Game Goats, 9/15 vs Seattle

[Eddie Jurak]

1. Secondary. Their sloppiness early on led to both Seattle first half TDs and in the OT they did not make plays.
2. The FG unit for getting blocked.
3. Brissett. He's a game manager and he mostly did his game manager thing. But taking the sack right before the FG block was very costly, and he should have been looking to avoid that. A Mac play that probably took 3 off the board.

A shame, because they should have won this.

 

[PC Drunken Friar]

The play call that led to the Brissett sack. Run the ball and clock, go up 6.

 

[JohnnyTheBone]

Zebras

 

[Eddie Jurak]

The play call that led to the Brissett sack. Run the ball and clock, go up 6.

Some questionable situational offensive playcalling for the Pats on multiple occasions.

 

[Ale Xander]

Gonzalez/Dugger whoever messed up
OL
Offensive game plan for not using WR effectively
BB for not drafting Metcalf

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Mayo botched strategy at the ends of halftime and regulation, and not going for it on 4th in OT was horrible.

Brissett was not good.

Special teams was a disaster today, and the defense played horribly with the game on the line both in regulation and OT.

Dishonorable mention goes to Gillette Stadium, which has become a house of horrors for the Pats. They can't win at home any more.

This was a winnable game, but it looked far too much like a Mac game we've gotten sadly familiar with over the last few years. They should have won the game.

 

[SteveF]

OL feels like it's going to hamstring them all year long. Eliot Wolf didn't have a great offseason, at least in FA. We'll see how the draft picks work out. This team needs competent tackles.

 

[ShaneTrot]

I want them to win but this is an anemic passing offense and you cannot win in 2024 against decent teams with it. I want them to win the winnable games but this team needs blue chip talents at LT and WR. So, I have to embrace the big picture.

 

[Pxer]

The defense vs. SEA hurry up offense. They couldn't get the communication together.

 

[patinorange]

The play call that led to the Brissett sack. Run the ball and clock, go up 6.

That was a give away for sure. Run the damn ball, the only good thing the offense did in the second half. (I am just going to assume that in the second half Seattle adjusted to Hunter Henry.)
Defensive coaching in the last two Seattle drives reminded me of a kitten playing with a ball of yarn. Either great play calling by Seattle, or we have a coaching issue on that side. Tough to tell.

 

[jsinger121]

OL feels like it's going to hamstring them all year long. Eliot Wolf didn't have a great offseason, at least in FA. We'll see how the draft picks work out. This team needs competent tackles.

Good teams don't let good to great tackles hit free agency. Most of the free agent tackles are either not great or washed. You can question drafting a WR in the second round over an OL but there was nothing in free agency.

 

[richgedman'sghost]

Some questionable situational offensive playcalling for the Pats on multiple occasions.

The play calling at the end of the first half which gave Seattle an extra possession and led to the field goal which obviously proved very important. How many of these close but no cigar games did the Pats have last year?
As for GOATS:
1) Special teams. 2) Alex Van Pelt. 3) Secondary.
Special game ball in defeat goes to Hunter Henry who had a monster game.

 

[Salem's Lot]

QB play not good enough
Offensive line can’t pass block
Can’t have that kick blocked

Taking a sack, then getting that kick block cost them a very winnable game.

 

[8slim]

Pass blocking OL
Brissett
WRs

The passing game is nonexistent. You simply can’t win most games in this league without a semblance of a passing game.

 

[dirtynine]

Offensive playcalling down the stretch

 

[BaseballJones]

Brissett had one really good drive and then was very meh the rest of the game, and that sack prior to the blocked FG was absolutely brutal.

DB miscommunication on the wide open Metcalf TD.

Didn't love some of the coaching decisions.

 

[lexrageorge]

It was always going to be a 2-3 year rebuild at least, and today is one of those days that happens early in a rebuild.

Brissett: He's just a stopgap, and today showed that he's not a particularly good one when he needs to win a game.

FG unit: Situational play matters a lot in the NFL, and that block was just poor play across the unit.

Mayo and the coaching staff: Defense simply looked unprepared (situational defense matters), and the call on 4th-and-1 on OT was bad. Sometimes you need to ignore what the analytics department is trying to tell you. Or perhaps you should listen to them (I honestly have no idea what the analytics say there, but whatever, punting was the wrong call).

Bright spot on special teams: Baringer had a good day punting the ball.

 

[Cellar-Door]

I thought the playcalling was fine arguably even really good. It's hard to call plays when a huge chunk of the passing game is unavailable due to offensive line and talent deficits at QB/WR.

I liked a number of playcalls, very creative run game stuff, I liked that delayed TE screen (almost got botched by bad line/QB), I actually liked the OT playcalling, they just didn't execute on 3rd and 1 and probably should have gone again.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Bright spot on special teams: Baringer had a good day punting the ball.

Ehhhhhhh. The punt at the end of the first half had good yardage, but it lacked hang time which allowed for a return of 24 yards, which led to a FG, which helped cost the team the game.

I thought special teams wasn't very good today, between that and the FG block.

 

[BaseballJones]

Baringer had 6 punts, landed 3 inside the 20, and averaged 57 yards a punt. Good lord the guy was really good.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Baringer had 6 punts, landed 3 inside the 20, and averaged 57 yards a punt. Good lord the guy was really good.

But that one at the end of the half proved very costly for the reasons I mentioned. I didn't even think the coverage on that one as all that terrible, but the lack of hang time was a killer.

We have said for 20 years that games always come down to just a few plays, and special teams was involved in two of them today that proved extremely costly. Given the relative lack of ST plays in a game compared to the other two facets, it's hard for me to say ST was good.

 

[lexrageorge]

Ehhhhhhh. The punt at the end of the first half had good yardage, but it lacked hang time which allowed for a return of 24 yards, which led to a FG, which helped cost the team the game.

I thought special teams wasn't very good today, between that and the FG block.

Coverage team screwed up on the return, though. Pats were punting from deep in their own territory, so a long one was a given. Coverage team has to make the tackles they missed. And the situational defense failed miserably on the ensuing drive.

When you're forced to punt 6 times, not all are going to be perfect parabolas with 15 second hang times that drop inside the 20.

 

[BaseballJones]

But that one at the end of the half proved very costly for the reasons I mentioned. I didn't even think the coverage on that one as all that terrible, but the lack of hang time was a killer.

Well he isn't perfect, but the guy was terrific today.

 

[Cellar-Door]

But that one at the end of the half proved very costly for the reasons I mentioned. I didn't even think the coverage on that one as all that terrible, but the lack of hang time was a killer.

Right down the middle too, have to either have hangtime or angle it. His other punts were really good, but that one was a critical mistake I'm sure he'd like back.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Coverage team screwed up on the return, though. Pats were punting from deep in their own territory, so a long one was a given. Coverage team has to make the tackles they missed. And the situational defense failed miserably on the ensuing drive.

When you're forced to punt 6 times, not all are going to be perfect parabolas with 15 second hang times that drop inside the 20.

Sure, but again, the margin for error is always very small and twice the special teams made errors that were extremely damaging.

Football is hard.

 

[BaseballJones]

Sure, but again, the margin for error is always very small and twice the special teams made errors that were extremely damaging.

Football is hard.

So when you grade, unless the guy is perfect, he gets a bad grade? Six bombs for punts, massively changing field position all day long, but because one was a little low and the coverage unit didn't play it great, he gets a gad grade for the day?

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

I will say, it's a nice change to not have constant delay of game and false start penalties like we saw last year. I suspect that's primarily due to a change in the QB position but I won't open that can of worms again...for now.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

So when you grade, unless the guy is perfect, he gets a bad grade? Six bombs for punts, massively changing field position all day long, but because one was a little low and the coverage unit didn't play it great, he gets a gad grade for the day?

We both know that's kind of the way football goes. If he's good 6 punts out of 7 but the 7th costs them the game, that's not a good game. Same goes for DBs etc. QBs can play great until the killer INT too. Everyone makes mistakes, you have to limit the damage your mistakes result in. Unfortunately that didn't happen today.

 

[BaseballJones]

I will say, it's a nice change to not have constant delay of game and false start penalties like we saw last year. I suspect that's primarily due to a change in the QB position but I won't open that can of worms again...for now.

Agreed. But also, zero turnovers by the Pats for the second game in a row. Playing solid D, running well, not turning it over, and committing few penalties is a recipe to at least keep every game competitive.

 

[8slim]

Well he isn't perfect, but the guy was terrific today.

The argument is like “sure Brady threw for 350 yards and 3 TDs, but he missed that open guy that time, so he wasn’t good”.

 

[8slim]

We both know that's kind of the way football goes. If he's good 6 punts out of 7 but the 7th costs them the game, that's not a good game. Same goes for DBs etc. QBs can play great until the killer INT too. Everyone makes mistakes, you have to limit the damage your mistakes result in. Unfortunately that didn't happen today.

And that’s a silly way to judge a player’s performance, obviously.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

The argument is like “sure Brady threw for 350 yards and 3 TDs, but he missed that open guy that time, so he wasn’t good”.

Change the last part to "but he threw a pick 6 in OT" and you've got it.

 

[BaseballJones]

We both know that's kind of the way football goes. If he's good 6 punts out of 7 but the 7th costs them the game, that's not a good game. Same goes for DBs etc. QBs can play great until the killer INT too.

I don't agree. Say the D is pitching a shutout despite being put in terrible situation after terrible situation. But at the end of a 0-0 game they allow the other team to get in FG range so they kick the game-winning FG and we lose 3-0. You're gonna say that the defense gets a bad grade because in the key drive they allowed the other team to get a score? That's crazy.

 

[8slim]

Change the last part to "but he threw a pick 6 in OT" and you've got it.

That’s not remotely close to what our punter did. My God, man.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Agreed. But also, zero turnovers by the Pats for the second game in a row. Playing solid D, running well, not turning it over, and committing few penalties is a recipe to at least keep every game competitive.

Agreed, although I can see why Brissett has such a low INT rate: he's constantly firing the ball into the ground.

 

[Eric Fernsten's Disco Mustache]

This is an oversimplication, but they couldn't stop our running game (185 yards, >5 yards/carry) and we couldn't stop their passing game (>320 yards, >7 yards/completion)

Brissett is what he is. As the cliche goes he doesn't lose you games, but he doesn't win you games either. He did fine this afternoon, although he wasn't able to win us the game when we wanted him to.

Pregame most people were expecting Seattle to win at the end of something close, with scores somewhere in the high teens. 23-20 in OT feels like something close to the expected outcome.

We need at least a LT, a WR#1, and a few other pieces before we're a legit good team. Gimme a fun season with lots of exciting and close games like today's and then bring on that high draft pick, baby. Win-win

 

[lexrageorge]

Change the last part to "but he threw a pick 6 in OT" and you've got it.

The punt was not nearly as serious as a mistake as a pick-6 in OT. Come on, man!

 

[8slim]

Agreed, although I can see why Brissett has such a low INT rate: he's constantly firing the ball into the ground.

Don’t steal my schtick.

 

[BaseballJones]

Agreed, although I can see why Brissett has such a low INT rate: he's constantly firing the ball into the ground.

Better than to the other team, that's for sure. Brady's completion % was impacted by that to some degree as well, as he'd do the same thing from time to time. (obviously not saying Brissett is like Brady)

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

That’s not remotely close to what our punter did. My God, man.

The timing was extremely unfortunate.

Honestly that whole sequence at the end of the first half was a complete fiasco. That's on Mayo, the punter, special teams, and the offense. That's the kind of inept situation we'll have to deal with for now until the coaching staff gets their experience under them.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Don’t steal my schtick.

I only steal the good stuff.

 

[cshea]

This is what it looks like. The defense is good, the offense is garbage. They’ll play a bunch of one score game. Flip a coin any given week.

 

[lexrageorge]

The timing was extremely unfortunate.

Honestly that whole sequence at the end of the first half was a complete fiasco. That's on Mayo, the punter, special teams, and the offense. That's the kind of inept situation we'll have to deal with for now until the coaching staff gets their experience under them.

Agree. We can talk about the punter, but given the 15-20 coaches standing on the sidelines, there's no excuse for none of them reminding Baringer to punt it deep but out of bounds in that situation. Communication can be an issue for a new coaching staff, and the play calling at the end of the first half seems like a total breakdown of communication.

 

[Brohamer of the Gods]

Sure, but again, the margin for error is always very small and twice the special teams made errors that were extremely damaging.

Football is hard.

I think this is the key takeaway right now. The Defense is OK/good, and they have so far eliminated the brain dead mistakes, but the offense is still so anemic that they have almost zero margin for error. That punt wasn't as disastrous as the blocked field goal, but at the moment the Pats can't even afford the run of the mill bad plays that happen a couple of times a game.

 

[Ralphwiggum]

Brissett is who he is, he just isn’t that good and his only real talent is avoiding turnovers.

Brissett for being pretty shitty and then taking a sack in the worst possible time
Secondary/botched communication on the long TD
OL
A few coaching mistakes that looked like a rookie HC coaching his second game

Lastly, they aren’t winning many games this year without a good to great defensive performance and the D was just not good enough today.

 

[Gash Prex]

The offense was clearly not great but hardly “garbage” against a good Seahawks defense

 

[DJnVa]

Brissett wasn't good obviously, but at least once he limped off the field and another time he was clearly favoring his arm after a sack.

Everything is exactly what we thought it was--OL not that great, Brissett is gonna be meh at best (he did have a few nice escapes, especially early), the defense will keep us in most games. There's not going to be many explosive plays in passing game with the WRs until the staff decides it's Maye Day.

I root for them to win during the game, but once it's over, the big picture is what it is.

Maye should be quizzed about every single time Brissett changed something at the line and what he saw.

 

[DJnVa]

View: https://twitter.com/zm_cox/status/1835417125474717722?s=46&t=WQi6iqIXzyd2nQDr6B-03Q

 

[Cellar-Door]

Agree. We can talk about the punter, but given the 15-20 coaches standing on the sidelines, there's no excuse for none of them reminding Baringer to punt it deep but out of bounds in that situation. Communication can be an issue for a new coaching staff, and the play calling at the end of the first half seems like a total breakdown of communication.

So this is one of the hard things about evaluating coaching..... do we think nobody told him to get it to a side....? I kind of doubt it since basically all his other punts were angled and that's a gameplan type of decision. I think that he was trying to make a big punt because he was backed up and he missed where he wanted to hit it by literally cms and that meant the angle was wrong. Sucks, but that's just execution. Honestly true of a lot of stuff, we can't fully separate coaching from execution unless we're in the room. A lot of what people say is bad coaching is just guys making a mistake or being too dumb to do what the coach told them to do.

 

[SMU_Sox]

16 of 33 drop backs had pressure. Even though the passing game feels likes it’s 2016-2019 they can’t do anything with this kind of shit show on drop backs. So frustrating. The OTs both sucked tonight in pass pro.