AFC Championship Game: Jets at Steelers

[Deus Irae]

Aww isn't that cute?

Well, I had cleared my ignore list during the Jets week. Congrats, you're the first one being added back to it.


Good luck in middle school.

 

[Patspsycho]

We mixed the run and the pass, I posted it. Unlike dillon, as I've indicated, we run much better agains nickel dime packages because we have two journeyman running backs.

Dillon was running on one leg the end of his career and was still a tough back. Maroney sucked and was inconsistent.

I am not disagreeing that a balanced attack is best. We ran a balance attack. I posted the gawdamn play by play. When we fell behind, the Jets ran on us because our line is decimated. Our defense is not as good with injuries and our running backs are average reliable backs who can be stopped when the defense plays the run. When they beat our blocking scheme it's a stop!!!!

Delude yourself if you want, you don't get to play the game over and ham and egger running backs don't march up and down the field when good defenses are actually trying to stop them.

and there's no Santa Claus! Sorry.

Entering the 4th quarter, we were only down by 3. That is not the definition of "fell behind."

Yet, we stopped mixing it up after the first two drives.

Why?

 

[RayClay]

Who failed exactly? It wasn't BJGE or Woodhead. They did their jobs. Someone else didn't.

They did their jobs. There jobs don't entail anything close to carryinfg the team on there back, they are likely (at least BJ, since Woodhead is a good receiver) out of football if they don't have a team with a top QB so they can be a reliable, dependable complement.

BJ ... Strengths, never fumbled, follows blocking and goes forward.

Power, average or below, speed below average, elusiveness, below average.

 

[Patspsycho]

They did their jobs. There jobs don't entail anything close to carryinfg the team on there back, they are likely (at least BJ, since Woodhead is a good receiver) out of football if they don't have a team with a top QB so they can be a reliable, dependable complement.

BJ ... Strengths, never fumbled, follows blocking and goes forward.

Power, average or below, speed below average, elusiveness, below average.

So Mendenhall "carried" his team tonight with a 4.4 YPC, but BJGE did not carry his team with a 4.8 YPC, last week?

 

[RayClay]

Entering the 4th quarter, we were only down by 3. That is not the definition of "fell behind."

Yet, we stopped mixing it up after the first two drives.

Why?

If I prove, by the drive before and the drive after we closed it to 3 points that you are completely wrong, will you be happy?

Here's the drive where Brady marched 80 yards down the field, mostly in the shotgun for a TD and 2 pointer.

# 1-10-NE 20 (4:04) (Shotgun) 12-T.Brady pass deep left to 87-R.Gronkowski to NYJ 43 for 37 yards (26-D.Lowery, 22-B.Pool). WATCH HIGHLIGHT
# 1-10-NYJ 43 (3:37) (No Huddle) 39-D.Woodhead left end to NYJ 42 for 1 yard (92-S.Ellis).
# 2-9-NYJ 42 (2:56) 12-T.Brady pass incomplete short middle to 39-D.Woodhead.
# 3-9-NYJ 42 (2:51) (Shotgun) 12-T.Brady pass short left to 84-D.Branch to NYJ 30 for 12 yards (99-J.Taylor).
# 1-10-NYJ 30 (2:08) (Shotgun) 12-T.Brady pass short middle to 84-D.Branch to NYJ 14 for 16 yards (24-D.Revis).
# Timeout #1 by NYJ at 01:36.
# 1-10-NYJ 14 (1:36) (Shotgun) PENALTY on NE-72-M.Light, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at NYJ 14 - No Play.
# 1-15-NYJ 19 (1:36) 42-B.Green-Ellis right end to NYJ 9 for 10 yards (26-D.Lowery).
# 2-5-NYJ 9 53) (Shotgun) 12-T.Brady pass short middle to 83-W.Welker to NYJ 2 for 7 yards (33-E.Smith). WATCH HIGHLIGHT
# 1-2-NYJ 2 15) (Shotgun) 63-D.Connolly reported in as eligible. 12-T.Brady pass short middle to 82-A.Crumpler for 2 yards, TOUCHDOWN. NE 12-Brady 17th consecutive postseason game with a TD pass, 2nd longest streak all-time (Favre 20). NE 12-Brady 29th career postseason TD pass, ties Peyton Manning for 6th all-time. WATCH HIGHLIGHT
# TWO-POINT CONVERSION ATTEMPT. 34-S.Morris rushes up the middle. ATTEMPT SUCCEEDS. Brady in shotgun, direct snap to Morris. WATCH HIGHLIGHT

2 runs, I counted. Our most pass heavy, and a successful, come from behind drive.

Our next drive, down by 3

I count 7 runs and six passes. That's more run heavy than usual. When we were down by three after our pass oriented TD drive.

# 2-N.Folk kicks 71 yards from NYJ 30 to NE -1. 19-B.Tate to NE 18 for 19 yards (55-J.Westerman).
# 1-10-NE 18 (12:55) 39-D.Woodhead left end to NE 22 for 4 yards (22-B.Pool, 52-D.Harris).
# 2-6-NE 22 (12:20) 39-D.Woodhead left tackle to NE 24 for 2 yards (70-M.Devito). FUMBLES (70-M.Devito), recovered by NE-70-L.Mankins at NE 27.
# 3-1-NE 27 (11:28) 12-T.Brady pass short middle to 83-W.Welker to NE 35 for 8 yards (31-A.Cromartie).
# 1-10-NE 35 (10:50) (Shotgun) 12-T.Brady pass incomplete short middle to 82-A.Crumpler.
# 2-10-NE 35 (10:45) 39-D.Woodhead left end to NE 39 for 4 yards (22-B.Pool, 99-J.Taylor).
# 3-6-NE 39 (10:03) (Shotgun) 12-T.Brady pass short left to 84-D.Branch to NE 47 for 8 yards (24-D.Revis).
# 1-10-NE 47 (9:28) 42-B.Green-Ellis left guard to 50 for 3 yards (93-T.Pryce).
# 2-7- (8:47) 39-D.Woodhead up the middle to NYJ 42 for 8 yards (22-B.Pool).
# 1-10-NYJ 42 (8:23) 39-D.Woodhead right end to NYJ 35 for 7 yards (26-D.Lowery).
# 2-3-NYJ 35 (7:40) PENALTY on NE-84-D.Branch, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at NYJ 35 - No Play.
# 2-8-NYJ 40 (7:24) 12-T.Brady pass short left to 83-W.Welker to NYJ 31 for 9 yards (24-D.Revis).
# 1-10-NYJ 31 (6:49) 39-D.Woodhead right guard to NYJ 31 for no gain (92-S.Ellis).
# 2-10-NYJ 31 (6:09) 12-T.Brady sacked at NYJ 34 for -3 yards (91-S.Pouha). WATCH HIGHLIGHT
# 3-13-NYJ 34 (5:30) (Shotgun) 12-T.Brady pass incomplete short right to 39-D.Woodhead. NYJ-24-D.Revis was injured during the play.
# 4-13-NYJ 34 (5:19) (Shotgun) 12-T.Brady pass incomplete short left to 84-D.Branch. WATCH HIGHLIGHT

 

[RayClay]

So Mendenhall "carried" his team tonight with a 4.4 YPC, but BJGE did not carry his team with a 4.8 YPC, last week?

You know, if you're not going to watch the games and just quote statistical averages it's not worth arguing. I watched the first half and Rapeburger sucked, in fact he wasn't very good most of the game.

why don't you tell me, without looking at a stat sheet, how Pitt built their lead.

# 1-10-NYJ 47 (11:42) 34-R.Mendenhall right end to NYJ 39 for 8 yards (70-M.Devito, 24-D.Revis).
# 2-2-NYJ 39 (11:02) 34-R.Mendenhall right tackle to NYJ 37 for 2 yards (24-D.Revis, 93-T.Pryce).
First down

# 1-10-NYJ 37 (10:16) 34-R.Mendenhall right tackle to NYJ 29 for 8 yards (24-D.Revis; 33-E.Smith).

1-10-PIT 13 (1:43) 34-R.Mendenhall right guard to PIT 24 for 11 yards (22-B.Pool).
First down

# 1-10-NYJ 41 (14:49) 34-R.Mendenhall up the middle to NYJ 34 for 7 yards (33-E.Smith, 24-D.Revis).
# 2-3-NYJ 34 (14:08) 34-R.Mendenhall right guard to NYJ 32 for 2 yards (97-C.Pace).
9 on 2 carries, other RB fails

# 3-1-NYJ 32 (13:26) 33-I.Redman left guard to NYJ 32 for no gain (52-D.Harris, 57-B.Scott). Official measurement.

(10:25) 34-R.Mendenhall right tackle pushed ob at NYJ 27 for 35 yards (24-D.Revis).

First down and a ball breaker for the Jets.

(2:54) 7-B.Roethlisberger pass short left to 34-R.Mendenhall to NYJ 2 for 14 yards (31-A.Cromartie).

Another first down and ball breaker.

You can average out some garbage time runs if you want, but that's highlights of the first half and a 24-3 game.

 

[Patspsycho]

If I prove, by the drive before and the drive after we closed it to 3 points that you are completely wrong, will you be happy?

Here's the drive where Brady marched 80 yards down the field, mostly in the shotgun for a TD and 2 pointer.



2 runs, I counted. Our most pass heavy, and a successful, come from behind drive.

Our next drive, down by 3

I count 7 runs and six passes. That's more run heavy than usual. When we were down by three after our pass oriented TD drive.

Of those 7 "runs" only one was a legit run; the rest were draw plays, e.g., no FB, or I formation sets, just Woodhead in HB, and he frequently motioned. That did not affect the way the Jets played against us- they didn't even shift out of their nickel or dime anytime Woodhead was in there because they knew one linebacker could stop Woodhead cold.

I know for a fact, because I downloaded the game and have seen it a few times.

 

[Patspsycho]

You know, if you're not going to watch the games and just quote statistical averages it's not worth arguing. I watched the first half and Rapeburger sucked, in fact he wasn't very good most of the game.

why don't you tell me, without looking at a stat sheet, how Pitt built their lead.

Well that argues my point. Pittsburgh ran the ball a lot in the first half, unlike us. If we had used BJGE a lot more, the outcome would have been very different. It would have forced the Jets out of their heavy coverage groupings.

 

[Patspsycho]

You know, if you're not going to watch the games and just quote statistical averages it's not worth arguing. I watched the first half and Rapeburger sucked, in fact he wasn't very good most of the game.

why don't you tell me, without looking at a stat sheet, how Pitt built their lead.

Also you didn't answer my question on how Mendenhall is said to have "carried" his team with a 4.4 ypc, but BJGE didn't do so with a 4.8 YPC? That's the confusing thing to me.

 

[RayClay]

Of those 7 "runs" only one was a legit run; the rest were draw plays, e.g., no FB, or I formation sets, just Woodhead in HB, and he frequently motioned. That did not affect the way the Jets played against us- they didn't even shift out of their nickel or dime anytime Woodhead was in there because they knew one linebacker could stop Woodhead cold.

I know for a fact, because I downloaded the game and have seen it a few times.

So now draw plays don't count as runs. Ha ha. this is great.

 

[sevengables_2207]

Also you didn't answer my question on how Mendenhall is said to have "carried" his team with a 4.4 ypc, but BJGE didn't do so with a 4.8 YPC? That's the confusing thing to me.

I guess you could say that Mendenhall "carried" his team with 27 rushes and it would make more sense than saying he carried his team with 4.4 ypc. Had BJGE received 25 rushing attempts last week, I think that the outcome of the game would have been different.

 

[Patspsycho]

So now draw plays don't count as runs. Ha ha. this is great.

Technically it does.

I am looking at it in terms of how it affected the Jets defense. The fact is that every time Woodhead was in there, it did not change the defense. The Jets stuck to their heavy coverage schemes.

Whereas- once Mendenhall started running on the Jets tonight (27 attempts which is more than the total of BJGE/Woodhead attempts), that forced them to change things around, and so the Steelers were able to dictate to them, to force them to react.

 

[Patspsycho]

I guess you could say that Mendenhall "carried" his team with 25 rushes and it would make more sense than saying he carried his team with 4.4 ypc. Had BJGE received 25 rushing attempts last week, I think that the outcome of the game would have been different.

That is what I am trying to argue.

 

[Deus Irae]

I guess you could say that Mendenhall "carried" his team with 27 rushes and it would make more sense than saying he carried his team with 4.4 ypc. Had BJGE received 25 rushing attempts last week, I think that the outcome of the game would have been different.

How many games has the running game rescued for the Patriots in the post-2007 era?

 

[RayClay]

Well that argues my point. Pittsburgh ran the ball a lot in the first half, unlike us. If we had used BJGE a lot more, the outcome would have been very different. It would have forced the Jets out of their heavy coverage groupings.

So Pittsburgh getting first downs with Mendenhall makes BJGE as good an athlete as Him? This is getting better.

Mendenhall had a 35 yd run in the first half. He has at least a 50 yard and 60 yard run in each of the last two seasons.

How many 35 or more yard runs does BJ have? (it's a trick question).

 

[RayClay]

Technically it does.

I am looking at it in terms of how it affected the Jets defense. The fact is that every time Woodhead was in there, it did not change the defense. The Jets stuck to their heavy coverage schemes.

Whereas- once Mendenhall started running on the Jets tonight (27 attempts which is more than the total of BJGE/Woodhead attempts), that forced them to change things around, and so the Steelers were able to dictate to them, to force them to react.

Because he ran once for longer than BJ has ever run and he has season longs of 50 and 60. Because he can beat people outside with speed and maul people in the open field. You can't analyze football on a spreadsheet, it's about physical matchups sometimes, especially at RB.

I showed how it changed the Jets defense. On first down when they were all about Brady, BJ got 8 yards. In short yardage, Woody got 1, BJ -1.

You can spin it how you want, look at the transcript and find me the breakaway runs, forcing first downs with the run etc. BJ gets the benefit of nickel and dime defenses.

 

[sevengables_2207]

How many games has the running game rescued for the Patriots in the post-2007 era?

It has little to do with "rescuing" and more to do with maintaining balance consistently in order to keep a defense guessing. Your sophistic arguments need not apply.

 

[RayClay]

Also you didn't answer my question on how Mendenhall is said to have "carried" his team with a 4.4 ypc, but BJGE didn't do so with a 4.8 YPC? That's the confusing thing to me.

You know what? Nobody in football is judged by averages. Mendenhall was solely responsible for four first downs, one a run of 35.

That's how they measure things in football, first downs and touchdowns.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

You know what? Nobody in football is judged by averages. Mendenhall was solely responsible for four first downs, one a run of 35.

That's how they measure things in football, first downs and touchdowns.

Mendenhall: 324 attempts, 13 TDs, 3.9 YPC, 61 first downs (18.8%)
Green-Ellis: 229 attempts, 13 TDs, 4.4 YPC, 62 first downs (27.1%)

Care to try that again?

 

[Deus Irae]

It has little to do with "rescuing" and more to do with maintaining balance consistently in order to keep a defense guessing. Your sophistic arguments need not apply.

Perhaps you could take a look at the first drives of the Patriots?

First drive was 3 runs and 5 passes.

Second drive was begun with a run that was called back by penalty. After that, it was 3 runs, 4 passes and the sack on third down after Crumpler dropped the TD pass.

In other words, they started out about mixing the pass and run, and moved the ball the length of the field both times, with both drives starting from inside the Patriots own 20. The end result was a 7-3 deficit.

Pretending that some mythical "balance" was the problem is a nice story to tell your kids 30 years from now, but it just doesn't hold water in the face of what was actually happening on the field.