Thoughts on Today's game

[mcsully]

Why were you surprised that TBC didn't start at ROLB? .

Half of his sacks came against Buffalo last year (5)..
But this team plays so many sub units, I personally don't care who starts..

 

[upstater1]

Not to rain on your parade but a lot of that has to do with the incompetence of the Pats D. That said, I hope the Bills pull the upset next week.

Have you watched Trent Edwards play QB? It was a night and day difference out there, and not because of the Patriots D.

We saw the same thing last year in the game against Buffalo. The Pats D demolished Edwards. Then they put Fitz in and he had some success.

It's definitely a QB thing.

I'm not saying the Patriots D is good (Fitz is not a good QB) but the fact is, Edwards is bloody awful. It's like removing Jamarcus and putting in Gradowski.

 

[A.C Vegas]

Re #6 Randy in the scrum, argh!!! A real football player would have been tough enough not to lose the ball in the pile.

accally it was a blown call by the refs Randy had possition and was down and that should have ended the play but the refs let it go which was wrong but there is nothing you can do

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

1) This officiating crew clearly felt sorry for the Bills. They called ONLY what they absolutely had to against the Bills and even then they missed the 2 time outs in a row. The amount of holding the Bills did today was worse than the Colts EVER did. It led directly to at least 2 scores, one of which was Spiller's scamper into the endzone. The officials, besides blowing the 2 timeouts in a row, missed the illegal formation of a wedge (3 defenders in a row) on Spiller's kick off return, 2 clips and 3 blocks in the back. ALL on that return.

PWP: Didn't notice the OL holding (I was babysitting at the time & watching 2 hrs delayed via DVR) but I did notice the totally missed calls on the KR TD play. The Gost took out a potential Pats tackler in his wiff attempt at a tackle.

2) I understand why Meriweather had lost his starting job for free-lancing. He did it today as well. Granted, he got the interception, but the Bills were able to continue 2 drives specifically because Meriweather took himself out of position.

PWP: Another example was the TD where he violated a basic precept and stupidly went inside leaving the outside shielded and open. Merry himself commented on his tendency to 'freelance' and how it's cost him with the coaches. I hate to say it but his mental liabilities make him damaged goods at safety. Will make a few spectacular plays but could cost you games.

5) BJGE and Woodhead both had great days out of the backfield. Woodhead looks like he could be a steal.

PWP: We knew Wood was fast but the knock was supposedly he couldn't cut and change direction at speed. Yesterday clearly showed him doing so.


7) The blocking on the kick-offs regressed and it caused Tate to look pedestrian.

PWP: Tate is admitedly still having virtual rookie year growing pains issues. Ran his pattern right into Moss for Moss' TD. I could not agree more about the STs blocking regression. Tate has the goods to take it to the house but STs are not playing well right now.

10) The Pats seriously need Sanders to step up in regards to calling coverages. And the rest of the secondary needs to follow what is called. Too many times the DBs seemed to be out of position. The DBs showed us that they are still wet behind the ears and still have a lot of growing to do. Including Meriweather. Yes, he had that pick, but that was only 1 of 2 good plays he had all day.. The rest of the day he wasn't doing so well.

PWP: Amen. Glad BB didn't listen to the idiot here who hates Sanders.

11) Ron Brace looks to be taking to the LDE position quite well. I see a very solid player right now and his future could be great.

I'm surprised by Brace even though I wasn't one of the guys down on him. Gawd knows we need all the help on D we can get.

Rigt now the D is worse than I'd thought they'd be at this early stage even considering the youth. Butler's 2nd year regression is a big factor, never mind the loss of Bodden. Merriweather is a disappointment to me with his continued stubborn bonehead approach to the game. Chung is not showing us the flashes we saw pre-season. My hope is that some of these players and guys like Cunningham and maybe even Crable develop over the season. Hope we're not too many games out if they do finally improve.

 

[Keyser Söze]

I taped the game and watched it after getting home from lunch with the future in-laws. What I noticed was the following:

1) This officiating crew clearly felt sorry for the Bills. They called ONLY what they absolutely had to against the Bills and even then they missed the 2 time outs in a row. The amount of holding the Bills did today was worse than the Colts EVER did. It led directly to at least 2 scores, one of which was Spiller's scamper into the endzone. The officials, besides blowing the 2 timeouts in a row, missed the illegal formation of a wedge (3 defenders in a row) on Spiller's kick off return, 2 clips and 3 blocks in the back. ALL on that return.

2) I understand why Meriweather had lost his starting job for free-lancing. He did it today as well. Granted, he got the interception, but the Bills were able to continue 2 drives specifically because Meriweather took himself out of position.

3) Hernandez and Gronkowski both look like they are going to have great careers. The PI calls on them were utter BS. PI is supposed to be involving players who have an attempt at receiving the pass. In both cases, the pass was on the opposite side of the field from where the "infraction" supposedly occurred.

4) This was the first game in years that the O-line was able to run block consistently for the entire game. And the RBs had a field day with it.

5) BJGE and Woodhead both had great days out of the backfield. Woodhead looks like he could be a steal.

6) It was great to see Randy in the scrum trying to recover the fumble. A selfish player wouldn't have done that.

7) The blocking on the kick-offs regressed and it caused Tate to look pedestrian.

8) Count me as very surprised that TBC did not start the game at ROLB.

9) I think the best way to beat the "Wildcat" is to Run Blitz.

10) The Pats seriously need Sanders to step up in regards to calling coverages. And the rest of the secondary needs to follow what is called. Too many times the DBs seemed to be out of position. The DBs showed us that they are still wet behind the ears and still have a lot of growing to do. Including Meriweather. Yes, he had that pick, but that was only 1 of 2 good plays he had all day.. The rest of the day he wasn't doing so well.

11) Ron Brace looks to be taking to the LDE position quite well. I see a very solid player right now and his future could be great.

I'm not someone who bashes everything that Moss does but come on. He would be PE #1 if he didn't try to jump on the loose ball. That in no way shows that he isnt selfish. He was right next to the ball and instinctively went for it, and should have come away with it.

 

[upstater1]

accally it was a blown call by the refs Randy had possition and was down and that should have ended the play but the refs let it go which was wrong but there is nothing you can do

Remember Pierre Woods? His fumble recovery in the Super Bowl happened when there was no other player around him, he was alone, and the first touch by a defender signaled he was down.

But no--the refs let 3 Giants jump on him, turn him, strip the ball.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Remember Pierre Woods? His fumble recovery in the Super Bowl happened when there was no other player around him, he was alone, and the first touch by a defender signaled he was down.

But no--the refs let 3 Giants jump on him, turn him, strip the ball.

I know it's wrong but Pierre was Dead To Me from that moment on.

Refs REALLY blew that one.

 

[upstater1]

The Patriots need a leader in the back 8 to whip the team into shape.

Wilfork can't do it from his position.

Mayo and Chung need to step up, that's all there is to it. Having Harrison and Bruschi back there made a huge difference.

That right there is the key and the difference.

Mayo and Chung are the future of the New England Patriots.

 

[Speedy Welker]

The Bills passing game is a mediocre, but they still able to moved the ball down field like the Saints. If the Pats D is not toughing it up and stop the passing games...Rivers, Manning, Flacco, and big Ben will tear this defense apart when we play them.

 

[DESERTPAT]

This was one of the big ups for me today. Seeing a good run game and the slow build-up of playing time for Law Firm. It's not that painful to give him credit for running hard, now is it? ;^]

Benny is a strong North/South runner who hits the hole hard on every play. He may or may not have deficiences in the passing game but he comes to play every Sunday. He'll never be spectacular but will be steady and reliable, kind like Faulk guy evolved over the years.

 

[pencilneckgeek]

Remember Pierre Woods? His fumble recovery in the Super Bowl happened when there was no other player around him, he was alone, and the first touch by a defender signaled he was down.

But no--the refs let 3 Giants jump on him, turn him, strip the ball.

The Woods play was a travesty, but one angle did show a defender getting his arm under Randy and around the ball as Randy hit the ground. That was a legitimate scrum. Randy simply wasn't strong enough to win it. No plus or minus to him. That's just part of the package.

As for the officiating, meh. No better or worse than usual, even on the kickoff return. The big issue there was Ghost getting upfield and cutting off McCourty and the next guy in pursuit. His job is to be a safety, not to fill the hole.

That was a recurring theme with Merriweather. In addition to the ugly coverage on the TD, he took out Guyton and Wilhite on the 3rd and 18 conversion by Parrish. If he kept his head up and simply helped with the tackle, rather than flying into Wilhite, the defense would have been off the field quickly on the first drive. (Guyton wasn't hit directly, and as a LB, should have been strong enough to not have lost Parrish, but it was Merriweather who was guilty of not doing his job.)

Benny is a strong North/South runner who hits the hole hard on every play. He may or may not have deficiences in the passing game but he comes to play every Sunday. He'll never be spectacular but will be steady and reliable, kind like Faulk guy evolved over the years.

Benny has come a long way. He definitely runs with more purpose than he used to. That is, he knows how the play is developing and follows his blocks more effectively than he used to. He also fights for each yard. It would be nice if he were a bit stronger and more explosive, but he does well enough.

It was fun watching Maroney in a Bronco uniform after the game and seeing the contrast in styles again. Maroney is clearly stronger and does a better job breaking arm tackles, but if he runs so upright that if someone meets him head-on, he'll get stopped cold more often than he should.

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

The Woods play was a travesty, but one angle did show a defender getting his arm under Randy and around the ball as Randy hit the ground. That was a legitimate scrum. Randy simply wasn't strong enough to win it. No plus or minus to him. That's just part of the package.

Randy should have come away with the ball, but in his defense a Bills defender did basically tackle randy while on the ground to help loosen up the ball.

While the game seemed fairly grim based o nthe scoreboard, I never felt worried the game was going to get out of hand with the Patriots offense in control. the D definitely needs to make some serious leaps and I would think Baltimore may be a good point to start turning it around.

 

[SuperPatsFan]

Couple more thoughts...

When the Pats run their nickel looks they have no answer for the run up the middle. Guyton is a solid pass defender but does nothing against the run. He's a target. Mike Wright is easily handled and Ninkovich is consistently a step behind.

Of course if Guyton is replaced with Spikes at ILB, Spikes' coverage weaknesses are exposed.

ETA: 2nd and 4, 8:55 to go in the second. Butler playing the "10-yard cushion", basically conceding the first down to Parrish when the Bills only need 4. Huh?