a chance to beat the Pats straight up though personally I would still take the Patriots on a neutral field.

PS. Pats lost their wiggle room. If Denver wins this week which it looks like they will they might be forced to win out. SD has been hot and now is a game the Pats need.

 

[rochrist]

I thought our secondary was actually pretty good. They played GB really tight on most if not all of the completions outside of one or two early in the game. Rogers just had 6+ seconds to throw, b/c of a combination of pass rushing difficulties and his great escapability. Further on the passes he did complete, he layed the ball in basically pinpoint zones. There is nothing any secondary can do (even Revis) against perfect routes/perfect throws.

The Dline was instructed to keep their gaps after he ran all over them early, but then there was no pass rush so its a catch 22.

Anyway, we've had that problem all year. Our fat DE's are too slow to contain fast qbs, so we have to give up a lb to spy on them. But then there is no pass rush, so eventually receivers get open. This strat might work against the Geno Smith's of the world, but not against one of the NFL's most deadly throwers.

Its a fundamental weakness of the Patriots line at the end of the day. It's no coincidence C Jones got a lot of sacks here. They were coverage sacks.

Pretty much nothing is going to work against the best QB in league where the rules favor passing. You can't stop Rodgers, the best you can hope to do it slow him down.

 

[condon84]

McDaniels refusal to run directly at a smaller athletic defense was dumbfounding. Should have pounded that defense with Blount or Gray instead of falling right into what that defense does best. 30th rank run defense and instead we tried to use a short passing game as our running game. Forcing a square peg into a round hole especially when our interior line couldn't hold up in pass protection. I thought we were past this.

Aaron was unreal, so I can't really blame our defense. He made some throws our defenders just had no chance. McCourty should have been there on that TD pass to end the first half, but it was just a great play by them.

Rodgers ability to scramble really made our defense play tentative in there rush scheme. But to give him that much time to throw, it's going to be a completion anyways. Tough to defend.

I'll blame this loss on our offense. Didn't hold up their end. McD in a big game got stubborn. We've seen it before.

 

[rochrist]

Main take aways from the game.

PS. Pats lost their wiggle room. If Denver wins this week which it looks like they will they might be forced to win out. SD has been hot and now is a game the Pats need.

San Diego hot? Before today? You mean when they lost to the Dolphins 37 to 0? Or when they beat Oakland 13-6? Or when they needed a last second goal line interception to beat St Louis 27-23? In fact, the only quality win they've had all year was today.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

With some time to step away and analyze this with a bit more objectivity/less emotion, several things stick out:
Despite the Packers scoring on nearly every possesion, this D performance comes down to two plays, the 2 long TD plays. The D stops just the one to Nelson just before half, I'd give the D an overall thumbs up. Side note, while that first drive's running D was bad, after that it was quite good.

Hats off to Mr Double Check. Multiple times he had no where to go but kept his cool. Even more poignant, he targeted mismatches very well. This is why the Packers converted on third down so much.

Credit GB's defense and whatever gameplan the coaches employed. They got pressure on occasion, they found a way to throw TB off on occasion, they contained the run game decently. Given Rodgers' performance in addition to their D scheme/play it was a formula for winning.

More than anything I walk away with a couple things; (1) You see how playing from ahead can be advantageous. Patriots looked frequently like a team playing from behind.
Big plays! Big plays! GB got a couple, Patriots did not. Patriots disrupt Nelson's TD and hit on Gronk's near TD (juxtapose one set of big plays)?? Different outcome.......

 

[JFK]

Hopefully our starting DEs in the playoffs are Chandler and Ayers. We need to reach the Qbs not almost reach.

 

[patsfan13]

If the refs had called the PA on Gronk's 'near td' the Pats have the ball on the one yd line with a first down, very different game.

 

[Betterthanmost]

I am not disappointed, we are built for Denver. We need to study film and adjust to the NFC teams. We needed a spy on Rogers and due to some personnel issues we could not get to Rogers. If we are good and can meet them again, I will like to see how will be play them. Hoping for an injury free run for the rest of the season.

 

[BHSL2]

I am not disappointed, we are built for Denver. We need to study film and adjust to the NFC teams.

Interesting thought. Care to expound on it?

 

[saspack]

If the refs had called the PA on Gronk's 'near td' the Pats have the ball on the one yd line with a first down, very different game.

Not gonna happen on the road

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Tom Brady: ‘You live for moments like this and you come up short’

We are right there with you brady...just short