Official Post Game Thread - Seattle beats the Pats

[Patsgofor4]

In case you were wondering:

As many have probably mentioned here already, White would likely have made a big difference last night. Burkhead is a talented pass catcher but is not at White's level (few are).

I have generally been a Sony supporter but it is hard not to get discouraged, even though Seattle seem to be selling out against the run. He runs hard and is not afraid of contact but he simply does not look like the same guy he was a Georgia. The Georgia version of Sony had burst, acceleration and could take it to the house. The current Patriots version, not so much. I'm looking forward to seeing what Harris can do starting week 4. Can he live up to the training camp hype?

I am assuming/hoping that Gunner's foot injury is relatively minor, because I can't imagine that they would have him practicing, which he was to a limited degree prior to week one, on a fracture. Maybe something like plantar fasciitis or a ligament strain. There is always the possibility of "training camp hero, regular season zero" in terms of slot potential but I think that we saw enough of him last year, his burst and elusiveness in particular, to predict that he could end up playing a big role in the slot this year. The Pats badly need another chain mover and he may allow Jules to not get punished so often in the middle of the field.
They also badly need a more effective kickoff and punt returner and in limited action last year he showed that he may have a special talent in that role. Of course, we should be worried about his ability to stay healthy but hopefully he added enough strength in the off-season that he will be able to survive some DB punishment.

Finally, Bentley looked very slow to me last night. I hope that the Pats have Todd Davis on their radar and are just waiting for his calf injury to fully heal. He could add some much-needed veteran leader ship to the LB crew. I don't watch enough Broncos games to know whether he has lost a step or two or if his release was due to a combination of his calf injury and his $4.5 million cap number. Any Denver-based patriots fans out there who can comment on this?

Justin Simmons Puts Finger on Two Areas Todd Davis' Departure Could Cost Broncos

Reading between the lines, Justin Simmons sounds like he wasn't a fan of the Broncos' sudden decision to release Todd Davis.

www.si.com

Broncos Mailbag: Why was inside linebacker Todd Davis released so close to season opener?

Denver Post Broncos writer Ryan O’Halloran posts his Broncos Mailbag weekly during the season.

www.denverpost.com

 

[PatsFanInVa]

We didn't win, but we got in excuse-makin' distance. Sort of ironic in a way that Cam "handed the ball off (to himself)" from the 1, got stuffed, and proved the "if they just gave the ball to that guy that always gets the TD" theory of Seattle SB woulda coulda shoulda greatness theory wrong.

 

[Uptown]

Harry is from the West Indies (St. Vincent/Grenada). Soft is NOT in his blood. If u know, u know..

 

[Ring 6]

Did rivers get injured last night? There was a player down, laying flat in his back, not getting up. They didn’t say who it was and went to commercial. Looked like him. I don’t recall seeing him after that.

 

[Uptown]

Newton’s gotta be better than this..

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Did rivers get injured last night? There was a player down, laying flat in his back, not getting up. They didn’t say who it was and went to commercial. Looked like him. I don’t recall seeing him after that.

When they came back from commercial they said it was Rivers and he walked off under his own power. After that I have not heard anything - I was wondering too.

 

[Mack Herron]

Did rivers get injured last night? There was a player down, laying flat in his back, not getting up. They didn’t say who it was and went to commercial. Looked like him. I don’t recall seeing him after that.

He got hurt but came back in late on a third down (of which there were few). Looks like he escaped serious injury for a change. Has been looking good.

 

[50-yard-line]

Just a reminder...

The Patriots lost:
Kyle Van Noy
Elandon Roberts
Jamie Collins
Ted Karras
Tom F***ing Brady
Philip Dorsett
Danny Shelton
Nate Ebner
Duron Harmon (trade)
Donte Hightower
Marcus Cannon
Patrick Chung
Matt LaCosse
(and additions)
Brandon Bolden
Dan Vitale
Marquise Lee

That's 13 significant contributors from last year gone. They had no preseason to break in an entirely new LB corps and QB (did I mention they lost Tom F***ing Brady?), and they just went across the country, losing James White last minute, after a week where their coach also buried his mother and against a team that knows them, prepares for them like it's a Superbowl every time (Carroll doesn't want to ever lose to the Pats), is a SB favorite, and yet, they came within 2 yards of winning.

Damn.

And for the people crapping on Michel and Harry, really, get over it. Harry's essentially a rookie who still hasn't had a proper training camp and Michel was worth the pick for 2018 alone. His playoff run was record-breaking. You might note that the Pats really don't run the ball very well and haven't for a couple of years - that will change as newton opens up the offense and stops teams from stacking the box against us.

Maybe the best thing of all last night was getting down 12 and forcing McDaniels to let Newton throw down the field.

 

[gitgronked82]

The Bills have a very tough schedule themselves. They have Pit and Tennessee and they're also playing the AFC West and NFC West including the Seahawks.

Absolutely. I like our chances in the division. It’s still a legit fight and who knows where we end up relative to teams like the titans, Steelers, etc.
I don’t expect us to be 14-2, so I think we’ll be in the thick of it in the standings with some other good teams. Every game counts. I know I wish we won one more game last year and had a bye. Or one more in 2015 and had the 1 seed.

If you think our secondary is elite (meaning they can repeat the coverage they displayed against Seattle) than statistically there will only be so many perfect passes a year to beat them. Of course injuries, low sample size and the human factor affect the stats, but bear with me. Allen (at Buffalo) will never throw those passes, maybe Mahommes will throw one? Maybe not? Because the coverage was so good, those completions will not keep happening - statistically those perfect throws can't be routinely completed. Without those passes we win.

Our D is legit and young. The front 7 will get better as the rooks learn. Those passes will not keep happening - they were outliers.

So we took one on the chin (statistically). It will not continue. Did you watch Moneyball? As long as the secondary plays like that those passes will not continue. Be glad it happened with a NFC team

I am definitely happy that it happened against them rather than an afc team, but that doesn’t prevent it from also happening vs an afc team.
As far as the defense... I do think the secondary is elite. However, I think there are other ways to beat us. Our front 7 will improve, sure, but I absolutely think we can lose with our defense getting beat in spots other than beautiful deep balls. The LBs struggled in coverage yesterday, and that may be something we see long term given that guys like Bentley, Copeland, Jennings aren’t elite cover LBs. Our run D wasn’t disastrous, but it wasn’t great. They had a lot of success on 1st and 2nd down. And Olsen gifted DMAC the pick 6.
I think our defense could give us a chance to compete in any game. However, I don’t look at that game and say that I don’t see how we’ll lose to teams who don’t have Russell Wilson.

 

[Ring 6]

Just a reminder...

The Patriots lost:
Kyle Van Noy
Elandon Roberts
Jamie Collins
Ted Karras
Tom F***ing Brady
Philip Dorsett
Danny Shelton
Nate Ebner
Duron Harmon (trade)
Donte Hightower
Marcus Cannon
Patrick Chung
Matt LaCosse
(and additions)
Brandon Bolden
Dan Vitale
Marquise Lee

That's 13 significant contributors from last year gone. They had no preseason to break in an entirely new LB corps and QB (did I mention they lost Tom F***ing Brady?), and they just went across the country, losing James White last minute, after a week where their coach also buried his mother and against a team that knows them, prepares for them like it's a Superbowl every time (Carroll doesn't want to ever lose to the Pats), is a SB favorite, and yet, they came within 2 yards of winning.

Damn.

And for the people crapping on Michel and Harry, really, get over it. Harry's essentially a rookie who still hasn't had a proper training camp and Michel was worth the pick for 2018 alone. His playoff run was record-breaking. You might note that the Pats really don't run the ball very well and haven't for a couple of years - that will change as newton opens up the offense and stops teams from stacking the box against us.

Maybe the best thing of all last night was getting down 12 and forcing McDaniels to let Newton throw down the field.

Last night was hopefully an aberration and we evolve into a run heavy offense that creates passing opport week 1.
Harris and white coming back will help.
This should not be a team that lives by the pass.
With newton as a viable running option a +1 box is normal so automatically there is a passing advantage. But we will not go far if we are expecting to convert 3rd and long all day.

 

[TomPatriot]

Johnson had his man. Mason was the one who pulled and had defenders blow by him to get to Cam..

Mason didn’t make a great block either. But if Onwenu and Johnson Blackwell Cam probably gets in.

 

[Uptown]

 

[TheRainMaker]

Cam Newton balled out. I had no problem with the look they gave Seattle on the final play, but I was hoping there'd be an option to throw in case Seattle sold out.

O-line pass blocking was pretty good, although Seattle has no pass rush.

Aside from Cam's goal line runs, they had awful run blocking.

Jon Jones had a terrible night.

Gilmore had a rough night. Teams including the Pats had no business passing on Metcalf and he took it to the best CB in football last night.
Metcalf's hand check on Gilmore to gain 5 extra yards of separation for his final catch of the night is something Harry should study. Metcalf is one strong mother f***er!

I had a strange feeling Harry was going to catch the game winner and he almost did. He's taking baby strides, but enough with throwing him bubble screens or throwing to him while he's moving horizontally. McDaniels is trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. Hopefully McD Harry's catches on the final drive and draws up more play for him to get down field.

Michel.....Ugh. Hey McDaniel's, didn't you say you were going to get Michel more involved in the passing game so he's not so one dimensional?

Edelman had a great game, but he was exhausted and got beat up. Can't keep doing this each week.

Byrd had a nice game.

Need to make a trade for a WR.

Myers had a big catch.

Had Izzo not caught two passes, you'd think they don't have any TE's playing.

Absolutely no speed at LB and Bentley is terrible. Not a fan of Simon, Calhoun and Copeland. Need to get Uche and Jennings back.

Too soft up the middle on D.

Two straight games were BB's game plan against Wilson was a failure, yet the still almost won. Secondary clearly doesn't like playing zone. Maybe if HT were available, we would've seen more man with him spying.

 

[Uptown]

 

[Caretaker]

I'm just glad they were this close to win the game, despite major roster shakedown this year & tragic losses for Bill and James White. We have much potential to unlock and Cam's game isn't worrying me at all. We won't be 6-10 without Tom

 

[NG Pats Fan]

Possibly. But Sony helped us win in 2018. Without him we're not making that playoff run.

Any back could have filled his spot in 2018 and done as well. He’s slow and untalented. He will be out of the nfl in two years

 

[NG Pats Fan]

Still waiting for Harry to break a single tackle for a nice YAC play or make one contested catch in the endzone. For someone that got by on his physicality and jump ball ability in college he has shown next to none of it so far. I do like that Cam is trying to force the issue and has his back when he messes up.

 

[Wheelman]

Pete Carroll was instructing Wagner during the timeout before the play. I wonder if Pete Carroll told Wagner to shoot that gap.

 

[rochrist]

Any back could have filled his spot in 2018 and done as well. He’s slow and untalented. He will be out of the nfl in two years

That's nonsense. As I showed a few days ago, what he did in the playoffs that year was superior to anything done by either Antwain Smith OR Corey Dillon. He's was superb.

 

[Caretaker]

That's nonsense. As I showed a few days ago, what he did in the playoffs that year was superior to anything done by either Antwain Smith OR Corey Dillon. He's was superb.

True, but do you think Sony can bounce back this season, realistically? Or is he a JAG at this point