Idle thoughts - The road to KC edtion

[Hyped]

The 5096 was an official public measurement that was performed and recorded at the Combine in front of media people, cameras, and representatives from all 32 teams. It was also later confirmed at his pro day under the same public circumstances. If those measurements had been off by as much as 1", not to mention 2", it's hard to believe that none of the numerous independent observers of the measurement process would have noticed and spoken up.

He might be 5'9"....but with a helmet and cleats...that clears 3" at least (shrugs).

======================

My thought:

The Patriots secondary needs to KNOCK Tyree Hill and Kelce on their butts whenever Mahomes leaves the pocket. It is legal to do so. See link: Why Richard Sherman’s leveling of a Bills receiver was legal

 

[NormZauchin]

At absolute zero, crowd noise is completely eradicated .

As is the crowd.

 

[maineman209]

Don't disagree with your combine info, but c'mon MM, just use your eyes. He towers over JJones, who is listed at 5'10. How do you explain that. Is it an optical illusion?

Well, I've only ever seen these players on TV, not in person. Knowing how the lens distorts depth and whatnot, and that different guys wear different, helmets and shoes, I'm certainly not going to "trust my eyes" over publicly certified, in-person measurements.

BTW, JJones measured at 5091.

 

[maineman209]

He might be 5'9"....but with a helmet and cleats...that clears 3" at least (shrugs).

======================

My thought:

The Patriots secondary needs to KNOCK Tyree Hill and Kelce on their butts whenever Mahomes leaves the pocket. It is legal to do so. See link: Why Richard Sherman’s leveling of a Bills receiver was legal

Well, even making the not-so-safe assumption that the helmets and cleats that every player wears are identical and increase their relative heights by an identical amount, if that makes Jackson 6'1", it also makes Sammy Watkins 6'4" (he measured 6006 at the Combine and his pro day).

 

[IllegalContact]

Well, even making the not-so-safe assumption that the helmets and cleats that every player wears are identical and increase their relative heights by an identical amount, if that makes Jackson 6'1", it also makes Sammy Watkins 6'4" (he measured 6006 at the Combine and his pro day).

non issue........chargers WRs were taller

 

[TommyD4207]

Well, even making the not-so-safe assumption that the helmets and cleats that every player wears are identical and increase their relative heights by an identical amount, if that makes Jackson 6'1", it also makes Sammy Watkins 6'4" (he measured 6006 at the Combine and his pro day).

Did he stand on his tiptoes?

 

[long distance]

Here's another place.

J.C. Jackson

Hell, I don't need a tap measure to see that he's a lot taller than under 5'10. You've got eyes. He's over 6' tall at least.

How about: he feels like he's 6'1 . he plays like he's 6'1 . but he's not 6'1
(and it doesn't really matter..)

 

[patriot1136]

I like to think this team reminds me more of 2001 than 2011, but thats just me.

 

[venecol]

I think this game is going to come down to the Pats ability to deal with the crowd noise in Arrowhead. So much of what they've done offensively this year is predicated on play action passing and setting up the pass with the run so Brady's ability to audible out of the pass into the run and vice versa is crucial.

Would the crowd noise affect the KC defense if the Pats audible (thru signals) out of a play, say from an I formation to an empty set with 10 secs left to snap the ball? How would the KC D communicate to adapt with all the noise, its not like they are immune to noise just because they are the home team.

 

[long distance]

e. Sony in the passing game. Right now the Pats have a strong tendency that when Sony is in the game, its a run, and when White is in the game it's a pass. While I don't doubt the latter will remain a fact, they CAN break that tendency by getting Sony more involved in the passing game.

I agree with much of what you have said, as always . However, I would point out that when James White is in the game it is pretty well balanced, pass vs run. This year he had 87 receptions (751 yards) and 94 rushes (425). When rushing, he had zero fumbles and 4.5 yards/per attempt. IMO, he is a "quiet" rusher who is extremely effective.

They've been breaking that tendency with White rushing quite successfully . and most effectively exactly against KC (so that game DOES matter some..)

There are many ways to keep D off balance and McD did a wonderful job first time around as he did last Sunday with seemingly much more predictable set up.

This is extracted from Reddit via @reamer in KC D breakdown thread for illustration:


1. Patriots show run, every LB and Safety freezes on the playaction. Develin runs a wheel route off the playaction to draw away a DB, giving the Patriots 3 blockers to 2 defenders on a screen. White goes for 18 yards untouched. Brilliant design from McDaniels


2. White runs on 2nd down..



3. Fake play action via Thuney & White for easy Gronk 1st down:
(This one is not even perfectly executed w White . but the design to fake Thuney's pull for playaction completely fools KC D)


Same thing 2 quarters later via Michel:


And a little earlier w Hogan via White again. Fake draw to White and fake bubble screen to Edelman sucks up the defense. Hogan sells it perfectly before releasing for an easy 20 yard completion:



So they don't really need to add on Michel receiving (although they can) + they also have Burkhead as the second dual threat to mix it in..

 

[maineman209]

How about: he feels like he's 6'1 . he plays like he's 6'1 . but he's not 6'1
(and it doesn't really matter..)

Good point. It's kinda like the way Edelman blocks DBs as if he's 6'7"/265.

 

[maineman209]

They've been breaking that tendency with White rushing quite successfully . and most effectively exactly against KC (so that game DOES matter some..)

There are many ways to keep D off balance and McD did a wonderful job first time around as he did last Sunday with seemingly much more predictable set up.

This is from KC D breakdown thread via @reamer by Reddit for illustration:


1. Patriots show run, every LB and Safety freezes on the playaction. Develin runs a wheel route off the playaction to draw away a DB, giving the Patriots 3 blockers to 2 defenders on a screen. White goes for 18 yards untouched. Brilliant design from McDaniels


2. White runs on 2nd down..



3. Fake play action via Thuney & White for easy Gronk 1st down:
(This one is not even perfectly executed w White . but the design to fake Thuney's pull for playaction completely fools KC D)


Same thing 2 quarters later via Michel:


And a little earlier w Hogan via White again. Fake draw to White and fake bubble screen to Edelman sucks up the defense. Hogan sells it perfectly before releasing for an easy 20 yard completion:



So they don't really need to add on Michel receiving (although they can) + they also have Burkhead as the second dual threat to mix it in..

The second clip of Gronk was "vintage Gronk", throwing a DB to the ground with one hand. KCY in wk-6 was the last game before he hurt his back.

 

[Robdude]

How? I've been to games colder than that and the stadium was rockin'.

Crowds get noisey to prevent the visiting team's offense from using verbal signals at the line of scrimmage. So the QB has to use hand/arm/leg gestures and go on a silent snap count. Defenses like crowd noise for that reason and it also fires them up.

So this reminds of watching a colts game years back when the announcers were talking about how smart Colts fans are because it was so quiet when Payton was on the field and so noisy when Brady was on the field. It ofcourse had nothing to do with their sound system