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First thing I noticed at the start of this game when I looked at the inactives was the Pats had 3 starters Hogan, KVN, and Branch) and 2 key rotational (White and Burkhead) players on the list, while the Bills were relatively healthy with only EJ Gaines being out.
While the Pats have been "relatively" healthy as far as IR injuries have gone, they have had a LOT of starters who have missed games this season. When your front 7 is made up of primarily back ups and other people's rejects, it starts to make you think that the best team and the healthiest team at the end of the season is often the same team....and that kind of a shame.
But on a brighter note, nothing that was negatively overt on the injury front seemed to pop up and it is likely that the walking wounded like KVN, Hogan, Branch, etc will have up to 3 full weeks to get healthy before the Pats take the field for their first playoff game.
1. General thoughts:
a. Well, the endgame is upon us and tonight we know that we WILL have another bye ahead, and that means endless threads about who should play/sit or how many snaps they should get against the Jets. I will assiduously avoid most of those threads. I'm of the mindset that those who are healthy should play, and since the game still has meaning in the seeding, that means EVERYONE. There are simply not enough players on the game day roster to play all back ups. And how do you tell player A that he is not important enough to get held out, but some other guy was.
b. 2 other quick points. One, is that the players ENJOY playing the games. It is not a burden....and its fun. The 2nd is that you don't want to step onto the field against a quality opponent and have your skill key players a bit rusty after sitting for 2 weeks.
That being said, I wouldn't mind seeing Gronk, Brady, and Lewis' snap count get cut next week. Lewis broke out the big boy pants with 29 touches today. We were all happy with the results, but I'd be just as happy if his touches next week were back to the 15 area. When we get the playoffs he can put on his big boy pants again.
c. Regardless of the results. Watching the Bills play this week, it was obvious that they were a more disciplined and organized team that what we've been used to over the last decade. I think McDermont is building a nice program there for the long term.
d. That being said, this game was a great exemplar of why the Bills level of frustration with Tyrod Taylor grows. He DID throw for over 280 yds. No picks or TO's. And he made some great throws, especially to Benjamin and Thomas. BUT he also made some real headscratchers as well. His level of inconsistency is high enough that the Bills are going to need a better QB if they want to take it to the next level. The good news is that I think Taylor is good enough to keep the Bills competitive until that guy is found.
e. Watching Malcom Brown play on the C today made think that the Pats might be going back to some version of 3-4 next season. Brown looked good today over the C. Valentine is an archetype of a NT, and Guy is a perfect 3-4 DE (which he played with the Ravens). Now here's my dream scenario. When the Jets cut Wilkerson, the Pats find a way to sign him. If he's motivated, we have seen that he can dominate at that 3-4 DE both in the run AND pass game. Rotating a DL of Wilkerson, Guy, VV, and MBrown would be a VERY strong group, especially in the first 2 downs. Just thinking.
f. Riveron was one for two today, imho. He got the 4th and one right on the Lewis "reach". But the pass to Benjamin SHOULD have been a catch. Now I understand WHY he overturned it. It was all about WHEN he determined he had control over the ball. I get it, BUT in this case, I think you have to go back to the concept of, "you need clear evidence" to overturn a call on the field. Sorry but in THIS case there wasn't clear evidence
g. I found it interesting if not ironic that when Charles Clay didn't "survive the ground" there wasn't a single eyebrow raised when they called the ball inconplete. NOW that everyone knows the catch rule better (at least as it pertains to that part of the rule), it was clear Clay hadn't made the catch. It makes me think that the whole tuck rule saga could have been avoided if the announcers in particular and football fans in general had had a clear understanding of what the tuck rule was and how it had been enforced during the year. Knowledge IS power.
h. I found it interesting that the Bills almost refused to run the ball back on the many KO's the Pats made. Gotkowski had a few that were only one yd deep into the endzone that their returner refused to take out. That was smart thinking by the Bills since the ONLY time they did take it out, they only got back to the 18.
i. If you were on the Bills coaching staff and went through you checklist after the first quarter it would have been a happy time. Get a 3 and out to start the game - check. Have an 8 minute scoring drive to keep Brady off the field - check - Don't let them score in the red zone - check Get a defensive TO and score - check and check.
It was a Bills fan's dream and a Pats fan's nightmare, and only goes to show just how what happens early is not what ends up late
2. Offense -
a .No Hogan, White, Edelman, Burkhead, no problem - They put up 37 points with no short fields, and overcoming a pick 6. Plus, when it mattered they scored on 5 consecutive possessions, almost all of them in the 2nd half. So I can safely say that the offense had a very nice day, especially when Brady threw for just 224 yds . Nice that that mediocre passing attack was balanced by almost 200 rushing yds.
b. Romo noticed right away that the Bills had inserted a small line up to defend the Pats passing game, and that the Pats immediately attacked that personnel group with the run. Josh has been very patient slowly putting together a more and more effective run game for the Pats. It wasn't just Lewis that shredded the Bills D, Gillislee and Boldin also averaged more than 4.5ypc. As a group they averaged 5.1
c. Normally I would complain that Josh isn't doing enough to free up our WR's against tight man coverage by using bunch formations, motions or pick routes. But given how the offense has been able to move the ball, I'm thinking that him not doing more of it just might be by design. We've seen it before where the Pats don't show a lot of stuff before the playoffs (when possible). To that end, I expect a pretty vanilla game plan against the Jets.
d. The screen is BACK!!!!! - Not only one successful screen, but TWO! Playoff teams beware the Pats have rediscovered their screen game.
e. QB- Brady completed 75% of his pass attempts, yet didn't look sharp today. I mean think about that last statement. It sounds almost like an oxymoron. Has the bar been raise THAT high? When the game ended if you asked me what I thought Brady's completion rate was without looking at the stats it would have been closer to 65% than 75%.
When you think of it, it was really only 4 plays.out of over 60. The pick, of course. The pass behind Gronk. The deep ball to Cooks, and one of the sacks, when he had time to get rid of the ball. Yet there WILL be those who will point out that Brady has now thrown a pick in 5 straight games, and wonder if its a sign of a "decline".
I read some analysis (I'm thinking Giardi, but I could be wrong) who want to blame Britt for the pick, but that CLEARLY wasn't the case. Brady obviously didn't see the safety jump the route on the inside. The Bills did a good job of confusing Brady with their well disguised coverages...early. But by the 2nd half, Brady had pretty much solved the mystery and IIRC, the Pats scored on every possession they had the ball in the 2nd half. (except the kneel down one)
f. RB - Not much more to say that what I've already mentioned. Good to see what Lewis can accomplish when he's fully given the job of RB-in-chief. I'm pretty sure the 29 touches is his high as a pro. Nice to know he can do it when it's needed.
Mike Gillislee did well in his few opportunities. He runs real hard, but is not as skilled a RB as I had hoped. But there is always room for a try hard, hard running guy who will usually get you positive yards on this team. Perfect "next up" performance
g. OL - Another very good job done by the OL. Brady was sacked twice, and on at least one he had a had time to get rid of the ball, but more importantly I would be surprised if he was hit more than 4 times all game beyond that. Eventually this week we'll get that stat to see if my "feeling" was correct. Also the OL really took it to the Bills and dominated in the run game. That last TD drive, which I think was all runs, was a wonderful thing to see.
Another excellent job from our #3 RT. Cam Flemming seemed to be very strong on the run and once again was solid in pass protection. After watching Tyron Smith's back up get badly abused in the Cowboys' game, I appreciate more how good our back ups are when we are forced to put them in.
h. Receivers - Of course we really have to see what he does next season, but my thoughts are that Brandin Cooks is NOT going to be some kind of dominate WR that teams have to plan around. He IS though a very good WR, who helps stretch the defense, and usually can be counted on to get behind the defense a couple of times a game.
He seems like a great kid and he really seems to like playing here, so perhaps a middle ground could be found in 2019. He's a great value now, and would be a good value next year if we got a similar performance, but NOT an elite WR.....so far.
They pulled back the Gronk targets. He still got 7 and caught 5. What can you say about the TD catch. It was simply other worldly. He DEFINITELY seems more athletic this season. Dare I say more "pliable"
9 guys caught at least 1 ball from Brady, 2 RB's and 7 receivers, but there wasn't much of an impact made by anyone other than Gronk. Amendola was 2nd with just 3 catches. But it should be noted that Dorsett had a nice 24 yd catch and run early.
i. Bills played a lot more zone than we have seen recently.
While the Pats have been "relatively" healthy as far as IR injuries have gone, they have had a LOT of starters who have missed games this season. When your front 7 is made up of primarily back ups and other people's rejects, it starts to make you think that the best team and the healthiest team at the end of the season is often the same team....and that kind of a shame.
But on a brighter note, nothing that was negatively overt on the injury front seemed to pop up and it is likely that the walking wounded like KVN, Hogan, Branch, etc will have up to 3 full weeks to get healthy before the Pats take the field for their first playoff game.
1. General thoughts:
a. Well, the endgame is upon us and tonight we know that we WILL have another bye ahead, and that means endless threads about who should play/sit or how many snaps they should get against the Jets. I will assiduously avoid most of those threads. I'm of the mindset that those who are healthy should play, and since the game still has meaning in the seeding, that means EVERYONE. There are simply not enough players on the game day roster to play all back ups. And how do you tell player A that he is not important enough to get held out, but some other guy was.
b. 2 other quick points. One, is that the players ENJOY playing the games. It is not a burden....and its fun. The 2nd is that you don't want to step onto the field against a quality opponent and have your skill key players a bit rusty after sitting for 2 weeks.
That being said, I wouldn't mind seeing Gronk, Brady, and Lewis' snap count get cut next week. Lewis broke out the big boy pants with 29 touches today. We were all happy with the results, but I'd be just as happy if his touches next week were back to the 15 area. When we get the playoffs he can put on his big boy pants again.
c. Regardless of the results. Watching the Bills play this week, it was obvious that they were a more disciplined and organized team that what we've been used to over the last decade. I think McDermont is building a nice program there for the long term.
d. That being said, this game was a great exemplar of why the Bills level of frustration with Tyrod Taylor grows. He DID throw for over 280 yds. No picks or TO's. And he made some great throws, especially to Benjamin and Thomas. BUT he also made some real headscratchers as well. His level of inconsistency is high enough that the Bills are going to need a better QB if they want to take it to the next level. The good news is that I think Taylor is good enough to keep the Bills competitive until that guy is found.
e. Watching Malcom Brown play on the C today made think that the Pats might be going back to some version of 3-4 next season. Brown looked good today over the C. Valentine is an archetype of a NT, and Guy is a perfect 3-4 DE (which he played with the Ravens). Now here's my dream scenario. When the Jets cut Wilkerson, the Pats find a way to sign him. If he's motivated, we have seen that he can dominate at that 3-4 DE both in the run AND pass game. Rotating a DL of Wilkerson, Guy, VV, and MBrown would be a VERY strong group, especially in the first 2 downs. Just thinking.
f. Riveron was one for two today, imho. He got the 4th and one right on the Lewis "reach". But the pass to Benjamin SHOULD have been a catch. Now I understand WHY he overturned it. It was all about WHEN he determined he had control over the ball. I get it, BUT in this case, I think you have to go back to the concept of, "you need clear evidence" to overturn a call on the field. Sorry but in THIS case there wasn't clear evidence
g. I found it interesting if not ironic that when Charles Clay didn't "survive the ground" there wasn't a single eyebrow raised when they called the ball inconplete. NOW that everyone knows the catch rule better (at least as it pertains to that part of the rule), it was clear Clay hadn't made the catch. It makes me think that the whole tuck rule saga could have been avoided if the announcers in particular and football fans in general had had a clear understanding of what the tuck rule was and how it had been enforced during the year. Knowledge IS power.
h. I found it interesting that the Bills almost refused to run the ball back on the many KO's the Pats made. Gotkowski had a few that were only one yd deep into the endzone that their returner refused to take out. That was smart thinking by the Bills since the ONLY time they did take it out, they only got back to the 18.
i. If you were on the Bills coaching staff and went through you checklist after the first quarter it would have been a happy time. Get a 3 and out to start the game - check. Have an 8 minute scoring drive to keep Brady off the field - check - Don't let them score in the red zone - check Get a defensive TO and score - check and check.
It was a Bills fan's dream and a Pats fan's nightmare, and only goes to show just how what happens early is not what ends up late
2. Offense -
a .No Hogan, White, Edelman, Burkhead, no problem - They put up 37 points with no short fields, and overcoming a pick 6. Plus, when it mattered they scored on 5 consecutive possessions, almost all of them in the 2nd half. So I can safely say that the offense had a very nice day, especially when Brady threw for just 224 yds . Nice that that mediocre passing attack was balanced by almost 200 rushing yds.
b. Romo noticed right away that the Bills had inserted a small line up to defend the Pats passing game, and that the Pats immediately attacked that personnel group with the run. Josh has been very patient slowly putting together a more and more effective run game for the Pats. It wasn't just Lewis that shredded the Bills D, Gillislee and Boldin also averaged more than 4.5ypc. As a group they averaged 5.1
c. Normally I would complain that Josh isn't doing enough to free up our WR's against tight man coverage by using bunch formations, motions or pick routes. But given how the offense has been able to move the ball, I'm thinking that him not doing more of it just might be by design. We've seen it before where the Pats don't show a lot of stuff before the playoffs (when possible). To that end, I expect a pretty vanilla game plan against the Jets.
d. The screen is BACK!!!!! - Not only one successful screen, but TWO! Playoff teams beware the Pats have rediscovered their screen game.
e. QB- Brady completed 75% of his pass attempts, yet didn't look sharp today. I mean think about that last statement. It sounds almost like an oxymoron. Has the bar been raise THAT high? When the game ended if you asked me what I thought Brady's completion rate was without looking at the stats it would have been closer to 65% than 75%.
When you think of it, it was really only 4 plays.out of over 60. The pick, of course. The pass behind Gronk. The deep ball to Cooks, and one of the sacks, when he had time to get rid of the ball. Yet there WILL be those who will point out that Brady has now thrown a pick in 5 straight games, and wonder if its a sign of a "decline".
I read some analysis (I'm thinking Giardi, but I could be wrong) who want to blame Britt for the pick, but that CLEARLY wasn't the case. Brady obviously didn't see the safety jump the route on the inside. The Bills did a good job of confusing Brady with their well disguised coverages...early. But by the 2nd half, Brady had pretty much solved the mystery and IIRC, the Pats scored on every possession they had the ball in the 2nd half. (except the kneel down one)
f. RB - Not much more to say that what I've already mentioned. Good to see what Lewis can accomplish when he's fully given the job of RB-in-chief. I'm pretty sure the 29 touches is his high as a pro. Nice to know he can do it when it's needed.
Mike Gillislee did well in his few opportunities. He runs real hard, but is not as skilled a RB as I had hoped. But there is always room for a try hard, hard running guy who will usually get you positive yards on this team. Perfect "next up" performance
g. OL - Another very good job done by the OL. Brady was sacked twice, and on at least one he had a had time to get rid of the ball, but more importantly I would be surprised if he was hit more than 4 times all game beyond that. Eventually this week we'll get that stat to see if my "feeling" was correct. Also the OL really took it to the Bills and dominated in the run game. That last TD drive, which I think was all runs, was a wonderful thing to see.
Another excellent job from our #3 RT. Cam Flemming seemed to be very strong on the run and once again was solid in pass protection. After watching Tyron Smith's back up get badly abused in the Cowboys' game, I appreciate more how good our back ups are when we are forced to put them in.
h. Receivers - Of course we really have to see what he does next season, but my thoughts are that Brandin Cooks is NOT going to be some kind of dominate WR that teams have to plan around. He IS though a very good WR, who helps stretch the defense, and usually can be counted on to get behind the defense a couple of times a game.
He seems like a great kid and he really seems to like playing here, so perhaps a middle ground could be found in 2019. He's a great value now, and would be a good value next year if we got a similar performance, but NOT an elite WR.....so far.
They pulled back the Gronk targets. He still got 7 and caught 5. What can you say about the TD catch. It was simply other worldly. He DEFINITELY seems more athletic this season. Dare I say more "pliable"
9 guys caught at least 1 ball from Brady, 2 RB's and 7 receivers, but there wasn't much of an impact made by anyone other than Gronk. Amendola was 2nd with just 3 catches. But it should be noted that Dorsett had a nice 24 yd catch and run early.
i. Bills played a lot more zone than we have seen recently.
