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Sorry about the delay. Part of the reason was personal stuff that got in the way and part was because I just didn't feel like it. But anyway, here I am with what will likely be a much shorter version since I don't want to bore people with stuff that has already been talked about ad nauseaum. LIke in most losses I have issued a self-imposed media lockout, like I do after most losses. so, in the end, I might very well be redundant in my thoughts. So apologizes in advance if I am.
My overriding emotion after that game was absolute FURY. I rarely get on the officials, like some here. In fact, I sometimes defend them for being human and trying to officiate games at such high speed. Sometimes is amazing that they get it right so often. HOWEVER, on this afternoon, there was no doubt in my mind that the refs simply screwed the Pats out of a win.
Now don't get me wrong. It's not like I thought the Pats defense played well. In fact, it might have been the worst defensive effort on the mental side that we have seen in the BB era. But more on that later. My point is that regardless of the myriad of mental breakdowns, the fact is that these refs made some completely inexplicable calls, AND made them early and often during the course of the game.
And what was even more infuriating was the fact the most of those calls had NOTHING to do with the play AND so many had ball possession implications. IIRC, there were at least 3 drives where the Panthers got a first down or a shot another shot at a first down after the Pats had seemingly made the 3rd down stop. On all 3 of those drives, Carolina went on to score.
The offensive PI against Gronk was completely a phantom call. The one against Amendola was at least technically correct, but is rarely called, especially when it didn't affect the actual play. But it was called THIS time.
The hands to the face rule, IIRC was designed to be called when a player gets his hand UNDER the facemask. Merely inadvertently touching the face mask should NOT bring out a flag, and again, ESPECIALLY, when the actual play is going on on the other side of the field. I was appalled when I saw it the first time, but these calls just kept on coming, over and over again, while the Panthers were essentially free to do what they wanted without fear of any repercussions. The ONLY penalty on the Panther for the entire game was the PI on Gronk which was an easy call (though I wish Gronk had passed on the theatrical ending) and that was it. I couldn't believe it until I saw it in the game stats.
Now the Pats and their players have all said the right things, and none will ever use those calls as an excuse, ESPECIALLY, given all the self-inflicted errors we saw all this game. But the fact remains that as badly as the Pats defense played, they STILL would have won this game if they had not had just one of those head-scratching calls.
OFFENSE - This will be really short. The offense is fine. They just put up 36 against the best defense in the league at the time, and put up 30 against the next "best defense in the league". So while there aren't any significant problems with the offense, but I guess a few comments need to be mentioned in passing.
a. Brady was very good, but he did leave some plays on the field where he missed open receivers and held the ball to long resulting in sacks. Now in comparison with the rest of the league's QB's Brady was brilliant. But it's gotten to the point where Brady is only competing with Brady and there were at least 3 passes that he just flat out missed (one to Cooks, Gronk on the GL, and White), and there were 2 cases where he got sacked by simply holding the ball too long.
b. I thought the OL had its best game of the year so far. The run blocking seems crisper, but after we got behind, it was abandoned. The pass blocking was fairly good. I saw only one sack, where the OL broke down (the sack on Cannon), and that was mostly because of a great stunt design. The other 2 were, as I mentioned, more on Brady. Remember Brady dropped back 45 times, and the other guys get paid too. So, IMHO, all the talk about Brady being on tap for a 52 sack year is less about the OL (at this point)
c. At this point, I'm nitpicking - but I would like to see Cooks get a few more targets each game
d. But like I said, in the beginning, the offense is fine. They are putting up points and they have done it against 3 very good defenses. Now on to the elephant in the room.
DEFENSE - What can I say that hasn't been said already. But I will say this, on the positive side. I believe that, given the talent they have, this CAN be a solid defense by the time the playoffs arrive. But on the negative side, I don't think I saw as many MENTAL breakdowns in a single game during the entire 18 year period Bill Belichick has run this team. It was simply horrifying, and nothing is going to improve until that is corrected.
What is most disturbing is that most of the breakdowns are coming from the ONE area of the team we had the fewest questions about. Now it's the area we have the MOST questions. Does Gilmore have a brain? Has McCourty fallen off "the cliff"? Can Rowe tackle? (though I doubt we have to worry about that for a few weeks now) Where is the Butler everyone wanted to give the big money to? Let us take them one by one.
a Gilmore - I actually have very little issue with Gilmore's coverage skills. When he actually gets in coverage on a man, especially in man, he does quite well. However, at least on the surface, his mental mistakes have been painful to watch. Granted, we CANNOT be sure that all of the mistakes we see lie on him, but his involvement on so many of them can't be dismissed. ON the plus side, they all can be corrected, but time is running out.
b McCourty- This is the one that actually worries me the most. Suddenly Devon McCourty can't seem to cover anyone. Not WR's. Not TE's. Plus he seems to be involved is a few of the unit's brain farts as well.
c. Rowe missed a critical tackle during this game, where had he made it, the defense would have gotten off the field and the Panthers wouldn't have put points on the board. Between this and the 2 absurd calls, that was not only three more times the offense would have gotten the ball, it was 3 drives that the Panthers wouldn't have put points on the board. You think that might have affected the final score????? Damned right it would have. Unfortunately, Rowe will likely be unable to make up for miss for the next few weeks.
d. Butler - Butler actually seemed to be better this week, but still not back to what we've become accustomed to the last 2 years. When Rowe went out, and Butler got Matched up with Funchess and Benjamin, he was no match for them. There was one play where he had perfect coverage and he was simply too short to make the play. The only play that pissed me off was a 3rd down play on the final drive where Funchess ran an under route to the sideline for the first down and Butler was very late to make the play. So while he made his share of good plays, at the critical moment (like the rest of his cohorts), he came up short. (no pun intended)
e. Hightower brought little lift to the game. In fact I didn't realize he was even on the field for most of the first half. On the other hand, Roberts and Van Noy played well I thought.
f. What was ironic in this game that it was the much-maligned DL that played the best and most consistently. Until very late in the game, the run D was solid and while the pressure was great, it was sufficient to win this game. They even made the "critical" play with the sack by Wise that was wiped out by the so-called penalty.
g. So in the end, this defense ISN'T like the 2011 D that sucked so back, especially early that season. It is a lot better. The problem seems like they are also a lot DUMBER, and unless or until that is fixed the prospects of even getting to the playoffs will be in question.
h. The problem is that there really isn't any time to get things fixed given the short week and playing on the road against another good team with a mobile QB and tall WR's. That's a lot to do, with very little time to do it.
Grumpy old man sh!t -
a. As I watched the KC kicker line up for the 45 yd kick he made to win the game, I felt helpless knowing that there was no way the Pats or ANY team has a real chance to affect the kick. In the NFL today, the league has completely legislated that out of the game. Whether a kick is ever missed now is strictly up to the kicker. 80% success rates will become the norm, rather than the exception, and making just 70% of your FG tries will be cause for expulsion. I HATE that.
b. Am I the only one who is enjoying the great year Alex Smith is having? It's a great story. Here is a guy who has been written off. His job made temporary as a placeholder for heir apparent. Yet he is having his best year defying all his critics.
c. I won't be listening much to the local sports show (except maybe about the Sox and Bedard's film breakdown). You can almost predict what they will be saying, so what's the point. This is what it is. This team will either get their OWN act squared away, or they won't. No *****ing or moaning by us will make any difference. BB has said over and over just how HARD it is to win a game in the NFL. If you GIVE an opponent extra plays or points, you won't often win or be even close. Well, that is what the Pats have done over and over the last month. The good news is that they are 2-2, so there IS hope. The bad news is that if the brain farts continue....there won't be any hope.
See I told you it would shorter......relatively speaking.
My overriding emotion after that game was absolute FURY. I rarely get on the officials, like some here. In fact, I sometimes defend them for being human and trying to officiate games at such high speed. Sometimes is amazing that they get it right so often. HOWEVER, on this afternoon, there was no doubt in my mind that the refs simply screwed the Pats out of a win.
Now don't get me wrong. It's not like I thought the Pats defense played well. In fact, it might have been the worst defensive effort on the mental side that we have seen in the BB era. But more on that later. My point is that regardless of the myriad of mental breakdowns, the fact is that these refs made some completely inexplicable calls, AND made them early and often during the course of the game.
And what was even more infuriating was the fact the most of those calls had NOTHING to do with the play AND so many had ball possession implications. IIRC, there were at least 3 drives where the Panthers got a first down or a shot another shot at a first down after the Pats had seemingly made the 3rd down stop. On all 3 of those drives, Carolina went on to score.
The offensive PI against Gronk was completely a phantom call. The one against Amendola was at least technically correct, but is rarely called, especially when it didn't affect the actual play. But it was called THIS time.
The hands to the face rule, IIRC was designed to be called when a player gets his hand UNDER the facemask. Merely inadvertently touching the face mask should NOT bring out a flag, and again, ESPECIALLY, when the actual play is going on on the other side of the field. I was appalled when I saw it the first time, but these calls just kept on coming, over and over again, while the Panthers were essentially free to do what they wanted without fear of any repercussions. The ONLY penalty on the Panther for the entire game was the PI on Gronk which was an easy call (though I wish Gronk had passed on the theatrical ending) and that was it. I couldn't believe it until I saw it in the game stats.
Now the Pats and their players have all said the right things, and none will ever use those calls as an excuse, ESPECIALLY, given all the self-inflicted errors we saw all this game. But the fact remains that as badly as the Pats defense played, they STILL would have won this game if they had not had just one of those head-scratching calls.
OFFENSE - This will be really short. The offense is fine. They just put up 36 against the best defense in the league at the time, and put up 30 against the next "best defense in the league". So while there aren't any significant problems with the offense, but I guess a few comments need to be mentioned in passing.
a. Brady was very good, but he did leave some plays on the field where he missed open receivers and held the ball to long resulting in sacks. Now in comparison with the rest of the league's QB's Brady was brilliant. But it's gotten to the point where Brady is only competing with Brady and there were at least 3 passes that he just flat out missed (one to Cooks, Gronk on the GL, and White), and there were 2 cases where he got sacked by simply holding the ball too long.
b. I thought the OL had its best game of the year so far. The run blocking seems crisper, but after we got behind, it was abandoned. The pass blocking was fairly good. I saw only one sack, where the OL broke down (the sack on Cannon), and that was mostly because of a great stunt design. The other 2 were, as I mentioned, more on Brady. Remember Brady dropped back 45 times, and the other guys get paid too. So, IMHO, all the talk about Brady being on tap for a 52 sack year is less about the OL (at this point)
c. At this point, I'm nitpicking - but I would like to see Cooks get a few more targets each game
d. But like I said, in the beginning, the offense is fine. They are putting up points and they have done it against 3 very good defenses. Now on to the elephant in the room.
DEFENSE - What can I say that hasn't been said already. But I will say this, on the positive side. I believe that, given the talent they have, this CAN be a solid defense by the time the playoffs arrive. But on the negative side, I don't think I saw as many MENTAL breakdowns in a single game during the entire 18 year period Bill Belichick has run this team. It was simply horrifying, and nothing is going to improve until that is corrected.
What is most disturbing is that most of the breakdowns are coming from the ONE area of the team we had the fewest questions about. Now it's the area we have the MOST questions. Does Gilmore have a brain? Has McCourty fallen off "the cliff"? Can Rowe tackle? (though I doubt we have to worry about that for a few weeks now) Where is the Butler everyone wanted to give the big money to? Let us take them one by one.
a Gilmore - I actually have very little issue with Gilmore's coverage skills. When he actually gets in coverage on a man, especially in man, he does quite well. However, at least on the surface, his mental mistakes have been painful to watch. Granted, we CANNOT be sure that all of the mistakes we see lie on him, but his involvement on so many of them can't be dismissed. ON the plus side, they all can be corrected, but time is running out.
b McCourty- This is the one that actually worries me the most. Suddenly Devon McCourty can't seem to cover anyone. Not WR's. Not TE's. Plus he seems to be involved is a few of the unit's brain farts as well.
c. Rowe missed a critical tackle during this game, where had he made it, the defense would have gotten off the field and the Panthers wouldn't have put points on the board. Between this and the 2 absurd calls, that was not only three more times the offense would have gotten the ball, it was 3 drives that the Panthers wouldn't have put points on the board. You think that might have affected the final score????? Damned right it would have. Unfortunately, Rowe will likely be unable to make up for miss for the next few weeks.
d. Butler - Butler actually seemed to be better this week, but still not back to what we've become accustomed to the last 2 years. When Rowe went out, and Butler got Matched up with Funchess and Benjamin, he was no match for them. There was one play where he had perfect coverage and he was simply too short to make the play. The only play that pissed me off was a 3rd down play on the final drive where Funchess ran an under route to the sideline for the first down and Butler was very late to make the play. So while he made his share of good plays, at the critical moment (like the rest of his cohorts), he came up short. (no pun intended)
e. Hightower brought little lift to the game. In fact I didn't realize he was even on the field for most of the first half. On the other hand, Roberts and Van Noy played well I thought.
f. What was ironic in this game that it was the much-maligned DL that played the best and most consistently. Until very late in the game, the run D was solid and while the pressure was great, it was sufficient to win this game. They even made the "critical" play with the sack by Wise that was wiped out by the so-called penalty.
g. So in the end, this defense ISN'T like the 2011 D that sucked so back, especially early that season. It is a lot better. The problem seems like they are also a lot DUMBER, and unless or until that is fixed the prospects of even getting to the playoffs will be in question.
h. The problem is that there really isn't any time to get things fixed given the short week and playing on the road against another good team with a mobile QB and tall WR's.
That's a lot to do, with very little time to do it.Grumpy old man sh!t -
a. As I watched the KC kicker line up for the 45 yd kick he made to win the game, I felt helpless knowing that there was no way the Pats or ANY team has a real chance to affect the kick. In the NFL today, the league has completely legislated that out of the game. Whether a kick is ever missed now is strictly up to the kicker. 80% success rates will become the norm, rather than the exception, and making just 70% of your FG tries will be cause for expulsion. I HATE that.
b. Am I the only one who is enjoying the great year Alex Smith is having? It's a great story. Here is a guy who has been written off. His job made temporary as a placeholder for heir apparent. Yet he is having his best year defying all his critics.
c. I won't be listening much to the local sports show (except maybe about the Sox and Bedard's film breakdown). You can almost predict what they will be saying, so what's the point. This is what it is. This team will either get their OWN act squared away, or they won't. No *****ing or moaning by us will make any difference. BB has said over and over just how HARD it is to win a game in the NFL. If you GIVE an opponent extra plays or points, you won't often win or be even close. Well, that is what the Pats have done over and over the last month. The good news is that they are 2-2, so there IS hope. The bad news is that if the brain farts continue....there won't be any hope.
See I told you it would shorter......relatively speaking.
