33 replies to this topic

[SeoulSoxFan]

More often than not, when Pats are favored by double digits, it comes down to a nailbiter. It's a win, but fees like a regression. Then again, it's a WIN.

The game balls of the week:

• McCourty: makes the decisive play of the game. Good enough for me.
• Cunningham: like the aggressive play. Me thinks he's helped by Jones on the other side.
• Woodhead: does what's asked

Aquib Talib, time to make your mark.

[Garshaparra]

Big time game ball to the oft-maligned Nate Solder. We barely heard the words "Mario Williams" this whole game, and Solder was 1-on-1 with him much of the game. Really nice game.

[LogansDad]

I'll second Woodhead. For as much crap as people give him around here (and I admit that I am one of them) he continues to do exactly what is asked of him. His route running is very good on the short passes, and he always seems to be there when Brady needs a quick outlet.

I'll also add Ridley. Another solid 98 yards and a TD, and more importantly he continues to not put the ball on the ground. Part of the reason the Pats continue to be at the top of the turnover differential leaderboard is because the offense is spectacular at not turning the ball over.

Also, am I allowed to give negative game balls to Mayo and Spikes for their ungodly awful PF penalties in the 4th?

[Ralphwiggum]

Spikes is a monster and I love the way he hits, but honestly he really is hard for me to root for for a lot of reasons. I would hate him if he were on any other team. Flexing his bicep as Fred Jackson was being walked off the field after almost being knocked out was nice. Just play the game.

On topic: I'll second Woodhead and Ridley. Vince was a monster in the first quarter but then went into a coma for most of the rest of the game along with the rest of the defense.

[( . ) ( . ) and (_!_)]

Spikes is like a sausage factory. It's not something you like seeing but it produces those delicious meat tubes that make your world a better place.

[dbn]

Spikes is like a sausage factory.

!!! Where is this going....

It's not something you like seeing but it produces those delicious meat tubes that make your world a better place.

... phew.

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

The game clock, for reaching 0:00 in the 4th quarter and ending this awful mess of a football game.

Ugly ugly ugly.

[Tony C]

game balls to:
-the refs-- I really think through Pats-colored glasses that NE has been reamed this year by the refs. But...turn around is fair play -- the refs sucked, and mostly in a direction that favored NE. If these were replacement refs, there'd be screams.
-the safeties-- boy is Gregory mediocre and DMC isn't a star there, either -- but at least no one was going deep (helped by the fact that Fitz can't throw deep, of course).
-Ridley -- really ran hard and made up for some negative plays (no fault of his) with some great bursts.

negative balls to
-Dennard really sucked, didn't he? Not helped by a stupid personal foul.
-Hightower -- man, he was awful in pass coverage and against the run. Seeing him manhandled by a blocking TE was depressing -- maybe he's still hurt/doesn't have lower body strength?
-our much touted DL that didn't stop the run and for long stretches couldn't rush the passer.

Also have to give kudos to both Jackson and Spiller -- terrific RBs.

[ShaneTrot]

I will take it, the vaunted SF defense just gave up 24 points at home to a team that the Pats smoked, the Giants puked over themselves in Cinncinatti of all places, and the great Miami defense gave up 30 to the TN offense at home, TN!. I can enjoy a win like this. People are too spoiled. This defense has been better but its not the 86 Bears. Get over it.

[Turrable]

Spikes is like a sausage factory. It's not something you like seeing but it produces those delicious meat tubes that make your world a better place.

[collings94]

Ridley & O-line- Hard to seperate the two, despite being banged up, the O-line came through and opened up some nice holes for Ridley and Woodhead.
Brady- Typical awesome Brady came, should have had some big plays but passes were dropped. (Were looking at you, Wes.)
McCourty- This could be said as for the defense as a whole, but if your going to suck, at least force some turnovers.

[Jettisoned]

That was a super lame call IMO. If the helmet hadn't popped off when Fitzy hit the ground I doubt they throw the flag.

Edited by Jettisoned, 11 November 2012 - 11:59 PM.

[JohnnyK]

On the "Down"-side - the tackling of the entire defense seemed atrocious at times. So many broken/missed tackles.

[EdRalphRomero]

Ghost deserves a game ball -- good work on kick-offs and dead center money on a couple of long field goals.

[Royal Reader]

Ghost deserves a game ball -- good work on kick-offs and dead center money on a couple of long field goals.

Good point. Reassuring after his early-season struggles.

[DegenerateSoxFan]

Brady, big time. He got away with a few bad throws early, then was flawless, making some really nifty moves in the pocket. Anyone want to argue he's not still on top of his game?

And upon further reflection, I'll give one to McCourty. The main knock on the Pats' defenses in recent years has been that they couldn't close the deal they way the '03 and '04 squads did. We've recently seen a game-ending strip sack in OT and a game-ending interception in the end zone. These are the kind of things that I think bode well for the Pats. I expect their defense to improve as the season moves through the backstretch, and they're in full command of the division already. So I'll give him one for the game clincher - even if they've owned the Bills for years, it is a divisional game.

[RedOctober3829]

There were a ton of missed tackles, but CJ Spiller is the best RB in the NFL in avoiding tacklers as well.

Mr @SI_PeterKing speculated CJ Spiller must be amongst best at avoiding tackles. Good call. Does so 1 in every 3.4 touches, leads all RBs

'

https://twitter.com/...991640231268353

[Toe Nash]

Yeah, I think you have to give some credit to the Bills. Spiller had the best YPA in the NFL coming into the game so while run defense was our strength it's not as disheartening when you realize no one else could stop him either. Against Houston last week he had 6 runs for 39 yards and another 5 catches for 63 more yards and he destroyed the Jets in week 1 (though yeah, a lot of garbage time there). The defense could have been much better, but the Bills have a tough offense when it's clicking.

The inability to get pressure on Fitzpatrick was the biggest issue and really exposed the LBs and CBs in coverage. Fitzpatrick is a real solid QB (like most) when he has time to throw. Hopefully this was just a minor setback for Jones, Wilfork, etc.

[bakahump]

Bad Tackling (helped by shifty [Spiller] and Powerful [Jackson] RBs).

And NO ONE could cover the TE. Seems like BB should be aware of the damage a talented TE can do to a team and game plan and acquire the talent necessary to stop it.

Gameball to:
The Refs
1st Half Pass rush
Deion Branch

[j44thor]

Bad Tackling (helped by shifty [Spiller] and Powerful [Jackson] RBs).

And NO ONE could cover the TE. Seems like BB should be aware of the damage a talented TE can do to a team and game plan and acquire the talent necessary to stop it.

Gameball to:
The Refs
1st Half Pass rush
Deion Branch

Didn't Deion drop a pass that hit him in the chest on the first drive which resulted in the Pats settling for a FG? Overall the WR probably left a 100 or so yds on the field yesterday in drops.

[Super Nomario]

I'd second most of the names mentioned here (Brady, Woodhead, McCourty), but it's also worth mentioning Brandon Lloyd, whose day didn't look impressive on paper (5 catches for 45 yards) but he made an impact. Three of those catches were for first downs, one turned a 2nd-and-10 into a makeable 3rd-and-5, and one turned a 54-yard FG attempt into a 48-yarder. He also drew two DPI penalties in the end zone, leading to two TDs. Lloyd's day ranked 7th among WR in WPA (win probability added) and 11th in EPA (expected points added) per Advanced NFL Stats. On a day where Welker had a couple big drops and Gronkowski was a non-factor, he might have been the biggest receiving threat.

[PedrosRedGlove]

In no particular order:

1. Brady: Another solid week from the future Hall of Famer. He definitely had some nifty moves in the pocket, he stood strong with Mario Williams clawing at him like a caged animal, and calmly sidestepped some pretty fierce rushes that came straight up the middle at him, hopefully his recent performance quiets the chorus of people talking about his nerves.

2. Ridley: 22 carries for 98 yards and a TD. It's great to have a feature back who is regularly deserving of a game ball. Even though his failed run on 1st-and-G and subsequent false start helped to mitigate that drive in the end, he deserves a lot of credit for helping them eat up over 5 minutes of clock. They committed to the run, giving it to Ridley on 4 of the first 5 plays of the drive and 7 of the first 11, and he delivered.

3. DMC: His strip of Fred Jackson at the goal line was a huge play, then the pick at the end to seal it. I don't expect to see the new 'smashmouth' secondary pulling games out of the fire like this all the time, but it was good to see McCourty step up when needed. You have to feel good for the guy, for all the ups-and-downs and criticism he's endured the past year and a half it must've felt great to have a 4th quarter like that.

[Chainsaw318]

Good point. Reassuring after his early-season struggles.

I still would opine that his "struggles" were making mountains out of molehills. He missed an end of game kick in that AZ game, and then two at the beginning of the first Bills game the next week, but he's been just as fine as ever since then, and his knockoffs are still mostly our best special teams weapon. In all, Gostkowski had less than a half of bad kicks, but otherwise may still be as good as there is in the league.

I think Solder and Vollmer were fantastic yesterday. The bills like like they were trying to move Mario around to get a mismatch, but the tackles held up really well, especially when the guys on the inside went down.

[Harry Hooper]

That was a super lame call IMO. If the helmet hadn't popped off when Fitzy hit the ground I doubt they throw the flag.

Whether it was a PF or not, it was definitely intentional grounding by Fitzpatrick but no call was made.

[Darnell's Son]

The rule for roughing the passer is pretty clear. You absolutely cannot hit a quarterback in the head and neck areas(and now below the knees thanks to the Brady rule). He clearly hit him in the head and neck area, and therefore it's a penalty. It's pretty simple.

If they called Intentional Grouding I'm almost positive that the Roughing the Passer takes precedence over anything but another personal foul.

[Harry Hooper]

The rule for roughing the passer is pretty clear. You absolutely cannot hit a quarterback in the head and neck areas(and now below the knees thanks to the Brady rule). He clearly hit him in the head and neck area, and therefore it's a penalty. It's pretty simple.

If they called Intentional Grouding I'm almost positive that the Roughing the Passer takes precedence over anything but another personal foul.

You may be right, but the only reference I can see in the NFL rules says you ignore a minor penalty (so no offset) when a major penalty is called on the same play. In this case, however, both the personal foul and intentional grounding would seem to be major penalties.



Edit: Actually, a similar situation (illegal forward pass instead of intentional grounding) happened on Sunday in the Bears game and the penalties offset:

Cutler began to run on the play before throwing a pass downfield to Hester. Dobbins collided with Cutler in a helmet-to-helmet hit. The officials ruled that Cutler's pass was illegal because it was thrown beyond the line of scrimmage. Dobbins was penalized for unnecessary roughness and the penalties offset each other. Cutler remained in the game after that hit.

Trib

Edited by Harry Hooper, 13 November 2012 - 12:41 PM.

[Super Nomario]

Whether it was a PF or not, it was definitely intentional grounding by Fitzpatrick but no call was made.

There was a receiver (TE) in the area, and Fitzpatrick was borderline outside the tackle box.

EDIT: why do I keep writing "Fitzgerald" instead of "Fitzpatrick?"

Edited by Super Nomario, 13 November 2012 - 12:43 PM.

[Harry Hooper]

There was a receiver (TE) in the area, and Fitzpatrick was borderline outside the tackle box.

You're right, my bad, I thought the TE there was a pulling OL.

[Otis Foster]

1. Vollmer/Solder
2. Woodhead
3. Lloyd

(Honorable mention: Ridley)

Woodhead has a knack for giving them what they need in a critical situation. He's not a 3 down player, more of what they called a 'spot back' many years ago, but used judiciously, he's a great asset.

[dbn]

1. Vollmer/Solder
2. Woodhead
3. Lloyd

(Honorable mention: Ridley)

Woodhead has a knack for giving them what they need in a critical situation. He's not a 3 down player, more of what they called a 'spot back' many years ago, but used judiciously, he's a great asset.

I keep going through this cycle: get frustrated with Woodhead's lack of contributions; start to think he's a waste of a roster spot; see him come through with key plays like he did last Sunday; remember that BB is a better judge of talent and roster management than I am; repeat.

[C4CRVT]

WRT Woodhead, it seems like they've essentially replaced Faulk's old role: Good passing threat RB in obvious passing situations where you can dump it off for just enough for a first down!!! Though they do seem to run him up the middle more than they did with Faulk.

I love the success they're having in developing good chemistry for converting third downs. The offense is at its best when they have the ability to grind out long, clock eating drives. It reminds me of the old days.

[dbn]

WRT Woodhead, it seems like they've essentially replaced Faulk's old role: Good passing threat RB in obvious passing situations where you can dump it off for just enough for a first down!!! Though they do seem to run him up the middle more than they did with Faulk.

I love the success they're having in developing good chemistry for converting third downs. The offense is at its best when they have the ability to grind out long, clock eating drives. It reminds me of the old days.

The comparison is apt to a point. One of the most valuable abilities K.F. had was the ability to block blitzers, which D.W. seems (to my recollection) to struggle with.

I just looked it up and , to my surprise, they have almost the exact same listed ht. and wt. D.W. seems more lithe than I remember K.F.

[PedrosRedGlove]

He struggled with blitz pick up at first IIRC, but my untrained eyes tell me he has been progressing steadily in that area as long as he's been here. Not sure how he would compare to the average back, but he is a critical part of many of the Patriots' passing sets, so he can't be that bad. What he lacks in size and strength as a blocker I think he has begun to make up for in recognition skills.

I do agree with the sentiment that he has definitely taken Faulk's spot in Brady's heart. Their roles are almost identical, and he wouldn't be on the field as much as he is if Brady didn't like him so much.

[bsj]

Project Runway in Buffalo.

And then Stevie Johnson did something stupid...