I love me some of these long posts with lots of numbers.
1. Does it bother you that Jerod Mayo never seems to make a big play? He's steady and always makes a lot of tackles. But I can't recall a huge stick, a pick or a fumble recovery in a while. Seems like players who make a lot of coin and are generally well regarded should sometimes make special plays.
You couldn't be more wrong on this first one and several posters have already explained why....in detail. Mayo is one the smartest, most flexible, and productive LBs in the game. He may not make the kind highlight real plays you would like,(though he had a bunch last season) but that's more because he's rarely been put in the position to make them.
2. I love me some Vince but wasn't this injury a matter of time? He's clinically obese, I assume, and is about the least surprising person in Boston sports to need to get his wheels adjusted given how much weight he was carrying around. I will miss him and opposing teams will test the Pats up the middle big time. But really, who can be surprised?
What are you talking about. The guy has missed 6 games in TEN freakin' years. Why wouldn't you be surprised. 0-2
3. The Gronk-Pats drama is so not Pats like. Maybe they really don't differ on this stuff. But if they do, the public leak and knowledge of their disagreement reminds me of nothing in their BB past. Weird?
Its probably so unPats like because it probably hasn't happened. There hasn't been this much uninformed speculation since 1927 0-3
5. It would have been fun to have ****ie Seymour back in Foxboro. Too bad it ended so poorly with him. But him aside, I guess I'm a little surprised that the Pats seem so willing to just rely on the "next man up." It seems to underselll how important Vince was.
Not happening. It doesn't matter what "****ie" wants. He's simply not ready to play football....for ANYONE. Over these last 10 years of 10+ win seasons there have been A LOT of "next man up" for key players. Unfortunately this will be another example 1-3-1
6. So people are saying that Edelman is a fine replacement for Welker and that when Amendola gets back, all will be really fine. And there's some truth to that. And I am not one who wrings his hands about the loss of Welker. But something that gets lost in that is how beneficial Welker is for that d-head Manning. My Welker pain is less about him being gone (which is in fact painful given how great he was in NE) and more to do with him making a rival better and particularly that hateful rival. It's beyond annoying and I find it odd that BB didn't try harder to keep Wes out of Denver given the obvious impact it would have on Peyton and that attack.
If not here, Denver was the best fit for Welker. Manning is a check down passer now, despite his gaudy stats. He also has played 3-4 at home against weak defenses. Unfortunately he won't get a real challenge until a 4 game stretch around week 11
8. If Tom retired tomorrow and you could have anyone not Peyton, who would you pick?
For me it's Brees. I know there are good arguments for other guys but I just love Brees, and I am not one to love other players. It would be Rogers or Luck for me. I wouldn't take Manning even if I could have him. He may have a 65% completion rate, but has a 40% success rate in the playoffs. That's all I have to know.
9. If the Pats disappeared overnight and you were required to adopt another team, who would it be. For me it's the Steelers. Great fans, great tradition, they beat the Jets in the 2010 AFC Champ game, my friends who are Steelers fans are all cool....I hate Ben but I dunno, one guy isn't enough to make a decision on.
I'd be a Browns fan. I love being the underdog and their management is doing it right.
10. The new receivers are doing pretty well. Thompkins is such a find. Dobson and Boyce have shown some sparks. But I still think the Pats should have chosen a WR with their first pick. And made it a priority to get a veteran WR in free agency. Just seems weird to put so much stock in it just working out with rookies. Again, so far, so good, but the decision making on this one is hard for me to wrap my head around.
Bad decision. You do not and cannot waste a #1 draft pick on the easiest position in the league to find talent. Julius Jones is a GREAT WR, but BB was right. The 5 players that D gave up would have likely made them a better overall team. I know "chicks love the long ball", but good WR's can be found everywhere.
11. Putting aside the obvious strategic and on field benefit in having Gronk back, I can honestly say that there is no one outside Tom Brady in 2009 whose return I have ever been more excited about. What athlete do you more enjoy watching doing his thing than Gronk? His open field runs against the Skins in 2011? Yowzer!
Well worth waiting for. He's a true impact player. Watch the run game improve after he's fully in game shape.
12. The in game adjustments vis-a-vis Gonzalez on the last drive, when they gave him the Roman Phifer treatment and just mugged him off the line, leave me weak in the knees. As much as I have some concerns with BB's off season plan (at WR in particular), I just LOVE how he handles games and coaching.
That's why he's a HOFer. The dude just LOVES to coach. He's not the boss. He's not the autocrat. He's the coach. Just go to any preseason practice and watch him work. At any point in the practice he's in working with all the groups.
15. I still cringe when Ridley carries the ball. Don't you fumble!
Way too much has been made of this issue. You have bought what the mediots have been pandering. Just compare his fumble numbers with some of the best backs in the league and they are not too far off. RB's sometimes fumble its a fact of life especially in a league where take aways are part of the defenses strategy.
16. Talib IS the Pats second most important player right now. When Gronk returns at full strength, we can talk about this, but no way is anyone close to Talib at the moment. The Pats were doing fine against the Ravens until Talib went out, mind you.
Talib is certainly making a strong case for someone to pay him big money, but there's still 75% of the season left. Lets see how durable and effective he remains over the course of this season. For me, I think the best way to go is the franchise tag for the next 2 years
19. Hats off to the Pats offensive line for the job they did against the Falcons. You have gotten WAY too little credit for that outstanding effort.
Ultimately this area is the real strength of the team and why the offense will get better and better with every passing game,
20. There really is no way to get more use out of Brandon Spikes than in 6 defensive snaps?
Not while teams are throwing the ball close to 70% of the time. He's a one trick pony. True he's very good at what he does, but he's not versatile and flexible enough to be kept on after this season unless its for small money. Does he even play special teams?
21. Does Aaron Hernandez watch Pats games in prison? Wonder what he thought when Collinsworth made that ridiculous comment about the Pats turning bad guys into good guys. (And I agree that Talib has been a model citizen in NE and that many guys do buy into the Patriot Way stuff).
People here have conveniently forgotten that Hernandez (up until his arrest) was a model citizen his first 3 years here. He never missed a meeting, he worked hard, he "did the right thing" during the season. He completed his charitable obligations. On the surface nothing was wrong with this kid until THIS off season. Its just the usual 20-20 hindsight the media pukes use to make it seem like the Pats should have seen this coming, just because he had troubles in FLA. You can't be responsible for everything these guys do in their lives, ESPECIALLY in the off season.,
23. Why was Pete Carroll so horrendous in NE when he is pretty darn good everywhere else? He sounded so goofy in Boston (pumped and jacked.....never any real content to his answers), and somewho intelligent when I hear him now.
Very under rated guy. Just because he didn't fit the media mold of what a HC should be (Bill Parcells) he never caught a break with those media pukes. He never had a decent draft because Bobby Grier hadn't made a good pick since Terry Glenn. He never had Pete's back like a good GM should. People forget that Pete was 2 very makeable FG's from AV from going 10-6 his last year, overcoming a ton of injuries and poor depth.
For what he did at USC and with the Seahawks, Pete has nothing to prove to us as being a very good HC. I love how he is true to himself. No question he does it differently, but that doesn't make it wrong. He is a very underrated HC.
24. Dante's tenure and coaching job....one of the most amazing stories in Pats history.
Dante's story really needs a special on the NFLN
25. They should be able to handle this Cinci team, right? Will Brady get any help/tips from Hoyer?
Don't underestimate the Bengals, No other team in the league has better talent. Its hard to win on the road against any desperate team. The Bengals will be a severe test, especially the first week back without Vince, and maybe Dennard.
26. Wonder if Brady noticed that his two former back-ups did pretty well on Sunday. I feel good for Cassell and Hoyer. Like both of those dudes.
I'm sure he did and he said it publicly. My hope is that this kind of production will make the off season market for Ryan Mallet better
