The Game Ball Thread: Week 14 at the Chargers
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I am continuously amazed how NE gets so much from undrafted free agents and players no one wanted: Nink, Bolden, Ayers, Casillas, Branch, Siliga etc.
Truly amazing. can debate their draft record, but does any team get as much as they do from guys they find on the heap?
And, while they won't get Mayo back, they are getting Jones and Hightower (presumably) back relatively soon. Can't wait to see that
bankshot1 said:
And, while they won't get Mayo back, they are getting Jones and Hightower (presumably) back relatively soon. Can't wait to see that
I'm having some fun with the new playoff chances app. Running 32,000 simulations with expected point spreads. NE gets the first seed 75.0%, second seed 18.6%, third seed 4.8%, fourth seed 0.6%, fifth seed 0.3%, and sixth seed 0.5%. Out of the playoffs only 0.4% (122 times in 32,000 simulations). Interesting that there are no teams that have or can clinch a playoff berth this week, though NE, Denver, Indy, Arizona and Green Bay are all in the high nineties. First-round byes were NE 94%, Denver 88%, Indy 9%, Cincy 7%, Pittsburgh 2% and Baltimore 0.2%.
Chargers were 3-4 on third down conversions on their first two drives of the game. After that the D held them to 1-9 on third down, and 0-1 on fourth down.
Game Ball to PATRIOTS NATION for traveling as well as anyone who listens to PFW knew they would, and then some. From the post game serenade of Edeleman being interviewed to the contestant presence throughout the game - "DE-FENSE! DE-FENSE!" "Brady, Brady, Brady!" - that was a hell of a job. Amazing how much better fans are on the road than the regular Gillette crowd tends to be.
Also, Collins because he's, ya know, a fucking monster in a gold grill.
Also, Collins because he's, ya know, a fucking monster in a gold grill.
TDs today: former UDFA RB cut by his team and picked up by the Pats scores a rushing TD; 6th rounder QB throws a pass to 7th rounder WR.ShaneTrot said:
3 Up
1. The D, feat. Collins: Giving up 7 offensive points to a good offensive team on the road is elite. The secondary (including Arrington and Chung) was suffocating, the run D was rock solid, and McCourty seemed to know exactly where he needed to be, and Collins was a revelation. A vintage performance.
2. Edelman: On a night when little was working on offense, dude played through a number of injuries and looked as explosive as ever, going across the middle to make tough catches.
3. Special Teams Units: obviously beginning with Bolden's block, but Allen and Ghost were perfect, Amendola and Edelman handed the punts well, and the coverage units maintained field position. Great work. (I'll overlook Tyms' taunting penalty)
Honorable Mentions:
- Revis. He should be in this spot every week. It really is fun to watch Hall of Famers play, and it frees and inspires the entire defense.
- Nink. Almost always does his job.
- Siliga: Great to have him back.
- Tavon Wilson: Just for that open field tackle to end the game on Gates. That was exquisite.
3 Down
- Brady: Hall of Famers have off nights. Not all that concerned. His runs were awesome if terrifying, and he made great throws as always. But the INT before halftime was inexcusable, he forced the ball to covered people in the red area, and he generally seemed out of sync.
- Solder: An even stiffer test awaits. You can't get caught off balance, kid.
- Browner: I do love his size and swagger, so maybe this is just the price. Beat badly on the TD, and although it was not a penalty I thought he should have gone for the ball instead of a big hit to Green's chin in that spot.
1. The D, feat. Collins: Giving up 7 offensive points to a good offensive team on the road is elite. The secondary (including Arrington and Chung) was suffocating, the run D was rock solid, and McCourty seemed to know exactly where he needed to be, and Collins was a revelation. A vintage performance.
2. Edelman: On a night when little was working on offense, dude played through a number of injuries and looked as explosive as ever, going across the middle to make tough catches.
3. Special Teams Units: obviously beginning with Bolden's block, but Allen and Ghost were perfect, Amendola and Edelman handed the punts well, and the coverage units maintained field position. Great work. (I'll overlook Tyms' taunting penalty)
Honorable Mentions:
- Revis. He should be in this spot every week. It really is fun to watch Hall of Famers play, and it frees and inspires the entire defense.
- Nink. Almost always does his job.
- Siliga: Great to have him back.
- Tavon Wilson: Just for that open field tackle to end the game on Gates. That was exquisite.
3 Down
- Brady: Hall of Famers have off nights. Not all that concerned. His runs were awesome if terrifying, and he made great throws as always. But the INT before halftime was inexcusable, he forced the ball to covered people in the red area, and he generally seemed out of sync.
- Solder: An even stiffer test awaits. You can't get caught off balance, kid.
- Browner: I do love his size and swagger, so maybe this is just the price. Beat badly on the TD, and although it was not a penalty I thought he should have gone for the ball instead of a big hit to Green's chin in that spot.
Is this a joke that folks really believe Browner should have simply chosen to "go for the ball" instead of hitting Green? Next time, I hope Browner stops in mid-stride, considers his options, creates a pros and cons list, and then decides that the ball is right there so he should just choose to intercept it. After all, he's been taught his whole life to separate ball from man but should abandon those lessons in order to make a calm and rational decision that each of us are able to make from our living rooms. If only Rodney had gone for the ball... What might have been. Alas.
These guys look like Trouble Funk or something:
Is it just me or did this entire San Diego swing seem like the team was vacationing together? From going out early, to having Chandler Jones join them on the trip, to them taking in Clippers games and what have you, there seemed to be a long game here on BB's part to bring the team closer together.LesterFan said:
Just like the Bruins hanging out in Lake Placid instead of staying in Montreal in their Cup year.
I do think at this point in the season, mental fatigue can be an issue, and breaking up the routine with a week like this is one way of combating that. I'm also pretty sure Belichick thinks about this stuff; the mental fatigue factor is something I've heard as a justification for the joint practices in the preseason.Van Everyman said:
Think about how many things went wrong last night:
1) Hightower out
2) Fail on goal to go from the 1
3) Fumble returned for a TD against you
4) Fail on goal to go from the 4
5) Fail inside red zone on pick at end of half
6) McCourty TD called back
I'm sure I am missing some.
When that kind of stuff happens on the road, you don't win in the NFL. With the Pats having spent 10 days on the road, a loss may have been devastating - could have wiped out all the good vibes they created. The fact that they pulled it out is just awesome. Obviously the D gets the game ball for giving the offense a chance in the second half. I'm in total fanboy mode right now, I don't care. I'm giddy they won last night. Feeling like if they get up early against Miami it is going to get u-g-l-y.
1) Hightower out
2) Fail on goal to go from the 1
3) Fumble returned for a TD against you
4) Fail on goal to go from the 4
5) Fail inside red zone on pick at end of half
6) McCourty TD called back
I'm sure I am missing some.
When that kind of stuff happens on the road, you don't win in the NFL. With the Pats having spent 10 days on the road, a loss may have been devastating - could have wiped out all the good vibes they created. The fact that they pulled it out is just awesome. Obviously the D gets the game ball for giving the offense a chance in the second half. I'm in total fanboy mode right now, I don't care. I'm giddy they won last night. Feeling like if they get up early against Miami it is going to get u-g-l-y.
People were predicting this game to be a curb stomping. I'm not worried about Miami and the Pats should win, but come on, this is December football against teams in the playoff mix. That's just not usually how it works out.
I was really happy with this win.
1) Collins. He's really good and he was doing everything last night. Have we had a LB with his mix of size and athleticism? Maybe Colvin, but we didn't get his best years.
2) Revis. The guy is a marvel to watch and it's really fun having him on the team.
3) Gronk and Edelman. Came up with some big plays while the rest of the offense was pretty poor.
I was really happy with this win.
1) Collins. He's really good and he was doing everything last night. Have we had a LB with his mix of size and athleticism? Maybe Colvin, but we didn't get his best years.
2) Revis. The guy is a marvel to watch and it's really fun having him on the team.
3) Gronk and Edelman. Came up with some big plays while the rest of the offense was pretty poor.
They really did perservere. Some of that is just football though. I think in most closely won NFL games these days you can point to moments like some of those where adversity was overcome. The one that sticks out to me is the fumble return for seven points. I would think with the parity in the NFL it's not that common that a road team can weather a defensive score. When you consider that teams get on average about 11 or 12 drives a game with an average expectancy of a bit over 2 points a drive, wasting one of your drives and giving the opponent 7 points is rough. (Though you do get the ball right back and so decrease one of your opponent's drives.). Tack on the approximately 3 point advantage for HFA and it's basically like giving your opponent three plus extra drives when you're on the road.tims4wins said:
Even though the blocked punt isn't techinally a turnover, I think it was really important in leading to a fast seven points to somewhat neutralize the fumble return. Twice in the last two wins that a special teams play ended up being a seemingly significant momentum changer.
I don't agree that McDaniel is goat worthy.jacklamabe65 said:
The Pats had one drive aborted by a bad fumble, and a really good drive that should have netted at least 3 clipped by a terrible pass by Brady. The OL was mediocre in pass protection and awful in run blocking, the latter especially true in the 2nd half (prior to the last drive, they had running plays of -1, 4, -2, 4 [Edelman end around], and -3).
These kinds of days happen to even the best offenses. The difference is that the D was able to win this game, something we haven't seen around here in a long time.
Why do people blame McDaniels for the offense sputtering? It's called poor execution. Sure, there were some questionable play calls but there always are. Is it his fault Nate Solder was a turnstyle for most of the game? Is he responsible for Brady throwing off his back foot and short arming a ball 10 yards for an INT? It's lazy to blame the OC. Look deeper into the game and see the real reasons.
RedOctober3829 said:
This is some weird football phenomenon that seems to affect all football fan bases. I can't explain it. I suppose it is easier to assume that football is simple, so people assume that a "better" play call would have worked and that the offensive coordinator is an idiot. I guess it's easier to conceptualize that the OC called a shitty play then to look and try to understand why that play should have, but didn't work. Nevermind there is no way to know if the play ran was actually the play that McDaniels called in or if Brady changed it or if a WR made the wrong read or the center made the wrong line call, etc....
Personally I never understood it. When Nate Solder was doing his impression of a turnstile last night then it literally didn't matter what play was called. When your Oline gets abused that badly you are screwed before the ball is snapped. Now, the common retort to this is why not run plays to mitigate your Oline's woes, like screen passes, etc... But I don't get that either. There are professionals. Solder was a first round pick. The expectation should always be that he should execute better and do his damn job, not that they need to adjust to cover his deficiency.
The defense, period.
My favorite thing about this season is watching the best quarterbacks in the league stand in the pocket with 8-10 seconds and have no idea where to throw the ball. It makes me chuckle every time. Manning did it. Rogers did it. And Rivers did it.
The coverage ability of this team is better than any Patriots team I've ever seen. Unreal.
My favorite thing about this season is watching the best quarterbacks in the league stand in the pocket with 8-10 seconds and have no idea where to throw the ball. It makes me chuckle every time. Manning did it. Rogers did it. And Rivers did it.
The coverage ability of this team is better than any Patriots team I've ever seen. Unreal.
On the Browner hit, my problem is not so much with calling it a hit to the head but rather with stretching the definition of "defenseless" receiver. According to the rules, a defenseless receiver is:
"A receiver attempting to catch a pass; or who has completed a catch and has not had time to protect himself or has not clearly become a runner. If the receiver/runner is capable of avoiding or warding off the impending contact of an opponent, he is no longer a defenseless player"
So I guess while bobbling the ball you're still "attempting" to make the catch, but he was bobbling it for a long time -- multiple steps.
Anyway, I'll give a game ball to Mike McCoy for giving the Pats the ball back by punting on 4th and 4, down by 9, 6:28 left, around midfield, with their backup punter. What a mind-numbingly bad call.
"A receiver attempting to catch a pass; or who has completed a catch and has not had time to protect himself or has not clearly become a runner. If the receiver/runner is capable of avoiding or warding off the impending contact of an opponent, he is no longer a defenseless player"
So I guess while bobbling the ball you're still "attempting" to make the catch, but he was bobbling it for a long time -- multiple steps.
Anyway, I'll give a game ball to Mike McCoy for giving the Pats the ball back by punting on 4th and 4, down by 9, 6:28 left, around midfield, with their backup punter. What a mind-numbingly bad call.
tims4wins said:
This is how I feel, just about everything went wrong for the offense but the defense stepped up and played unbelievably well. First time since the early BB Patriots it's been fun to watch the D. Brady was not sharp as a result of spending a good portion of the time on bis back, the running game was shut down for a good portion of the game and they still won against a playoff caliber team AWAY.
Game balls to the Island, Collins the *green dot special* and the offense stepping up on the final plays to close it out.
This team is the most fun to watch that I've seen in many years... I know Brady has thrown a few ugly balls in recent weeks in attempts to extend plays, but is anyone else blown away at the improved mobility he's shown this season? He is picking absolutely awesome times to scramble for a few yards and if it becomes something the D has to account for that will create one less linebacker to rub Gronk off the line or drop into coverage. I doubt Brady will have any 100 yard rushing games but if he can have a hand full of 15-20 that to me is a game changer with his other skill sets.
He was very good in 2007 and 2008 until he got hurt. 2009 was, admittedly, an abomination.Devizier said:
TheMoralBully said:
True, but much the same way that GB left a lot of points on the board against us and that game could have been worse, we did the same last night.
Two red zone plays get made and LaFell holding onto that ball and the Pats win going away. I know most teams can say that to some extent, but the Pats really throttled SD's offense last night--Rivers averaged 4.4 YPA and they averaged 3.1 yards on the ground. Outside the TD drive, SD had ZERO drives of over 30 yards, while the Pats had 6.
Ralphwiggum said:
We're at the point where an entire generation of Patriots fans only remember the team as being wildly successful. It's kind of crazy compared to how they were viewed when I was a kid.
There were no rushing TDs, by Gray or anyone else. The first of the two TDs was a catch by Gronk.singaporesoxfan said:
Anyway, the overall point stands. This team's done an amazing job of adapting on the fly with the resources they've been able to cobble together.
Toe Nash said:
This is where I am. Guy should get the opportunity to make a clean catch and football move without risk of decapitation. But if you bobble the catch, it's like a tipped ball -- all bets are off and you're fair game. It's football! Greene took three steps while bobbling the ball before he was hit. If you don't catch it cleanly, it's up to you to decide if it's the ball or your life you try to protect.
Ha! I was just thinking of that one. I remembered him abusing Favre, but I forgot that he tossed Washington like a rag doll as well. It's amazing that his career was over by end of the next season.mt8thsw9th said:
M
MentalDisabldLst
Guest
No nominees to add that haven't already been mentioned ten times. I'm in awe of this defense, who make me hugely confident even when we're down.
While you're right, I'll say this: I don't think I've ever seen a player more furious with himself than Brady after that pick. He was bordering on Job territory - "my lord, my lord, why have you forsaken me?" while rending his garments. They showed him on the sideline, inconsolable. He must have cursed half a dozen times while sitting on his ass in the two seconds immediately after the play. Nobody holds himself accountable like Tom Brady. Makes his (very) occasional braindead play a bit more tolerable.
Rescue indeed. Although, wasn't there a different shot they had, of a different cheerleader, who shared certain key features with her. Think it was earlier in the game. We ought to get a shot of that one too, just for comparison's sake.
dynomite said:
While you're right, I'll say this: I don't think I've ever seen a player more furious with himself than Brady after that pick. He was bordering on Job territory - "my lord, my lord, why have you forsaken me?" while rending his garments. They showed him on the sideline, inconsolable. He must have cursed half a dozen times while sitting on his ass in the two seconds immediately after the play. Nobody holds himself accountable like Tom Brady. Makes his (very) occasional braindead play a bit more tolerable.
Tartan said:
Twitter to the rescue.
Rescue indeed. Although, wasn't there a different shot they had, of a different cheerleader, who shared certain key features with her. Think it was earlier in the game. We ought to get a shot of that one too, just for comparison's sake.
Thing about the interception: seemed similar to the dumb underthrown ball to Gronk that was intercepted a couple of weeks ago. On that one, Gronk was behind his defender and had a lot of open space, Brady underthrew, off-balance, under pressure.
Same thing last night, no? If Brady throws long, Gronk has an easy (?) TD in the back corner. But: o-line didn't pick up the rush, Brady threw off-balance, short, interception.
I think every time Brady sees that matchup of single coverage on Gronk, he's going to try to make that play. If the o-line can give him 1 more second, it will be beautiful....someday.
Same thing last night, no? If Brady throws long, Gronk has an easy (?) TD in the back corner. But: o-line didn't pick up the rush, Brady threw off-balance, short, interception.
I think every time Brady sees that matchup of single coverage on Gronk, he's going to try to make that play. If the o-line can give him 1 more second, it will be beautiful....someday.
Absolutely. I should have been even clearer: I'm not concerned at all, Hall of Famers are allowed to have a few boneheaded plays, especially on the road against good teams. (Hell, even Saint Pedro hung a curveball or two. Well.. one.)MentalDisabldLst said:
No one works harder or cares more than Brady.
Still, I don't know whether the Chargers coverage was just that good, or whether Brady was forcing the ball. Will be interested to get Football Central's perspective.
M
MentalDisabldLst
Guest
On the INT? Gronk was open over the top - he'd beaten the coverage, and a good throw to the back corner beats the safety help too. There was a behind-the-play camera angle they showed. Brady just under-threw it by a mile, allowing Te'o to turn around and just jump for it, whereas a true jump ball (i.e. higher up) would be won by Gronk like 90%+ of the time.
I don't think he was "open by 6 yards" the way some in the game thread had it, but the play was there to be made, and Brady threw it too low. That's all there was to it. Not a bad decision (though not a great one, either), just bad execution.
I don't think he was "open by 6 yards" the way some in the game thread had it, but the play was there to be made, and Brady threw it too low. That's all there was to it. Not a bad decision (though not a great one, either), just bad execution.
MentalDisabldLst said:
That's what I was saying.
I wonder if the D is intentionally baiting Brady, with "sure Gronk might beat the coverage, but we're bringing an extra man up the middle...can you get the pass out fast enough?"
I think he gets the ball out in an effective manner more often than not, with a good chance of a completion. But, we've seen two big interceptions where he didn't.
Sorry again, not being clear today.MentalDisabldLst said:
No, the INT was clearly just an underthrown ball.
I was curious about the rest of the game, i.e. when Brady tried to force the ball in the end zone to Vereen (?) who was blanketed.