Game Day Thread Official Post Game Thread: Pats destroy the Browns

[RobertWeathers]

I just noticed you have posted about me 5 different times over a 12 hour period. Glad to know you think about me constantly and are that obsessed with me.

By the way I feel absolutely vindicated with the last 4 straight wins, doing a lot of what I've been pushing for. It feels good that the Pats are back on track after making dumb move after dumb move towards an initial 2-4 start. I noted in the GDT this was the best called game of the first 10 weeks, and I hope all season-long they stay run-heavy, heavy-personnel, and also protect our diamond rookie QB at all costs.

@RobertWeathers, Please keep thinking about me all day long, I know gender/sexual identity has really been on your mind lately. I'm flattered.

.

Actually I said NEM Jr. just like the other dozen posters have.

Just keep doing what you are doing.

 

[Rob0729]

Some thoughts:

Starting with the "Victory Lap" section:

• After the Cowboys game, I said that the Pats could win all four of their next four games. I wasn't confident about it, but I was encouraged by the Cowboys loss that this team had turned the corner and were improving. I was mocked by the Brady crowd.
• Many of us said that many of the problems that Mac Jones had early in the season (not throwing down the field, not hitting receivers in stride, etc.) was due to poor o-line play and McDaniels putting training wheels on him. We saw yesterday what he can do with an oline that can protect him and give him time and where McDaniels opens up the playbook. And he a damn good QB.
• The Pro-Brady/Anti-Belichick crowd dismissed the close loses against the Bucs and Cowboys as the Bucs and Cowboys beating themselves and if they didn't make mistakes, they would have blown out the Pats. It was a silly argument then. It is a silly argument now. They even trashed Brady by making him sound like an overly emotional wimp who couldn't handle the magnitude of the moment of returning to Foxboro for the first time since leaving and couldn't handle the elements of a little rain rather than give the Pats any credit. But the reality is the Pats could have won either of those games if they limited their mistakes. They were growing as a team, but many couldn't see it because they were losing games (although to top teams).

Now the other thoughts:

• The Patriots are the team no one wants to see in the playoffs right now. Over the last four games, they have won by 41 points, 3 points, 18 points, and 28 points. The Pats have had the largest points differential of any team in the league over that period and now second in the league behind the Bills in points differential for the season. The Pats may be the most balanced team in the league right now.
• Kendrick Bourne is the Pats' best WR. I am still not sure why it took so long to get him to be a bigger part of this offense (but even yesterday he only had four targets). Whenever he has been given an opportunity this season, he usually excelled. Meyers is a good receiver and usually reliable, but he isn't a playmaker like Bourne is showing he can be. Agholor is just not clicking in this offense and only good for a few plays a game. They should be developing Bourne to be Jones' go-to WR.
• Credit the Belichicks and Mayo for completely retooling this defense and making it one of the best defense in the league. I am not a huge fan of zone coverage in today's NFL, but the Pats have moved to do a lot more of that because deficiencies in their secondary. Over the last month, they have gone back to the old days of the Belichick era and becoming more of a primarily cover-2 defense. And it is working. I didn't think the zone was so effective to confuse opposing QBs, but they are doing it against at least two good QBs (Herbert and Mayfield).
• Give Wynn credit, he has to deal with Myles Garrett for most of the game and he did mostly a solid job. He did give up one sack which was all on him and he had a ticky tack hands to the face penalty that probably cost the team a TD, but otherwise Garrett as a non-factor all game.
• What a night and day change in the o-line from where they were at the start of the season. This is the o-line we were expecting at the start of the season and a strength of the team again.
• I think Rhamondre Stevenson may have earned himself the starting position. I think Harris a very good back, but Stevenson has the possibility of being special. Either way, the Pats are blessed to have two solid starting quality RBs on their roster.
• Let me ask you. What is Mac Jones' glaring weakness? I am not trying to say he is an elite QB or even a top QB in the league. But even the elite QBs like Brady have at least one glaring weakness even if it is difficult to exploit (Brady's is he is susceptible to the inside rush and getting hit too much). I don't think Jones' glaring weakness has been exposed yet. That is an advantage for the Pats at least until it is exposed.
• As for Jones, so much for the plateau talk this past week. I thought it was premature anyway since the last two weeks the game plan was to pound the ball. Yesterday showed that Jones hasn't hit that rookie wall just yet.
• This year's draft class may be Belichick's best or at least since 2003. Three of their top four picks look to be solid starters and possibly Pro Bowlers or even All Pros of the future. And McGrone coming off an injury recovery, red shirt year could be a fourth solid starter next year.
• Give credit to Hightower and Van Noy. Sure they are not quite the players they were pre-pandemic. But they are clearly not the washed up overpaid players they were looking like earlier in the season. Both were impactful yesterday. It seems they needed a good month or two to shake off the rust.
• I like the Pats' chances to win the division. They have a few more tough games left on their schedule, but they have shown they can beat the better teams on their schedule. The Bills haven't really beaten anyone yet other the Chiefs while they were slumping and have lost to the Steelers and Titans. They are getting to the part of the schedule where they will really be tested. The Bills still have a slight advantage to win it, but you can make a strong argument that the Pats are the better and more consistent team right now.

 

[bresna]

Troy Hill has “movement in his extremities,” so that’s the best news of the night.

I still didn't see how he got that injured. Did he compress his neck or something? It looked like he just got tapped by Meyers' foot.

 

[bresna]

That's the problem of trolling your own team: it may be fun when they lose, but you end up not being able to enjoy it when they win because of all the sh*t you have to eat.

Trolls enjoy trolling. If they upset people, they are happy. They don't care about much else.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I still didn't see how he got that injured. Did he compress his neck or something? It looked like he just got tapped by Meyers' foot.

That's my theory as well. Upper vertebrae below the head compressed/twisted and ever-so-slightly grazed the spinal cord.

 

[bresna]

I had 6 years of Latin from the 7th grade through high school at LaSalle. Translated Caesar's journals flawlessly.Now, a thousand years later, I should have an expert opinion of agendum/agenda/agendums but I can't remember how to find my way home half the time these days.

Gallia est divisa in partes tres.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Great post. A couple of comments.

Some thoughts:

• Credit the Belichicks and Mayo for completely retooling this defense and making it one of the best defense in the league. I am not a huge fan of zone coverage in today's NFL, but the Pats have moved to do a lot more of that because deficiencies in their secondary. Over the last month, they have gone back to the old days of the Belichick era and becoming more of a primarily cover-2 defense. And it is working. I didn't think the zone was so effective to confuse opposing QBs, but they are doing it against at least two good QBs (Herbert and Mayfield).

Young QBs have a much harder time reading zone defenses.

Couple that with consistent pressure from the front 4/5 and you get what we've seen the last few weeks out of Mayfield, Taylor, Herbert and Darnold.

• I think Rhamondre Stevenson may have earned himself the starting position. I think Harris a very good back, but Stevenson has the possibility of being special. Either way, the Pats are blessed to have two solid starting quality RBs on their roster.

Hes the better long-term prospect at RB no question. What a great situation they have.

• Let me ask you. What is Mac Jones' glaring weakness? I am not trying to say he is an elite QB or even a top QB in the league. But even the elite QBs like Brady have at least one glaring weakness even if it is difficult to exploit (Brady's is he is susceptible to the inside rush and getting hit too much). I don't think Jones' glaring weakness has been exposed yet. That is an advantage for the Pats at least until it is exposed.

Inexperience. Reading coverages. Reading protections. Checking out of bad plays. No question he has been improving.

 

[The Brandon Five]

Largest positive point differential over a season is good indicator of a strong team, though it is weakly correlated with a Super Bowl win.

IIRC, one of the Giants teams we lost to in SB had a negative point differential during the regular season.

 

[ashley]

Some snaps from yesterday's game:

 

[patsinthesnow]

JC Jackson thru 10 games: 50% comp pct. 1 TD 5 INTs 46.0 rating

Gilmore 2019: 49.5% comp pct. 1 TD 6 INTs 48.0 rating

 

[Ivan]

the titans basically ran at will on us in the last two games... 150 & 200+ yards iirc...

What does that have to do with this year’s team? They don’t have Derrick Henry and the Patriots defense is vastly improved over last season. I’m not dismissing Tennessee, they have the best record in the AFC, but what happened in previous meetings really doesn’t have anything to do with this season. Had they beaten them convincingly earlier this season it might be a different story, but this team at this time is completely different.

 

[PaulThePat]

Even though they weren't that similar, the muffed attempt to snag a loose ball on the ground by Uche reminded me of Pierre Woods back in 2007 - still not sure how Woods didn't come up with that one

 

[whybob]

Barmore is an absolute beast. They double team him and he still gets play changing pushes to free up teammates. what a homerun 2nd round pick this kid is.

 

[Sicilian]

High seemed more around the ball today.

If I saw it correctly, High was the guy in Baker's face when he threw the INT to Dugger.

 

[chasa]

did we ever find how how injured that browns player Jakobi Myers almost murdered in order to get his first td, was?

 

[RobertWeathers]

If I saw it correctly, High was the guy in Baker's face when he threw the INT to Dugger.

Sure was. Drafted Barmore who was had Tretter on skates.

 

[Patsfan1958]

did we ever find how how injured that browns player Jakobi Myers almost murdered in order to get his first td, was?

 

[ashley]

Good performance by our O-line yesterday:

 

[Mike the Brit]

Really good news. That is how injuries should be treated -- assume the worst is possible but hope that it's not.

 

[Sect140]

4 straight wins now playing the style and OLine I like. Keep it up. I'm vindicated. Sorry the team was 2-4 doing it the wrong way before. They'd be 7-3 if they didn't screw up the first 6 weeks.

I look at it as the first part of the season the coaching staff was trying to figure out what they had and coaching them not to fumble and commit dumb penalties while also gelling them as a team.