The Game Ball Thread: Wk 14 vs Ravens

[SeoulSoxFan]

Angry Brady almost single-handedly rescues a victory from series of costly mistakes. GAME BALLS.

• Brady: no words
• Hogan: 7/11
• Front-four: Long, Nink, Flowers, and Brown had a monster game

From now on, please NO WHAMMIES:

 

[RedOctober3829]

Brady
OL
Blount
Hogan
Front 7

Down
Cy Jones
Slater

 

[AlNipper49]

Cyrus Jones will not be making an appearance in this thread I'm guessing

 

[dbn]

That quarterback guy, what's his name.

 

[wilked]

Brady
Defense had a good game, scoreboard doesn't do them justice

 

[dbn]

Also, Patricia and the D. Very, very nice game.

 

[DJnVa]

Brady
Blount
Defense

And no one cares, but those god damned special teams fumbles killed my fantasy team. Jesus. They gotta fix that shit. You know, for reasons more important than my fantasy team.

 

[amarshal2]

500 yards on the #1 defense in the NFL suck my dick

Brady
McDaniels
O-line
Hogan
Blount
Defense

 

[Stitch01]

They crushed for 59:40.

Game ball to the OL. Performed admirably against a top defense.

 

[DJnVa]

The Pats now have the #2 scoring defense in the league, 5 points behind the Vikings. They're #5 in scoring, and just 10 points from #2.

 

[Van Everyman]

McCourty was robbed of a 40-yard run back.

And Patricia. It was nice to see the defensive scheme get creative again. Seemed to get the most out of their depth (as opposed to sheer talent).

CORNERBACKSSS!
NICKELBACKSSS!
LINEBACKERSSS!

 

[Stitch01]

Defense has been improved but don't think we will know until the playoffs. So many trash offenses over the last eight weeks

 

[BannedbyNYYFans.com]

Just can't say enough about the job Dante Scarnecchia has done this year with the O-Line. Incredible.

 

[8slim]

Brady

OL

DL

 

[Ralphwiggum]

OL

Scar: whatever they paid him to come back isn't enough

 

[scotian1]

Once choice"

 

[TheRooster]

McDaniels, Brady, DL

 

[DennyDoyle'sBoil]

Not a full game ball for one play, but Nink's sack for honorable mention. Baltimore was rolling against a gassed defense looking for the lead. They were moving the pile five yards forward every play. Third and manageable around the 15 and the D made a play.

If the Ravens go ahead, I am not sure the Pats pull it out.

 

[DJnVa]

I had the sound turned down--did Butler come back into the game?

 

[H78]

Brady.

I just realized the Pats will be one mile down the road on Sunday and I'll be there.

Pumped.

 

[HowBoutDemSox]

I had the sound turned down--did Butler come back into the game?

Yup, and had a nice stop right at the sticks to hold them to the field goal on the last Baltimore possession.

 

[DennyDoyle'sBoil]

I had the sound turned down--did Butler come back into the game?

Yeah.

 

[MyDaughterLovesTomGordon]

Valentine was really good early. McCourty pick was huge. And Chung and Hightower were both in lots of big plays.

Plus, Shea's block was enormous.

 

[Mystic Merlin]

The OL was great today. Biggest difference from last year is the health and quality of the OL, up and down.

Also, nice to see that the front 7 on D isn't just a hodgepodge of slop. Seem to have the makings of a passable rotation.

 

[Devizier]

Brady
Hogan
McLellan
Blount
White
Ryan Allen

 

[Stitch01]

The OL was great today. Biggest difference from last year is the health and quality of the OL, up and down.

Also, nice to see that the front 7 on D isn't just a hodgepodge of slop. Seem to have the makings of a passable rotation.

Yes. They aren't a great running team (although the Pats are actually a really run heavy offense this year) but seems like they can run the ball when they have to better then in recent years and Brady never just gets destroyed for a whole game like he did at times last year. Good measuring stick coming up Sunday.

 

[nothumb]

Yup, and had a nice stop right at the sticks to hold them to the field goal on the last Baltimore possession.

is there a better tackler among true corners than butler? he stopped a TE cold there.

up: brady, OL, DL
down: ST (except allen), edelman, lewis

i was thinking that BB was holding lewis back and keeping his snap count low so he doesn't get hurt... but as of now it looks like #3 RB is about where he should be. hope we see the explosiveness return in time for the playoffs.

 

[H78]

Honestly, I'm also okay with this win helping Denver's cause. I'd rather play Denver in Foxboro in January than the Ravens, who always step it up a notch in the postseason.

If it were the reverse and the Pats had to play on the road, I'd prefer Baltimore over Denver, but I'm good with the way this is playing out.

 

[ragnarok725]

Malcolm Brown also played a pretty solid game, as he's been doing all year. Great play on the safety.

I think the OL is really the difference this year. No Gronk on the offense can still work with these weapons so long as Brady keeps getting the time he's been getting.

 

[leftfieldlegacy]

Game ball to any coach except special teams.
Matt Patricia and the defense. Forcing Flacco to repeatedly check down to his RB was a fantastic scheme by Patricia and execution by the players. Watching on TV you can't see whats happening in the secondary but Flacco loves to throw deep so the D backs must have been blanketing the Ravens wide receivers. That said, the Pats really need to work on tackling, not throwing a shoulder at the legs but getting ball carriers on the ground.
Dante--O line is really playing as a coordinated unit
McDaniels for the Hogan play call

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

I know Jones is an unpopular name in this thread but Jonathan Jones made some great plays tonight as well. Cyrus Jones did not.

 

[uncannymanny]

Yup, and had a nice stop right at the sticks to hold them to the field goal on the last Baltimore possession.

Most aware tackle I've seen all year. You always hear about the receiver knowing exactly where the sticks are.

 

[moondog80]

The non-return guys on special teams were awesome.

 

[HowBoutDemSox]

McDaniels for the Hogan play call

Interestingly, Brady said in the post-game presser that Hogan wasn't the primary there but both he and Hogan saw the coverage and adjusted.

 

[Ed Hillel]

Let's stop for a minute.

In the last 50 regular home games Brady has started against AFC opponents in meaningful games (basically not counting Buffalo week 17 2014), the Patriots have won...50 games.

That will never, ever, EVER happen again. They could play another thousand years and it wouldn't happen.

Brady
OL
Patricia (because I can't name the entire D)

 

[TFP]

Game ball to any coach except special teams.
Matt Patricia and the defense. Forcing Flacco to repeatedly check down to his RB was a fantastic scheme by Patricia and execution by the players. Watching on TV you can't see whats happening in the secondary but Flacco loves to throw deep so the D backs must have been blanketing the Ravens wide receivers. That said, the Pats really need to work on tackling, not throwing a shoulder at the legs but getting ball carriers on the ground.
Dante--O line is really playing as a coordinated unit
McDaniels for the Hogan play call

The pats are pretty much the best tackling team in the league based on (lack of) yards after contact.

The Hogan TD wasn't a play call. Both Brady and Hogan adjusted on the fly based on the defensive look.

 

[GeorgeCostanza]

Cyrus Jones saving Sean McDonough from being my goat of the game. What a brutal call start to finish by a legend of my childhood. Sad.

 

[Mugsy's Jock]

Who's more improved from last year -- Marcus Cannon or James White? Both terrific tonight.

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

I thought this was our best game all year. The special teams idiocy aside, we overmatched a good football team on both sides of the ball.

I thought the coaching on both offense and defense was superb. Patricia has played a lot of zone this year, at times with very frustrating results. But it really worked tonight. We gave Flacco very little deep, kept him guessing about the underneath coverage, and tackled well.

 

[dynomite]

A laugher and a squeaker all in one. Strange, frustrating, and thrilling, but I agree with MMS above that this was an impressive performance against a good team.

3 up:

1) The GOAT. Looks like he'll be bringing home another piece of hardware this winter. That tiniest of windows TD to Mitchell was virtuoso.

2) O-Line/Scar. Competing in run and pass.

3) Defense. Standout plays and solid all-around performance.

3 down:

1) Cyrus / Coaching staff. He's overmatched, and the coaches were playing with fire by even letting him return these punts.

2) Slater. Can't let that happen, but still love the guy.

3) TBD. Tempted to put Sheard here, but I'll try to watch the film first.

 

[Oppo]

Edelman with the drops was disappointing

 

[Mugsy's Walk-Off Bunt]

Tom Brady is very good at his job and, so, receives my game ball. You're welcome, Tom. You're welcome.

Loved how LGBT ran tonight.

James White needs to be more involved. So dynamic tonight when he had his shots. Really want to see more split backs with White and Dion.

Chris Hogan - his calm adjustment, if there even was one, locating the ball and hauling it in, that made me happy.

Bennett had a solid game, as well. The more fun he has, the more likely he and his weird attitude might just take a decent ish hometown offer to stay.

Would love to see Malcolm Mitchell get more looks from TB12.

Refs were truly awful. Embarrassing.

Jonathan Jones showed up. Keep it up, kid. We need you.

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

The Brady reads on both the Mitchell and Hogan touchdowns are the stuff of legend. The guy is 39 but plays like he is at the peak of his powers. Boston sports fans saw Ortiz and now Brady having seasons that defied logic given how deep in their careers they have played. You have to know, this is not normal. This will likely never happen again and especially in football where a player is at risk of having their career ended on every play.

Brady gets all the game balls.

 

[LaszloKovacks]

Brady

Hogan

Mason

McClellin

McCourty

Brown

BB/McD/MattyP

Great performance. Find a solution for the return game please.

 

[Grimace-HS]

Can't argue with any suggestions so far. I'm also quite happy with how Malcolm Mitchell is developing in his rookie year. Having this extra threat may open up the offense a bit more come the playoffs without Gronk. (And that 60 Minutes "book club" piece was fantastic! I think of that every time he scores...TD "book club")

Other tops were Brady and the defense as a whole. Great game plan and execution.

 

[simplyeric]

Why was C. Jones anywhere near the ball on the play that went off his foot? There was a similar play earlier and another later, where a guy is basically risking huge downside (erratic bounce off your body) for very little upside (occasionally grabbing then ball to prevent another few lost yards, and, I suppose, subterfuge).
Just seems like it almost happened three times, it did happen once, what's the coaching rationale there?

 

[FredJones]

Belichick is the linebacker whisperer. McLellin looked so lost against us a few years ago with the Bears.

 

[E5 Yaz]

Why was C. Jones anywhere near the ball on the play that went off his foot? There was a similar play earlier and another later, where a guy is basically risking huge downside (erratic bounce off your body) for very little upside (occasionally grabbing then ball to prevent another few lost yards, and, I suppose, subterfuge).
Just seems like it almost happened three times, it did happen once, what's the coaching rationale there?

I could be wrong, but I think the play is for the would-be return to block the gunner (or whoever is closest to downing the punt), so that it can roll into the end zone for a touchback.

Looking at the Cyrus play, it appears that was his first intent, to block the Ravens player. But the ball had a crooked bounce and -- either by brain-fart or momentum -- Jones literally sticks his foot into the path of the ball

 

[jcaz]

Looked to me that Cyrus didn't know how to react once the ball hit his foot. He thought once about trying to cover it up, then decided to act as though it didn't hit him. Brutal either way.

 

[Bowhemian]

Gruden couldn't say enough good things about the o-line, and I agree. The front 5 played very well.