Patriots Pregame Thread Pre-Game - Divisional Round Texans at Patriots

[Triumph]

Me!! I am also actually just looking forward to the entire weekend of football. Great games.

Stafford is 1 - 9 as Rams QB in games 20 degrees or less.

Mcvay has never won in Chicago 0 - 2.

 

[Triumph]

If he's 70% right, odds say one of those teams isn't winning.

Rams???

NFL wants Bills vs Pats in the AFCC.

 

[Ross12]

If he's 70% right, odds say one of those teams isn't winning, and the two AFC games seem the tightest matchups.

The Bills could have a tough time. Denver HFA, Denver's defense bullying Josh Allen into making mistakes/playing hero ball.

Sam Darnold could also turn back into a pumpkin in his first playoff game just like he did in 2024 lol.

 

[mike_usagisan]

The Bills could have a tough time. Denver HFA, Denver's defense bullying Josh Allen into making mistakes/playing hero ball.

Sam Darnold could also turn back into a pumpkin in his first playoff game just like he did in 2024 lol.

Yeah, I think these should all be good, competitive games. This is usually the best weekend of football all year.

 

[DaBruinz]

Yep.

You can actually pinpoint multiple times in the game where they got calls and then held the flags in when there should have been calls against them

-Schooler on a KR has his pinky graze a facemask in a pile, ref sees that
-On a sack in the 2nd half Milano has a whole full palm grip on Maye's facemask on a sack, doesn't get called

-White clearly interfered with Hollins, isn't called, they get an INT
-Marcus Jones makes a great bang bang play, ball got underthrown making Shakir have to come back for it. Ref immediately has the flag. Jones comes up with the INT they somehow call it a catch for Shakir

-Davis on a 3rd down puts his hand on the back of a receiver as he's diving for a ball that was thrown wide. Called very late
-Diggs on 4th down that ended the game basically gets bear hugged, no call.

-Bills biggest return of the game, Mapu gets held by 2 guys which sprung the return
-On our biggest return, Williams hits an angle and the guy never had a chance, Mapu's hand slightly grasps the shoulder and a ref throws a flag

We got out to a 21-0 lead why? Because the refs were invisible for most of the 1st half. Then they decided to get involved in the 2nd half. People really think that Bills staff suddenly came up with adjustments that flipped that game. Nah if that game was called 50/50 we win. In fact it only needed to be 70/30 and we still would have won, but it 100/0

Or the multiple flags on the O-line that should have been called. The Bills RG getting set and then waving his arm on multiple plays as the ball was snapped. Or the multitude of holds that weren't called on the most penalized O-line for holding this season, as Vrabel pointed out..

 

[Zoomnbyu]

I'm thinking statistically the end result is ********. The two games with 1 point differentials are definitely within his calcs +/- spread and the two 3 pointer are likely as well. Whole lot of mathing to say they're all pick ems.

 

[PlainOldEd]

Or the multiple flags on the O-line that should have been called. The Bills RG getting set and then waving his arm on multiple plays as the ball was snapped. Or the multitude of holds that weren't called on the most penalized O-line for holding this season, as Vrabel pointed out..

I was wondering about this during the game, but my buddy said it is legal. And I have seen several other guards do it since without being called... but you're right, it did look like he was false starting... trying to draw the D offsides.

 

[DaBruinz]

I was wondering about this during the game, but my buddy said it is legal. And I have seen several other guards do it since without being called... but you're right, it did look like he was false starting... trying to draw the D offsides.

NFL Rule Book says it's a False Start.. But the Rulebook also states that it's not DPI if the ball is uncatchable as well.

Pre-Snap Fouls | NFL Football Operations

operations.nfl.com

 

[mike_usagisan]

NFL Rule Book says it's a False Start.. But the Rulebook also states that it's not DPI if the ball is uncatchable as well.

Pre-Snap Fouls | NFL Football Operations

operations.nfl.com

Yep, you just have to adapt to what the refs are calling.

 

[Triumph]

Yep, you just have to adapt to what the refs are calling.

And every crew is different.

Even then the crew is not predicable IMO.

 

[mike_usagisan]

And every crew is different.

Even then the crew is not predicable IMO.

As much as there's waiting for the game to declare itself, there's waiting for the refs to declare how they're going to call a game.

 

[Sect140]

I really don’t think the temperature really matters, I think it’s overrated when it comes to impacting a game, the temperature for the Steelers and Texans game was 30 degrees and wind chill was 26 degrees, didn’t look like it impacted the defense, the Texans offense looked bad but they look bad in a dome. The coldest game in Foxboro with windchill was 17 below against Tennessee and the final was 17-14, so it looked like both teams were impacted the same. Snow could have an impact but it’s same for both teams. NOAA says 1-2 inches in Foxboro Sunday during the day.

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

6' - 8"
380 lbs

He will leave ruts on a soggy field.

This would definitely be true if we still played on grass!
On a grass field he would have a hard time getting out of his stance as the ground sinks 4 inches under that load.

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

As much as there's waiting for the game to declare itself, there's waiting for the refs to declare how they're going to call a game.

NFL officiating has reached an epidemic level of futility.
That said, I'm not one to buy into the narrative of using that as an excuse, will leave that to Bills fans.
There are bad calls/non-calls in every game, and sure some games calls seem to go more in the way of one team, but over the year I would say most teams get screwed equally.
Do what we do and don't leave the game hagning in the balance of one egregious call.

 

[ViperGTS]

I was wondering about this during the game, but my buddy said it is legal. And I have seen several other guards do it since without being called... but you're right, it did look like he was false starting... trying to draw the D offsides.

Guards will move their arm as a signal to snap the ball in a loud environment.

 

[Rob0729]

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

Guards will move their arm as a signal to snap the ball in a loud environment.

Right.
I think the key phrasing here is "sudden movement"
An Olineman can can point and move his arms if it's "rhythmic"

• Sudden Movement After Setting: Once offensive players are set (requiring at least one full second after the snap count), any quick, jerky motion (feet, hands, upper body) simulates the start of the play.
• Quick Jerks: A small twitch by an offensive lineman (even a few millimeters) is enough if it's quick and abrupt.
• Quarterback Actions: A quarterback making a sudden hand thrust or quick, non-rhythmic clap to draw a defender is a false start.
• Motion Toward the Line: An offensive player in motion making a sudden lunge or quick movement forward.
• Failure to Reset: After a shift (multiple players moving), all players must reset and hold for a full second; any movement before that is a false start.

What's Allowed (and What's Not):

• Rhythmical Movement: Some pre-snap movement is allowed, like a lineman's external leg kick, as long as it's part of a normal rhythm and not a sudden, jerky motion.
• No Reaction: The whistle blows immediately for a false start, stopping play before the snap, even if the defense doesn't react.
• Not Offside: An offensive player moving too early (false start) is different from a defensive player crossing the line before the snap (offside), which is a live-ball foul.

 

[n1997y]

Jesus. That guy knows our roster from the top to the bottom. That was actually really impressive.

It’s his job. He’s good at his job. We knew that.

Very impressive clip. He not only knows it, he can boil it down and deliver a concise cogent summary on every position. I’d bet he can do the same for the rest of the roster, and PS players as well, and expand on any one of them in as much depth as you’d like.

The one evaluation that stood out to me was his comment that ILB was probably the strongest part of the defense, with Gibbens, Spillane, and Elliss. Not what this board seems to think, but I’m not going to argue his evaluation (see my comment above about his expected ability to expand on the details).

Of course his agenda was to make the Patriots seem like a worthy opponent, but I do think that’s truth and he spoke it well.

 

[n1997y]

The Bills could have a tough time. Denver HFA, Denver's defense bullying Josh Allen into making mistakes/playing hero ball.

Sam Darnold could also turn back into a pumpkin in his first playoff game just like he did in 2024 lol.

You didn’t mention the most important factor: zebras.

 

[Froob]

Got my tix! Never been to a playoff game before