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WOW! What an impressive win. Certainly a league wide perception altering victory. I thought we had a chance to win in a slugfest, but this beating was completely one sided.. The Pats are now just a nose ahead of average, but will be on everyone's "this is a team no one wants to play right now" list. You never know how your team will do, For most teams each year's group has to absorb 20-30% turnover rates each season. This year's Pats team, with its massive influx of FA's and rookies, had to absorb adding around 40%. It was literally a new team.
Sometimes we take for granted just how HARD it is for teams to gel and develop trust in the man next to you. We forget just how narrow the margins for error are between victory and defeat in a league where the 53rd best player on the team is an AMAZING football player. So a receiver running a route just a yard short, or 2 guys running their routes without the correct timing can result in disaster. Just like having a DLman or LB hitting the LOS just a half gap to wide can create holes that make for big plays. We saw a LOT of that over the first 6 weeks of the season and it led to the 2-4 record we justly deserved.
What you HOPE for is that eventually your team starts to "get it". Instead of thinking about how many steps a WR needs to take before making their cut, they just instinctively do it. The QB starts to develop a comfort level of knowing where their OLmen are going to be on any given drop and we see the results in he looks like he is moving in the pocket better. A DL/LB become comfortable knowing that he doesn't have to worry about the guy next to him and his job, which makes it easier for him to do HIS job. All across the board guys start thinking less and reacting more. This results in everyone playing just incrementally faster, but that is the difference in more consistent good play and wins instead of close losses. THIS is what we are STARTING to see happening before our eyes. Hopefully this is just the BEGINNING of this gelling and it continues. Whether this GROWTH continues or not will determine the direction the team trends
OK, the soliloquy is over. Now lets get to my general observations in no particular order.
1. Cleveland is a good team. Much like us they entered the game 5-4 coming off a great win on the road vs a division team. A top 10 overall defense who was 2nd against the run. They had plus pass rushers all along their front 7 including 2 elite ones. But here's the thing. Not only was this group held to just 2 sacks (both in the first half) The Browns added only 2 other QB hits for the entire game. This was an amazing stat for the Pats OL, when you consider that the Pats front7 managed to rack up 10 QB hits to go along with 5 sacks.
2. The Browns were missing their RT, but they are supposed to have one of the better OL's in the league and were bested in their pass rush stats 4-1 And while the Browns RB had 99 yds, 66 of those yards came in the first quarter, and they added only 2 more in the second, before the game became a rout.
3. D Wise gets a lot of crap here. Sometimes its even deserved, but it wasn't Garret (2 pressures) or Clowney (1 pressure) who terrorized the QB, but our very own Detrick Wise who according to PFF had SEVEN pressures to go along with his 1.5 sacks on the day. Lets give the man a hand.
4. I will be interested to see how many snaps Christian Barmore got in this game. Before the season I was expecting around 30% of the DL snaps, most of those coming on passing downs. By last week it he was taking over 60% of the defense plays, and in this game I can rarely remember seeing him on the sidelines, so I will be looking for that stat tomorrow. the kid has been a rock against the run and he is overpowering some of the best OLmen in the league on a weekly basis. He has far exceeded my (or anyone's) expectations thus far. The Richard Seymour comparisons can't be far behind. IIRC after that first drive, HE was the guy they moved to the nose to stem the flood....and it worked.
5. Hunter Henry is a perfect example of a new guy slowly growing into his role on the offense, and not just as a red zone target. He doesn't have the same yards after the catch potential as Gronk had, but as a pass catching target who can get open, he's close to the big guy. Jonnu Smith on the other hand is an example of a guy who hasn't meshed yet. Injuries has something to do with it, but hopefully as the season goes on, we will see him to add to the offense.
And speaking of guys who seem to be getting into the flow, Kendrick Bourne "come on down". Over the last few games Bourne has SLOWLY started to make an impact to the offense. Today he had close to 150 yds of total offense to go along with his remarkable TD catch. What we saw today was what we hoped we got when we signed him. It JUST takes time.
6. These are just initial impressions and just one game, BUTTTTTTTT. I think RStevenson is special, He has the power of LGB, but with extreme short area quickness and elusiveness. His first 2 runs off our own GL on that 99 yd drive were what I mean about "special". He made 5 key yards on a play that just as easily been a safety. He showed power, escapability and balance to make that run happen. The old saying was "he can make you miss in a phone booth". I think Stevenson has that rare skill. When Harris gets back, the Pats will have an OUTSTANDING RB duo that will be around here for a long time.
7. When I saw a tweet on the game day thread that Trent Brown was on the sidelines with a wrap on his calf, I choked on my water. WTF?????!!!!!! I wrote. Thankfully he was there by design given that he's missed almost 9 weeks so his wind must still be lacking, so spelling him with Owenu made a lot of sense. I'll guess he's still a month away from being his best self.
8. When Mac made that pass to Bourne for the TD, I had a smile a mile wide, because I knew that he'd have never even tried that pass, let alone complete it, prior to this game. Just another step in his growth. It was also clear that on a number of occasions he got the team out of bad plays during the course of this game. Good but not great. 200 yds in 3.5 quarters is OK. But his 8.2 ypa is very good as well as his 142 QBR. He moved in the pocket better and was just a half second slow in escaping his 2nd sack by stepping up. That will get better too.
9. Tennessee is winning a lot of games playing good defense and NOT turning the ball over on offense. When WE don't turn the ball over we also win. Mac is now doing a much better job of hanging on to the ball. IIRC in Tom's second year as a starter, he had a fumbling problem. I think it was around 12 that year and he mentioned that it would be an emphasis in the off season to work on that issue. As Mac's understanding of where everyone is grows, he will also get better at protecting the ball in tight places.
10. The OL in this game proved that they can stand up to one of the best pass rushers in the game, as well as the 2nd best run defense, and excel in BOTH areas. Close to 200 rushing yds against a team that averaged 80 ypg in the previous 9 is a great accomplishment, especially when your best RB (at least he was before this game) miss the game. PLUS they allowed what we were told was the best pass rushing team in the league only 2 sacks and 2 QB hits all game.
11. It should be noted that the coaching staff has also caught a massive amount of crap this season, especially Josh from all the arm chair OC's here (which is pretty much all of us) Well this game was a beauty. The defense fixed whatever was broken on that first drive and kept the offense completely off balance the rest of the way. And Josh designed a masterful game plan that neutralized that heavy rush and gave his players a chance to make plays all game.
I'll give you an example. Clearly this was a game where the run game was going to be featured. So obviously, to balance that run game, play action passes would be needed, yet not ONCE in this entire game did Mac go from under center, fake to a back and go back to pass. I was just about to comment on that on the game thread, when it occurred to be WHY that wasn't happening.
When you fake the handoff from under C, the QB has his back turned way from the rush. Well with the fierceness of the Brown rush and the inexperience of his own QB, Josh didn't want to put that risk on his QB. He's been sacked more than a few times on play action passes already this year because his QB didn't "feel" that rush, and when he looked up from the fake to look downfield it was too late. So instead, Josh added a bunch of misdirection plays and runs to further keep the Brown rush at bay and allow his young QB to always see what was coming from the the first snap of the ball. It was brilliant.
Steve Bellichick has also taken heat this year, but today he too called a brilliant game. I thought early on the Pats were consistently putting pressure on Mayfield against what I thought was one of the better OL's and mostly with 4 man rushes. Not only that, the coverage was consistently good, as was pointed out over an over again on TV.
Looking ahead
a. The good news is that we are playing an Atlanta team that just go WAXED by the Cowboys by 40. The bad news is that the game is on Thursday and IN Atlanta. The biggest competitive advantage in the league today is being the home team on a Thursday night game. So far the home team holds just a 6-4 advantage but 2 of those road wins were against the woebegone Texans and the Jags when they were just as woebegone and a third was the Rams going into a Russell Wilsonless Seattle when Seattle was playing badly WITH Wilson. So what I'm saying is it is HARD, very HARD to win on the road against a home team on Thursday night
Atlanta is 4-5 and still has something to play for. Matt Ryan is having a resurgent season while Kyle Pitts is looking every bit the generational player many thought him to be. Usually on weeks like this injuries play a big role and I have no idea who got dinged on either team. So on that note we shall see.
On the plus side, I know Bill does a really good job having his team ready for these games. . Outside of a few low lights or teaching points that they'll see in individual team meetings, I doubt they will even see the entire game in review and move right on to Atlanta tomorrow. I'm sure that by tomorrow when the players get back from their treatments, Bill's little worker bees will have all 9 Atlanta games broken down and segmented to each position coach. I'm sure in the lockerroom he congratulated them on today's win. Told them to have a great time tonight, and be ready to go full bore on Atlanta tomorrow.
The main takeaway from the post game pressers was staying in the moment, don't dwell on yesterday and don't worry about tomorrow. The other takeaway was how every player mentioned that they DO well, when they PRACTICED hard and well. In other words, they have all bought into what Bill is selling and they LIKE it. And that they are HAVING fun.....winning.
b. Looking at the future schedule they have 7 games left. 4 wins will give them a decent shot at a playoff bid, 5 wins will ensure one. To my mind they have 3 so-called weak teams over that stretch ( Atlanta, Jags, and Phins) and 4 strong ones (Titans, Colts@Indy, and Bills twice. If the team continues to grow as a unit, I think they SHOULD win 4 at a minimum, but given the margin of error is so thin anything COULD happen.
c. I am really looking forward to when Winovich returns. Uche has been my biggest disappointment so far. I'm wondering if I was right the first time when I thought he might evolve into that speed ILB we currently don't have. He's made no impact on the outside thus far. However, while he IS limited, Winovich is a solid and consistent pass rusher who should thrive opposite Judon. and be a big upgrade down the stretch.
d. So far since he returned from his shoulder injury, the MUCH Maligned N'Keal Harry has put his nose to the grindstone hasn't complained once about his lack of targets and simply become a key element in the run game, one of the better blocking WR's in the league, and every time his number HAS been called caught everything thrown at him.
So far Henry has had a year where Brady did not want to deal with Rookies. A year with the flawed Cam Newton as his QB, Now half way through his 3rd year he has carved out a role in a Mac Jones led offense. An offense that still has training wheels on it. Maybe no one else has noticed it, but on the last 3 targets Harry has had thrown to him, he has managed to beat his man deep AND caught the ball. I wouldn't be shocked at all (though I might be the only one) if HIS growth gets him more targets as the year goes on. Just sayin'
Sometimes we take for granted just how HARD it is for teams to gel and develop trust in the man next to you. We forget just how narrow the margins for error are between victory and defeat in a league where the 53rd best player on the team is an AMAZING football player. So a receiver running a route just a yard short, or 2 guys running their routes without the correct timing can result in disaster. Just like having a DLman or LB hitting the LOS just a half gap to wide can create holes that make for big plays. We saw a LOT of that over the first 6 weeks of the season and it led to the 2-4 record we justly deserved.
What you HOPE for is that eventually your team starts to "get it". Instead of thinking about how many steps a WR needs to take before making their cut, they just instinctively do it. The QB starts to develop a comfort level of knowing where their OLmen are going to be on any given drop and we see the results in he looks like he is moving in the pocket better. A DL/LB become comfortable knowing that he doesn't have to worry about the guy next to him and his job, which makes it easier for him to do HIS job. All across the board guys start thinking less and reacting more. This results in everyone playing just incrementally faster, but that is the difference in more consistent good play and wins instead of close losses. THIS is what we are STARTING to see happening before our eyes. Hopefully this is just the BEGINNING of this gelling and it continues. Whether this GROWTH continues or not will determine the direction the team trends
OK, the soliloquy is over. Now lets get to my general observations in no particular order.
1. Cleveland is a good team. Much like us they entered the game 5-4 coming off a great win on the road vs a division team. A top 10 overall defense who was 2nd against the run. They had plus pass rushers all along their front 7 including 2 elite ones. But here's the thing. Not only was this group held to just 2 sacks (both in the first half) The Browns added only 2 other QB hits for the entire game. This was an amazing stat for the Pats OL, when you consider that the Pats front7 managed to rack up 10 QB hits to go along with 5 sacks.
2. The Browns were missing their RT, but they are supposed to have one of the better OL's in the league and were bested in their pass rush stats 4-1 And while the Browns RB had 99 yds, 66 of those yards came in the first quarter, and they added only 2 more in the second, before the game became a rout.
3. D Wise gets a lot of crap here. Sometimes its even deserved, but it wasn't Garret (2 pressures) or Clowney (1 pressure) who terrorized the QB, but our very own Detrick Wise who according to PFF had SEVEN pressures to go along with his 1.5 sacks on the day. Lets give the man a hand.
4. I will be interested to see how many snaps Christian Barmore got in this game. Before the season I was expecting around 30% of the DL snaps, most of those coming on passing downs. By last week it he was taking over 60% of the defense plays, and in this game I can rarely remember seeing him on the sidelines, so I will be looking for that stat tomorrow. the kid has been a rock against the run and he is overpowering some of the best OLmen in the league on a weekly basis. He has far exceeded my (or anyone's) expectations thus far. The Richard Seymour comparisons can't be far behind. IIRC after that first drive, HE was the guy they moved to the nose to stem the flood....and it worked.
5. Hunter Henry is a perfect example of a new guy slowly growing into his role on the offense, and not just as a red zone target. He doesn't have the same yards after the catch potential as Gronk had, but as a pass catching target who can get open, he's close to the big guy. Jonnu Smith on the other hand is an example of a guy who hasn't meshed yet. Injuries has something to do with it, but hopefully as the season goes on, we will see him to add to the offense.
And speaking of guys who seem to be getting into the flow, Kendrick Bourne "come on down". Over the last few games Bourne has SLOWLY started to make an impact to the offense. Today he had close to 150 yds of total offense to go along with his remarkable TD catch. What we saw today was what we hoped we got when we signed him. It JUST takes time.
6. These are just initial impressions and just one game, BUTTTTTTTT. I think RStevenson is special, He has the power of LGB, but with extreme short area quickness and elusiveness. His first 2 runs off our own GL on that 99 yd drive were what I mean about "special". He made 5 key yards on a play that just as easily been a safety. He showed power, escapability and balance to make that run happen. The old saying was "he can make you miss in a phone booth". I think Stevenson has that rare skill. When Harris gets back, the Pats will have an OUTSTANDING RB duo that will be around here for a long time.
7. When I saw a tweet on the game day thread that Trent Brown was on the sidelines with a wrap on his calf, I choked on my water. WTF?????!!!!!! I wrote. Thankfully he was there by design given that he's missed almost 9 weeks so his wind must still be lacking, so spelling him with Owenu made a lot of sense. I'll guess he's still a month away from being his best self.
8. When Mac made that pass to Bourne for the TD, I had a smile a mile wide, because I knew that he'd have never even tried that pass, let alone complete it, prior to this game. Just another step in his growth. It was also clear that on a number of occasions he got the team out of bad plays during the course of this game. Good but not great. 200 yds in 3.5 quarters is OK. But his 8.2 ypa is very good as well as his 142 QBR. He moved in the pocket better and was just a half second slow in escaping his 2nd sack by stepping up. That will get better too.
9. Tennessee is winning a lot of games playing good defense and NOT turning the ball over on offense. When WE don't turn the ball over we also win. Mac is now doing a much better job of hanging on to the ball. IIRC in Tom's second year as a starter, he had a fumbling problem. I think it was around 12 that year and he mentioned that it would be an emphasis in the off season to work on that issue. As Mac's understanding of where everyone is grows, he will also get better at protecting the ball in tight places.
10. The OL in this game proved that they can stand up to one of the best pass rushers in the game, as well as the 2nd best run defense, and excel in BOTH areas. Close to 200 rushing yds against a team that averaged 80 ypg in the previous 9 is a great accomplishment, especially when your best RB (at least he was before this game) miss the game. PLUS they allowed what we were told was the best pass rushing team in the league only 2 sacks and 2 QB hits all game.
11. It should be noted that the coaching staff has also caught a massive amount of crap this season, especially Josh from all the arm chair OC's here (which is pretty much all of us) Well this game was a beauty. The defense fixed whatever was broken on that first drive and kept the offense completely off balance the rest of the way. And Josh designed a masterful game plan that neutralized that heavy rush and gave his players a chance to make plays all game.
I'll give you an example. Clearly this was a game where the run game was going to be featured. So obviously, to balance that run game, play action passes would be needed, yet not ONCE in this entire game did Mac go from under center, fake to a back and go back to pass. I was just about to comment on that on the game thread, when it occurred to be WHY that wasn't happening.
When you fake the handoff from under C, the QB has his back turned way from the rush. Well with the fierceness of the Brown rush and the inexperience of his own QB, Josh didn't want to put that risk on his QB. He's been sacked more than a few times on play action passes already this year because his QB didn't "feel" that rush, and when he looked up from the fake to look downfield it was too late. So instead, Josh added a bunch of misdirection plays and runs to further keep the Brown rush at bay and allow his young QB to always see what was coming from the the first snap of the ball. It was brilliant.
Steve Bellichick has also taken heat this year, but today he too called a brilliant game. I thought early on the Pats were consistently putting pressure on Mayfield against what I thought was one of the better OL's and mostly with 4 man rushes. Not only that, the coverage was consistently good, as was pointed out over an over again on TV.
Looking ahead
a. The good news is that we are playing an Atlanta team that just go WAXED by the Cowboys by 40. The bad news is that the game is on Thursday and IN Atlanta. The biggest competitive advantage in the league today is being the home team on a Thursday night game. So far the home team holds just a 6-4 advantage but 2 of those road wins were against the woebegone Texans and the Jags when they were just as woebegone and a third was the Rams going into a Russell Wilsonless Seattle when Seattle was playing badly WITH Wilson. So what I'm saying is it is HARD, very HARD to win on the road against a home team on Thursday night
Atlanta is 4-5 and still has something to play for. Matt Ryan is having a resurgent season while Kyle Pitts is looking every bit the generational player many thought him to be. Usually on weeks like this injuries play a big role and I have no idea who got dinged on either team. So on that note we shall see.
On the plus side, I know Bill does a really good job having his team ready for these games. . Outside of a few low lights or teaching points that they'll see in individual team meetings, I doubt they will even see the entire game in review and move right on to Atlanta tomorrow. I'm sure that by tomorrow when the players get back from their treatments, Bill's little worker bees will have all 9 Atlanta games broken down and segmented to each position coach. I'm sure in the lockerroom he congratulated them on today's win. Told them to have a great time tonight, and be ready to go full bore on Atlanta tomorrow.
The main takeaway from the post game pressers was staying in the moment, don't dwell on yesterday and don't worry about tomorrow. The other takeaway was how every player mentioned that they DO well, when they PRACTICED hard and well. In other words, they have all bought into what Bill is selling and they LIKE it. And that they are HAVING fun.....winning.
b. Looking at the future schedule they have 7 games left. 4 wins will give them a decent shot at a playoff bid, 5 wins will ensure one. To my mind they have 3 so-called weak teams over that stretch ( Atlanta, Jags, and Phins) and 4 strong ones (Titans, Colts@Indy, and Bills twice. If the team continues to grow as a unit, I think they SHOULD win 4 at a minimum, but given the margin of error is so thin anything COULD happen.
c. I am really looking forward to when Winovich returns. Uche has been my biggest disappointment so far. I'm wondering if I was right the first time when I thought he might evolve into that speed ILB we currently don't have. He's made no impact on the outside thus far. However, while he IS limited, Winovich is a solid and consistent pass rusher who should thrive opposite Judon. and be a big upgrade down the stretch.
d. So far since he returned from his shoulder injury, the MUCH Maligned N'Keal Harry has put his nose to the grindstone hasn't complained once about his lack of targets and simply become a key element in the run game, one of the better blocking WR's in the league, and every time his number HAS been called caught everything thrown at him.
So far Henry has had a year where Brady did not want to deal with Rookies. A year with the flawed Cam Newton as his QB, Now half way through his 3rd year he has carved out a role in a Mac Jones led offense. An offense that still has training wheels on it. Maybe no one else has noticed it, but on the last 3 targets Harry has had thrown to him, he has managed to beat his man deep AND caught the ball. I wouldn't be shocked at all (though I might be the only one) if HIS growth gets him more targets as the year goes on. Just sayin'
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