idle post game thoughts

[DaBruinz]

You're welcome, but frankly I don't feel too articulate when I'm doing the writing.

Here's an idle thought that I forgot to put in the original post.

At some point on Sunday, I forget where, a commentator mentioned the possibility that Larry Fitzgerald might be looking to leave AZ next season. It got me to thinking about the possibility of getting him here. He would be a great Patriot. Not only is he one of the best deep threat WRs in the game, he's a great blocker, he goes over the middle, etc, etc.

As the season goes on, it looks more and more likely that our first draft pick is going to be in the 12-18 range, and it got me thinking. Wouldn't THAT pick plus our own 3rd be enough to entice AZ to start their rebuilding program with the 2011 draft. Now with our pick (guessing 28-32), the Panther 2nd (guessing 33-36), and our own 2nd we can draft the usual 3 nameless guys that will solidify the defense and start the OL rebuilding process.

I love draft picks as much as the next guy, but Fitzgerald is NOT just another talented WR. He is a game changer...without the baggage. And all he'd cost are draft picks and money. The draft picks we have in aboundance, and money....well, he wouldn't cost any more than Randy the last 2 years.

BTW- given the cost of Marshall and Holmes, maybe they'd take OUR #1 instead.

If that is all it took to get Fitzgerald, then I'd thrown in Taylor Price as well to get it done.. *GRIN*

 

[patfanken]

So why wouldn't an opposing team play in 4th quarter mode all game against our defense?

I still think BB is playing scheme defense for three Quarters and then switching up into a modified prevent defense when we have big leads for the 4th Q and forcing his youngsters to learn to make plays under pressure.

Why is the defense improving? Because BB is force feeding them situational defensive football.

This is another Felgerism, and again there is a ring of truth to it. He opined that it could be that the Pats simply out coach the opposition in game planning. Then as the game moves on and teams adjust to the original game plan, the talent and experience on the field take over. Thus the early game successes and the late game failures are partially explained. It certainly isn't THE answer, but it might be part of AN answer.

OMG, that 3 reasonably logical Felgerisms in one thread. Whodda thunk it !

 

[AzPatsFan]

i understand the heat the defense is getting, but only to a point...

Manning is exceptional, and even with injuries taht offense is incredible, i like to compare this game to the saints game of last year

THAT was awful defense, this was NOT, this defense kept that team to pretty much its average PPG (27 to be exact), and created turnovers to boot

you guys can bash it all you want, but its light years better than last year

I agree. As far as I am concerned, the Pats could have had 5 INTs on Peyton. Only Pats defenders interfering with two INTs saved Peyton from more of his own mistakes.

Sanders could have had three INTs himself, except for the "help" of McCourty and Mayo. I think the only mistake the Pats made was the 39 yard run of the the Colt's Brown. Otherwise they held the Colts running game in check, just like they did to the Steelers. Yet despite that 40 yard run, the Colts only gained 70 yards rushing, in the game, which is outstanding.

They made Peyton himself, burn lots of clock completing dump off passes over the middle with no hope of breaking one for a quick score. That went off exactly as diagrammed.

Teams can win, with a purposely loose under-pass, defense. But no team can win if it can't stop the run, and the Patriots are doing a great job of that as the season goes on.

 

[IllegalContact]

I think the lions game will be a trap....

no starting QB
no starting RB

that said, they try to throw the ball as much as anyone.......and shaun hill can rack up the yards......

 

[Metaphors]

So why wouldn't an opposing team play in 4th quarter mode all game against our defense?

2 reasons...

1) Strategic: Going for it on 4th down inside your own 40 has an extremely high risk vs. reward. Changing field position with a punt is generally a better call unless you have limited possessions to catch up or you are trying to end the game.

2) Political: A coach has to have a lot of coaching "capital" to be able to buck conventional wisdom. Not many coaches have enough in the bank to make that call.

That being said, I would only punt against the Pats once my team reached midfield if the distance was huge (> 10 yards). I would base my gameplan on that so a 3rd and long call could still include a checkdown or draw.

I still think BB is playing scheme defense for three Quarters and then switching up into a modified prevent defense when we have big leads for the 4th Q and forcing his youngsters to learn to make plays under pressure.

I see what you are saying but I don't see any evidence of it. The youngsters are under pressure every game, every quarter. Not sure how a "modified prevent" defense teaches anything more useful than any other scheme.

Also, I'm not sure the Pats are going into a prevent defense per se. They certainly are going nickel/dime and playing more zone, but I don't see continuous 2-deep safety formations. In fact, the Steelers and Colts have been able to score relatively quickly by getting receivers behind the defense...something that shouldn't happen in a prevent. So if the Pats are playing a prevent defense, they aren't doing it very well.

Why is the defense improving? Because BB is force feeding them situational defensive football.

I don't even know what that means. Belichick can't control the situations his defense encounters during games and I highly doubt he is using game situations purely as teaching tools.

The defense is improving because the youngsters are learning to play at NFL speed and all of them are learning to play complementary defense. On the key play vs. the Colts, Cunningham won an individual battle and McCourty locked up his receiver. That combination put Manning in a non-optimal situation. That is when mistakes happen. Sanders used his experience to get into position to capitalize on that mistake. None of that was happening a month ago. More of it will be happening a month from now.

 

[signbabybrady]

The margin of victory is still thin. The "blueprint" still has to be followed. Its why I'm so concerned about this game. How can this team NOT have some kind of let down given all the adverse circumstances mentioned above. This week we will need one of BB's better coaching jobs. I hope he is up to it.

Another Solid post PFK.

I am stretching a bit here but to try and put a positive spin on the short week coming off two emotional wins maybe that due to no time to unwind we actually carry that over to the next game. Based on BBs comments about yesterdays practice (for lack of a better term) the team seems to have turned the page and had a good day maybe the positive vibes had something to do with the good day.

 

[signbabybrady]

I'm not convinced it is the play-calling.

I think as Obrien has developed over the last two seasons there have been moments to criticize the play calling but I dont think so about this game.

IMO it was all in the execution. Especially as the run plays were concerned. For most of the game those were going for 2-4 yards or more and especially on that last drive they were going for shorter if anything.

i understand the heat the defense is getting, but only to a point...

Manning is exceptional, and even with injuries taht offense is incredible, i like to compare this game to the saints game of last year

THAT was awful defense, this was NOT, this defense kept that team to pretty much its average PPG (27 to be exact), and created turnovers to boot

you guys can bash it all you want, but its light years better than last year

Very very good point. Sometimes the stats need to be ignored and just use the whiff test and clearly one whiff of the saints game last year would raise the dead compared to this year.

 

[Mike the Brit]

Another Solid post PFK.

I am stretching a bit here but to try and put a positive spin on the short week coming off two emotional wins maybe that due to no time to unwind we actually carry that over to the next game. Based on BBs comments about yesterdays practice (for lack of a better term) the team seems to have turned the page and had a good day maybe the positive vibes had something to do with the good day.

Actually, I think that that is a very good point.

The fact that they are on a high from a close WIN is a positive. What's more, though, of course, they'll be exhausted, the team has rotated players and this should mean that they'll be that little bit fresher. Once again, though, a lot is on Brady and Vince's shoulders.

 

[jmt57]

1. I said back in the one of my Pittsburgh posts that I thought that THIS game is the so called "trap game"....or whatever you want to call it. All I know is that the NFL for the last 60 years has given the Lions one of the most definitive home field advantage...period.

For the sake of tradition, the league forces one team, not only to have an extremely short week; they make them travel 3 hours to boot. This competitive DISADVANTAGE has flown under the radar for the past 15-20 years because the Lions have been such a consistently bad team. But not this year.

If the Pats can be called the worst 8-2 team in the league, the Lions can be called the best 2-8 team. There is a lot of talent on that team, and Swartz has finally got them playing hard. They know how to BE in games at the end, just not how to win them....and believe me, that is a hard lesson to learn....but when a team does learn it, they can be very dangerous.

Now if this was an ordinary week, I'd be a lot less concerned. But this is not only a short week to be going on the road; its a short week after TWO very emotionally taxing games against 2 of the better teams in the league.

It would be very hard for a team to be able to rise to the occasion emotionally for a third week in a row, during a regular week, but in less than 4 days, its going to be next to impossible, especially if you consider the fact that the all important Jet game is looming next.

This is a game that will be the Lions chance at national redemption. It will be THEIR superbowl. We on the other hand are a team just trying to get in, get out (hopefully with a win), and get on to the "really important games" that are coming up against the likes of the Bears, Packers, and the afore mentioned Jets

When the schedule came out I really didn't like this game. Oh I like it a lot better with the 2 wins over the Steelers and Colts, but I never liked this game and hate that we have to play it.

I don't disagree at all that the Lions do get an extra bit of home field advantage by playing at home every Thanksgiving. Why not just rotate the teams that play on Thanksgiving - just like you rotate who plays in London, or who plays in the first game of every season?

Anyways, check out this out from the article below. The big benefactor from these annual Thanksgiving games is not the Lions; it's Dallas.

Lions Monday Playback: Patriots are perfect holiday guest

This year's schedule for the Lions and Cowboys adds credence to the long-held belief that the NFL's hierarchy plays favorites with its favored franchises.

The Cowboys certainly fall in the category of favored franchises.

Sunday's Lions-Cowboys game marked the ninth time in the last 10 years that the NFL scheduled the Cowboys at home in the game preceding their Thanksgiving Day home game.

For the Lions, it's almost the opposite. Sunday's game was the seventh time in the last 10 years that they played on the road in the game before Thanksgiving.

Starting with the 2001 season, the Cowboys' only pre-Thanksgiving home game was in 2004 -- a 30-10 loss at Baltimore. The Lions' three pre-Thanksgiving home games were from 2007-09 against the Giants, Buccaneers and Browns.

All seven road trips involved a time-zone change for the Lions, and four required long flights -- two each at Dallas (2005 and '10) and Arizona (2001 and '06).