Idle thoughts - The "injury" edition

[maineman209]

I'd hate to spend more than 0 seconds trying to dig up an answer, so let's just round off to "never."

I'm sure that the American Mathematical Society approves.

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

Fouts and Eagle were careful to be very complementary to NE yesterday. I think maybe they got some feedback from our fans.

They still made ill-informed observations on many plays as they unfolded in front of them, but it was less awful than I expected. I started with my thumb on the mute button and yet I rarely pushed it.

 

[DaBruinz]

Anyone know who will now assume the Protector position? That will not be an insignificant decision.

Ebner unfortunately suffered a classic phony turf injury, same as Edelman did during the pre-season. It became obvious that his season ended after I replayed that moment, especially at half-speed. It's a damn shame that the home field of Tom Brady apparently cannot sustain a viable natural grass playing surface.

Richards was out there after Ebner went down. Chung was the Protector during his 1st stint with the Pats..

 

[DaBruinz]

If there is such a concern for lack of depth and skillset on STs:
All kicks aimed for touchbacks
Receiving K, take a knee on anything in the EZ
Overly cautious fair catches for P returns (words already needed for DA yesterday).
Get healthier then go back to original programming.

Because Amendola should expect to get raked across the facemask by opposing players on every punt return and for them not to draw a flag in doing so..

 

[patsfaninpa]

Richards was out there after Ebner went down. Chung was the Protector during his 1st stint with the Pats..

He called that fake punt against NYJ in 2010 playoff loss. Betting he won't do that again.

 

[raduray]

A couple of observations from the game:

Oy the injuries! It seemed like every other play there was a "timeout on the field for an injured player." Both teams had people dropping like flies. I hope ours aren't too serious, but a few of them didn't looks so good. Oh no on Ebner in the post above.

Adam Gase is a clown. Aside from his dumb bright yellow-orange hat, he throws tantrum after tantrum on the side line, screaming at the refs and sometimes at his own players. Take a lesson from the other side of the field, dude.

I was at the game. First time in 20 plus years. I spent some of the time watching Belichick and he appeared almost disengaged. He still favors paper printouts over the MS Surface, and he sometimes goes over and speaks to an assistant or to a player after reviewing the photos, but otherwise he stoically stands by himself, scribbling in his little notebook. It looks very much as if his coaching is done before the game and he lets his assistants manage the minutia of the game. A very different look from Gase.

 

[SlowGettingUp]

the Fouts / Eagle combo broke entirely and became utterly incapable of delivering useful information in a coherent manner.

"became?" - that's their normal state.

 

[RIpats88]

not sure if this has been posted yet...but sound like we dodged a bullet with van noy, flowers and waddle





and previously he also said trey flowers is mainly a pain tolerance thing.

 

[Kdo5]

Agreed with Ken about Dion Lewis. He had already been returning to form with good play. But yesterday it felt like I was watching 2015 Dion Lewis which is a huge boost going into our final batch of games and the post season. It was majorly disappointing when he tore his ACL, I thought up to that point our offense was unstoppable with Lewis in the backfield in addition to our other receivers.

If he is close to that 2015 version and the top three of himself, Gronk and Cooks stay healthy we should dominate. So far the Pats have been pretty smart managing their top weapons. Gronk has seen a little bit of a reduced workload, Lewis has been mostly featured in the running game, and Cooks probably takes more caution than any other receiver in protecting himself. Not soft but content to sacrifice a few hard fought yards to avoid an unnecessary hit.

I am a big James White proponent and can't help but be a little disappointed in his lack of production in the receiving game (doesn't feel like he is being targeted much) recently. I'm sure he'll end up back on track eventually though.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

Agreed with Ken about Dion Lewis. He had already been returning to form with good play. But yesterday it felt like I was watching 2015 Dion Lewis which is a huge boost going into our final batch of games and the post season. It was majorly disappointing when he tore his ACL, I thought up to that point our offense was unstoppable with Lewis in the backfield in addition to our other receivers.

If he is close to that 2015 version and the top three of himself, Gronk and Cooks stay healthy we should dominate. So far the Pats have been pretty smart managing their top weapons. Gronk has seen a little bit of a reduced workload, Lewis has been mostly featured in the running game, and Cooks probably takes more caution than any other receiver in protecting himself. Not soft but content to sacrifice a few hard fought yards to avoid an unnecessary hit.

I am a big James White proponent and can't help but be a little disappointed in his lack of production in the receiving game (doesn't feel like he is being targeted much) recently. I'm sure he'll end up back on track eventually though.

BB is masterfully playing the RBs, DL will be at his peak come playoff time with James white and burkhead ready when called upon.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

Because Amendola should expect to get raked across the facemask by opposing players on every punt return and for them not to draw a flag in doing so..

Maybe so DB but catching a ball on the move, no fair catch, with opposing players close enough to touch you(and around you) is risky.
Chances of a significantly beneficial production by DA catching that ball in that circumstance versus the chance of detriment from turning the ball over is a lopsided risk-reward equation. Turnovers are killers and in the circumstances of this type scenario the juice isn't worth the squeeze (and it really isn't close).

 

[PatsDeb]

Yeah, I never bought in to the idea kraft didn’t permit a Brady trade. B.B. is not that crazy

I think it's Brady that won't allow a Brady trade, if BB was ever to contemplate one (which I don't think he has). Let's just enjoy this year!

 

[luuked]

Yeah, I get that, but we've given up the element of surprise for the play to actually work, and now that Ebner is apparently done for the season (which noone could have predicted, admittedly), we've probably lost that hesitation too (as in, the Pats won't try it again anyway with some new replacement for Ebner). I guess I don't like the spot and the opponent where they used it. Seems like they used up a great "once in a season" play on an unworthy opponent in an unworthy spot. It is what it is.

Edit - I forgot about the 2nd one where Allen looked poised to throw it before Miami called a time out? Or did we get a false start penalty? Can't remember, but I guess the Pats were going for the hesitation thing. Maybe they even ramped it up after Ebner went out to show they have several tricks in the bag on 4th down.

Unless you think that Miami will be in the playoffs and we will be facing them we havent given up anything because this was a highly specific play for something they saw in the Miami ST tape. The fake punt was not some amazingly designed play or misdirection play like the ones 2014 against the Ravens. They have those plays most probably every week in their drawer but if they dont get the look they want they dont use them.

So it was the perfect time to use it because nobody knows if you would get the chance to use it later.

 

[luuked]

One more set of reasons why I am among those who think that trading JG was Kraft's idea, not Belichick's.

You see, I have this idea kicking around in my head that Kraft made Belichick trade Garoppolo because, at some point, he fully comprehended the magnitude of his error in throwing Tom Brady under the bus, i.e., the guy who brought him five Lombardi's and a $3b valuation for his $194 million investment, and decided the only way he could begin to make it up to him was to assure Tom Brady that he would leave New England on Tom Brady's terms, not Belichick's "a year too early rather than a year too late." Nothing says job security like "Brian Hoyer is our #1 backup." Watching Garoppolo lead the 'niners to a TD, even if it was "garbage time," in yesterday's game suggests that "he is who we thought he is."

No. Just no. Can we stop with those conspiracy theories ? The entire situation is so crystal clear it is mindboggling that people still cling to those convoluted BB/Kraft/Brady scenarios.


They kept pushing off the decision on JG until the very last moment where you could trade him in the hope that an extension could be build / Brady declined or got injured but Don Yee & co made clear to them that JG wanted to play. And, no, we could not wait until the end of the year and franchise him because we dont have the cap space for that. Because guess what.. JG could have held the entire organization hostage by not signing the tender but we still would need to allocate those 21-23m of cap space during that time. JG had all the leverage and the October trade deadline was the final checkpoint to get anything back for him. As we have seen with the Jamie Collins trade the compensatory pick is never guaranteed, also a year late and would have been about 60+ picks later.

Please just listen to Curran or someone that actually is a reasonable source and dont go full Felger & co.

 

[luuked]

I think it's Brady that won't allow a Brady trade, if BB was ever to contemplate one (which I don't think he has). Let's just enjoy this year!

I have written this a few times but the thing is that realistically there is no trade market for Brady relative to his value.

Brady and Yee will veto trades to ****ty teams where he would be nothing more than a circus attraction by just saying that Brady wont report or retire. And with the Texans having Watson emerge there is no team left that has an offense already somewhat in place where Brady could be a plug and play option which at his age is pretty important. He doesnt have the time left to let the 49ers, Browns or whoever else build around him for 1-2 years.

He wants to compete and win and NE is the only place where he will be able to do this until he retires. And lets not forget that BB is leveraging the situation for contract negotiation purposes himself as well. We have heard from many beat reporters that Bradys salary is often used as a tool when negotiating with other players or their agents.

 

[luuked]

That's such a horrible position to be in and probably the last thing you would want attached to your name.

Wow.

Unless you are in Alabama..

On the speculation that Schiano might be brought on board if we lose Josh, wouldn't it be more likely that he be brought on if we lose Matt P? Schiano is Ohio State's defensive coordinator, and to my knowledge all his assistant roles have been on the defensive side of the ball. He was, of course, a head coach at Rutgers and Tampa Bay, but even going back as a player he was a defensive guy (linebacker). Greg Schiano - Wikipedia

Personally I hope Schiano (and Bielesma) finds another college program to run. They are the ideal farm for future Patriots drafts.

At this point I think it will be Chad O'Shea and Brian Flores who move upwards if Josh or MP leave soon.

 

[supafly]

He called that fake punt against NYJ in 2010 playoff loss. Betting he won't do that again.

There have only been three fake punts since 2004, so I’m guessing you’re correct. Not just for Chung, but perhaps the coaching staff learned something about taking too many risks and changing the momentum in a crucial situation. Maybe not.

 

[DarrylS]

Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald continues to rail against the Dolphins.. We have bingo..

Examples of poor coaching by the Miami Dolphins

This isn’t the Patriots having amazing talent. This isn’t them being unstoppable.

This is Dolphins players either not knowing what to do (in similar situations and in multiple games) or not executing what they’ve been taught or both.

 

[maineman209]

I am a big James White proponent and can't help but be a little disappointed in his lack of production in the receiving game (doesn't feel like he is being targeted much) recently.

Through week-10, White averaged over 6 tgts/game - his low being 1 tgt in week-3 when Cannon was out.

In the past two games, White has seen a total of 3 targets while both Cannon and Andrews have been out.

It seems only reasonable to think that White's production is down perhaps because he's been kept in the backfield to help protect Brady.

 

[maineman209]

Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald continues to rail against the Dolphins.. We have bingo..

Examples of poor coaching by the Miami Dolphins

Might be time to begin speculating about who could be HC of the 'Fins in 2018. That's always an entertaining process to follow.