The Game Goat Thread: Wk. 3 vs Saints

SeoulSoxFan

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It's a whole herd of goats.

Jonnu "Hoof Hands" Smith being the biggest. The OL got schooled all day long.

Have at it, folks!
 

Melrose Diner

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I think it’s clear as day that this coaching staff, from top to bottom, is (and has been) hindering the development of key players. The scheme is bad, the play calling is bad. The players aren’t being put in a good enough position to win.

Except Jonnu Smith. He is awful regardless
 

Gash Prex

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Jonnuh Smith

McDaniels - Play calling was terrible again

Oline - 1st Half Oline was so bad they get a mention
 

SeoulSoxFan

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Wasn't the year 2 after Dante's first retirement also terrible? He was so good that his impact on the OL had a full year of afterglow.

Now seams are falling apart in the trenches for Jones.
 

Big McCorkle

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The OL got schooled all day long.
Not all day long, to be fair. During and after the last drive of the first half, they more or less solidified. Maybe it was that the Saints stopped blitzing as much (but I don't know the numbers on that), maybe because the Pats changed to somewhat different playcalling during that drive at the end of the first half that forced them to do so. And after they did, the offense began moving the ball pretty successfully, even if it didn't amount to a lot of points for... reasons...

looking at you, Jonnu.
 

NickEsasky

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Take your pick. O-line is an ongoing issue, the big ticket tight ends stink, and McDaniels has been trash, and the defense shits down it’s leg any chance it gets to pick up the team.
 

fiskful of dollars

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Total team L.
Coaching, offense, defense ST all played ok in spots but had huge letdowns, mistakes and bone-headed plays. This team has no playmakers on offense, maybe 1 or 2 on D. MVP so far: Nick Folk. Right now, this looks like a 5-7 win team. Pats have had bad starts before but we don't have TB12 to right the ship anymore. Mac looks like a nice player, but he's not carrying this team anytime soon.
 

Eddie Jurak

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1. The pass protection
2. Jonnu Smith, who got his hands on 5 pass attempts but ended with 1 catch for 4 yards and 4 drops including one that became a pick 6. They weren't easy passes to catch, but still, he had chances to make plays and the only one he made was a TD for the other team
3. Josh McDaniels. First and 10 on the 11: two runs to Bolden for a total gain of 0. Why does Mac struggle in the red zone? Partly because Josh calls so many pointless running plays.

Mac wasn't great, but he found a bit of a rhythm late, only to be let down one last time by the defense, which actually played well for most of the second half before laying down at they end - as they did in Miami, too.

Meyers and Bourne did some nice work at times, esepcially Bourne's brillant work to stay on bounds on his TD catch.

Judon made some very good plays, but on the crucial 3rd and 6 late, he was easily blocked.
 

JOBU

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OL in the first half. And the D on the last Saints drive. 2 home games in a row they couldn’t make a stop when they absolutely needed to.
 

Harry Hooper

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OL not good, to the point the lack of execution makes it hard to assess Josh's playcalling.

Jonnu earns special distinction.

Mills get a nod for again backing off receivers so much at the snap that he's conceding gimme 1st downs.
 
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Euclis20

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1. The pass protection
2. Jonnu Smith, who got his hands on 5 pass attempts but ended with 1 catch for 4 yards and 4 drops including one that became a pick 6. They weren't easy passes to catch, but still, he had chances to make plays and the only one he made was a TD for the other team
3. Josh McDaniels. First and 10 on the 11: two runs to Bolden for a total gain of 0. Why does Mac struggle in the red zone? Partly because Josh calls so many pointless running plays.

Mac wasn't great, but he found a bit of a rhythm late, only to be let down one last time by the defense, which actually played well for most of the second half before laying down at they end - as they did in Miami, too.

Meyers and Bourne did some nice work at times, esepcially Bourne's brillant work to stay on bounds on his TD catch.

Judon made some very good plays, but on the crucial 3rd and 6 late, he was easily blocked.
Second all of this. Belichick gets an assist for trading away Sony, considering he'd be the one getting the touches instead of Bolden.
 

Big McCorkle

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Yeah, McDaniels had several headscratchers, especially those two runs on first and second and ten at the end of the long drive that ended in a field goal, buuuuuut... running at stupid times is a pretty standard NFL thing. It's not necessarily something that you're going to get improvement on by hiring someone else, especially without changing the head coach.

Still worthy of major criticism, but it's just one of those Kafkaesque nightmares that are almost impossible to avoid while watching football.
 

Captaincoop

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I can't remember the last time I watched a game and felt that a tight end was the main reason for a loss, but I think I feel that way right now.

Jonnu Smith killed multiple drives with drops that could have been first down pickups, and then handed the Saints their backbreaking TD. I think he also had a bad hold.

The Hightower toastometer is back in the red, as well.

Offensive line was an all-around mess.

Bad loss. I can certainly see this team being much better in a month or two, but unless they make a miracle next Sunday night, it's probably going to be too late to salvage this season.
 

BaseballJones

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The Pats allowed 28 points.

- A 69-yard drive in the first quarter.
- A 9-yard TD drive after an interception.
- A pick-six (obviously not on the defense).
- A 75-yd TD drive to seal it after having a 3rd and 7 with 8:31 left.

So that 69-yard drive was bad defense. The 75-yard TD drive was bad defense, but MAN they had a chance to get off the field on that 3rd and 7. Allowing a 12-yard first down completion was killer.

But otherwise, the defense was solid. Not counting kneel-downs, the Saints had 10 drives and allowed 14 points and 252 total yards. So outside those two drives, they allowed 108 drives on those other 8 drives (13.5 per drive).

The defense overall was pretty decent, all things considered. I'd like to have gotten off the field on that 3rd and 7, and when the chips were down, the Pats couldn't get a stop. But still...252 yards and 21 points allowed isn't too bad.

And the missed FGs...well, let's counter that with the ridiculous TD pass by Winston when he literally, as he was spinning to the ground, flung the ball up for grabs and Callaway somehow came down with it.

The offense....that's another conversation. Goat goes to the offensive line, which was terrible, and has been bad all season so far. Biggest disappointment for the team by a MILE thus far.
 

SMU_Sox

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The losers are us, the fans, having to watch this garbage team. This is the opposite of a Belichick team.

OL: Mac was under too much pressure on too many drives. Run blocking sucked too.
McDaniels: play calling is conservative, predictable, and ineffective.
Jonnu Smith: can’t block, can’t catch, and committing penalties to boot. What would you say you do here? He was such a ballyhooed addition and he’s been more like a bellyflop.
Situational defense: it’s not bend but not break this year.

53 drop backs and they get 251 yards not including what he lost from sacks. So less than 4.75 yards per drop back. That’s putrid.
 

Old Fart Tree

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The tight ends have been criminally disappointing after the disaster that was matt lacosse. I thought they would be a strength; they are not.

you’re never as good as you look when you win and you’re never as bad as you look when you lose, which is good because they looked awful today and basically got blown out with a decent kicker on NO.
 

Big McCorkle

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The offense....that's another conversation. Goat goes to the offensive line, which was terrible, and has been bad all season so far. Biggest disappointment for the team by a MILE thus far.
I'm at the point of not giving a shit about continuity or anything else like that. Onwenu is a much better tackle than Herron and Durant, and Karras is a much better guard than Herron/Durant are tackles. If Trent Brown isn't available, Onwenu has to be moved outside for next week. Jones might not survive otherwise.
 

lexrageorge

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Disappointing game all around. Smith needs to sit for at least a game. Henry has been only marginally better. Neither one looks at all like the players they were last year. OL appears its going to be a season-long mess, which is a huge disappointment.

As for the defense, situational defense is a skill, and so it matters when the D gives up a killer drive at the end of the game where they just could not get off the field. Hightower is definitely cooked. Judon is clearly not 100% as he was easily pushed aside in that final drive.

Coaching staff should take the blame for benching Stevenson in place of Bolden.

Only bright spots were Mac Jones, Myers, Bourne, and Folk.
 

Shelterdog

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Disappointing game all around. Smith needs to sit for at least a game. Henry has been only marginally better. Neither one looks at all like the players they were last year. OL appears its going to be a season-long mess, which is a huge disappointment.

As for the defense, situational defense is a skill, and so it matters when the D gives up a killer drive at the end of the game where they just could not get off the field. Hightower is definitely cooked. Judon is clearly not 100% as he was easily pushed aside in that final drive.

Coaching staff should take the blame for benching Stevenson in place of Bolden.

Only bright spots were Mac Jones, Myers, Bourne, and Folk.

One thing that gets me is that for a team that has a lot of supposedly great ST players (bethel/king/davis/slate/bolden) coverage teams aren't great.
 

E5 Yaz

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There's a good chance the Patriots will lose their first three home games. Not optimal
 

ShaneTrot

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This defense has been soft with the game on the line. They didn't force a TO today. They are just OK. The offense is atrocious, it took them forever to get a first down.
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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Everyone. One of the most uninspired performances I’ve seen in the last 20 years. No urgency. No ability to make stops when necessary. Stupid, sloppy mistakes. I could have sworn it was a preseason game.

This game should have been a blowout and they’re lucky they only lost by 15.

I don’t understand what the fuck McDaniels is doing about 90% of the time. He’s absolutely awful.
 

IdiotKicker

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I do agree that the playcalling today was rather poor. And I’m normally one to defend Josh. But it sucked.

On the plus side, here’s a real play run by the Dolphins for a safety.

View: https://twitter.com/houtz/status/1442229485261234180?s=21


OL needs to get its act together. I think most of the problems on offense stem from there. Jonnu was bad. Jones had his one boneheaded play but other than that battled and competed and I dig that. And this defense would clearly benefit from Gilmore moving every corner down a matchup, but I think they’re going to be fine. Bad week. Now it’s time to shock the world.
 

Cotillion

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O-line play has been so bad that it's hard to tell what else is bad since they aren't allowing time for anything to develop.

Jonnu Smith has to make some of these catches. Lots of very catchable passes that top end TE's are supposed to make and he's getting paid the big bucks to catch (also in previous games too).
 

BaseballJones

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Everyone. One of the most uninspired performances I’ve seen in the last 20 years. No urgency. No ability to make stops when necessary. Stupid, sloppy mistakes. I could have sworn it was a preseason game.

This game should have been a blowout and they’re lucky they only lost by 15.

I don’t understand what the fuck McDaniels is doing about 90% of the time. He’s absolutely awful.
Man your sports life suuuuuuucks right now doesn’t it?
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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Man your sports life suuuuuuucks right now doesn’t it?
This weekend has been brutal. I follow Norwich City too, it’s nothing but pain.

This isn’t a young team despite having a rookie QB. There’s no excuse for playing this poorly. I am legit shocked a BB team looks so amateurish.

Tampa might hang 50 on them next week. This season is going to get ugly in a hurry unless they figure things out. They’re staring down a 1-3 start with 0-3 at home. No team recovers from that.
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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Front office BB for absolutely bungling most of many drafts from the last little while. Who knows how this year's will ultimately play out, I think it's an uptick, but overall this team's depth is BAD and its playmakers are nothing to write home about either. Terrible. TERRIBLE. And the chickens are coming home to roost.

Jonnu, McDaniels, OL, BELICHICK.
 

Ralphwiggum

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White getting hurt is the turd on top of the shit sundae.

Smith obviously. If Jones is checking to Bolden runs in the redzone that’s not good.

D showed some signs but got owned with the game on the line.

shit game all around.
 

SMU_Sox

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@Smiling Joe Hesketh man I am with you on TB next week. It feels like it’s going to be a bloodbath. And honestly this team fucking sucks to watch. I watch a loooooot of ball these days from college to the NFL. This team is one of the most painful to watch. Even their defense is not as innovative as it has been in other years. It’s just bad and boring. Even the special teams has been bad.

I feel like this is the theme of the day.

[media]

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=brLNcJeSAhw


[/media]
 

CoffeeNerdness

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Bailey's second kick-off OB penalty this season is ridiculous. Kick it through the end zone and stick the other team at the 25. Trying to kick it short for a shot at maybe putting the team in slightly worse field position is a dumb strategy.
 

Big McCorkle

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I have a hunch that something that went wrong today was that the Saints gameplanned to blitz heavily against 12 personnel sets and play action, and it worked. The play action didn't create the time to throw that it should and the receivers weren't getting open, especially with only three or maybe four at most actually going out and running routes. I'm just going purely off of memory without reviewing anything or seeing any numbers, though, so I could be completely wrong here. Would explain both why the Saints stopped blitzing as much as the game went on and why I think we started seeing a lot more of the Agholor-Bourne-Meyers trio out there at the same time, those two things obviously being related.
 

rodderick

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Mac isn't one of the goats of this game (that's Josh, Jonnu and the OL), but he sure wasn't a "bright spot" either. Missed pretty much every deep throw he attempted, took a horrendous sack on a pretty crucial moment of the game, threw two bad picks and seemed to lack some mustard on the ball all game long. It's not like he sunk the team and he was let down by drops and bad OL play, but he played poorly today.
 

SamCassellsStones

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Thank you for making me smile after this crappy loss with the epic Lemongrab reference.

Jonnu Smith - ONE MILLION YEARS DUNGEON!!

@Smiling Joe Hesketh man I am with you on TB next week. It feels like it’s going to be a bloodbath. And honestly this team fucking sucks to watch. I watch a loooooot of ball these days from college to the NFL. This team is one of the most painful to watch. Even their defense is not as innovative as it has been in other years. It’s just bad and boring. Even the special teams has been bad.

I feel like this is the theme of the day.

[media]

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=brLNcJeSAhw


[/media]