Post Game Thread: Wk1 at Miami

[SeoulSoxFan]

Well this certainly isn't the post game thread I thought I'd be writing, but Miami played their A game in bringing pressure all game with rushing just 4.
 
Patriots on the other hand.. lots of hand-wringing ahead. Here are the goats:

• Entire O-line, including Dave DeGuglielmo the new OL coach
• Entire D-line, including Wilfork who got pushed around... well like he did before the injury last year

I'm sure the list could be much longer but I'll hang up and listen.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Last place in the division for the first time since...when, the 2003 Opener?
 
No one on the team played well. Period.

 

[Mystic Merlin]

Last place in the division for the first time since...when, the 2003 Opener?
 
No one on the team played well. Period.

 
Vereen and Ridley were good.
 
And, uh.  Yeah.
 
EDIT - Fuck, even Ridley had a horrible missed blitz pickup.
 
Mayo and Collins played well.

 

[Harry Hooper]

 
 
No one on the team played well. Period.

 
Gostkowski?

 

[patinorange]

The complete lack of a passing game is disturbing. I know that relates to the pile of shit they are calling an offensive line. But still, their receivers looked horrible as did Brady. I am much more worried about the offense.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

 
Gostkowski?

 
We're only talking about relevant players today, thanks.
 
I stand by my assertion.

 

[caesarbear]

This defense can't tackle. BB even brought in Ebner in the second half in a desperate move to make a single tackle on Moreno.

 

[riboflav]

Last place in the division for the first time since...when, the 2003 Opener?
 
No one on the team played well. Period.

 
Reiss gave the game ball to Collins but I saw him miss at least three tackles. Horrible second half for almost everyone. Just didn't compete. Very surprising and reminded me of the 2009 team. 

 

[j44thor]

Last place in the division for the first time since...when, the 2003 Opener?
 
No one on the team played well. Period.

 
I thought Edelman played well and Vereen looked pretty good but outside of those two I would tend to agree.
Lafell is pretty terrible but his shit game will fly under the radar.

 

[Harry Hooper]

 
 
Lafell is pretty terrible but his shit game will fly under the radar.

 
Agree, he wasn't just not helping, but actually hurting the cause.

 

[ScubaSteveAvery]

Jones was good getting pressure I thought.  He had 2 sacks erased by two BS roughing the passer calls.  Mayo was also good defensively.  Outside of Revis getting burned on the missed TD, I thought he was good disrupting plays, especially over the middle. 
 
Brady looked really bad in the second half.  He was sharp in the first half, so I think his suckiness was the result of him being pressured all second half long.  The lack of deep threat is painfully obvious though.  LaFell is really bad and Gronk looked to be going at 75-80% today. 

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

Hell the Saints lost at Atlanta (shocker) and Chicago lost to the Bills (double shocker). Patriots aren't the only ones to lay an egg today, although perhaps in the most disturbing fashion out of all the upsets. 

 

[Dan to Theo to Ben]

Edelman was great. Vereen had the play of the game. he and Ridley played well, considering the OL struggles.
 
Goat goes to OL and Brady, with OC and DL HM's.
 
McCourty needs to get stroneger perhaps, he got decimated at the goal line for the TD that put Miami up 10.

 

[Ed Hillel]

The big problem is the Offensive Line. They are going to face elite pass-rushing units in the playoffs, assuming they get there, and I'm not optimistic that they're going to be able to fix those issues. If Stork can't step in and make a difference, I think it's going to be a fatal flaw. That Mankins trade is not looking good right now.

 

[amarshal2]

Up: Shane Vereen played well. Edelman was solid.

51 and a coaching staff/front office down

It's pretty simple, the Patriots got mauled at the LOS on both sides of the ball. There's some reason for optimism as certain guys get further away from injury and rookies get up the curve. Still, not a good start at all and a highly concerning start, particularly when viewed through the lens of 2013. How those two groups improve will likely be the story to watch/bell weather on their prospects this season.

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

Brady looked really bad in the second half.  He was sharp in the first half, so I think his suckiness was the result of him being pressured all second half long.  The lack of deep threat is painfully obvious though.  LaFell is really bad and Gronk looked to be going at 75-80% today. 

 
Agreed. There's absolutely NO QB in the league that could look today with the lack of protection that Brady "got". Manning vs. Seahawks being a pretty good reminder. 
 
Fix the OL (without Dante, I'm concerned) and Brady will look like he usually does. Although the score would not have been much different, I must say I missed Mankins run blocking and slowing down the constant rushes down to #12.

 

[Bongorific]

Always a struggle in Miami.

More disappointed in the defense and offense. The O line is worrisome but they'll figure something out. Just hope it's before Brady is split in two.

 

[riboflav]

The big problem is the Offensive Line. They are going to face elite pass-rushing units in the playoffs, assuming they get there, and I'm not optimistic that they're going to be able to fix those issues. If Stork can't step in and make a difference, I think it's going to be a fatal flaw. That Mankins trade is not looking good right now.

 
Ok. But let's see how Mankins plays first. He was piss poor at pass protection in the playoffs the last few years.

 

[Old Fart Tree]

Run defense and pass blocking looked nightmarish. Well, long season. I hope.

 

[Ralphwiggum]

They got whipped on both lines in a way that I don't remember seeing with this Pats team in quite a while.  That was basically the game.

 

[Old Fart Tree]

Did Wright see the field?

 

[Dogman]

Did Wright see the field?

 
A couple catches.

 

[ScubaSteveAvery]

Did Wright see the field?

 
3 catches for 15 yards or something like that. 

 

[j44thor]

Always a struggle in Miami.

More disappointed in the defense and offense. The O line is worrisome but they'll figure something out. Just hope it's before Brady is split in two.

 
This was always true under Dante but the jury is clearly still out with the new OL coach.  It was clear as day they were outmuscled several times which is hard to coach up.  It might be a case that they just don't have the horses on the OL to face great DL's and then you compound that by not coaching them up as much as Dante was able to.

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

Did Wright see the field?

 
Got in late, had a 1-2 catches I believe and missed another one or two.

 

[twibnotes]

A friend said the radio guys said Revis might be hurt? Anyone else hear that?

Has BB spoken to the media yet?

 

[snowmanny]

Always a struggle in Miami.

More disappointed in the defense and offense. 

Don't forget special teams.

 

[Tony C]

Sure, and actually I thought Wright was pretty decent. Collins and Edelman get mini-stars from me, but slim pickins'.
 
Hightower was just awful. Cannon whiffed on block after block. Solder was probably the most worrisome guy. Wilfork looks like he's back, but unfortunately back to what he was early lat year, which wasn't very good.

 

[RedOctober3829]

Pretty much everybody on the OL struggled, but the tackles were a complete disaster. Epic failure day by Solder and Vollmer. Wake absolutely abused everybody today. Horrible tackling by the defensive line too. Brady sucked in the 2nd half and so did McDaniels play calling. Gooch couldn't fix the OL problem today like Scar did either. They better fucking address this OL problem and fast.

Brady can not escape blame here. Let me emphasize this. He was horrible. Accuracy, body language, and decision making all sucked.

 

[CoffeeNerdness]

and Gronk looked to be going at 75-80% today. 

I'd say that's generous. He had very little mobility or explosion on the field today.

Thought the entire team looked slow and unathletic.

 

[RedOctober3829]

A friend said the radio guys said Revis might be hurt? Anyone else hear that?
Has BB spoken to the media yet?

He missed the last series with a hamstring. Could have been a cramp. I'm not sure.

 

[Zenicity]

Except for the one off the side of his foot, Ryan Allen actually had some pretty nice punts.  Ghost was okay.  Even before this game I couldn't believe they cut Kelly, and now it looks even more ridiculous.  It's early, and I know the Pats generally improve with each game, but Wilfork just looked slow, weak, and willingly got blocked to wherever the o-line put him on each play.  If your NT in a 3-4 defense is playing as poorly as he did, you could have 4 Revis Islands and 4 Mayos behind you and you'd still get run over.  Some grades:
 
 
QB: C.  No picks, but that's about the only positive.  29/56, 4.4 average, 69.7 rating.
 
RB: Vereen - B.  36 on 7 rushes and a TD.  He needs to play more.  Others - D.  Pretty weak as a squad, Ridley looked baaaaad.  
 
WR: Edelman - B minus.  Others - C minus.  Some pretty bad routes (Gronk?) and drops (LaFell?).  Closer to a D minus if you don't count Vereen. 
 
O-Line: F.  What can be said?  Cam Wake is a beast, but it was so predictable with each pass where and how this line would fail.  Embarassing.
 
D-line: F. Wilfork, unless he can play about three clicks faster and assert himself better, is cooked.  Pretty much a wasted man on the D.
 
LB: C minus.  This is tough, Mayo and Collins played pretty well.  Hightower was a complete wash.  He looked lost from the first snap.  Individually some played okay, but as a unit they were abysmal.  Moreno was getting almost 6 per rush and you knew he was coming.
 
CB: B minus.  Revis played pretty well. Dennard looked outplayed by the WR's, minus the INT.  If they had any semblance of a line, they would have played much, much better.
 
Safety:  B. McCourty did what he could.  Chung actually helped out with the run, the with coaching not wanting the sell out on the run, he wasn't always in a position to.  Wilson looks like he could take the next step this year.  
 
Ghost: A.  Did what he was asked for.
 
Allen: B.  Nice kicks, except the one that went off the side of his foot.

 

[dcmissle]

Followed this on the scoreboard in Bal, and thought we might be off to the races at 17 - 7 and 20 - 10.

Did the Pats just totally wilt in the second half, or were the first half scores a mirage?

I thought the "easy first 4 games" narrative on this season's schedule was vastly overdone and am not at all surprised they dropped the game. Though a bit surprised by the margin.

At Vikings next week is not a gimme either, though I expect a bounce back

 

[Seels]

LaFell is awful. A disappointing game for everyone but he was noticeably terrible. What happened on that last pass in the 4th quarter? Did he forget he was playing football?

 

[Mystic Merlin]

Followed this on the scoreboard in Bal, and thought we might be off to the races at 17 - 7 and 20 - 10.

Did the Pats just totally wilt in the second half, or were the first half scores a mirage?

I thought the "easy first 4 games" narrative on this season's schedule was vastly overdone and am not at all surprised they dropped the game. Though a bit surprised by the margin.

At Vikings next week is not a gimme either, though I expect a bounce back

 
They wilted.

 

[Harry Hooper]

Nink is the guy I thought might have gotten hurt (upper chest/clavicle?) midgame. Any cause for concern?

 

[twibnotes]

Except for the one off the side of his foot, Ryan Allen actually had some pretty nice punts.  Ghost was okay.  Even before this game I couldn't believe they cut Kelly, and now it looks even more ridiculous.  It's early, and I know the Pats generally improve with each game, but Wilfork just looked slow, weak, and willingly got blocked to wherever the o-line put him on each play.  If your NT in a 3-4 defense is playing as poorly as he did, you could have 4 Revis Islands and 4 Mayos behind you and you'd still get run over.  Some grades:
 
 
QB: C.  No picks, but that's about the only positive.  29/56, 4.4 average, 69.7 rating.
 
RB: Vereen - B.  36 on 7 rushes and a TD.  He needs to play more.  Others - D.  Pretty weak as a squad, Ridley looked baaaaad.  
 
WR: Edelman - B minus.  Others - C minus.  Some pretty bad routes (Gronk?) and drops (LaFell?).  Closer to a D minus if you don't count Vereen. 
 
O-Line: F.  What can be said?  Cam Wake is a beast, but it was so predictable with each pass where and how this line would fail.  Embarassing.
 
D-line: F. Wilfork, unless he can play about three clicks faster and assert himself better, is cooked.  Pretty much a wasted man on the D.
 
LB: C minus.  This is tough, Mayo and Collins played pretty well.  Hightower was a complete wash.  He looked lost from the first snap.  Individually some played okay, but as a unit they were abysmal.  Moreno was getting almost 6 per rush and you knew he was coming.
 
CB: B minus.  Revis played pretty well. Dennard looked outplayed by the WR's, minus the INT.  If they had any semblance of a line, they would have played much, much better.
 
Safety:  B. McCourty did what he could.  Chung actually helped out with the run, the with coaching not wanting the sell out on the run, he wasn't always in a position to.  Wilson looks like he could take the next step this year.  
 
Ghost: A.  Did what he was asked for.
 
Allen: B.  Nice kicks, except the one that went off the side of his foot.

Why is Edelman just a B-?

 

[RedOctober3829]

Followed this on the scoreboard in Bal, and thought we might be off to the races at 17 - 7 and 20 - 10.
Did the Pats just totally wilt in the second half, or were the first half scores a mirage?
I thought the "easy first 4 games" narrative on this season's schedule was vastly overdone and am not at all surprised they dropped the game. Though a bit surprised by the margin.
At Vikings next week is not a gimme either, though I expect a bounce back

Dolphins played well in 2nd half, but wow were the Patriots bad. Real bad. Game was lost at LOS and Brady was not good at all even when had the time.

 

[TheoShmeo]

I worried before the season about their failure to pick up any kind of threat on the outsdie.  I continue to think that will be a huge problem.  All of their weapons use the middle of the field.
 
That missed Brady to Edelman connection was disturbingly like the Welker play in Indy.  I don't care whose fault it was.  An open receiver and no catch, and if he catches it, the day ends differently.  (Maybe).
 
Both lines sucked ass.  Football is won and lost on the line.
 
The Mankins stroy line will be a blast this week....

 

[Stitch01]

Hopefully just a lot of off days. I'd go see whether they can get a veteran guard or center, the entire interior line is a disaster. Mankins wouldn't have saved things today but if they want to be competitive I don't know if they have the horses inside.

Not sure how much was player and how much was scheme, but the run defense against the spread offense wasn't at a professional level today.

Revis was good. Rest of the secondary wasnt the disaster from last seasons, but wasn't that good. Coverage short and medium depth was bad.

No pressure with four.

Edelman was good, once the Dolphins clamped down on him that was it. Vereen flashed. LaFell was the same terrible player he was in Carolina. Amendola was invisible, receivers still can't really separate.

Brady was pretty bad, but who the hell knows what that means behind that line.

They got a punt blocked and committed a bunch of stupid penalties that we usually see from poorly coached opponents.

Very discouraging. If those weren't Pats uniforms and they didn't have a track record today's play would scream 4-12. Division still sucks and they have a track record so not rational reason to panic, but it feel about 85 percent less excited about this season than I did four hours ago.

 

[dcmissle]

 
They wilted.

It is seldom easy at Miami, where Brady has rarely played particularly well. 1:00 o'clock at Miami on Sept 7 had trouble written all over it.

There was, "well they'll get used to the conditions in August." Never persuaded by that

 

[j44thor]

Why is Edelman just a B-?

 
Agreed, Edelman should have had a TD but Brady under threw him badly on the long ball that he had at least a 3yd cushion on his defender.  The narrative of Brady struggling with the deep ball was not refuted today.

 

[ShaneTrot]

Collins is so awesome. The rest of the defense was pedestrian.

Was Brady hurt? I cannot remember a game where he was so off target.

 

[RedOctober3829]

A friend said the radio guys said Revis might be hurt? Anyone else hear that?
Has BB spoken to the media yet?

@shalisemyoung: Revis said it was cramping he was treated for second half

 

[ZMart100]

I didn't see what everyone else saw with Wilfork. He looked quick to me. It was the rest of the D line that seemed like the problem. Other than the missed tackle he had, I didn't see much to complain about. What did the people who are down on him see?

 

[ZP1]

With all the rushing that Moreno was able to do today, is anyone else absolutely terrified to see what AP is going to do next week? Because I am. 

 

[Mystic Merlin]

Collins is so awesome. The rest of the defense was pedestrian.

Was Brady hurt? I cannot remember a game where he was so off target.

 
He was great in the first half.
 
Then nothing on offense was great, including him.

 

[alydar]

Let's not forget that Miami gave the Pats three TOs in the first half, which were basicallly self-inflicted. Take those away and this game is even more of a blowout. Did the D force even a single 3 and out?

 

[Stitch01]

It is seldom easy at Miami, where Brady has rarely played particularly well. 1:00 o'clock at Miami on Sept 7 had trouble written all over it.
There was, "well they'll get used to the conditions in August." Never persuaded by that

This game had zero to do with the heat, the conditions, and very little to do with Brady. They have gotten clocked in Foxboro.

 

[amarshal2]

LaFell is awful. A disappointing game for everyone but he was noticeably terrible. What happened on that last pass in the 4th quarter? Did he forget he was playing football?

Agreed. He was the worst non-line player.

Also, I haven't followed the Fins. How in the world did they start 5 brand new lineman and not have their all pro C and have by FAR the better line? What did they do so well this offseason that BB failed to do?