Official Post Game Thread - Chiefs at Patriots

[ViperGTS]

I don't recall anyone else claiming the Pats were a .500 team in the game thread, but if they were, sure, they deserve to be called out for it too.

No just in general. Again, if they play like they did last night, with the schedule they have that's exactly what they are. McCourty said if they play with that attitude they won't win a game this year.

Guess he's clueless too. That's worse.

 

[Tony2046]

There were a few plays like this:

I'm unsure of Hightower's responsibility here. Smith pitches to Hunt ( I believe) who then runs around DH for ten yards down the sideline. Originally I thought DH should have had the edge. Later in a similar play DH plays it the same way and McCourty actually comes in to seal the edge.

IF DH plays this further outside he give Smith an inside lane. Or does DH bite too hard on Smith's threat?

Any input?

 

[BradyFTW!]

There were a few plays like this:

I'm unsure of Hightower's responsibility here. Smith pitches to Hunt ( I believe) who then runs around DH for ten yards down the sideline. Originally I thought DH should have had the edge. Later in a similar play DH plays it the same way and McCourty actually comes in to seal the edge.

IF DH plays this further outside he give Smith an inside lane. Or does DH bite too hard on Smith's threat?

Any input?

I think Hightower needs to set the edge there. You may give up an inside lane to Hunt, but that's far better than the alternative because at least then you're funneling him into a place where other guys can make a play. He got too far upfield too quickly and in doing so made the play easy for KC.

Hightower did a really bad job setting the edge last night. Not really a shocker, he doesn't have a lot of game-speed reps having to do that so it's kinda unfamiliar territory for him. He did a poor job, but I'm not sure how much better could have reasonably been expected given that he A) missed the preseason and B) was playing out of position on those snaps.

 

[ViperGTS]

There were a few plays like this:

I'm unsure of Hightower's responsibility here. Smith pitches to Hunt ( I believe) who then runs around DH for ten yards down the sideline. Originally I thought DH should have had the edge. Later in a similar play DH plays it the same way and McCourty actually comes in to seal the edge.

IF DH plays this further outside he give Smith an inside lane. Or does DH bite too hard on Smith's threat?

Any input?

Hard to say. Depends on what the responsibilities were. Probably a bit more of what you said in the second part although I thought the ends should play it more 50-50.

Also, I saw someone last night say they should nail Smith on those options. Didn't see that.

 

[Horace's Ivories]

I dont imagine Chief fans are celebrating anything at this point..

Berry done for season

 

[Joker]

I dont imagine Chief fans are celebrating anything at this point..

Berry done for season

Pyrrhic victory

 

[Kontradiction]

There were a few plays like this:

I'm unsure of Hightower's responsibility here. Smith pitches to Hunt ( I believe) who then runs around DH for ten yards down the sideline. Originally I thought DH should have had the edge. Later in a similar play DH plays it the same way and McCourty actually comes in to seal the edge.

IF DH plays this further outside he give Smith an inside lane. Or does DH bite too hard on Smith's threat?

Any input?

Hightower did the right thing on that play. His responsibility is the quarterback on the read option. Someone else (looks like maybe McCourty) should have been in better position right behind him as his responsibility is the back. If Hightower trailed Hunt, he would have been freelancing on that play. Smith was his man. Hunt was someone else's. Again, my best guess is McCourty, but he's so far out of position that it's hard to know.

 

[BradyFTW!]

No just in general. Again, if they play like they did last night, with the schedule they have that's exactly what they are. McCourty said if they play with that attitude they won't win a game this year.

Guess he's clueless too. That's worse.

Of course McCourty said that. What else is he supposed to say? You're already walking back the original post though, so I'll take that for what it is.

The Pats looked bad last night--the offense in ways that seem eminently fixable and the defense in ways that look alarm, systemically bad. You could draw a lot of parallels between last night and the first Bills game last year. Those types of games happen, there's at least one of them every year. It sucks, but even the best teams have them. So for now it's just one game, and using it to claim that the team is cooked and the defense is a sieve and we're a .500 team now is a really bad overreaction. This happens every year, and every year there's a couple fans in the game thread declaring it the end of an era. It is what it is; nobody's totally innocent of it, I just hope that if we're 6-2 a month and a half from now you'll take that as an opportunity to reflect and maybe not do this next time they lose a game in alarmingly ****ty fashion.

 

[ViperGTS]

Of course McCourty said that. What else is he supposed to say? You're already walking back the original post though, so I'll take that for what it is.

The Pats looked bad last night--the offense in ways that seem eminently fixable and the defense in ways that look alarmingly, systemically bad. You could draw a lot of parallels between last night and the first Bills game last year. Those types of games happen. It sucks, but even the best teams have them. So for now it's just one game, and using it to claim that the team is cooked and the defense is a sieve and we're a .500 team now is a really bad overreaction. This happens every year, and every year there's a couple fans in the game thread declaring it the end of an era. It is what it is; nobody's totally innocent of it, I just hope that if we're 6-2 a month and a half from now you'll take that as an opportunity to reflect and maybe not do this next time they lose a game in alarmingly ****ty fashion.

No backtracking. I don't take to well to a team giving up. That's the whole point. What sports team, especially a football team that gives up is set up for future success? When I saw them give up, it was a scary, scary thing. That's what bad teams do. I don't see how that changes in a week. That's in a teams' DNA.

I hope they are 6-2. Or 7-1. I'll gladly eat my words. If they are then that DNA was changed and that literally changes everything.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

There were a few plays like this:

I'm unsure of Hightower's responsibility here. Smith pitches to Hunt ( I believe) who then runs around DH for ten yards down the sideline. Originally I thought DH should have had the edge. Later in a similar play DH plays it the same way and McCourty actually comes in to seal the edge.

IF DH plays this further outside he give Smith an inside lane. Or does DH bite too hard on Smith's threat?

Any input?

I think DH was spying Smith on some plays, looked that way on many plays in fact.

RO there, 54 should have lit Smith up.

 

[Hercules Rockefeller]

There were a few plays like this:

I'm unsure of Hightower's responsibility here. Smith pitches to Hunt ( I believe) who then runs around DH for ten yards down the sideline. Originally I thought DH should have had the edge. Later in a similar play DH plays it the same way and McCourty actually comes in to seal the edge.

IF DH plays this further outside he give Smith an inside lane. Or does DH bite too hard on Smith's threat?

Any input?

Hightower's responsibility is almost certainly to the Quarterback on that play, and he plays it that way. There was no help on the pitchman (Hunt) as there should have been. It seemed to me that the Patriots were misaligned on a number of plays, including at least one where Malcolm Butler lined up inside of the tight end, thus providing no contain on the play, which led to a big run. There seemed to be communication and responsibility breakdowns galore in the latter stages of the game.

 

[EddardSnow67]

There were a few plays like this:

I'm unsure of Hightower's responsibility here. Smith pitches to Hunt ( I believe) who then runs around DH for ten yards down the sideline. Originally I thought DH should have had the edge. Later in a similar play DH plays it the same way and McCourty actually comes in to seal the edge.

IF DH plays this further outside he give Smith an inside lane. Or does DH bite too hard on Smith's threat?

Any input?

Without being privy to the scheme, I'd say McCourty needed to come up hard to the outside to beat the free blocker (Kelce?), but hesitated for whatever reason. Probably afraid of the inside cut by Smith, but there was a defender free to fill that lane and Hightower correctly played the QB, so his only worry should have been the pitch man.

On that play, the Chiefs absolutely want to pitch it. Smith can move a little, but he wasn't getting more than three or four yards if he keeps it, which is about all you expect to get if the keep is forced there. You don't run that play in the NFL with the intended read being the keeper unless you have a next level running talent at quarterback.

It was well schemed by the Chiefs, hat-on-hat, but McCourty could have blown it up with a faster read and a harder fill.

 

[Hercules Rockefeller]

Reiss:



That is what I mean when I talk about execution being a bigger issue than the playcalls themselves. Tiny and stupid mistakes..

Solder is on the right side next to Cannon on this play, it is an unbalanced formation. There is no tackle backside, I can't quite tell who that is next to Thuney, possibly Dwayne Allen or Bolden. Either way they were looking to confuse the Chiefs and it did not work.

 

[JPsPats]

We don't have a chain mover at receiver right now. Edelman was our guy, and then Dola but now Dola is hurt too. There's no coincidence that we moved the ball with ease in the first half with dola in, and then struggled in the 2nd half.


It's too bad the Jets just signed Kerley after San Fran released him. He would really help our slot and 3rd down game.

 

[Hercules Rockefeller]

Without being privy to the scheme, I'd say McCourty needed to come up hard to the outside to beat the free blocker (Kelce?), but hesitated for whatever reason. Probably afraid of the inside cut by Smith, but there was a defender free to fill that lane and Hightower correctly played the QB, so his only worry should have been the pitch man.

On that play, the Chiefs absolutely want to pitch it. Smith can move a little, but he wasn't getting more than three or four yards if he keeps it, which is about all you expect to get if the keep is forced there. You don't run that play in the NFL with the intended read being the keeper unless you have a next level running talent at quarterback.

It was well schemed by the Chiefs, hat-on-hat, but McCourty could have blown it up with a faster read and a harder fill.

Exactly. The only thing Hightower could have done any differently was put a hit on Smith to discourage future attempts, but the Chiefs did a good job of disguising that they would be running option on a bunch of plays.

 

[varjao]

Well so many things I have been wanting to say lately but no time at all, I couldn't post my thoughts on the Edelman injury and the recent trades/cuts, but one thing at a time. Four day weekend here but I'm working today, so I will stop for a moment to post my thoughts on the game.

Well needless to say that we got our ass kicked. In my opinion even with all the problems this was a very much winnable game if the Pats were able to score on that first 4th and 1. They couldn't put the game out of reach and KC never had to change their gameplan due to a large deficit.

My main concern now is the defense, specially the front 7. The roster turnover at DE/DT plus the lack of first round draft picks having an impact in this group is starting to show up as this group looks like a bunch of Jags.

The offense will suffer without Edelman, I knew that the moment he tore his ACL because he is the guy who moves the chains and makes everyone around him better because he demands Defensive Coordinators special attention. It was no surprise for me that Hogan looked lost yesterday. He's had an amazing year last season but it was a function of the system. I don't expect him to take over for Edelman but not in the least. Amendola is capable of replicating that role and was the only guy able to get separation yesterday, until the obvious happened, he got injured returning punts. Let me make this perfectly clear, he won't last 3 games returning punts and being a focal point on the offense. BB needs to wake the **** up about this, he is the GOAT coach but he looks stubborn as **** at times. I think the offense will find a rhythm, the RB group is looking good, but they don't have the luxury to suffer another injury at WR, then it will 2013 all over again.

A little breakdown by position/group:

QB - Brady was off most of the night, but no one could get open, only Amendola. No reason to panic.

WR - Cooks is good, Amendola can be counted on and came up huge as I expected but he can't return punts with the offense depending on him for ****s sake. Dorsett was invisible and Hogan was better as a RB than a WR last night.

TE - RED ALERT. Gronk didn't look good. He was a stiff, not moving well and I thought he was injured again after that TD that got called back. His facial expression when he got up was not good, maybe the diving catches are causing more pain that it used to be, or maybe he knew it was not a TD so he didn't celebrate much. Anyway, the other receptions he made were the kind of passes I want him catching, safe catches, going down immediately. The diving catches are a time bomb. And we need someone else catching passes over the middle, I think Hollister is active in the next game.

O-Line - Looked good.

D-line/LBs - As bad as it gets.

Secondary - Although they got burnt a few times I think it's a good group and can bail us out on the defensive side. But no secondary can cover that long if there's is no pressure on the QB.

ST's - So much roster turnover to field an average special teams. Penalties, face mask, two running into the kicker. A MESS.

Coaching - BAD.

 

[luuked]

Solder is on the right side next to Cannon on this play, it is an unbalanced formation. There is no tackle backside, I can't quite tell who that is next to Thuney, possibly Dwayne Allen or Bolden. Either way they were looking to confuse the Chiefs and it did not work.

Yes that was the play on which Solder was an eligible receiver.

 

[Horace's Ivories]

Pyrrhic victory

Nice . I had to look that up - I'm light on historical reference and history in general..

 

[Patriot Missile]

Costly win for the Chiefs. If given a choice between beating Chiefs and losing McCourty, I'd say take the L.

Next day and I can't say I'm happy about the loss but I do remember that this team knows how to bounce back from adversity and tough losses. They'll figure it out.

 

[Tony2046]

Here is another KC TD play. Question: Would a better disciplined secondary switch off coverage or is Richards expected to react quicker? I ask because he is reaction is probably a quarter second too slow. That's a tight window.

Richards looks lined up properly here.



1. Flowers actually disrupts this play and forces Hunt to redirect his route to the inside.
2. It looks like Richards read this late but had to navigate his way through designed traffic.

Well designed play.



The traffic: