Week 2 post-game thread - Patriots 40, Bills 32

[PP2]

Outstanding performance by Brady, and great game plan on offense. They had a different snap count, one that I had never seen before and it disrupted the timing of the Bills line, very masterful move by BB to defeat Ryan's game plan with one simple adjustment: after Brady calls the mike, he goes to the snap with zero cadence on quite a few occasions. No way for the line to anticipate or develop a rhythm. And as I foresaw we stretched the defense horizontally but sent the TE's vertical. Gronk just dominated the seam.

Very happy with the performance of the OL.. IIRC just four or five penalites on the line itself, including 2 on Andrews. Brady picked up just about every blitz and unlike last week Solder's name was not heard except on that pancake to spring Lewis.

This line should be very confident going forward from now.

I think that today Buffalo got exposed badly as an one dimensional zone read offense- this is definitely not a team built to come from behind and apparently the coaches are not really trusting Tyler with anything else than an option offense. You saw how we adjusted after the first drive to stop the zone read with the gap exchange or "scrape" on a force call (Hightower),with the end crashing or containing if Tyler pulled (similar to the game plan against Seattle in the SB). The rest of the league has taken notice and I wouldn't be surprised to see Tyler yanked sooner or later.

The defense has got to stop going in snooze mode every time we pull away. Two games in a row we've done that.

Message to Lewis: high and tight, not low and away!

 

[chasa]

one of the sloppiest games i've watched in a long time.

Both teams were penalty machines.

I honestly don't know what pass interference is anymore.

Tyrod taylor fan club might see a massive decline in numbers soon

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

Outstanding performance by Brady, and great game plan on offense. They had a different snap count, one that I had never seen before and it disrupted the timing of the Bills line, very masterful move by BB to defeat Ryan's game plan with one simple adjustment: after Brady calls the mike, he goes to the snap with zero cadence on quite a few occasions. No way for the line to anticipate or develop a rhythm. And as I foresaw we stretched the defense horizontally but sent the TE's vertical. Gronk just dominated the seam.

Very happy with the performance of the OL.. IIRC just four or five penalites on the line itself, including 2 on Andrews. Brady picked up just about every blitz and unlike last week Solder's name was not heard except on that pancake to spring Lewis.

This line should be very confident going forward from now.

I think that today Buffalo got exposed badly as an one dimensional zone read offense- this is definitely not a team built to come from behind and apparently the coaches are not really trusting Tyler with anything else than an option offense. You saw how we adjusted after the first drive to stop the zone read with the gap exchange or "scrape" on a force call (Hightower),with the end crashing or containing if Tyler pulled (similar to the game plan against Seattle in the SB). The rest of the league has taken notice and I wouldn't be surprised to see Tyler yanked sooner or later.

The defense has got to stop going in snooze mode every time we pull away. Two games in a row we've done that.

Message to Lewis: high and tight, not low and away!

Great post @PP2

 

[northernpatriot]

one of the sloppiest games i've watched in a long time.

You must not have watched the Eagles/Cowboys game, yikes.

 

[zydecochris]

small reason(s) to feel good.

Steelers put up 43 against the 49ers and we held them to 21 points. Perhaps our defense is better than it seems (and certainly better than the 4th quarteer)

Our offense and especially offensive line, played against a very loud crowd and against what everyone predicts is a top 3 DLine and held up nicely. Didn't plan for a running game, but went with a predictable passing game and still had plenty of success.

If I can put in a "This, plus...". Not to be negative, but I thought we would lose this game, not because the Bills are a better team, but because of a "perfect storm" of bad match up factors for this particular early game (the Pats of course always improve over the course of a year). We had three interior OL rookies expected to play significant snaps going against arguably the best DL in the league. Everyone in Buffalo was excited by Rex's arrival (he usually energizes his team for a year or two). He is a good defensive coach. Loud stadium, excited fan base. I thought that Brady would be running for his life until the very inexperienced (before the game, I would have said "unsettled") interior OL got more seasoned.

Instead, to my astonishment, the rookies played fantastic against the Bills top DL (think how they will be with more experience and the addition of Stork and Wendell!). The Patriots offense put up points at ease against this top defense. And, as you say, that was after limiting a top Steeler offense (who just put up 43 against the 49ers) to 21 points.

So: after they went up 37 to 13 against a team that Brady had a 23-3 record against, perhaps some of the players started relaxing a bit, that isn't shocking to me.

IMHO this has been the most promising starts for the Pats in some time, particularly because the this extremely inexperienced OL has played so well. Just compare this to last year's start (with much of the fault due to the performance of the unsettled OL), where they were beat badly by the MIA, beat a weak MIN team, squeaked by a terrible OAK team, and were absolutely stomped by KC.

I think this could really be a special year if the Pats can avoid critical injuries.

 

[SEA_Pat]

My thoughts:

1. NFL games are won in the trenches, and that's where we won this one. The OL standing up against one of if not the best DL in the game was a very good sign. And 8 sacks is nothing to sneeze at, ever.

2. This game showcased just how amazing some of these RBs are. Shady McCoy is not someone I would want to try to tackle in the open field. But what a surprise Dion Lewis is, he's got similar ability to make people miss and gain chunks of yards where there appears to be nothing. Hang on to that ball son, and you've got some bank waiting for you.

3. Jamie Collins is a bit of a riverboat gambler, but when he chooses his gap correctly he always cashes in. This is the first time we've shown what that new improved front 7 can do to get pressure on the passer and it looks pretty damn fine to me.

4. I'm less worried about the secondary than many here appear to be. Some of those sacks were coverage sacks. Not thinking Fletcher is a bust like many of the nervous nellies here, everyone can have a bad game.

5. The refs were a bit liberal with the laundry, but it mostly benefited us this time so we can't b!tch about it. Let 'em play boys.

6. How is Solder skating here for that awful whiff on the strip sack? Yikes!

7. Speaking of gamblers, I think Rex is overrated as a coach - he similarly will roll the dice with his gameplans and that sometimes works, but there's little in the way of fundamentals behind it hence they usually revert to form and lose from lack of discipline and inability to adjust. I like the guy and his personality, but Buffalo is not going anywhere with him there.

8. Patriots made some great football plays today. The Butler interception and Amendola's crazy grab particularly, but also the game-ending interception by Harmon, the wheel route grab by Lewis and Gronk snatching the ball while well covered all came to mind. We got guys who make plays, and how sweet that is.

This game was not as close as the score and we are already scary on offense and look like we could be serious trouble for people on D. The Special Teams continue to play well and we have the best kicker in the league. Feeling fine. The Patriot FU tour is about to begin in earnest in my opinion.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Eh. I'm not worried about the fumbles because of what people think. Rather, I'd worry about fumbles because turnovers decrease your chances of winning a football game. BB always stresses ball security so I wouldn't be surprised in the upcoming week if he doesn't challenge the entire team, including Dion Lewis with ball security drills involving keeping hold of the football in all conditions.

Besides a statistic has been researched which shows that the Patriots actually fumbled the ball less on the ROAD than at home. And since the Road team ball boys control the footballs it's really difficult to read anything into it outside of sour grapes which at this point is just universal hate of the Pats because they 'win too much therefore they must cheat'. Get used to it. The 2015 Patriots FU tour resumes next week against the Jaguars!

Im kind of worried about our fumble rate. Because if we have a bad year with fumbles EVERYONE will bring it up as evidence for us deflating over the past whatever years. We've have had 3 fumbles/2 lost in two weeks. Last season we had 13/4 lost. 2013 was tougher with over 20 but we however in the mid teens. Fumbles lost dont matter because thats a crap shoot.

So we need to tighten up or else we'll never hear the end of it, no matter if we go f.ucking undefeated.

 

[TBR]

I loved seeing them blitz Collins and Hightower as much as they did today

 

[Joker]

BTW...before this game in a thread this week I outlined the referee crew and told everyone they throw the most flags in the league and the most offensive holding calls.Today they more than lived up to that reputation.

I only wonder when we see the first appearance of Goody's "fixer", Jerome Boger. If Goody doesn't have his axemen Boger and Triplette ref the next few Pats games on the road, then the division and Goody's dream of a Buffalo/Miami division title will go up in smoke. I fully expect to see the reprehensible . totally criminal Boger crew to work the Indy game.If not him then definitely that hateful,spiteful cracker Triplette.

 

[DaBruinz]

Agreed DaBruinz, what are your thoughts about our 3rd corner position? It's obviously the weakesst spot right now, would you think of going with Ryan next game or perhaps someone on the practice squad?

Well, they have Justin Coleman currently on the Pro-Roster.. He can't be any worse than Fletcher.

I would dump Fletcher and promote someone off the PS for the time being while re-signing swanson..

 

[gitgronked82]

I did not watch the game as I am still boycotting anything the league makes a dime on so take this with a grain of salt. Based on what I am reading here is there any chance Bill saw a game that was out of reach in September he used the 4th quarter as an extension of the preseason to try some unorthodox calls? Those are now on film and give other teams something else to think about so now the qb sneak is not just assumed. I find it difficult to believe a man with 6 rings suddenly forgot how to coach.

we all got screwed this offseason, but that's real dumb imo. can't change your thought process, but if you're going to be this invested in a team, you deserve to see them play...

 

[unoriginal]

I know. Disappointing level of angst from some Pats fans today.

Yes... today.

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

Yes... today.

We just expected our team to finish stronger than they did, especially the defense. But I've shaken off the disappointed, so I'm okay now

 

[thecore762]

I made a thread about this earlier but dear god let Bradley Fletcher walk! Send him to Oakland or Houston!
This guy is a liability on the field...even if the opposing team was 4 & 50 I would still not trust Bradley Fletcher defending the pass!
This guy keeps getting burned week in and week out. Hell I think Jules can do a better job at coverage than this guy.

 

[mgteich]

2 4th and ones that should have been runs instead of passes. 2 huge mistakes that led to this atrocity. But. a win is a win so I'll take it.

The offense had no confidence against the Bills line running on 4th and one. They were NOT huge mistakes. Blount would likely have lost yardage on both plays if we ran the ball.

 

[mgteich]

Huh? It certainly was but a win is good. Hell it might be a good thing that it happened early in the year and we survived it. Means we won't let that type of thing happen again...hopefully.

But Fletcher is a problem.

We knew when we acquired him that Fletcher was no good in man on man coverages. Obviously, neither is Ryan. So, we have a bit of a problem on some plays.

 

[mgteich]

Well, they have Justin Coleman currently on the Pro-Roster.. He can't be any worse than Fletcher.

I would dump Fletcher and promote someone off the PS for the time being while re-signing swanson..

I do agree that Swanson should not have been waived. And yes, Coleman could be worse than Fletcher.

 

[Guts]

Anyone else seeing Gameday Final? Irvin and Sanders stI'll my favorites always praising TB12 and the Pats

 

[mgteich]

Tyrod taylor fan club might see a massive decline in numbers soon

Really?

Check out his numbers.

He was sacked 7 times. There were lots of hurries and knockdowns.

IMHO, Taylor did well under the circumstances.

After all, he almost won the game against one of the top offense in the NFL on a good day.

 

[mgteich]

Umm.. Dobson had what, one drop? How many did Edelman have? How many did Gronk have?

You certainly understand that some posters make the same posts about players, no matter what their performance.

IMHO, this was one of Dobson's best days as a pro. He has there every time Brady needed him.