Quest4SevenHomie
Third String But Playing on Special Teams
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2018
- Messages
- 610
- Reaction score
- 546
With the benefit of some sleep some thoughts about the game and the season in general and there really is not much non-obvious to say.
Despite losing two DCs in two years and some additional positional coaches BB & co. put together one of the best units in the league. In any other year since 2011 this would have been enough to win a title but unfortunately not this year.
I know that players who make plays in games that end up positively get statues while the same plays that for unrelated reasons get lost get brushed aside but KVN's sack, Harmons INT and that stop on Tannehill were all huge plays that would have found a place in the pantheon the same way as numerous others if the offense had been able to put one drive together.
People are still talking about Hightowers tackle on Lynch, his sack on Ryan, Flower's sack on Ryan and maybe more recently JMac's pass breakup on Cooks but those could have all happened in games that were still lost. Too bad this will get lost in the overall narrative.
I will miss this iteration of the Pats D.. too bad they can't keep them together. But accepting impermanence is part of the journey. Can't hopelessly hold on to what inherently changes.
In terms of offense it will be interesting to see how McDaniels potentially leaving will affect the playbook.
The big draw of running our specific offense is being able to leverage Brady's GOAT skills of reading defenses presnap and way more often than not switching to the "right answer" against most looks because "he knows all the answers to the test". It also had the added benefit that for years they were able to plug average players into specific roles that maximized their skillset to make the sum of things bigger than the individual parts. As long as those players are able to grasp that offense. This time they failed miserably.
If McDaniels actually really leaves this time and with Brady's situation up in the air (but I almost certainly assume he will be back) I am really curious if there will be any bigger changes on a schematic level. Or if they will just try to fill the Gronk-sized hole with some FA signings and go the patchwork approach until Brady finally really retires.
It is a bit disappointing for the ride to end that early this year but it is what it is. In terms of unfortunate sequences like the Edelman drop I can't help but think that after converting on so many third and fourth downs last year in KC we were playing a bit with house money anyway. And this is the other side of it. Sometimes the heroic catch doesn't happen, a run gets stuffed or the ball bounces back to the QB after a fumble.
Anyway thanks for a fun season folks.. time to decompress a bit and take a breather until FA / extension time starts to ramp up or coaching news get reported..
What boggles my mind is, there people who STILL insist we were going to beat Kansas City and Baltimore on the ROAD... with THIS OFFENSE.
I'm left dumbfounded and confused on how this was going to be achieved when we struggled against the Dolphins AT HOME and against the Bengals...