Idle thoughts - "this post is as ugly as the game" edition

[patfanken]

Guys I have to be honest here. The opponents have gotten so bad that this game didn't have my entire interest. I mean I'm not sure what I have to offer at this point. Clearly we have the WORST 6-0 team in the history of the NFL.

Our QB completed 75% of his passes for over 330 yds, and he pretty much sucked. ANOTHER bad pick (though on 2nd look it MIGHT not be as bad as it looked) no TD passes. Enough misses that I was shocked at the completion percentage.

The running game still looks choppy as hell and we can't seem to make 4th downs.

The OL pass protection as just mediocre. The run blocking still isn't opening much in the way of wholes. Though Izzo is turning out to be a better pass catcher than blocker, and Lacosse can't stay on the field....and neither can Johnson.

All in all the offense made the Giant's defense look like the 2007 group, not the group that seemed so porus prior to this game.

The game was 21-14 weill into the 4th quarter and I wasn't in the least concern.

I'm hoping Ben hasn't left the area.

How did the offense suck so bad and still get over 75 snaps. They must have been doing SOMETHING right.

Gordon's injury looked horrible. Unless he's got some of Teddy Bruschi's Gumby blood in him, we could very well could see KNeal Harry before we see Josh.

Congrats to Gunner on his first 2 NFL catches. He's come a long way from this DB from Bemidji State.

Defense looked great, but sorry but who wouldn't. I love all the adulation and it IS deserved. You can only play who is out in front of you. But I can't WAIT for the Browns to finally get to town. Even the Jets with Darnald, Bell, and Anderson look like a breath of fresh air compared to everyone but the Steelers. At least as far as the opposing offenses are concerned, this is like a never ending preseason for the defense.

WHAT! Only one sack!

Another big play from Jamie Collins.

I wish our CB weren't so good just so I can prove to you guys just how good JWilliams is

Time for us to get a look at Damien Harris. Good or bad lets we what he has.

Donk! Bailey seemed like he had time to turn the laces, I think he forgot. But think about it. 6 inches to the right and we'd have nothing to complain about.

A couple of Giants thoughts.

I think Jones is going to be a good QB. Very accurate. Over half his completions wouldn't have made it if he hadn't been perfect. The bones are certainly there to grow from.

I REALLY liked that Mayo kid. The Giants have 4 or 5 solid guys on defense they can build a team around. I really wanted DLawrence this draft. Just missed him by 15 picks,

Good, now I don't have to think about the Giants again for 4 more years.

And there it is. I really have nothing more to say. sue me

 

[Tunescribe]

Even the Jets with Darnald, Bell, and Anderson look like a breath of fresh air

More like just bad breath. Or foul B.O.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

@patfanken

Doing some quick math (please allow small margin of error), the 2007 team’s margin of victory was 19 ppg and the 2019 team is at 24 ppg. Not comparing the two beyond that because the major difference in strength of opponents, but quite a stretch to say this is the worst 6-0 team ever when they may be first all-time in point differential through six games. I couldn’t tell if you were serious about that point.

It’s strange because the 2007 team and 2019 are almost opposites. The 2007 team was like a race car out of the gate, just annihilating teams early on in games and building up ridiculous leads by halftime. In contrast, the 2019 squad tends to get much better as the game goes on and the defense continues to dominate the field position and turnover battle.

 

[Flash]

Thoughts on the lack of Michael Bennett?

 

[luuked]

Thoughts on the lack of Michael Bennett?

Apart from "the front is playing well" and they want to keep him fresh no idea. The way his snaps have gone down now into the low two digit area makes you go a bit "hmm".

Especially against the backdrop of his cap hits.

 

[Biffins]

Apart from "the front is playing well" and they want to keep him fresh no idea. The way his snaps have gone down now into the low two digit area makes you go a bit "hmm".

Especially against the backdrop of his cap hits.

he’s getting outplayed by Butler?

 

[luuked]

he’s getting outplayed by Butler?

I wouldn't necessarily put it that simplistically. The coaching staff might just feel that in certain personnel groups, in a specific scheme or against some opponents some players fit better into the overall idea of what the defense wants to accomplish than others.

Or at this point he might just not have it anymore. At his price tag this has developed into something to keep an eye on.

 

[DarrylS]

PFK glad to see your acknowledgement that this game did not "hold your interest", this has pretty much been the same for me in the past three weeks..

The war of attrition (aka NFL season) on the O side of the ball is obvious.. and takes away from the game itself..

Then there is the O line, it is not because of one lineman sucking, there were a couple of weird snaps by Karras as well.. now we see the value of David Andrews...

Virtually no run game (Michel wound up with 80+) but how many times were they rebuffed on short yardage plays??

No passing game (Brady wound up with 300+) but too many sacks, the overall lack of talent is obvious there..

Maybe the 10 days off will reap some benefit as these guys need a rest.. next up the Jets, then the schedule gets a lot tougher.. Browns, Ravens then a bye week.. which will bring us into mid November.

Hate to admit it, but the previous 3 games have been somewhat boring... but a W is a W and there are no style points in the NFL...

 

[PittPatriot]

I am ecstatic with 6-0 but can’t say I have a “feel” for how good we are. I think we are a great team but not “all time great” like the stats and MOV seem to show.
The Steelers are the only professional team we’ve played all year.
Right now, I just want to see them get healthier and also show the kind of steady improvement our teams are known for.

 

[Doctor DDS]

I thought Brady played well. The Pats were able to move the ball most of the night without a running game and down basically all receiving threats besides White & Edelman. The Int may have been a mistake and he arguably was to blame for holding the ball on the strip sack but throwing for 300+ yards and 75% completion % in windy conditions with that collection of players was impressive from my viewpoint.

 

[goheels22002]

I thought Brady played well. The Pats were able to move the ball most of the night without a running game and down basically all receiving threats besides White & Edelman. The Int may have been a mistake and he arguably was to blame for holding the ball on the strip sack but throwing for 300+ yards and 75% completion % in windy conditions with that collection of players was impressive from my viewpoint.

No mention of the two real stars on offense was a huge omission by our esteemed chronicler. Edelman and White were superb. They caught tough passes in traffic and made first downs when critically needed. Sony Michel had a nice game behind a sketchy OL. The Pats should have found a way to keep Trent Brown. They need to find a tight end who can block.

 

[patriot1136]

We really need to improve on the running game. I think it is getting there but very slowly. I love the defense though. Not sure the Bennett thing, but it must be due to gameplan and I hope they are trying to "keep him fresh" for later. I've heard some D comparisons to the 2000 Ravens, which is kinda cool. But we need to have the effective running game that they had too.

 

[Nikolai]

I see the Bills keep getting dismissed as competition that we've beaten, and while their offense sucks, their defense might be the best we face all year.

The offense somehow cobbled together a statistically good looking game. The "eye test" showed a failure, but 21 points and 400+ yards suggests it wasn't all bad...against the Giants though.

I've got a feeling the defense is legit and will hold up to better competition, but the offense is a little scary right now. I've got a feeling we're going to be hearing a lot more about AB in the next 10 days, even if I don't expect he'll be back.

Also, somewhere, there are witches, monks and shamans praying and sacrificing livestock to bring about the return of the Gronkssiah.

 

[Froob]

Apart from "the front is playing well" and they want to keep him fresh no idea. The way his snaps have gone down now into the low two digit area makes you go a bit "hmm".

Especially against the backdrop of his cap hits.

Can we save significant money trading Bennett?

 

[luuked]

Can we save significant money trading Bennett?

Depends what you call significant.

If the numbers on Spotrac [1] are correct and I didn't make a typo or some other mistake we are talking about roughly 2.8m (prorated percentage of his base salary + game active bonuses left) for this year if he were cut or traded. Assuming he can still contribute -- and there is no reason not to think that -- is spending about 3m worth the depth he brings right now ?

3m is not an insane amount of money, it can be freed up on this year's cap via extensions as well.

[1] Michael Bennett

 

[luuked]

The offense somehow cobbled together a statistically good looking game. The "eye test" showed a failure, but 21 points and 400+ yards suggests it wasn't all bad...against the Giants though.

Honestly, and this might sound like cop out but lets keep in mind that they essentially had no practice this week. Only walkthroughs. For a team that does most of its damage through game planning those Thursday games are awful.

The Colts game last year was ugly, the Bucs game in 2017 where be barely escaped with a 19-14 win was terrible as well. You'd have go back to 2016 with Brisett starting and the Texans not showing up at all. But even then the game was ugly even if maybe for other reasons.

Add in that at some point in the second half they had so many injuries that they could not play out of more than one personnel group and there you go.

I don't think anyone will learn anything of value from studying this game. Except that the defense just keeps churning away.

 

[SBLIII]

I wouldn't necessarily put it that simplistically. The coaching staff might just feel that in certain personnel groups, in a specific scheme or against some opponents some players fit better into the overall idea of what the defense wants to accomplish than others.

Or at this point he might just not have it anymore. At his price tag this has developed into something to keep an eye on.

good catch however I think him finishing the year with us is likely. I don't see him sticking beyond that though.

 

[Silver Blue&Red]

I hate to keep beating a dead horse, and I think most agree, the O line is a major factor for all of the woes.

It's the reason we have a lack luster run game.
It's the reason TB struggles in the pass game.
It's the reason for most of the INT's.

Izzo was responsible for the strip sack.
The blocking is just horrible.

Scar really has his hands full.
Let's hope he can somehow polish this turd.

If they can improve that alone, it would solve a lot of problems.

Signed, Captain Obvious

 

[ChessToCheckers]

For a team that does most of its damage through game planning those Thursday games are awful.

This.

I enjoyed watching. It was ugly, but the Pats were able to grind it out.

The attrition, however, was BRUTAL. Worst game yet! Hopefully the ten day mini-bye will help them recover.

The Defense is a thing of beauty and I am completely comfortable having them win games for us.

When a 42 year old QB cares enough about winning a mid-season game to dive into a pile of massive bodies, not once, but SEVERAL times ... I just love Brady!

Brandon Bolden is having a career year. I mean, what CAN'T he do? Kudos to him. Very glad to have him back!

Go Pats.

 

[luuked]

When a 42 year old QB cares enough about winning a mid-season game to dive into a pile of massive bodies, not once, but SEVERAL times ... I just love Brady!

Lets not forget him diving into the INT return once again risking getting knocked out.

Yeah, his drive and competitiveness is great but please for gods sake just maybe don't do things that allow opponents a free shot at you.