This is a bad team who should be tanking instead of winning these close ugly games. We will all be regretting a win like this when we are picking around #20 next April. We should sit Cam, who clearly can't pass anymore after his worst passing game of his career. His footwork sucks. His accuracy is non-existent and he clearly has trouble seeing the field and his taking sacks even though the OL has done a good job protecting him.
What I have written here is NOT what I think, but it IS what you will be hearing all week from the media. So be prepared. The sky is falling. BB has lost it. The dynasty is over and it will be decades before we might see a revival.
Well while some of the criticisms are valid, it surely was an ugly offensive game no question. I see a path back from purgatory and I encourage a dialog for those who disagree.
BTW- I am not going to write one of those 10,000 word jobs tonight. Just a few thoughts for discussion ....at least that's my intent.
So on to the list.
1. Lets start with the bad stuff.
a. Cam looked horrible. I couldn't help note that after Folk's game winning FG the stricken look of disappointment on Cam's face. It was as if he was so disappointed in his performance he couldn't bear to share in his teammates' celebration of a well deserved. He KNEW it was his worse passing game of a very good 10 year career and it clearly hurt him. I don't blame him. That's what a winner feels like when he's sucked on the field. It happens. Move on. He's the same guy who threw for 350 odd yds just last week. So while it would have been nice if he had built on that performance this week, it didn't happen. Move on.
That being said, I don't know what's going on in practice. Back in 2001 the word was that Brady was already looking better than Drew in practices preceding Drew's injury and it would have been just a matter of time before Bledsoe might have been replaced if his game didn't improve. The fact was that the offense Bill wanted to run simply suited Brady's skill set over Drew's Drew never adapted his game. Hard to teach an old dog new tricks. But I don't want to go down that rabbit hole.
Here's the thing. I don't think Bill is going to dump Cam. Good playing, bad playing Cam is still the leader of the team. From all reports he's a been a great teammate. But I do think that the leash is a lot shorter now than it was yesterday. There is a part of me that wants to see what Stidham has got before the whole " sell all the franchise's assets to draft a QB high" crowd takes over the place. BB moved on from a $100MM QB I don't think he'll be afraid to move on from a $1MM QB.
People don't want to make excuses for any player, but Cam has more than a few he COULD claim for his very inconsistent performances. We all know them, so I won't waste time repeating them. But I can't help but wonder what Cam could be with a full off season and a 2nd year in the system.
b. I've been a LONG time coming to this point, but I'm finally coming to the point where I am really worried about N'Keal Harry's future as a Patriot. He really looks lost and seems like he's completely lost his confidence.
Listen I still believe he has a future. He's a tough kid who is willing to block LB's, who is willing to go over the middle, etc. He's generally shown good hands despite his drop today. But I'm not really worried about his physical skills. I AM now worried about his head. Is this kid mentally tough enough to deal with the adversities of injuries and overcoming a bad performance. EVERY player has them. The good pros, simply move on with even greater determination to do better. The guy who are quickly out of the league are the ones who can't. I'm not sure which category Harry lies right now.
c. We are going to hear about from now until April but I'm NOT a big fan about picking a QB in the first round or god forbid mortgaging the future to move up for a can't miss "franchise QB" (Like mitch Trubisky or Wentz or Sam Darnold, or any of a dozen other QB's I could mention that have turned out to be less than their teams hoped for.
BTW - Someone in the game day thread opined that maybe it might not be a bad Idea to get Harry to put on 25 pounds of muscle and move to TE. Just a thought.
c. The running game took a step back this week. One reason was the fact the Cards were stacking 8 and 9 men at the LOS. The other was the lost of Issaih Wynn. I don't know what happened with Elumenaur, but mid way through the first period our 2 starting OT's were 6th round rookies
So it was no wonder the running game wasn't going well. I saw Elumanur back in the game later, but bottom line, Wynn will be missed the next 2 game...at least.
d. The broadcast team at Fox sucked. They were clearly favoring the NFC team to the point when the announcer literally use the term "we" in describing the Cards. That explained a lot to me.
e. The refs - These guys were horrible. The call on the PR was ludicrous. It can't be a blindside hit when the 2 guys are facing each other. Right? Another key call was on Gilmore giving the Cards ANOTHER shot at a TD on a failed 3rd down play inside the 5. Sure Gilmore DID give Hopkins a slight tug that didn't interfere with his route, yet they COMPLETELY ignored the fact that Hopkins had not only pushed off early in the route, but he slammed Gilmore right in the face!!!!!! That was almost as bad as the double penalty call that gave the cards ANOTHER chance after a failed 3rd down play. These guys were REALLY inconsistent.
BTW- Some in the media are trying to intimate that the PF call on Cam that set up the winning FG was "controversial". It wasn't. Sure Cam was hit before he went out. But that WASN'T why the flag was thrown. The guy ear holed Cam with the top of his helmet. And while in my day that would have been applauded, now its clearly a foul. No controversy there at ALL!
g. Second thought - I really thought JWilliams had a great rookie year, and I even thought he looked good early in the season, but as each game has passed he seems to have become a distant after thought and that disturbs me. I want him to be good and he should be. Yet clearly he isn't getting any run. It might not be his fault. Hard for him to crack Gilmore, Jackson, JMcCourty, and JJones at CB and harder to crack a DMcCourty, Phillips and Dugger at S
h. Another last minute thought. - Can't help but to be very disappoint in the fact neither of our 2 TE draftees have managed to get on the field due to injuries. It really sucks.
The good stuff.
a. This team has a LOT of character. They have lost a lot of close game this year and have had things go bad at the worst times. Injuries, illnesses, fumbles and picks. They are in a position where they literally have to run the table if they want to guarantee themselves a playoff spot, so EVERY game is a playoff game from here on out. So no one would have been surprised if after the abysmal start they had in going behind 10-0 in the first 10 minutes of the game, they would have quit and gone through the motions. Nothing seemed to be working.
.
Well they obviously didn't quit and made a lot of really clutch plays over the course of the game. So even if you think they suck and should be tanking, this is team that is WORTHY of our full support. They have a lot of grit and determination.
b. I think Winovich, Uche, and Simon will give us a solid OLB corps for the next several years. Uche is starting to make a difference. Winovich could be a star in the making and Simon is as solid as they come.
c. Adam Butler had his best game as a Patriot. I don't know what they were putting in his chocolate milk while he was out, but I want some in my milk. That kid was on fire. I was worried when I saw Cowart was out. I needn't have. Adam proved solid support in the run game and consistent pressure up the middle.
BTW- Lawrence Guy could be the most under rated defensive lineman in the league. Week in and Week out he gives this team a great effort and solid production and no one seems to notice.
d. The secondary (along with the DL pressure) held a very explosive and talented Cardinal offense to just 170 yds passing. A special shout out should go to Gilmore who held the best receiver in the NFL to a VERY quiet 55 yds on 5 catches. Most of those were on 10 yd outs when it looked like Gilmore was in zone. There were a LOT of fantasy players who are very sad tonight.
e. Very nice game by a guy I've been pretty critical of this year. JBentley led the team with 13 tackles and was a rock on the inside. If they can keep him out of passing game or protect him, he can develop into a good run stopper.
f. DHarris had his worst game in a while but I love him more every time I see him run.
g. Dugger is going to be a good one. He's going to be an impact safety down the road and likely the guy who keeps Patrick Chung in retirement in NH. He's another of the young guys who make me happy.
h. And while we really might have the worst set of WR's in the league, Jakobi Myers is turning out to be a solid option running constant routes and getting open despite his speed deficiencies. And the more I see of Jamir Bird, the more I like him. HE seems to be improving as the season goes on.
3; Other thoughts.
a. The Pats are looking at a 2 week stay on the west coast coming up in games against a very winnable Chargers and the very tough Rams a week later. They they play the AFC in each of their last 3 games. They will likely be underdogs in 3 of those games (Rams, Bills, and Dolphins) All those games will be close and the Pats will have a punchers shot in every game. 10-6 is possible, though 8-8 is more likely. But here's the thing. Even if they don't make the playoffs this season, I don't see this team as being far from being back in the championship mix. Here's why.
b. For the first time in decades, the cap is going to drop to 175M next season. For the few teams WITH cap space the FA market will be deep and offer a lot of great bargains because there will be a number of teams who are going to have to let go good players to get under the cap and other might be able to keep their own guys, but will not be able to bid for any new guys. IF what we been led to believe is true, the Pats will be among those few teams with relatively a lot of space to pick up 2 or 3 QUALITY players that could make immediate impacts on areas of need for this team.
c. This team needs speed at WR. This team needs speed at ILB. This team needs bulk on the DL THERE WILL be quality players who fill these needs available next March and the Pats will have room to acquire some and the market will be flush with so many that it should be good time to be a buyer.d
d. i. This defense seems to be getting better or at least capable to stop 2 of 3 very good QB's running dynamic offensive systems. Its not going to take too much to push it to the next level
Bill creates winning teams with winning attitudes. It is never a surpirse to him when they win. He gives them what they need to do in order to win a game, and gets them to believe that if they do those things, they will win the game. So Bill is NEVER going to tank any game they suit up for. He still believes that adage that it is the best TEAM ,not the most talent that wins football games. AND while he'd rather have Julio Jones and DHopkiins as his WR's, he's shown he can win MULTIPLE Superbowls with some other guys who aren't household names. That being said, I wouldn't be surprised if he hired someone this off season who has some experience in some of the "Air Raid" kind of offensive concepts that the Pats aren't familiar with on offense.
e. I just got an Alexa thing from Amazon and I can't believe I ever existed without it. Is that sad?????
. OK I've rambled enough. I'm going to thoroughly enjoy this win and look forward to the next one.
