Thoughts While Dining on Crow, 2nd Quarter

2nd Quarter

- Pats ball; nice 3rd down reverse to Chad Jackson, very effective block by TB.

- Great touch throw to Ben Watson, over the LBs and under the DBs. Tom's warming up now.

- Good block by Heath Evans on Maroney TD. More good blocks to come, too.

- Next pats ball; good idea for a WR screen to Gabriel, but Light had to run too far to make his block. Perhaps lining up the WR closer to the hashes will help.

- Poor pass by TB to an open Watson on 3rd/6.

- Cinci ball; Mike Wright beats all-pro caliber Eric Steinbach for a no-gain by Rudi Johnson. Wright is no NT, but can be an effective 4-3 DT or a 3-4 DE.

- Vince Wilfork is held, again, while rushing the qb. It's amazing how much holding the zebras allow the OL to use.

- Great punt blocking and return, although it appeared as if Faulk ran right towards the punter. If he stayed near the sideline, he might have been able to deke the punter, then head upfield. Inexperience showing, probably. That experience will come because Faulk has become, it seems, the full-time K/P Returner.

Solid job by Wesley Britt in 1st half. I watched him on every snap, and saw no breakdowns, save for one unsustained block. Ladies and gents, our RT problem (read: Gorin) has been solved (read: Britt, O'Callaghan, Kaczur).

3rd quarter thoughts, and dessert, in next post.

you're right about the RT. Even though we didn't run the ball against Denver it wasn't because we weren't dominating their DL...it was their LBs that gave us fits...but on one play I saw O'Callahan drive their DE clear across the formation like a rag doll...nearly steamrolled 2-3 other guys on his way, including Neal...it was both shocking and beautiful. Once these guys get more experience it could become the strongest position on our line.

Not sure about that "effective block by TB" though. I guess he got in the way and did his job, but it left a little to be desired in the style category (on D&C Tom called it a "pillowfight"). I'll never understand why they design plays that expose him like that...kind of like when Koppen saw him running down the field and reportedly thought to himself "oh no, don't do that."

nice recap...it's been on constant rerun in my Tivo.

Some of those running plays were pure art...really savage stuff. Maroney is better than Reggie. Reggie reminds me of a Brian Westbrook type which is high praise, but Maroney is a total manfreak. Having a perimeter threat like this for the first time in our dynasty (and tall receivers and fast TEs) is really going to open up big plays. It's a COMPLETELY different offense right now and we've got the perfect QB to orchestrate it...he'll throw the ball less, but his YPA will go up. Once things really start clicking with the O, it's going to be fun to watch.

As I type I'm listening to Daunte Culpepper's call with the Boston media and he just said, "this week we have to make sure our Ps and Qs are crossed"...and as I digest this bizarre comment, I'm starting to feel way more confident about this game than I probably should.

flutie2phelan said:

Keep 'em comin', Cap'n!

But why the crow?
(You aren't 'fessin' up to imagining we could lose that game, are ya?)

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One of my pre-game posts stated, and I quote: "This one's gonna be ugly."

Confession is good for the soul.

the taildragger said:

Not sure about that "effective block by TB" though. I guess he got in the way and did his job, but it left a little to be desired in the style category (on D&C Tom called it a "pillowfight"). I'll never understand why they design plays that expose him like that...kind of like when Koppen saw him running down the field and reportedly thought to himself "oh no, don't do that."

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It seems that the way a reverse is designed, the QB's responsibility is to seal the far edge from the CB, if he doesn't run with his WR downfield. In fact, if TB doesn't pillowfight with the CB long enough for Chad Jackson to run past him, the CB possibly makes the tackle for no gain, which forces the pats to punt, which means no Maroney TD. Neither style nor pancakes are required; remember, the QB's assigned block is almost always a DB, not a DL or LB.

the taildragger said:

As I type I'm listening to Daunte Culpepper's call with the Boston media and he just said, "this week we have to make sure our Ps and Qs are crossed"...and as I digest this bizarre comment, I'm starting to feel way more confident about this game than I probably should.

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Ok, that coupled with his statement in the Herald this morning that he, "has to keep my head to the grind board", has confirmed my feeling that he is possibly the dumbest QB currently active in the NFL!!!

PatsChick87 said:

Ok, that coupled with his statement in the Herald this morning that he, "has to keep my head to the grind board", has confirmed my feeling that he is possibly the dumbest QB currently active in the NFL!!!

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Did Big Ben retire?

PatsChick87 said:

Ok, that coupled with his statement in the Herald this morning that he, "has to keep my head to the grind board", has confirmed my feeling that he is possibly the dumbest QB currently active in the NFL!!!

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OMG! I'm laughing so hard I can't breathe!!

PatsChick87 said:

Ok, that coupled with his statement in the Herald this morning that he, "has to keep my head to the grind board", has confirmed my feeling that he is possibly the dumbest QB currently active in the NFL!!!

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F You, you're lying. I wanna link. Crossing your P's and Q's and grinding your head on a board? No way.