Official Post Game Thread - Patriots Beat The Lions

[zoostation]

—Stidham’s release time is atrocious. Actual NFL teams won’t let him camp out forever.

As is the case with most rookie QB's playing against NFL speed for the very first time. The good news is that can be fixed. This kid has all the physical attributes needed to succeed in this league. Give him a year under BB, Josh and the system and we will see if the release speed get better. I'm guessing it will.

 

[PatsFan2]

Anybody who thinks this team will suck when brady leaves is sadly mistaken. They will continue to be a fundamentally sound competitive football team as long as BB is coaching this team.

So the writings on the wall they will definitely "suck" when BB retires.

 

[SBLIII]

Edelman is the go to guy. There should be no confusion on that point.

Ideally he is our #2 receiver in terms of TDs. He should be our go to guy between the 20 yard lines though

 

[Wheelman]

Dawson didn't help himself last night with errors.. holding, too many men, and what looks like a breakdown in coverage.. looks like he was handing off to Brooks but Brooks wasn't in position or prepared. Granted Brooks is a rookie, but...

So like a 6 year rookie?

 

[farn]

Who was the last person that BB gave the either the OC or DC title too without them spending a year earning it?

I’m not saying it’s inconsistent. I’m saying it’s bizarre. And I’m the biggest BB homer there is.

 

[Wheelman]

Did anyone else get huge Josh Gordon vibes watching Harry make those catches in tight coverage? I sure did.

Not really, but when you mention this it reminded me of the TD he dropped in the endzone against the Packers.

What did cross my mind watching Harry play is we finally got a guy who can go up and get it on the sideline.

 

[SBLIII]

Not ideal but could have been much worse

 

[bormio]

Not really, but when you mention this it reminded me of the TD he dropped in the endzone against the Packers.

What did cross my mind watching Harry play is we finally got a guy who can go up and get it on the sideline.

This is Dorsett’s flaw as an outside guy - he cannot do that. Hell, even Romo mentioned it in OT vs KC. And he does not have the volume to be a chain-mover. He is alright, but nothing special.

 

[patchick]

It’s funny the lengths BB will go to deny someone is the defensive coordinator. I have to think there is method to his madness (avoiding pressure, wanting to take the heat for inexperienced coaches...) but I still find it very curious.

It has sometimes seemed like a stretch in the past, but as for Mayo I genuinely believe he is not the defensive coordinator. Can you think of any instance on ANY team when a guy who had never coached before strolled into a first job at the coordinator level? It's hard to imagine.

Mayo may become the defensive play caller this season, we'll see. But I feel pretty certain that the DC job belongs to Bill Belichick.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

People seem to forget that there were plenty of years that BB carried 3 QBs on the roster 2000-2008. Most recently in 2016 when they had Brissette and Garrapolo. Granted it was also because of Brady's suspension, but I think we'd have seen both on the roster regardless.

Well, part of why they carried 3 QBs was that prior to the 2011 season, the 46th game-day active player had to be an emergency QB and could only play in the event of injury to the starting QB. If you didn't have a player designated as the emergency QB, you could only dress 45 players. So there was strategic game day value in having that 3rd QB.

Since that rule was eliminated in 2011 and any player could be the 46th man, the Pats have carried 3 QBs twice in those 8 years - in 2011 itself (Brady, Hoyer, and rookie Mallet) and 2016 as you note. Certainly there were extenuating circumstances in 2016 that won't apply in this year's analysis. There were plenty of people who were surprised when the Pats cut Hoyer after 2012 camp and went solely with Mallet, and after 2014 camp when they traded Mallet and went with rookie Jimmy G as a sole backup, and after 2017 camp when they traded Jacoby instead of continuing to develop him.

We'll see if they think it's worth it to have 3 QBs on the roster this year, but it's definitely true that they don't think it's as valuable under the current rules as they did under the prior rules.

 

[patfanken]

Someone asked and I don't know if it was posted, but it would seem that Mayo WAS the one calling plays last night:

New England Patriots defense collects 9 sacks, crushes Lions in Jerod Mayo’s play-calling debut

Don't equate calling the defensive signals to being a DC. Much more involved in being a DC than calling the signals. In fact that might be one of the LEAST important aspects of being the DC.

The DC is the one to takes ALL the massive amount of data that is generated. On a typical monday, he will get tons of data from the 'quality control guys' who have broken down game upon games from the present years as well as years past. He must then take that data, figure out the match ups he wants to exploit, determine the keys for all 11 of his player, develop formation and motion keys and adjustments, put it into a game plan AND THEN determines how he wants to present all that information AND the best way to practice it, which includes drawing up the appropriate scout team plays etc. Then during the week he and his staff will work on differing scenarios so if the game plan isn't working they know what will be Plan B, Plan C, and Plan D.

Remember a lot of what the defense will do is determined by formation or motion actions of the offense. So, for example if a certain slant stunt is called before the play, it might be negated when the offense lines up in an unexpected formation or motion, or personnel grouping.

Too much is being made of the fact Mayo is calling the signals. He might very well be doing that, but THAT doesn't make him a DC.

 

[TheFlyingWedge]

Who was the last person that BB gave the either the OC or DC title too without them spending a year earning it?

Greg Schiano might be the sole exception

 

[JayNM]

Not ideal but could have been much worse

Hmmm Honestly, missing a lot of practices in the Pre-Season could be very harmful

But it isnt clear if he'll miss 1 day or 3 weeks

 

[zoostation]

Not really, but when you mention this it reminded me of the TD he dropped in the endzone against the Packers.

What did cross my mind watching Harry play is we finally got a guy who can go up and get it on the sideline.

It happens. Gordon has exceptional hands. From a pure skill perspective I will be thrilled if Harry has the talent Josh Gordon brings to the table 'when' on the field.

 

[Vatahala]

Saw what I thought would be a good read in the top news feed section.
What experts thought of QB Stidham's play last night.
The first "expert" was Jim McBride of the Globe. The 2nd "expert" was Kevin Duffy of the Herald. Finally they quoted the opinion of an actual former NFL player Louis Riddick.
Suggestion to article writer Hayden Bird, work a little harder next time on your source material.

 

[SBLIII]

Hmmm Honestly, missing a lot of practices in the Pre-Season could be very harmful

But it isnt clear if he'll miss 1 day or 3 weeks

not if the spectrum goes until a Wynn type injury. I don't want any of our players to miss time but if it has to happen, preseason please.

 

[zoostation]

This is Dorsett’s flaw as an outside guy - he cannot do that. Hell, even Romo mentioned it in OT vs KC. And he does not have the volume to be a chain-mover. He is alright, but nothing special.

Neither could Brandon Cooks. Thank you Brandon for not fighting for any of the balls thrown to you in February

But seriously a good % of wideouts don't have this ability

 

[bormio]

Neither could Brandon Cooks. Thank you Brandon for not fighting for any of the balls thrown to you in February

But seriously a good % of wideouts don't have this ability

Yeah, but Cooks catches more balls than Dorsett. I get that Dorsett has experience, but don’t tell me replacing his production would be hard.

 

[SBLIII]

Neither could Brandon Cooks. Thank you Brandon for not fighting for any of the balls thrown to you in February

But seriously a good % of wideouts don't have this ability

Cooks actually catches a good amount of deep balls. He can't fight for them but he gets open a ton.

 

[JayNM]

not if the spectrum goes until a Wynn type injury. I don't want any of our players to miss time but if it has to happen, preseason please.

Idk man. For rookies, i kinda feel like they need the first pre-season is extremely important

yes, i know there's probably no statistical fact in this, but I dread rookies missing their first practices in the nfl