Off The Grid
Veteran Starter w/Big Long Term Deal
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2010
- Messages
- 9,153
- Reaction score
- 4,341
The Cardinals are an Elite Level Team, exceptionally well-coached by Bruce Arians, and field a Top 10 Defense.
The Patriots were missing the best QuarterBack in the History of the Game, the best Tight End in the History of the Game, no NFL-Caliber Split End or Flanker to threaten the Secondary, a mediocre BackField...and an Offensive Line ravaged and utterly decimated by Injuries...and playing on the Road.
Had we lost 31-14, I would've been neither surprised nor disappointed.
After all: The Patriots have lost the 1st Game of the Season 3 Times since Mad Bill enraged most Pat Fans by suspending Terry Glenn...and all 3 Times, we ultimately won the last Game of the Season...in February.
You can never count out a Team coached by Bill Belichick, but my God, what a masterful Game, tonight.
Jimmy Garappolo is for real. My only concern about him, coming out of College, was a major one: Poise Under Pressure. But poor Poise Under Pressure ~ his was inconsistent with the Panthers ~ is something that I often point out is far more likely attributable to poor Processing Speed than a lack of Guts: If you can't read the Tactical LandScape quickly enough to chose your Target and throw it before the Pass Rushers collapse the Pocket, of course you're gonna bail. So that was my Big Doubt about Garappolo, and why I attributed no more than a 4th/5th Round Value to'm in 2014...But I'll tell ya: He had some bad moments, sure, but everyone does, on The Field of Battle. Garappolo looked like a Pro, out there. I'm sold.
Strategic Concern: As I see it, this Team's Achilles Heel is its Offensive Line, particularly the Offensive Tackles, of course. Ironically, it may be Martellus Bennet who saves us in that regard. It'd be far better, of course, to have a fully healthy tandem of Solder and Vollmer manning our Flanks, allowing Gronkowski and Bennett to wreak an absolutely unprecedented kind of Havoc on the rest of the League...But if we're going to need one or both'f'm to do a lot more blocking than originally planned, and it enables us to eek out those scrappy 17-13 Victories in January ~ and February!! ~ against tough Defenses...so be it!!
Christopher Hogan. I believe that Christopher Hogan is about to Shock The World by rapidly ascending to become one of the League's best WideOuts. His intrinsic Agility is sensational, his Intelligence is amazing, his Power is tremendous for a WideOut, and his Work Ethic is outstanding. He's needed a few Years to transform from LaCrosse Player to FootBall Player, which is to be expected, but which, I think, most people who foolishly wright'm off as a Journeyman have little to no conception of: It takes Years of Time & Training ~ thousands of Repetitions ~ to reach the point where Instincts and Muscle Memory become reliable ~ where one's natural Processing Speed consistently takes over on The Field of Battle. I believe that Christopher Hogan has reached that point where it's finally all starting to click on a regular basis. And I believe, Ladies and Laddies, that we are just beginning the Process of witnessing an extraordinary Transformation.
The Patriots were missing the best QuarterBack in the History of the Game, the best Tight End in the History of the Game, no NFL-Caliber Split End or Flanker to threaten the Secondary, a mediocre BackField...and an Offensive Line ravaged and utterly decimated by Injuries...and playing on the Road.
Had we lost 31-14, I would've been neither surprised nor disappointed.
After all: The Patriots have lost the 1st Game of the Season 3 Times since Mad Bill enraged most Pat Fans by suspending Terry Glenn...and all 3 Times, we ultimately won the last Game of the Season...in February.
You can never count out a Team coached by Bill Belichick, but my God, what a masterful Game, tonight.
Jimmy Garappolo is for real. My only concern about him, coming out of College, was a major one: Poise Under Pressure. But poor Poise Under Pressure ~ his was inconsistent with the Panthers ~ is something that I often point out is far more likely attributable to poor Processing Speed than a lack of Guts: If you can't read the Tactical LandScape quickly enough to chose your Target and throw it before the Pass Rushers collapse the Pocket, of course you're gonna bail. So that was my Big Doubt about Garappolo, and why I attributed no more than a 4th/5th Round Value to'm in 2014...But I'll tell ya: He had some bad moments, sure, but everyone does, on The Field of Battle. Garappolo looked like a Pro, out there. I'm sold.
Strategic Concern: As I see it, this Team's Achilles Heel is its Offensive Line, particularly the Offensive Tackles, of course. Ironically, it may be Martellus Bennet who saves us in that regard. It'd be far better, of course, to have a fully healthy tandem of Solder and Vollmer manning our Flanks, allowing Gronkowski and Bennett to wreak an absolutely unprecedented kind of Havoc on the rest of the League...But if we're going to need one or both'f'm to do a lot more blocking than originally planned, and it enables us to eek out those scrappy 17-13 Victories in January ~ and February!! ~ against tough Defenses...so be it!!
Christopher Hogan. I believe that Christopher Hogan is about to Shock The World by rapidly ascending to become one of the League's best WideOuts. His intrinsic Agility is sensational, his Intelligence is amazing, his Power is tremendous for a WideOut, and his Work Ethic is outstanding. He's needed a few Years to transform from LaCrosse Player to FootBall Player, which is to be expected, but which, I think, most people who foolishly wright'm off as a Journeyman have little to no conception of: It takes Years of Time & Training ~ thousands of Repetitions ~ to reach the point where Instincts and Muscle Memory become reliable ~ where one's natural Processing Speed consistently takes over on The Field of Battle. I believe that Christopher Hogan has reached that point where it's finally all starting to click on a regular basis. And I believe, Ladies and Laddies, that we are just beginning the Process of witnessing an extraordinary Transformation.
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