I will start the thread with an apology to Gronk and his father. I thought they would play the Gronk won't play until he is 100% thing and I was wrong. He probably played with some pain, but he came back quickly. I unfairly criticized him. Granted the you can't rush back the bone bruise people and he needs to be completely healed people were not right either.
I thought most people made much too big a deal out of a rather innocuous statement that basically said "I look forward to coming back at 1oo%" Too many medots and fans decided it was much more interesting to read all kinds of threats and ultimatums into it and generate clicks and comments on it. Gary Tanguay has made this kind of thing a cottage industry in a desperate attempt to try an remain relevant. Instead be's become a clown.
In the end it was what it was. A very painful bone bruise and likely a hyperextension, and while not season ending, is still very painful, and also very scary to a guy who has had very frustrating season ending injuries.
-
This defense is clicking at the right time. Belichick and Patricia always hold things back until late in the year and seems to be they have finally unloaded their arsenal. This is the best pass rush I have seen from the Patriots in years. Granted this is the most talented pass rush crew they have had in years with Jones, Nink, Sheard, Easly, and Hicks. The secondary, which was supposed to be a huge weakness, is actually a strength.
Defense is coming along well, and should peak for the playoffs when we get our LB's back healthy along with McCourty. We are still paper thin at CB and have been very lucky to that Ryan and Butler have proven so durable. Even bad Pats defenses have played reasonably well in the playoffs in the past (2011), so it will be interesting to see what this one does.
-
I really like this Leonard Johnson guy and what he brings to the table especially while only being here for a week. But can he stop with the Chris Canty dance moves? Act like you have been there before. You broke up a pass. You didn't have a pick six.
Couldn't agree more with both the comments on his play and contortions. I wouldn't mind if some TB fans could add some more background on him. He has a few years in the league already. He really played well on some key 3rd down plays. But I still worry about the lack of size back there and the running into a Chris Matthews situation down the road with some team trying to implement a Joe Flacco passing strategy with some sympathetic officials on the scene.
Meanwhile this looks like the best secondary we've had since 2004 and best of all, it is young enough that it will only get better over time. The next few years will be a golden era for the Pats secondary,.
-
I have been a huge fan of his season long before it was trendy to do so, but last night was Logan Ryan's best game. I don't know. In some ways, he may be the best CB on our roster right now. Taking on DeAndre Hopkins is a big boy assignment even with over the top help. Hopkins destroyed Revis. Ryan drew single coverage on Hopkins at times too. I have been saying he is an upgrade over Browner for a while, but now I think he is a huge upgrade.
Praising Logan Ryan is something that is become redundant, yet still can't be restated enough. He is a credit not only to his own perseverance, but to the coaching staff as well. He is another "overnight success" that was 3 years in the making. Here's hoping he goes back to AZ for 3 months this off season, a takes some teammates with him.
-
It seems pretty clear where the Pats have been hurt the most from all these injuries is the special teams. Many people have questioned over the years why the Pats play so many starters in key special team roles and over the last three games we have seen why. The special teams played a key role in the loss to Denver. It was THE REASON the Pats lost to the Eagles. And it was the only time the Texans had any hope last night. Almost every big mistake in the special teams over this time were caused by back ups playing roles they were not accustomed to.
Needless to say the it is unlikely we lose the Denver or Eagle games with Amendola or Edelman back their fielding punts. But when players go down on offense and defense, we all have to remember that it also affects special teams as well, and it has begun to show up, much to our dismay.
-
It is good to see Jerod Mayo finally being healthy at the right time of the year. When Hightower gets back, the Pats will have the best LB corp in the league. I still think Mayo could be gone after this season unless he takes a sizable pay cut, but his impact could be big in the playoffs this year.
Amen on this one. I for one think Jarad will be back next season, albeit with a much reduce contract. Mayo is a Pats lifer, who has made NE his home. He has made a ton of money over his time with the Pats, and isn't going to find a bigger market for himself outside of NE, where his is worth more here than elsewhere. (though I could be wrong)
His play has visibly improved over the course of the season, culminating in this game. Vince got a little stubborn in the end and wound up in Houston. Perhaps it was the product of one bad contract experience.. I don't see Mayo being that way
[*]I know the o-line had problems at times, but overall they did a pretty good job. They totally took Watt out of the game. Yes, it was easier with his bum hand, but even completely healthy, I wonder if he would have been all that effective.
[*]That said, Tre Jackson was awful. I didn't think losing Kline would be that big of a deal because Kline had been struggling too, but Jackson was a big downgrade. Too many missed assignments and stupid mistakes.
A little harsh on Jackson, but it needs to get better. Still its important to remember these guys (Jackson/Mason ) are rookies, and the guy who is playing with them is just a 2nd year man who has missed over half the season and isn't that much further along. Think about this. Both of them are starting with far greater physical assets than guys like Connolly, Wendell, and Kline had to begin with, so the upside is much higher, and will be worth the waits.
-
I still don't get why they don't make James White a bigger part of the offense. This is the second week in a row where he seemed to only get significant playing time because of the situation forced them to play him more and the second week in a row where he came through big time when they put him in.
Still not sold on White, (though that catch was really impressive). He just isn't as good as any of our recent 3rd down options (Vereen, Whitehead, Lewis, etc) However his IS what we have and it's not going to get any better. I think they will enhance his role over the next month, but it won't ever be as important as the others have have made it.
-
To his catch that was overturned, I think many people here get the rule wrong. I have seen many people say that when the toe touched that it was a catch, but I am pretty sure that the rule states that if any part of the foot hits out of bounds that the receiver is out of bounds. That said, I don't know if his heel ever touched out of bounds and I don't think there was enough evidence to tell either way.
When you are *****ing about a refs call because of a lack of 'conclusive evidence' then you aren't on sold ground to begin with. When I want to ***** about a call, I want all the moral high ground on my side. The so called "lack of conclusive evidence" argument is like winning a court case on a technicality.Th
While I didn't appreciate having them have a conference with every flag, I thought they kept their flags in their pockets for the most part, and based on that crew's history, it could have been a lot worse. You can disagree with calls that are THAT close to begin with, but they shouldn't rise to the level of anger. Sometimes you will get that one, sometimes you don't.
-
I still don't get how this team continues to pile up the injuries and then still play lights out. I thought for sure when McCourty went out that Hoyer was going to exploit the Pats dzyjeep, but the Pats dialed up the pressure and literally knocked Hoyer out of the game.
That answer is easy Rob. Good Coaching. It's as simple as that. When you can get back ups as prepared as the starters, or a least as close as humanly possible, AND get them to believe that they can execute the game plan; you are 90% there to being competitive in a game you would have no right being in if physical skill were the only criterion. That's what this staff does, and it has the system, semantics and ability to do. And they do it better than any staff in the league.
BTW- I read in another post that the Pats have lost more "player games" than any other teams in the league. Only the Ravens and Giants are close. Those teams are bad and mediocre, while the Pats are 11-2 and would be undefeated if they hadn't SELF destructed in 2 close games. DESPITE all the injuries. II know other teams get injuries, but it IS almost as impressive as Chris Collingsworth made is seem to be. last night ,[/QUOTE]
