It has been a long and tumultuous offseason during which many of us have developed strong opinions about what happened in that game and it’s impact on the future of the Patriots franchise.
I recorded the game on DVR to help celebrate a victory. I kept it with the intention of reviewing it someday to see if what I thought I saw really happened. These are my observations :
1. Who made the decision to wear the white uniforms even though the Pats were the home team? I can’t imagine Bill Belichick would give a moment of his time to nonsense like streaks or superstitions.
2. Malcolm Butler was included in the starting lineup as presented by NBC before the teams took the field. After the teams came out, I briefly saw him jumping in place slapping hands with teammates. The next time the camera showed him he was holding his fingers to his eyes fighting back tears.
3. The Eagles offense was not as overwhelming as I originally thought. It was big plays and vital 3rd down conversations that sustained their offense.
4. LaGarrette Blount had two long runs that were killers with one going for a touchdown.
5. Eric Rowe did not play as badly has I thought. The Alshon Jeffery TD was a great throw by Foles. Kind of a back shoulder fade 30 yards away in the end zone. No way anyone defends that. However, Jeffery pretty much disappeared once they put Gilmore on him.
6. Dion Lewis should have played more. It was much like it was when we had LGB as our RB. Lewis was in there only when he was going run it. Tells like that do not help an offense. It got better in the 2nd half when Rex Burkhead entered the game as they both threw it to him and had him run it. Speaking of tells, on the failed 3rd down reverse with Brandin Cooks, Brandon Bolden was the RB. If that didn’t tell the Eagles D that something tricky was going to be run, nothing would.
7. Jordan Richards is not a bum or whatever derogatory name the tough talkers on this forum want to call him. He graduated from Stanford and likely has a future we would all kill for. But, he can’t play pro football. He was almost single handily responsible for two huge plays in the first half. He was lined up in the box on Ajaya’s long run in the 2nd quarter. The Philly guard rag dolled him down the field so badly it slowed down backside pursuit. Richards also had coverage on the Clement wheel route just before the half which set up Foles’ TD reception. An NFL safety should not have been beaten so badly on that play.
8. By the middle of the 2nd quarter, I had noticed that every time Bill Belichick was on camera he was standing all alone. Hmmm
9. Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski are the two best players I’ve seen in Patriots’ uniforms at any position in my lifetime.
10. The vaunted Philly defense is trash. Their DL actually effected Brady in the pocket less than the Patriots effected Foles. The Patriots OL was beaten quickly on only one play the entire game. We all remember that play.
11. By the middle of the 3rd quarter, The Eagles offense was held in check except for two mismatches which they exploited time and time again for 1st downs. Nelson Agholor’s speed and quickness allowed him to beat Pat Chung so badly on one play that he was still able to handle a bad Foles’ pass for a big gain. Agholor made several 3rd down receptions including the one where Johnson Bademosi whiffed so badly on a tackle which should have brought a 4th down.
12. Finally a camera shot of Coach Belichick not alone. He engaged a huddle of defensive players and a discussion with Matt Patricia was shown. As the Patriots drove for their go ahead TD, the camera caught Josh McDaniels walking behind Belichick as the Pats matriculated down the field. They did not converse or even acknowledge one another.
12. The mismatch the Eagles exploited the most was the size and strength advantage the 6’5” 250 lb Zach Ertz had against the 5’10” 195 lb Devin McCourty. McCourty had no choice but to play off Ertz. On the 4th down conversion on the game winning drive, McCourty lined up 5 yards off Ertz who ran a shallow crossing route. McCourty got caught up in traffic (picked) and knocked on his ass. Trey Flowers’s quick pressure and Duron Harmon’s anticipation almost stopped it but didn’t. On the go ahead touchdown, Ertz lined up outside with McCourty 6 yards off with even or outside leverage. McCourty had no chance when Ertz ran a quick slant. Touchdown. Why didn’t the Pats just move McCourty who once made a Pro Bowl as a CB to the star position where he would have matched up better against Agholar’s speed Chung to play his normal position?
13. As the Patriots ‘s offense took the field twice with hopes of taking the lead back or desperately trying to tie it at the end, the cameras showed no interaction between the Head Coach, his long-time OC, and his QB of 17 seasons with whom he had shared 5 Super Bowl championships. No exhortation to succeed. No consolation when they failed. I’ve since watched the Sound FX of the game thinking the NFL’s cameras and microphones captured more, but they didn’t. The Patricia conversation showed Belichick asking Matty P. dispassionately whether he thought he needed to bring more pressure. I then watched the Sound FXs of Super Bowls 49 and 51. The contrast could not have been more striking.
We’re all entitled to our opinions as to what happened that day and what it portends for the future. But, the film unfortunately doesn’t lie.
-marked by several mundane, nondescript seasons-
