Idle thoughts - The obvious edition

[luuked]

Isn't that what "close but not quite good enough" means?

I'm one of the biggest defensive homers on this board. But the fact is, we didn't execute when we had to, on both sides of the ball. They did. That's why they won. Fix the execution, and the result is different.

Maybe I am nitpicking. I don't know..

On defense I can only think of the Revis/Devin's screwed as the only play where I felt they screwed up/were stupid. The rest? I couldn't even get angry because it was either perfect passes or them exploiting mismatches that they identified or successfully created.

We took (mostly) care of Nelson, Cobb and Lacy.

The lack of a pass rush is nothing new against mobile QBs and I have gotten used to it (doesn't matter if I agree with it or not).

This is one of those losses where I really don't know what to be disappointed/angry about except for the TD before HT and the Gronk drop.

 

[Oswlek]

This is one of those losses where I really don't know what to be disappointed/angry about except for the TD before HT and the Gronk drop.

Try the offensive coaching. They played right into GB's hands and never really adjusted. That defense should never hold NE to three scores on 8 possessions. It was lousy enough that I hope Bill or Josh do a team Mea Culpa.

 

[heavyde050]

Like the title suggests, there isn't much insight needed for this one. On this particular night, the team that had the best QB, made the most big plays on offense and defense, made the fewest mistakes and in most cases flat out played better won the game. Aside from the obvious here are some observations that I hope will make me feel better if I write them down.

1. Here is the most curious thing. Despite being clearly out played in most areas of the game and playing their worst game in the last 7, with 3 minutes to go in the game the Pats had the ball on the GB 40 behind by 5 points. I think that's worth repeating. Despite all the frustration and angst, our home team was a microhair catch from taking the lead in a game without the aid of any TO's or big breaks. That's how good our team is. Bad marks for playaaing their B game in an important game, but they didn't get a single good break (outside of the Adams drop) and still managed to keep the game constantly within reach.

2. Here are some of the things I did like.

a. I liked that after the running plays they gave up to open the game, with one exception, they shut the run down for the rest of the game. It showed a very rapid adjustment that cost them only 3 points

b. I loved the disciplined rush. I know it often looked ineffective, but the reality was it worked very well....for the most part

c. The Pats defense really was quite good. Unfortunately it seemed like in every series there was that ONE play that the Packers hit for a big play, and even on many of those, they were decently well covered and extremely well exectuted by Rodgers.

d. I loved/hated watching those simply beautiful passes perfectly thrown to Adams on those double moves, and those passes perfectly dropped in there on Ninko, all of which led to Packer scores. Well executed, well thought out plays. You couldn't be a football fan and not admire them. In the end they simply had more of that kind of play than we did.

e. I though Revis was wonderful again, and I thought the rest of the secondary played pretty well considering who and where they were playing..

3. Here are the things I really didn't like.

a. There were at least 2 occasions where the Pats could have gotten off the field if they had simply tackled better after the catch. That is one of the things the Pats have done so well during their 7 game streak. It wasn't like they were horrible, but just not as good.

b. I hated that last TD just before the half. No so much the pinpoint throw and catch, but the structural unsoundness of the the Coverage that seemed to allow no inside help after the catch. It was a very bad time to have a miscommunication

c. I really hated the refs, who came close to ruining one of the better played games the NFL has presented. The hands to the head on Browner on the Ayers sack was ludicrous, and the non-call on the most obvious text book offensive push off in the 2nd half were 2 key calls that kept Packer drives going, and kept the Pats on the field. The refs weren't the reason the Pats lost this game, but they didn't catch any breaks either.. In the end, crews like Korente's and Hoculi's do actual harm to the of the enjoyment of the games they ref

d. I hated that Brady continues to force the ball into his "in crowd" rather than take easy throws to others. Too many times I saw Brady look and then ignore guys like Hooman and Vareen in order to try and force something into Gronk. And you know what's worse? Watching my future HOF QB throw no fewer than 4 third down an long passes at least 5 yds in front of the first down marker. I can't excuse a rookie doing that, let alone the GOAT.

e. I hated that Dobson finally gets in a game and then immeidately pulls a hamstring. That poor kid can't catch a break.

d. Special teams didn't seem too special. KO's and punts seemed short and returns were almost non existent, not to mention Gotkowski's 2nd miss of the year.. This was a game that needed an ST boost and didn't get it.

5. If we manage a win in SD, this loss will be easier to take. GB is going to be tough to beat at home in the playoffs, so we could have a 2nd crack at them. Personally I like the idea of playing them again after a loss. It won't take much to swich these results around and it will be good to get some of the pressure to "be the best" back on some other teams. Looks like GB and Denver will go back to being the new flavors of the media's month, and I'm good with that.

It was good to watch a well played NFL game for a change. I wish the outcome was better. I fully expect it to be the next time. Carry on.

Agree with mostly everything. But I had a much different take on Brady.

He missed some throws on some stupid play calls including going deep instead of for the first down, but overall he played very well and was one of the main reasons the Pats were in the game.

The worst part of the game was BB's decision to punt on 4 and 1 from near midfield early in the game. IIRC it was 6-0 at that point and GB would proceed to score a TD. The pats should have gone for it with the big power run game.

 

[Galeb]

The worst part of the game was BB's decision to punt on 4 and 1 from near midfield early in the game. IIRC it was 6-0 at that point and GB would proceed to score a TD. The pats should have gone for it with the big power run game.

I think if BB knew how bad the D was going to be between the 20s, he would gone for it.

 

[mayoclinic]

Try the offensive coaching. They played right into GB's hands and never really adjusted. That defense should never hold NE to three scores on 8 possessions. It was lousy enough that I hope Bill or Josh do a team Mea Culpa.

The game planning and adjustments on both sides of the ball seemed less than ideal, to put it mildly.

 

[luuked]

Try the offensive coaching. They played right into GB's hands and never really adjusted. That defense should never hold NE to three scores on 8 possessions. It was lousy enough that I hope Bill or Josh do a team Mea Culpa.

I shouldn't have mentioned the Gronk drop as I was thinking mostly about the performance of the defense when I wrote the reply.

Offensively there are many things to be angry about. I totally agree.

 

[mayoclinic]

This is one of those losses where I really don't know what to be disappointed/angry about except for the TD before HT and the Gronk drop.

Maybe. I haven't reviewed the film. But the Pats gave up 7 points at the end of the 1st half and missed 2 opportunities at the end of the 2nd (the Gronk catch and the missed FG). That's a 7-14 point swing in a 5 point game.

As I said above, GB punted only once in the game. That's not good enough, IMO.

 

[ATippett56]

The OP's monologue failed to mention the regression of the New England Patriots offensive line. Tom Brady rarely had more than three seconds to throw the football, especially in the second half, while Aaron Rodgers could have pitched a tent on the vast majority of Green Bay Packers offensive pass attempts.

 

[letekro]

The game planning and adjustments on both sides of the ball seemed less than ideal, to put it mildly.

Can't argue with the defensive adjustments. Pack had 3 pts and 138 yds in the second half.

 

[supafly]

The worst part of the game was BB's decision to punt on 4 and 1 from near midfield early in the game. IIRC it was 6-0 at that point and GB would proceed to score a TD. The pats should have gone for it with the big power run game.

You know, I turned to my wife at that exact point and said the same thing.

I didn't like the flow of the game, or the TOP, which was heavily favoring Green Bay despite the fact they only came away with 2 FGs. You could definitely tell that they had all of the momentum, and once they scored after we punted I was even more pissed.

The way I saw it--what's the difference if you give Rodgers 70 yards or 50 yards, compared to the potential benefit of picking up the first down and continuing to give the defense a breather? Of course, I realize that I very well could be wrong in my thinking, and ultimately trust Belichick to make those decisions.

 

[Wax Frog]

I like that the Pats are still the top seed. But they do have to beat San Diego now to maintain that.

I prefer seeing the team get a trial by fire rather than cruise into the postseason. If they're not up to the job of finishing I'd rather know early.

 

[Fencer]

You know, I turned to my wife at that exact point and said the same thing.

I didn't like the flow of the game, or the TOP, which was heavily favoring Green Bay despite the fact they only came away with 2 FGs. You could definitely tell that they had all of the momentum, and once they scored after we punted I was even more pissed.

The way I saw it--what's the difference if you give Rodgers 70 yards or 50 yards, compared to the potential benefit of picking up the first down and continuing to give the defense a breather? Of course, I realize that I very well could be wrong in my thinking, and ultimately trust Belichick to make those decisions.

Rodgers seemed to move his team at will except in the red zone, so defensive field position turned out to be pretty valueless at any time in the first half.

 

[luuked]

The OP's monologue failed to mention the regression of the New England Patriots offensive line. Tom Brady rarely had more than three seconds to throw the football, especially in the second half, while Aaron Rodgers could have pitched a tent on the vast majority of Green Bay Packers offensive pass attempts.

One game where according to Bruschi we tried to go more intermediate/deep than in the last few games doesn't make it a regression. Also, the only sack came on what essentially was the final play of the game for the OL. If it continues to get worse against SD then we can have a discussion about regression.