PostGame Thread Official Post Game Thread- Pats beat the Texans

[irishfanatic]

BB is surrounded by a bad staff.

.

Except the OC who is top notch. Btw, his name is Josh McDaniels.

 

[n6249c]

Well it's either that, or he made a really bad decision as a coach to attempt the FG, for reasons discussed in the other topic.

They are rebuilding. This year isn't about winning a championship it's about finding out who you have in your new rookie QB and the new pieces on the team. Instead of taking the low percentage FG attempt tell your rookie QB to go for it and see what he has? It's 4th and 3 not 4th and 10. That defense was reeling. I know Brady would have gone for it and made it if he was here. I think Mac would have made it too.

Problem with going for it and failing is the potential that it undermines the confidence of your young QB. I personally don’t think he’s that fragile, but I do think it’s a risk to consider. Remember that a big part of what you have in your rookie QB is potential, you don’t want to spoil it.

Thing is, I don’t know what the scouting info on TB indicated they’d do against whatever the Pats called. Mac has been good but I’d have more confidence in Brady to see a bad matchup and respond appropriately. Nothing about relative talent, more about relative maturity. And it’s the game on the line, that’s where the risk evaluation of going for it vs kicking is so important.

I understood the logic behind the 4th and 2 call at least. That was defensible. This IMO wasn't. I won't rehash it here, it was discussed in the other topic.

I haven’t been on the other topic. Honestly, the board has gone downhill so badly I’m not spending much time on here anymore, and I’m being very picky about what threads I follow and the posts I’ll engage with. The pissing and moaning and negativism are neither attractive nor a good use of my time. I’m hoping things will improve as the Brady butthurt heals and the rebuilt team starts to gel. But we’ll see.

 

[DaBruinz]

On the spectrum of "gift-wrapping" wins, where does 'fumbling away the ball at your opponent's 1/4 yard-line', fall?

Except it wasn't a fumble at the 1/4 yard line. The ball didn't come out until after he crossed the plane. How do I know this? Because the Texans player had half his body in the endzone when he threw the punch to knock the ball loose.

 

[n6249c]

I wouldn't say the Bucs qualify as a "bad" team. Nor are the Saints. I don't even think the Dolphins are truly "bad", but they're not great.

Houston and NYJ are the two legitimately "bad" teams the Pats have played.

They effectively blew out NYJ.

As for today, yeah, it was ugly, but I'll take it for several reasons.

1. The Texans played above their average, especially in the 1st half (they regressed to the mean in the 2nd half, at least offensively).
2. This was a game ripe for a letdown. Road, low energy crowd, coming off an emotional, tough loss in a high visibility game. If you were drawing up a scenario for a letdown, that'd be it.
3. They won despite continuing to make the same costly mistakes that they've been making; penalties, turnovers. -1 turnover differential for the game, and the Harris fumble was effectively the equivalent of a pick-6. It's not often that you win games when you lose the turnover battle and give-up a 7 point swing on a single play, but the Pats managed to do it today.

You left out another big reason:

4. An epically patchwork OL that played well beyond expectations.

 

[NG Pats Fan]

oh god. all the posters liking the post know nothing about that game. Probably didn’t even start watching the Patriots then lol

that game featured a prime Terry Glenn (who is 100x more talented than any wide receiver this Patriots team has) going off

brady also threw a few 30-40 yard DIMES that I haven’t even seen mac attempt to throw one time

Can Mac throw the ball downfield? Why are the Patriots coaches scared

 

[SHOWTIME15]

If Brady was here they would have gone for it, no doubt at all. And he makes it too.

What does this even mean? If Brady were here, they would have gone for it? So who's the QB on the other side then for Tampa, Winston? If that's the case the decision to kick or go for it is irrelevant.

 

[catent]

How does the OL look when Wynn, Mason, & Onwenu are healthy?

Cajuste-Wynn-Andrews-Mason-Onwenu ?
Cajuste-Karras-Andrews-Mason-Onwenu ?
Cajuste-Wynn-Andrews-Karras-Onwenu ?

 

[sb1]

Problem with going for it and failing is the potential that it undermines the confidence of your youenng QB. I personally don’t think he’s that fragile, but I do think it’s a risk to consider. Remember that a big part of what you have in your rookie QB is potential, you don’t want to spoil it.

Thing is, I don’t know what the scouting info on TB indicated they’d do against whatever the Pats called. Mac has been good but I’d have more confidence in Brady to see a bad matchup and respond appropriately. Nothing about relative talent, more about relative maturity. And it’s the game on the line, that’s where the risk evaluation of going for it vs kicking is so important.


I haven’t been on the other topic. Honestly, the board has gone downhill so badly I’m not spending much time on here anymore, and I’m being very picky about what threads I follow and the posts I’ll engage with. The pissing and moaning and negativism are neither attractive nor a good use of my time. I’m hoping things will improve as the Brady butthurt heals and the rebuilt team starts to gel. But we’ll see.

I guess the Brady scenario is hypothetical and moot anyway - if he's here then obviously he's not there and 50 seconds and 2 TO's and worrying about Jameis Winston is a lot different than worrying about Brady. Then I think taking the kick would make more sense but as it was, I think it was the wrong call.

I'd really hate to think they are babying Mac because he will fail sometimes like any QB does and then what? Better to take the reins off and let him have at it. I hope they do.

 

[DaBruinz]

Except the OC who is top notch. Btw, his name is Josh McDaniels.

McDaniels is above average. He's not "top notch". Otherwise the personnel on the field during the Red Zone instances the last two years would have been been your taller receivers and TEs. There's a reason people have taken McDaniels' to task about the play-calling. It's not been great in those instances.

 

[catent]

oh god. all the posters liking the post know nothing about that game. Probably didn’t even start watching the Patriots then lol

that game featured a prime Terry Glenn (who is 100x more talented than any wide receiver this Patriots team has) going off

brady also threw a few 30-40 yard DIMES that I haven’t even seen mac attempt to throw one time

Can Mac throw the ball downfield? Why are the Patriots coaches scared

Do you recall that pass he threw to Meyers that was dropped? It traveled about 20-30+ yards in the air.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

Except the OC who is top notch. Btw, his name is Josh McDaniels.

You mean the oc who has run a bottom3 NFL patriot offense since 2019? Or the one who was fired after St Louis'11 (worst offense in the league) or was it the one fired from Denver'10 (lost 16 of 22 games).

 

[sb1]

What does this even mean? If Brady were here, they would have gone for it? So who's the QB on the other side then for Tampa, Winston? If that's the case the decision to kick or go for it is irrelevant.

Agreed but point is, if BB decided to kick because he doesn't trust Mac in that spot then what good does that do for the QB? If he fails, big deal, he will learn for next time he's in that spot. We are rebuilding, this is not a playoff worthy team at this stage of the rebuild so individual wins and losses don't mean as much to me in the bigger picture.

 

[n6249c]

Yes it could. But why not give him that opportunity. What bugs me is some people people think Mac is so fragile and weak he can't handle failing in that spot so we can't put him in that situation. I'd like to know whether that's the case for our first round draft pick QB a lot sooner than later.

I’d rather win games than test the character of our rookie QB.

What I’m seeing is that folks have given up on this season already. Heck some had given up on the game we just won before it even kicked off. That is making this board borderline toxic to those of us who want to see how things play out in reality instead of in our nightmares. It’s great to talk football, and discuss the trade offs in decisions like choosing the FGA over going for it on fourth down. It’s not great to get mired in the gazillionth thread trashing the coaches, players, ownership, and any poster on the board that doesn’t agree.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

As for today, yeah, it was ugly, but I'll take it for several reasons.

1. The Texans played above their average, especially in the 1st half (they regressed to the mean in the 2nd half, at least offensively).
2. This was a game ripe for a letdown. Road, low NRG crowd, coming off an emotional, tough loss in a high visibility game. If you were drawing up a scenario for a letdown, that'd be it.
3. They won despite continuing to make the same costly mistakes that they've been making; penalties, turnovers. -1 turnover differential for the game, and the Harris fumble was effectively the equivalent of a pick-6. It's not often that you win games when you lose the turnover battle and give-up a 7 point swing on a single play, but the Pats managed to do it today.

FIFY

 

[catent]

Why so sensitive? All I said was it will be interesting to see how our secondary performs against DAL & LAC given that a HOU team that ranked in the bottom of the league was able to do this.

View attachment 36481

Sorry I dared to express concern. Maybe everything is just fine and I'm just a delusional fan.

Doesn't seem like a sensitive response; seems like a thoughtful response.

Your post suggested concern about the Pats' pass defense because of how they performed today against a bad team. Another poster pointed to the fact that the Pats' pass defense performed very well against Tampa Bay, a great passing team. If the Texans game is a valid data point for predicting future performance, then so is the Bucs game too, right? The NFL is a week-to-week, matchup league like the other poster said. The past two weeks demonstrate that.

The DBs had some brain farts today but I put more of their struggles on the coaching staff. The defensive game-plan and play-calling was poor in the 1st half (especially on 3rd down). They made some adjustments in the 2nd half to get out of their own way and the on-field play improved as a result. Recently we've rightfully been bemoaning the D's inability to get stops in the 4th quarter - to either close out games, or give the offense the opportunity to get back in it - today the D corrected that and had a very strong finish to the game.

I'll happily celebrate the win.

 

[Ring 6]

oh god. all the posters liking the post know nothing about that game. Probably didn’t even start watching the Patriots then lol

that game featured a prime Terry Glenn (who is 100x more talented than any wide receiver this Patriots team has) going off

brady also threw a few 30-40 yard DIMES that I haven’t even seen mac attempt to throw one time

Can Mac throw the ball downfield? Why are the Patriots coaches scared

Sounds like you are the one who doesn’t know what happened on that game. Brady’s longest pass was 26 years.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Agreed but point is, if BB decided to kick because he doesn't trust Mac in that spot then what good does that do for the QB? If he fails, big deal, he will learn for next time he's in that spot. We are rebuilding, this is not a playoff worthy team at this stage of the rebuild so individual wins and losses don't mean as much to me in the bigger picture.

One is a HOF QB. The other is a rookie, who by the way has thrown for more yards this year than Rodgers or Wilson. And if Brady were still the QB, I am confident Bill would have gone for the win by kicking it.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

In fact, with the exception of his 3 int game, he's put the Pats in position to win 2 of the 3 losses. Which is what you want out of your QB.

Yes agree. Mac has exceeded the wildest expectations of most mediots. This is a kid who hit a NFL record throwing 19 straight completions. This is a kid who broke a 50 year record throwing 70% in his first 3 starts as a rookie. He absolutely kills the blitz which is unheard of for most rookies, and is lethal in play action. He's already making throws with anticipation before a receiver breaks, right on the money.

The short throws are NOT his fault when he's getting hit within 1.7 seconds and took 34 QB hits the first 4 weeks. Impossible to throw 20 yards when you have a blitzer looking to spear you without any pass blocking. The OLine has been trash, which obviously will affect how long a QB can wait for a deeper pass.

I think Mac would have no interceptions if he wasn't forcing these medium throws. Look how he took care of the ball the first 2 games. Then got crappy coaching and mediot criticism of how he 'missed' some guys so he started forcing some throws he would never have done last year. He only started these forced medium throws after the crappy oc coaching and mediots got on him for not throwing deeper.

If Mac gets an adequate OLine he will naturally start averaging over 7-7.5 yards per pass easily. The kid is doing everything right except get some bad habits from this crappy offensive staff.

.

 

[Ring 6]

You mean the oc who has run a bottom3 NFL patriot offense since 2019? Or the one who was fired after St Louis'11 (worst offense in the league) or was it the one fired from Denver'10 (lost 16 of 22 games).

Bottom 3? Lying again huh?
2019 was 7th in points 15 in yards. 2020 was not bottom 3. 2021 is not bottom 3.
How many times will you repeat this lie?

 

[Brady6]

Except the OC who is top notch. Btw, his name is Josh McDaniels.

Have you ever looked at the performance of teams McDaniels has coached without Tom Brady?