End of the game last night.

[RobertWeathers]

Brady was getting hit at the end of the 3rd qtr and the offensive line was failing massively up the middle. People were missing their blocks.

I think if BB had more faith in the revamped OL the Patriots would have passed more.

...and not picking up that safety blitz was appalling.

 

[Bill Lee]

They couldn't stop the passing game. Do what you do best and for the Pats thats the short throwing.

Yet the quickest way to get the Colts back into the game would have been a bobbled pass that becomes an INT. I'm sure that kind of play was on their minds. It sure was on mine.

 

[1960Pats]

Also, last night you had Edelman iffy with the hands, Dion Lewis very limited, obviously, a patchwork line where the Colts would start trying blitzes and such, Gronk covered well...

I loved the three runs that forced the Colts to burn their TOs, honestly. The other drives stalled on various things, including a non-PI call against Chandler, who got mugged on the 3rd down play.

That's the semi-regular non-call that bothers me the most. Even Jerry Rice with a gallon of stickum couldn't get his hands on a ball if the defender was holding his arm or arms down. The Ravens get away with that a lot.

I think there are times that the Pats don't use the run to run out the clock when they should. Last night they had a 13 point lead (I think it was the possession before the three runs)with under 5 minutes left and, after a good 5 or 6 yard gain by Blount on 1st down, went pass-happy and ran no time off the clock and didn't force Indy into using any timeouts.

 

[varjao]

At some point, when they were marching on the field, I was sure they would score the TD and was scared ****less about the onside kick. I could see the 34-35 and how the press and NFL would react to it. The Jamie Collins play was amazing and that gave me some relief.

About the play call I have no problem as BB seemed to have under control. But we were passing the ball with ease all day, specially for a short gain, so I thought they could at least throw in the 2nd down but then again it worked out so nothing to see here. I'm pretty sure BB has the balls to pass in a situation where we all want them to run. He sees things we don't see in the field and I trust his judgement better than mine.

 

[IllegalContact]

They won every one of those games. BB traded a meaningless score for all the time on the clock. The prevent meant that every short pass attempt completed meant the clock continued to tick off.

Like many, you forget the object is to win the game, not to roll up useless statistics... BB remained on course and kept his eye on it for the ultimate objective.

not talking about rolling up stats.....and you certainly don't know what's in BB's head so stop acting like you do

the Bills were in position to tie the game after trailing 37-13.....I am positive that's not any part of BB's grand plan .....otherwise, we'd be seeing punt fakes like Pagano's by the guy

where the hell do people come up with the notion that things played out the way they wanted them to

 

[tasmlab]

versus the steelers, bills, and colts, the close out sucked

At least for the Bills, I thought they were using the end of the game as a pre-season game of sorts. Like a practice. It seems like the bottom of the roster was playing and the next day everyone was impressed with how evenly the snaps counts were distributed across the roster.

Whether the close outs were bad playing, practice or strategy, a future one could easily end up badly.

 

[BradyFTW!]

I don't mind what they did. Given how hard the Colts were selling out against the run, I can see the argument for passing for what should be a pretty easy first down. But the Pats didn't want to risk doing the Colts any favors by stopping the clock, and that's fine.

 

[PatsBoy12]

We won.

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

I think you can afford to run out the clock if you're up by double-digit points...if it's anything lower than that, then I'd probably want the Pats to be more aggressive and pass more on downs

 

[BradyFTW!]

Just think about how all times the Pats have passed when up by a lot, stopped the clock, and given a team a chance to get back into the game. And when that happens, this board is flooded with people complaining that the Pats didn't run out the clock, and/or didn't trust the defense, etc.

If it had been up to me, I wouldn't have minded seeing the Pats make some quick, easy-ish passes when the Colts loaded the box against us at the end, but I understand the trade-off and can't really fault them for how they played it.

Meanwhile, there were people complaining in the game thread after the onside kick recovery that the Pats were probably just going to run it three times again, apparently unaware that the Pats could just kneel it for the win.

 

[raduray]

The flip side of this coin is that had they run more effectively and closed it out with Blount pounding out first downs, people would be singing the praises of the play calling.

The Patriots are not a run every down team. They need passes to set up the run.

 

[VectorPrime]

I am concerned that the defense let Andrew Luck march down the field with huge pass plays which is what prevent defense is meant to, well, prevent. I would be feeling a lot happier today if we had won 34-21 because the defense forced a stop by the Colts at the end. It would mean no points in the 2nd half, a stat to be proud up. But the ****ty pass defense we saw kept the game close and leaves me worried. And 34-28 leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

 

[wolverinejoe80]

our aggressive playcalling against the bills got backfired. play safe and win the game. don't rub it in because it gives other teams extra motivation next time we play them.

 

[VectorPrime]

Well by playing the defense we did we let the Colts come within an onside kick recovery away from tying There's playing safe and there's playing poorly. The defense played poorly on that last series. And the offense did as well for most of the second half.

 

[TommyD4207]

versus the steelers, bills, and colts, the close out sucked

They won all three games, so I'd say the closeout was just fine.

 

[TommyD4207]

I am concerned that the defense let Andrew Luck march down the field with huge pass plays which is what prevent defense is meant to, well, prevent. I would be feeling a lot happier today if we had won 34-21 because the defense forced a stop by the Colts at the end. It would mean no points in the 2nd half, a stat to be proud up. But the ****ty pass defense we saw kept the game close and leaves me worried. And 34-28 leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Because they gave up a garbage time TD? Really?

And it was 34-27.

And why a road win would leave a "bad taste in your mouth" is beyond me.

I just don't understand you "every game has to be a 56-0 win" fans.

 

[IllegalContact]

They won all three games, so I'd say the closeout was just fine.

WTF is with the moronic eye-roll?

I can guarantee you the end of the Bills game was not what the team had in mind

 

[primetime]

The delay-of-game followed by the timeout on the final drive was inexcusable. Any other team would have been raked over coals for that. A first down ends the game for all intents and purposes, and you go from a 2nd and 4 that two runs with Blount would have easily had to a 2nd and 9.

 

[VectorPrime]

Because they gave up a garbage time TD? Really?

And it was 34-27.

And why a road win would leave a "bad taste in your mouth" is beyond me.

I just don't understand you "every game has to be a 56-0 win" fans.

If you can make it a one score game with over a minute to go than it isn't garbage time! It's not that hard to understand!