Who Is Sony Michel?

[luuked]

While I agree that he should round out his game so the Patriots are less predictable, it's going to be extremely difficult to take snaps away from James White. I'm not sure there's a better passing game running back in the NFL. Good problem to have between the two of them.

The first -- and most important -- step is for Michel to become more reliable and better in pass protection. Without that you can't have him out there too often on passing downs, especially in crunch time.

The good news is that the is slowly easing him into that and trusting him more than in the first few weeks. The bad news is that he was more or less responsible for the first Brady fumble that Andrews recovered. It is still a work in progress and it might take him an offseason in the strength and conditioning program to be at a point where he can physically hold up consistently picking up defenders the same way White (and Lewis in the years before) does so routinely.

 

[captain stone]

...The bad news is that he was more or less responsible for the first Brady fumble that Andrews recovered...

It appeared to me that Michel didn't really have a full chance to square-up and make himself ready to block because the DT blew past Andrews so quickly, and also because Michel was trying to sell a run fake. If I were to assign a blame percentage, I would give Andrews 50%, Michel 25%, and 25% to the DT for making a good play.

 

[luuked]

It appeared to me that Michel didn't really have a full chance to square-up and make himself ready to block because the DT blew past Andrews so quickly, and also because Michel was trying to sell a run fake. If I were to assign a blame percentage, I would give Andrews 60% and Michel 40%.

In that case I would go one step further and blame Scar for a bad schematic design. There is no way Andrews can be fast enough to get to Chris Jones. Jones starts moving as Andrews snaps the ball. He is already in motion into the gap when Andrews turns and tries to slide in. No chance.

The only way this play works with Jones in that particular gap is if the RB picks him up.

 

[Koma]

There were two things that happened in 2006 that helped to turn the NFL into "a passing league" beginning in 2007.
1) "The Polian Rule", which was actually Polian insisting on a "re-emphasis" on the enforcement of existing rules regarding defender contact with receivers (but also some other actual rule changes since).
2) The league changed its policy regarding "ownership" of game balls. Prior to 2007, all game balls were provided directly by the league. Before the game, the refs would take brand new footballs (complete with their slippery wax coating) out of their original packaging and give them to the teams. Several QBs (including Peyton and Brady) had been lobbying the league to allow the teams to "own"/control the game balls up until game time, so that the balls could be "broken in". This was really about removing the slippery factory coating and changing the surface texture to something closer to suede - making the footballs easier to grip (AFAIK, it had nothing whatsoever to do with PSI, at least not at that time).

I apologize if I'm misreading this section of your post and for going away from the main point you're making. It's nitpicking, but I want to point out that the rule allowing QBs to prepare their own footballs went into effect prior to the 2006 season. Here's an article from 11/06 and a Peter King article from 9/06 on the topic.

I have rabbit ears on that subject because it's too easy for Patriots haters and Brady detractors to say "Brady's numbers only took off in 2007 when the new football prep rules went into effect" followed by an implication that being able to illegally deflate footballs was the real key. The truth is, Brady's numbers were worse in 2006 than 2005 (fewer completions, worse completion percentage, almost 500 fewer yards, 2 fewer TDs, and worse QB rating.) If being able to break in footballs was a critical element, Brady's numbers should have improved in 2006, or at least matched the previous year.

 

[maineman209]

I apologize if I'm misreading this section of your post and for going away from the main point you're making. It's nitpicking, but I want to point out that the rule allowing QBs to prepare their own footballs went into effect prior to the 2006 season. Here's an article from 11/06 and a Peter King article from 9/06 on the topic.

I have rabbit ears on that subject because it's too easy for Patriots haters and Brady detractors to say "Brady's numbers only took off in 2007 when the new football prep rules went into effect" followed by an implication that being able to illegally deflate footballs was the real key. The truth is, Brady's numbers were worse in 2006 than 2005 (fewer completions, worse completion percentage, almost 500 fewer yards, 2 fewer TDs, and worse QB rating.) If being able to break in footballs was a critical element, Brady's numbers should have improved in 2006, or at least matched the previous year.

You're correct. The game ball policy change was in effect for the 2006 season.

As to the downturn in Brady's stats, his 2006 WR corps consisted of ...

Reche Caldwell (60% catch rate)
Troy Brown (57%)
Doug Gabriel (53%)
Jabar Gaffney (55%)
Chad Jackson (68% on 19 tgts as a rookie)
Kelvin Kight (caught 1 of 3 tgts)
Bam Childress (caught 2 of tgts)

IIRC, only Troy (at age 35) had any previous experience with the team among those "illustrious" wideouts. Brady had lost both Branch and Givens during the 2006 off-season.

 

[sean10mm]

2006 and 2013 were really dire Patriots seasons for wide receiver play, huh?

Hopefully they won't get bitten by that again in 2020 lol

 

[maineman209]

2006 and 2013 were really dire Patriots seasons for wide receiver play, huh?

Hopefully they won't get bitten by that again in 2020 lol

You mean like the "Seven Year B itch?

 

[captain stone]

In that case I would go one step further and blame Scar for a bad schematic design. There is no way Andrews can be fast enough to get to Chris Jones. Jones starts moving as Andrews snaps the ball. He is already in motion into the gap when Andrews turns and tries to slide in. No chance...

Yeah in that particular alignment Jones would've been Thuney's responsibility, but he pulled to his right to protect that side of the pocket, and that left Andrews with little time to snap, straighten himself, and then push Jones out of harm's way. Scar should indeed re-visit that blocking design and either re-assign Thuney or place the whole thing in the circular file.

 

[captain stone]

As to the downturn in Brady's stats, his 2006 WR corps consisted of ...

Reche Caldwell (60% catch rate)
Troy Brown (57%)
Doug Gabriel (53%)
Jabar Gaffney (55%)
Chad Jackson (68% on 19 tgts as a rookie)
Kelvin Kight (caught 1 of 3 tgts)
Bam Childress (caught 2 of tgts)

IIRC, only Troy (at age 35) had any previous experience with the team among those "illustrious" wideouts. Brady had lost both Branch and Givens during the 2006 off-season.

Not that it would've probably made much of a difference, but I've always felt that Bill should've done a better job of re-signing both Andre Davis & Tim Dwight, if for no other reason than they would've provided Brady with a couple of familiar faces for 2006 after Branch & Givens left as UFAs and Bethel Johnson was traded to NO.