203Pat
Pro Bowl Player
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2014
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Wanted to see how many people agree or disagree after watching the game yesterday. Basically what players/position groups/coaches trended in the positive direction and which one in the negative.
Stock up:
The defense as a whole. Held an explosive offense to just 18 points and even 9 of those points were field goals of 48, 51, and 56 yards. Timely sack on that first drive by Judon to hold them to 3. The big hit by Peppers that forced the Hurts fumble. The 4th down stop. Statically over the last few years we have had some good defenses but would then no-show against elite teams with great offenses but that was not the case today.
Kendrick Bourne. He did have that 3rd and 12 drop on a what would have been a tough catch but overall he looked like our best receiver. Finally out of the dog house and he produced 2 touchdown catches and played a good amount of snaps.
Demario Douglas. 4 catches for 40 yards on 7 targets isn't exactly worth highlighting on the stat sheet but it is good to see a rookie receiver on this team earning snaps and making some plays. Definitely something to build on.
Hunter Henry. Big catches in some critical spots. That catch on 4th down was ridiculous and he hung onto some catches over the middle which is something we have been lacking for a while. By almost all accounts he had a great summer so I was glad to see him keep that momentum into week 1.
Stock down:
Mac Jones. Overall he didn't play a terrible game but he put us in a hole to start with with that high throw that resulted in a pick 6. In the "got to have it" moments he always seems to come up short. In his third year as a starter we can't really keep hanging our hat on moral victories. Botched the 2 point attempt that would have cut it to a 3 point lead. Got the ball with 3 and a half minutes down 5 after the Hurts fumble and came away with no points. Got the ball back with 2 minutes down 5 at our own 45 and came away with no points. His arm strength is also pretty concerning as there were some passes that took quite a while to get where they needed to be. The deep shot to Bourne floated too long and gave Slay a chance break up the pass and that 4th and long pass Henry dropped took foreeeeevvvvvveeerrr to get there. If everything around Mac is perfect then he can be a good QB but things won't be perfect all the time and he just can't seem to improvise when needed.
Juju Smith-Schuster: Played only 54 percent of the snaps and wasn't on the field in crucial moments at the end of the game. A third down drop (wasn't a great throw but still very catchable) and he looked slow on that crossing route that he caught. Hoping it is a conditioning thing (even though Bill somewhat seemed to dismiss that idea) but based on everything I heard/read on Juju this summer he didn't seem to do much then either.
Bill Belichick: The defensive game plan was good but why didn't we kick a field goal with 9 minutes left on 4th and 3? Why didn't we punt on 4th and 17 with 3 timeouts? Bill wasn't terrible by any means but I hold Bill to a significantly higher standard than pretty much anyone else so it was odd to see some of those decisions he made especially with the defense playing the way it was.
Stock up:
The defense as a whole. Held an explosive offense to just 18 points and even 9 of those points were field goals of 48, 51, and 56 yards. Timely sack on that first drive by Judon to hold them to 3. The big hit by Peppers that forced the Hurts fumble. The 4th down stop. Statically over the last few years we have had some good defenses but would then no-show against elite teams with great offenses but that was not the case today.
Kendrick Bourne. He did have that 3rd and 12 drop on a what would have been a tough catch but overall he looked like our best receiver. Finally out of the dog house and he produced 2 touchdown catches and played a good amount of snaps.
Demario Douglas. 4 catches for 40 yards on 7 targets isn't exactly worth highlighting on the stat sheet but it is good to see a rookie receiver on this team earning snaps and making some plays. Definitely something to build on.
Hunter Henry. Big catches in some critical spots. That catch on 4th down was ridiculous and he hung onto some catches over the middle which is something we have been lacking for a while. By almost all accounts he had a great summer so I was glad to see him keep that momentum into week 1.
Stock down:
Mac Jones. Overall he didn't play a terrible game but he put us in a hole to start with with that high throw that resulted in a pick 6. In the "got to have it" moments he always seems to come up short. In his third year as a starter we can't really keep hanging our hat on moral victories. Botched the 2 point attempt that would have cut it to a 3 point lead. Got the ball with 3 and a half minutes down 5 after the Hurts fumble and came away with no points. Got the ball back with 2 minutes down 5 at our own 45 and came away with no points. His arm strength is also pretty concerning as there were some passes that took quite a while to get where they needed to be. The deep shot to Bourne floated too long and gave Slay a chance break up the pass and that 4th and long pass Henry dropped took foreeeeevvvvvveeerrr to get there. If everything around Mac is perfect then he can be a good QB but things won't be perfect all the time and he just can't seem to improvise when needed.
Juju Smith-Schuster: Played only 54 percent of the snaps and wasn't on the field in crucial moments at the end of the game. A third down drop (wasn't a great throw but still very catchable) and he looked slow on that crossing route that he caught. Hoping it is a conditioning thing (even though Bill somewhat seemed to dismiss that idea) but based on everything I heard/read on Juju this summer he didn't seem to do much then either.
Bill Belichick: The defensive game plan was good but why didn't we kick a field goal with 9 minutes left on 4th and 3? Why didn't we punt on 4th and 17 with 3 timeouts? Bill wasn't terrible by any means but I hold Bill to a significantly higher standard than pretty much anyone else so it was odd to see some of those decisions he made especially with the defense playing the way it was.
