One stop away...defense not clutch

[JFK]

People say Defense wins championships........The Giants offense won the game for the Giants.
We know what our offense is. We know what our defense is. If anything the D stepped up.....Brady didn't. Welker and Hernandez are allowed drops....Brady made the most mistakes.

 

[MaineMan]

Defense got three strips. On two, the ball bounced the Giants' way. On the other, the 12th man negated the one FF that the Pats recovered.

The Manningham catch at the 50 on the Giants' final drive was the result of spectacular effort on his part, not poor coverage. His footwork and body control were perfect.

The defense gave up 19 or the 21 points credited to the Giants. Three of those 19 were a tactical sacrifice - 3 points being the difference between holding them to a FG and leaving about 15 seconds on the clock and letting them have the TD to preserve nearly a minute for Brady to work with.

I thought that a lot of guys on defense produced very good individual efforts. Spikes was very good. Moore and McCourty did well. Arrington was good overall, though he missed a couple opportunities, as did Mayo. Ninko got pressure and set the edge very well, I thought, but missed a couple plays in coverage. Both Warren and Ellis got good push against single-blockers when Wilfork and Love were doubled (outstanding scheme execution by the NYG OL, I thought), but didn't quite get there. And they also couldn't shed quite quickly enough to plug running lanes consistently. Great effort for a couple old guys, but underscores, IMHO, the need for some fresh, young wide bodies on the DL for run-stopping as well as pocket-push. [I think Brace is likely gone and I'm not counting on Wright or Pryor being healthy enough to continue - they're mostly passing down, interior rush specialists, now, anyway, rather than early-down run-stoppers. And Deaderick gets very good pressure, but he's not yet even as good against the run as Ellis.]

The fact that Tracy White was mostly the 4th LB in 3-4 sets illustrates the need for yet another solid OLB who can set the edge, tackle well and play some coverage. White just wasn't getting it done on Sunday, even though he was apparently preferred over Fletcher. Ihedigbo and Chung seemed less than stellar in run support, though that was likely a result of them being locked into coverage duties (not that they were stellar there, either).

Overall, I thought the defense played generally above expectations and could be very good next season with the addition of a couple "backbone" pieces. By that, I mean solid, assignment-oriented, "do your job" types who can execute well enough to allow the playmakers the Pats already have on the roster to shine.

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

It was the Pats offense that choked this SB away.

 

[coolguy]

It was the Pats offense that choked this SB away.

Did wes welker let eli manning drive almost 90+ yards for the game winning fg/td?
The defense blows games

 

[mgteich]

I will probably say this 100 times before preseason. The defense played better than I ever hoped they would play. Belichick developed the defense all year to play this well. They were on the field 37 minutes. We will spend the offseason focusing on the defense, a well we should. After all, many of the players are free agents, and we clearly need a couple of additions in the secondary (although Moore fills one of those spots IMHO).

The offense simply dropped the ball, more than once.

 

[coolguy]

I will probably say this 100 times before preseason. The defense played better than I ever hoped they would play. Belichick developed the defense all year to play this well. They were on the field 37 minutes. We will spend the offseason focusing on the defense, a well we should. After all, many of the players are free agents, and we clearly need a couple of additions in the secondary (although Moore fills one of those spots IMHO).

The offense simply dropped the ball, more than once.

This doesn't make sense.

The patriots defense was helpless in the final drive for 2 straight games. They cannot stop anyone with the game on the line.

 

[celticboy04]

I will probably say this 100 times before preseason. The defense played better than I ever hoped they would play. Belichick developed the defense all year to play this well. They were on the field 37 minutes. We will spend the offseason focusing on the defense, a well we should. After all, many of the players are free agents, and we clearly need a couple of additions in the secondary (although Moore fills one of those spots IMHO).

The offense simply dropped the ball, more than once.

Greetings,

The reason why people feel this why is because the talent level on offense is off the charts compared to what is on defense. Also given the way the offense performed all season long, one of the best units in the league to play their at their worst in the biggest game hurt. Especially considering the Giants D did not dominate as nearly as they did in Super Bowl 42. Quite simply it is very difficult to win football games when your weak link steps up and does the best they can do and your strength has their worst game.

Celticboy04

 

[MaineMan]

On offense, I thought that Brady executed well enough. But the critical drops, IMO, obscured an underlying flaw. I believe that Brady goes into the huddle or up to the line with a selection of plays that are drawn up during game-planning. Brady chooses which one he's going to run based on what he sees from the opposing defense. I believe he's even able to call for certain packages from the sideline based on what he believes are the most exploitable opportunities offered up by the defense. IOW, I don't at all buy into the idea that BoB or BB are always dictating the plays from the sideline. They have "veto power" over play/personnel packages, but it's all a joint effort with Brady (mostly) having the upper hand.

And this was my problem with the offensive play-calling Sunday. Brady appeared to continue to rely on the between-the-hashmarks passing attack that is so Gronk-dependent, even though Gronk was, effectively, not there. Yes, Welker and Hernandez got open on those routes, but it took longer without Gronk being a threat which led to Brady holding the ball longer and getting more pressure and having to scramble out of the pocket. Meanwhile, the old "dink-and-dunk", quick-out-route game was available to Brady,, but he didn't make use of it, especially on the last drive as time was running out. The Giants' CBs were playing plenty far enough off both Branch and Ocho to each get at least one "7-yards and step out to stop the clock" completion, but Brady didn't even have them run those hooks (which are really Ocho's and Branch's specialty). Instead, Brady seemed locked into looking for bigger chunks of yardage over the middle that simply weren't opening up quickly enough (and the drops killed even that).

It just seems to me that Brady has a comfort zone that he just doesn't want to step outside of very often, even when the plays there aren't working well enough. And that bothers me as much as the drops.

 

[ayatollah]

enough about the defense, they gave up 19 points. if i told you the giants would only score 19, hell the ravens gave up more than that.
Brady carried us into the playoffs but it is what it is. this offense has to be worth more than 17 points for crying out loud.
we need a new GM to help our HOF qb and hof coach, hopefully one who will pay welker.

 

[byfuglien]

This doesn't make sense.

The patriots defense was helpless in the final drive for 2 straight games. They cannot stop anyone with the game on the line.

The defense played above itself in this game. The offense played below their standards.

You say why couldn't our D make one stop, why couldn't Brady and Welker or Brady and Branch connect on the previous drive? Why couldn't Brady and Welker connect for the third down conversion that would have sealed it again the Ravens?

Also, the Pats O had AMPLE time to tie the game in the last Super Bowl. For some reason, we kept on taking deep shots instead of throwing to wide open Welker underneath to get into position for a field goal. I think we had timeouts too. That final drive was full of poor clock management.

 

[jukes]

we had multiple fumbles, and mayo/spikes inches away from an INT and sacked eli quite a bit?? game didnt go our way.

 

[ayjackson]

I'm inclined not to believe in "clutch" anymore. I believe in "random" and "luck" now. We had a lot of things go our way during the superbowl runs and even this year we got some breaks. Sometimes the breaks go against you too.

The quality of the coach and personnel put us in position to get win the superbowl year-in year-out, but luck plays a big part and it is hard to dominate in this salary cap era.