Idle Thoughts - the "Christmas comes early" edition

[patfanken]

Boy the title for this post came really easy this week. The Pats made 3 unforced turnovers, gave the Ravens anywhere between 17-21 points, plus all the momentum in the world, and STILL wound up with a 7 point lead, and the ball on the Ravens 20, first and 10 when the clock hit 0.00. This is a team that has been questioned all season, and keeps on winning DESPITE not following the script that a lot of successful Pats teams have followed in the past. That being, creating lots of turnovers (and they haven't), not turning the ball over (and up to this game they were the best in the league), and Tons of sacks (now tied with a bunch of teams with 28, ten behind the Broncos)

This team is just winning DESPITE not following the "script" but being THAT good all around that they can play a choppy game on offense and STILL put up 30 on the #1 defense in the league after giving away one TD and, as I said, finish the game again inside the opponents 20. So lets get started on the break down

Offense:

1. OL - All I heard all week was how tough the Ravens pass rush is going to be now that everyone was healthy, well they got one coverage sack on a blitz by Weddle and are now just one ahead of your "hapless" NE Patriots. I guess perception is everything in sports media these days.

Meanwhile Brady had plenty of time for most of his 38 drop backs and if he was more willing to look to his RB's instead of locking on Edelman he would have had a few more completions. But where the OL REALLY shown was rushing the ball over 90 yds and 4ypc against the best rushing D in the league INCLUDING 2 rushing first downs to close out the game when the Ravens knew it was coming.

On the negative side there were 3 holding calls even if some WERE questionable, that have to be cleared up since they all were drive killers. But once again the OL has proven that they have long since ceased to be one of the "questions" they need to be answered. It's December now and they might not have the rep of a Dallas or Oakland OL, but they have very quietly become one of the most consistent groups in the league. I'd be interested in seeing what PFF or Football outsiders say.

2. RB's I would have liked to see Dion Lewis get 2 or 3 more runs, but Blount ran very well and got the most of what was there, and his effective running is what made the play action pass game VERY productive this game. James White was once again very effective in the passing game. In fact I think he and Lewis should have been used more, he even had a decent 5 yd run. But Josh PLEASE do not give him the ball 1st and goal on the 3. OK? Not when you have Lewis to put in the same situation.

3. Receivers - I didn't think Julian had nearly the number of "drops" Sean McDonough tried to attribute to him. Brady, for some reason was again trying to force the ball into him when he was being well covered. So IMHO, Julian had a decent game.

Hogan had some explosive plays even before the long TD. And Mitchell looks as smooth as glass on every ball that is thrown to him (which I wish was more often). He didn't just catch that TD pass, he SNATCHED it. On this team, only Gronk catches the ball that way. It is a beautiful thing to behold. He will only get better.

FINALLY some Marty ball. Good for him. It is very clear to me that the team is really managing his reps and targets due to his injuries. Tonight he made the most of them. I'd try to get him through the Denver game, and then shut him down for the last 2 game to get him as healthy as he can be for the playoffs We will need him for those games.

4. QB- Brady started slowly but was good when he had to be. We are getting spoiled when a 65% completion rate seems low for him. The Pats had a good 50% completion rate on 3rd down, and it might have been better without the 3 holding calls. He once again locked on to Julian too much and missed some open RB's And the pick on the GL was probably his worst play of the year. But this commentary only goes to show how spoiled we've become to criticize a guy who threw for over 400 yds and 3 TDs against the "best defense in the league"

Defense

5. So maybe this defense ISN'T this team's fatal flaw in real life When the only 2 TDs you give up start their drives from the 2 yd line and 21 yd line respectively you aren't playing bad defense. Felger is going to have think about starting a new narrative to feed his followers after this week. Cyrus Jones is an easy target, so it will likely be him.

6. Kudos to Matty P for a brilliant scheme this week. He put pressure on Flacco all night without having to rush more than 4 ninety percent of the time and often just 3. He constantly forced Flacco to go to his check downs most of the night well before he actually had to. I look for more of the same type of thing to confront to Trevor Simeon next week.

7. Front 7- Really good work vs the run though I thought Dixon made a few too many yds after contact late in the game (He's a nice looking RB IMHO) But for the most part there was very little there for the Raven running game. McClellin was in on 10 tackles and had his best game as a Patriot. Van Noy was OK, but blew one RB coverage tackle by getting out there late I recall, so that's all he gets is an OK (nice deflection though). Also some nice work in coverage by the DE's today who when "jump ball joe" went to his check downs he was throwing to covered receivers ready to be tackled for short gains. Hightower was again very solid in both coverage and run game, but sorry, I want a bit more from a guy who wants to be one of my top 5 cap guys next season.

BTW- I was led to beleive that only athletic freaks like Jamie Collins could jump over 2 lines and block FG's. Was I being misled?

8. DB's left very little open space for Flacco to throw to and 3 long balls he hit were more about the beautiful throws and fine catches than anything our DB's did wrong. I think he had 3 throws that acounted for about half his passing yds. One was a perfect throw on the sideline against great coverage. One was that great fly-stop route Smith ran and Flacco threw perfectly. And the last one to Perryman when Harmon (I think) got there a half second to late, and Jones didn't get back on. Over all another pretty good game by the DB's . (though clearly there was a blown coverage on the RB TD at the end) It happens and will certianly be a teaching point from BB

I do have to admit my heart kind of stopped when Malcolm went down. He really is an irreplaceable piece for us. After a bit it looked to me like he just got the wind knocked out of him, so I could start breathing again.

And I would be VERY remiss if I didn't mention if Patrich Chung isn't getting any Pro Bowl consideration, he really should be. He hasn't just been good this season. He's been GREAT, and its time people started talking about him more. Are you HEARING me, mediots'

9. ST-, well we certainly saw the yin and yang of it tonight. The great kick by Allen and play by JJones to set up the safety and to 2 consecutive plays by CJones and Slater that gifted 14 points to the Ravens.

10 You can rant and rave all you want about Cyrus Jones. Just remember that Edelman has had NINETEEN fumbles in his Pats career, including 6 in 2013 or the 103 fumbles in Tom Brady's career, including the 12 he had in 2001 (to go along with the 11 he had in 2002 and 13 in 2003) This isn't by any means excusing his blunders, but just to remind you not every Pats player gets off to a smooth start in his Pats career in this area

. In his presser Deven McCourty noted his own struggles in his 2nd year when a lot of people wrote him off as a first round bust. He also noted that when this kind of crap happens you have 2 choices. Go into the tank, or fight your way out of it. He thinks Jones is a fighter. But go ahead, feel free to scapegoat him, if it makes you feel better. :rollleyes:

11. General thoughts:

a. Zack Orr is a REALLY good looking LB. I don't know much about him or even where he came from, but count me among those who were REALLY impressed with this kid's play. He's a good one.

b. I hate Steve Smith for the irritating punk he is, but he can play on my team anytime. He's like Brad Marchand in that regard if you know anthing about the Bruins. Hate him as I may, I love to watch the man compete.

c. On a different vein, that ugly snaggle toothed, big mouthed bastard, Terrell Suggs can take his one assisted tackle, and one QB hit and go f*ck himself all the way back to Baltimore and tell someone THERE that he's still an impact player. He had ZERO impact on this game and he got all together too much face time on this TV show.

d. On the surface the officiating seemed quite even both in numbers and yards in this game, but Hoculi's crew royally screwed the Pats a couple of times. First there was the quick whistle that cost the Pats a turnover on Flower's sack. Then there was the phantom touch on McCourty's pick that cost us over 30yds. Those were the worst of the bad calls. 2 of the holds were very iffy, and on Hogan's flea flicker catch, the only reason that play wasn't a TD was that he was brutally held as he went past his defender which slowed him down enought that he could get back in the play to make a shoe string tackle.

But I can forgive ALL of that simply because they didn't throw any of those 40 yd PI's I was deathly afraid of during this game. I can live with the other crap, but not those.

e. I didn't watch is single minute of NFL football on Sunday and I have to say I really didn't miss it. Remember I lived and breathed football for most of my life from HS on. (That's over 55 years if you are keeping score at home) I was a rabid fan before rabid was even a word used to define fans, as opposed to sick dogs. Now every week the NFL gives me another reason disregard and disconnect from it.

The deflategate II saga is JUST as stupid as the first one was, and only points out to even more casual observers just how INJUST the Pats "punishment" really was. By all rights it really should disappear, just like the first one should have, EXCEPT that I see it as a way to further expose Goodell and his corrupt regime, as Sally Jenkins did so well in here WP article.

But we live in an age where "successful" lying or deflecting is an acceptable political strategy, and even when you have it on tape, you can deny ever saying it and have a LOT of people believe you. So simply just exposing it once like Jenkins did, and letting it go, isn't going to work.

Just because some fans (and Felger) are just tired of talking about it, doesn't mean you just let them get away with it......again. We need the mediots to keep Goodell's feet to the fire, and ask him why he is handling this case so differently than with Pats. Why was PSI such a critical matter to the very" integrity of the game in 2014", and you couldn't care less about it in 2016? Believe it or not, there are some mediots who react to what we feel. We need to make them know we still feel the pain.

The @Joker will never let it die, and neither will I. Wrong is Wrong, and when honest men turn their backs on it simply because it's inconvenient or hard, then Tyranny wins. It's as simple as that.

f. So in the end, I couldn't give a crap about who wins this division or that seed. Just let me enjoy these last 3 games, end the season in reasonable health, and tell me the 3 teams we have to go through to win the Lombardi. The other 31 teams only have meaning for me when they become an opponent of my team....and THEN they will have my undivided interest....for a week.

OK the bell just struck 3am, and its a good thing I'm retired. I'm sorry most of you have to go to work tomorrow, but try to find some time to give this a read and add your comments and observations.

 

[ausbacker]

Is @Jocker @Joker's well-hung, womanising twin brother?

 

[patfanken]

Is @Jocker @Joker's well-hung, womanising twin brother?

Thanks, I'll make the change before he notices. I know that he HATES his brother. It's, of course, as you noted, a penis envy thing.

 

[JayNM]

-Edelman is not playing his best game for awhile now. He is 31 years old. Maybe it's time to look for a replacement.

-Chung has been worse this year than last year, but he has improved the last few games (I thought he deserved ProBowl last year)

- The brilliance of this defense is simple, in theory: Every player can do everything. Ryan has been blitzing. Chris Long has been dropping to coverage. It's a Carousel Defense, every one up and down the field, orderly chaotic.

-McCourty was clearly touched by the WR. His middle finger touched his hand. DBC was the correct call.

 

[luuked]

But Josh PLEASE do not give him the ball 1st and goal on the 3. OK? Not when you have Lewis to put in the same situation.

I rewatched some scenes on gamepass and just wanna add that the reason White got the ball here was because we were in no huddle after the Hogan catch on third down to catch the Ravens without their goalline defense.

Personally I have never seen the reason why we continue to do this hurry-up running play because it feels like it works pretty rarely but obviously I don't have any stats on it.

I didn't think Julian had nearly the number of "drops" Sean McDonough tried to attribute to him. Brady, for some reason was again trying to force the ball into him when he was being well covered. So IMHO, Julian had a decent game.

I agree. For some reason in the eyes of fans and the media everything has become a drop now. I vividly remember Jules catching one of those chain-moving slants where the ball is placed close to the ground only for the opponent coincidentally kicking the ball out of Edelman's hands with his knee.

Like you said it also doesn't help that Brady often falls back on just going to Edelman no matter what.

I'd try to get him through the Denver game, and then shut him down for the last 2 game to get him as healthy as he can be for the playoffs We will need him for those games.

Playing devil's advocate here and am wondering since it's a short week that includes a long plane ride to Denver and play in altitude whether the coaching staff might not give him a break this week. Most likely it will not happen and he will tough it out but given the circumstances I'd consider it. I doubt that he will make or break the game in Denver anyway.

5. So maybe this defense ISN'T this team's fatal flaw in real life When the only 2 TDs you give up start their drives from the 2 yd line and 21 yd line respectively you aren't playing bad defense. Felger is going to have think about starting a new narrative to feed his followers after this week. Cyrus Jones is an easy target, so it will likely be him.

The defense is trending into the right direction at the right time. Communication issues are still there (e.g. walk-in TD for the RB after the Slater fumble) but compare to the first part of the season are pretty rare. This opens up the defensive playbook for Patricia to do more complex stuff with the front seven and the Ravens just couldn't handle it.

Kudos to Matty P for a brilliant scheme this week. He put pressure on Flacco all night without having to rush more than 4 ninety percent of the time and often just 3. He constantly forced Flacco to go to his check downs most of the night well before he actually had to. I look for more of the same type of thing to confront to Trevor Simeon next week.

Like many have said, despite the scoreline and a shutout against the Texans.. this might have been the best defensive performance of the year. It doesn't happen often but I really wanna highlight Long's play yesterday. He didn't do anything flashy but did _exactly_ what he was asked to do and was not a big liability even though he dropped back into coverage quite a few times. He is the argument for reliability over ability right there. Players like him are what makes defensive schemes work because they do their job.

8. DB's left very little open space for Flacco to throw to and 3 long balls he hit were more about the beautiful throws and fine catches than anything our DB's did wrong. I think he had 3 throws that acounted for about half his passing yds. One was a perfect throw on the sideline against great coverage. One was that great fly-stop route Smith ran and Flacco threw perfectly. And the last one to Perryman when Harmon (I think) got there a half second to late, and Jones didn't get back on. Over all another pretty good game by the DB's . (though clearly there was a blown coverage on the RB TD at the end) It happens and will certianly be a teaching point from BB

What I would like to add that this was a game that showcased how important DMac is for this defense. How many deep/intermediate shots have you seen Mr. DPI throw last evening ? That's because he respects the **** out of DMac's range and coverage ability. But the usual suspects that have no clue how to rate a safety will most probably be disappointed because apart from the INT he didn't make "any plays"


Finally, let me just take a moment to give a big middle finger to ****ing John Harbaugh. **** you and your ******* staff. I had enough of his whiny, hypocritical behaviour especially after listening to Curran's quick slants podcast last week and hearing for the first time that their sideline was flipping off our coaching staff consistently during the playoff game.

The only way this game could have ended even better is if we had Brady hold the ball at the end and committed all across holding penalties on their defense in the same vein as the Ravens did against the Bengals. But I am satisfied with the middlefinger that was the flea flicker.

 

[luuked]

McCourty was clearly touched by the WR. His middle finger touched his hand. DBC was the correct call.

By that logic Denver should have won the game against the Chiefs. When DMac was graced he still didn't have full control of the ball and completed the process of the catch only 1-2 steps later.

 

[Gwedd]

Those folks who complain about Cyrus Jones must have very short memories.

I remember a whole slew of rookies with fumble problems, some of whom cost us games while others just cost us points. Faulk, Pass, Redmond, etc. Even Edelman had some.

Give the rookie some time. He has excellent potential. maybe just pull him for a few games from ST and let him play defense to better learn the system and get his confidence back.

 

[PF_SU]

And the last one to Perryman when Harmon (I think) got there a half second to late, and Jones didn't get back on.

It was Patrick Chung who got there a bit late.

Ken, are you sure about those Tom Brady fumbling statistics? 103 career fumbles seems to be an awfully high number. Like, insanely high.

It is correct. Pro-Football-Reference even has 104. Brady had 36 fumbles his first three years. Don't forget that mishandling a snap is a fumble too. It's not uncommon for QBs to have a high number of fumbles. Aaron Rodgers for example has 70 career fumbles in basically nine seasons. Roethlisberger has 87. Brees 95.

 

[supafly]

Those folks who complain about Cyrus Jones must have very short memories.

I remember a whole slew of rookies with fumble problems, some of whom cost us games while others just cost us points. Faulk, Pass, Redmond, etc. Even Edelman had some.

Give the rookie some time. He has excellent potential. maybe just pull him for a few games from ST and let him play defense to better learn the system and get his confidence back.

The concern is that no player has ever fumbled so often with such a low amount of touches. He's only touched the ball 18 times on the season and he's currently got 5 fumbles. That's completely insane.

Also, some are surprised that guys who actually produced as a rookie like Ridley weren't even given the opportunity to fumble that many times, so it's odd that a guy who hasn't produced and touched the ball significantly less would even be in this situation.

 

[PScottman]

Just remember that Edelman has had NINETEEN fumbles in his Pats career, including 6 in 2013 or the 103 fumbles in Tom Brady's career, including the 12 he had in 2001 (to go along with the 11 he had in 2002 and 13 in 2003)

For anyone wanting to run this kid out of town I have one name that's already been referenced: Kevin Faulk. It's an almost identical story line - great athlete, smart, and coachable - but just couldn't hang on to the ball in any pressure situation...and goes on to have an excellent New England career. Fumbles can be fixed in most every player. Jones will get another full offseason and all it usually takes is him breaking one and that confidence will be the biggest improvement.

 

[supafly]

It is correct. Pro-Football-Reference even has 104. Brady had 36 fumbles his first three years. Don't forget that mishandling a snap is a fumble too. It's not uncommon for QBs to have a high number of fumbles. Aaron Rodgers for example has 70 career fumbles in basically nine seasons. Roethlisberger has 87. Brees 95.

Thanks, man. I don't know why NFL.com would separate 2 different categories for fumbles, but yeah--27 came during actual rushing attempts, so that's about a quarter. The other 77 were either via strip sack or bobbled snaps.

104 seemed fairly high to me. I edited my post accordingly.

 

[Joker]

Tunescribe deserves all the credit for the win tonight. I asked him if I should wear the #12 Brady hat and he said "no!" emphatically, so I went with the old school toke and hoodie....the result speaks for itself.

I want to thank Granpa Ken for so eloquently delineating what I certa1inly have long since become incapable of doing. Go to the Jets game, Ken. I'm buying pre-game dinner at Davio's. Meet the legend himself, Tunescribe and his sidekick, Quasimodo-ker.

 

[mihap]

Boy the title for this post came really easy this week. The Pats made 3 unforced turnovers, gave the Ravens anywhere between 17-21 points, plus all the momentum in the world, and STILL wound up with a 7 point lead, and the ball on the Ravens 20, first and 10 when the clock hit 0.00. This is a team that has been questioned all season, and keeps on winning DESPITE not following the script that a lot of successful Pats teams have followed in the past. That being, creating lots of turnovers (and they haven't), not turning the ball over (and up to this game they were the best in the league), and Tons of sacks (now tied with a bunch of teams with 28, ten behind the Broncos)

This team is just winning DESPITE not following the "script" but being THAT good all around that they can play a choppy game on offense and STILL put up 30 on the #1 defense in the league after giving away one TD and, as I said, finish the game again inside the opponents 20. So lets get started on the break down

Offense:

1. OL - All I heard all week was how tough the Ravens pass rush is going to be now that everyone was healthy, well they got one coverage sack on a blitz by Weddle and are now just one ahead of your "hapless" NE Patriots. I guess perception is everything in sports media these days.

Meanwhile Brady had plenty of time for most of his 38 drop backs and if he was more willing to look to his RB's instead of locking on Edelman he would have had a few more completions. But where the OL REALLY shown was rushing the ball over 90 yds and 4ypc against the best rushing D in the league INCLUDING 2 rushing first downs to close out the game when the Ravens knew it was coming.

On the negative side there were 3 holding calls even if some WERE questionable, that have to be cleared up since they all were drive killers. But once again the OL has proven that they have long since ceased to be one of the "questions" they need to be answered. It's December now and they might not have the rep of a Dallas or Oakland OL, but they have very quietly become one of the most consistent groups in the league. I'd be interested in seeing what PFF or Football outsiders say.

2. RB's I would have liked to see Dion Lewis get 2 or 3 more runs, but Blount ran very well and got the most of what was there, and his effective running is what made the play action pass game VERY productive this game. James White was once again very effective in the passing game. In fact I think he and Lewis should have been used more, he even had a decent 5 yd run. But Josh PLEASE do not give him the ball 1st and goal on the 3. OK? Not when you have Lewis to put in the same situation.

3. Receivers - I didn't think Julian had nearly the number of "drops" Sean McDonough tried to attribute to him. Brady, for some reason was again trying to force the ball into him when he was being well covered. So IMHO, Julian had a decent game.

Hogan had some explosive plays even before the long TD. And Mitchell looks as smooth as glass on every ball that is thrown to him (which I wish was more often). He didn't just catch that TD pass, he SNATCHED it. On this team, only Gronk catches the ball that way. It is a beautiful thing to behold. He will only get better.

FINALLY some Marty ball. Good for him. It is very clear to me that the team is really managing his reps and targets due to his injuries. Tonight he made the most of them. I'd try to get him through the Denver game, and then shut him down for the last 2 game to get him as healthy as he can be for the playoffs We will need him for those games.

4. QB- Brady started slowly but was good when he had to be. We are getting spoiled when a 65% completion rate seems low for him. The Pats had a good 50% completion rate on 3rd down, and it might have been better without the 3 holding calls. He once again locked on to Julian too much and missed some open RB's And the pick on the GL was probably his worst play of the year. But this commentary only goes to show how spoiled we've become to criticize a guy who threw for over 400 yds and 3 TDs against the "best defense in the league"

Defense

5. So maybe this defense ISN'T this team's fatal flaw in real life When the only 2 TDs you give up start their drives from the 2 yd line and 21 yd line respectively you aren't playing bad defense. Felger is going to have think about starting a new narrative to feed his followers after this week. Cyrus Jones is an easy target, so it will likely be him.

6. Kudos to Matty P for a brilliant scheme this week. He put pressure on Flacco all night without having to rush more than 4 ninety percent of the time and often just 3. He constantly forced Flacco to go to his check downs most of the night well before he actually had to. I look for more of the same type of thing to confront to Trevor Simeon next week.

7. Front 7- Really good work vs the run though I thought Dixon made a few too many yds after contact late in the game (He's a nice looking RB IMHO) But for the most part there was very little there for the Raven running game. McClellin was in on 10 tackles and had his best game as a Patriot. Van Noy was OK, but blew one RB coverage tackle by getting out there late I recall, so that's all he gets is an OK (nice deflection though). Also some nice work in coverage by the DE's today who when "jump ball joe" went to his check downs he was throwing to covered receivers ready to be tackled for short gains. Hightower was again very solid in both coverage and run game, but sorry, I want a bit more from a guy who wants to be one of my top 5 cap guys next season.

BTW- I was led to beleive that only athletic freaks like Jamie Collins could jump over 2 lines and block FG's. Was I being misled?

8. DB's left very little open space for Flacco to throw to and 3 long balls he hit were more about the beautiful throws and fine catches than anything our DB's did wrong. I think he had 3 throws that acounted for about half his passing yds. One was a perfect throw on the sideline against great coverage. One was that great fly-stop route Smith ran and Flacco threw perfectly. And the last one to Perryman when Harmon (I think) got there a half second to late, and Jones didn't get back on. Over all another pretty good game by the DB's . (though clearly there was a blown coverage on the RB TD at the end) It happens and will certianly be a teaching point from BB

I do have to admit my heart kind of stopped when Malcolm went down. He really is an irreplaceable piece for us. After a bit it looked to me like he just got the wind knocked out of him, so I could start breathing again.

And I would be VERY remiss if I didn't mention if Patrich Chung isn't getting any Pro Bowl consideration, he really should be. He hasn't just been good this season. He's been GREAT, and its time people started talking about him more. Are you HEARING me, mediots'

9. ST-, well we certainly saw the yin and yang of it tonight. The great kick by Allen and play by JJones to set up the safety and to 2 consecutive plays by CJones and Slater that gifted 14 points to the Ravens.

10 You can rant and rave all you want about Cyrus Jones. Just remember that Edelman has had NINETEEN fumbles in his Pats career, including 6 in 2013 or the 103 fumbles in Tom Brady's career, including the 12 he had in 2001 (to go along with the 11 he had in 2002 and 13 in 2003) This isn't by any means excusing his blunders, but just to remind you not every Pats player gets off to a smooth start in his Pats career in this area

. In his presser Deven McCourty noted his own struggles in his 2nd year when a lot of people wrote him off as a first round bust. He also noted that when this kind of crap happens you have 2 choices. Go into the tank, or fight your way out of it. He thinks Jones is a fighter. But go ahead, feel free to scapegoat him, if it makes you feel better. :rollleyes:

11. General thoughts:

a. Zack Orr is a REALLY good looking LB. I don't know much about him or even where he came from, but count me among those who were REALLY impressed with this kid's play. He's a good one.

b. I hate Steve Smith for the irritating punk he is, but he can play on my team anytime. He's like Brad Marchand in that regard if you know anthing about the Bruins. Hate him as I may, I love to watch the man compete.

c. On a different vein, that ugly snaggle toothed, big mouthed bastard, Terrell Suggs can take his one assisted tackle, and one QB hit and go f*ck himself all the way back to Baltimore and tell someone THERE that he's still an impact player. He had ZERO impact on this game and he got all together too much face time on this TV show.

d. On the surface the officiating seemed quite even both in numbers and yards in this game, but Hoculi's crew royally screwed the Pats a couple of times. First there was the quick whistle that cost the Pats a turnover on Flower's sack. Then there was the phantom touch on McCourty's pick that cost us over 30yds. Those were the worst of the bad calls. 2 of the holds were very iffy, and on Hogan's flea flicker catch, the only reason that play wasn't a TD was that he was brutally held as he went past his defender which slowed him down enought that he could get back in the play to make a shoe string tackle.

But I can forgive ALL of that simply because they didn't throw any of those 40 yd PI's I was deathly afraid of during this game. I can live with the other crap, but not those.

e. I didn't watch is single minute of NFL football on Sunday and I have to say I really didn't miss it. Remember I lived and breathed football for most of my life from HS on. (That's over 55 years if you are keeping score at home) I was a rabid fan before rabid was even a word used to define fans, as opposed to sick dogs. Now every week the NFL gives me another reason disregard and disconnect from it.

The deflategate II saga is JUST as stupid as the first one was, and only points out to even more casual observers just how INJUST the Pats "punishment" really was. By all rights it really should disappear, just like the first one should have, EXCEPT that I see it as a way to further expose Goodell and his corrupt regime, as Sally Jenkins did so well in here WP article.

But we live in an age where "successful" lying or deflecting is an acceptable political strategy, and even when you have it on tape, you can deny ever saying it and have a LOT of people believe you. So simply just exposing it once like Jenkins did, and letting it go, isn't going to work.

Just because some fans (and Felger) are just tired of talking about it, doesn't mean you just let them get away with it......again. We need the mediots to keep Goodell's feet to the fire, and ask him why he is handling this case so differently than with Pats. Why was PSI such a critical matter to the very" integrity of the game in 2014", and you couldn't care less about it in 2016? Believe it or not, there are some mediots who react to what we feel. We need to make them know we still feel the pain.

The @Joker will never let it die, and neither will I. Wrong is Wrong, and when honest men turn their backs on it simply because it's inconvenient or hard, then Tyranny wins. It's as simple as that.

f. So in the end, I couldn't give a crap about who wins this division or that seed. Just let me enjoy these last 3 games, end the season in reasonable health, and tell me the 3 teams we have to go through to win the Lombardi. The other 31 teams only have meaning for me when they become an opponent of my team....and THEN they will have my undivided interest....for a week.

OK the bell just struck 3am, and its a good thing I'm retired. I'm sorry most of you have to go to work tomorrow, but try to find some time to give this a read and add your comments and observations.

1 I was worried about this Oline and run game, not Ravens pass rush but Oline doing zero yards against Ravens run D. So i thought it will be Brady passing and Blount 5 attempts with 2 yards. ButBlount rushing on that Ravens D. Very very happy about Oline. Andrews was solid others were awesome.

8 It was Chung on Perryman, not Harmon. Harmon would picked him like he always do. Hope Harmon stays. Nobody talks about him.

10 Cyrus Jones has mental issues. He tries to prove himself, but make mistakes. We ll see how he ll play next season. I dont want him to play in playoffs. To risky.

11a Zach Orr. Very good.

11d Actually very good officiating consider it was Houchli.

11e Integrity is when you sanction player who is threatening that he ll beat other player. But we wont see this. Like report from NFL last year PSI measurements.

No praise for Marcus Cannon. Looking forward to see Cannon vs Von Miller. And if he shuts him down i would like to see posts from those who wanted to cut him in preseason that he is good.

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

It was Patrick Chung who got there a bit late.


It is correct. Pro-Football-Reference even has 104. Brady had 36 fumbles his first three years. Don't forget that mishandling a snap is a fumble too. It's not uncommon for QBs to have a high number of fumbles. Aaron Rodgers for example has 70 career fumbles in basically nine seasons. Roethlisberger has 87. Brees 95.

Brady 104? Cut him now

 

[goheels22002]

Good work as always, Ken.

The fumble issue is real with Cyrus Jones. The poor guy has fumbled on 28% of his touches this year. The primary job of a return man is to catch and hold onto the ball.

Comparing that to Brady's fumbles is entirely off point. QBs get strip-sacked every game. If Brady fumbled on 28% of his touches....

 

[Nikolai]

I'm not giving up on Cyrus Jones, but I'm also not convinced more reps this season are going to help him. But I'm just a dude watching on my couch, so....

As for Lewis, I would like to have seen more touches, but I think his reps are being strictly managed to make sure he's around for the playoff run.

 

[DarrylS]

3 turnovers by the Pats vs. 1 by the Ravens.. that should led to the Pats demise.

Cyrus Jones puzzles me, but give him some more time.. why get rid of him, but then again it is what it is. Why would he go towards the football in that situation??

Brady is a model for just about every QB in the game and ever QB who aspires to be on the big stage, every game I realize how lucky we are.

The D was outstanding.. cannot give enough credit, sorry Felger et al. Need to find something new to whine about.

John Gruden is one of the most aggravating announcers on TV, he talks too much and has little to say except to hear himself talk.. a self aggrandizing blow hard. Reminds me of a child who hears a new word and is obsessed with it because his parents think it is cute, PLIABLE...

Even though the game was not that close, it was a nailbiter and held my focus... compared to the previous 2 games which bordered on boring.

 

[borg]

Nice job Ken
- watching NE operate last night, clearly they had no fear of big bad Baltimore despite the media's build up.
- for the life of me, why didn't Flacco test the corners on deeper sideline patterns like in the past. In the past, both Baltimore and Denver worked over our corners and it seemed NE would be called for PI every other play. Does the league respect our corners more than me? Apparently so.
-the defensive switching was a thing of beauty and Flacco played into their strategy more often than not. They dictated where Flacco would put the ball
-tackling was sketchy in the first half and our secondary didn't seem all that committed to bringing down the carrier....but that changed after halftime
-the blocked FG was as deflating a play to an opponent as I have ever seen. STATEMENT
-pay Blount
-my personal peeve......too much Edelman, too little Mitchell
-Hogan's TD.....that is known as "catharsis"

For next week, I will buy into the "big bad Denver" narrative (like this week) knowing the Patriots like to play chicken-schitts like me for fools...my reverse indicator theory

 

[shmessy]

I think I found Patrodomous:

 

[RobertWeathers]

In my 17 years of watching players stroll in/out of here in BB's tenure as HC I can't remember a player screwing up as much as Cyrus Jones and still seeing the field. Ridley is close. Clearly BB likes the kid and wants to give him every opportunity to succeed. Hes a 2nd rd pick and cutting a 2nd rd pick after 13 games or 2 years is bad for business.

With that said he needs to see a sports psychologist or something. This kid was a fine returner at ALA and from what I understand does a nice job in practice which is why they kept trotting him out there. These games are too important now.

He clearly has a confidence problem and should not be back on KR and PR for the remainder of the season.

Maybe he can help as a slot DB. Hes been up and down in that position as well. As we saw last night he should not be allowed on the outside.

We hear a lot about mental toughness and how important of an attribute it is for players to have if they want to succeed on this team.

As of right now Jones has zero. Too much on the line for him to play. Sorry, Cyrus. Grab some pine. Get your head on straight and lets try again in 2017.