Game Day Thread Official Post Game Thread - #1 Seed Pats beat the Bills

[mike_usagisan]

You will all the Pats haters go to ridiculous measures to trash the Pats.

I went over to Walter Football because he is notoriously a Patriots hater. He is saying the Pats are overrated in large part because all these teams shoot themselves in the foot when they get into red zone. It is "This team got into the red zone six times vs. the Pats and only got three points. That team did it five times and had seven points. The Bills got into it four times and only got seven points. The Pats are just lucky teams are shooting themselves in the foot in the red zone". Not that the Pats have a great bend, don't break defense. It is just luck and other teams beating themselves.

His tone and manner are extremely punchable, but I don’t disagree with some of his points. Bill and Josh probably saw that first throw almost float over Smith and decided to not throw it again until the game tightened up at the end. Is that a knock against Mac and his non-cannon arm? Maybe. But how often are there wind games like this? The last one was 2008? I would much rather have Mac’s intelligence, poise and decision making for the 200 non-windy games than have gone after a different QB with a laser arm but maybe doesn’t make as good decisions.

 

[1960Pats]

Colts fans legit think they're going to win the game comfortably, say the Pats offense is 1 dimensional and that our defense can be run over lol

Indy fans are mostly Indiots. My favorite online one came around the AOL board in 2002 thinking that the Pats were a fluke in 2001 and that PEDton would be off to the races from then on. Woops!

One of our sons went to school in Indiana and another married a woman from there, so I do have some secondhand experience with Indy. The normal folks are very nice but the football fans are real shaky.

 

[1960Pats]

I think McDermott showed no class as a coach in the post match interview. Yes he was angry but he could have chosen his words better in front of the media and then tackled the performance behind closed doors. His staff and players will "remember this"

I remember trying to defend the guy here last year or so but I can see now that I was way off.
He came across as a real jerk from the start of the game, during the game and in the presser afterwards. That could be a career ender for him.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

I think everyone was shocked that they didn't chose the wind in the 2nd half. But I also think that McDermott panicked because they were down and hadn't really been having success to that point in the game.

I understand that BB chose the ball and not the wind in the first half. If true, why was Buffalo panicked in the second half for chosing the ball but the Pats didnt panic in the first half for doing the same thing ?

 

[1960Pats]

Haven't had a chance to scan the thread so pardon if I'm regurgitating:

Interesting how this came down to some crucial coaching moments. Bill's decision to go for 2 early on was an absurdly good, defensive decision (not saying that's why he did it, but it did become a crucial defensive variable.) That extra point dictated McDermott's decision making in the 4th qtr. That and the sheer belligerence in committing to the run. Each moment in the redzone, McDermott had to consider if it'd be his last trip or not given how much of the clock we'd eat up.

Love the result, and the stack of notes it gave Bill to consider coaching up going into the bye week.

About the notes. I see Bill jotting things down during games but I don't recall seeing other HCs do that. It's a great idea. Even Bill's big brain won't remember all the things that come up unless he writes them down.

 

[sb1]

You will all the Pats haters go to ridiculous measures to trash the Pats.

I went over to Walter Football because he is notoriously a Patriots hater. He is saying the Pats are overrated in large part because all these teams shoot themselves in the foot when they get into red zone. It is "This team got into the red zone six times vs. the Pats and only got three points. That team did it five times and had seven points. The Bills got into it four times and only got seven points. The Pats are just lucky teams are shooting themselves in the foot in the red zone". Not that the Pats have a great bend, don't break defense. It is just luck and other teams beating themselves.

Walter Football gave the Pats a D for drafting Mac and the Bears an A+ for moving up for Fields. LOL. Nuff said

 

[Hammer of Thor]

I understand that BB chose the ball and not the wind in the first half. If true, why was Buffalo panicked in the second half for chosing the ball but the Pats didnt panic in the first half for doing the same thing ?

Because Buffalo had seen the conditions played out live for 2 quarters and knew the score of the game and what would be needed in the 2nd half. The Pats had a 0-0 game and general estimates of game conditions but not having yet seen it live.

 

[Ollie]

Thats not totally accurate. They could have done a number of tests and possibly an ultrasound in the locker room.

If Harris' hamstring issue was severe, he wouldn't have been standing. And certainly not for the length of time the he did while talking to the media. He would have been in the Trainer's room and out of the sight of the media.. Claiming that it would have been impossible to know how bad the injury is baloney. Severe ones make it nearly impossible to stand on.

If it's a full rupture then yes but with a partial tear he would be able to stand perfectly well but a partial tear can still take many weeks to heal. i'm responding to the poster who was saying he would be fine for two weeks when he can't know that at all based on what we know.

 

[sb1]

He has one of the most punchable looking faces on TV.

He's really changed his tune from earlier in the year.

He said the Pats were a bad team with a bad QB and maybe bad coaching. Now on twitter he called BB the greatest coach in sports and he loved how we win with great defense, great running and just tell the QB to get out of the way. Just lol.

 

[gitgronked82]

See the following from the last page:



So there are now two decision points, 3 mins before the game, and at the start of the second half. The 2nd half choice is a relatively new rule change.

It could have gone:

3 minutes before the game:​

Bills win toss​

Bills defer to start of second half​

Pats choose to take ball​

Bills choose side since Pats chose to take the ball​

​

At the start of the second half:​

Bills chose the end that gives them the wind in the 4th quarter​

Pats get the ball because Bills chose the end​

As some point out they'd have given the Pats an extra possession to do this, along with the wind in the 3rd quarter, but if they were more confident in their D than their O they could have gone this way.

thank you, that's helpful

 

[1960Pats]

A) I figure that because GB is having a great season and Cleveland and Balt aren't very good.

B) I just think you're making way more of Buffalo's chances having to go down to Florida on a short week and beat the guy who for all intents and purposes owns their team, that's all.

Clev and Bal are like many of the teams, including GB. They can beat or lose to almost any other team.

Buffalo is going to have a hard time beating TB after this loss, but it wouldn't surprise me.

 

[1960Pats]

I felt terrible when Scott Norwood missed that field goal and a chance to beat the NFC, but damn I laughed hard at that shirt.

 

[The Brandon Five]

LOL Nick Wright meltdown this morning...watch from 9:43 to the end.

Mac Jones National Championships - 1
Bill Belichick Super Bowl Rings - 8
Nick Wright accomplishments in football - 0

 

[1960Pats]

McDermott completely lost it.

1. Being unable to stop 46 runs has got to be infuriating. Love it.
2. I think in a way 46 runs to 3 passes, this is more in your face and offensive than running up a score by 50 points. Literally just running every snap for almost 3 quarters in a row is hilarious.

.

Oh the irony that the last time a team won a game with 3 passes was when the Bills did it sometime in the 70's.

 

[Ring 6]

Because Buffalo had seen the conditions played out live for 2 quarters and knew the score of the game and what would be needed in the 2nd half. The Pats had a 0-0 game and general estimates of game conditions but not having yet seen it live.

Taking the wind and forfeiting a possession is stupid. Each team gets 15 minutes with the wind and 15 without.

 

[1960Pats]

I started to re-watch this game this morning and just couldn't do it. This game is painful to watch. It's like watching a boxing match where the boxers have massively padded gloves.

It could have been much worse. You could have been watching soccer.

 

[1960Pats]

I agree. I consume a lot of football media, and I find I don't get much out of player interviews. Many times they just tote the party line, or they use jargon or lingo I don't understand. They live the game, I don't, so I don't have a lot of context they have. Many ex-players fall into the same category. I'm better off with someone who can explain/interpret the sport. It takes me a while to find ones I feel I can trust, and ones that don't go over my head too often, and ones I find entertaining. Luckily for me, there are literally thousands to choose from.

I think Brian Baldinger is one of the best.

 

[captain stone]

I felt terrible when Scott Norwood missed that field goal and a chance to beat the NFC, but damn I laughed hard at that shirt.

I also wanted the Billdos to win, mainly because they were playing Screw York Sh!tty/Exit 16W... and I too laughed hard at that shirt.

 

[Rob0729]

Walter Football gave the Pats a D for drafting Mac and the Bears an A+ for moving up for Fields. LOL. Nuff said

He also crapped on f the Patriots free agent signings. Here are some of his write ups:

Patriots sign TE Hunter Henry (3 years, $37.5 million; $25 million guaranteed): F Grade
Did Bill Belichick bang his head on something? Has the spirit of Bill O'Brien possessed him? Is Matt Millen holding him at gunpoint? These are three scenarios that may explain his reckless spending spree. It's a new day of free agency, yet the bad signings haven't stopped.

Spending this much money for a non-elite tight end is a mistake, but don't take my word for it. Here's a deep dive of every single big contract ($20 million or more) given to a non-elite tight end (Travis Kelce, George Kittle) over the past four years:

Browns sign TE Austin Hooper (4 years, $44 million)
Buccaneers re-sign TE Cameron Brate (6 years, $41 million; $18 million guaranteed)
Rams re-sign TE Tyler Higbee (4 years, $36 million; $15.5 million guaranteed)
Vikings re-sign TE Kyle Rudolph (4 years, $36 million)
49ers sign TE Vance McDonald (5 years, $35 million; $16 million guaranteed) Bears sign TE Trey Burton (4 years, $32 million)
Packers sign TE Jimmy Graham (3 years, $30 million)
Cardinals re-sign TE Jermaine Gresham (4 years, $28 million)
Lions sign TE Jesse James (4 years, $25 million; $11 million guaranteed)
Cowboys re-sign TE Blake Jarwin (3 years, $24.25 million)
Texans re-sign TE C.J. Fiedorowicz (3 years, $21.5 million; $10 million guaranteed)
Packers sign TE Martellus Bennett (3 years, $21 million)

Can you find one signing there that worked? I'll save you some time: Signing non-elite tight ends to big contracts has a 100-percent failure rate over the past four years. One hundred percent!

Why do teams continue to do this? When will they learn to stop overvaluing tight ends not named Kelce or Kittle?

Hunter Henry is talented, and he's closer to Kelce or Kittle than some of the names on that list, but he has a very dubious injury history. He has never played a full season. I don't know how the Patriots can trust him to stay healthy.

I'm going to vow to grade all of these signings as an "F" going forward until NFL teams learn to stop giving absurd contracts to tight ends.


Patriots sign WR Kendrick Bourne (3 years, $22.5 million): D+ Grade
Man, the Patriots cannot evaluate receiving talent. I understand this contract even less than the Nelson Agholor deal, and that one didn't make much sense either.

It's crazy that the Patriots spent nearly $50 million on two receivers today, yet they still have a big need at the position. Kendrick Bourne is just an OK player. He's versatile, but doesn't have much talent. He'll be a fine role player, but you shouldn't pay role players $22.5 million.


Patriots sign DE/OLB Matthew Judon (4 years, $56 million): C+ Grade
The Patriots are spending money like drunken sailors today. They've made some dubious signings, and while this one is much better than the Jonnu Smith move, it doesn't seem like a slam dunk either.

Matthew Judon has been a solid player for the Ravens, but never a great one. He has never logged more than 10 sacks in a single season, and Baltimore didn't view him as a great pass rusher because it traded for Yannick Ngakoue during the 2020 season. The Ravens also refused to give Judon the contract he wanted, which is telling, given that they're the team most familiar with him in the entire league. It's not like the Ravens missevaluate talent often, so why didn't they want to pay Judon the big bucks?

It could be that the Ravens knew Judon would be overpaid on the open market, like he was in this instance. Judon isn't very young either; he turns 29 soon, so he'll be spending the majority of this contract in his 30s, which is far from ideal.

In summary, I don't hate this signing. Judon will help the Patriots' pass rush, which was in need of an upgrade. However, this was an overpay, and there's a good chance the Patriots will regret this contract down the road.

NFL Free Agent Signing Grades – Latest Signing Grades for 2024 NFL Free Agency – WalterFootball

walterfootball.com

 

[patsfanincleveland]

If I was born and raised in Western NY rather than NH, my life probably wouldn’t be much different. My upbringing, family relations, education, career would likely be the same. The only real difference is I would be a Bills fan rather than a Patriots fan and that would suck. Sports fandom isn’t an important part of life, but it does matter. Rather than so much trivial celebrations and happiness, I would have so much frustration and anger. I’m so thankful that I was born and raised where I was and enjoy the schadenfreude of our western neighbors’ tears.

If you are a sports fan.......fandom is an important part of life.

As a family, we watch games on Saturday/Sunday/Monday- as a family. We spend more time watching football than praying.

You spend hard earned money. Having other interests are important.

Bill is a walking clinic sage advice. "We are on to Cincinnati" translates to more than just football.

Has there ever been a time where 2M people line the streets of Boston to see the ballet company win? Spelling Bee's?

Food and your teams are what will always bind people to where they are from....it's a permanent identity. I don't eat clam chowder outside of New England and the other 31 NFL teams hold no real interest.