Idle thoughts - The "injury" edition

[DarrylS]

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

Rex has not made a tour stop in Miami yet, he would do well with that group of punks..

 

[maineman209]

Rex has not made a tour stop in Miami yet, he would do well with that group of punks..

For a season or two. Maybe.

I have a feeling that ownership/FO people with the Jets and Bills make a habit of overruling the HC on roster decisions and even on who to start. I get the same feeling about Miami. If I was Rex, I'd be really tired of dealing with that.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

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.

That's basically Belichick's stated explanation. It could well have the benefit of being the truth. I don't read or listen to Felger, so I don't know what he said.

 

[Tony2046]

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..

That was not a penalty. The Miami gunner swatted at the ball after Amendola had caught it and made contact with the facemask incidentally. That swat and grab of the ball is what caused Amendola to fumble.

 

[Ring 6]

For a season or two. Maybe.

I have a feeling that ownership/FO people with the Jets and Bills make a habit of overruling the HC on roster decisions and even on who to start. I get the same feeling about Miami. If I was Rex, I'd be really tired of dealing with that.

I think he was joking. No one would take Rex Ryan seriously as a hc candidate.

 

[pencilneckgeek]

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.

This. Take Belichick at his word when he says, "We're focused on Miami." They scouted Miami, saw some tendencies of which they could take advantage, and gave Ebner the greenlight to call the fake, if they were in a formation where the blockers could get leverage. Fake punts and trick plays are not works of genius drawn-up with pencil, paper, and a beer. They are variations of long-established plays, developed based on hours of film study of opponents' tendencies and evaluation of the personel and their capabilities. You run a play when it makes sense, so you can get a win. You don't save it for the 3rd quarter of the Superbowl and hope you get to use it.

 

[captain stone]

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...

Amendola should never have put himself in that position in the first place.

 

[captain stone]

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

Examples of poor coaching by the Miami Dolphins

Before we declare Bingo, did he mention, as an example of Gase's poor coaching, the fact that the Lolphins are one of the very dirtiest, most undisciplined teams in the entire league?

If he didn't then that's no Bingo, at all.

 

[luuked]

Rex has not made a tour stop in Miami yet, he would do well with that group of punks..

I hope he brings his brother along and this time they get a Dolphins-themed motorboat. Cant go smaller after that Bills-themed truck.

 

[Tony2046]

I hope he brings his brother along and this time they get a Dolphins-themed motorboat. Cant go smaller after that Bills-themed truck.

He could name the boat VI Teams.

 

[oldrover]

Rex has not made a tour stop in Miami yet, he would do well with that group of punks..

I hope he brings his brother along and this time they get a Dolphins-themed motorboat. Cant go smaller after that Bills-themed truck.

How about motorcycles?

 

[JarOfMayo51]

The Waddle injury is going to be a huge problem until Cannon comes back healthy...

If Trey Flowers injury is anything significant, that is a MASSIVE blow to the defensive front that is already lacking in depth and talent

I'm sure the Steelers and Chiefs were smiling when they saw the Pats get dinged up real bad against a divisional opponent.. Hopefully the Ravens vs Steelers game next week is a blood bath...

 

[patfanken]

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.

You hit on an important point here, raddy. It should be clear from his post game comments that BB STRONGLY believes that most games are won or lost BEFORE Sunday. And it's not only the preparation by the players, but also all the assistants and booth personnel that need to be prepared for all the myriad of situations that can occur during a game.

Remember the Colts fake punt fiasco back in 2014. After the play, the thing that impressed me the most was how, within a second of the shift, how the Pats ST's players reacted like it was a play they had seen a 1000 times every week. They immediately had every man covered and were at least in position for any actions the Colts might make, including a blundered snap.

It is that kind of preparation that sometimes goes unnoticed. More people should be impressed with how well the Pats are able to shuffle so many people on and off the field so seamlessly, even when they are in a hurry up offense, or the defense is playing against a hurry up offense. If you take a moment to think about about it, getting it right so often, when you are doing it almost every play, with multiple players, is kind of an epic logistical operation. And they do it so smoothly and so often, it is taken for granted. Yet the preparation time and focus iit takes to do it that well has to be enormous.

So (to get back to the point), your observation of BB is spot on. BECAUSE of his team and staff's preparation during the weak, he is ABLE to sit back and just see the big picture strategically. No constant yelling. No clapping. Just thinking, so when he DOES say something, it's important and has an impact to the players he's talking to.

 

[patfanken]

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.

IIRC, the fake punt against the Jets was wide open and would have succeeded except that Chung bobbled the snap and the timing of the play broke down. The design and the calling of the play didn't fail....it was the execution....and that happens.

When you think about it, I believe the toughest think about James White's 2 point conversion in the Superbowl was him catching the damned snap. That was NOT an easy catch

 

[The Brandon Five]

IIRC, the fake punt against the Jets was wide open and would have succeeded except that Chung bobbled the snap and the timing of the play broke down. The design and the calling of the play didn't fail....it was the execution....and that happens.

When you think about it, I believe the toughest think about James White's 2 point conversion in the Superbowl was him catching the damned snap. That was NOT an easy catch

Hmm, I thought I remember reading that Chung used the wrong call (used the call for fake in error) so he was not prepared to take the snap, which is why he bobbled it.

 

[captain stone]

IIRC, the fake punt against the Jets was wide open and would have succeeded except that Chung bobbled the snap and the timing of the play broke down. The design and the calling of the play didn't fail....it was the execution....and that happens.

When you think about it, I believe the toughest think about James White's 2 point conversion in the Superbowl was him catching the damned snap. That was NOT an easy catch

The fake punt vs the JETE in the 2010 POs was not wide open by any means. I've watched that play multiple times, and there is serious doubt in my mind whether Chung would've been able to avoid the closest defender to him, because I believe it was Sammy Morris who really didn't have that first block executed like Bolden had his during Sunday's fake punt.

I do agree with you about White's catch of the 2-point snap, however.

 

[The Brandon Five]

IIRC, the fake punt against the Jets was wide open and would have succeeded except that Chung bobbled the snap and the timing of the play broke down. The design and the calling of the play didn't fail....it was the execution....and that happens.

When you think about it, I believe the toughest think about James White's 2 point conversion in the Superbowl was him catching the damned snap. That was NOT an easy catch

Looks like you are correct. More confirmation of my deteriorating memory. Joy.

Patriots' Chung takes responsibility for botched fake punt

Chung was the personal protector for punter Zoltan Mesko and believed the Patriots had an advantage at the line that would provide him an opportunity to scamper for the first down on fourth-and-4. So Chung called for long snapper Matt Katula to snap him the ball, "but I didn't catch it," he said.

"It's part of the game. Some things happen," Chung said. "Bounce back from it. That play's over, but it's my responsibility. It didn't work out for us."

 

[BelizePats]

He could name the boat VI Teams.

This is very funny. Thank you!

 

[DaBruinz]

That was not a penalty. The Miami gunner swatted at the ball after Amendola had caught it and made contact with the facemask incidentally. That swat and grab of the ball is what caused Amendola to fumble.

Sorry Tony, but you're not correct. The gunner hit Amendola in the facemask and never touched the ball. There was as much "incidental contact" there as there was on the play where Suh took down Lewis..

 

[Tony2046]

Sorry Tony, but you're not correct. The gunner hit Amendola in the facemask and never touched the ball. There was as much "incidental contact" there as there was on the play where Suh took down Lewis..

I'll post a gif of it in the rewatch thread and tag you. I've watched it a couple of times.