The Game Ball Thread: Wk. 5 at Texans

SeoulSoxFan

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I don't care if it was against the terrible Texans. This was a much needed comeback. It's been a while but it's game ball time!

Mine goes to Jones, Judan, Folk, and surprise, surprise, the OL!
 

scottyno

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Honorable mentions to Henry for his first semi breakout game and Bolden for the big run on the last drive and then killing time on the last run

Easy game balls to Jones Judon and Folk, no one else was even close
 

Eddie Jurak

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1. Jones
2. OL
3. Henry

HM: Judon, Folk, Texans special teams

Question: How was Cajuste? Is he an answer at tackle?
 

Big McCorkle

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I have a sneaking suspicion that Mills actually did play rather well, at least in the first half. It wasn't entirely the pass defense being atrocious. Maybe little column A, little column B.
 

Euclis20

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Folk. Unfortunately for the second year in a row our best offensive player is our [36 year old journeyman] kicker, but he really has been excellent. Every kicker in the league hits the chip shot at the end, but multiple 50+ yard FGs in a game in which we needed all of them is massive.
 

Captaincoop

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Judon, Barmore, Mac.

Offensive line looked better without Wynn and Mason...I'm not 100% sold that's a coincidence or just about the Texans.

McCourty joining Hightower on my Toast Watch.
 

Big McCorkle

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This is the answer. The not-fake punt was a bad idea, the long FG attempt was a bad idea. Those two cost them the game IMO.
On the flip side, his fourth down decisions in the first half were great and what more or less kept them in it to begin with.
 

Jimbodandy

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Coaching staff--fantastic second half adjustments after being wildly outcoached in the first half
OL--hot shit. Great push, good pass blocking, kept whiffs to a minimum
Judon--man is the most valuable player on D, and it isn't close

HM to Mac Jones for hitting those intermediate routes and finishing the job. Kid does have ice water in the veins.
 

Jungleland

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Mac - there are plenty of things to work on, obviously, but he's unbelievably poised for a rookie.
Henry - I think his status as dependable part of the offense has gone a bit under the radar and I'm glad to see him take another step this week
Judon - most talented player on either side of the ball right now and it's not particularly close
Folk - huge bounce back from a tough spot last week, and they don't come close to winning without him

This team might suck, but I'm impressed by their ability to hang in there and not let games get away from them, and I wouldn't limit that to this week.
 

lexrageorge

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I joined the telecast late, and one of the first plays I saw was Jacoby Myers dropping what would have been a sure TD pass, the well thrown ball literally bouncing off his hands. Not sure we were going to have a Game Ball thread that evening.

Good to see the makeshift OL stand tall when it counted. But game balls to Mac Jones, Judon, and Folk. An honorable mention to Brandon Bolden for a couple of key runs late. And another to MLB's ground rule double rules, just because it's a good day.
 

Mloaf71

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I joined the telecast late, and one of the first plays I saw was Jacoby Myers dropping what would have been a sure TD pass, the well thrown ball literally bouncing off his hands. Not sure we were going to have a Game Ball thread that evening
This and Harris fumbling on the 1. Turn those two plays and even though the D did mostly nothing for the majority of the game we feel much better about how the team looked.
 

Koufax

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For me, it's the O-line. Full stop. They were decent when they had no reasonable expectation of being decent.
 

CaptainLaddie

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I just don't know how this team fixes it's fumble problems in the backfield -- and I know fumble luck exists. James White isn't walking through that door. They don't have a single guy who you can trust other than Brandon Bolden, but Brandon Bolden isn't a starting quality RB. It's just a big problem. I joked before about kicking the tires on Adrian Peterson (wouldn't want him bc of his off-the-field issues) but there has to be some kind of RB out there who will make it so the Pats RBs aren't putting the ball on the ground every week.
 

SeoulSoxFan

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Before today, Harris had 2 fumbles in 202 touches (190 rushes) in his NFL career. In 2020, he fumbled just once in 137 rushing attempts.

On average, "top 10 rushers in the NFL in 2018 was one for every 124.5 offensive touches" per UPI.

I do think there's a bit of bad luck on the running backs and losing the ball so far. I do trust Fears and we all know how much BB & staff emphasize ball security.

"Clean" games with no turnovers are coming. The sooner they do the better.
 

Eddie Jurak

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"Clean" games with no turnovers are coming. The sooner they do the better.
On the season, the Patriots have turned the ball over 9 times (5 intereceptions and fumbles by Harris (2), Taylor, and Stephenson). Their oppoents have turned it over only 6 times (5 interceptions and a recivered fumble on the last play of yesterday's game).

So they are -3 on the season. But 4 of those turnovers were interceptions of Zach Wilson in the Jets game, the only game so far where the Pats won the turnover battle.

Game 1: 1-point loss to Miami, Pats were -1 on turnovers
Game 2: 19-point win vs NYJ, Pats were +4 on turnovers
Game 3: 15-point loss to New Orleans, Pats were -3 on turnovers
Game 4: 2-point loss to Tampa, Pats were -2 on turnovers
Game 5: 3-point win over Houston, Pats were -1 on turnovers

Turnovers have been very impactful. +3 in their 2 wins, -6 in their 3 losses. One fewer turnover (or one more forced) in the Miami or TB games could have flipped the score.
 

rodderick

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Best part about the Collins sack is that he only had 3 snaps all day. Dude made it count.
Bill is the only coach that knows Collins has one elite skill, and that's rushing the passer. So have him do that. I still have nightmares over him giving up those TDs to Owen Daniels when he was still in his physical prime. He's a freak athlete and coaches get so enticed with the possibilities of Collins they put him in spots he struggles with. Just line him up on the edge or have him blitz on a stunt, anything else and you're throwing money away at this point.
 

GB5

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OL who everyone figured would be the weak link this week was the best unit on the field. Great performance. Wouldnt surprise me with Bill affinity for former players, if he reached out to Houston to send a late pick over for Rex burkhead who ahs been mainly a scratch for Houston, and I believe he is healthy.
 

Big McCorkle

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PFF grades for this game. At least by their eyes (and my own for Hightower), Hightower and Guy rounding back into form after a very rough start to the season, and maybe Herron is one of those dudes who can't wipe their ass with their other hand? I've been told that's difficult and explains why many tackles can't just switch to the other side of the line.

Capture.PNGCapture.PNG
 

DourDoerr

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Silver lining? If that holds going forward, that's Platinum Lining A+++. A fully operational DH is essential to have a shot at beating Cowboys. I saw him make a couple of plays but admittedly didn't track him throughout, so trusting Lazar here.
 

GB5

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anyone have any feedback on UCHE? He is everyones under the radar pick to pop, but aside from one game, I havent heard his name called at all.
 

SMU_Sox

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Uche is only on the field on obvious passing downs used to primarily rush the passer. Remember year 2 when we all thought Wino would make that leap? Same story here. His struggles against the run keep him from being an every down guy as an edge and he hasn’t evolved into an ILB either so that’s what going on with him.
 

jsinger121

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Uche is only on the field on obvious passing downs used to primarily rush the passer. Remember year 2 when we all thought Wino would make that leap? Same story here. His struggles against the run keep him from being an every down guy as an edge and he hasn’t evolved into an ILB either so that’s what going on with him.
It doesn't seem like an effective use of a second round pick on situational guys. A second round pick should be a starter and an every down player likely.
 

SMU_Sox

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It doesn't seem like an effective use of a second round pick on situational guys. A second round pick should be a starter and an every down player likely.
I don’t think they drafted him expecting him to be a role player. Uche was a little raw coming out and had a projection to ILB. Some ILBs take 3 years to get good even when they played the position like Roquan Smith. What discourages me is we don’t even hear about him practicing a lot there or even much at all. If they drafted him thinking he’d be purely an edge then he hasn’t made the strides to be an every down guy. Any way you cut it he hasn’t lived up to expectations or made a second year leap.
 

BigSoxFan

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I don’t think they drafted him expecting him to be a role player. Uche was a little raw coming out and had a projection to ILB. Some ILBs take 3 years to get good even when they played the position like Roquan Smith. What discourages me is we don’t even hear about him practicing a lot there or even much at all. If they drafted him thinking he’d be purely an edge then he hasn’t made the strides to be an every down guy. Any way you cut it he hasn’t lived up to expectations or made a second year leap.
Hasn’t Uche been dealing with an injury the last few weeks?