Pre-Game Thread- Pats @ Raiders

[1960Pats]

If I may quote Lt Daniel Kaffee "If Santiago wasn't to be touched...why was he transferred off the base?"

There are two simultaneous arguments regarding Belichick that fascinate me. One is the above 'BB is a vindictive, petty man unable to separate emotion from reason' while at the same time 'BB makes every decision based on catching Shula and winning games in the short term, he has lost all strategic perspective and doesn't have the good of the team at heart'.

So which is it, as it pretty much can't be both - someone obsessed so much about winning wouldn't subvert that obsession with petty actions that endanger said obsession.

Plus if the "doghouse" thing was still an issue ( I do agree it was for the first couple games of the year) would Bourne have played as many snaps as he did Monday?

I know Bourne came out in the media recently which might be an addressable sin, but a truly petty response would be to throw Slater and Jones out there every series and not give Bourne ANY snaps - that would be the actual "FU" to Bourne.

After reading the quotes from former Lions players who played under Patricia it's pretty clear that he is the vindictive and petty person. I wouldn't give that label to Belichick. If Bill has a fault it's that he'd be too loyal to Patricia, who as an OC and a HC blows.

 

[Rob0729]

A recent epicly bad Raiders draft.

Raiders’ disastrous 2020 draft class will live in infamy

With the release last week of guard John Simpson, six of the seven players the Raiders took in the 2020 NFL draft no longer are with the team. Two were first-round picks.

www.reviewjournal.com

And we didn’t bring in recently released John Simpson, a LG who started 17 games? All the teams passed in the former fourth round pick from Clemson. Hum.

I heard somewhere that when Gruden was with the Raiders, Gruden was the one who would pick the draft picks in the first two or three rounds and then Mike Mayock got to pick the rest of the draft. That is why they did so poorly in the first few rounds, but got some gems in later rounds (Maxx Crosby in the 4th and Hunter Renfrow in the 5th) during that era.

 

[PatsFan2]

This might work for us:

D Hopkins probably have two to three good years left which would be nice for BB's final run.

 

[crawhammer]

10 Reasons why we shouldn't fear the Raiders...

01. They have 5 wins, 3 against the Broncos and Texans, and 1 against Seattle who's lost 3 of 4.

02. They lost to 2 teams we beat, Cardinals and Colts (who otherwise have lost 6 of 7 and have given up on their season).

03. They are 0-4 when leading by double digits at halftime, all other NFL teams are 59-6 this season.

04. They are only the 4th team in the history of the league to lose 4 games in a season when leading by as much as 13 points.

05. The Mayfield comeback has completely demoralized them.

06. Carr is mentally weak and his relatively disappointing season has the franchise considering moving on from him. The team can avoid his $116 mil for the next 3 seasons by cutting him by February 15 and merely be stuck with a $5.6 mil dead cap hit.

07. McDaniels has had a nightmarish return to the head coaching ranks. Looking at their schedule (NWE, @PIT, SFO, KAN), they may finish the season on a 5 game losing streak, which might be bad enough for McDaniels to be shown the door with Carr.

08. Chandler Jones had half a sack until week 13 when he had 3 against the Chargers. He hasn't had the impact they had hoped across from Maxx Crosby who is literally their only playmaker on defense.

09. Their defense is ranked 24th in points and yards. They're 31st in takeaways and their pass defense is poorly ranked in numerous categories.

10. Their offense is 1st in fumbles lost and 2nd in total turnovers. Team is 4th in penalties and 3rd in penalty yards. So they're poorly coached and undisciplined.

 

[Steve102]

 

[jdlboot14]

We're all like drug addicts. Each week we hope and expect to see the Pats offense suddenly click and break out.
But, each week it's the same disappointing disaster.
The reason - not only MP, but BB. We've all known since last offseason that BB was going to be intimately involved in the new offense when Josh left. Guys, this is what that looks like. I'll even go back several years when we'd all bemoan JMD's uninspired and predictable playcalling - that was BB. It worked half-decently because we had Brady and an excellent group of tacticians on OL and pass catchers.
But now, we don't. And the overly safe, play by the numbers plan doesn't work - unless we're facing a bad team (Steelers, Browns, Lions, Colts, Cardinals, Jets X2). It's time to fix the problem - it's time to move on fully from BB's arm over the offense.

 

[sb1]

I guess Josh can't cheat on kickoffs anymore lol

After review, a reversal. NFL won't allow a holder to elevate a teed kickoff ball | Football Zebras

The Raiders sought clarification on an unusual tactic for kickoffs. After initially granting approval, the league has reversed course on the rule interpretation it issued. Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson found a way to get a little extra elevation by having a teammate hold the ball while it was on...

www.footballzebras.com

 

[PatsFan2]

10 Reasons why we shouldn't fear the Raiders...

01. They have 5 wins, 3 against the Broncos and Texans, and 1 against Seattle who's lost 3 of 4.

02. They lost to 2 teams we beat, Cardinals and Colts (who otherwise have lost 6 of 7 and have given up on their season).

03. They are 0-4 when leading by double digits at halftime, all other NFL teams are 59-6 this season.

04. They are only the 4th team in the history of the league to lose 4 games in a season when leading by as much as 13 points.

05. The Mayfield comeback has completely demoralized them.

06. Carr is mentally weak and his relatively disappointing season has the franchise considering moving on from him. The team can avoid his $116 mil for the next 3 seasons by cutting him by February 15 and merely be stuck with a $5.6 mil dead cap hit.

07. McDaniels has had a nightmarish return to the head coaching ranks. Looking at their schedule (NWE, @PIT, SFO, KAN), they may finish the season on a 5 game losing streak, which might be bad enough for McDaniels to be shown the door with Carr.

08. Chandler Jones had half a sack until week 13 when he had 3 against the Chargers. He hasn't had the impact they had hoped across from Maxx Crosby who is literally their only playmaker on defense.

09. Their defense is ranked 24th in points and yards. They're 31st in takeaways and their pass defense is poorly ranked in numerous categories.

10. Their offense is 1st in fumbles lost and 2nd in total turnovers. Team is 4th in penalties and 3rd in penalty yards. So they're poorly coached and undisciplined.

 

[PScottman]

It's time to fix the problem - it's time to move on fully from BB's arm over the offense.

So who's replacing BB as head coach in your mind then?

He's not going to relinquish overall team style and approach because then he's basically a "co-coach" with whomever is running the offense.

 

[gitgronked82]

If Bourne doesn't play over Agholor this week we'll know junior high grudges mean more than winning to BB and MP.
And why can't they give Thornton the deep outs?! Instead of the 3 yd. curls...
We really need Mills and Jones back this week with Adams. We can't have the shorties - J.Jones, Bryant & M.Jones - on him.
And, I hate to say it, but DMC has been more of a liability lately.
Oh, and Palardy is 10x worse than Bailey - we need him back fast.

I think Thornton got a decent share of deeper routes last game. Obviously the offense involved way more quick game, but I think he got his fair share of deeper ones relative to the rest of the receivers.
The interception was going to go to him for a nice game if Henry didn’t get beat in pass pro (which seems to be a scheme issue- why do we keep leaving him 1v1 with DEs and DTs…)

 

[FCB02062]

folks, get your rabbit ears ready if you have Fios - Fox 25 is off air as of today. So you'll need to watch the Pats this Sunday OTA if you're local...

Verizon Fios might drop Boston 25 News, other Fox affiliates this week

 

[JMC00]

nfl really trying to catch Judon

 

[The Brandon Five]

I heard somewhere that when Gruden was with the Raiders, Gruden was the one who would pick the draft picks in the first two or three rounds and then Mike Mayock got to pick the rest of the draft. That is why they did so poorly in the first few rounds, but got some gems in later rounds (Maxx Crosby in the 4th and Hunter Renfrow in the 5th) during that era.

I wanted the Pats to draft Hunter that year. Especially when he was still available in the 5th freaking round.

 

[Love The Drake]

Him losing 12 pounds is like me losing 12 ounces:

 

[TheRainMaker]

I heard somewhere that when Gruden was with the Raiders, Gruden was the one who would pick the draft picks in the first two or three rounds and then Mike Mayock got to pick the rest of the draft. That is why they did so poorly in the first few rounds, but got some gems in later rounds (Maxx Crosby in the 4th and Hunter Renfrow in the 5th) during that era.

This was well known. Gruden called the shots like Kyle does in SF. Gruden sent the entire front office home the day before the draft so nobody would could find out or leak Gruden was taking Clelin Ferrell.

 

[TheRainMaker]

nfl really trying to catch Judon

What a weird message and unprofessional way to contact him. I’d ignore it until I got something more professional.

 

[PScottman]

What a weird message and unprofessional way to contact him. I’d ignore it until I got something more professional.

"Gary"'s chain of custody is probably some duct tape over the sample jar with "I heart the NYJ" scribbled in sharpie.

 

[Ross12]

nfl really trying to catch Judon

Didn't he just get tested last week?

 

[PatsFan2]

I wonder if McDaniels is behind it the timing Hmmmmmm.

 

[Patsfan1958]

Didn't he just get tested last week?

He was tested December 2nd and also at the end of November (25th)


Matthew Judon not happy with NFL's "random" drug test