OFFICIAL: Patriots vs. Titans Post Game thread

[Joker]

Nice opening post, DaB....almost like you were there

Nice 14 point swing on that idiotic pick call in the 2nd half. You have no idea how much blocking from behind and holding they let the Titans O line do.

I have one question...are the Patriots now the only team in the league that does NOT throw at least one pass a game 20 yards in the air...IN BOUNDS?????????????????? Jeezus krist...oh yeah, 3rd and 1 at the 20, run it wide????? I want to smash McDaniels in his face like it's a punching bag. I can't help it....he's a friggin' little turtle boy.

 

[venecol]

I love this team. It was a good win. Our D is no joke. Agree on Iosefa, good to see him step up. Glad to see Lafell shut up all of his detractors. Hope no serious injuries just players banged up.

Winning against the Dolphins won't be a problem. Jets are playing good. We shall see.

 

[gitgronked82]

I just got home from the game and i don't remember seeing hightower out there at all

Lafell seems to be hurt and lucky Chungs doesn't sound serious

He played pretty well for a bit imo. I was there and saw him quite a bit
I also did see him walk into the locker room

Absolutely no reason to play him. Ridiculous!!

I very much disagree

 

[Kontradiction]

The game thread was an absolute embarrassment today. I figured I would cover that since most other topics were covered. The team really missed Easley against the pass today. The defense, at times, had zero push up the gut leaving Mettenberger with a clean pocket.

 

[The Gr8est]

Is this an appropriate spot to eat crow on James White?

He has made me a believer.

 

[DaBruinz]

The game thread was an absolute embarrassment today. I figured I would cover that since most other topics were covered. The team really missed Easley against the pass today. The defense, at times, had zero push up the gut leaving Mettenberger with a clean pocket.

I gotta disagree with you, Kontra. The game plan was, specifically, to keep the Tenn QB in the pocket. Doing so means there are times when it's going to look like there is "zero push". But the reality is that the team had constant pressure on the Titan's QBs all game. They just made some plays..

 

[BobDigital]

Was unable to post in the game thread today but I liked the game overall. They got screwed on that White call that would have lead to points and an unusual Gost miss. This game could have been 43-10. They got a cheap 7 cause Chung went down hurt on the play they scored.

Ryan did have a bad game I agree but we can forgive him that. He has been so good all year.

Harmon did well for McCourty. I would not go as far to say you did not miss McCourty but Harmon seems to be clearly starter level right now.

It seems to me overall though the Pats stepped off the game in the 2nd half. I just saw less intensity in play and play calling. Maybe that is just me though. However they did have a 3rd and 8 and ran in the 2nd half which means they probably didn't care much at that point cause how could you really expect that to work without Lewis as good as White was this game.

The injuries don't seem to be major which is good.

My thoughts on the OL are mixed but I will say this

People can complain about the OL but they should remember that the one thing the Titans do well in rush the passer. And they do it very well. In pressures per pass attempt they ranked 3rd in the NFL going into the game. The pass blocking at times was good though vs a very good pass rush and a lot of the problems were up the middle which is where the change was made. I don't automatically play Andrews but instability at this point is not helpful. I thought overall a good game for the tackles though. This was a good run blocking day. Mason had a few monster blocks which is something we have been missing. Overall I grade the OL a C performance considering the opponent.

LaFell had a nice day which was good to see. No drops IIRC and made a few nice plays down the field. That play with him running the end around was silly though. That is not what Lafell does. It was doomed from the start.

The play calling today was lackluster but part of me thinks this close to the post season and vs this team they knew they would beat they didn't want to show anything if they could help it and they certainly did not.

Nice to see the D get turnovers and points off them. If this D can hold other Os down and score some points to boot we don't be losing to anyone.

Final note. Amendola is as sure handed as they come and we still had a fumble on a punt return. :/ People were quick to forget cause of Martin's big return which made the 2 plays a bit of a wash. But IDK what the deal is. I would say the play of simply fielding a punt needs to be run more in practice though.

 

[Kontradiction]

I gotta disagree with you, Kontra. The game plan was, specifically, to keep the Tenn QB in the pocket. Doing so means there are times when it's going to look like there is "zero push". But the reality is that the team had constant pressure on the Titan's QBs all game. They just made some plays..

That was the game plan for Mariota. Once he went out, the game plan changed. If you have the game recorded, go watch it again. The DT's were staying home with Mariota in and started going upfield every passing down with Mettenberger in. Problem is they couldn't generate much pressure. Most of the pressure on Mettenberger came off the edges.

 

[PScottman]

That was the game plan for Mariota. Once he went out, the game plan changed. If you have the game recorded, go watch it again. The DT's were staying home with Mariota in and started going upfield every passing down with Mettenberger in. Problem is they couldn't generate much pressure. Most of the pressure on Mettenberger came off the edges.

Probably the difference between 5-6 sacks vs the 3-4 we had IMHO. That said, he's gone to IR so the team has to adjust either via scheme or otherwise.

I kind of agree with the aspect that they stayed with the original gameplan even with the QB change AND played a lot of cover 2/high safeties looks with the lead to run clock the entire second half. I think they definitely blitzed less in the 2d half...but that's just a guess on my part.

 

[Kdo5]

Is this an appropriate spot to eat crow on James White?

He has made me a believer.

Honestly you probably should have swallowed that crow back in the Philly game. After that game I thought there was real potential and he'd become a solid fill in for the Lewis/Vereen/Faulk role.

After today I'm mightily impressed by his production in the receiving game. If he could do a little more in the run game it'd be nice. With Edelman returning I think the offense can get back into elite form.

 

[luuked]

Was unable to post in the game thread today but I liked the game overall. They got screwed on that White call that would have lead to points and an unusual Gost miss. This game could have been 43-10. They got a cheap 7 cause Chung went down hurt on the play they scored.

Ryan did have a bad game I agree but we can forgive him that. He has been so good all year.

Harmon did well for McCourty. I would not go as far to say you did not miss McCourty but Harmon seems to be clearly starter level right now.

It seems to me overall though the Pats stepped off the game in the 2nd half. I just saw less intensity in play and play calling. Maybe that is just me though. However they did have a 3rd and 8 and ran in the 2nd half which means they probably didn't care much at that point cause how could you really expect that to work without Lewis as good as White was this game.

The injuries don't seem to be major which is good.

My thoughts on the OL are mixed but I will say this

People can complain about the OL but they should remember that the one thing the Titans do well in rush the passer. And they do it very well. In pressures per pass attempt they ranked 3rd in the NFL going into the game. The pass blocking at times was good though vs a very good pass rush and a lot of the problems were up the middle which is where the change was made. I don't automatically play Andrews but instability at this point is not helpful. I thought overall a good game for the tackles though. This was a good run blocking day. Mason had a few monster blocks which is something we have been missing. Overall I grade the OL a C performance considering the opponent.

LaFell had a nice day which was good to see. No drops IIRC and made a few nice plays down the field. That play with him running the end around was silly though. That is not what Lafell does. It was doomed from the start.

The play calling today was lackluster but part of me thinks this close to the post season and vs this team they knew they would beat they didn't want to show anything if they could help it and they certainly did not.

Nice to see the D get turnovers and points off them. If this D can hold other Os down and score some points to boot we don't be losing to anyone.

Final note. Amendola is as sure handed as they come and we still had a fumble on a punt return. :/ People were quick to forget cause of Martin's big return which made the 2 plays a bit of a wash. But IDK what the deal is. I would say the play of simply fielding a punt needs to be run more in practice though.

Amendola supposedly had both hands on the ball but the Titans player simply ripped it out. This one was one of the less idiotic punt related accidents in the last few weeks. Other teams also make plays..

That being said, as often as some kind of holding/block in the back penalty is called you might as well just fair catch everything and come out ahead yardage wise.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

What was with the CBS camera crew/director today? The camera angles were horrible. Often way too low and not directly down the LOS. And they missed Jones's strip sack, too.

 

[VrabelMayeWin]

LaFell looked good, which is obviously a big deal. Joey Fullback looked really good - for a fullback. I'd definitely keep him around but would like Ball or Jackson too. They'd have a month to get in shape (Ball) and football shape (Jackson) respectively.

 

[Mark.]

What was with the CBS camera crew/director today? The camera angles were horrible. Often way too low and not directly down the LOS. And they missed Jones's strip sack, too.

I said the same thing. When they scored on that strip sack, I was wondering what the heck happened and it took a long time for them to get to the replay.

 

[Mark.]

Amendola is as sure handed as they come and we still had a fumble on a punt return. :/ People were quick to forget cause of Martin's big return which made the 2 plays a bit of a wash. But IDK what the deal is. I would say the play of simply fielding a punt needs to be run more in practice though.

I've gotten so I hold my breath on every special teams play. Whenever they field a punt, I'm waiting for a fumble. When they punt, I'm worried about it being blocked-They came close again today. I used to feel good whenever special teams was involved in a play-Now, not so much.

 

[DaBruinz]

That was the game plan for Mariota. Once he went out, the game plan changed. If you have the game recorded, go watch it again. The DT's were staying home with Mariota in and started going upfield every passing down with Mettenberger in. Problem is they couldn't generate much pressure. Most of the pressure on Mettenberger came off the edges.

Unfortunately, today's game wasn't broadcast in my area, so I couldn't DVR it. I only had a live stream.

It didn't appear to me that they changed the game plan from one QB to the other. The DTs weren't going upfield on every passing down with Mettenberger. The Pats seemed to be getting consistent pressure off the edges, regardless of whether it was Mariota or Mettenberger.

I haven't seen the snap counts, but it looked to me like Branch, Brown and Hicks took ALL the DT snaps while Sheard, Jones, and Ninkovich rotated on the edge. I didn't see Siliga or Grissom take any snaps. I will admit, I could have missed them. This lack of a 4 man rotation inside was odd to me.

Lastly, one thing to mention is that I felt the Patriots did let up in the 4th quarter. Maybe it was the injuries to Chung, Amendola, LaFell, and Hightower. But they should have continued playing all out and they didn't.. And part of that was the defensive play-calling..

 

[DaBruinz]

I've gotten so I hold my breath on every special teams play. Whenever they field a punt, I'm waiting for a fumble. When they punt, I'm worried about it being blocked-They came close again today. I used to feel good whenever special teams was involved in a play-Now, not so much.

I'll be honest. The "almost blocked punt" didn't seem nearly that almost to me. The horrible camera angles and Ian Eagle's ridiculous play-by-play only made it seem like it was. Maybe someone else can chime in.

Now, all that being said, they've had ONE blocked punt and that was due to a rookie missing his assignment. Expecting it to happen every time when they've replaced that rookie doesn't speak well of you.

 

[Mark.]

I'll be honest. The "almost blocked punt" didn't seem nearly that almost to me. The horrible camera angles and Ian Eagle's ridiculous play-by-play only made it seem like it was. Maybe someone else can chime in.

Now, all that being said, they've had ONE blocked punt and that was due to a rookie missing his assignment. Expecting it to happen every time when they've replaced that rookie doesn't speak well of you.

Well, camera angles were bad so I could be wrong. It looked close, but I'm no expert.

I know they have had one blocked punt, but special teams play in general hasn't been great so I should have just left it at that.

 

[farn]

Hard to tell how good a team is based on how they played the Titans.

 

[juny]

After Amendola went down, the offense could not move the ball as well and playcalling got conservative (although they should have 7 more but refs called OPI on white's TD)
i thought the defense played well today, never got the sense that Tenn was a threat to keep up with the Pats.
Liked seeing iosefa bruising up the tenn defenders. he can assume the blount role of wearing down defenses in the 2nd half.
is this team ever going to stop fumbling punts? can't afford one of those in hte playoffs.