Ben Volin a.k.a MCI: Give credit to Dallas....they did a good job of slowing down our offense

[Deus Irae]

That's really the main reason we lost. The defense was exceptional, but they're human. They were on the field the entire game and juts got worn to a nub.

The Dallas defense was nowhere near exceptional. Fooling yourself won't make your team better. Dallas had a player, and a scheme, that the Patriots took time adjusting to. Once that happened, it was the typical Patriots beatdown of an opponent.

 

[blueberryicedcoffee]

The Dallas defense was nowhere near exceptional. Fooling yourself won't make your team better.

They were quite exceptional in the 1st 1tr and a half, consider what they were up against and what help they had.

 

[Mike the Brit]

Dallas' offense certainly did them no favors keeping Brady on the field all day.

That's really the main reason we lost. The defense was exceptional, but they're human. They were on the field the entire game and juts got worn to a nub.

Dallas had 72 Offensive Snaps, New England had 59.

 

[Deus Irae]

They were quite exceptional in the 1st 1tr and a half, consider what they were up against and what help they had.

Again, they weren't anything near exceptional. They had two things that required the Patriots to adapt in the first half, but they were scheme and personnel (Hardy) issues, not overall "exceptional" play issues. Once that was done, they got their ass kicked up and down the field, with the exception of the Patriots blowing that 4th down run.

Lying to yourself when you try to analyze something is not going to change what actually happened.

 

[blueberryicedcoffee]

Again, they weren't anything near exceptional. They had two things that required the Patriots to adapt in the first half, but they were scheme and personnel (Hardy) issues, not overall "exceptional" play issues. Once that was done, they got their ass kicked up and down the field, with the exception of the Patriots blowing that 4th down run.

Lying to yourself when you try to analyze something is not going to change what actually happened.

k

 

[Deus Irae]

k

For the record:

1. I say the same thing to Patriots posters here, regarding game and play analysis
2. Dallas should be a much better defense, as well as offense, in the future, when the missing pieces return

 

[SammyBlueCat]

That's really the main reason we lost. The defense was exceptional, but they're human. They were on the field the entire game and juts got worn to a nub.

It's a good thing we have Gostkowski and were able to pull out a hard fought 13-12 win.
Er ah wait a minute...

 

[PatsDeb]

Dallas did look impressive on D in the first half. BB admitted they showed some looks that they haven't shown all year and it took some time for the Patriots to adjust. Dallas' problems were 2 fold - 1) they don't let Weeden do anything (or maybe he's not capable of doing anything else) except a very plodding, short-gain offense and they couldn't take any advantage when they had the Pats flummoxed; and 2) once the Pats adjusted (as Dallas should have anticipated), they had nothing else to throw at the Pats, so the Pats went into their usual high octane O and left Dallas in the dust.

Dallas stopped the Pats on 4th and 1 with something like 9:45 left in the game. They needed 3 scores, so they had to go into a 2 minute offense to have a chance (figuring you have to stop the Pats with 3 & out the 2 times they get the ball). Instead it was the same p-l-o-d-d-i-n-g offense, with no sense of urgency. Dallas had better hope Matt Cassell gets the start after the bye or they can kiss their season goodbye.

 

[zydecochris]

Dallas did look impressive on D in the first half. BB admitted they showed some looks that they haven't shown all year and it took some time for the Patriots to adjust. Dallas' problems were 2 fold - 1) they don't let Weeden do anything (or maybe he's not capable of doing anything else) except a very plodding, short-gain offense and they couldn't take any advantage when they had the Pats flummoxed; and 2) once the Pats adjusted (as Dallas should have anticipated), they had nothing else to throw at the Pats, so the Pats went into their usual high octane O and left Dallas in the dust.

Dallas stopped the Pats on 4th and 1 with something like 9:45 left in the game. They needed 3 scores, so they had to go into a 2 minute offense to have a chance (figuring you have to stop the Pats with 3 & out the 2 times they get the ball). Instead it was the same p-l-o-d-d-i-n-g offense, with no sense of urgency. Dallas had better hope Matt Cassell gets the start after the bye or they can kiss their season goodbye.

I admit that the Dallas D scared me in the first half, mostly because they were beating up on Brady so much.

I was wondering how I was going to replace my big screen TV when Hardy injured Brady and I kicked in the screen.

 

[Canuck]

So the Cowboys came up with a defensive game plan that the Patriots hadn't prepared for but the Patriots were still able to adjust on the fly and still score 30 points. Makes me wonder how many points they could have scored if they actually schemed against that defensive alignment during practice.

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

So the Cowboys came up with a defensive game plan that the Patriots hadn't prepared for but the Patriots were still able to adjust on the fly and still score 30 points. Makes me wonder how many points they could have scored if they actually schemed against that defensive alignment during practice.

I think the expectation was that we'd score more than 30 points

 

[Zeus]

So by stopping the Patriots, you mean holding them to 30 points? Got it.

The way the article reads, if you hadn't seen the game, you would have thought the Cowboys won easily. And the quotes from the Dallas side show they take a lot of pride in what they apparently regard as a moral victory.

Dallas certainly gave NE some things to think about. That's a good thing that will help as the season wears on. Remember -they're relying on some very inexperienced players on the OL. This game will pay dividends down the road.

BB must be happy - a 24 point win on the road and plenty of teaching moments for the players.

 

[Deus Irae]

So by stopping the Patriots, you mean holding them to 30 points? Got it.

The way the article reads, if you hadn't seen the game, you would have thought the Cowboys won easily. And the quotes from the Dallas side show they take a lot of pride in what they apparently regard as a moral victory.

Dallas certainly gave NE some things to think about. That's a good thing that will help as the season wears on. Remember -they're relying on some very inexperienced players on the OL. This game will pay dividends down the road.

BB must be happy - a 24 point win on the road and plenty of teaching moments for the players.

Indeed, and the "only 30 points" story has mostly ignored the fact that the 3rd quarter was essentially just 2 drives.

The Patriots scored on 3 of only 4 drives in the second half (kneel down not included), and the one drive that resulted in zero points was the short, post-turnover drive with the failed 4th and 1 on the Dallas 27, when the Patriots could just have taken the easy 3 had they wanted.

 

[JMC00]

Kind of a weak "blueprint" if it still gave up 30 points. . I mean it wasnt even the Pats season low, that was 28 points in the opener.

 

[Froob]

Kind of a weak "blueprint" if it still gave up 30 points. . I mean it wasnt even the Pats season low, that was 28 points in the opener.

The blueprint is to get to Brady because he hates pressure which is unique because most QBs love pressure and play best when they have no time in the pocket

 

[Joker]

running your psychedelicized blueberry mushmouth when your team scores 6 lousy points at home, after all the big mouth threats and insults hurled at the Patriots by miscreants, thugs and a billionaire narcissist with no moral compass is the ground floor of sub-mongoloidism.

 

[E1Downey]

k

Dont take that post personally blue. He wasn't kidding when he said he talked to you the same way he does with anyone else here, might come off as harsh at times but i gotta agree with him here.

 

[PatsFan37]

You need two speedy rushers.
You need a dominant NT that can swallow 2+ OLs
You need speedy LBs that can drop in coverage.
You need a ton of quality depth in the secondary that can play nickle and dime all game and cover
You need a big DB that can cover Gronk

Not a fan of Volin - although I'd appreciate it if someone could tell me what MCI means.
I do think he was being sarcastic with 'all you need to stop the Patriots' is this long litany of pro-bowl players, including what I think was the giveaway line - the black hole of nose tackles - not one, not two, but three offensive linemen disappear into his shoulder pads and not a ray of light emerges.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think he was pulling your leg.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Not a fan of Volin - although I'd appreciate it if someone could tell me what MCI means.
I do think he was being sarcastic with 'all you need to stop the Patriots' is this long litany of pro-bowl players, including what I think was the giveaway line - the black hole of nose tackles - not one, not two, but three offensive linemen disappear into his shoulder pads and not a ray of light emerges.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think he was pulling your leg.

Mentally Challenged Intern.

Y'know...maybe that article did ooze of sarcasm.

 

[DefenseRules]

Jason Garrett never says anything negative, he just stares at players when he's angry at them and they immediately feel their soul slipping away.

LOL does he really do that?