- Joined
- Jul 11, 2005
- Messages
- 15,529
- Reaction score
- 27,553
Last week I hoped we would see a narrative that would discuss how a flawed team filled with no-names and has been's could not only wind up in the Superbowl, but be the favorite to win the game. The key phrase here is "discuss HOW". Well about a week has come and gone and the one consistent story line has been that most of the experts (about 70% I'd say) think the Pats will win, while at the same time almost universally acknowledging that the Rams clearly have almost all of the game changers.
I'm still having a problem getting my head around that incongruity. The Rams have a D-line with THREE playmakers (Donald, Suh, Fowler), yet for some unknown reason the Pats OL is expected to control and succeed against them. On the other hand, the Pats DL couldn't be more vanilla, yet some how with one of the top 3 RB's in the league plus the best OL, the Pats will get the job done.
Doesn't make sense does it. The only explanation comes down to one word - Patriots. Put the same 53 man roster on the field against the Rams and call it something else and the Rams would be 7-10 pt favorites. I mean when you think about it, it's rather flattering. But the problem is that we can never get most of the mediots to actually try and break down exactly WHY they are so convinced that despite the obvious "talent advantage", they make the leap of faith and assume that Brady and Bellichick can overcome that gap.
Now before you think I believe that they will lose this game, I want to clearly state that I agree with the great majority. And I think that we all know a lot of the reasons why the Pats can overcome the "talent gap" and win despite it. We have talked about it many times over MANY threads. My regret is that THAT narrative isn't being shared to the rest of the country. Because the lesson of the Pats success is one that this country desperately needs to examine.
1. I watch the Manning analysis that was posted (thank you). He especially did a great job breaking down the GL pick that Brady threw. There was one angle shot behind Brady where you can see how the Ragland was completely hidden from Brady's view behind a barrier of offensive and defensive linemen. It really helped explain a throw that, at the time, was pretty explainable.
2. I'm kind of proud of the fact I predicted how the Pats were going to match up against the Chiefs (at least some of the time.
). So with that newfound arrogance, I'll take another stab at it.
I think the Pats will duplicate what they tried to do with Hill last week and use Gilmore on Woods, only this time put CJ Jackson on Cooks with help over the top (the 'cloud') Jackson has shown that he can run with fast WR's, but is also physical as well. Let him try and beat up Cooks, , who is fast rather than quick, knowing he can use the 'trail technique' because someone will always be ready for the deep ball and double moves. I think we can put Chung on the Rams TE's with a relative degree of confidence. JMac will switch time between the Reynolds and Gurley. I don't think that the Pats will use JJones as much because of the Rams running threat. This could very well be a 3 safety game on those short to mid-range downs. Just a thought.
3. One of the myriad stats that stood out to me was the fact that the Pats were the best tackling team in the league. It struck me as another reason why this team is so good, because at this level, tackling isn't really about skill, its all about coaching.
All the guys at this level have the skill, toughness, and desire to tackle. What makes the Pats the best at it HAS to be the coaching. Not just the techniques. Everyone know HOW to tackle properly, right down to the HS level. But the reason why the Pats are best at it is that they have somehow gotten their players to buy into tackling properly, even though it sometimes isn't the "easiest" way. THAT is what good coaching really is....and not everyone can do it across the board.
4. Jared Goff is better than most people think. His numbers show that. But more importantly, his play against the Saints should have proven it. He overcame a lot of adversity in that game. The extremely hostile environment, the helmet failure, and the early bad play, and ended up playing his best football when it counted the most under pressure.
Goff's experience seems a lot like Brady's in 2001. He excels when his is "managing the game" and playing in his comfort zone. He CAN make all the throws and has a strong cast of support people in Gurley, Cooks, and Woods. So even though the Pats have a CLEAR advantage at this key position, we shouldn't sleep on Goff. He's come a long way from the stumble bum we saw a couple years ago.
5. Maybe the most encouraging thing for Pats fans coming out of Atlanta almost all the reporters are talking about how loose and relaxed the Pats have been this week. Not just the players but BB as well. In one way it scares the hell out of me, but in another you can't help but wonder if BB and boys know something we don't.
I can almost hear BB after that Saturday walk-thru say, "Men, you've had a great week of practice. You have EARNED this opportunity. You have certainly done the work over the course of this long season. Now if you execute A, B and C tomorrow night, you will walk off the field as Champions".
I'm still having a problem getting my head around that incongruity. The Rams have a D-line with THREE playmakers (Donald, Suh, Fowler), yet for some unknown reason the Pats OL is expected to control and succeed against them. On the other hand, the Pats DL couldn't be more vanilla, yet some how with one of the top 3 RB's in the league plus the best OL, the Pats will get the job done.
Doesn't make sense does it. The only explanation comes down to one word - Patriots. Put the same 53 man roster on the field against the Rams and call it something else and the Rams would be 7-10 pt favorites. I mean when you think about it, it's rather flattering. But the problem is that we can never get most of the mediots to actually try and break down exactly WHY they are so convinced that despite the obvious "talent advantage", they make the leap of faith and assume that Brady and Bellichick can overcome that gap.
Now before you think I believe that they will lose this game, I want to clearly state that I agree with the great majority. And I think that we all know a lot of the reasons why the Pats can overcome the "talent gap" and win despite it. We have talked about it many times over MANY threads. My regret is that THAT narrative isn't being shared to the rest of the country. Because the lesson of the Pats success is one that this country desperately needs to examine.
1. I watch the Manning analysis that was posted (thank you). He especially did a great job breaking down the GL pick that Brady threw. There was one angle shot behind Brady where you can see how the Ragland was completely hidden from Brady's view behind a barrier of offensive and defensive linemen. It really helped explain a throw that, at the time, was pretty explainable.
2. I'm kind of proud of the fact I predicted how the Pats were going to match up against the Chiefs (at least some of the time.
). So with that newfound arrogance, I'll take another stab at it.I think the Pats will duplicate what they tried to do with Hill last week and use Gilmore on Woods, only this time put CJ Jackson on Cooks with help over the top (the 'cloud') Jackson has shown that he can run with fast WR's, but is also physical as well. Let him try and beat up Cooks, , who is fast rather than quick, knowing he can use the 'trail technique' because someone will always be ready for the deep ball and double moves. I think we can put Chung on the Rams TE's with a relative degree of confidence. JMac will switch time between the Reynolds and Gurley. I don't think that the Pats will use JJones as much because of the Rams running threat. This could very well be a 3 safety game on those short to mid-range downs. Just a thought.
3. One of the myriad stats that stood out to me was the fact that the Pats were the best tackling team in the league. It struck me as another reason why this team is so good, because at this level, tackling isn't really about skill, its all about coaching.
All the guys at this level have the skill, toughness, and desire to tackle. What makes the Pats the best at it HAS to be the coaching. Not just the techniques. Everyone know HOW to tackle properly, right down to the HS level. But the reason why the Pats are best at it is that they have somehow gotten their players to buy into tackling properly, even though it sometimes isn't the "easiest" way. THAT is what good coaching really is....and not everyone can do it across the board.
4. Jared Goff is better than most people think. His numbers show that. But more importantly, his play against the Saints should have proven it. He overcame a lot of adversity in that game. The extremely hostile environment, the helmet failure, and the early bad play, and ended up playing his best football when it counted the most under pressure.
Goff's experience seems a lot like Brady's in 2001. He excels when his is "managing the game" and playing in his comfort zone. He CAN make all the throws and has a strong cast of support people in Gurley, Cooks, and Woods. So even though the Pats have a CLEAR advantage at this key position, we shouldn't sleep on Goff. He's come a long way from the stumble bum we saw a couple years ago.
5. Maybe the most encouraging thing for Pats fans coming out of Atlanta almost all the reporters are talking about how loose and relaxed the Pats have been this week. Not just the players but BB as well. In one way it scares the hell out of me, but in another you can't help but wonder if BB and boys know something we don't.
I can almost hear BB after that Saturday walk-thru say, "Men, you've had a great week of practice. You have EARNED this opportunity. You have certainly done the work over the course of this long season. Now if you execute A, B and C tomorrow night, you will walk off the field as Champions".
