Thanks for the thoughts. Here were some of mine last night:
1. We have a down field passing game. Yay!!
2. What a great game to watch, start to finish. The Pats and Falcons gave football fans a good one.
3. Walt Coleman, we thought you were our friend! What horrible officiating! No call against the guy who intentionally launched himself into Edelman after he signaled fair catch?! (BS he was blocked into him - the Pats player pulled up). PI against Talib when the receiver held & shoved him?! At my house we were clapping because we were sure that was going to be offensive PI. What a joke. No call on the Dobson debacle? Two fouls committed there - held all the way and then shot to the head of a defenseless receiver, and when Brady complained - did you see the look of absolute confusion on the face of the line judge? DOOFUS. The spot, or lack thereof on the Blount 3rd down carry?! And a review confirming it?! Are you kidding me?! I even thought it looked like, in slow motion, that Boldin's knee was never down, just bent, before he launched himself into the endzone on his TD that was overturned (luckily we got it back 2 plays later).
The only paybacks we got were the personal foul call on the Thompkins reception (I didn't see any helmet to helmet or hit to the head - Thompkins managed to duck it) and the fact that the replay wasn't working on the challenge by BB, as that WAS a catch and we would have lost our time out.
4. Aqib Talib is the man. Great coverage on that last throw and an INT in a most needed spot.
5. Tough night on injuries. So sad to read this morning that Big Vince is likely done for the season. We'll miss him. And, how are Boldin & Dennard this morning? Go away injury bug.
That's all I have for now. So glad to get this win. I was actually never worried we wouldn't until Sudfeld muffed that on-side kick.
I more or less agree with everything, with a few caveats.
Having Thompkins to stretch the field is HUGE - even more so without a TE game, and limited short game (Edelman can only do so much)
Note the game calling involved running the ball much more - not that they wouldn't run in the past the short passes to Welker were in essence, their de facto run game. With limited WRs they've adapted game calling against a good opponent nicely.
On the Defense, while I'm pleased to see a win yet again, this time I'd say they truly got lucky. The Falcons were horrendous in the Red Zone. I'm not sure why they didn't target whoever was in Steve Gregory's vicinity, rather than trying to force the ball in Talib's direction, but they had numerous Red Zone opportunities that fell short, and I blame the Faclons more than I credit the Patriots D (I didn't think Gregory had a good game.)
The big overriding question for the team is whether they will work a trade (a la Talib last year) to improve either the Offense, Defense or both.
There's quite a few good teams out there with bad records (and THAT should be a big point of pride for the Patriots showcasing just how difficult it is to maintain greatness in this era).
But given all those teams with good players who aren't going anywhere this year, perhaps a trade can be worked out. Perhaps the Steelers? Perhaps the Giants? Heck - would Gonzales consider joining Brady for a Super Bowl push in his last season rather than stay on the 1-3 Falcons?
We have the cap space available for a mid sized contract - maybe that's why it's still there, unused.
This team is not as good as their record indicates - but even with the injuries, they are getting better, and hopefully the injury bug will not continue, and that healthy bodies can join the ranks and be up to speed by the playoffs.
