Official Pregame Thread: Pats @ Panthers

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Hope he is tested and vaccinated against covid and that's not what the illness is.

Let’s also hope he’s locked in... uh ohhhh what am I doing WHAT AM I DOINGGGGG

 

[captain stone]

Why should the Panthers?

Agreed. I think Vegas looks at it like this: Both teams are 4-4. One has won 3 of their last 4 games, with the loss coming in overtime to a really good Dallas team. The other has lost 4 of their last 5 with the one win being against a 2-4 (going in) Falcons team, and may be without their starting QB. Adjust 3 points for the game being in Caroline, and 3.5 may not be perfect but it's in the ballpark of what to expect.

Two things that could shift that perspective between now and 1pm Sunday though, are if McCaffrey suits up, and this JC Jackson illness keeps him out. That's giving them their best offensive player and taking away arguably our second best defensive player. That's a significant swing.

Yeah I figured this game should be a toss-up until further clarifications on certain players are made available... I wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole otherwise.

 

[Pats1971]

Yeah I figured this game should be a toss-up until further clarifications on certain players are made available... I wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole otherwise.

Really? This is one of the of the few games I feel pretty good about. Except the Jets.

 

[JarOfMayo51]

Sure, but look at the Cowboys game. The Cowboys had a 3rd and 25 well out of field goal range with 31 seconds left in the game. If the Pats only give up 5-10 yards, they likely win the game (obviously the Cowboys would have gone for it on fourth down). And the defense they call is a cover 0 blitz. Probably one of the worst play calls to call in that situation. That was a case of the Patriots beating themselves.

genuinely asking, why is that the worst play call in that situation? Isn't the idea of the blitz to get to the QB so the play doesnt have time to develop? So in theory he'd have to get the ball out way before the 25 yard mark?

 

[SVN]

the unknown QB thing is a bit annoying especially if he can run outside the pocket.

 

[Pats1971]

Sure, but look at the Cowboys game. The Cowboys had a 3rd and 25 well out of field goal range with 31 seconds left in the game. If the Pats only give up 5-10 yards, they likely win the game (obviously the Cowboys would have gone for it on fourth down). And the defense they call is a cover 0 blitz. Probably one of the worst play calls to call in that situation. That was a case of the Patriots beating themselves.

Honestly the cowboys did way more to cost themselves that game than the pats did. Bad penalties, weird play calls, turning the ball over twice inside the 5 yard line.

 

[Vindicate]

I think the bigger question is who do the Panthers put Gilmore on. The one thing about no one standing out as the biggest Mac Jones target on this team, the Panthers cannot just put Gilmore on the Pats' best receiver and lock him down and do significant damage to the offense if say you were defending against the Bengals where you will have him just shadow Ja'Marr Chase all game or Cooper Cupp for the Rams.

I was wondering this question as well. Without a straightforward #1, it can either work in our favor or not.

With the Panthers saying they'll use him in limited capacity and on 3rd down (why the hell do coaches admit their strategy??) I imagine Gilmore is gonna watch a lot of film and pay attention to typical 3rd and long/short plays, and take note of Mac's read progression, and pick his man from there.

He's a smart player and I remember in a film breakdown he spoke how he watches QB instincts a lot, which leads to the int's he's made. He's gonna also test our less-than-consistent ball security, even on running plays - he loves jamming that ball every chance he gets.

 

[Love The Drake]

Same injury report as yesterday:

We may see Wade get significant snaps.

 

[Vindicate]

Put N'Keal Harry on Gilmore, that will take Gilmore out of the game.

Takes the role of decoy to a whole new level.

Have Harry's big ass throw one of those great blocks we've been hearing about on Gilmore

 

[Rob0729]

genuinely asking, why is that the worst play call in that situation? Isn't the idea of the blitz to get to the QB so the play doesnt have time to develop? So in theory he'd have to get the ball out way before the 25 yard mark?

Because you leave all the receivers in single coverage. If you don’t get to Prescott or force him to make the throw too quickly, then you pretty much guarantee they get in field goal range. And the blitz didn’t work because one of the pass rushers had to peel off of the rush to cover an open man in the flat. So the blitz became a four man rush.

In an one and done play with that many yards to covert or get in field goal range. You want only rush three, maybe four and put everyone in coverage. A prevent defense in a situation like that is the smart move because you don’t care if they pick up 10 or even 15 yards on that play because it would make it fourth and long with the Cowboys out of field goal range with the final seconds ticking down.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

get ready for PJ walker at QB for the panthers on Sunday…

 

[Rob0729]

Honestly the cowboys did way more to cost themselves that game than the pats did. Bad penalties, weird play calls, turning the ball over twice inside the 5 yard line.

I think they both did plenty to shoot themselves in the foot. But you can point to several major ones for the Pats. With a minute and a half left in the half on their 20 with three time outs left, the Pats decided to just take a knee and go into halftime rather than trying to at least get a field goal. And then in overtime on fourth and three on their own 46, they decide to punt when they knew that the Cowboys would likely score when they got the ball. And that's without Jones' pick six.

But yes, you could point to plenty of mistakes by the Cowboys that would change the outcome of the game too.

 

[Rob0729]

get ready for PJ walker at QB for the panthers on Sunday…

Odds are good that McCaffrey won't play or be very limited in what he will do. So there are no excuses for the Pats this game.

On a side note, with Darnold likely out, I wouldn't play McCaffrey if I was the Panthers. No need to rush him back when the Panthers are likely to lose without Darnold.

 

[Vataha]

Please, we're getting better but we can't beat the Rams, Arizona, Packers, Dallas, or even Tampa if we make the super bowl. We're not there yet.

Ye of little faith
Don’t look at the Patriots as rookie led team, look at them as a Belichick led team.
We can beat all of those teams.
Pats D is getting better as a unit as the season winds.
Mac is ahead of schedule.
Ball security and stone fingers have decided multiple games so far.
O-Line is getting better.
Curious who slides to LG when TBrown returns.
Wynn or Onwenu?

I like what I see.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

It probably will be if/when Brown returns.

nah the mentally challenged oc already said he wants Onwenu back at LG when Trent comes back.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

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You have consistently shown to be an organizational stooge. Maybe lay off the forum and go get some more coffee for the staff.

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[patfanken]

Gilmore's first game back last week he already got an INT. People are dismissing him based on just age. Gilmore is still an elite CB1 and the Pats D doesn't work without elite man corners. And the front office HAS absolutely whiffed for several years until recent improvements with Wolf and Groh involved. It's really crushed the team with so many bad drafts. Also your schtick is getting old not watching the actual games (it's obvious) and then regurgitating what others are saying in your post-game summaries.

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Gilmore only played about a third of the defensive snaps last week and according to his HC, that isn't going to change THIS week either. BTW- -hen repeating you constant diatribe, you should also add that the results of that bad stretch of draft picks from 16 to 20 was 4 superbowl trips and 3 wins. Somehow THAT fact fails to find its way into your posts.

So YES there were more misses in the drafts then we'd have liked, just as there were misses in the FA market. Some even were head scratchers. But as Pats fans, how can we look at one disappointing pandemic season as "sky is falling" and "the emperor has no clothes".

 

[patfanken]

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You have consistently shown to be an organizational stooge. Maybe lay off the forum and go get some more coffee for the staff.

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When you call anyone who disagrees with you an "organizational stooge" you are just diminishing your own credibility when you DO make an intelligent observation. Stick to the facts and try an avoid name calling. Just a thought,

 

[patfanken]

I heard some disturbing figures about this game today. They were several stats about the Carolina defense. Most of them had Carolina ranked 2nd or 3rd in a NUMBER of categories. Now granted they only played 1 team you'd consider a great offense (Dallas) , and 2 that MIGHT be better than average (Saints and Vikes) So I think the Carolina defense is something I haven't seen much talk about and maybe it should be.

I will feel a lot better about the Pats offense if they can put up 24 or more point against THIS group. That will show me they have reached a new level of execution. I expect much more use of the TE's and RB's this week. Another factor will be the crowd. That was almost a home game last week in LA, the crowd in Carolina will be much tougher.

On the defense has been getting incrementally better over the last few weeks, but if JC doesn't play (and it doesn't look likely) then they will be hard pressed to keep the Panther offense in check, whether its Darnold OR Walkeer. BTW- I think both McCaffrey and Darnold will be active this week.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

Gilmore only played about a third of the defensive snaps last week and according to his HC, that isn't going to change THIS week either. BTW- -hen repeating you constant diatribe, you should also add that the results of that bad stretch of draft picks from 16 to 20 was 4 superbowl trips and 3 wins. Somehow THAT fact fails to find its way into your posts.

So YES there were more misses in the drafts then we'd have liked, just as there were misses in the FA market. Some even were head scratchers. But as Pats fans, how can we look at one disappointing pandemic season as "sky is falling" and "the emperor has no clothes".

But it hasn't been one disappointing season. A couple things. I know last year was a reset, a ton of dead cap space. But I'm more concerned with about 6 straight years of crappy drafting that hollowed out the core foundational talent on the team. The last draft was good but too much damage done the prior years that the team is paying for now. Harry, Michel, Wynn 3 straight years is an absolute disaster and then all their CB picks for a half dozen years were terrible.

BB is the best but the staff around him needs major improvements. Who is the dumba-s on the staff who benched Jacobi Meyers last year for 6 games while NKeal Harry started last year. Who is the dumba-s on the staff who benched Karras for 6 weeks while Durant/Herron kept starting at RT this year. Who is the dumba-s on staff who is ready to move Onwenu from elite RT to below-average LG when Brown comes back.

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