Official Post Game Thread -Pats @ Dolphins

[Ras-IR Dowling]

Really? I'm pretty confident with the matchups myself. Brady has historically played well against them And although you can't base success off that, I would say with a healthy Gronkowski and some defensive starters back their chances are good. I'm assuming they will give up points and try to eliminate Bell, but I just think our defense will be better and that will be enough to get the win.

Yeah really. I just watched our offense get completely manhandled by an average Miami defense. And jay cutler threw for what close to 300 and 3 tds? Your damn straight im concerned on how our defense can hold up against a much better offense and on how our oline protects brady.

 

[IcyPatriot]

Hopefully branch is okay, my main concern going into this game was injuries. Tough loss, but #1 seed still there for the taking I doubt the guys play as bad as they did next week. Getting Gronk and Flowers back is going to be huge.

Was the whole game to me ... no Gronk to take the edge off the pass rush and no Flowers to bring Cutler back to reality.
So we had players who were not doing their job as it is said ... some off on their own a bit tonight.

 

[Tony2046]

Honest question: Am I not acting like one? I can't quote and entertain every troll who posts man. I try to respect my elders here as I know some of you know more about football than me so I try to show that respect, but I think there is a generation gap between me and some here. I was a kid during the rise of the internet so posted in areas with people my age so have seen it all. Idiots no longer phase me.

Not sure why you would need to defend yourself.

 

[luuked]

While I’ll agree that no one player should be blamed for a historically pathetic performance, the missed tackle by Richards was big in allowing them to completely run away with the momentum instead of being forced to kick a FG.

Or maybe it was Roberts getting beat in coverage by like 5-10 steps. Or maybe it was Chung missing the tackle on Drake. Or maybe Thuney giving up consistent interior pressure. Or maybe Brady missing a couple of throws. Or maybe Butler getting beat by a smaller player for a TD right over his head.

 

[StockingAnarchyNumber12]

Yeah really. I just watched our offense get completely manhandled by an average Miami defense. And jay cutler threw for what close to 300 and 3 tds? Your damn straight im concerned on how our defense can hold up against a much better offense and on how our oline protects brady.

What about our 8 game win streak though? There was no way out defense was going to be that good til the superbowl. **** happens.

 

[Pats1989]

Hopefully this isn't a repeat of 2015.

 

[supafly]

The offense was awful the defense was mediocre.

The run defense was a joke. They failed to account for Drake when split out wide—on multiple occasions. Butler got torched on multiple plays. They missed a ton of tackles. They whiffed on sacks. They somehow allowed Jay Cutler to beat them with his arm and his legs. They were confused by creative alignments and misdirection plays. They let Miami have the ball for 13:30 of the first quarter. They were downright terrible.

Their saving grace was the fact that they stiffened up after the Harmon speech.

 

[Guts]

Yeah really. I just watched our offense get completely manhandled by an average Miami defense. And jay cutler threw for what close to 300 and 3 tds? Your damn straight im concerned on how our defense can hold up against a much better offense and on how our oline protects brady.

To be fair the defense was without Flowers(probably our best defensive player), Van Noy(best LB), and Branch went down early. They were not helped at all by the offense which didn't convert a single third down and had like 7 3 and outs. They kept giving the ball back to the offense in the 4th. Our offense was what doomed us today.

 

[luuked]

He’s an excellent blocker, but I question the reasoning behind spreading him out as a WR. I don’t think he’s a bad overall player, but come on, are you really suggesting he isn’t the worst pass catcher of the Brady era?

I dont think he is the worst catcher in the Brady era. There are a couple of players with considerably worse hands.

I also dont see an issue with McD trying to create mismatches or finding something that might work. It is not like Allen was spread out on the majority of snaps. It just goes to show that the entire gameplan of the offense was ill conceived and garbage to the point where they scrambled to find anything that might work.

 

[supafly]

Or maybe it was Roberts getting beat in coverage by like 5-10 steps. Or maybe it was Chung missing the tackle on Drake. Or maybe Thuney giving up consistent interior pressure. Or maybe Brady missing a couple of throws. Or maybe Butler getting beat by a smaller player for a TD right over his head.

That’s why I said it was a historically terrible performance, but if we’re speaking purely on momentum changing plays, the game was fine until Richards blitzed and forgot how to tackle, allowing them to pull away and never look back. That play was huge.

 

[FCB02062]

Trying to draw comparisons w other bounce back games like after KC 2014 or buffalo 2003, but I don't think either of those teams was as injury riddled as the pats r right now... Said it before the season, the ONLY thing stopping this team from winning another SB is injuries... - Edelman, -hightower for whole season coupled with tons of others and the team may have reached an injury breaking point

 

[Tunescribe]

Hopefully this isn't a repeat of 2015.

It's feeling that way with all the damn injuries.

 

[Ras-IR Dowling]

What about our 8 game win streak though? There was no way out defense was going to be that good til the superbowl. **** happens.

And the defense is currently missing some important players. Hopefully flowers and van noy are back Sunday but now we have to worry about branch and Chung. And this is the best offense we would’ve faced to this point. Like it or not our redzone offense has been average at best. Weve been ok with short yardage runs with Burkhead and lewis close to the goalline but brady has not been great in that area this season. We can’t settle for many fgs if we expect to win.

 

[luuked]

That’s why I said it was a historically terrible performance, but if we’re speaking purely on momentum changing plays, the game was fine until Richards blitzed and forgot how to tackle, allowing them to pull away and never look back. That play was huge.

I dont believe in momentum or any of this garbage. It is just a writers crutch to make a nice narrative out of random things that happen on the football field. Whats the value of momentum if it can be taken or given on any single play ?

 

[Ras-IR Dowling]

I dont believe in momentum or any of this garbage. It is just a writers crutch to make a nice narrative out of random things that happen on the football field. Whats the value of momentum if it can be taken or given on any single play ?

Perhaps we should ask the falcons if they believe in momentum.

 

[bormio]

Hogan getting a game under his belt helped. Not completely sure he would have played if Gronk was available, but needed a game to knock the rust off (like Amendola in the playoffs vs the Texans last year).

 

[StockingAnarchyNumber12]

And the defense is currently missing some important players. Hopefully flowers and van noy are back Sunday but now we have to worry about branch and Chung. And this is the best offense we would’ve faced to this point. Like it or not our redzone offense has been average at best. Weve been ok with short yardage runs with Burkhead and lewis close to the goalline but brady has not been great in that area this season. We can’t settle for many fgs if we expect to win.

If we lose next week that puts Pittsburgh at 12-2 and us at 10-4. I might be worried more then.

 

[Patriot Missile]

Yep, hopefully Flowers and Van Noy will be back.

Gronk coming back as well his blocking and receiving ability bring respect back to the middle of the field. No way Dolphins tee off like they did tonight with him there and I highly doubt Pittsburgh could duplicate that pressure with or without Gronk in there.

 

[luuked]

Perhaps we should ask the falcons if they believe in momentum.

The Falcons are the best example of how stupid the entire concept is. We get their lead down to a 7 point lead (we have momentum). On the first play they have a 30yd+ running play that breaks free (we are losing momentum). Ryan completes that crazy pass to Julio (they still have momentum) and they are in FG range. They get stopped and flagged out of FG range (I guess we have momentum again).

There is zero value to it if it doesnt help you actually do anything.

 

[Kargetina]

This has been an awful week for us, where every game went against us, which made me cautious that we can lose this game.

Vinatieri missed a kick to win us the division.
The Seahawks had the ball down 6 with a chance to win and failed.
The Ravens choked, while the Steelers won their 4-th straight with a last second/minute field goal.

We didn't let this one slip like the Panthers game so i'm not too upset, this was just terrible coaching, terrible execution. A regression straight to week one, with awful play calling on 3rd and one/two, bad secondary play, over/under throws by Brady on third and long.

That interception at the start of the second half killed the game. It was 13-10, and Brady under throws Cooks, they start at our own 45, make it a 10 point game and that was that. We never regained any coherence after that. And the biggest issue is that Amendola (correct me if it wasn't him) was WIDE open in middle for a first down. There was no reason to force it to Cooks.

Why we completely stopped using Burkhead in the second half is beyond me. We didn't even use him to score from the half yard line.

Hopefully this was a one off and not a sign of things to come. Considering how many injured/not recovered enough players we have, a bye is a must even without the first seed. Not the most timely loss with that in mind.