I should qualify that by saying a hostile NFL road crowd. Either way, that stadium is going to be ludicrously loud at kickoff.That's probably tame by SEC standards. Especially for an Alabama player who that all also applies to!
I should qualify that by saying a hostile NFL road crowd. Either way, that stadium is going to be ludicrously loud at kickoff.That's probably tame by SEC standards. Especially for an Alabama player who that all also applies to!
Counter-point: in addition to this being a huge game, they did just come off a mini-bye where they had an entire weekend off. So it's not like they've been slogging for 5 straight months without a breakI think this being the last game before the bye will be a bit of a net negative also. I can see some "look ahead" letdown from Mac and some of the other young players after 12 high pressure games in a row. I know the coaching staff will try not to let that happen during this week's practice but I think it's human nature to be looking ahead to a mini vacation.
If Mac is looking forward to a Bye and a nice week off and looks past this that’s a nightmare red flag for his future. Mac doesn’t seem to be looking past it.I think this being the last game before the bye will be a bit of a net negative also. I can see some "look ahead" letdown from Mac and some of the other young players after 12 high pressure games in a row. I know the coaching staff will try not to let that happen during this week's practice but I think it's human nature to be looking ahead to a mini vacation.
If the Patriots win the toss, do you take the ball .... just for this reason?Yeah, I would have to think it places some extra importance on the first drive by each team. I was reading some stuff about the Bills being a momentum/front-running team today (can't remember if it was FO or ESPN), but the Pats getting any points on the first drive, and/or forcing a punt or turnover on defense in the Bills first series, would really go a long way towards quieting the crowd a bit hopefully, which will be important for Mac trying to set protections at the LOS.
Much more likely to be the former than the latter, I would think. I said it in a different thread, but Indy really just bludgeoned the Bills to death, and I would expect the Pats to try and do the same.Does the Colts game, where Jonathan Taylor ran roughshod over the Bills a sign of an Achilles heel in the Bills' D? Do the Pats come out with 6 O-Linemen and try to play bully ball all day? Or do they go 5-wide and try to take advantage of the Bills' secondary minus Tre-Davious White?
Could be rapid test was + and they are waiting on the definitive PCR testThe phrasing is weird if Dugger tested positive himself. Is "awaiting more information on a possible COVID-19-related situation" code for "Dugger is unvaccinated and we're trying to determine if he qualifies as a close contact of someone who tested positive"?
At 2-4 the discussion was nuts. Given how the last six weeks have played out, it's not really crazy any more. But first, win Monday.You guys talking about sweeping the Bills are nuts. I'm just ecstatic that we have meaningful December football this year. The rest is gravy.
So that may shift a lot of his responsibilities to Myles Bryant and Shaun Wade may see time at slot corner. It's possible that Adrian Phillips plays a bit of corner as he's done in the past. It would be a huge loss.View: https://twitter.com/fieldyates/status/1466158943605084173?s=21
Best to assume the Pats won’t have Dugger for Monday’s game. It’s possible, if he is vaccinated, that he could get the requisite two negative tests within 48 hours of each other and be asymptomatic by Monday, but those are a lot of ifs.
If the God of football descended upon you and offered a guaranteed split of the two Bills-Pats games would you take it?
I think most of us wouldn't take the first offer (likely playoffs, unlikely home game(s)), but but would jump at the second one (division basically locked up, even a chance at the #1 seed).If the God of football offered a sweep of Buffalo in exchange for a guaranteed loss vs Indy I'd take that (does the God of football consider counteroffers?).
I pictured this scene while reading that:*By hostile road crowd, I mean 80,000 absolutely frenzied, started drinking at 2pm, wild-ass fans whose team finally clawed itself back to the top of the division after 20 seasons of futility while concurrently being the Patriots chew toy desperately hoping that doesn't revert back after one fleeting season hostile road crowd.
Is this a serious question or the headline of an Onion article?Tre’Davious White and Kyle Dugger both out? Who benefits more? Pats or Bills?
It's closer than you think.Tre’Davious White and Kyle Dugger both out? Who benefits more? Pats or Bills?
Agreed 100%. Auburn, Knoxville, Baton Rouge, etc. Not much different from these. Not to mention National Championship game.That's probably tame by SEC standards. Especially for an Alabama player who that all also applies to!
@Big McCorkle had that idea in a different thread/medium. It really depends on the rest of the personnel. You are telegraphing run so you’re likely to get a lot of base looks. If you go 10 but with an extra OL you will likely see them counter with base. Now if you want to run it’s still a 7or 8 on 6 and if you pass you get one mismatch with a safety on a WR and an LB on the RB. But one of those LBs is Milano and their safeties are good so it’s not a huge advantage. You don’t get different kinds of blocks and blocking angles vs having a fullback. Now if they counter with nickel you might be able to ram it down their throat.@SMU_Sox do you see any potential for the Patriots to run out the 6 OL heavy offense, run the ball until they stop it approach, with play action to the TE when not blocking? Or is that doing the Bills a favor?
Oh, Mac is looking for a bye. But not the one next weekend.If Mac is looking forward to a Bye and a nice week off
Feels like the rest of the season is going to be heavily influenced by COVID unfortunately. Maybe more than last season.
Agree 100%. I think the Colts can match the physicality of the Pats in a way that I’m not sure Buffalo is capable of. Looking ahead a couple weeks, that’s the game to maybe see Mac spread them out and throw it all over the place, but that’s also not really what the Pats want to do, generally speaking.As weird as it sounds I’m more worried about the Colts from a schematic perspective on offense and defense than Buffalo.
I think if it’s a relatively normal game with turnovers and execution the Pats edge the Bills out.
For me I'd say GoF just do whatever you think is best but let me know what you've planned. Then I'd bet the f*ck out of it.If the God of football descended upon you and offered a guaranteed split of the two Bills-Pats games would you take it?
How close do you think it isIt's closer than you think.
Given how Dugger is all over the place in the defense from covering TE's, playing linebacker in dime, and helping out in other aspects of coverage I'd say he's going to be greatly missed. He plays over 80% of the defensive snaps and 35% of the ST snaps and leads the team in tackles. Much like White for Buffalo, there's not a player on the roster that can duplicate what Dugger does. In fact, I'd say it's a bigger loss to not have Dugger than it is for Buffalo not to have White.How close do you think it is
Thanks for this. I'll be curious at how Mini-Bill handles Dugger's absence (he still has a chance to play I believe) by either continuing with the three safety look or adding a coverage linebacker. I would hate to see Knox tear our defense apart.Dugger’s direct replacement is Phillips but that’s a bit misleading because their base is usually big nickel with DMC, Phillips, and Dugger. Bryant might replace him but he’s been doing more slot duty. Maybe Davis but he’s best as just a STer.
Still don’t think Dugger is a bigger loss though because White is an elite corner and while losing a very good versatile safety is painful Buffalo isn’t swimming in corner depth and I’d place a higher value on the corner. In this game because we don’t have to worry as much about Buffalo’s rushing attack and because Milano is going to take the tight end in coverage the Patriots WRs are more important. Now Buffalo lost their best corner whose duty it would be to cover one of those WRs. I love Dugger. I think he’s on track to be a future pro bowler but right now the bigger loss is White.
It's frustrating AF to still be dealing with this, but we were having this run through teams last year, games rescheduled, etc. Now most are vaccinated, so you see a guy here and there. And often, they miss a couple of days of practice and are back after clean tests. It'll get worse than it is now maybe, but nobody at all was vaccinated last year unless you were in a phase 3 trial. The vaccine has an effect on preventing wider outbreaks at least, although obviously not foolproof.Feels like the rest of the season is going to be heavily influenced by COVID unfortunately. Maybe more than last season.
The vaccinations have also led to lower testing frequency, which in and of itself probably means less asymptomatic positive tests stopping players from playing.It's frustrating AF to still be dealing with this, but we were having this run through teams last year, games rescheduled, etc. Now most are vaccinated, so you see a guy here and there. And often, they miss a couple of days of practice and are back after clean tests. It'll get worse than it is now maybe, but nobody at all was vaccinated last year unless you were in a phase 3 trial. The vaccine has an effect on preventing wider outbreaks at least, although obviously not foolproof.
Yes, this season overall there's been less testing but this week they ramped up testing because of the Thanksgiving holiday. So there has been more positives this week most likely to more testing.The vaccinations have also led to lower testing frequency, which in and of itself probably means less asymptomatic positive tests stopping players from playing.
I can't imagine this season being more affected than last season, even with the recent uptick in cases.
If the weather is as shitty as they're saying, it's arguably worse for the Pats on this night. Overall, the Bills.Is this a serious question or the headline of an Onion article?
It'll be far from a breeze.How will the wind impact the dildo throwing?