Can you imagine the epic shitshow if Thielen had actuall come at B.B.?
I’m not suggesting he was going to or anything. But, like, how instantly Thielen (or anyone) would be swarmed by pats jerseys...
The Game Ball Thread: Week 13 vs Vikings
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I’m not suggesting he was going to or anything. But, like, how instantly Thielen (or anyone) would be swarmed by pats jerseys...
I can't even read about the 2015 Patriots without getting ill. 10-0 start to the season, then they lose to Brock Osweiler and Denver because of Chris Harper fumble. Then they lose the aforementioned Eagles game. They win their next 2, and then hand the fucking game to the Jets when they defer in fucking overtime, they lose to the Dolphins in the last week, give up home field and then have to go Denver for the AFCCG and lose to the Corpse of Peyton Manning 20-18 because Brady just cannot play in that stadium...
Oh, if I could erase one season out of all of them from my memory, it's that one. That should have been #6.
Speaking of the Thielen/BB kerfluffle that happened as a result of that awful spot/lost challenge. That defensive series, both before and after the awful spot was, IMO, the turning point of the game. At that point, Minnesota had some hope, but the Pats defense played everything perfectly during that series, ultimately forcing a punt after a short pass to Diggs on 4th and 11, because Cousins didn't have time to even get to a second read. Every play on that series was brilliant.
2010 and not close. According to FO the 2010 Pats were the most efficient offense in NFL history better than the 2007 Pats. They averaged over 30ppg over their last 8 including beating NYJ 45-3 before somehow losing to them in the divisional round, the game Welker stuck his foot in his mouth and Chung V1 called the terrible fake punt.
Pretty amazing we have 5 Lombardi’s to celebrate and three other close losses in the SB and there are two other years they didn’t make it that far that we are lamenting.
And then there is 2006 when they almost certainly were not the best team but were a possession away from being Rex Grossman away from another title.
And then there is 2006 when they almost certainly were not the best team but were a possession away from being Rex Grossman away from another title.
To think that before 2001 we thought "if only we didn't kick to Desmond Howard" and that was about it.
Wait, was Gordon benched the first half? I assumed he was covered by Rhodes thus didn't get many looks. Could be a bigger story if he was held off the field. I wasn't paying attention to every player on every play so my apologies if I missed an obvious benching.
The Pats beat themselves 2-3 times a year. And its usually only in the beginning of the season or against Miami. I cant think of a playoff loss where they really beat themselves. We will see come playoff time but they never seem to beat themselves when it truly counts
As near as I can tell, only 1 Patriots team since 2003 has lost more than 1 game to teams that finish with fewer than 7 wins. There's a decent chance that happens this season.
The last time it happened the Patriots won the Super Bowl.
They do not beat themselves 3 times a year against bad teams. Mainly because they don't lose 3 times a year against bad teams.
The aforementioned Jets game doesn’t qualify for you? How about the Ravens ass kicking?
Sorry I was trying to make an overall point, I should have said they lose 2-3 games a year, with at least 1 or 2 at their own hands, but never when it matters
Yes there are more games to pick and choose from in the regular season than the playoffs. And I was more talking about this version of the Pats, not teams from 7 and 9 years ago. Id also say, as I remember it, NYJ caught lightening in a bottle and BAL just beat the shit out of them
Isn't going back to 2005 reaching a bit? Brady is the only one left(well and BB). Its like comparing this years Celtics to that year's team, which included the talented group of Ricky Davis, Dan Dickau, Candyman, Scal, Raef, Peirce... oh and Mr Blount to name a few. Actually go look at that roster, its a fantastic trip down memory lane
I believe they were more focused on formation groups that didn’t include Gordon in the first half. The game plan coming in looked to be to hit the underneath stuff to get the ball out quick. They clearly respected the Vikes pass rush. I’m glad they finally opened up things later on as Brady had more time to throw.
The Pats have 3 losses this year, and two of them were weeks 2 and 3, back in September. The third was an egg with Shaq Mason out and both tackles battling the flu or something. Brady quietly just threw up another 100 rating game, and the defense is now tough, opportunistic, and generating a semblance of a pass rush.
Meanwhile, Pitt and San Diego (I mean LAC) just gave up 30+ points to each other, and the former committed two more false starts during the postgame spread. I like our chances.
Meanwhile, Pitt and San Diego (I mean LAC) just gave up 30+ points to each other, and the former committed two more false starts during the postgame spread. I like our chances.
For all the games we're lamenting, Philip Rivers probably wakes at least 7 of his kids up by screaming in the middle of the night occasionally when he has nightmares about that 2006 divisional playoff, with the Troy Brown double-turnover play. We had absolutely no fucking business winning that game. That was his year. And like Marino, he may never get another His Year.
I dunno about Worst Loss Ever, I don't think there can be much debate about that particular title.
I'd have been OK losing that 2005 game if they'd have just gotten the Ben Watson play correct. That deserved to be an all-time Patriots highlight.
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This is where I am at. There was no Edelman or Gordon in the Jacksonville game. There was no Edelman, Gordon, Burkhead, Flowers, or Chung in the Detroit game. Those games might as well have been last season in terms of the meaning they have at this point. Does no one remember the first four games last year? September is basically preseason now.
The Titans game was somewhat concerning, but again, they had a bunch of issues with injuries at tackle, on top of Shaq being out, Gronk being out, and D. Allen getting hurt during the game as well. Kind of a perfect storm for the Titans D to clamp down. Doesn't explain the D, but the Pats are a complimentary team, and the offense / special teams really hurt them that day.
Gotta win in Miami this year. Won't be easy.
- Develin
- Flowers
- Gilmore
- McCourty/JC Jackson
Haven't seen him mentioned, but I'd give an Honorable Mention to Hightower... he was actually noticeable on several important plays yesterday.
Down? Gronk. Awful game for him.
The 2010 Patriots were also in a dogfight against the Matt Flynn led Packers at home. Not all that confident they would've beaten Rodgers in the Super Bowl. That defense was terrible.
The 2010 Pats had some definite holes defensively, which they were usually able to hide by jumping out to a big lead early behind their offense. But the margin of error was less than their 14-2 record indicated, and that same defense got eviscerated by an average QB and an average WR in the second half of their one playoff game.
The Pats have always had 1 or 2 games every year where they got beaten, sometimes badly, by an inferior team (Miami and KC in 2014, the Bills in 2016, but that deserves a rather large asterick). That's just the nature of the NFL. Last season their 2 regular season losses were to half-decent teams in KC and Carolina. I think the only difference is that this season the Pats have had 3 such games, and one of those was in November; whether that's significant or just a blip remains to seen. But the narrative is probably a lot different if the Pats got by the Titans.
Anyway, game ball to Jackson for some nice coverage on the deep passes in the second half. Another one to Flowers with a key sack late in the game. And game balls for those nice open field tackles by the McCourty twins and Van Noy to bottle up the Minny receivers after they caught those dump-off passes. The OL deserves some credit as well; the Vikings were credited with only one hit on Brady (vs. 6 for the Pats).
The Pats have always had 1 or 2 games every year where they got beaten, sometimes badly, by an inferior team (Miami and KC in 2014, the Bills in 2016, but that deserves a rather large asterick). That's just the nature of the NFL. Last season their 2 regular season losses were to half-decent teams in KC and Carolina. I think the only difference is that this season the Pats have had 3 such games, and one of those was in November; whether that's significant or just a blip remains to seen. But the narrative is probably a lot different if the Pats got by the Titans.
Anyway, game ball to Jackson for some nice coverage on the deep passes in the second half. Another one to Flowers with a key sack late in the game. And game balls for those nice open field tackles by the McCourty twins and Van Noy to bottle up the Minny receivers after they caught those dump-off passes. The OL deserves some credit as well; the Vikings were credited with only one hit on Brady (vs. 6 for the Pats).
Have to defend Gronk a bit (you're one of a few mentioning him). The penalties were ass, and he wasn't particularly productive catching the ball. But to my eye, his blocking was overall very good. And others catch the ball because of the attention he draws. As bad as he was by his standards, I could live with 4 more games like that, if the alternative is him on the sidelines.
Edit: there was one CP catch were the LB/S just let CP waltz right by him because he was laser focused on Gronk not breaking his block and drifting into the flat. It was a pleasure to watch.
Gronk was noticeably limping after he caught that 15 yard pass over the middle near the end of the 3rd quarter. He was tackled hard right away, and seemed to be moving gingerly when he got up.
From that:
I remember this being the "Times Square Defense" from years back - everyone wandering around aimlessly pre-snap. Was that really the case? Maybe I just wasn't looking for it. But I'm kinda curious what the defensive game plan was, so even if this is a rough guess I'm very interested in it.
I was also interested by this coda to the annual offseason drama:
The only reason I gave any of that Wickersham nonsense a little credence is because Curran did some reporting on it as well. So if he's basically saying it was much ado about nothing, that's very comforting.
Sweet Jesus. Curran just destroyed the Pundit Industrial Complex, in a style befitting “Uncle Billy.”
Sounds more like mischief managed, than much ado about nothing.
I don't doubt that after almost two decades, there isn't some interpersonal tension now and then. I recall a phrase more or less as follows: "any long term relationship that is devoid of conflict suggests a lack of will only to be admired in sheep". One thing is certain: Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are not sheep.
The off-season stuff might be real. But it might not loom large enough to actually get in the way of the in-season/on-field performance.
His hip, it looked like. He tries blocking on the next play, let his man run right by him, and then hobbled off the field.
This was from Doc Flynn during the game
"Gronk took a helmet to his left thigh. Limped a bit after, was stretching his quads on the sidelines. Not a big concern, will probably hurt more tomorrow."
Thankfully it was just his quad, that was really similar to how he has injured his knee in the past.
IIRC, the next play was a non-sub, no-huddle play as well. So Gronk had no choice but to line up to block. Still didn't stop James White from gaining 12 yards on the ground.
And Volin.
A big difference between here and GB is that whatever "interpersonal fatigue" exists, and whatever "problems" Brady or Gronk (or anyone else who matters) have with Belichick, neither one of those players (and probably no one else) has lost confidence in Belichick or McDaniels the way Rodgers no longer thinks McCarthy was doing the job well.
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It was even faster than the typical non-sub, no huddle play. On the Gronk catch, the ball came out at the end, so the Pats raced to the line to get the next snap off, to avoid the possibility of a Minnesota challenge. That's a play that usually results in no gain or a loss, but James White still got 12, like you said.
In the game thread, I said it looked like he took a shot to the thigh, which probably meant a nasty bruise. Docflynn's description that it would hurt more today is probably pretty accurate for a bruise/contusion like that, but if it were anything that would have been more serious, I doubt we would have seen Gronk at all after that point.
Yes, they rushed to the line because I’m not all that sure Gronk even completed that catch (I don’t pretend to know the catch rules though).
Re: the “Times Square Defense” didn’t Rex Ryan’s Jets used to do that to Brady?
I seem to recall people doing that to P. Manning sometimes, to avoid all his never-called false starts as he would try to completely rebuild his line.