- Joined
- Jul 11, 2005
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1. On Buffalo: I have to say that Willis McGahee is a very, very good RB. I have not seen a RB all year that CONSISTANTLY made 2 yds into 6 yds as McGahee did yesterday...against a team that tackles very well. He's the best I have seen this year...including our own very good group.
I was also impressed with Jason Peters the Bill OT, who I saw occassionally manhandle both Ty Warren and Richard Seymour. (though it needs to be said that both those guys occassionally handled Peters as well). It was impressive to see it happen even if it was only once in a while. The Bills have at least one gem on that OL.
2. The most interesting stat I learned: The Pats OL has allowed 9 sacks through the first 6 games this season, they have give up 7 of those sack to the Bills. The more you think about it, the more remarkable it becomes,
3. That being said, not having Daniel Graham in there is one of the reasons the Bills had so many sacks. He is not only expert at helping the tackles, he can take on a speed rusher one on one and have a better than average chance at successfully blocking them. Watson was really overmatched on that one sack he gave up.
4. That being said, I also think that the running game is marginally less effective without Graham in the line up. If you are getting the idea that I'm lobbying for the Pats to re-sign Daniel at the end of this season....you are right.
5. That being said, Miguel, could you please update your page to include the Koppen extention. I'd like to have an idea of how much cap room we have for OTHER potential extensions.
6. That being said, what a revelation Assante Samuel has been the last few games. Most people have been saying that he's a nice nickel back. I thought he was a nice #2 CB. Well clearly he has been playing at a #1 CB pace the last 3 games. Why such an improvement....can you spell C-O-N-T-R-A-C-T S-E-A-S-O-N. Assuming the Pats have around $6-7MM in cap room left, I would like to see them extend AT LEAST one of Graham or Samuel before the end of the season.
7. That being said, it is clear that either of those guys can make more in the FA market than here with the Pats. However Koppen has proven that THERE ARE guys who can make more money than they can possibly spend in a lifetime HERE, leave to get even more outside...just because they can.
For a lot of reasons that I and other have expounded on, on many occassions, the Pats are set up to be serious contenders, EVERY YEAR, for the rest of this decade... and beyond. That is a serious incentive for a player to whom WINNING is VERY IMPORTANT. Remember the money the Pats are offering, though less than what they can get elsewhere, is more than most of us can IMAGINE making in a LIFETIME.
8. I'm not proud of this thought, but with the Hasselbeck going down for at least a couple of weeks, I can't help but hope that the first round pick the Pats picked up in the Branch trade will start to move from the end of the round to the ealy 20's...maybe even better.
I know that's awful, especially since Hasselbeck is a local kid and not only is a good QB, but a nice kid as well (and they have Moisi's kid from Sharon). However I choose to think of it as Karma coming back to bite Holmgren and the Seattle FO...or at least that is my justification.
9. Speaking of that, I wonder how Branch is thinking about catching balls from Seneca Wallace the next few weeks....or longer.
10. I hope we can dispense all the talk about the Pats WRs and not being able to go deep. Brady missed a wide open Reche Caldwell in the first period and hit Jackson deep later on for a TD. Our WRs CAN GET DEEP, however we are still a work in progress.
11. I loved the article that was posted here from the Buffalo paper it is a great assessment on what we are doing right here in NE and why the winning will continue. I have said on many occassions that the relative talent of the NFL is pretty much equal (+ or - 10%). That is why the Cardinals can essentially beat the "best team in the league" one week and lose to the Raiders the next, and why the Texans can beat the Jags...CONVINCINGLY
Talent is one thing - but all NFL teams have the most talented football players in the country. The ENVIROMENT that those players are nurtured is what creates the winners and the losers in this league. JMHO, but I am hoping that more and more players will start to realize that long term success with a team like the Pats is ultimately more valuable than making that extra million in the short term.
We will still lose guys who are deemed more valuable because they have played in this system, but I'm hoping we will get more back because THEY UNDERSTAND, and get "it".
12. MEDIA BASHING - I don't think we will see much in the way of Branch's stats in the news this week. How many catches did he get this week anyways?
I also wonder if Felger's bashing of Reche Caldwell will continue. Granted, I think he should have made one catch he missed, but the other in the endzone would have been a superb catch, if he had been able to hold on to that ball. All in all, Reche played a decent game and should develop in to a decent #2...if not he will lose his job to Gaffney.
13. Hey are we ever going to kick some FGs here!!!!!. I was almost hoping we would stall on some of those drives so we get Gotkowski some chances, I'm thinking if we had Adam here this year and paid him what we wanted we'd have the grand total of 3 more points on the board...in a game we had already won. When I can compare that to the fact that we are among the leaders in the league in KO coverage (where the opposition gets the ball after the KO). This has been a great help to the defense. Making a team make an extra first down or two before getting into FG range, turns FGs into punts, and TD's into FGs quite often.
For example if Buffalo's first drive started on the 35, then MaGahees catch and run later on, would have resulted in a TD, instead of a short FG. KO's DO MATTER.
Now I want to see if he can make a pressure FG before the fricken season is over.
13. On the other hand, we have been very effective in getting TDs in the red zone this season. I don't know what the stats are, but I'm sure we are in the top 10 in the league in red zone effeciency. The main reason for this is the fact that we are able to RUSH for TD's. Dillon's rushes for 8 and 12 yds are not all that usual down on the GL where rushing yards are VERY hard to come by.
14. CONSPIRACY THEORY OF THE WEEK: Bill Polian arranged to have the Pats play a tough AWAY game on a Monday night, right before the Pats play the Colts, making it a short week with travel for the Pats. Anything to gain an advantage.
15. Speaking of that...the next 2 weeks are going to be good tests of where this team is, versus some of the better teams in the league. I still think we are a month away from seeing this offense come together, but the defense is right on track to give BOTH these teams a run for their money.
16. Finally, I don't think it is premature to start to think about Ty Warren's extention contract, even though he has 2 more years before he's a FA.
I was also impressed with Jason Peters the Bill OT, who I saw occassionally manhandle both Ty Warren and Richard Seymour. (though it needs to be said that both those guys occassionally handled Peters as well). It was impressive to see it happen even if it was only once in a while. The Bills have at least one gem on that OL.
2. The most interesting stat I learned: The Pats OL has allowed 9 sacks through the first 6 games this season, they have give up 7 of those sack to the Bills. The more you think about it, the more remarkable it becomes,
3. That being said, not having Daniel Graham in there is one of the reasons the Bills had so many sacks. He is not only expert at helping the tackles, he can take on a speed rusher one on one and have a better than average chance at successfully blocking them. Watson was really overmatched on that one sack he gave up.
4. That being said, I also think that the running game is marginally less effective without Graham in the line up. If you are getting the idea that I'm lobbying for the Pats to re-sign Daniel at the end of this season....you are right.
5. That being said, Miguel, could you please update your page to include the Koppen extention. I'd like to have an idea of how much cap room we have for OTHER potential extensions.
6. That being said, what a revelation Assante Samuel has been the last few games. Most people have been saying that he's a nice nickel back. I thought he was a nice #2 CB. Well clearly he has been playing at a #1 CB pace the last 3 games. Why such an improvement....can you spell C-O-N-T-R-A-C-T S-E-A-S-O-N. Assuming the Pats have around $6-7MM in cap room left, I would like to see them extend AT LEAST one of Graham or Samuel before the end of the season.
7. That being said, it is clear that either of those guys can make more in the FA market than here with the Pats. However Koppen has proven that THERE ARE guys who can make more money than they can possibly spend in a lifetime HERE, leave to get even more outside...just because they can.
For a lot of reasons that I and other have expounded on, on many occassions, the Pats are set up to be serious contenders, EVERY YEAR, for the rest of this decade... and beyond. That is a serious incentive for a player to whom WINNING is VERY IMPORTANT. Remember the money the Pats are offering, though less than what they can get elsewhere, is more than most of us can IMAGINE making in a LIFETIME.
8. I'm not proud of this thought, but with the Hasselbeck going down for at least a couple of weeks, I can't help but hope that the first round pick the Pats picked up in the Branch trade will start to move from the end of the round to the ealy 20's...maybe even better.
I know that's awful, especially since Hasselbeck is a local kid and not only is a good QB, but a nice kid as well (and they have Moisi's kid from Sharon). However I choose to think of it as Karma coming back to bite Holmgren and the Seattle FO...or at least that is my justification.
9. Speaking of that, I wonder how Branch is thinking about catching balls from Seneca Wallace the next few weeks....or longer.
10. I hope we can dispense all the talk about the Pats WRs and not being able to go deep. Brady missed a wide open Reche Caldwell in the first period and hit Jackson deep later on for a TD. Our WRs CAN GET DEEP, however we are still a work in progress.
11. I loved the article that was posted here from the Buffalo paper it is a great assessment on what we are doing right here in NE and why the winning will continue. I have said on many occassions that the relative talent of the NFL is pretty much equal (+ or - 10%). That is why the Cardinals can essentially beat the "best team in the league" one week and lose to the Raiders the next, and why the Texans can beat the Jags...CONVINCINGLY
Talent is one thing - but all NFL teams have the most talented football players in the country. The ENVIROMENT that those players are nurtured is what creates the winners and the losers in this league. JMHO, but I am hoping that more and more players will start to realize that long term success with a team like the Pats is ultimately more valuable than making that extra million in the short term.
We will still lose guys who are deemed more valuable because they have played in this system, but I'm hoping we will get more back because THEY UNDERSTAND, and get "it".
12. MEDIA BASHING - I don't think we will see much in the way of Branch's stats in the news this week. How many catches did he get this week anyways?
I also wonder if Felger's bashing of Reche Caldwell will continue. Granted, I think he should have made one catch he missed, but the other in the endzone would have been a superb catch, if he had been able to hold on to that ball. All in all, Reche played a decent game and should develop in to a decent #2...if not he will lose his job to Gaffney.
13. Hey are we ever going to kick some FGs here!!!!!. I was almost hoping we would stall on some of those drives so we get Gotkowski some chances, I'm thinking if we had Adam here this year and paid him what we wanted we'd have the grand total of 3 more points on the board...in a game we had already won. When I can compare that to the fact that we are among the leaders in the league in KO coverage (where the opposition gets the ball after the KO). This has been a great help to the defense. Making a team make an extra first down or two before getting into FG range, turns FGs into punts, and TD's into FGs quite often.
For example if Buffalo's first drive started on the 35, then MaGahees catch and run later on, would have resulted in a TD, instead of a short FG. KO's DO MATTER.
Now I want to see if he can make a pressure FG before the fricken season is over.
13. On the other hand, we have been very effective in getting TDs in the red zone this season. I don't know what the stats are, but I'm sure we are in the top 10 in the league in red zone effeciency. The main reason for this is the fact that we are able to RUSH for TD's. Dillon's rushes for 8 and 12 yds are not all that usual down on the GL where rushing yards are VERY hard to come by.
14. CONSPIRACY THEORY OF THE WEEK: Bill Polian arranged to have the Pats play a tough AWAY game on a Monday night, right before the Pats play the Colts, making it a short week with travel for the Pats. Anything to gain an advantage.
15. Speaking of that...the next 2 weeks are going to be good tests of where this team is, versus some of the better teams in the league. I still think we are a month away from seeing this offense come together, but the defense is right on track to give BOTH these teams a run for their money.
16. Finally, I don't think it is premature to start to think about Ty Warren's extention contract, even though he has 2 more years before he's a FA.