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Another game, another win, another rash of complaints. God it is hard to be a Pats fan these days. 
I said it before the game, and I imagine I will say it for the next 3 weeks; NOTHING this team can do will satisfy the media/general fan base/and the denizens of Patsfans.com. That being said here are a few observations and opinions on the game and the weekend in general
1.Lost in the "sturm and drang" of all the yards that the Redskins gained this week, is the "small" fact that the Pats D only gave up 7 points the entire 2nd half. It makes one wonder what it could do if we had the talent that they do on the Cowboys and Giants. You know those teams that gave up 22 and 17 points respectively in their game last night.
2. Also lost in the complaints was the stellar job Matt Light did. Brian Orakbu is one of the best pass rushers in the game and I don't remember even hearing his name all game, The same could be said for the most part for Nate Solder as well
3. One of a number of pet peeves I had to endure from this broadcast team was their CONSTANT reminders that the Redskins had to play with 2 new starting OTs. Granted that was a story, but I could never understand what it seemingly wasn't as story that the Pats were playing with their 4th string C and a rookie LT. I guess I can assume that injuries aren't an excuse for the Pats, just the rest of the league. (a perception btw, which probably makes BB very happy)
4. Speaking of the OL, I wonder what Fleger thinks of the mighty Jets "system" that lets the OL fall apart with a single short term injury to Mangold, while the Pats go FOUR deep and barely skip a beat
5. One to the things that impressed me the most about Nick McDonald was when the coaches had to replace him early in the game after Brady was sacked on pressure up the middle. The took him out, talked to him, put him back, and it never happened again. Good coaching, better response.
6.Brady was dead wrong in his blow up on the sidelines. Wrong to blame the receiver. Wrong to make the throw, and Wrong to come back on his coach. Curran may be right that Brady is taking too much on his shoulders and the pressure is getting to him. That being said, I LOVED the fact that BOB went off on him. Unlike with guys like Manning and Farve, on the Pats even Tom F'n Brady isn't above hard coaching. And I LOVED Tom's chastened response after the game. He gave the perfect answer. Its now a non-story...not that THAT's going to stop the relentless media from trying to read more into it than it was.
7. 60% Completion rate - 357 yds 3 TDs and one pick - This the line on one of Brady's worst days in a few years. Amazing when you consider, at one point, he was 8 for 19. I have to say its been a long time since I saw him just flat out miss guys or be on a different page than his receivers so often Clearly it was just "one of those days". GOD, are we spoiled or WHAT!?
8. Brady has 3 very good receiving RBs, and one who is merely capable (BJGE) I have to think that he'd relieve a lot of pressure on himself and the rest of the receiving corps, if he threw the ball to these guys on a more regular basis than he has thus far this season. Last season Woodhead had 34 receptions in 14 games. This season he has 15 in 12. Time to get the RBs involved in passing game, while at the same time get the run game going better.
9. There was a good thread on the McCourty, here I my thoughts on that hot button issue Agree with those who felt that McCourty played a much better game yesterday, especially in the second half. The critical PI penalty that was called on McCourty was no worse that what the Skin DB did to Underwood which wasn't called. The difference between success and failure is THAT thin...and that arbitrary
I've said it before and I'll say it again. McCourty WASN'T beaten by Stallworth on that long gain. In man coverage, he's SUPPOSED to play the receiver from underneath. He was in perfect position. He was beaten by the perfect pass. Just like EVERY DB is when that occurs. Just like the Skin DB who was covering Gronk on one of his TDs. Perfect position....Perfect pass....TOUCHDOWN.
He made at least 4 very good plays in the second half that I can recall. And what was most telling was he made some in man coverage and some in zone. If I wanted to be CONSTRUCTIVELY critical, these would be some of the comments I would make and I'm sure they'll be echoed by his own coaches.
a. He needs to be more physical on the LOS. He has to vastly improve his jam. He is not consistent enough. This is a technique issue which will hopefully be improved on over the off season
b. He has to play more confidently. In other words be willing to take chances on the ball. See it, read it, believe it, then ACT on it. and damned be the consequences. That's the way Ty Law played. It seems to me that he sometimes plays it too safe. Willing to simply make the tackle rather than "make the play"
I guess know WHEN to do "go for it" and WHEN to play it safe are things that develop over time, and certainly NOT under the conditions when WRs are being drafted to do Safety duty.
10. I'm pretty sure that a lot of the secondary woes would have been largely mitigated if Barrett, Dowling, Bodden, and Chung has been able to remain healthy. It would have made cutting Merriweather, Sanders, and Page seem like more sense, though I still don't understand why Page wasn't given a chance the 2nd time around.
Still I think it makes more sense to criticize BB for this, than his drafting prowess or lack thereof. It can't be a good thing when you head into the playoffs where your top 3 safeties are 2 WRs stolen from the offense in midseason, and a career special teamer you just picked up AFTER the season began. How come THAT's not a story.
11. James Iheadabu is one tough SOB. And SHAME on those nitwits hiding in their basements to complain about him. He's doing a yeoman's job under very difficult circumstances, and yet you have these armchair QBs who'd be felled with a paper cut, complaining about a guy who is gutting it out to make sure that Sergio Brown doesn't have to see the field. Now THAT is what I call "taking one for the team"
12. I can't do one of these without mentioning that Julian Edelman is one of the surer tackling DBs I've seen this year.....how does THAT figure?
13. Nice to see Dane Fletcher back on the field. He had some very good.....and very bad moments on the field. Too often I saw him run "under" blocks on that successful Redskin sweep. Though on the other hand, there were several time I saw him right in the thick of it on the LOS and it was my impression that he wasn't out of position in coverage. Certainly a lot of room to improve, given he's missed most of the season, but IMHO an instant upgrade over Gary Guyton
14. Redskin observations, since we don't see them often.
a. I LOVE London Fletcher. One tidbit BB threw out on Patriots All Access worth sharing, was that over the last 10 years, Fletcher has over 250 more tackes than Ray Lewis, and close 450 more than Urlacher. And nothing in his play yesterday would make me feel any less admiration for him.
b. Roy Hallu is a very nice RB who is going to gain a lot of yards in the old Denver running system
c. That make shift OL did a very nice job, overall against what was supposedly the strength of our defense.
15. While many may continue to beat the dead horse that is our secondary, my major complaint was how poorly the DL and LBs did against the Redskin pass protection and run game. Too many long runs and too little pressure on Grossman.
16 Two drops, Two flat out missed passes and the Pats might have had 3-4 more TDs instead of winding up with 2 FGs and a pick (I'm also counting missing a wide open Gronk) Can't be missing 4 or 5 opportunities like that against playoff competition.
17. FINALLY - The general ARBITRARY nature of the way the game is called is starting to vast diminish my enjoyment of the game. Just look at a few plays. The PI on McCourty in the first half is called and keeps a critical drive alive. A Skin DB does almost the exact same thing and gets a pick. Gronk gets a helmet to head as a defenseless receiver on the Skins GL which is ignored, (which was fine by my btw), while Grossman gets a flag for having his ankle touched. Then because of that they feel they have to call a needless flag on Fletcher, and then ANOTHER needless call (though a lot less egregious) on Wilfolk.
I saw Dedrick get a justified holding call on a play that I'd seen let go a dozen times before.
I just can't figure it out anymore. Every play is literally held hostage by the possibility that some ARBITRARY flag is going to erase a play from existence. There doesn't seem to be a single in complete pass that doesn't end with a flag or a player calling for a flag. And if its affecting a football lifer like me, imagine what its doing to the casual fan.
I said it before the game, and I imagine I will say it for the next 3 weeks; NOTHING this team can do will satisfy the media/general fan base/and the denizens of Patsfans.com. That being said here are a few observations and opinions on the game and the weekend in general
1.Lost in the "sturm and drang" of all the yards that the Redskins gained this week, is the "small" fact that the Pats D only gave up 7 points the entire 2nd half. It makes one wonder what it could do if we had the talent that they do on the Cowboys and Giants. You know those teams that gave up 22 and 17 points respectively in their game last night.
2. Also lost in the complaints was the stellar job Matt Light did. Brian Orakbu is one of the best pass rushers in the game and I don't remember even hearing his name all game, The same could be said for the most part for Nate Solder as well
3. One of a number of pet peeves I had to endure from this broadcast team was their CONSTANT reminders that the Redskins had to play with 2 new starting OTs. Granted that was a story, but I could never understand what it seemingly wasn't as story that the Pats were playing with their 4th string C and a rookie LT. I guess I can assume that injuries aren't an excuse for the Pats, just the rest of the league. (a perception btw, which probably makes BB very happy)
4. Speaking of the OL, I wonder what Fleger thinks of the mighty Jets "system" that lets the OL fall apart with a single short term injury to Mangold, while the Pats go FOUR deep and barely skip a beat
5. One to the things that impressed me the most about Nick McDonald was when the coaches had to replace him early in the game after Brady was sacked on pressure up the middle. The took him out, talked to him, put him back, and it never happened again. Good coaching, better response.
6.Brady was dead wrong in his blow up on the sidelines. Wrong to blame the receiver. Wrong to make the throw, and Wrong to come back on his coach. Curran may be right that Brady is taking too much on his shoulders and the pressure is getting to him. That being said, I LOVED the fact that BOB went off on him. Unlike with guys like Manning and Farve, on the Pats even Tom F'n Brady isn't above hard coaching. And I LOVED Tom's chastened response after the game. He gave the perfect answer. Its now a non-story...not that THAT's going to stop the relentless media from trying to read more into it than it was.
7. 60% Completion rate - 357 yds 3 TDs and one pick - This the line on one of Brady's worst days in a few years. Amazing when you consider, at one point, he was 8 for 19. I have to say its been a long time since I saw him just flat out miss guys or be on a different page than his receivers so often Clearly it was just "one of those days". GOD, are we spoiled or WHAT!?
8. Brady has 3 very good receiving RBs, and one who is merely capable (BJGE) I have to think that he'd relieve a lot of pressure on himself and the rest of the receiving corps, if he threw the ball to these guys on a more regular basis than he has thus far this season. Last season Woodhead had 34 receptions in 14 games. This season he has 15 in 12. Time to get the RBs involved in passing game, while at the same time get the run game going better.
9. There was a good thread on the McCourty, here I my thoughts on that hot button issue Agree with those who felt that McCourty played a much better game yesterday, especially in the second half. The critical PI penalty that was called on McCourty was no worse that what the Skin DB did to Underwood which wasn't called. The difference between success and failure is THAT thin...and that arbitrary
I've said it before and I'll say it again. McCourty WASN'T beaten by Stallworth on that long gain. In man coverage, he's SUPPOSED to play the receiver from underneath. He was in perfect position. He was beaten by the perfect pass. Just like EVERY DB is when that occurs. Just like the Skin DB who was covering Gronk on one of his TDs. Perfect position....Perfect pass....TOUCHDOWN.
He made at least 4 very good plays in the second half that I can recall. And what was most telling was he made some in man coverage and some in zone. If I wanted to be CONSTRUCTIVELY critical, these would be some of the comments I would make and I'm sure they'll be echoed by his own coaches.
a. He needs to be more physical on the LOS. He has to vastly improve his jam. He is not consistent enough. This is a technique issue which will hopefully be improved on over the off season
b. He has to play more confidently. In other words be willing to take chances on the ball. See it, read it, believe it, then ACT on it. and damned be the consequences. That's the way Ty Law played. It seems to me that he sometimes plays it too safe. Willing to simply make the tackle rather than "make the play"
I guess know WHEN to do "go for it" and WHEN to play it safe are things that develop over time, and certainly NOT under the conditions when WRs are being drafted to do Safety duty.
10. I'm pretty sure that a lot of the secondary woes would have been largely mitigated if Barrett, Dowling, Bodden, and Chung has been able to remain healthy. It would have made cutting Merriweather, Sanders, and Page seem like more sense, though I still don't understand why Page wasn't given a chance the 2nd time around.
Still I think it makes more sense to criticize BB for this, than his drafting prowess or lack thereof. It can't be a good thing when you head into the playoffs where your top 3 safeties are 2 WRs stolen from the offense in midseason, and a career special teamer you just picked up AFTER the season began. How come THAT's not a story.
11. James Iheadabu is one tough SOB. And SHAME on those nitwits hiding in their basements to complain about him. He's doing a yeoman's job under very difficult circumstances, and yet you have these armchair QBs who'd be felled with a paper cut, complaining about a guy who is gutting it out to make sure that Sergio Brown doesn't have to see the field. Now THAT is what I call "taking one for the team"
12. I can't do one of these without mentioning that Julian Edelman is one of the surer tackling DBs I've seen this year.....how does THAT figure?
13. Nice to see Dane Fletcher back on the field. He had some very good.....and very bad moments on the field. Too often I saw him run "under" blocks on that successful Redskin sweep. Though on the other hand, there were several time I saw him right in the thick of it on the LOS and it was my impression that he wasn't out of position in coverage. Certainly a lot of room to improve, given he's missed most of the season, but IMHO an instant upgrade over Gary Guyton
14. Redskin observations, since we don't see them often.
a. I LOVE London Fletcher. One tidbit BB threw out on Patriots All Access worth sharing, was that over the last 10 years, Fletcher has over 250 more tackes than Ray Lewis, and close 450 more than Urlacher. And nothing in his play yesterday would make me feel any less admiration for him.
b. Roy Hallu is a very nice RB who is going to gain a lot of yards in the old Denver running system
c. That make shift OL did a very nice job, overall against what was supposedly the strength of our defense.
15. While many may continue to beat the dead horse that is our secondary, my major complaint was how poorly the DL and LBs did against the Redskin pass protection and run game. Too many long runs and too little pressure on Grossman.
16 Two drops, Two flat out missed passes and the Pats might have had 3-4 more TDs instead of winding up with 2 FGs and a pick (I'm also counting missing a wide open Gronk) Can't be missing 4 or 5 opportunities like that against playoff competition.
17. FINALLY - The general ARBITRARY nature of the way the game is called is starting to vast diminish my enjoyment of the game. Just look at a few plays. The PI on McCourty in the first half is called and keeps a critical drive alive. A Skin DB does almost the exact same thing and gets a pick. Gronk gets a helmet to head as a defenseless receiver on the Skins GL which is ignored, (which was fine by my btw), while Grossman gets a flag for having his ankle touched. Then because of that they feel they have to call a needless flag on Fletcher, and then ANOTHER needless call (though a lot less egregious) on Wilfolk.
I saw Dedrick get a justified holding call on a play that I'd seen let go a dozen times before.
I just can't figure it out anymore. Every play is literally held hostage by the possibility that some ARBITRARY flag is going to erase a play from existence. There doesn't seem to be a single in complete pass that doesn't end with a flag or a player calling for a flag. And if its affecting a football lifer like me, imagine what its doing to the casual fan.
