Idle thoughts - the "it's a better day" edition.

[RobertWeathers]

I'm sobered a bit by Bedard's column this morning, which includes this:

Yes, the opponent had something to do with it. The Saints were fresh off making Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford look like an MVP candidate. Bradford was 27 of 32 (84.4 percent) with four touchdowns (143.0 rating) against New Orleans in the opener.

The combined line of Brady and Bradford vs. the Saints: 57 of 71 (80.3 percent), 815 yards, 11.5 yards per attempt, seven touchdowns, 147.4 rating. Yes, that’s the worst opening two-game performance as far as completion percentage and passer rating by a defense in modern league history. It’s the second-most when it comes to yards allowed (822, 2010 Texans).

Something stinks in The Big Easy, and it’s not just Bourbon Street at 6 a.m. So I wouldn’t be printing up any, “We’re back *****es!” t-shirts or anything quite yet. We’ll know a lot more about where these beat-up Patriots (the last receiver standing, please turn out the light in the meeting room) are after they play the Texans, Panthers and Buccaneers — three good man-coverage teams — next in successive weeks.
​

So we'll have to see if they can keep up the offensive momentum against good man cover teams.

The Aints D is putrid no question but it was on the road and TB12 and the O dominated before players started to exit.

The did what they were supposed to do.

Moving on.

 

[tasmlab]

I didn't think either side of the game looked like what we're used to seeing, and it doesn't look gelled yet either, but who can argue with 30 points in the first half and the D keeping a good offense to 13 points for most of the game? It shows that they are adjusting to what they have roster-wise in a successful way.

Question: When Cooks opted to take a knee late in the game instead of getting tackled, do you think it was a personal decision? Or did the coaches tell him not to get hurt since he's the last standing WR? I guess smart move either way given the status of the game at that point, unless he's just routinely afraid of getting tackled.

 

[PatriotsNumero1Fan]

The saints are an awful team. They should beat the saints and they did. Not to take anything away from the win. This team will be measured against the cream of the crop in the AFC and NFC. I was impressed by lattimore as a rookie for the saints.

 

[borg]

Great job Ken

My 2 cents: Brady's delivery baffles me. For 16 years his accuracy has been dependent on his stride toward the target. But yesterday, his stride was gone. Who can argue the results but lets be honest, Brady is not delivering lasers out there. I wonder if this new throwing motion has to do with the beating he took last year. Is this an attempt to reduce his delivery time in a messy pocket?

James White has become the go to guy...who da thunk?

The AFC looks strong and The AFC West is loaded with talent. Lets hope they kick the crap out of each other.

Pats now worth $3.4 billion. Paying for his own stadium is the best move RK ever made....besides signing BB of course

Seeing how much talent there is on other teams, I fear NE's lack of high end draft picks in recent years will soon catch up to them....maybe faster than we expect.

 

[Kdo5]

I didn't think either side of the game looked like what we're used to seeing, and it doesn't look gelled yet either, but who can argue with 30 points in the first half and the D keeping a good offense to 13 points for most of the game? It shows that they are adjusting to what they have roster-wise in a successful way.

Question: When Cooks opted to take a knee late in the game instead of getting tackled, do you think it was a personal decision? Or did the coaches tell him not to get hurt since he's the last standing WR? I guess smart move either way given the status of the game at that point, unless he's just routinely afraid of getting tackled.

The play was a lost cause, the Pats were up comfortably. It made zero sense to risk injury. I liked that he took the knee, smart play.

 

[Kdo5]

Great job Ken

My 2 cents: Brady's delivery baffles me. For 16 years his accuracy has been dependent on his stride toward the target. But yesterday, his stride was gone. Who can argue the results but lets be honest, Brady is not delivering lasers out there. I wonder if this new throwing motion has to do with the beating he took last year. Is this an attempt to reduce his delivery time in a messy pocket?

James White has become the go to guy...who da thunk?

The AFC looks strong and The AFC West is loaded with talent. Lets hope they kick the crap out of each other.

Pats now worth $3.4 billion. Paying for his own stadium is the best move RK ever made....besides signing BB of course

Seeing how much talent there is on other teams, I fear NE's lack of high end draft picks in recent years will soon catch up to them....maybe faster than we expect.

Not really surprising if we've been paying attention since 2015. He has improved in every facet but 3DRB has been a key role and White has held that role since Lewis got injured and only solidified it every passing season.

 

[p8ryts]

It seemed to be that Brees could have been called for intentional grounding 4 times in the game. I know if the refs can even see anyone on the field with an eligible number they don't call it but a couple of them were egregious. Early in the game, he threw one in the middle of the field with no one around and even the announcers remarked, there was no one there but didn't expand on it. I thought at least 2 of them could have been called. I know they can throw it away if they are outside the pocket (don't know why that would be), but I didn't think this was applicable.

 

[ViperGTS]

Great job Ken

My 2 cents: Brady's delivery baffles me. For 16 years his accuracy has been dependent on his stride toward the target. But yesterday, his stride was gone. Who can argue the results but lets be honest, Brady is not delivering lasers out there. I wonder if this new throwing motion has to do with the beating he took last year. Is this an attempt to reduce his delivery time in a messy pocket?

James White has become the go to guy...who da thunk?

The AFC looks strong and The AFC West is loaded with talent. Lets hope they kick the crap out of each other.

Pats now worth $3.4 billion. Paying for his own stadium is the best move RK ever made....besides signing BB of course

Seeing how much talent there is on other teams, I fear NE's lack of high end draft picks in recent years will soon catch up to them....maybe faster than we expect.

This is fast becoming one of the most, if not the most tiring take I'm hearing lately. Just look at who was on on the field offensively for that final SB overtime TD. First round picks are generally good, but not the end all, especially in the high 20s. However, if you can hit on later round picks, or undrafted picks..it eases the "loss" of first rounders. Butler..UDFA. Adam Butler..UDFA. Jonathan Jones...UDFA. Wise...4th round. Flowers..4th round.

Those are just defensive guys. If people in the NFL, or in NE at this point haven't come to the realization that BB has cornered the UDFA market and later round picks that's their problem.

Don't buy into this first round no picks BS peddled by the Felgers of the world.

 

[ForThoseAboutToRock]

The Aints D is putrid no question but it was on the road and TB12 and the O dominated before players started to exit.

The did what they were supposed to do.

Moving on.

Agreed - the Saints D seems to be a major liability - but they're also probably desperate to not go 0-2 (for the nth year in a row) and had a shot at the Superbowl Champs in their own house - no more motivation than that needed.

The Patriots were very strong on converting 3rd down in the first half especially - that's exciting to me to see.

 

[supafly]

The play was a lost cause, the Pats were up comfortably. It made zero sense to risk injury. I liked that he took the knee, smart play.

Yes, I like when Cooks took the knee there, too.

Now, let's rewatch the Coleman play that went for 42 yards to see how much Stephon Gilmore took a knee. I'm guessing that it's not as bad as being reported, but I think we'd like to see more hustle, there.

 

[supafly]

I don't want to hear any crap about Solder and speed rushers. He did his job on 38 of the 39 times Brady dropped back.

That is not true. He gave up a sack, 3 QB hits, and a hurry, yesterday. That was coming off of last week's poor performance where he did all kinds of wrong. Sacks, hits, pressures, and had a holding penalty.

Solder has had a mediocre start at best, and it may get uglier for him with the front sevens of HOU and CAR coming up.

 

[supafly]

I'm bracing for the massive over reaction to Gotskowski's missed extra point from all the chicken littles who are ignoring that he is perfect so far in his FG's.

No one should be "overreacting," because Gost is great on KOs and managing the cold weather and snow, but he's now missed 7/63 past extra points, or approx. 11%. That obviously includes back-to-back postseasons of 2015 and 2016 in the biggest games of the year, both times.

I mean, if noticing stuff like that makes you a chicken little, then we should just keep all of the discussions to subjects that paint the players in a positive light after each game.

Any calls for Gost being benched/replaced/etc = overreacting, but it's certainly hard to look past, too. Something is going on, there, and I doubt this will be the last we speak on the matter.

 

[The Brandon Five]

ST's - I'm bracing for the massive over reaction to Gotskowski's missed extra point from all the chicken littles who are ignoring that he is perfect so far in his FG's.

I am not sure it is an over-reaction. A missed XP cost the team a trip to SB 50 and helped to create the need to convert a second 2-point attempt during SB 51.

 

[The Brandon Five]

How far has the league gone to make sure no one will ever block another FG. In the Dallas/Denver game, the refs gave Dallas a 15 yd penalty when a Dallas player happened to have his hand on the back of a Denver player when he leaped to try and block the kick. It was clear in the replay that he wasn't getting any "leaverage" in aiding his leap, but that didn't matter to the "score at all costs league".

The officiating in that game was maddeningly bad. PI called for no reason against Dallas while the Denver DB's do their usual mugging all game and not a single PI call against them. Two defensive holding calls.

 

[Gumby]

No one should be "overreacting," because Gost is great on KOs and managing the cold weather and snow, but he's now missed 7/63 past extra points, or approx. 11%. That obviously includes back-to-back postseasons of 2015 and 2016 in the biggest games of the year, both times.

I mean, if noticing stuff like that makes you a chicken little, then we should just keep all of the discussions to subjects that paint the players in a positive light after each game.

Any calls for Gost being benched/replaced/etc = overreacting, but it's certainly hard to look past, too. Something is going on, there, and I doubt this will be the last we speak on the matter.

Not to quibble, but the NFL.com stats page said 59/65 or 90.7 (9.3 miss) %.
Including the 30-39s from same timeframe: 69/77 or 89.6 (10.4 miss) %.

Regardless, YES his last two years XPs and 30-39 yd FGs are showing a slight downward trend (career avg for both [excluding old-distance XPs] is around 93%). And that performance moves him from being consistently #1 kicker to about position 5 -12 depending how you measure FGs KOs etc.

way too early in 17 to have a statistically meaningful understanding, but it portends an offseason issue next year or in two years; NOT an issue THIS season. (It is not like you are going to magically find a top ten kicker waiting for a job offer in mid-season. )

 

[Nikolai]

Not to quibble, but the NFL.com stats page said 59/65 or 90.7 (9.3 miss) %.
Including the 30-39s from same timeframe: 69/77 or 89.6 (10.4 miss) %.

Regardless, YES his last two years XPs and 30-39 yd FGs are showing a slight downward trend (career avg for both [excluding old-distance XPs] is around 93%). And that performance moves him from being consistently #1 kicker to about position 5 -12 depending how you measure FGs KOs etc.

way too early in 17 to have a statistically meaningful understanding, but it portends an offseason issue next year or in two years; NOT an issue THIS season. (It is not like you are going to magically find a top ten kicker waiting for a job offer in mid-season. )

And that's exactly it. It's easy to send a kicker packing, but replacing him with someone as good isn't easy at all, especially mid-season.

 

[Kdo5]

No one should be "overreacting," because Gost is great on KOs and managing the cold weather and snow, but he's now missed 7/63 past extra points, or approx. 11%. That obviously includes back-to-back postseasons of 2015 and 2016 in the biggest games of the year, both times.

I mean, if noticing stuff like that makes you a chicken little, then we should just keep all of the discussions to subjects that paint the players in a positive light after each game.

Any calls for Gost being benched/replaced/etc = overreacting, but it's certainly hard to look past, too. Something is going on, there, and I doubt this will be the last we speak on the matter.

There are some people who seem to be in denial of Gost is struggling for the second straight season. The guy has missed multiple extra points, two huge ones in the AFCCG and last years Super Bowl. If the offense doesn't pull off the miracle it did with the two point conversions we lose the championship.

Two major misses on the biggest stages. And he continues to miss extra points. The kicks he does hit often look bad, as if the kick was 5-10 yards longer they would have been shanks.

Right now he is not reliable in big spots or in big games and it's an issue. I wouldn't trade the guy for most kickers in the league but his woes continue and he isn't inspiring much confidence.

 

[luuked]

9. Take aways

While it is still very early in the season, our LACK of take aways (1) is a little concerning to me. Part of the Pats consistent success over the years has been the fact they have usually wound up in the top 1o of the league in turn overs. Even the historically bad 2011 defense was in the top ten in TO's. A fact that helped them get to the superbowl. You can't expect the offense to drive the ball 70+ yds all the t.ime to score. Every good scoring team has its share of short fields. Thus far this season, the Pats have only had one of those (and failed to score).

That is exactly what people have been saying last year right until the SF game. And then they came in bunches.

BTW- the 2-0 Ravens already have 10 take aways

We are 2 games in and have not played against hapless Bengals and Browns. And more depressingly the Ravens have more players on IR than those 10 take aways. Add in now Yanda and they are pretty much done as a true competitor this season.

 

[luuked]

There are some people who seem to be in denial of Gost is struggling for the second straight season. The guy has missed multiple extra points, two huge ones in the AFCCG and last years Super Bowl. If the offense doesn't pull off the miracle it did with the two point conversions we lose the championship.

Two major misses on the biggest stages. And he continues to miss extra points. The kicks he does hit often look bad, as if the kick was 5-10 yards longer they would have been shanks.

Right now he is not reliable in big spots or in big games and it's an issue. I wouldn't trade the guy for most kickers in the league but his woes continue and he isn't inspiring much confidence.

I think there is a difference between being in denial of struggle and being aware that he still is one of the best kickers in a league where many have started to struggle in the last 2 years. If you have a great solution to replace him send an email to Caserio I am sure he will be happy to hear one. Otherwise you are just calling things an issue while not even attempting to suggest a solution. If there is no obvious solution then there is no reason to waste time talking about it.

 

[PatriotReign]

This is fast becoming one of the most, if not the most tiring take I'm hearing lately. Just look at who was on on the field offensively for that final SB overtime TD. First round picks are generally good, but not the end all, especially in the high 20s. However, if you can hit on later round picks, or undrafted picks..it eases the "loss" of first rounders. Butler..UDFA. Adam Butler..UDFA. Jonathan Jones...UDFA. Wise...4th round. Flowers..4th round.

Those are just defensive guys. If people in the NFL, or in NE at this point haven't come to the realization that BB has cornered the UDFA market and later round picks that's their problem.

Don't buy into this first round no picks BS peddled by the Felgers of the world.

The stolen first rounder and fourth rounder really hurt this team. Just like losing the second 1st in '08 cost us the opportunity to draft someone like Brandon Flowers, Jordy Nelson, Calais Campbell, Matt Forte, Martellus Bennett, or Desean Jackson which would have been immensely helpful.

**** Harbawl, The Turdbirds, The Dolts, Pash, Vincent, and that soulless ginger ****head Goodell.