Was this a Breakout Game by the Patriots Next Generation Defense?

[Off The Grid]

aha!!! you see???? it's great to be an "objective Pats fan" rather than a poor dumb blind homer who actually enjoys a tough, unexpected win....get in line and get your chicken cap, buddy and WELCOME ABOARD!!!

Thanks, man.

It's great to belong.

***

A couple more tidbits:


* Time of Possession: Fish, 32:17 - 27:43. What's up with THAT??

* On no less than 3 of 10 Possessions, we failed to force a TurnOver. What's up with THAT??

Yep...Yet ANOTHER *unimpressive* 27 Point BLOWOUT ROAD WIN!!

 

[aluminum seats]

That means they must've been rolling all OVER our D Line!!

Hey! This I'm Bitter Because I Predicted the Patriots Would Lose So I'm Gonna Whine and Wail About It stuff is FUN!!

WHAT's with all the FONTS and stuff?!?!?

 

[Synovia]

The Dolphins had no trouble gaining yardage and first downs. They had no issues driving down the field on us..

Except, you know, when the game was in contention.

The dolphins had 23 first downs. 13 of them came while down more than 10 points, and I believe 9 of them came while the Dolphins were down by 20 or more points

 

[Off The Grid]

* If people can't look at this game as anything other than a marked step forward forward for the team, there are 31 other teams in the league that might better suit your fancy.

If even ONE of these clowns takes your fine advice, I will sing with JOY!! :rocker:

* Editor's Note: the above does NOT include those of you fans who ~ in true Belichickian form ~ choose to enjoy the victory, without going @$$ over teakettle about it!!

 

[Kontradiction]

Except, you know, when the game was in contention.

The dolphins had 23 first downs. 13 of them came while down more than 10 points, and I believe 9 of them came while the Dolphins were down by 20 or more points

I was at the game last night. In the first half, I definitely heard "and that's good for another Miami Dolphins... first down!", just as much, if not more, than I heard it in the second half. On top of that, are you going to try to tell me that the Dolphins gained 300 or more yards of offense in the second half? They were effective at moving the ball in both halves. They were ineffective at limiting turnovers.

 

[Off The Grid]

WHAT's with all the FONTS and stuff?!?!?

Simmer down.

You write in your style...I'll write in mine.

If you don't like it, you have my permission to use the Block Function...wherever that is.

 

[Joker]

If you don't like it, you have my permission to use the Block Function...wherever that is.

I can help you out with that...it's right there under this guy's hat....

 

[emoney_33]

They were effective at moving the ball in both halves. They were ineffective at limiting turnovers.

Isn't turning the ball over being pretty damn INeffective at -moving- the ball...

 

[goheels22002]

It's not really an opinion, you are just flat out WRONG. Heck he was pressured on the Bess TD and threw off his back foot.

It's not only pressure that makes for good defense either. The 1st INT was a good play by the defense, just because the camera shows the ball going directly to Ninkovinch doesn't mean he was there when Henne made the read/decision.

Not to mention a perfect read/throw simply CANNOT be intercepted, and therefore every single INT must have some imperfect decision/throw. The problem is that people lack perspective. Good defenses allow yards, period. If you are expecting to see flat out dominance every single drive, go watch another league or another era.

Oh my. Another person making sense. It must be contagious. Didn't you get your vaccination against reporting what we saw right in front of our eyes?

The Patriots are not the '85 Bears nor the '00 Ravens. Nor do they need to be. If this defense can get their points per game down around last year - 19 to 20 points per game, they'll get where I think we all think they'll be 10-6 or 11-5 and in a position to win the AFC East or be a wild card. (It still kills me to think about going 11-5 in '08 and missing out with Matt Cassell.)

Last night the defense looked disciplined - people playing their lanes, not overpursuing on the runnning plays, active at the line on passing downs.

Sure, there are no elite pass rushers on this team. But so what? Only elite QBs will torch this team and its not clear who on the schedule is an elite passer this year. Manning, Rodgers and Rivers will have big games probably, but the rest of the schedule looks manageable. Those three games should really be shootouts. Cutler's brain is squash after the Giants beating, Favre is disinterested and old, Big Ben has a lot to prove after his layoff and the rest of them are mediocrities or washed up. I think this pass defense only gets better barring injuries.

Last night restored my faith in getting to the playoffs, especially with the back end of this schedule.

 

[TBradyOwnsYou]

Except, you know, when the game was in contention.

The dolphins had 23 first downs. 13 of them came while down more than 10 points, and I believe 9 of them came while the Dolphins were down by 20 or more points

Since they were down by more than 10 within 2 minutes of the 2nd half, you're saying they had 10 first downs in the first half "when the game was in contention" and 13 in the 2nd half "when the Pats were playing to protect a lead"
13 is not that much larger than 10, so I'm going to have to say that they were able to move the ball pretty much the same throughout the game...

 

[rojo8401]

Oh my. Another person making sense. It must be contagious. Didn't you get your vaccination against reporting what we saw right in front of our eyes?

The Patriots are not the '85 Bears nor the '00 Ravens. Nor do they need to be. If this defense can get their points per game down around last year - 19 to 20 points per game, they'll get where I think we all think they'll be 10-6 or 11-5 and in a position to win the AFC East or be a wild card. (It still kills me to think about going 11-5 in '08 and missing out with Matt Cassell.)

Last night the defense looked disciplined - people playing their lanes, not overpursuing on the runnning plays, active at the line on passing downs.

Sure, there are no elite pass rushers on this team. But so what? Only elite QBs will torch this team and its not clear who on the schedule is an elite passer this year. Manning, Rodgers and Rivers will have big games probably, but the rest of the schedule looks manageable. Those three games should really be shootouts. Cutler's brain is squash after the Giants beating, Favre is disinterested and old, Big Ben has a lot to prove after his layoff and the rest of them are mediocrities or washed up. I think this pass defense only gets better barring injuries.

Last night restored my faith in getting to the playoffs, especially with the back end of this schedule.

The question was if this was "breakout game" for our defense. I don't think it was. If the question was " did the defense play better this week?" then you might get a better, more enthusiastic response from me. Breakout must mean different things to different people.

I will watch it again tonight to see how well our defense played overall but my recollection is still that Henne bailed us out on at least 2 red zone drives by making unforced questionable throws (Ninkovich did make a heck of a play on the second one). It's okay to question the defense and to be pessimistic about seeing this kind of special teams dominance over the course of the season.

Breeakout? nope. Better? Of course but that's not really saying much.

At any rate, the keys to this game were the red zone picks and Brady's sustained drive in the 3rd quarter in my opinion.

 

[TheComeback]

Isn't turning the ball over being pretty damn INeffective at -moving- the ball...

They can move the ball all they want, but they only scored 7 points. That's all that matters to anyone with a brain.

 

[Synovia]

I was at the game last night. In the first half, I definitely heard "and that's good for another Miami Dolphins... first down!", just as much, if not more, than I heard it in the second half. On top of that, are you going to try to tell me that the Dolphins gained 300 or more yards of offense in the second half? They were effective at moving the ball in both halves. They were ineffective at limiting turnovers.

According to the official game book, the Dolphins gained 169 yds in the first half, punted once, threw two interceptions, and scored one touchdown. Just under half those yards came in the touchdown drive.

In the 2nd half, they gained 231 yds.



In my oppinion, they looked great on the first drive (punt), terrible on the 2nd one (right after the offense managed to hold onto the ball for 1:06), and pretty average the rest of the quarter.


The two longest drives of the game by the dolphins came directly after the offense held the ball for 1:06 (3 and out in the first quarter), and directly after the offense's :14 drive (blocked punt). It makes sense to me that the defense would be a bit less effective in those situations.

 

[Synovia]

Since they were down by more than 10 within 2 minutes of the 2nd half, you're saying they had 10 first downs in the first half "when the game was in contention" and 13 in the 2nd half "when the Pats were playing to protect a lead"
13 is not that much larger than 10, so I'm going to have to say that they were able to move the ball pretty much the same throughout the game...

10 first downs in a half is pretty normal, not "moving the ball at will"

 

[goheels22002]

The question was if this was "breakout game" for our defense. I don't think it was. If the question was " did the defense play better this week?" then you might get a better, more enthusiastic response from me. Breakout must mean different things to different people.

I will watch it again tonight to see how well our defense played overall but my recollection is still that Henne bailed us out on at least 2 red zone drives by making unforced questionable throws (Ninkovich did make a heck of a play on the second one). It's okay to question the defense and to be pessimistic about seeing this kind of special teams dominance over the course of the season.

Breeakout? nope. Better? Of course but that's not really saying much.

At any rate, the keys to this game were the red zone picks and Brady's sustained drive in the 3rd quarter in my opinion.

And Brandon Tate's 103-yard TD, and Stephen Gostkowski's 5 touchbacks on kicks and Patrick Chung's 2 blocked kicks and TD interception and Bill Belichick high-fiving a defense whose asses he's been kicking for months. Just enjoy it, man!

 

[Synovia]

I will watch it again tonight to see how well our defense played overall but my recollection is still that Henne bailed us out on at least 2 red zone drives by making unforced questionable throws (Ninkovich did make a heck of a play on the second one). It's okay to question the defense and to be pessimistic about seeing this kind of special teams dominance over the course of the season..

Sometimes its the QB making a mistake, sometimes its good coverage, sometimes its both.

And NONE of those drives were in the red zone. Ninkovitch's first pick was at the 40 (and the LOS was about 20 yards back from that), his second pick was at the 25 (and the LOS was about 10 yards back), Chung's pick was at midfield.

Thingpen's pick to Page was at the 25, and the LOS was somewhere around midfield.

So no, no bailing out on "red zone drives". Its questionable that any of them were even in field goal range.

 

[aluminum seats]

The Patriots are not the '85 Bears nor the '00 Ravens. Nor do they need to be. If this defense can get their points per game down around last year - 19 to 20 points per game, they'll get where I think we all think they'll be 10-6 or 11-5 and in a position to win the AFC East or be a wild card. (It still kills me to think about going 11-5 in '08 and missing out with Matt Cassell.)


Last night restored my faith in getting to the playoffs, especially with the back end of this schedule.

If the Pats can beat the Ravens after the bye, they'll be in terrific shape, to the point where--particularly considering the anticipated improvement in the defense--11 wins would be a disappointment.

The only losses I could foresee in the last 11 would be at SD, at Pitt, Indy, and Green Bay. As long as they don't lose all of those, they'll get to 12+.

 

[rojo8401]

And Brandon Tate's 103-yard TD, and Stephen Gostkowski's 5 touchbacks on kicks and Patrick Chung's 2 blocked kicks and TD interception and Bill Belichick high-fiving a defense whose asses he's been kicking for months. Just enjoy it, man!

Totally! I am enjoying the hell out of it. i just made the unfortunate mistake of answering the thread title in a way that some people don't agree with. I'm not a negative person (to the contrary!) I just like to offer my opinion on things when asked.

 

[rojo8401]

Sometimes its the QB making a mistake, sometimes its good coverage, sometimes its both.

And NONE of those drives were in the red zone. Ninkovitch's first pick was at the 40 (and the LOS was about 20 yards back from that), his second pick was at the 25 (and the LOS was about 10 yards back), Chung's pick was at midfield.

Thingpen's pick to Page was at the 25, and the LOS was somewhere around midfield.

So no, no bailing out on "red zone drives". Its questionable that any of them were even in field goal range.

Exactly. this is why I said I need to rewatch it because my memory ain't exactly 100% accurate.

My recollection was that the Phins were driving with little resistance and that Henne kept messing up at the end. So much for that theory!

Epic memory fail!

 

[The Brandon Five]

UNFORCED interceptions (forced is defined by the QB being under pressure - there was none outside of Cunningham on 1 play).

Being down three or four scores is also a kind of "pressure" isn't it? They may have been rushing some plays in the second half because they were so far behind (see: Chung pick).