Idle Thoughts - The "where do you start" edition

Good Morning. I have been a Pats fan for a long long time. Actually going to a game in their first season. But this game HAS to be put into the "I can believe what I just saw" category. It was THAT extraordina ry. But now after watching EVERY post game show possible last night, and reading some of the what's coming out this morning I have a much better grip on what I want to say about this game. Certainly much better than I had last night.

I was among those who took BB's relaxed and confident pregame demenor to heart, and felt that this game COULD be a blow out. I stated that if the Pats played their A game, and the Falcons played THEIR A game, the Pats would win this game. What I DIDN'T expect was that the Pats would play their C game for the entire first half, and their B game for most of the 3rd quarter. I also didn't expect the Falcon Defense to play that well....at least for the first 40 minutes of the game.

Disclaimer - I have to admit, boys and girls, that I shut the TV off after the pick six, so I didn't see the Pats drive for their first points OR the half time show. But I was back when the 2nd half began at 21-3, I still had some confidence they could get back in the game if they could stop the Falcons on their first drive of the 2nd half. I mean they WERE moving the ball in the first half despite all the adversity. Well after that 3 and out by the D, I thought OK lets get back in this game.

Then came the backbreaker - the offense failed again, and the Falcons went right down the field again, including watching Gabriel break Malcolm Butler's ankles on a big pass play that will forever be on Malcolm's motivational reel. 28-3, midway in the 3rd quarter. They're moving the ball. They're playing great timely D. They're 25 points ahead and the biggest superhowl come back in history has been 10 points.

So I shut my TV off again. It was just getting too painful....as you all know. I'm starting to think about what I'm going to write. I'm dreading what the next few weeks will be like having to ignore all contact with sports media, etc. But this time it was only for a couple of minutes/ I had to sack up. I'm a fan and should be there through thick and thin. So I was blessed to be back in time to see the first step on this remarkable comback. and see tje end of the first TD drive. Even then my expectations had been lowered to hoping they could make the game respectable. I mean it was good to see the offense move the ball, BUT who would have thought the offense that had put up 3 TD's on the Pats D would only sniff the red zon one more time. I just felt I had to admit that. Like Paul, I had a moment of weakness.

I guess in the end all you can say is that when the Pats play in any Superbowl, the results will be EPIC. During the BB era they've been in 7, and, win or lose, when the game was over, the general consensus was that "this was the best superbowl ever". This game will be no exception.

OK, that was the warm up, lets break down the game. Have a cup of coffe ready, because this might take a while:

OFFENSE

1. OL - I had great expectations for the OL pre-game and none for the Atlanta pass rush. I also had no respect for the Falcon rush D. It was a game where I thought the Pats OL would dominate the LOS.

Well; for the first 40 minutes of the game I was dead wrong. During that time Brady is sacked 5 times (some of them coverage sacks) and hit many more times besides. For the first 40, it looked like the Falcons were following "the blueprint" perfectly. It looked like they shut down the run game completely. They were hitting Brady and making him look extremely uncomfortable in the pocket, and they forced 2 turnovers including that soul crushing pick 6.

The key to winning any game in this era is forcing FG's not TD's, turning the ball over, and have your offense make chunk plays (over 20 yds), and the Atlanta D was doing doing that to a T.....but only for the first 40 minutes.

But there are a lot of stats that were hidden in the seeming rout that was going on. The Pats had a huge time of possession lead in the first half, and while the run game looked completely stuffed, I was surprised that when I added up the rushing total, it was over 100 yds. Who would have thunk.

Individually, I don't think anyone in the OL was innocent in what happened over the first 40 minutes. It looked like even our great OT's were allowing hits and might have be responsible for some sacks. Shaq Mason got blown up on the first sack, and when you give up 5 sacks in less than 40 minutes no one is not guilty of something.

But that all changed in the the final 20+ minutes of the game. Brady was virtually untouched and it looked like a different Atlanta Defense. But in defense of the OL. 2 of the players we all worried about pre-game was Beasley and Hageman. Hageman had just 2 tackles, and Joe Velano with 1 assisted tackle did more than Beasley who didn't make the stat sheet. So the OL had to be doing something right all night.

The fact is that in the end we have two very good OT's and a very young interior who did OK and will get better as time goes on. All in all we have good things to look forward to in the future.

2. Receivers -

a. I saw a well deserved thread for Danny Amendola who had 8 catches for 78 yds and another TD, so I will be brief except to say this. I know Amendola is on everyone's cut list for next year. He's over 30, small, a part time player, and has a 3MM cap hit this year. It would make eminent sense to part ways with him next season. But think about just how clutch he's been. How many of his 23 regular season catches were for first downs. I don't know but I bet it was a lot of them. And think about this. Julio Jones is the best WR in the NFL. He had 83 receptions and 6 TD's in the regular season. Danny had 4 in just 23. Just how much would this offense miss that kind of clutch production?

b. Mitchell - 6 catches for 70 yds in just 7 targets bodes well for him in the future. He's never going
to be Julio Jones or Dez Bryant, but he CAN be a very productive successful Deon Branch/David Givens type guy for the Pats. I look forward to his 2nd year jump in production.

c. Bennett - I thought early in the game Bennett should have gotten more looks, because he's a guy who is big enough to catch balls when he is "covered". He's a guy you can "throw open". Instead they used him sparingly again, yet he had a very productive 5 for 62. I really wish he wasn't interferred with in OT, because I think it would have been fantastic for him to end the season with the game winning TD.

I'm not sure what his future will be with the Pats. He certainly did a great job this year and was a great teammate in the lockerroom and an interesting and refreshing character for the fans. I'm less certain he'll be back next season, but I very much hope he is.

d. Hogan- Just another day at the offense for the most unspectacular WR who ever led the NFL in ypc.

e. Edelman - Lost in the fact Julian got his 5 catches for almost 90 yds, and the fact he ended the curse of the miracle catches with one of his own, was the fact he was targeted 13 times. That is NOT a great number. Of course it would have been a lot better if he hadn't had the drop or Brady had hit him when he was wide open, but it once again opens the question about Brady over relying on a guy who might have seen his peak this season. Just a thought

3. RB's - Like I said in the opening, it didn't look pretty but in the end the RB's accounted for 85 yds in 23 carries, which is about what THIS offense needs to do to make the passing attack work.

a. I doubt anyone here has been more critical of James White than I have been in his 3 years with the team. Especially this year when I felt he was in the way of my binky, DJ Foster. And while I never doubted his hands, for the first 2 years he was always tackled by the first man who touched him. He was a horrible runner.

Well White has become ANOTHER in the long line of guys who just simply get better the longer they are here. He's another testiment to the Pats coaching staff and the "Patriot way". Because James White (who still isn't a good runner), is infinitely better than he was, and was obviously critical to the Pats' success last night. Plus we should note that rather than a liability he was early in his career, White has become a good pass blocker. Kudos to him and shame on me.

b. Lewis - Was a big disappointment. He didn't seem to run the ball well, made a bad decision on ST's on a KO, and put the team in a hole, was no factor in the passing game, and had a drop. I don't know if its the knee, but even in the regular season, he was no where near the explosive player he was in 2015 pre-injury. Hopefully he can get at least some of that back.

c. LGB - Not much room for him to run and probably a disappointing game for him. Also the score early left him pretty much without a role in this game. Now the question comes about will he be back. I don't know. But like DA, he's been clutch, and an important asset in the locker room.

4. QB - What can you say. What Brady accomplished in the last 20 minutes of that game is simply remarkable. But what makes it so incredible is the fact that by Brady standards he did it after being very mediocre for the first 40. Normal NFL QB's can't usually overcome those bad starts. They can't suddenly recapture their focus to do what Brady did. And with Brady its become a regualr occurrence, and something we see over and over again in the most pressure packed moments. The suerpbowl vs Seattle is and obvious example, but even in the loss to Denverin the AFCCG, think about that comeback to be in possition to tie the game....on the road after the beating he took.

Speaking of beatings. I hope this game cements Brady's legacy as not only being the best of all time, but being one of the leagues TOUGHEST QB's of all time. Time and time again Brady has disproved the MYTH that all you have to do is hit him to get him off his game. That if you do that, then Brady is done. Not only is this true of EVERY QB, Brady has now disproved the MYTH by having orchestrated the 2 biggest superbowl comebacks in history, AFTER being beat up early and often.

Atlanta did exactly what they wanted in the first 40 minutes. They sacked him five times and had numerous QB hits, yet in the end it didn't stop him, like the myth says it should. Instead it made him better. People forget that in those 2 superbowl loses (where the myth began) Brady absorbed beatings and then led his team on a late clutch 4th quarter TD drive to put his team ahead. It was similar in Denver last year, but fell short. Atlanta beat him up, yet hin the end he crushed them.

No doubt getting hits affects Brady just like every other QB in history,but history shows us it never beats him, especially in the most important games of the year. So lets FINALLY put that "myth" to rest.

5. General offensive thoughts.

a. One area that the Pat offense has recently sucked is in 2 point plays, or passing plays from the 2. The Denver 2 pointer comes immediately to mind. Not only did it fail, it failed miserably. Final play of the Seattle game this year was another expample of a big play from the 2 that not only failed but just looked ugly. SO it can as a great surprise that the Pats made BOTH of their 2 pt coversions. AND looked good doing it.

b. Talk about being a game of inches, nothing points this out better than the 2 point conversion where DA JUST got in, and the final TD where White did the same.

c. Kudos to Atlanta's D who came into the game with a good defensive plan and executed it to perfection....for the first 40 minutes. They were the ones to forced those TO's They were the ones who covered the receivers well enough to force 5 sacks. In the end they ran out of gas having to play 94 snaps and reverted to what their stats were for the season. More depth and experience and this will be a very good defense. Garrett, Jones and Alford are great young players to build around.

d. I hear a stat that was interesting. Usually when your QB is throwing the ball over 55 or 60 times in the game, you might have a lot of yards, but you usually lose.......except if your QB is Tom Brady. Once again breaking the mold, Brady is 13-9 in those games 14-9 if you count last night.

e. Lost in the loss last night was the fact Matt Ryan threw for close to 300 yds, had a 73% completion rate, and a 144 QB rating and LOST. Not only that he'll be widely criticized by the second guessers around the league. Just another example of how "Life isn't fair"

DEFENSE.

6. Front 7 -

a.. run game - Well it certainly it certainly didn't atart well with a 35 yd gain. It became apparent pretty early that Attlanta wanted to attack the Pats perimeter in the run game, and they blocked it well...at first. I felt the Pats would adjust and by the end of the game they did. So while they averaged close to 6 ypc, in the end they wound up with 112 yds rushing, just about the same as what the Pats had. More importantly in a crucial part of the game the Pats success at stoping the run in the 4th quarter made Atlanta not trust their run game to help them end the game.

b. Pass game - 4 sacks and several QB hits and the front 7 did a pretty good job of putting pressure on Ryan when it counted.

c. It was a coming out party for Trey Flowers. The entire country saw what we've been seeing for the last half of the season and into the playoff. Flowers is for real, a genuine passing rushing threat from both inside and outside. The fact he isn't just a one trick pony like Beasley just makes him more valuble and someone I'd like to see extended next year. 2.5 sacks and 5 QB hits are the kind of things legends are made from. Someone said last night that these are better numbers than the ones Justin Tuck had in the superbowl that made HIS reputation.

d. No one, except Flowers, really stood out in the front 7, but that's what its been like the wholes season. Collectively they do the job as a GROUP rather than as individuals. Chris Long had a great rush that caused the key holding call. Ninko, according to Branch, punched the ball back where he could control it on the key fumble recovery. The little things that together get you wins. but not noticed

7. DB's - Clearly the strength of the defense and the core of the defense's success.

a. Lost in all the stats was that Julio Jones had just 4 catches and was kept out of the endzone. And 3 of those 4 catches were simply spectacular, and a credit to him - With under just 100 yds, Jones got to show why he can arguably be called the best WR in the league, MattyP and BB in the end made him as much of a non-factor in the game as a player of his quality can be.

b. Ryan and Rowe were the DBs Atlanta targeted early and by and large I thought they held up very well, especially Ryan. He had his old roomate Sanu, a great deal and the much heralded Sanu was held to 2 catches for 13 yds, and IIRC one of those came in Atlanta's failed end of the game drive when the Pats were allowing short catches. I think his play in this game just made keeping Ryan much harder for the Pats

c. Gabriel's pass route that caused Butler to simply fall down was painful to see....and a thing of beauty. But he recovered and Gabriel only had 2 other catches for about 30 yds the rest of the game.

d. Chung had Hooper on the TD, but I was more pissed on the missed pick the play before than the TD. He had him covered pretty well on the TD, but Ryan made a great throw. It litterally threw him open. (and a little push of by Hooper, didn't hurt either) But Hooper only had one more catch the rest of the game

8. General defensive thoughts

a. If you look at the "numbers" it doesn't look good. The run game averaged 6 ypc, the QB had 144 rating, 300 yds and a 144 QB rating. BUT in the end, in the IMPORTANT stats, the defense allowed only ONE 3rd down coversion, shut out the Falcons the last 4 times they had the ball, and allowed only 21 points to a team that was averaging close to 40 per game in their last 8 games.

b. When I think about this defense, I hear Gil Santos' call after the 2004 superbowl, "YES it's a dynasty". Only I hear it as, "YES it's a good defense" There will be those who will use "the numbers" to belittle the effort and continue their whine, but if I could have the exact same D next year I would be very happy.

c. Prediction - Cyrus Jones will do the work to become a top 3 CB on next year's team. And if he doesn't I doubt he'll last the 4 years of his rookie contract. It certainly has been disappoint for him, but he HAS the talent. Now lets see if he has the mental toughness to overcome this adversity.

d. It really can't be said enough. The Pats D is a perfect example of the adage, "the sum is greater than the indivual parts. If you analyze this defense man for man, it won't compare to defenses whose results are far worse. BUT that is the beauty of football. It's a game where the sum CAN be better than the individual parts.

e. That being said I see the draft and FA to be heavily concentrated on the defensive side of the ball.

9. ST's - Was there a KO or punt return that Nate Ebner WASN'T part of the tackle. It seemed like his name was being mentioned on every play.

a. Outside of the missed extra point, ST's play was excellent as usual. Don't underestimate the great kick and coverage on that last series for the Falcons. If they start at the 25 they might have been more aggressive than at the 10. It was a big play.

b. The Pats and Shane McClellin were robbed of a blocked extra point when the Refs made the call that he jumped over the C, which is illegal, when he clearly went over the G. If they make the right call then the Pats would have only had to make the extra point at the end of the game.

c. Speaking of the Refs, I was actually worried about them after listening to Goodell's serial lying in his press conference. I thought there is man who is not above that kind act. But like a lot of things in this game I was wrong. The refs called a great game. I don't think even Falcon fans can complain about the 3 straight defensive holding calls or the PI at the end, since they were all clear and blantant violations.

For the most part they were invisible with just 13 calls all night, and that's what you'd like in every game of your officials.

d. Kudos to the Pats fans who went to that game. They were loud and made it seem more like a home game than a neutral site game. I know some were afraid Pats envy would cause it to seem more like an away game, but that didn't happen. (Even though it must have been really tough for those first 40 minutes.) Great Job, ESPECIALLY when Goodell got to the mike. You should know that NOTHING of what he said was heard on TV.

e. Speaking of Der Fuhrer, Someone better find me that clip this week, and I hope it will end with a Hitler in the bunker death scene.

f. Anyone else notice that Brady left the stage just as Goodell was presenting the Trophy. Now in the end it was because he saw his family and went to him. But for a second I was hoping it was a slap in the face to that liar and thief.

In the end (and I've used that phrase a lot in this piece) everyone was cold but polite, though Bob was a bit more cordial, in his handshake (it could be habit), but in his speach he let everyone know how he and we felt. When he shook Jonathan's hand, Jonathan gave him a cold fish and a nasty stare. Finally I thought it was typical of the slime Goodell really is that when he finally got to shake Brady's hand he wouldn't let go, just to make sure the media got the picture. I was sure Brady at least twice tried to break the shake off and was rebuffed. Too bad he's too good a guy not to have made something of it.

g. In the end (again, ) This was a game that the Pats SHOULD have won by a comfortable margin, IF they had played their A game from the start. But the TO's, the pick six, and the fast play of the Atlanta defense, dug a deep hole. One that took an almost Herculean effort to overcome, once they finally got their sh!t together. Like Brady said in the presser, "It's hard to win a game in the NFL" Something we too often forget.

h. I wanted to talk a bit about about some of the post game comments and next season, but My God, I started this by saying good morning and it's now 1pm. Enjoy the read, and add or comment as you see fit.

e. Lost in the loss last night was the fact Matt Ryan threw for close to 300 yds, had a 73% completion rate, and a 144 QB rating and LOST. Not only that he'll be widely criticized by the second guessers around the league. Just another example of how "Life isn't fair"

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not to mention the fact that their running game got almost 6.0 YPC

in that regard, the game was bizarre

Here's an interesting link to an article detailing how and why Falcon QB pressures dropped as the game progressed.
Here's why the Falcons' defense was so tired at the end of Super Bowl LI

patfanken said:

c. Kudos to Atlanta's D who came into the game with a good defensive plan and executed it to perfection....for the first 40 minutes. They were the ones to forced those TO's They were the ones who covered the receivers well enough to force 5 sacks. In the end they ran out of gas having to play 94 snaps and reverted to what their stats were for the season. More depth and experience and this will be a very good defense. Garrett, Jones and Alford are great young players to build around.

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Great analysis as always mr. patfanken. I agree about Cyrus Jones.

I am worried about Texans and Atlanta defensive gameplan versus Pats offense. Do you think its a blue print for next year opponents?

patfanken said:

a. One area that the Pat offense has recently sucked is in 2 point plays, or passing plays from the 2. The Denver 2 pointer comes immediately to mind. Not only did it fail, it failed miserably. Final play of the Seattle game this year was another expample of a big play from the 2 that not only failed but just looked ugly. SO it can as a great surprise that the Pats made BOTH of their 2 pt coversions. AND looked good doing it.

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Once we got to midfield I had no doubt we would get 6 this worried me about 15 minutes before we even scored the touchdown!

Heres another

Why the Falcons Defense Collapsed in Super Bowl 51 | The MMQB with Peter King

2 very minor nitpicks:

I wouldn't say Blount has been clutch. My only real playoff memory of him besides when he went off on Indy twice (amazing performances but there was no adversity to speak of) is that awful fumble.

Also, Flowers can't be extended until 2 years from now. Well, technically 1 year from now, but not until the 2018 league year starts.

patfanken said:

c. Speaking of the Refs, I was actually worried about them after listening to Goodell's serial lying in his press conference. I thought there is man who is not above that kind act. But like a lot of things in this game I was wrong. The refs called a great game. I don't think even Falcon fans can complain about the 3 straight defensive holding calls or the PI at the end, since they were all clear and blantant violation

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I think it is a myth that the Refs are corruptible and/or do at the league's bidding. I am sure Goodell is not above influencing the game through officiating. I do not think any referee worth his/her salt (all these guys are successful in their other walks of life) would take kindly to being told to throw inopportune flags. The refs are all aware of the twenty tv cameras scrutinizing every act of theirs.
Plus, don't tell me that refs are not aware that Brady got bulldozed by the league because of their incompetence.
PLUS the referees association has a serious contentious relationship with the league, esp. Goodell.

raduray said:

Here's an interesting link to an article detailing how and why Falcon QB pressures dropped as the game progressed.
Here's why the Falcons' defense was so tired at the end of Super Bowl LI

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This and the MMQB piece on why the Atlanta defense dropped off in the second half are spot on, but it hides another flaw that perhaps contributed as much to their downfall.

But first let me give them all credit for having a really good game plan for this game, and not just good but almost Belichickian. Malcolm Mitchell alluded to it in one of his interviews (can't remember which channel as I was hopping around a bit). He said that the Patriots game plan never expected them to come out in man coverage. Furthermore he said that there was little game film from this season of them ever doing so. In other words Quinn knew that the Pats would be planning for zone or cover 2/3 schemes. This prevented Brady and the receivers from executing their game plan, and caused Brady to slow down to account for the actual defense rather than the expected one. This had two immediate effects, firstly it enabled the Falcons to exert more pressure without the blitz (again good game planning), and secondly it threw off the timing of plays, making them look either inaccurate or forced. Again to their credit they played man coverage well, neutralizing Edelman, Hogan and Amendola in the first half. However that approach required to spend a lot of effort and stamina, especially as they weren't getting off the field as quickly as they would have liked. The longer they were going to be in that scheme the less effective it would become.

The other part of the game plan that worked well for Atlanta was that they appeared to use Beasley and Hageman as the decoys for their pressure, drawing extra coverage thereby letting Freeney, Upshaw and the impressive Jarrett to harry, hit and sack Brady for the first three quarters.

They were lucky on several occasions not to be called for illegal contact or OPI as I saw a number of our receivers' jerseys being pulled from the rear. But when it was eventually noticed the referees began to lock it down, and that occurred in the 3rd quarter as a prelude to Hightowers Turning Point strip sack.

Apologies for the rambling pre-amble but back to my assertion that there was at least one major flaw that led to their demise. Despite their great gameplan, as the first half certainly demonstrated its effectiveness, the Falcons were unable to adjust to the adjustments made by the Patriots after the break. The first and probably the most noticeable was the run defense. Again the Falcons' initial scheme was to run to the outside never up the middle where Branch and Brown could stop them. Freeman in particular was able to get to the edge against our older slower ends, but some in game changes more or less throttled the Falcons' running game late in the first half. Much is made of Freemans 6.0 ypc, but no one seems to have pointed out that he only got 2 yds with 4 carries in the 2nd half. In fact the Falcons run game was already MIA in the 3rd quarter as between the 2 RBs they only managed 16 yards from the end of the first half.

The second adjustment that foretold their doom was the adjustment to use White out of the back field and target the lightly marked Mitchell. Despite their success in the 2nd and 3rd Patriots scores, these two were still open late in the fourth and OT. I concede that much of that was caused by exhaustion, but I lay almost as much fault on the fact that they were unable to adjust. It is possible that they feared to drop their cover of Edelman and Hogan in case Brady found them easy targets as well. By that time also the pass pressure that they had applied so effortless in the first half began to evaporate.

It is to the credit of the whole Patriots team that they were able to adjust so effectively to what was initially a very good Falcons game plan.

I now fully disagree with those that criticize Shanahan for not taking the field goal after Julio's ridiculously great grab at the Patriots 22 yard line with only 8 points separating the teams. He knew that their defense was increasingly exposed, that his running game had been completely closed down, and that he needed more than a FG to win the game. I do not blame him for calling a play for his MVP (144.0 QB rating) QB to take a 3 step drop back from shotgun to either hit their elite receiver (Jones), their close-to-elite receiver (Sanu) or their breakout receiver (Gabriel), after all how many great catches had they already netted. They had not bargained for Flowers (in my mind the defensive MVP), nor that Long would need to be held to prevent a second sack.

Inflexibility to the changing circumstances of the game was their downfall.

IndianPat said:

I think it is a myth that the Refs are corruptible and/or do at the league's bidding. I am sure Goodell is not above influencing the game through officiating. I do not think any referee worth his/her salt (all these guys are successful in their other walks of life) would take kindly to being told to throw inopportune flags. The refs are all aware of the twenty tv cameras scrutinizing every act of theirs.
Plus, don't tell me that refs are not aware that Brady got bulldozed by the league because of their incompetence.
PLUS the referees association has a serious contentious relationship with the league, esp. Goodell.

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Yeah, when it comes to the refs, I think it's more about competence that it is corruption.

A couple of additional thoughts.'

1. After suffering a league leading number of injuries the Pats replaced their strength and conditioning people and the early results have been remarkable. This might have been the healthiest season the Pats have had in my memory, and certainly was a big reason in the teams success. Why hasn't some bright mediot gone and done some kind of story on these guys. They've done enough stories on the Dante effect. The team's health might even be bigger. Who are these people and what were they doing differently.

2. Running 94 offensive plays in one game is another remarkable stat to come out of this game. Several players commented on how this offense was the best conditioned offense in the league, and how they continued to run "the hill" behind the practice field, even last week, long after other teams have stopped this kind of conditioning.'

In the end it was this better conditioning that helped the Pats smoke that gassed Atlanta defense, more than any second guessing of any coaching decisions.

3. A lot will be said in the next few weeks about Bennett's comment about superbowl winners getting overpaid. Bennett made $5MM this season and supposedly turned down a $7MM extension offer mid season.

Superbowl winner or not I have to wonder who is going to pay more than that long term for a 30 year old TE who would be playing on his his 5th team in 7 years, And is someone who in the wrong locker room or with the wrong staff could be a problem.

Remember the best TE of all time is only counting around 7MM next year against the cap (thought it jumps to 11MM in 2018.) I'd have to let him test FA and see if an extra Million per year is worth leaving a proven winner and a lockerroom you love.....even if someone gives you that.

IllegalContact said:

not to mention the fact that their running game got almost 6.0 YPC

in that regard, the game was bizarre

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More bizarre was the 43 offensive plays they ran, versus the 93 their Defense faced. By the 4th quarter they were gassed and done, especially as they are not deep nor big, aside from a few DTs. BB beat them with his rotating depth, versus their few stars.

I guess I have to start somewhere:

Buchanty said:

I now fully disagree with those that criticize Shanahan for not taking the field goal after Julio's ridiculously great grab at the Patriots 22 yard line with only 8 points separating the teams. He knew that their defense was increasingly exposed, that his running game had been completely closed down, and that he needed more than a FG to win the game. I do not blame him for calling a play for his MVP (144.0 QB rating) QB to take a 3 step drop back from shotgun to either hit their elite receiver (Jones), their close-to-elite receiver (Sanu) or their breakout receiver (Gabriel), after all how many great catches had they already netted. They had not bargained for Flowers (in my mind the defensive MVP), nor that Long would need to be held to prevent a second sack.

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I don't agree with you defending Shanahan/Quinn on that because it was just awful situational football. If the entire sequence had happened at midfield where ATL wasn't already in FG range I would have agreed that staying with what you have done well over the entire season is the right call. However, they were already in field goal range in a one possession game with less than 5 minutes on the clock. At that point Quinn and Shanahan should have had 3 things in mind: a) burn the Patriots TOs, b) make it a 2 possession game & c) burn some additional clock.

Getting another first down is way down on the list of priorities in this situation because just kicking a FG already puts your opponent into a situation where they will need an onside kick recovery.

patfanken said:

1. After suffering a league leading number of injuries the Pats replaced their strength and conditioning people and the early results have been remarkable. This might have been the healthiest season the Pats have had in my memory, and certainly was a big reason in the teams success. Why hasn't some bright mediot gone and done some kind of story on these guys. They've done enough stories on the Dante effect. The team's health might even be bigger. Who are these people and what were they doing differently.

2. Running 94 offensive plays in one game is another remarkable stat to come out of this game. Several players commented on how this offense was the best conditioned offense in the league, and how they continued to run "the hill" behind the practice field, even last week, long after other teams have stopped this kind of conditioning.'

In the end it was this better conditioning that helped the Pats smoke that gassed Atlanta defense, more than any second guessing of any coaching decisions.

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Reiss had a piece on that actually. And I think you might have read it as it goes into exactly what you wrote just a paragraph later: talking about strength of conditioning from a different angle highlighting how BB continued with fully padded practices and made the players go up and down "The Hill" even during the SB BYE week while the Falcons haven't had a padded practice in many weeks because they want to stay fresh.

I totally agree that the conditioning was what gave us a big edge at the end of the game because we were able to still go up another gear while the Falcons were just gassed. One could even argue that the same happened in the SB against the Seahawks. All in all, the changes that the Pats did to that aspect (new coach, completely revamped practice schedule to give players one more day of recovery time) paid off in the biggest spot possible.

Now the lack of injuries is a nice side effect but that one is really hard to quantify in a sport where most probably 80-90% of injuries happen due to being hit. And while that's a variable that seemingly can't really be controlled the aforementioned conditioning and being able to go with close to full speed for the entire game is.

I wrote it in another thread but BB always talks about playing 60 minutes of football and most people take it as a nod to stay mentally sharp to not give your opponent a way into the game. But the other side of it is to take care of your body and go through that torture-esque daily grind for 6-7 months so you are physically able to actually go for a full 60 minutes (or sometimes even more). In that sense the game yesterday really was the culmination of 7 months of work on the physical side of things. One team was fading the other still going strong.

"b. Mitchell - 6 catches for 70 yds in just 7 targets bodes well for him in the future. He's never going
to be Julio Jones or Dez Bryant, but he CAN be a very productive successful Deon Branch/David Givens type guy for the Pats. I look forward to his 2nd year jump in production. "


Mitchell can be an awesome receiver but he has to work on his lower body strength to make better cuts. He has break away speed but still needs to work on his body. He could be better than Givens... in fact I think he will.

on another note what did you think about the onsides kick? I thought it was very telling and the results that took place after just makes the game that more puzzling. i can see why BB chose to onsides kick it like you said a Matt Ryans QB rating was almost perfect and they were getting chunk yardage runs. So after causing the Falcons to punt after the onsides kick recovery was the 1st major bullet that was dodged.

I am not going to go into the Julio catch at 22 yrd line.. situational football, just common sense.

patfanken said:

I saw a well deserved thread for Danny Amendola who had 8 catches for 78 yds and another TD, so I will be brief except to say this. I know Amendola is on everyone's cut list for next year. He's over 30, small, a part time player, and has a 3MM cap hit this year. It would make eminent sense to part ways with him next season.

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I think nobody (including you) wants Dola cut but at the same time I assume we can all agree that no matter how clutch if his number of snaps is anything to go by then he won't be worth a 7m cap number next year. Also some beat reporters are speculating that he might call it a day and retire:



I hope he is back on a reasonable contract because he is exactly what you want as a depth player.

patfanken said:

Lewis - Was a big disappointment. He didn't seem to run the ball well, made a bad decision on ST's on a KO, and put the team in a hole, was no factor in the passing game, and had a drop. I don't know if its the knee, but even in the regular season, he was no where near the explosive player he was in 2015 pre-injury. Hopefully he can get at least some of that back.

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Just to give some context, reports are that Lewis tweaked his hamstring already earlier in the game:



Apparently, if he were not banged up he would have taken the game-winning toss from Brady in OT:

patfanken said:

Individually, I don't think anyone in the OL was innocent in what happened over the first 40 minutes. It looked like even our great OT's were allowing hits and might have be responsible for some sacks. Shaq Mason got blown up on the first sack, and when you give up 5 sacks in less than 40 minutes no one is not guilty of something.

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I think this really was a tale of two halves with Scar successfully using the long halftime break to readjust some of the OL play. Because while they were getting blown up individually in the first half, they were playing more as one unit ("5 men one fist" as Koppen would say) in the second and it really showed.

That being said, I really like Andrews for his personality but I hope we can get a bigger more physical center through the draft. I think we are a year-2 jump for Thuney and a good center away from having a borderline elite OL unit.

patfanken said:

a. Outside of the missed extra point, ST's play was excellent as usual. Don't underestimate the great kick and coverage on that last series for the Falcons. If they start at the 25 they might have been more aggressive than at the 10. It was a big play.

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As much as we all are a bit disappointed with Ghost's XP/FG kicking performance over the entire season we should also appreciate how he nailed kickoffs almost for the entire year. As much as ST play cost us homefield (and a chance to repeat) last year it was an essential part of our success this year. It is about time people realize the importance of ST players and stop asking for a 5th WR that would only see 2-5 snaps instead of a core ST player.

Just a note/opinion:

I thought that biggest key to destroying that Falcons defense was much more basic than "The defense got tired". I thought it was simply this:

The Patriots receivers stopped dropping the football on the critical downs.

Deus Irae said:

Just a note/opinion:

I thought that biggest key to destroying that Falcons defense was much more basic than "The defense got tired". I thought it was simply this:

The Patriots receivers stopped dropping the football on the critical downs.

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Well I just reviewed the last 24 minutes of the game in a more calm and obbjective setting and I tend to agree with you. Look at it a second time I seem less an issue fo the Altlantaa's defense was fatigued , and more about the Pats execution. On all threw of the last drives , including the overtime, most of the plays were closely defended, and though the Pats scored on theirlast 5 possessions, it included 3 of the 5 Atlanta sacks.occurred in that time

IF the Pats had played better earlier in that game , without the TO's, missed passes and drops, The game just might have been the blowout some had expected. Thought clearly having to play 94 plays inn a Superbowl envioroment had to take some toll, but on 2nd review, not as much as I thought.

I fully agree with luuked on the coaching mistakes by atlanta. They main reason why its almost impossible to come back from that kind of hole is not that nobody tries hard enough although thats surely often part of the problem. Its that the opponent has room for a few mistakes and even then it will take at least one onside kick recovery. And it does not take away from the pats that they reduced that margin to almost zero and therefore stood to gain when the errors came. Even more amazing since they still made a couple of errors of their own.