Game 1 Philly, Silver Linings

[Saints Rest]

I’ve often felt like these post-game discussions should have both sides noted. So I’m using this game/season as an experiment to see if it’s worth it.

In yesterday’s loss, as in many games, there are a few good things, silver linings, that seem worth noting.

To my eyes:

1. Offensive play-calling. It mostly went smoothly, a big improvement from last year. And the variety of play calls was refreshing.
2. The O-line play in pass protection. Despite 2 rookies and 1 vet who only started practicing a week ago, the line held up very well against what is arguably the best pass-rushing D line in the NFL.
3. Most of the rookies. Gonzalez, White, Sow, Mafi, Douglas, both kickers, even Mapu (although I never saw him after the first series).

 

[Dr. Gonzo]

With the injuries on the interior OL, I thought Bill O'Brien called a great game. Agreed that this game is a lot worse if it is last year.

Going forward, hope that Parker is back next week and Boutte slides back down the depth chart. 55 snaps is too many at this point for him. Parker back and JuJu playing more than 54% of the snaps will help.

Baringer had a great game kicking the ball. Huge improvement in that part of the kicking game from last year already.

 

[SMU_Sox]

Thank you @Saints Rest for doing this. I had some of the same takeaways.

1. Offensive game-plan, personnel looks, routes, route concepts, play-calling, and Mac Jones minus a bad first 12 minutes.

2. They did this offensively vs one of the NFLs best defensive fronts with a taped together OL.

3. The defensive front and safeties including Myles Bryant.

4. If we think the offense will be what we saw after the first 12 minutes then this is going to be a good season.

 

[Jimbodandy]

Agreed on SR points. Also...

1. The passing game can be vertical now apparently
2. More speed on defense seemed clear
3. Special teams seem improved

 

[Dogman]

There is a lot of Mac hating for the 5.6 Y/A but most of that is gameplan. Snap and throw within 2.5 seconds. Philly D line and the rain played a role in those choices.

The O-line played very well despite two rookies. And the offense moved the ball well. I'm encouraged by what we saw. Sure, we had multiple chances to win and didn't but Philly is also really, really good.

The Defense is legit. Coverage was good, help Philly to FGs, tackling was solid. Philly's only offensive TD was on a 25 yard field.

I watched the game with 2 Philly fans and multiple fans of other teams and they all said this NE team is much better than they all thought we would be based on what they saw.

 

[cshea]

The defense as a unit was a huge positive for me. They held the Eagles offense, one predicted to be among the best in the league, to 251 total yards and only 2 total red zone possessions (one of which was after the Elliott fumble).

The defense graded out well last year but there were some question marks given the quality of opponent. They hadn't really held an elite offense in check for a while now, but they did so yesterday and that gives me some hope that if the offense can get into the 20's they'll be able to pick off a few wins against good teams. Another test for them next week with Miami coming to town.

 

[Saints Rest]

They held Brown and Smith in check -- 14 receptions for 126 on 20 targets isn't nothing, but that's one of the best tandems in the league.
And they held Goedert -- TE being a common Achilles Heel for this team -- to 0 catches on 1 target.

 

[CoffeeNerdness]

I would not want to be a runner with the ball headed into the teeth of the secondary because they've got some hitters back there. Gonzalez was especially impressive in that regard.

 

[Saints Rest]

I would not want to be a runner with the ball headed into the teeth of the secondary because they've got some hitters back there. Gonzalez was especially impressive in that regard.

Considering how he gets abused around these parts, here's a special silver lining shout out to Miles Bryant who had some big hits yesterday.

(To say nothing of the leveling that Peppers put on Hurts to force that key fumble.)

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

The defense as a unit was a huge positive for me. They held the Eagles offense, one predicted to be among the best in the league, to 251 total yards and only 2 total red zone possessions (one of which was after the Elliott fumble).

The defense graded out well last year but there were some question marks given the quality of opponent. They hadn't really held an elite offense in check for a while now, but they did so yesterday and that gives me some hope that if the offense can get into the 20's they'll be able to pick off a few wins against good teams. Another test for them next week with Miami coming to town.

Yup, agreed. Eagles also had 11 drives to get those 251 yards and 18 points. Best of all was the rookies contributed a lot to that. Gonzalez had a group debut, especially given the level of WR he was facing, Keion White flashed a few times, etc.

This year is about adding to the talent base and getting back to a reasonable level of overall competence as a football team, getting everybody in the building to feel like we're building in the right direction again. I felt good about both of those goals after this game.

 

[8slim]

I thought the patched together OL was going to get shredded, and they most certainly did not (specifically in the pass game). Huge credit to those guys, Klemm and BOB for making that happen.

Across the league defenses are ahead of offenses, but the Pats D looks like it will be special.

Also, loved to see kickoffs booming through the end zone. Special teams looked to be improved, which is good to see after last year's disaster.

 

[IdiotKicker]

Thank you @Saints Rest for doing this. I had some of the same takeaways.

1. Offensive game-plan, personnel looks, routes, route concepts, play-calling, and Mac Jones minus a bad first 12 minutes.

2. They did this offensively vs one of the NFLs best defensive fronts with a taped together OL.

3. The defensive front and safeties including Myles Bryant.

4. If we think the offense will be what we saw after the first 12 minutes then this is going to be a good season.

I am in the same boat. And I am excited to see what a defense this athletic looks like by the midpoint of the season with some experience together.

 

[TFisNEXT]

As a non-Patriots fan (and someone who watches/sees the Eagles a lot as a Cowboys fan), I thought the New England defense was spectacular yesterday. Mac Jones was also a lot better against the Eagles defense that I would have thought (esp after the early pick).

It's only one game, but if the defense is going to play that well or close to it, they are going to win plenty of games. Honestly, if the Patriots didn't have such a brutal schedule, I'd predict wildcard for them...and maybe they still get there anyway....but there are definitely silver linings to take away from that game regardless.

 

[lexrageorge]

Silver linings:

1.) Despite some execution failures early and late, the offense moved the ball against a team that sported one of the league's better defenses last season. Most of it was done via the passing game, but things just flowed more smoothly. Pre-snap motions, play actions and all the other stuff that seemed to be missing last season. Offense only had 3 games with more yards last season, and one of those was against the Browns. And only one game with more passing yards. So anyone saying that the offense was as bad as last season should be ignored.

2.) I was critical of Mac in the goat thread, but he did throw some nice balls and made connections with all of his targets. RB's caught 13 balls, TE's caught 8, WRs caught 14. 8 players caught passes, and Boutte was targeted 4 times.

3.) Rookies acquitted themselves well. Gonzalez was a disruptive presence while also being called to defend AJ Brown at times. Heads up pass breakup on the Eagles final drive to set up the Pats at midfield. Keion White had his name mentioned several times, and in a good way. Ryland's kickoffs reached the end zone. Sow and Mafi seldom had their names mentioned aside from one somewhat ticky-tack holding call. Baringer has a leg, but does need some work on the situational aspect; the touchback was a typical rookie first game mistake. Douglas caught 4 balls while playing about half the snaps. Speed and Mapu were seen mostly on special teams, but Mapu was credited with 3 tackles (1 solo) in the early going.

Only exceptions were Boutte, who likely had first NFL game jitters, but otherwise did show an ability to get open down the sideline and attract targets; and Jake Andrews, who wasn't needed aside from 2 snaps on special teams.

4.) The defense looks really good. Like upper tier NFL caliber good.

 

[DJnVa]

Lazar is starting to tweet some of his thoughts--said Douglas really popped.

Snap count:

 

[SMU_Sox]

I posted one set of two clips of White vs Lane Johnson. Here’s one of him vs big JM: https://x.com/tkyles39/status/1701223063696871618?s=46&t=kvYWuq6n2wZg-KCGv0fpWg

This guy is legit. He is developing faster than I expected at the draft and I was HIGH on him vs consensus, 29th overall Vs 45th consensus. I think unless a catastrophic injury happens that he is going to be a fan favorite.

 

[Strike4]

The offense obviously needs to be more consistent for the team to go anywhere, but I think some people are forgetting how horrifically bad this team was at times on offense last year. Like, non-functional for an NFL team. They appear to have made great strides, let's hope improvement continues.

 

[SMU_Sox]

Barmore had a good day too:

View: https://twitter.com/SethWalder/status/1701245078843306204?t=Fm0GvVg_o7jynUw2qjd7UQ&s=19


Against the Eagles OL too which is a top 5 unit in the NFL.

Edit: He is 3rd.

 

[Jungleland]

Interesting to see Boutte with 20 more snaps than Douglas, but I'm sure some of that's situational and there's the just off injury factor for Pop, too. I'm looking forward to seeing some all 22 breakdown, certainly seemed like receivers were more open yesterday than they were for most of last year, but unsure if that's just projection. Hard to call them a silver lining when Boutte had two critical mistakes, but game 1 did nothing to dissuade me about their upside.

Silver linings for me:

• Despite the defense looking like they got really tired in the second half, they pulled it together and got the stops to give the offense two chances to win. I loved Gonzalez getting the sack on the corner blitz, which seemed to really set the tone and jolt him and the defense back into gear
• Hunter Henry - perfect BOB player, I think he has a career year
• BOB - I hated the screen on the last 3rd down, but few complaints otherwise. Night and day with last year in terms of offensive gameplan.

 

[Eck'sSneakyCheese]

There were glimpses of the accuracy we saw year one with Mac.
Rhamondre was not 100%.
Parker being out was way bigger than I thought.
OL was competent.
Minus the fumble (blame the conditions slightly, he really didn't protect the ball) Zeke looks pretty good running, catching and in pass pro.
Rookie receivers are at the very least running the correct routes.
Gesicki looks great as a receiver.
Henry is really damn good.
Montgomery looked good.

A ton to feel good about after last years abomination.

I thought the D was going to be top 5. They might be better.

 

[Cellar-Door]

I think it's clear this is one of the best defenses (if not THE best) in the league. Special teams looked excellent. Playcalling on offense looked much better, just to the eye motion had purpose, spacing worked better etc.

Overall, O-line and QB play are to me the differentiators for this team, the pass-catchers and RBs are decent, and the Defense is elite.

 

[DJnVa]

Interesting to see Boutte with 20 more snaps than Douglas, but I'm sure some of that's situational and there's the just off injury factor for Pop, too. I

I would assume a lot of it was Boutte filling in for Parker.

 

[rodderick]

Thank you @Saints Rest for doing this. I had some of the same takeaways.

1. Offensive game-plan, personnel looks, routes, route concepts, play-calling, and Mac Jones minus a bad first 12 minutes.

2. They did this offensively vs one of the NFLs best defensive fronts with a taped together OL.

3. The defensive front and safeties including Myles Bryant.

4. If we think the offense will be what we saw after the first 12 minutes then this is going to be a good season.

All of this. The operation on offense just looked on another level compared to last year, they had a gameplan specific to the challenges they'd face and executed it in spurts. I think the way they moved the ball on the drives in which they got in rhythm was super sustainable as well no broken big plays, no improvisation, just consistently executing.

 

[SMU_Sox]

Want to feel even better? They dominated the game if not for those two fucking turnovers. It sucks so much.

https://x.com/pff_moo/status/1701150129133166823?s=46&t=kvYWuq6n2wZg-KCGv0fpWg

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

I think it's clear this is one of the best defenses (if not THE best) in the league. Special teams looked excellent. Playcalling on offense looked much better, just to the eye motion had purpose, spacing worked better etc.

Overall, O-line and QB play are to me the differentiators for this team, the pass-catchers and RBs are decent, and the Defense is elite.

I agree with this analysis and it seems like a good thing overall.

I find the commentary on this game far too Mac focused. I don't really see the point in spending a lot of energy hoping that he turns into an elite NFL QB or criticizing him for not being one. The key thing is whether the team improves the defense and the surrounding offensive talent enough this year so that (a) it could be at least frisky even with a limited QB like Mac or, even moreso, (b) we could really take a leap by adding a different QB next off-season.

 

[Cellar-Door]

I agree with this analysis and it seems like a good thing overall.

I find the commentary on this game far too Mac focused. I don't really see the point in spending a lot of energy hoping that he turns into an elite NFL QB or criticizing him for not being one. The key thing is whether the team improves the defense and the surrounding offensive talent enough this year so that (a) it could be at least frisky even with a limited QB like Mac or, even moreso, (b) we could really take a leap by adding a different QB next off-season.

I think inevitably a team with a good defense is going to have much of the discussion revolve around the QB, it's the most important part of the team, and in our case Mac is neither so abjectly terrible, or so clearly good that he's a sure thing, he's the biggest question this season and for the future, as such the conversation is almost inevitably going to circle him.

 

[BigSoxFan]

I think inevitably a team with a good defense is going to have much of the discussion revolve around the QB, it's the most important part of the team, and in our case Mac is neither so abjectly terrible, or so clearly good that he's a sure thing, he's the biggest question this season and for the future, as such the conversation is almost inevitably going to circle him.

Yup. The defense looked good, sometimes really good. They should be able to keep the Pats in most games so whether or not they win will largely hinge on Mac’s performance most weeks.

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

I think inevitably a team with a good defense is going to have much of the discussion revolve around the QB, it's the most important part of the team, and in our case Mac is neither so abjectly terrible, or so clearly good that he's a sure thing, he's the biggest question this season and for the future, as such the conversation is almost inevitably going to circle him.

I agree that the QB is always going to be a point of discussion. It just feels like the band of possibilities with Mac is actually kind of narrow - somewhere between a journeyman backup in the league with a long career and a league averagish starter you're never totally happy with. Maybe I have written him off too quickly (after being perhaps too bullish on him post-draft), but I'm just more interested in questions like whether we have added any truly impact players via the draft and whether some of our 2nd and 3rd year players are making the leap.

 

[rslm]

Boutte was about 2 inches from having a major impact. Let's hope he's working on the toe tap.

 

[TFisNEXT]

Want to feel even better? They dominated the game if not for those two fucking turnovers. It sucks so much.

https://x.com/pff_moo/status/1701150129133166823?s=46&t=kvYWuq6n2wZg-KCGv0fpWg

Given how good the defense was yesterday, it makes the pick-six even that much more devastating. It's not like Philly was running a video game offense and would've scored anyway if the Patriots punted. Philly's offense was legitimately unlikely to score on a long field against the Patriots defense, so handing them a free touchdown is just crippling.

The silver lining if you're a Patriots fan is that turnovers is something BB is excels at limiting and coaching players to do.

 

[RobertsSteal]

First of all, if the thread title is a nod to Silver Linings Playbook, well done @Saints Rest.

I agree with what’s been shared so far. And I want to welcome Kendrick Bourne out of the Patricia Doghouse. While perhaps not quite on par with Romo’s “the Pats have found a number one receiver” comment, he showed up big with those two TDs and a few more good grabs. I loved him two years ago and am glad he’s being featured again.

 

[Mugsy's Jock]

Special teams really stood out to me... surprised it's been mentioned only a couple of times in this thread. I thought they were solidly above-average, which is a galactic improvement on last year's suck.

Remember the horrible things I was thinking and posting about Cam Achord last year... maybe just getting a little more attention from Joe Judge was what he needed?

 

[8slim]

First of all, if the thread title is a nod to Silver Linings Playbook, well done @Saints Rest.

I agree with what’s been shared so far. And I want to welcome Kendrick Bourne out of the Patricia Doghouse. While perhaps not quite on par with Romo’s “the Pats have found a number one receiver” comment, he showed up big with those two TDs and a few more good grabs. I loved him two years ago and am glad he’s being featured again.

That reminds me, a silver lining is that I don't have to listen to the insufferable Tony Romo for at least another four weeks. Thank God.

 

[Eddie Jurak]

There were a lot of silver linings.

1. Christian Gonzalez. Played every snap, thrown into the fray as the Pats #1 corner against a team with 2 excellent WRs, and more than held his own. Gave up a few catches, but that is going to happen with Hurts, Brown, and Smith. He executed a perfect corner blitz and hung on for a sack as the larger Hurts tried to shrug him off. Then, he made a great play to break up the 4th down pass and get one last chance for the offense. The biggest defensive weakness on last year's team seemed like it was the lack of a shutdown corner and they have someone who maybe can be that.

2. Keon White and Marte Mapu. Didn't play as much as CG, but they both flashed in their limited snaps. White especially looks like he has the makings of a defensive slalwart.

3. The offensive line. Despite missing 2 of their starting and most experiences OLs and having to plug in mid rouns rookie draft picks, the line held its own in the passing game. Mac was generally able to drop back and set up in a pocket that he could step up in or move arouns in when necessary. Ladt year things just seemed way more chaotic. The game plan looked to be designed to not have him holding the ball back there, but, still.

4. Mac Jones. At 10:42 in the second, the Pats offense had only 2 first downs, 2 drives that ended in turnovers, and 3 three and outs. Mac was 5 for 11 for 24 yards and a pick 6 and was missing open receivers. From that point, he turned thinngs around in a big way, completing 30 of 43 passes for 292 yards and 3 TDs. Three for 4 or 5 in the red zone (depending on whether the last possession counted) with 3 TDs. The only blemish after the first 5 possessions was the lack of 4th quarter magic.

5. Have to be pretty happy with Douglas, the 2 rookie guards, Calvin Anderson, and Baringer. Ryland was not asked to do much.

6. It was good to see a coherent offense again.

 

[Eddie Jurak]

Boutte was about 2 inches from having a major impact. Let's hope he's working on the toe tap.

I would say more like 2 feet. <rimshot>

 

[tims4wins]

Tom Curran is on Team Silver Linings.

I was encouraged by the special teams as well, but still holding my breath a bit.

https://www.nbcsportsboston.com/nfl/new-england-patriots/patriots-eagles-week-1-plenty-hate-more-love/552278/?cid=sm_npd_rsn_bos_twt_mn

 

[RSN Diaspora]

Boutte was about 2 inches from having a major impact. Let's hope he's working on the toe tap.

I think it's important to also recognize that Josh Jobe made a heads-up football play by pushing Boutte out so as to make it harder for him to get the foot down. He succeeded, and thus we turned the ball over on downs.

 

[joe dokes]

The execution was what it was, but the offense had a purpose. There were at least 3 successful plays where two receivers were really close to each other -- including one of the TDs, but the replay made it clear (to me, anyway) that that was by design (unlike last season), and forced defenders into making decisions, which then left Mac to make a decision, which he did correctly on most occasions.
Whether this difference stems from the plays called or the coaching of the players running them is beyond me.

 

[Over Guapo Grande]

The execution was what it was, but the offense had a purpose. There were at least 3 successful plays where two receivers were really close to each other -- including one of the TDs, but the replay made it clear (to me, anyway) that that was by design (unlike last season), and forced defenders into making decisions, which then left Mac to make a decision, which he did correctly on most occasions.
Whether this difference stems from the plays called or the coaching of the players running them is beyond me.

The Henry TD stood out to me on that-- I thought the Pats got away with one there, as essentially it was causing Mac to throw into double coverage. A screen grab, thanks to Yahoo:




Having 2 red zone scores yesterday I think matched the total output from last year total (ok, slight exaggeration), so that was a plus.

 

[Deathofthebambino]

Tom Curran is on Team Silver Linings.

I was encouraged by the special teams as well, but still holding my breath a bit.

https://www.nbcsportsboston.com/nfl/new-england-patriots/patriots-eagles-week-1-plenty-hate-more-love/552278/?cid=sm_npd_rsn_bos_twt_mn

Yep, kind of have to hold our breath on special teams until we see our kicker blast a couple field goals through the uprights, but the rest of the ST Units were great yesterday (although hated Bill's decision to stop kicking through the end zone later in the game on kickoffs).

 

[BaseballJones]

What I liked:
- The rookies. All of them. Just outstanding work across the board, whether we're talking about the offensive rookies, defensive rookies, or special teams rookies. Boutte didn't get his feet in but he did make the catches, after having gotten open.
- The receivers as a whole. Douglas was good. Bourne was terrific. The TEs made good plays. Not without mistakes as there were some drops, but on the whole, against a good defense, the receivers did well.
- The OL in pass protection. They held up great against a ferocious D line.
- Mac after the first two possessions. They count too, but he recovered and played a pretty solid game after that.
- The defense. All over the field. Held an elite offense to just 18 points and 251 yards. Stood tall when they had to and gave the offense two chances to win the game.
- The punter. Good lord that kid has a leg on him.
- Team resiliency. They could have packed it in after the first quarter, but they didn't. They kept fighting.

What I didn't like:
- The two turnovers. Yuck Yuck.
- The drive killers. The INT. The penalties. The missed opportunities.
- The refs. Yes I said it. The call on Henry was appalling, and it absolutely killed that drive when they were going to score. Tons of other bad calls as well.
- Belichick's fourth down decisions. I like his first one, to go for it on 4th and 8 down 22-14. They needed a score there and that conversion got them into a position to score. So when it was 4th and 3 on that same drive later on...they should have kicked the FG. And then on 4th and 17 they should have punted and played defense. Philly gifted them a bad 4th down decision of their own, but still. I guess the book says going for it on 4th and 17 was the right play there. Whatever. I didn't like it.
- Bad things late - Mac getting sacked. Bad hold on the 2-point conversion. Not executing. Not getting a play off and getting flagged for delay of game. Running a bad play on 3rd down late. Lots of things they did were just not helpful at the end.

 

[Red Averages]

Lazar is starting to tweet some of his thoughts--said Douglas really popped.

Snap count:

These guys should improve a ton throughout the year as well. Really excited for this group of rookies.

 

[Garshaparra]

Yep, kind of have to hold our breath on special teams until we see our kicker blast a couple field goals through the uprights, but the rest of the ST Units were great yesterday (although hated Bill's decision to stop kicking through the end zone later in the game on kickoffs).

This had me most flummoxed about the decision not to go for the FG on the PHI 17. I really wanted to see Ryland get an important, relative gimme FG and put the game back within 5 with 9 minutes to go. Sure, PHI went and kicked a FG on their ensuing drive, but giving the rookies reps generally worked out very well. Giving all phases shots to Do Their Jobs seemed both wise in the game and season.

This is a deeply reworked team. Despite the outcome of the 1st drive, the offense really was working, moving from the NE 24 to the PHI 42 with short passes. The same methods worked ok the whole game. The offense was modern and effective. The defense was both stout and fast. Next week vs. MIA is gonna be wild.

 

[Rick Burlesons Yam Bag]

Want to feel even better? They dominated the game if not for those two fucking turnovers. It sucks so much.

https://x.com/pff_moo/status/1701150129133166823?s=46&t=kvYWuq6n2wZg-KCGv0fpWg

View attachment 70712View attachment 70713View attachment 70714

They were playing from behind the entire game, which drove a lot of these stats. This is not “dominating the entire game if not for turnovers.”

 

[Rick Burlesons Yam Bag]

- The refs. Yes I said it. The call on Henry was appalling, and it absolutely killed that drive when they were going to score. Tons of other bad calls as well

I get that being on-brand is important, but this is asinine. The Patriots got away with a ton and the Eagles got hosed plenty. Just stop.

 

[Groovenstein]

Boutte was about 2 inches from having a major impact.

Prom night.

 

[Rick Burlesons Yam Bag]

The execution was what it was, but the offense had a purpose. There were at least 3 successful plays where two receivers were really close to each other -- including one of the TDs, but the replay made it clear (to me, anyway) that that was by design (unlike last season), and forced defenders into making decisions, which then left Mac to make a decision, which he did correctly on most occasions.
Whether this difference stems from the plays called or the coaching of the players running them is beyond me.

The Patriots did ALOT of stuff on both sides of the ball to confuse the Eagles on who should be blocking/defending whom. It was really intelligent. The way their D-line and LBs would line up confused the Eagles OL a ton, and resulted in every player on the line getting made to look stupid at least - few times (Kelce) or many more times (Dickerson/Mailata/Johnson). Bizarrely, the only guy who seemed to do OK with this was the guy making his debut at G with Jurgens.

And you are bang on, the Patriots had so many clever route trees it was impressive. Slay got completely confused on three separate occasions and was lucky only one was really capitalized on. The Eagles got excellent play out of Blankenship, which they needed as the coverage in front of him was pretty meh.

 

[BaseballJones]

I get that being on-brand is important, but this is asinine. The Patriots got away with a ton and the Eagles got hosed plenty. Just stop.

No. I’ll post as I wish and call it as I see it, thank you very much.

 

[Silverdude2167]

I get that being on-brand is important, but this is asinine. The Patriots got away with a ton and the Eagles got hosed plenty. Just stop.

Give me one call that completely changed the game the way the Henry "hold" did. Because that call took at least 3 points off the board and probably 7 and was one of the worst holding calls I have ever seen.

 

[BaseballJones]

Give me one call that complete changed the game the way the Henry "hold" did. Because that call took at least 3 points off the board and probably 7 and was one of the worst holding calls I have ever seen.

@CFB_Rules - our resident reffing expert - in the game thread had just said that it looks like the refs are only going to call holding when an offensive player basically clotheslines or tackles a guy. And then that play happened. But yeah we should not mention it.