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For the 14th week in a row, our team entertained us and kept us involved and enthralled for the full sixty minutes. Yes the outcome of the game wasn’t what we wanted. But I love this year’s team. I love the mental toughness. I love the persistence. I love courage that they play with on such a consistent basis.
Am I frustrated with all the “what ifs” and buts that we‘ll talk about all this week (and later on in this post)? Sure I am. Am I angry at the some of the play calls and execution from the offense on occasion. Why should this week be any different than the rest.
.
So while this game is hurting right now, I want to make it clear that regardless of what happens the rest of the way, this team has EARNED our respect…or at least should have.
So now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, here are my comments on this game, in no particular order. BTW- I’m writing this late (after a poker tourney that I won this time), so I didn’t have time to read any comments Pardon in advance for any redundancies.
1. Among the “what if” plays that will keep me up tonight…. Steven Gotskowski is having an all pro year. However if he had made that 48 yarder (no gimmee btw), the Pats would have been kicking a 35 yd FG at the end of the game to win instead of having to go into the end zone
2. If he hadn’t gone and kicked his first out of bounds KO of the year, the Dolphins start on the 20 instead of the 40. Who knows if they go for it on 4th down if the ball had been at their own 25 rather than their 45
3. There were a series of 3 key defensive plays that if the Pats had done better on, the game would have turned.
a. the 3rd and 10 at the end of the half when the Fins were deep in there own territory, and Tannyhill converts with a very difficult perfect throw to a well covered WR. If he missed that throw, the Pats would have had good field position and a minute and a half to add to a 10 point lead. 13-0 is a big difference than 10-7.
b. The 4th and 5 late in the 4th was the obvious big play. I was thrilled when I first saw the quick screen. We usually do much better on those.
c. A little less obvious was the play just before it. The 3rd and 17. We gave up 12 yds on that play. I believe if we’d done even 5 yds better, the Dolphins would have punted on 4th down.
4. I think we all better get used to seeing Miami hot on our trail in the future. No only has Philbin proven to be a solid leader, stewarding his team through the Incognito/Martin disaster, Ryan Tannyhill looks like he’s developing into a very nice QB. The kind of player you can build an offense around.
He made a lot of good decisions and very tough throws into tight coverage, he also proved his toughness by getting up after some big hits and sacks, and remaining very steady in the pocket. A few years from now he might end up being the best QB in his class…..after Andrew Luck.
5. Not for nothing, but will this injury bug EVER leave us. Losing Solder was huge. I am amazed that we functioned as well as we did immediately after. With this being his 2nd dinger in 2 weeks, I doubt very much we will see him next week either.
6. Not having Dobson or Thompkins really hurts our red zone offense. I was surprised none of the mediots barely mentioned their absence or their potential effect. In our 4 trips to the redzone, we were having to make do with 4 midgets again. I hope to god we get at least one of them back next Sunday.
7. On the plus side both Edelman and Amendola had 130 yd days, and Boyce continued to show flashes, although he could have had a TD if he’d caught a ball cleanly in that first drive. In the end I think over the next few years the Pats rookie WR corps is going to work out very well.
8. All of our RB’s averaged over 4ypc. If you felt they were underutilized you would be right, but I think Solder going out was a major factor in the Pats getting way from the running game in the 2nd half
9. Ryan Allan seems to be getting better every single week. He made several good kicks. The one that stands out was his 58 yarder out of bounds from deep in his own territory, that reestablished field position. I thought it was even more impressive than the one he dropped on the Miami 6 that almost turned into a TD. Probably most surprising to me is how well he is handling the holding duties. Originally I was for keeping Zoltan mostly because Allen hadn’t been a holder in college.
10. I kept looking for the Pats to run a certain pattern in this game after I saw how strongly the Miami safeties were attacking the Pats WR’s in their crossing routes. Its one they’ve used successfully last year as well as this year. You know the one where either Edelman or Amendola run their crossing route and then breaks it up the seam when the S attacks it. The Pats ended up never doing any attacking throws deep. I know they were concerned about the Miami rush, but not even once?
11. Its clear to me that even in its decimated state, the Gronkless Pats offense can still move the ball against even good defenses. The question will be, can they score TD’s instead of FG’s. It certainly cost them this game.
12. Yes Martha, that was PI on Hooman in the 2nd to last play of the game, and Phil Sims should be ashamed of himself when he wimped out in is commentary. I can understand the official not calling it, but they should at least acknowledge the foul. Even worse was another call on Hooman. There was a reason Hooman had to make a one handed catch for his TD. It was because the Miami LB assigned to cover him, had a hold of his other arm for about 10 yds before the ball got there.
The Hooman call at the end of game is made more frustrating by the call on Fletcher that allowed the Miami go ahead TD to happen. While it looked bad on first glance, when they showed the replay, the reality is the Fletcher call was actually more marginal that the non-call at the other end.
12. ….and while that’s very frustrating to fans, the fact is there were just too many plays that the Pats screwed up themselves to blame the refs for the loss. In they end they simply didn’t make enough plays to win the game. It shouldn’t have come down to the refs. IF Boyce makes the early TD grab. IF Goskowski makes the FG. IF Amendola makes the spectacular catch in the end zone. IF they stop them on 4th and 5, IF Ryan (or was it Fletcher) makes the pick etc, etc, etc.
13. Finally, because I forgot to do it earlier, a few kudos to the run defense for hold the Dolphins to under 90 yds rushing today. Maybe they are starting to come around.
Am I frustrated with all the “what ifs” and buts that we‘ll talk about all this week (and later on in this post)? Sure I am. Am I angry at the some of the play calls and execution from the offense on occasion. Why should this week be any different than the rest.
.So while this game is hurting right now, I want to make it clear that regardless of what happens the rest of the way, this team has EARNED our respect…or at least should have.
So now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, here are my comments on this game, in no particular order. BTW- I’m writing this late (after a poker tourney that I won this time), so I didn’t have time to read any comments Pardon in advance for any redundancies.
1. Among the “what if” plays that will keep me up tonight…. Steven Gotskowski is having an all pro year. However if he had made that 48 yarder (no gimmee btw), the Pats would have been kicking a 35 yd FG at the end of the game to win instead of having to go into the end zone
2. If he hadn’t gone and kicked his first out of bounds KO of the year, the Dolphins start on the 20 instead of the 40. Who knows if they go for it on 4th down if the ball had been at their own 25 rather than their 45
3. There were a series of 3 key defensive plays that if the Pats had done better on, the game would have turned.
a. the 3rd and 10 at the end of the half when the Fins were deep in there own territory, and Tannyhill converts with a very difficult perfect throw to a well covered WR. If he missed that throw, the Pats would have had good field position and a minute and a half to add to a 10 point lead. 13-0 is a big difference than 10-7.
b. The 4th and 5 late in the 4th was the obvious big play. I was thrilled when I first saw the quick screen. We usually do much better on those.
c. A little less obvious was the play just before it. The 3rd and 17. We gave up 12 yds on that play. I believe if we’d done even 5 yds better, the Dolphins would have punted on 4th down.
4. I think we all better get used to seeing Miami hot on our trail in the future. No only has Philbin proven to be a solid leader, stewarding his team through the Incognito/Martin disaster, Ryan Tannyhill looks like he’s developing into a very nice QB. The kind of player you can build an offense around.
He made a lot of good decisions and very tough throws into tight coverage, he also proved his toughness by getting up after some big hits and sacks, and remaining very steady in the pocket. A few years from now he might end up being the best QB in his class…..after Andrew Luck.
5. Not for nothing, but will this injury bug EVER leave us. Losing Solder was huge. I am amazed that we functioned as well as we did immediately after. With this being his 2nd dinger in 2 weeks, I doubt very much we will see him next week either.
6. Not having Dobson or Thompkins really hurts our red zone offense. I was surprised none of the mediots barely mentioned their absence or their potential effect. In our 4 trips to the redzone, we were having to make do with 4 midgets again. I hope to god we get at least one of them back next Sunday.
7. On the plus side both Edelman and Amendola had 130 yd days, and Boyce continued to show flashes, although he could have had a TD if he’d caught a ball cleanly in that first drive. In the end I think over the next few years the Pats rookie WR corps is going to work out very well.
8. All of our RB’s averaged over 4ypc. If you felt they were underutilized you would be right, but I think Solder going out was a major factor in the Pats getting way from the running game in the 2nd half
9. Ryan Allan seems to be getting better every single week. He made several good kicks. The one that stands out was his 58 yarder out of bounds from deep in his own territory, that reestablished field position. I thought it was even more impressive than the one he dropped on the Miami 6 that almost turned into a TD. Probably most surprising to me is how well he is handling the holding duties. Originally I was for keeping Zoltan mostly because Allen hadn’t been a holder in college.
10. I kept looking for the Pats to run a certain pattern in this game after I saw how strongly the Miami safeties were attacking the Pats WR’s in their crossing routes. Its one they’ve used successfully last year as well as this year. You know the one where either Edelman or Amendola run their crossing route and then breaks it up the seam when the S attacks it. The Pats ended up never doing any attacking throws deep. I know they were concerned about the Miami rush, but not even once?
11. Its clear to me that even in its decimated state, the Gronkless Pats offense can still move the ball against even good defenses. The question will be, can they score TD’s instead of FG’s. It certainly cost them this game.
12. Yes Martha, that was PI on Hooman in the 2nd to last play of the game, and Phil Sims should be ashamed of himself when he wimped out in is commentary. I can understand the official not calling it, but they should at least acknowledge the foul. Even worse was another call on Hooman. There was a reason Hooman had to make a one handed catch for his TD. It was because the Miami LB assigned to cover him, had a hold of his other arm for about 10 yds before the ball got there.
The Hooman call at the end of game is made more frustrating by the call on Fletcher that allowed the Miami go ahead TD to happen. While it looked bad on first glance, when they showed the replay, the reality is the Fletcher call was actually more marginal that the non-call at the other end.
12. ….and while that’s very frustrating to fans, the fact is there were just too many plays that the Pats screwed up themselves to blame the refs for the loss. In they end they simply didn’t make enough plays to win the game. It shouldn’t have come down to the refs. IF Boyce makes the early TD grab. IF Goskowski makes the FG. IF Amendola makes the spectacular catch in the end zone. IF they stop them on 4th and 5, IF Ryan (or was it Fletcher) makes the pick etc, etc, etc.
13. Finally, because I forgot to do it earlier, a few kudos to the run defense for hold the Dolphins to under 90 yds rushing today. Maybe they are starting to come around.
