- Joined
- Jul 11, 2005
- Messages
- 15,537
- Reaction score
- 27,579
Last week at this time no on knew when Gronk and High would be back. It looked like an uphill fight to gain a bye or complete home field advantage, and the OL looked in complete shambles. The run game was non-existent. Receivers were dropping balls at an alarming rate. This week.....not so much.
1. As games play out each week should be reinforcing some of the important lessons that we should be absorbing. Last week we were painfully reminded how important special teams were, and how big play TO's that turn into TD's are extremely difficult to overcome.
It should have also told us just how good this team actually is, in that it gave up 21 points on Special teams and offensive TO's and STILL should have won that game. As BB said after the KC game last season, "I actually felt good about our team because of the way they fought back, even when it was out of reach". He must have felt good about the way this undermanned team fought back from a 21 deficit mid way through the 4th quarter, to come within an eyelash of tying the game.
2. But the big question was, could this team go back on the road and win a game against a hot team with a lot on the line. Would this actually be the first 3 game losing streak in 13 years? This game had all the earmarks of a very tight physical game that would be decided until well into the 4th quarter. Well based on what I saw, the Pats pretty much coasted home and were in total control of this game from the outset.
3. In my opinion the OL took some steps forward tonight. There was a little more push in the run game, and a lot better protection from the passing game. Mercellous, Watt, and Clowney are 3 accomplished pass rushers that were shut down until well into the 4th quarter when Clowney got 2 sacks, and one was a no block gift brought about by a VERY inexperienced interior OL.
Think about it. Our interior OL was made up of two 4th round rookies and a 2nd year man who has missed half the season. There has been zero time for this version of our OL to start to build up some much needed continuity and rhythm. I think we got back the bulk of our OL back for the Eagle game that has to take us through the playoffs. In its first outing, it pretty much sucked, as Brady continued to keep getting hit on 30% of his drop backs.
Well today I opine that it was better, and when that QB hits stat gets dragged up this week, it will be better. Baby steps here, but I expect the OL to get better over the next 3 games, and while it will never reach the continuity level we all hoped for when the season started, It will be a lot more consistent and effective than it has the last month.
4. Very interesting offensive game plan tonight. We continued to see more of the conservative, passive Pats offense that we've seen in recent weeks. It is almost like Josh has put the training wheels on this offense and he isn't going to take them off until he gets his OL stabilized, and more of his offensive weapons back.
Once again, instead of going for the jugular. on 3rd and 8 we run a draw and pick up the sure 3, instead of taking any risk of no getting it. We have see a lot more of that kind of decision making over the last few weeks, more so than any other time in the last 5 seasons.
5. Scott Chandler has his 2 most productive weeks, and doesn't get a single target. James comes off probably what will be his biggest game in his NFL career, racking up over 100 yards of receiving and doesn't see a sniff until the 4th quarter, winding up with 4 catches for 36 yds. Such is the fate of skill players in the Pats system. One week it is your day, the next it simply isn't.
6. This is true of the QB himself. After 2 straight games of over 300 yds in passing, where Brady was almost apoplectic in his frustration, Brady barely got over 200 in this game (226) and seemed pleased as punch with the offensive effort......in general. The biggest point he mentioned was that the offense didn't commit any of the big errors we've seen from the team the past 2 weeks.
7. The move Mercelous made on Ryan Stork was a thing of beauty. Clouney's 2nd sack was nothing more than a mental error by Stork/Jackson, and you or I could have almost gotten to the passer on that stem. Meanwhile Clowney is getting all the accolades and Mercelous is an after thought.
8. Our DL's play seems to be getting better all the time. This week's newcomer to shine was Akeem Hicks. His 2 sacks show up his potential to be an interior penetrator, as well as a solid run stopper. He has already been very solid in limited snaps so far this season, but he made at least 3 impact plays this game. I think his value will only increase over time. I will be very interested to see what he can become after a full off season here and a full TC.
9. Jabal Sheard must pinch himself every night to make sure he doesn't wake up in the morning to find himself back in Cleveland. This must seem like football heaven for him after slaving away, unwatched and unappreciated. In a game where Chandler Jones was missing in action, Sheard once again showed that he is not only the Pats best FA this off season, he is probably among the top 5 best FA signings accross the entire NFL.
10. I'm happy Matt Patricia's name is starting to get some run. He is doing a great job with this defense. I can't remember a defense in the BB era that moves around as much and does so much blitzing.....and it is really effective most of the time.
11. I know its redundant to bring it up again, but given how much crap they've taken over the past few years, they deserve it. Patrick Chung and Logan Ryan deserve continued praise for the work they are doing in the 2ndary. Chung continues to make plays in the secondary each and every games, as well as being a fine run stopper.
Hopkins had been tearing up the league during the the Texan's winning streak, yet with some part time help from the S's, Ryan pretty much shut down one of the hottest WR's in the game.
Meanwhile Malcom Butler continues to thrive in his rendition of being a poor man's Revis. I sometimes feel bad for the kid watching him have such great position on some of these receivers only to have to hold my heart in my throat wondering if the catch is going to be made anyway. I think if he was 2 inches taller, he'd be a household name by next year, and all those "hold your breath" pass defenses, would be clean break ups.
BOTTOM LINE - Who would have "thunk" it, but our secondary really IS better than last season's version.
11. OT - If there was one good thing that came out of that loss to the Eagles was the fact that with the win Chip Kelly got a little more breathing space from the media and so called "experts" who seem to be out to get him.
I like Chip partially because he's a New Englander and started his coaching career here, but mostly because he's an outsider. He's different and unafraid to do what he thinks is ultimately in the best interest of his team. Now I don't think he's above criticism any more than any coach is, but I just hate it when the mediots go after him for basically going against the common wisdom. I find most of the criticism he's taking is really mean spirited and personal.
I believe if given the opportunity to put his vision into action I think he'll be a consistently successful HC in this league. I'm rooting for him to win the NFCE. I know BB likes him and that's good enough for me.
12. We have 3 games left and the ball is "in our court". One last tough game on the road against the Jets. The Titans are playing for next season and Miami might already have their bags packed by the time we get to town (or they might treat it as their superbowl and try to win one for Campbell) But the fact remains that not only do we control the top seed, Cinci and Denver both have tougher schedules to face over the final 3 games.....and both now have QB questions to anwer.
13. The good news is we really did control this game well. The bad news is that the injury list CONTINUUUUUUUEEESS, though it seems none look like they are long term problems.
14. I don't know about you but, I have no problems with the Panthers getting to 16-0. It would be a nice feat for them. However as we all know all too well, 16-0 is not the goal of the season. All that matter is winning the LAST game of the season. Everything that happens prior to that game is only relevant in that it allowed you to GET to that final game.
Did I mention I hate these Sunday night games almost as much as the Thursday night ones. Here it is past 2am and I have almost no idea about what I'm writing about any more, and I can't imagine the editorial mistakes I have made and am too tired to check on. If the product this week is a little rough, and isn't rife with profound insights, blame it on the Sunday night game and not me. After all, if Ron Borges can have a 2 decade career in the Boston media without any sort of accountability, why shouldn't I have that same privilege.
1. As games play out each week should be reinforcing some of the important lessons that we should be absorbing. Last week we were painfully reminded how important special teams were, and how big play TO's that turn into TD's are extremely difficult to overcome.
It should have also told us just how good this team actually is, in that it gave up 21 points on Special teams and offensive TO's and STILL should have won that game. As BB said after the KC game last season, "I actually felt good about our team because of the way they fought back, even when it was out of reach". He must have felt good about the way this undermanned team fought back from a 21 deficit mid way through the 4th quarter, to come within an eyelash of tying the game.
2. But the big question was, could this team go back on the road and win a game against a hot team with a lot on the line. Would this actually be the first 3 game losing streak in 13 years? This game had all the earmarks of a very tight physical game that would be decided until well into the 4th quarter. Well based on what I saw, the Pats pretty much coasted home and were in total control of this game from the outset.
3. In my opinion the OL took some steps forward tonight. There was a little more push in the run game, and a lot better protection from the passing game. Mercellous, Watt, and Clowney are 3 accomplished pass rushers that were shut down until well into the 4th quarter when Clowney got 2 sacks, and one was a no block gift brought about by a VERY inexperienced interior OL.
Think about it. Our interior OL was made up of two 4th round rookies and a 2nd year man who has missed half the season. There has been zero time for this version of our OL to start to build up some much needed continuity and rhythm. I think we got back the bulk of our OL back for the Eagle game that has to take us through the playoffs. In its first outing, it pretty much sucked, as Brady continued to keep getting hit on 30% of his drop backs.
Well today I opine that it was better, and when that QB hits stat gets dragged up this week, it will be better. Baby steps here, but I expect the OL to get better over the next 3 games, and while it will never reach the continuity level we all hoped for when the season started, It will be a lot more consistent and effective than it has the last month.
4. Very interesting offensive game plan tonight. We continued to see more of the conservative, passive Pats offense that we've seen in recent weeks. It is almost like Josh has put the training wheels on this offense and he isn't going to take them off until he gets his OL stabilized, and more of his offensive weapons back.
Once again, instead of going for the jugular. on 3rd and 8 we run a draw and pick up the sure 3, instead of taking any risk of no getting it. We have see a lot more of that kind of decision making over the last few weeks, more so than any other time in the last 5 seasons.
5. Scott Chandler has his 2 most productive weeks, and doesn't get a single target. James comes off probably what will be his biggest game in his NFL career, racking up over 100 yards of receiving and doesn't see a sniff until the 4th quarter, winding up with 4 catches for 36 yds. Such is the fate of skill players in the Pats system. One week it is your day, the next it simply isn't.
6. This is true of the QB himself. After 2 straight games of over 300 yds in passing, where Brady was almost apoplectic in his frustration, Brady barely got over 200 in this game (226) and seemed pleased as punch with the offensive effort......in general. The biggest point he mentioned was that the offense didn't commit any of the big errors we've seen from the team the past 2 weeks.
7. The move Mercelous made on Ryan Stork was a thing of beauty. Clouney's 2nd sack was nothing more than a mental error by Stork/Jackson, and you or I could have almost gotten to the passer on that stem. Meanwhile Clowney is getting all the accolades and Mercelous is an after thought.
8. Our DL's play seems to be getting better all the time. This week's newcomer to shine was Akeem Hicks. His 2 sacks show up his potential to be an interior penetrator, as well as a solid run stopper. He has already been very solid in limited snaps so far this season, but he made at least 3 impact plays this game. I think his value will only increase over time. I will be very interested to see what he can become after a full off season here and a full TC.
9. Jabal Sheard must pinch himself every night to make sure he doesn't wake up in the morning to find himself back in Cleveland. This must seem like football heaven for him after slaving away, unwatched and unappreciated. In a game where Chandler Jones was missing in action, Sheard once again showed that he is not only the Pats best FA this off season, he is probably among the top 5 best FA signings accross the entire NFL.
10. I'm happy Matt Patricia's name is starting to get some run. He is doing a great job with this defense. I can't remember a defense in the BB era that moves around as much and does so much blitzing.....and it is really effective most of the time.
11. I know its redundant to bring it up again, but given how much crap they've taken over the past few years, they deserve it. Patrick Chung and Logan Ryan deserve continued praise for the work they are doing in the 2ndary. Chung continues to make plays in the secondary each and every games, as well as being a fine run stopper.
Hopkins had been tearing up the league during the the Texan's winning streak, yet with some part time help from the S's, Ryan pretty much shut down one of the hottest WR's in the game.
Meanwhile Malcom Butler continues to thrive in his rendition of being a poor man's Revis. I sometimes feel bad for the kid watching him have such great position on some of these receivers only to have to hold my heart in my throat wondering if the catch is going to be made anyway. I think if he was 2 inches taller, he'd be a household name by next year, and all those "hold your breath" pass defenses, would be clean break ups.
BOTTOM LINE - Who would have "thunk" it, but our secondary really IS better than last season's version.
11. OT - If there was one good thing that came out of that loss to the Eagles was the fact that with the win Chip Kelly got a little more breathing space from the media and so called "experts" who seem to be out to get him.
I like Chip partially because he's a New Englander and started his coaching career here, but mostly because he's an outsider. He's different and unafraid to do what he thinks is ultimately in the best interest of his team. Now I don't think he's above criticism any more than any coach is, but I just hate it when the mediots go after him for basically going against the common wisdom. I find most of the criticism he's taking is really mean spirited and personal.
I believe if given the opportunity to put his vision into action I think he'll be a consistently successful HC in this league. I'm rooting for him to win the NFCE. I know BB likes him and that's good enough for me.
12. We have 3 games left and the ball is "in our court". One last tough game on the road against the Jets. The Titans are playing for next season and Miami might already have their bags packed by the time we get to town (or they might treat it as their superbowl and try to win one for Campbell) But the fact remains that not only do we control the top seed, Cinci and Denver both have tougher schedules to face over the final 3 games.....and both now have QB questions to anwer.
13. The good news is we really did control this game well. The bad news is that the injury list CONTINUUUUUUUEEESS, though it seems none look like they are long term problems.
14. I don't know about you but, I have no problems with the Panthers getting to 16-0. It would be a nice feat for them. However as we all know all too well, 16-0 is not the goal of the season. All that matter is winning the LAST game of the season. Everything that happens prior to that game is only relevant in that it allowed you to GET to that final game.
Did I mention I hate these Sunday night games almost as much as the Thursday night ones. Here it is past 2am and I have almost no idea about what I'm writing about any more, and I can't imagine the editorial mistakes I have made and am too tired to check on. If the product this week is a little rough, and isn't rife with profound insights, blame it on the Sunday night game and not me. After all, if Ron Borges can have a 2 decade career in the Boston media without any sort of accountability, why shouldn't I have that same privilege.