****** Official Unofficial Patriots/Rams Postgame Observations Thread ******

[ensoul]

I know it is preseason and it means nothing (didn't the lions go 4-0 in the preseason the year they went 0-16 in the regular season?) and I am not going to panic. However it is slightly discouraging to see a rookie QB absolutely shred the pats defense like that. They also did not put much pressure on the QB which was a huge problem last year.

 

[PowerRunRevival]

1. At the outset of the game I saw the Patriots trying to establish the run and then going 3 and out. Once they gave up the run they moved the ball. During the regular season we need balance.

1a. I feel like a lot of our lineman are real good pass protectors but not good run blockers

2. Bradford as his receivers were able to consistently find the soft spot in the zone.

3. In order for a 3-4 to be successful you need to have your d lineman command double teams, this is not currently happening.

4. Our pass game is going to be great, but if we score quickly our defense will be on the field the entire game.

5. Cunningham needs to come in and play great to make our defense better.

6. Between G-Force, Crumpler and Hernandez I predict we will have the highest production at the Tight End position in the NFL.

7. With how young this defense is I expect them to get better every game, which doesn't mean they will be good, just that what we saw last night should be the worst of it.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Every time the Patriots play poorly, they're accused of having a lack of effort. I'm so sick of hearing that. They looked like they were giving just as much effort as when they won the last two games. It's the standard thing the media and a lot of posters on this forum turn to nowadays and it's annoying.

Involving Zolak in the color commentary in game was insightful if you were listening... He said they were flat, had NO energy, weren't hustling into or out of defensive huddles, weren't moving around pre snap, just sleepwalking. I think some of it was trap game mentality (and in a way the KO score to open the game didn't help that) coming off two good showings and part of it was the fact that BB did zero game planning for this one. He was testing personnel and groupings on both sides of the ball with the exception of the OL most of the evening. The offense eventually found a rhythm but then couldn't get back on the field enough to make it matter because the D never did. They focused on Matt Patricia a lot and his lips weren't moving and he appeared deep in thought. Bill finally got so disgusted late after taking the lead that he started barking at the secondary to get up to the line and play the pass. But by then they were like walking zombies and they couldn't shift gears.

This game unlike the first two seemed to be about what can I do and whom can I do it with. I'm sure he didn't like the answers he got on defense, but part of that appeared to be effort or focus or energy based. It was almost as if along with groupings he was gauging their ability to figure it out, and they never really did - although a few times they appeared on the verge of it only to have a penalty negate it.

If Bill looked dumbfounded or sheepish I'd be concerned. He looked pissed and that doesn't concern us...although it will his players. They've still got two and a half weeks of camp to navigate and they just lit the match on the fire they will endure during most of it.

 

[patsinthesnow]

We all should be thankful here. It looks like the Rams most likely lost their #1 WR (Donnie Avery) for the year. Bradford will have nothing to work with come regular season.

Atleast we didn't have any severe injuries on our side, that's all that really matters.

 

[bigcountry75]

I didn't see the game so I don't know about the effort level of the pats....

I will say though that I am glad the pats looked bad like everyone is saying on here and made tons of mistakes....If they thrashed everyone in the preseason and went undefeated they would start to think they are doing everything right and the players start to get complacent....Now they will work harder to improve and see where they made mistakes....We are also going to have a learning curve in the secondary with a very young secondary...In another year or two we could arguably have the best secondary barring injuries and everyone continues to learn and reach max potential.....

Now I know we don't have any big pass rushers but do you really think that BB put together a full scouting report in a preseason game and put in all his exotic blitzes? No...He is still trying to see what the guys can do on the field and come week 1 we are still playing this vanilla crap on defense then I will be a little worried but why give away all of our blitzes and schemes during the preseason.....I am sure we have used some to see how the other team reacts but they haven't been used as much or in all the situations they will be used during the regular season.....I am going to reserve any criticism on this year's pats team until 2 or 3 games into the regular season.....

 

[JackBauer]

The team is tired and worn out and discouraged. They have been thrashed hard in camp and pre-season; the brutal camp backfired.

Shouldn't you be camped out in your prescient "The Ron Brace disaster" thread?

 

[mosi]

It's amazing how much people will ***** and moan about a PRESEASON game. The Colts were thrashed for just about 60 points last night making them 0-3. Does anyone honestly think the Saint Louis Rams / Buffalo Bills are better than the Patriots / Colts? The score means absolutely nothing in these games. You have to take both the positives and negatives with a grain of salt.

Honestly, the game is meaningless but what worries me is the look and comments from the Coach. He looked pissed and extremely unhappy with what he saw. That should worry everybody.

 

[Kontradiction]

Honestly, the game is meaningless but what worries me is the look and comments from the Coach. He looked pissed and extremely unhappy with what he saw. That should worry everybody.

The fact that he was should have people here seriously looking at the defense and the type of effort they gave. His second half interview should also open up the eyes of the "but it's only preseason bro!" crowd. Belichick clearly wasn't happy about the effort.

 

[JackBauer]

It is only the preseason, bro.

I'm not sure why BB being pissed about a lack of effort would change that fact.

 

[Rob0729]

Shouldn't you be camped out in your prescient "The Ron Brace disaster" thread?

I am pretty sure the guy failed his conditioning run on his way to sack Bradford last night.

 

[Kontradiction]

It is only the preseason, bro.

I'm not sure why BB being pissed about a lack of effort would change that fact.

It is only preseason, but that doesn't mean that there's absolutely nothing to worry about.

 

[JackBauer]

It is only preseason, but that doesn't mean that there's absolutely nothing to worry about.

No, I'm just saying that BB being allegedly pissed doesn't make me any more or less concerned about what I saw last night.

I mean, if we're all this bent out of shape, I imagine Colts fans are proceeding lemming-like off the nearest cliff. Not that there are any cliffs to be found in Indiana.

 

[IllegalContact]

the bright side of last nite's debacle is that the colts defense has looked much,much worse, and jerry hughes is getting pushed around the field like a mop......by 2nd stringers

 

[Kontradiction]

No, I'm just saying that BB being allegedly pissed doesn't make me any more or less concerned about what I saw last night.

I mean, if we're all this bent out of shape, I imagine Colts fans are proceeding lemming-like off the nearest cliff. Not that there are any cliffs to be found in Indiana.

If you heard his halftime and postgame interviews and saw him on the sidelines, you'd know that there's nothing "alleged" about it. But I'm glad you're concerned. I am as well and I think BB is too. What I, personally, saw last night was a lack of effort. That needs to be worked out of the team's system. This is a young team that needs to understand that, in the NFL, you need to show up every week for every team.

 

[JackBauer]

If you heard his halftime and postgame interviews and saw him on the sidelines, you'd know that there's nothing "alleged" about it. But I'm glad you're concerned. I am as well and I think BB is too. What I, personally, saw last night was a lack of effort. That needs to be worked out of the team's system. This is a young team that needs to understand that, in the NFL, you need to show up every week for every team.

I only say alleged because I'm not going to attempt to psychoanalyze someone like BB, because frankly I can never tell what the guy is thinking.

I only got the Internet feed down here in DC, so I'll have to take your word for it regarding his demeanor at halftime and postgame.

I'm grateful that they hopefully can work this out in the preseason, rather than coming out flat like they did against the Bengals or (heaven forbid) the Jets. The most significant observation I had from last night was that Brace actually looks pretty serviceable out there, which IMO bodes extremely well for the season ahead as not being able to stop the run drives me bananas. Lack of effort, lack of pass rush due to predictable and vanilla schemes, soft zones, poor tackling, etc., are the types of things I'm less concerned about as I'm sure BB can make them (especially the younger guys) see Jesus prior to opening day.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

the bright side of last nite's debacle is that the colts defense has looked much,much worse, and jerry hughes is getting pushed around the field like a mop......by 2nd stringers

They don't have a post mortem up, but the continuation of their game thread is serving in it's place. Rougher night than we had on both sides of the ball, and they may have lost Brackett to a broken arm and Addai apparently got concussed...

GAME THREAD: Colts vs Packers - Page 52 - Unofficial Indianapolis Colts Fan Forums

 

[JackBauer]

The Colts postmortem thread is here: GBB88's 2010 Preseason Week Three Thoughts - Unofficial Indianapolis Colts Fan Forums

I liked this bit:

4. Speaking of that OL, WOW is it bad. Record-setting bad. Couldn't help but notice that Tony Ugoh got benched after a series or two. Benched. For UDFA OT Jeff Linkenbach. How many times can the Colts gift-wrap the LT position to Ugoh and still see him screw it up? It's unreal. Ugoh is pathetic.

11. Not that it was hard to look good in the secondary next to Kelvin Hayden. He's supposed to be the veteran of the CB group? He played like a friggin' UDFA corner.

14. Jerry Hughes sucks right now. That's putting it nicely. I'm not saying he won't develop into an effective player, but there is nothing in his immediate future. He's not even a rotation player. He has zero ability to play the run, and his pass-rushing is suspect at best. Hughes is not ready for the NFL right now. This is going to be a redshirt year for him. Hopefully he shows up ready next year. If not, Polian's first-round draft history picks up a bit of a blemish. But way too early to go there yet.

...and I thought PatsFans was bad. Yeesh. Also makes you understand what BB was thinking when he didn't take Hughes.

 

[Kontradiction]

I only say alleged because I'm not going to attempt to psychoanalyze someone like BB, because frankly I can never tell what the guy is thinking.

I only got the Internet feed down here in DC, so I'll have to take your word for it regarding his demeanor at halftime and postgame.

I'm grateful that they hopefully can work this out in the preseason, rather than coming out flat like they did against the Bengals or (heaven forbid) the Jets. The most significant observation I had from last night was that Brace actually looks pretty serviceable out there, which IMO bodes extremely well for the season ahead as not being able to stop the run drives me bananas. Lack of effort, lack of pass rush due to predictable and vanilla schemes, soft zones, poor tackling, etc., are the types of things I'm less concerned about as I'm sure BB can make them (especially the younger guys) see Jesus prior to opening day.

Well, there's no need to psychoanalyze here. It's all out in the open. As for the rest, fair enough.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Wow. I just watched BB's postgame presser and he looked PISSED. I mean wow. The Pats just lost a meaningless preseason game by 1 point, but it sounded like they had been thrashed 31-0 by the Jets in the AFC title game. BB just hates losing no matter what! Phew! I would not want to be in the Pats lockerrom this upcoming week. BB is gonna work em like dogs!

The bright spot out of this is that the loss to the Rams of all teams is a huge wakeup call. That definitely prevents any overconfidence leading up to the regular season. Game 4 is the final tuneup game, and I expect to see the regulars play more. And the defense in particular to be sharper and not make so many dumb penalties.

 

[JackBauer]

Well, there's no need to psychoanalyze here. It's all out in the open. As for the rest, fair enough.

Like I said, no halftime or postgame interviews for me. Such is the peril of streaming video