We’re onto Miami

[italian pat patriot]

I think this is a must win situation...not normal for us but...so let s win this game !!!

 

[Uptown]

CB Xavien Howard is very underrated. Terrific young corner.

 

[Soliel]

It’s absolutely a must win. We lose to Miami at home, it might be a wrap on this season

 

[Chevy]

There’s always a phone for Ernie. You’re just noticing it now.

Seen it before - just wanted to remind the naysayers that there are some pretty talented folks working behind the scenes. Have faith - we're not here yet:

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Someone please explain to me how to rid myself of the following sequence in my brain: Dolphins have the ball on 3rd and 4. Ryan Tannehill gets the ball out of shotgun and lofts an easy pass to a completely uncovered receiver for a 15 yard gain. Then it repeats itself about 1,000 times with a different receiver and different area of the field.

 

[maineman209]

Get White more involved in the pass game.

White already leads the team in targets with 20 (70% catch rate, 8.9 YPC, 2 TDs).

Second is Gronk with 17 tgts (77% catch rate, 14.5 YPC, 1 TD).

Hogan and Dorsett are tied for 3rd with 14 tgts each:
- Dorsett, 86% catch rate, 9.2 YPC, 1 TD
- Hogan, 50% catch rate, 12.0 YPC, 2 TDs

Patterson has had 7 tgts ... (71% catch rate, 7.2 YPC).

No one else has more than 6 tgts.

-----
ADDENDUM:

White is also averaging 4.3 carries and 22 yards per game on the ground - both way ahead of his average for any previous season.

 

[maineman209]

What ever happened to "next man up" on this team?

In case you haven't noticed, at WR there's been no "next man" to come in to take tgts. Only Hollister for the one game.

I think the Gordon hope seems a bit desperate, as if we are leaning far too heavily on an earlier prowess.

Gordon has shown that he can run routes, get open and catch the ball in an Erhardt-Perkins offensive scheme. The Pats haven't had anyone else on the roster this season who can do that reliably since Britt, Matthews and Mitchell succumbed to injuries (the last two during Camp).

That's all Gordon needs to do to help the passing attack - provide another viable target. Even if he adds only 35-45 yards per game over the next 13 games, that's a major plus.

 

[PatsfanTN]

This was sent to someone I work with

In case you haven't noticed, at WR there's been no "next man" to come in to take tgts. Only Hollister for the one game.



Gordon has shown that he can run routes, get open and catch the ball in an Erhardt-Perkins offensive scheme. The Pats haven't had anyone else on the roster this season who can do that reliably since Britt, Matthews and Mitchell succumbed to injuries (the last two during Camp).

That's all Gordon needs to do to help the passing attack - provide another viable target. Even if he adds only 35-45 yards per game over the next 13 games, that's a major plus.

Speaking of Hollister, anyone heard what his status is?

 

[maineman209]

The next man up won’t work at the WR position because the first men up have not been good.

I'd say it's because there haven't been enough of them.

Gordon is very much a desperation trade borne out of bad decisions being made at the position in the offseason.

The injuries to Britt and Matthews (Matthews in Camp) and the final failure of Mitchell to return to viable health (also in Camp) were the result of bad decisions? For that matter, Hill tearing and ACL in week-1, and Hollister being out in week-3 with a "chest injury" (?!) suffered in practice were the result of bad decisions?

Those five unforeseen injury situations left McD and Brady with only Gronk, 3 WR, White, Burkhead and Develin as even marginally-viable passing targets against the Lions. That's simply not enough bodies to put on the field to catch passes, much less "get creative" with the offense.

 

[maineman209]

This was sent to someone I work with


Speaking of Hollister, anyone heard what his status is?

We probably won't know anything at all until media attendance readings from the start of practice start trickling in around Noon or so. Even then, it may not be indicative of status for the game. Burkhead was "DNP" in the Concussion Protocol for the Wednesday practice before the JAX game, but was cleared to play by game time.

 

[maineman209]

CB Xavien Howard is very underrated. Terrific young corner.

There were at least a few people on this board warning about Howard prior to the Pats week-14 loss at Miami. Howard had 2 of his 4 picks in that game. Brady will need to bring his "A" game (as compared to what we saw against the Lions).

 

[Kontradiction]

I'd say it's because there haven't been enough of them.



The injuries to Britt and Matthews (Matthews in Camp) and the final failure of Mitchell to return to viable health (also in Camp) were the result of bad decisions? For that matter, Hill tearing and ACL in week-1, and Hollister being out in week-3 with a "chest injury" (?!) suffered in practice were the result of bad decisions?

Those five unforeseen injury situations left McD and Brady with only Gronk, 3 WR, White, Burkhead and Develin as even marginally-viable passing targets against the Lions. That's simply not enough bodies to put on the field to catch passes, much less "get creative" with the offense.

The bad decisions were relying on Dorsett to be the Cooks replacement even though there has been literally nothing at this point in his career to show that he was capable of that, signing Patterson at all since his route running is substandard let alone relying on him to replace Amendola’s production, and not seeing injury potentials from a mile away with Britt and Mitchell in spite of the fact that they both have very checkered injury histories going back to college. I mean a lot of us saw that prior to the season but the coaching staff didn’t? Come on now. They didn’t do enough at the position. They know this. The devil is in the details and those details were the amount of scrap heap, chuck-it-at-the-wall-and-see-if-it-sticks transactions at the position before the ultimate desperation move of bringing in Gordon. But they should have done more and the fact that they didn’t has cost them two games now. You can’t give BB the lion’s share of the credit when things are going well without giving him the lion’s share of the blame when they don’t. That’s not the way it works.

 

[Bruins29]

The bad decisions were relying on Dorsett to be the Cooks replacement even though there has been literally nothing at this point in his career to show that he was capable of that,

Yeah there is no question he did not have the pedigree of Cooks However "If" there was a JE and a Matthews and a Britt etc getting all the attention from the top CBs of the other team I bet Dorsett would have had a much easier time producing. He also would have been able to focus on his routes as right now he is having to run the whole route tree.

 

[JayNM]

I think this is the game that will give us the true identity of this year's team, even without Edelman.

I know Im a fair-weather fan, as i think this was literally the first time i saw the Pats get SPANKED two weeks in row. But it's how you get up from falls that define you, so i am hopeful for a beautiful definition still...

 

[Kontradiction]

Yeah there is no question he did not have the pedigree of Cooks However "If" there was a JE and a Matthews and a Britt etc getting all the attention from the top CBs of the other team I bet Dorsett would have had a much easier time producing. He also would have been able to focus on his routes as right now he is having to run the whole route tree.

We'll see. Edelman coming back by itself (to make no mention of Gordon) will make life easier on all of the wideouts. I personally think Dorsett is a bust but he should have more room to operate with Edelman in the line-up. If he still doesn't produce, cut him loose in the offseason.

 

[Bruins29]

We'll see. Edelman coming back by itself (to make no mention of Gordon) will make life easier on all of the wideouts. I personally think Dorsett is a bust but he should have more room to operate with Edelman in the line-up. If he still doesn't produce, cut him loose in the offseason.

Agree. Also, "if" Matthews and Britt did not get hurt and played as well as their potential. And "if" JE was not suspended there was a good chance that Dorsett may have not made the team.

They would have had JE, JM, KB, CH, CP and either released Dorsett or had him come down with the Foxflu.

A lot of "ifs" but it could have happened.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

The other guy that needs to play is Derek Rivers. Annoyed he hasn’t played a single snap of football yet.

 

[SVN]

Brown and shelton need to play better and stop the run to win. Otherwise we have no chance, no matter what the offense does

 

[FCB02062]

So burkhead and Bentley to IR....season going from bad to worse

 

[eternal]

Two more to IR. Just what we needed!