- Joined
- Nov 14, 2006
- Messages
- 49,622
- Reaction score
- 28,323
Here we go:
- First and foremost, everyone needs to calm down. The first week of the season has a lot of aberration games. Remember how the Pats got smoked by Buffalo in 2003 and went onto a 14-2 season and a Super Bowl while Buffalo went 4-12.
- That said, the lack of fight in this team is very concerning. They just gave up. Quit. Packed it in. This reminds of the 2009 team that absolutely quit in the playoff game against the Ravens. The attitude must change immediately.
- On the positive side, I thought the free agent and offseason (not preseason) trade acquisitions played well last night. Gilmore was arguably the best defensive player on the field last night (that Hill TD was on McCourty not providing over the top coverage). Cooks was getting open and would have had a monster night last night if Brady wasn't off. Gillislee was good in goal line situations. Burkhead made the most of his limited snaps.
- I know people were killing McDaniels in the game thread (he like everyone else deserve blame), but I think the biggest problem on offense was Brady last night. I am not in the Brady is done camp, but he was off last night. I know his receivers weren't getting open a lot of the times, but I counted like four or five very big plays (over 20 yards and possibly TD) plays where the receiver was open (sometimes wide open) and Brady just missed them with his throws.
- Speaking of receivers not getting open, the Chiefs' defense got away with a lot of blatant pass interference. Eric Berry was absolutely mugging Gronk on every play. Even Collinsworth pointed it out multiple times. I am not blaming the loss on this, but this will be a concern especially if the Pats want to go more vertical.
- Now to McDaniels. He needs to find this offenses' identity and fast. I think he may be trying to force this vertical offense too much and I just don't think they are that team even with the addition of Cooks and Dorsett. Brady's bread and butter is still the short quick strikes and a surgical drive down the field. You can't abandon that. He is probably going to need to get the RBs more involved in the passing game. Granted losing Amendola killed that.
- As to McDaniels' calls on the two 4th and 1s, I didn't have a problem with the first one but felt he should have done a QB sneak on the second one. The first one I felt that Gillislee was being effective in short yardage situation and that was a play that most teams can get in the same situation (besides the Chiefs were probably expecting a QB sneak). The second one was an inch or two from the marker and Brady could have sneezed after the snap and gotten it.
- I was also encouraged by the offensive line. Sure they absolutely collapsed in the fourth, but they gave Brady all day to throw the ball. Sure it was in part because the Chiefs rushed only three more than usual, but we have seen Patriots' o-lines get beat bad by three man rushes in the past.
- I don't even know where to begin with the defense. What a crapfest. It wasn't all bad. There were times it played very well, but most of the second half it was god awful.
- The run defense was a problem all night. I will put part of it on maybe Branch isn't 100% yet, but there is definitely a problem. Once Hunt got past the front four, there was no one to stop him until he got into the secondary.
- That probably brings up the biggest issue with this defense - the linebackers. The corp is painfully thin and the starters are not all that great. Losing Hightower really hurt last night, but he was not playing all that well before he was injured. I will give Hightower a pass because he was probably shaking off rust from not practicing most of the preseason and him moving to a new role. But there is no excuse for the other guys. I knew we weren't getting the David Harris of five years ago, but he was invisible out there. Van Noy doesn't look like yet that he can handle his increased responsibilities.
- One positive about the problems on defense last night was it was communication issues. That can be fixed. As I said with the Hill TD, Gilmore expected to hand him off to McCourty and McCourty wasn't there. There was other examples of big plays happening because players weren't in position over them getting overmatched. Again, that can be fixed.