At the end of the day they don't give you anything extra for looking good while winning, and nothing shows up in the standings for coming close against a more talented team like last week. It's a simple matter, like ones and zeros Come December no one will remember how ugly this win was, and how it was accomplished. Over the last 20 years we've had a LOT of ugly wins, and no ever talks about them when the season was over. Almost every year there was some come from behind win vs bad Jets and Bills teams over the years. When the division was crap there was always a loss or two somehow, and too many close wins. It all comes back to the fact that the worst guy at the end of the bench of any NFL team, is a great football player. Sure some teams are better than others of course, but the phrase, "on any given Sunday....." Is the truth. A truism that shows up EVERY week,
Side note- I haven't been around much the last two weeks. I stayed away the entire Bucs week, simply because I didn't have the heart to hear the same crap I've heard here and in the media for the 3 months leading up to the game. So much unnecessary drama played over and over again. While pleased with the effort, I didn't like the 4th down call at the end of the game, mostly because even if Folk made that very difficult kick Brady STILL would have had over 50 seconds to go 40 odd yds to put HIS team into position to win the game. I was also pissed about the Gilmore trade, but more on that later. Lets get back to TODAY's game.
General offensive thoughts
a. I don't think I ever heard of a team that was going into the following week with FOUR new OLmen. 2 would generally be considered a catastrophe, so I don't know what 4 would be described as. So even though the Texans are among the worst teams in the league, they still suited up 46 NFL players AT HOME, so I thought, (as most probably did) that the OL did yeoman work in creating enough running room that as a team they averaged 4.2 ypc, and protected Mac Jones to the tune of 1 sack and only 4 QB hits.
Now the OL has taken a LOT of hits the first 4 weeks of the season, including the coaching staff. Well after watching the job these 4 back ups did, after only one week of practice together, I would have to say the coaching staff should take a bow for a job well done, and the player should take 2 bows for their effort.
If I had one major complaint, it would be that I would FINALLY like to see the screen game become more productive. WAY too often we have seen one LB after another slip through the screen and blow up the play for little or no gain. I know the new rules make it more difficult for OLmen to block, but I see other teams making hay from this play. I'd REALLY like us to finally join the party.
As we enter the 2nd quarter of the season, the offense is still a work in progress. And I think progress is being made.
b. QB- Jones looks like he is starting to find some connection with his receivers. He still continues to go through is progressions well. Good touch on his passes. But what stood out to me in this game was his quickness within the pocket and his ability to move outside it as well. I have long opined that although he isn't an uber athlete, Mac Jones is a very good one. I'm hoping that the longer he plays, the more he will feel comfortable to use his athleticism to escape the pocket when necessary. This comfort has been slow in coming, but the more we see it, the fewer hits he's going to take.
Also it looks like he's more willing to throw the ball downfield. I don't know the exact number but IIRC there were at least 4 receptions of over 20 yds today and he might have gotten his first 300 yd game if not for the rare Myers drop. But I see bigger numbers coming as his comfort level grows with his receivers.
c. OL - It only took 3 years, but we can finally say that YCajuste really is an NFL caliber OT, now how GOOD an NFL caliber OT he is, is still a question that remains to be seen. To the naked eye, I can only recall twice where I thought he lost his battle with the DE, and neither time resulted in a QB hit. One early in the game where his great 2nd effort and Mac's stepping up allowed him to recover and push him past the QB.
The only sack came on a play action pass where the G pulls to further look like a run, and is charged to pick up the opposite DE. unfortunately the Texan DE (Greenard) came blasting across and blew up the play, and the G (Karras I think) really didn't have a chance.
I'm not sure what's going to happen next week with the OL. We know Brown is out until game 7 at best. I read where Mason could be back next week, and you'd like to think Wynn, and Owenu would be back as well, but who knows.
d. RB's - I really like Harris as a RB, despite the fumble. I hope that whatever his injury is, it isn't long term, though my instinct says we won't be seeing him on the field next week. Now after getting his feet wet this week, Stephenson is likely to be the lead back next week against the Cowboys, assuming he can be trusted to pass block. Also a JJ Taylor sighting could be in the offing. And of course all of us who called for Brandon Bolden's retirement (I think I led the charge on this one). we FINALLY understand just why Bill loves him, and we are really lucky he's on this team.
e. TE's - We heard that Hunter Henry and Mac Jones are neighbors and carpool together, and I am hoping they could get JSmith to move closer to these guys. Clearly Mack and Hunter are gaining a feel for each other, while JSmith still seems to be finding his niche. Still Like I said, a work in progress.
My appreciation of Gronk only grows when I compare his blocking skills against our 2 TE's. Both Henry and Smith are willing blockers who show great effort, but neither guy is someone who can actually MOVE a defensive lineman or LB, What Gronk was able to accomplish was really so rare, and we all came to take it for granted until it was gone.
f. WR's - clearly still not where we'd like it to be. Bourne again showed flashes of the explosiveness he possesses, and we'd all like to see Agular get more chances at deeper balls, but he certainly has shown his hands are consistent. Meyers has been very consistent and Harry is.....well I don't know what he is, since he isn't getting many targets to find out. Here's my beef with Josh. With big tragets like Henry, Smith, and Harry on the field, WHY aren't we throwing the ball into the endzone more when we are in the red zone. What did we have 5 or 6 times in the red zone today, and I only recall ONE pass actually going into the endzone, and THAT was the TD to Henry. Given all the problems we are having in the redzone, you'd think that we'd take more shots. Given how accurate Mac is, you'd think Josh would give him more chances to hit those big guys on one on one balls. We really need to start to open up more.
2. General defensive thoughts - FLAT would seem to be the go to description of the defense today They didn't play awfully, but always seemed a foot too short and just not making "plays" to get off the field. Allowing the Texans to make so many 3rd AND 4th downs was so frustrating to see. I'm sure that this fact will drilled hard this week. Dallas has one of the more dynamic offenses in the league, so being able to get off the field when you have a team 3rd and long will be critical. They HAVE to get the that number under 50% though under 40% will probably be necessary to win the game next week.. And I probably speak for everyone when I say, if I see one more slant pass converted into a first down, I will go nuts. It's so easy to take away that pass just by alignment, Granted it will make it easier for the opposition to throw side line passes, but so WHAT. A sideline pass is much more difficult to throw than a slant, which could be the easiest pass a QB can when a DB is aligned outside. MAKE them throw the harder pass. And that's all I have to say about that!
a. Front 7 - I have to admit I was kind of surprised when I checked the stats and found out the Texans only ran the ball for a 2.6 ypc average. While I was watching the game is seem a lot worse than that. But it is what it is and clearly you have to tip your cap to the front seven for a job well done. This wasn't as good an OL or RB's as they will face next week, but 2.6 ypc is a great number against ANYONE.
If you look at the 2 sacks that Judon got, you seen the intelligence of the man. In neither of those 2 plays did you see Matt blow by an OLman, or put a spectacular mover on a defender. In the first he simply stayed and wasn't fooled by the bootleg, and the second he sort of just slip slided into the backfield and wound up with the sack. I like the way he plays. On the opposite end of the scale was the complete disappearance of Josh Uche. He was no where to be found of the defensive stat sheet, so I wondered if he was on the inactive list, but no, he dressed. I will be interested in seeing the snap count results later in the week. Uche has by FAR been my most disappointing player of the years so far.
b. Secondary- They gave up too many long plays this game. Too many 3rd and 4th down conversions. This is NOT going to be the film that JC Jackson is going to be circulating to other teams as he enters FA. Some guy off the PS made him look bad too often. Even Devon McCourty will be wincing when they see the film of him overrunning the play that turned into a 65 yd TD. Being the secondary that allowed Davis Mills to record his first 300 yd game isn't something to be proud of. It will need to be MUCH better next week.
ST's. Well they only punted once, but covered KO's very well. I'm guessing the plan was to allow the Texans to run at least some of them back. Gunner was OK I guess in his KO's and Punt returns. Nothing special, nothing bad this week. It's confession time again. I have to admit I was one of those guys HOPING that the kid would knock him out of the FG kicking job, but that being said, I understood that he was a very solid guy from the 45 in. Well I think he now has 3 or 4 plus 50 yd kicks, and both the ones he hit today would have been good from 6 yds deeper. I never knew Folk had that kind of leg. He has been the Pats best if not the most important offensive player so far. Simple as that,
3. On the Gilmore trade. I don't bet on football games, though I joined a pool to pick 5 games each week. Its fun. But while I know a lot about football, I know enough that trying to pick games against the spread is a fools errand. Though I was 4-1 this week.
But I DID make one football bet this year. I bet a poker friend that Gilmore would be on the Pats in week 7, I thought it was the easiest $100 I would make all year,
Well like everyone else I was very surprised how it all ended, and I was trying to figure out just WTF happened. It was my belief that Gilmore wanted to be here, and the Pats wanted him here, for this year at least. In the end it all came down to this conflict. The Pats wanted to see what he looked like when he came off the PUP. They weren't going to pay him more money until they were convinced he was healthy. Clearly the Gilmore camp wasn't cool with that position, though I don't understand why it was such a big deal. The Pats had dealt with Gilmore more than fairly over the years he was here.
There had been a lot of rumors that Gilmore had been healthy all along and this was a "hold in". However he is STILL on PUP with Carolina, and hasn't been practicing with then as yet. So I don't think those rumors are true. I think the truth of the matter is that Gilmore is coming off a very serious injury, coming off a year where there was clear signs of a slippage BEFORE the injury. The very lack of a large number of teams who could have used even a Gilmore-lite CB to inquire about a trade is telling. So yes I am disappointed the Gilmore won't be playing for the Pats this year, and yes I am going to miss that $100, and yes I am disappointed tjat we only got a 6th for him. But I'm going to wait and see what kind of player Stephon Gilmore is when he finally suits up for the Panthers before I make final judgements on this transaction.
4. I read some time ago that Bill "likes" this team. Likes coaching them. Likes they way they work. Often times you only get to know a team is how they react through adversity. Well this team has seen its share of "adversity" in the first month of the season. They have lost 2 very frustrating close games mostly because they made very untypical mistakes, and then they fell behind by 2 scores to one of the worst teams in the league on the road. That's adversity. Well they came back from that adversity to WIN that game, ugly as it might have looked. I'm sure Bill likes them even more now. And like Bill, I think this will be a much better team as time goes on.
This is year 2 of Bill's third "rebuild" of this team. If it is to be as successful as the first 2 we will need to see progress. Be close to .500 as the season reaches the half way mark, and then be a "good team" the rest of the way.
OK lets put this to bed (literally) I await your comments.
Side note- I haven't been around much the last two weeks. I stayed away the entire Bucs week, simply because I didn't have the heart to hear the same crap I've heard here and in the media for the 3 months leading up to the game. So much unnecessary drama played over and over again. While pleased with the effort, I didn't like the 4th down call at the end of the game, mostly because even if Folk made that very difficult kick Brady STILL would have had over 50 seconds to go 40 odd yds to put HIS team into position to win the game. I was also pissed about the Gilmore trade, but more on that later. Lets get back to TODAY's game.
General offensive thoughts
a. I don't think I ever heard of a team that was going into the following week with FOUR new OLmen. 2 would generally be considered a catastrophe, so I don't know what 4 would be described as. So even though the Texans are among the worst teams in the league, they still suited up 46 NFL players AT HOME, so I thought, (as most probably did) that the OL did yeoman work in creating enough running room that as a team they averaged 4.2 ypc, and protected Mac Jones to the tune of 1 sack and only 4 QB hits.
Now the OL has taken a LOT of hits the first 4 weeks of the season, including the coaching staff. Well after watching the job these 4 back ups did, after only one week of practice together, I would have to say the coaching staff should take a bow for a job well done, and the player should take 2 bows for their effort.
If I had one major complaint, it would be that I would FINALLY like to see the screen game become more productive. WAY too often we have seen one LB after another slip through the screen and blow up the play for little or no gain. I know the new rules make it more difficult for OLmen to block, but I see other teams making hay from this play. I'd REALLY like us to finally join the party.
As we enter the 2nd quarter of the season, the offense is still a work in progress. And I think progress is being made.
b. QB- Jones looks like he is starting to find some connection with his receivers. He still continues to go through is progressions well. Good touch on his passes. But what stood out to me in this game was his quickness within the pocket and his ability to move outside it as well. I have long opined that although he isn't an uber athlete, Mac Jones is a very good one. I'm hoping that the longer he plays, the more he will feel comfortable to use his athleticism to escape the pocket when necessary. This comfort has been slow in coming, but the more we see it, the fewer hits he's going to take.
Also it looks like he's more willing to throw the ball downfield. I don't know the exact number but IIRC there were at least 4 receptions of over 20 yds today and he might have gotten his first 300 yd game if not for the rare Myers drop. But I see bigger numbers coming as his comfort level grows with his receivers.
c. OL - It only took 3 years, but we can finally say that YCajuste really is an NFL caliber OT, now how GOOD an NFL caliber OT he is, is still a question that remains to be seen. To the naked eye, I can only recall twice where I thought he lost his battle with the DE, and neither time resulted in a QB hit. One early in the game where his great 2nd effort and Mac's stepping up allowed him to recover and push him past the QB.
The only sack came on a play action pass where the G pulls to further look like a run, and is charged to pick up the opposite DE. unfortunately the Texan DE (Greenard) came blasting across and blew up the play, and the G (Karras I think) really didn't have a chance.
I'm not sure what's going to happen next week with the OL. We know Brown is out until game 7 at best. I read where Mason could be back next week, and you'd like to think Wynn, and Owenu would be back as well, but who knows.
d. RB's - I really like Harris as a RB, despite the fumble. I hope that whatever his injury is, it isn't long term, though my instinct says we won't be seeing him on the field next week. Now after getting his feet wet this week, Stephenson is likely to be the lead back next week against the Cowboys, assuming he can be trusted to pass block. Also a JJ Taylor sighting could be in the offing. And of course all of us who called for Brandon Bolden's retirement (I think I led the charge on this one). we FINALLY understand just why Bill loves him, and we are really lucky he's on this team.
e. TE's - We heard that Hunter Henry and Mac Jones are neighbors and carpool together, and I am hoping they could get JSmith to move closer to these guys. Clearly Mack and Hunter are gaining a feel for each other, while JSmith still seems to be finding his niche. Still Like I said, a work in progress.
My appreciation of Gronk only grows when I compare his blocking skills against our 2 TE's. Both Henry and Smith are willing blockers who show great effort, but neither guy is someone who can actually MOVE a defensive lineman or LB, What Gronk was able to accomplish was really so rare, and we all came to take it for granted until it was gone.
f. WR's - clearly still not where we'd like it to be. Bourne again showed flashes of the explosiveness he possesses, and we'd all like to see Agular get more chances at deeper balls, but he certainly has shown his hands are consistent. Meyers has been very consistent and Harry is.....well I don't know what he is, since he isn't getting many targets to find out. Here's my beef with Josh. With big tragets like Henry, Smith, and Harry on the field, WHY aren't we throwing the ball into the endzone more when we are in the red zone. What did we have 5 or 6 times in the red zone today, and I only recall ONE pass actually going into the endzone, and THAT was the TD to Henry. Given all the problems we are having in the redzone, you'd think that we'd take more shots. Given how accurate Mac is, you'd think Josh would give him more chances to hit those big guys on one on one balls. We really need to start to open up more.
2. General defensive thoughts - FLAT would seem to be the go to description of the defense today They didn't play awfully, but always seemed a foot too short and just not making "plays" to get off the field. Allowing the Texans to make so many 3rd AND 4th downs was so frustrating to see. I'm sure that this fact will drilled hard this week. Dallas has one of the more dynamic offenses in the league, so being able to get off the field when you have a team 3rd and long will be critical. They HAVE to get the that number under 50% though under 40% will probably be necessary to win the game next week.. And I probably speak for everyone when I say, if I see one more slant pass converted into a first down, I will go nuts. It's so easy to take away that pass just by alignment, Granted it will make it easier for the opposition to throw side line passes, but so WHAT. A sideline pass is much more difficult to throw than a slant, which could be the easiest pass a QB can when a DB is aligned outside. MAKE them throw the harder pass. And that's all I have to say about that!
a. Front 7 - I have to admit I was kind of surprised when I checked the stats and found out the Texans only ran the ball for a 2.6 ypc average. While I was watching the game is seem a lot worse than that. But it is what it is and clearly you have to tip your cap to the front seven for a job well done. This wasn't as good an OL or RB's as they will face next week, but 2.6 ypc is a great number against ANYONE.
If you look at the 2 sacks that Judon got, you seen the intelligence of the man. In neither of those 2 plays did you see Matt blow by an OLman, or put a spectacular mover on a defender. In the first he simply stayed and wasn't fooled by the bootleg, and the second he sort of just slip slided into the backfield and wound up with the sack. I like the way he plays. On the opposite end of the scale was the complete disappearance of Josh Uche. He was no where to be found of the defensive stat sheet, so I wondered if he was on the inactive list, but no, he dressed. I will be interested in seeing the snap count results later in the week. Uche has by FAR been my most disappointing player of the years so far.
b. Secondary- They gave up too many long plays this game. Too many 3rd and 4th down conversions. This is NOT going to be the film that JC Jackson is going to be circulating to other teams as he enters FA. Some guy off the PS made him look bad too often. Even Devon McCourty will be wincing when they see the film of him overrunning the play that turned into a 65 yd TD. Being the secondary that allowed Davis Mills to record his first 300 yd game isn't something to be proud of. It will need to be MUCH better next week.
ST's. Well they only punted once, but covered KO's very well. I'm guessing the plan was to allow the Texans to run at least some of them back. Gunner was OK I guess in his KO's and Punt returns. Nothing special, nothing bad this week. It's confession time again. I have to admit I was one of those guys HOPING that the kid would knock him out of the FG kicking job, but that being said, I understood that he was a very solid guy from the 45 in. Well I think he now has 3 or 4 plus 50 yd kicks, and both the ones he hit today would have been good from 6 yds deeper. I never knew Folk had that kind of leg. He has been the Pats best if not the most important offensive player so far. Simple as that,
3. On the Gilmore trade. I don't bet on football games, though I joined a pool to pick 5 games each week. Its fun. But while I know a lot about football, I know enough that trying to pick games against the spread is a fools errand. Though I was 4-1 this week.
But I DID make one football bet this year. I bet a poker friend that Gilmore would be on the Pats in week 7, I thought it was the easiest $100 I would make all year, Well like everyone else I was very surprised how it all ended, and I was trying to figure out just WTF happened. It was my belief that Gilmore wanted to be here, and the Pats wanted him here, for this year at least. In the end it all came down to this conflict. The Pats wanted to see what he looked like when he came off the PUP. They weren't going to pay him more money until they were convinced he was healthy. Clearly the Gilmore camp wasn't cool with that position, though I don't understand why it was such a big deal. The Pats had dealt with Gilmore more than fairly over the years he was here.
There had been a lot of rumors that Gilmore had been healthy all along and this was a "hold in". However he is STILL on PUP with Carolina, and hasn't been practicing with then as yet. So I don't think those rumors are true. I think the truth of the matter is that Gilmore is coming off a very serious injury, coming off a year where there was clear signs of a slippage BEFORE the injury. The very lack of a large number of teams who could have used even a Gilmore-lite CB to inquire about a trade is telling. So yes I am disappointed the Gilmore won't be playing for the Pats this year, and yes I am going to miss that $100, and yes I am disappointed tjat we only got a 6th for him. But I'm going to wait and see what kind of player Stephon Gilmore is when he finally suits up for the Panthers before I make final judgements on this transaction.
4. I read some time ago that Bill "likes" this team. Likes coaching them. Likes they way they work. Often times you only get to know a team is how they react through adversity. Well this team has seen its share of "adversity" in the first month of the season. They have lost 2 very frustrating close games mostly because they made very untypical mistakes, and then they fell behind by 2 scores to one of the worst teams in the league on the road. That's adversity. Well they came back from that adversity to WIN that game, ugly as it might have looked. I'm sure Bill likes them even more now. And like Bill, I think this will be a much better team as time goes on.
This is year 2 of Bill's third "rebuild" of this team. If it is to be as successful as the first 2 we will need to see progress. Be close to .500 as the season reaches the half way mark, and then be a "good team" the rest of the way.
OK lets put this to bed (literally) I await your comments.
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