New England Patriots Discussion

[Blackluck]

Great rant Clark Judge it the epitome of "hack." Lazy, superficial writer.

I hate playing the Ravens (maybe it's those jerseys that make them look scarier than they really are), but I agree, without Webb and a hobbled pass rush we should be able to move the ball. And unlike Denver we won't play Marty ball

[FlyingElvis]

Woot! That should have been a bigger win but our defense seriously looks like they just say "**** it - let's let them catch up" every time they get up by more than 3 scores.


As for announcers: DVR . . . best technology ever. I can't watch real time anymore. Skip all the commercials and the nonsense banter of guys who are missing half the **** going on each play.

I don't even watch/read the rest. It's too painful how stupid the commentary is every week. Don't even get me started on how bad the hacks are at cbssports.

[AntoinCD]

Originally Posted by FlyingElvis

Woot! That should have been a bigger win but our defense seriously looks like they just say "**** it - let's let them catch up" every time they get up by more than 3 scores.


As for announcers: DVR . . . best technology ever. I can't watch real time anymore. Skip all the commercials and the nonsense banter of guys who are missing half the **** going on each play.

I don't even watch/read the rest. It's too painful how stupid the commentary is every week. Don't even get me started on how bad the hacks are at cbssports.

I don't put it all on the defense. The TD before the half was aided by another great kick return. Sure Foster had two nice runs but starting from near midfield is different than at the 20. The field goal was poor situational football. When the ball was caught with a few seconds to go they should have tried to hold the receiver up instead of tackling him immediately. He's not going to run 38 yards for a score.

In the second half after we got a few scores it became pure prevent defense. It's going to happen but the TD in the 4th took a whole lot of time off the clock. I don't mind that when a team is down 3 or more scores.

Special teams was a cluster **** though. Not much returning and killed on 3 Houston returns. Jacoby Jones isn't going to be caught from behind next week

[Jvig43]

Yeah Special teams was a huuuuge let down yesterday. All of houstons points in the first half yesterday came from amazing field position due to special teams. I was very happy with the way our defense played yesterday however. Really hope that they bring that same intensity against the Ravens because Brady struggles against the Harb Defenses.

[descendency]

If our special teams didn't blow ass, we might have held them to single digits.

[Razor]

I thought this was a pretty good read.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl...terling-moore/

I especially took note of this little tidbit:

We don't look back for the ball as a DB, it's just when their hands go up we try to break through their hands.

I know that a lot of Patriot fans including myself was frustrated with how McCourty never turned his head around even when he was in position to do so. Now we know why I guess...

[AntoinCD]

Originally Posted by Razor

I thought this was a pretty good read.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl...terling-moore/

I especially took note of this little tidbit:


I know that a lot of Patriot fans including myself was frustrated with how McCourty never turned his head around even when he was in position to do so. Now we know why I guess...

Yeah I remember commenting on this at the time. Belichick said a lot about it, saying if the DB is looking for the ball it gives the WR more chance to uncover

[descendency]

"I don't even know if we got the play call from the sideline or not. I remember talking to the defensive coordinator [Matt Patricia] after the game and he came up to me and was like, 'The only thing I could think of on that play was, oh, he doesn't know what the play call is,' and we didn't.''

That's pretty crazy. The play that could have cost the Patriots a Super Bowl appearance and the team couldn't get the play in??? ouch :/

[Blackluck]

It irks me to no end every time the media says "A Lee Evans drop away from the Super Bowl!"


Had Reed or Lewis made that play what would be the story line?

[Jvig43]

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-films-...ns-vs-Patriots

Brady Yelling about Ridley not being stopped yet and then apologizing for being fired up was ******* hilarious.

[HEISMANHERSCHEL]

Guys, I just wanted to stop in and say I am pulling for you like crazy! I am so sick of hearing about Ray Lewis. I have always liked the Patriots, but now I am really hoping Brady has Lewis so confused that he doesn't know what to do.


Pull this one out, baby!

[cmarq83]

The most overlooked story so far this week is how badly Yanda pushed Wilfork around in the first matchup. That simply cannot happen again, if we can be disruptive and control the LOS defensively against the Ravens to the point where Rice isn't a huge factor then I don't see us losing. I have confidence we can force Flacco into mistakes if he has to air it out too much. In the week 3 matchup they didn't move the ball at all on us during the first 3-4 drives until they got Rice going and forced us to move an additional safety into the box. If our front 7 can stop the run by themselves then I think we roll.

[descendency]

I watched ESPN today to see what they were talking about with the Patriots vs the Ravens (and Teo and Armstrong).

All I could to keep from laughing was bite my tongue. Seriously. Joe Flacco outplayed Brady last year... If Brady had Julian Edelman covering Anquan Boldin, he'd have broke NFL records.

[Blackluck]

Thanks HEISMANHERSCHEL :)

Originally Posted by descendency

I watched ESPN today to see what they were talking about with the Patriots vs the Ravens (and Teo and Armstrong).

All I could to keep from laughing was bite my tongue. Seriously. Joe Flacco outplayed Brady last year... If Brady had Julian Edelman covering Anquan Boldin, he'd have broke NFL records.

And we still won
Seems everyone fails to mention that most QBs have had bad stats against the Ravens, they had an elite defense (up until this season, anyway) and Brady actually ranks fourth compared to other QBs.

I made the mistake of watching NFLN's AFC playbook.
Hernandez sucks because he can't block; Lewis will singlehandedly shut down Ridley, Vareen and Woodhead. All the Ravens have to do is take out Brady and Welker, add in that the Ravens are not afraid of NE (lol, which football team is afraid of any other football team) and it's game over: Ravens.

Really, 3 of 4 picked the Ravens, with Sterling picking NE.

It's not that the Ravens can't win - they can - but it's a much larger task for the Ravens than us to pull this one off.

Compare that to this lengthy Football Outsiders preview. (It's long, but worth a read, well unless you're rooting for Baltimore.) Here's a sample quote (emphasis mine):

The current phase of the Patriots organization really starts in 2010, but since then the teams have played once a year with all three games decided by a field goal or less. This year's 31-30 game from Week 3 in particular stands out because DVOA says it was the best game for the Ravens offense all season, and by far the worst game for the Patriots defense. How much does that say about this weekend's game, especially given that the Patriots will be fielding an entirely different secondary? There's also the question of what we can learn from the games played just last week. The Ravens were not expected to beat the Broncos, but they brought their best defensive performance of the year and their best offensive performance since that Patriots game four months ago. What are the odds they can keep up that level of play? For that matter, what are the odds that the Patriots will be as efficient on offense as they were against Houston? And how likely is it that either team revisits the kick coverage problems they showed a week ago?

[descendency]

Gostkowski was fined for unnecessary roughness (it looked necessary during the game...). If I were him, I would tape that fine to my locker and tell people not to **** with me...

[nepg]

I also love that the Patriots had no business losing the first match-up between these teams (to go along with all of the other improvements the team has made, defensively). And the ridiculousness of the Flacco hype has just gotten out of hand. He's a luckier version of Rex Grossman who got really lucky last week. All he can ******* do is throw the ball deep and hope someone catches it. That's it!

A couple more of those passes get caught than usual and all of a sudden, he's among the elite QBs in the NFL?

[proshoota25]

hopefully we will all be in great moods later tonight...

the wind is going to play a big factor in this game tonight..... im guessing thats not good news for us, due to the fact we averaged only 3 ypc in the first meeting

[cmarq83]

Good write up MJ. You hit pretty much all of my keys for the game. The only thing I'd add is finding a way to attack the Ravens linebackers in the passing game. Lewis is slowing down, and I don't fear Ellerbe's coverage skills.

I think in order to get the running game going they should try and get some different looks in there. I love the pitch play they've run a few times with Vereen where Brady opens to his right and then just flicks it to Vereen for a stretch play to the left. Maybe they show that a few times and try to give Hernandez a few carries like they have in the past. They have a diverse enough array of backs to hit the Ravens with every skillset possible. I don't think we'll find a hot hand to give the majority of the carries to, but I think if we vary the playcalling enough we'll at least force them to remain honest.

[Don Vito]

Talk to you folks tomorrow. Time to get inebriated.

[Blackluck]

I stopped watching after Welker dropped the 3rd down pass in the second half. We had already missed countless scoring chances, and that sealed the deal.

I'm really surprised we did played so poorly. Credit to the Ravens, didn't expect this result at all.

[Razor]

Well that sucked... Big time.

[cmarq83]

Originally Posted by Razor

Well that sucked... Big time.

Yup,

At least the team is young, and it was a pretty enjoyable watching the emergence of Jones, McCourty, Solder, Spikes, and Ridley this year. Still the no show in the championship game hurts, especially against douchenozzles like Suggs, Lewis, and Pollard.

[Don Vito]

6 trips inside the Ravens 25 yard line, 13 points. We missed Gronk.

Boldin does nothing until Talib gets hurt, scores 2 TD's when Talib is out. Make bringing back Talib a priority.

We didn't play a great game, but those two guys would have made the difference if you ask me. Chandler Jones was missed too.

DRAFT A BIG PLAY WIDE RECEIVER.

[Vaylor]

Only 13 ******* points? Just bleh.

[Patriots_QB_12]

Keenan Allen anyone? Cal players seen to fit like a glove. ;)

But yeah this one hurt...