BobDigital
Pro Bowl Player
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2013
- Messages
- 16,350
- Reaction score
- 15,044
Just a bunch of thoughts that probably don't deserve their own thread. Comment on my thoughts or post your own.
#1 Derek Rivers - What the hell? He has played in one game (Lions) and barely saw the field. The likes of the immortal Grissom, Davis and Simon have seen more snaps than him on defense. The only time Bill played him is when he hand was forced with injuries. Why? The talent is there. He had a solid enough preseason and he looks healthy. He won't get any better being inactive week after week. I appreciate that perhaps his run defense isn't all it could be, but it isn't he can't defend the run at all. We had high hopes of him going into the season. While the defense has improved the pass rush has lost some sizzle since week 1. I think Rivers can be one of our better guys in that area still. BB needs to let him out of the dog house already. If the Pats can't get to the QB they can't win it all. Even without him seeing the field I have more faith in Rivers doing it than most of the other DEs on the roster.
#2 Gordon's role - It is so nice to have Edelman back! What a difference one player can make. For the first time we saw this offense with all the key players they will have on the field together. The options which suffered the most were Patterson and Gordon. Patterson was unsurprising as he is a gimmick player. He will have his 10 or so snaps a game and hopefully have an impact in them. Gordon hasn't gotten many snaps. A lot is being made of his Hammy but honestly it looked pretty good last night and he still didn't see the field much. 18 snaps for Gordon, but 4 targets. At this point I'm thinking Gordon isn't going to be a guy who see the field a ton. Edelman/Dorsett/Hogan are 3 guys Brady and BB trust. They allow you to run the typical system. Gordon I think is having issues picking it up. Not surprising with his limited time here. He may never fully pick up the system. It doesn't mean he can't be useful. When he is at the line I don't think he is making adjustments. I think he is running a planned route. I don't know if that is going to change anytime soon. If it doesn't his snaps will be limited. Brady threw him to 4 times on 18 snaps. 4 or 5 catches are all Gordon needs to have a huge impact. It is early but the hopes of him playing starter snaps seems like a very distant dream at this point. Maybe next year (if he isn't busted). The key is to utilize him for the snaps they can get him in for.
#3 3rd CB - Rowe was the guy here. McCourty is the guy now. When Rowe is 100% who takes the spot? The way Jason is playing it is hard for me to kick him out. I think this will be a ride the hot hand scenario all season. Rowe has flashed but he hasn't been good enough to demand locking down that spot upon his return. Clearly J Jones and Gilmore have their spots unchallenged but the 3rd will be something to watch all year. Maybe even one of the rookies JC Jackson or Crossen can get in the mix. The fact BB kept the 2 rookies speaks volumes of their potential. Will we see this merry go round become even more interesting if one of them can jump into that 3rd role for a time? While I like to know who will play where in the big games this may be a spot where you shrug and run whoever is playing the best out there. This team almost waited too long to pull Arrington in SB49. I hope they are faster on the uptake this time if something isn't looking good in a key game. We have a lot of options here and if it isn't working that day there is no need to ride it into the 3rd quarter.
#4 Harmon/D. McCourty - Interesting what is going on here. It seems Harmon has kind of taken over the deep duties and McCourty now is playing down more. Obviously it didn't work last game though many of those plays were highly competitive. Why the change this year as opposed to last year? While a lot of what I have seen hasn't been encouraging I think in the long run it will be good. McCourty didn't have much of an impact last year playing deep. I think getting into the muck like this may be the best thing for him in the long run. I think he need a swift kick in the ass to help hone those attacking instincts again. I don't know if this will be a permanent thing or if they will give McCourty his center field spot back. In either case I think by the playoffs the Pats will be better off here regardless of their choice.
That' all I have for now.
#1 Derek Rivers - What the hell? He has played in one game (Lions) and barely saw the field. The likes of the immortal Grissom, Davis and Simon have seen more snaps than him on defense. The only time Bill played him is when he hand was forced with injuries. Why? The talent is there. He had a solid enough preseason and he looks healthy. He won't get any better being inactive week after week. I appreciate that perhaps his run defense isn't all it could be, but it isn't he can't defend the run at all. We had high hopes of him going into the season. While the defense has improved the pass rush has lost some sizzle since week 1. I think Rivers can be one of our better guys in that area still. BB needs to let him out of the dog house already. If the Pats can't get to the QB they can't win it all. Even without him seeing the field I have more faith in Rivers doing it than most of the other DEs on the roster.
#2 Gordon's role - It is so nice to have Edelman back! What a difference one player can make. For the first time we saw this offense with all the key players they will have on the field together. The options which suffered the most were Patterson and Gordon. Patterson was unsurprising as he is a gimmick player. He will have his 10 or so snaps a game and hopefully have an impact in them. Gordon hasn't gotten many snaps. A lot is being made of his Hammy but honestly it looked pretty good last night and he still didn't see the field much. 18 snaps for Gordon, but 4 targets. At this point I'm thinking Gordon isn't going to be a guy who see the field a ton. Edelman/Dorsett/Hogan are 3 guys Brady and BB trust. They allow you to run the typical system. Gordon I think is having issues picking it up. Not surprising with his limited time here. He may never fully pick up the system. It doesn't mean he can't be useful. When he is at the line I don't think he is making adjustments. I think he is running a planned route. I don't know if that is going to change anytime soon. If it doesn't his snaps will be limited. Brady threw him to 4 times on 18 snaps. 4 or 5 catches are all Gordon needs to have a huge impact. It is early but the hopes of him playing starter snaps seems like a very distant dream at this point. Maybe next year (if he isn't busted). The key is to utilize him for the snaps they can get him in for.
#3 3rd CB - Rowe was the guy here. McCourty is the guy now. When Rowe is 100% who takes the spot? The way Jason is playing it is hard for me to kick him out. I think this will be a ride the hot hand scenario all season. Rowe has flashed but he hasn't been good enough to demand locking down that spot upon his return. Clearly J Jones and Gilmore have their spots unchallenged but the 3rd will be something to watch all year. Maybe even one of the rookies JC Jackson or Crossen can get in the mix. The fact BB kept the 2 rookies speaks volumes of their potential. Will we see this merry go round become even more interesting if one of them can jump into that 3rd role for a time? While I like to know who will play where in the big games this may be a spot where you shrug and run whoever is playing the best out there. This team almost waited too long to pull Arrington in SB49. I hope they are faster on the uptake this time if something isn't looking good in a key game. We have a lot of options here and if it isn't working that day there is no need to ride it into the 3rd quarter.
#4 Harmon/D. McCourty - Interesting what is going on here. It seems Harmon has kind of taken over the deep duties and McCourty now is playing down more. Obviously it didn't work last game though many of those plays were highly competitive. Why the change this year as opposed to last year? While a lot of what I have seen hasn't been encouraging I think in the long run it will be good. McCourty didn't have much of an impact last year playing deep. I think getting into the muck like this may be the best thing for him in the long run. I think he need a swift kick in the ass to help hone those attacking instincts again. I don't know if this will be a permanent thing or if they will give McCourty his center field spot back. In either case I think by the playoffs the Pats will be better off here regardless of their choice.
That' all I have for now.