Sorry, Mark. But this is the type of article I expect from people like DKF. Poorly researched and not showing a lot of understanding of the game. And a lot of "Well, Duh" sorts of statements.
1) You're slam of Smith is ridiculous. He had a bad game. It happens. How many 4 interception games did Brady have? How many 3 drop games did Edelman have during his career? Smith and Henry are working with a rookie QB. You also lumped ALL the Free Agent signings together and Judon has been worth every penny to this point.
2) Your first "no brainer" statement. You offer no sort of insight. Not into what might happen going forward at the position. No tidbits on who might do what o replace White?
3) You drone on about the QB Hits, Pressures, and Interceptions, but you don't say jack about the CAUSE. Like the O-line playing like crap. Especially ANDREWS. Like Herron playing better, but still not playing well enough. Why not mention something about Cole Popovich possibly being the better of the two O-line coaches and the Pats hurting for it..
4) How did the Patriots telegraph they were running a screen play?
5) Another no brainer. Been a common thread in the 1st two game day threads.
6) This one is a doozy.. The problem with it is that you don't understand the strengths of the WRs that were brought in. Bourne's strength wasn't his speed. He was NEVER a speed player. He's always been a route running guy. Meyers didn't fall because of his speed, which is 4.63. He fell because of a lack of overall time spent at WR. He's a convert from QB. He's also a ROUTE RUNNING guy. That's how he beats you. By running excellent routes.
Agholor is the speed guy. And your "observation" regarding him is incorrect. The reason the long passes weren't completed was a breakdown in communication. Which happens when the QB is a rookie and the receivers are still learning him and him them. On one of the plays, Jones was clearly expecting Agholor to run a post and Agholor ran a corner route. It's why the ball landed about 3 yards to Agholor's right. The other problem was that Jones was under such pressure, he didn't have time to properly set on a couple of the long throws.
Mentioning Deonte Harris is a red herring. He was a UDFA in 2019. That's right. He wasn't drafted despite his 4.35 speed. Not sure if you were trying to make some kind of comparison from him to Jakobi Meyers or not. But if you were, it was poorly done.
7) Amazing.. We FINALLY get to the O-line.. But.. Wait.. You blast 2nd year back-up Herron, but you ignore the "Old Man" of the line in Andrews who sucked just as bad until the end of this one. You posit that the Pats coaching might be growing tired of Wynn, but don't really say why.
8) I notice you couldn't be bothered to mention the exact play you say that Van Noy just stood around watching Winston so that people could reference it and see what you were referring to.
9) Another no brainer comment. No real insight.
10) Depending on where you look, the stats vary. For instance, NFL.com, Judon i listed as having 2.5 sacks and 2 TFLs. If you look at Pro-Football-Reference.com, It lists Judon with the same plus 3 QB Hits. However, when you go to
Lazar's Advanced Stats Report, it shows 1 Hurry and 4 pressures. Of course, You ignore this because it goes against your narrative about the Patriots off-season Free Agent acquisitions.
It's interesting you mention Godchaux and Barmore, but ignore Dietrich Wise. Who actually had a TFL to go along with his .5 sack and QB Hit.
But where are you taking to task the D-line for giving up 142 yards on the ground? Where are you taking to task Lawrence guy for being blow off the line far too many times? What about a critique of Henry Anderson (11 snaps)? Or questions about why Carl Davis saw so few snaps (16)..
11) That's not an observation.
12) You try to give the Pats props by saying the run defense played well until the Saints 2nd to last drive where they allowed 10 for 56. Well, Belichick would tell you it's a 60 minute game. The fact remains that the Defense allowed the Saints to have 59 plays. They allowed a 46% 3rd Down success rate. They also contributed to the Saints owning the Time of Possesson 32 to 27. The Saints' offense made the plays they needed to. The Patriots Defense didn't. And the individual efforts don't matter as much when the team loses.
13) Harris is in his 3rd year. He played 14 games as a rookie and 9 last year. He's has 32 receptions in 26 games. The most he's put up in a SEASON in 186 yards. You're making this guy out to be something more than he is. He's a short receiver who plays sparingly but does make catches when they're thrown to him.
14) Was it the defense? Or was it poor play by the offensive line? Or was it both?
15) Again, not an observation.
Mark - beyond the obvious above, you also misspelled player's names. "Dante Hightower"? "Jokobi Meyers"? "Tonah Kapassagnon"? I can understand (sort of) not getting Kpassagnon's name correct. But Hightower and Meyers? Their on the team you're covering. You can always pull the names from the NFL Box Page or whatever page you happen to look at that has the rosters.. It's just lazy otherwise.
