Game Day Thread Official Post Game Thread- Pats beat Arizona

[archstanton543]

In all honesty, I don't want us to make the playoffs. We would be one and done like last season. Instead, we get a higher draft pick than make the playoffs to go one and done!

The "just happy to be here" playoff spot does the Pats no favors.

But since they're going to be drafting OL players early (because they basically have to revamp the whole line), you can find those players a middle of the pack where they'll be picking.

 

[sb1]

I agree with the sentiment here. I want to see Mac open it up and throw downfield. The Patriots need to find out what they've got in their second year QB and whether he can take this team deep into the playoffs in the near future.

My guess is the OL problems are causing them to hold back but eventually they need to see what kind of QB he is.

 

[Toofy]

Let's just enjoy the win last night and take it one game at a time!!! It was a big win and we got some key performances from our younger players which is nice to see. Our last 3 drafts are looking really good!!!!!! Something to build on.

Agree...uche and dugger and onwenu making 2020 draft look real good now.

I think on offense we have really not had the luck in terms of performance.

Wynn
Michel
Harry
Strange
Asiasi
Keene
Thornton

4 firsts , 1 second and 2 3rds. Hoping strange and Thornton can blossom in.

Mac was pretty good in second half and stats might look better if agholor and Thornton did their assignments correctly . Thornton route running needs some improvement .

Hoping good health smiles our way and we get back some starters for raiders. Getting barmore would be huge to eliminate the big plays and help our cornerbacks .

Hoping Trent brown gets to 75% of his health and we get back a decent RT.

 

[sb1]

I want to see them make the playoffs. Once you're in anything can happen. Also if they don't then that means 1 out of 3 playoff seasons post Brady and zero playoff wins. Kraft will be hearing it from the media and fans and BB's seat will be warm this offseason and into next year. Maybe it will be anyway.

 

[State]

He reminds me of Troy Brown who was involved in all three phases…but Troy didn’t do all of it right out of the gate. Marcus is a unique talent

Besides being electric, he’s good-looking and well spoken. The companies are going to line up to use his services in commercials.

Not into the modern music, but doesn’t he do that, too?

 

[signbabybrady]

Yeah I think it's worth mentioning that they performed really well with all of the following players out for all, or most, of the game:

- Christian Barmore
- Rhamondre Stevenson
- Damien Harris
- Jakobi Meyers
- DeVante Parker
- Jalen Mills
- Jack Jones
- Isaiah Wynn
- Marcus Cannon

All of those guys listed except for Isaiah Wynn are starters.

Very tough year for us injury wise and with everything else that's gone on it's good/will be good to see the resiliency as the fight through everything to hopefully make the playoffs. And hopefully somehow get a lot healthier.

 

[ashley]

I want to see them make the playoffs. Once you're in anything can happen. Also if they don't then that means 1 out of 3 playoff seasons post Brady and zero playoff wins. Kraft will be hearing it from the media and fans and BB's seat will be warm this offseason and into next year. Maybe it will be anyway.

Right now, it's one game at a time!!! Let's enjoy this win and keep it going!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are building something here with our young talent, we need to get better along the O-line, but we should be excited about some of our young talent. We needed this one!!!

 

[40yrpatsfan]

Takeaways:

1) We are somewhat better than the truly awful Cardinals when you take away their starting quarterback. How this translates to "I think we could beat KC" is just beyond me.

2) Whether we "make the playoffs" or not, by some misalignment of the stars, does not matter. We have no chance of advancing once there.

3) The real focus this year remains on evaluating/developing talent. Given that he has had no meaningful support from his "coaches" this year, the jury is still out on Mac, who has not shown (been allowed to show) whether he is or is not a "franchise quarterback." There are good signs re this year's rookie class overall, albeit against a very weak Arizona team.

4) Zappe has earned a more thorough look, but he ain't gonna get it this year, unfortunately but understandably. The Pats have a significant draft stock investment in Mac, and need to find out just what they have bought. This task has been made much more difficult by Bill's preoposterously bad mishandling of the coaching situation.

4) Overall, on balance, this is a badly coached team with a very inconsistent GM. If your coach/GM won't accept the guidance/support he obviously needs, he has to go, darn near asap, in my view.

I've been a fan since they were the Boston Patriots. We are at a low point over that span of time, I suppose, but such travails are just part of it. You can't enjoy rsing up from the ashes if you don't first get down there where the ashes are to be found. The rebuild-on-the-fly thing rarely....flies.

I go back too, but this is far too dark of an assessment. They have an OL problem, particularly OT - that's the issue. The rest of it takes care of itself if they eliminate their 5-yard penalties, give Mac more time, and RB's aren't being blown up in the backfield. The only hope we have this year to fix it is if Wynn, Cannon, and/or Cajuste can get healthy and somehow play their best football. Not a likely prospect but it's within the realm.

 

[Toofy]

We have nothing to lose . We need to see if Mac is the guy. Open the playbook , we have a wobbly offensive line can Mac be 3 or 4 steps behind and then we try to get RB or Jonnu Smith in space and see how they can do it. Do the dink and dunk with the most open receiver with most yac potential . Limit route runs to less than 2 seconds.

I thought Bourne was great . Converted 3 - 4 plays where it should have just been a loss of 2 yards .

And when the receivers run amok there is bound to be some huge plays after catch on dink and dunk . Teams will start to do more man coverage then . This would give OLine some breather , Then get our running game and RPO in motion.

Patricia needs to find a way to eliminate the weakness .

 

[Pats2000]

Those are the second-half totals, not for the game. If you add those down totals up, they match his second half numbers:



I posted the first-half totals in a previous tweet:

Ah ok, now that makes sense

 

[Steve102]

To be fair we aren't at a low point yet. We aren't a good team but we are still winning some games and still in the playoff hunt. Eventually we will be a 4 win team one day again.

Yeah, I agree. The original poster of the low point comment mentioned he's been a fan since they were in Boston. He knows what low point can look like. While I agree with his sentiment that they are not advancing in the playoffs, this is far from the days when they were a laughing stock. They will not return to that level under the Kraft's ownership.

 

[signbabybrady]

it was one thing when ST's were his only touches. But last night he played the whole game as a CB, was out there on offense for quite a few plays, and ST's. You don't want a tired guy returning kickoffs.

I want more Marcus not less but I get your point about being careful just not sure we can afford it right now

 

[State]

Fat Matt is too conservative.

I agree. The Cardinals most of the night we’re leaving the center of the field empty except for one high safety. They anticipated exactly what we gave ‘em.

That’s why the seam route by Hunter Henry was so gratifying. More of that.

My gripe is the absence of plays downfield for Tyquan Thornton. You can’t coach speed, and he is the fastest guy on the field.

Just look at how Detroit is incorporating Jameson Williams into their offense.

Why can’t we do that here?

 

[Toofy]

On a side note , in the context of the game tavai's batted pass was a huge turning point . If that drive continued not sure how this game might have planned out.

Great play Tavai.

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

Huh? What?

Translation- If the Patriots can play like they did vs Cardinals last night when they play Cinn, then they could have a chance in the playoffs if they met KC.....

 

[State]

I think Yates has grown into that role

I hope so. Stands to reason.

He and Patricia can become competent with more seasoning—and if we have a more talented OC.

Players like a guy like Yates who’s been in their shoes. However, the poor play in the first half by the OL was a disappointment.

 

[RobertWeathers]

When playaction is run, the QB looks away from the play to sell the fake. If the defense is blitzing, which the Cards do a lot, having the QB look away is not ideal. With Mac it might be even worse since he does not scramble well. It is not obvious to me why this is bad. Can you explain why you think it is inexcusable?

The job of the OC and QB coach is to get Mac to improve- not regress.

Last year Mac threw 146 PA passes, completed 77% for 1300yds w 6TDS/3INTs for a 108 passer rating.

It is also their job to design and call plays which put their QB and the offense in the best possible position to succeed and maximize opportunties

That ain't happening.

 

[State]

I go back too, but this is far too dark of an assessment.

No, it’s not. The Cardinals are a _bad_ team that lost its star QB. They may win only one or two more games this season. And we were neck and neck until the Dugger-caused fumble and Raekwon McMillian scoop and score. That changed the dynamic of the game in our favor.

 

[Rob0729]

A few thoughts:

I'm not sure the Marcus Jones on offense experiment is permanent. I have this hunch that they're previewing what that Tyreek-role/whatever you want to call it looks like within their offense and they're planning to acquire a full-time offensive player with a similar athletic profile to Marcus Jones to put in that role for 2023 and beyond. (Putting aside that hunch, Marcus Jones himself is an extremely impressive athlete -and- football player. This guy is going to be a high-level defensive back, special-teamer, and potential offensive gadget player for a long, long time in the NFL ... hopefully all of it is spent in a Pats' uniform).

Pierre Strong shocked me. I hadn't seen anything from him to suggest that was coming. I liked what he showed athletically in college but had to acknowledge he was running through some really big holes in the videos I saw. During his time on the Pats I've seen a hesitant, unsure player who didn't look ready mentally or physically. Then he committed that backbreaking ST penalty against Minnesota and got chewed out.

For him to produce how he did last night, and not only produce but flash the ability he did, holy smokes. I don't know if they told the guy to just go out there and run, or what, but that was genuinely shocking in an entirely positive way. Fantastic one-cut, foot-in-the-ground and go. Got to top speed extremely quickly, ran fast and with good balance, look tall and well put together. Where the heck did that come from?

How did Devante Parker get concussed? It looked like a potentially nasty hit against the ground at first glance, but after seeing the replay it primarily looked like his shoulder took the brunt of the fall. Really tough to see a guy looking that dazed ... hope he's alright. I don't mean to suggest this is the case, but I wonder to what extent the fit of the helmet plays a role in head injuries. Too tight? Too loose? Type of helmet? Maybe someone more knowledgable than myself can discuss that. Again, hope DP is alright.

When Parker was on his back on the ground, the defender gave him a forearm ton the chin. I don't think it was intentional, but that looked to be where he was concussed.

 

[venecol]

We'll take the win of course, but it sure didn't seem like any of the ex-NFL playersvwatching this game thought this is a playoff caliber team.

1. Murray going down after 3rd play was the defining moment of the game. It was much harder to adjust their O game plan w/ McCoy than our D plan for him.
2. Didn't think it was possible, but Cardinals OL is worse than ours.
3. 2 TDs in RZ! Baby steps.
4. Glad to see BostonStrong show his wheels after most of you were ready to lynch him after the ST play penalty.
5. Pats odds to make the playoffs remain at 25%. Cool.