The Game Goat Thread: Week 15 at Pittsburgh

SeoulSoxFan

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What a frustrating loss. It seems the Patriots were never in sync the whole game.

The goats:

- Mental mistakes: can't help but think they didn't recover fully from last week's debacle
- Brady: another dumb mistake at the crunch time
- Coaching staff: seems Steelers defense knew what was coming most of the time

Very likely they are out of the bye, considering Houston's schedule.

Ugh.
 

mauf

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Offensive line. Inconsistent pass protection and several penalties, including a couple back-breakers. Brady looked good when he had time; too often, he didn’t.
 

m0ckduck

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I thought Brady was pretty decent. I hang this on penalties and dropped passes. Increased the level of difficulty for TB to an unmanageable extent.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Offensive line was brutal, Marcus Cannon especially.

Mental mistakes and penalties. This team doesn't have the talent to shoot itself in the foot repeatedly and overcome it.

Gronk is really just a shadow of his former self. I keep waiting for him to "get healthy" and become GRONK!!! again but I'm increasingly resigned to the idea that this is who he is now.
 

jp9183

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O-Line-Not awful blocking but stupid mistakes and key breakdowns.
Brady- He looks 75% cooked. Old Brady comes out here and there, but bad Brady is bad.
Chung- If he's hurt ok, but can't cover anyone anymore.

Refs and coaching not really a factor imo. Gronk is now Scott Chandler, so I did not take him into account.
 

Mystic Merlin

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I don’t know how anyone can tag Brady above the OL in this game. How many holds or false starts did they commit, not to mention collapsed pockets in key spots.

Tom sailed throwshe just doesn’t sail at the end there. Didn’t give his receivers a chance on two of them. Not good.
 

Dollar

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Offensive line. Inconsistent pass protection and several penalties, including a couple back-breakers. Brady looked good when he had time; too often, he didn’t.
Yep. The Steelers created pressure from start to finish. Whether that's on the offensive line or the coaching staff, I'm not sure, but Brady was under constant harassment all afternoon and the offense could never get into a rhythm. Tom didn't play his best game, but there was no way he could have ever played his best game when he had to get rid of the ball before his receivers could run their routes.
 

Preacher

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I didn’t get the offensive play calls. They had established the run and had some success with PA but then went away from it. The Brady blind toss INT to Haden was also stupid. Just throw that away. So many stupid penalties that just crushed the momentum. Drops by Edelman. 3-5 on the road is a pretty bad team (for NE standards) and undeserving of a bye. Probably the first year in a long time I’d be happy with an AFCCG appearance.
 

SeoulSoxFan

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Vast majority of the mental mistakes were the dumb pre-snap penalties and the dropped passes.

Can't excuse the INT by Brady though.
 

jp9183

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I'm a die-hard, but i try to take a neutral look at the team. I cannot understand the Brady apologists. He has looked bad and its not the people around him, it's him.. He goes down early more than previous years, awful footwork, and there's more. He's either done or hurt moderately.
 

EL Jeffe

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I know this is a goat thread and all but as a post mortem, JC Jackson might be REALLY good.

Goats: Penalties. Some deserved, others weren't. Also wish the coaching staff was a little more aggressive on that 4th and 1 in the red zone.
 

Jimbodandy

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OL was awful. Coaching abandoned the run too quickly. Way too little energy to start the game on both sides of the ball. Coaches didn't have the team ready.

Aside from the heave INT, I cannot fathom how this one is on TB. Somehow it will be, of course.
 

Preacher

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Also, Pats only with 10 points and the defense, despite some monster plays allowed and shitty calls by the refs, hold Pittsburgh to 17. If you told me the Steelers would only score 17 before the start, I’d go all in on the Pats.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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You know what? Big fucking deal. Beat the Bills and Jets at home and then either get the bye or play a home game against the Titans or whoever and then go down to Houston. Big fucking whoop.

They are two easy home wins away from a fucking skate to the AFC Champiinship game as far as I’m concerned and when they get there anything can happen.

Their next road game they are going 4-4 in the red zone and then hosting the Chargers. Fuck all this negative shit. Brady is going to kick ass. He lives to prove you wrong.
 

DeadlySplitter

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Tom had one bad series, the last series of the game. otherwise he was fine.

putting him on the goat list is insane to me.
 

Dr. Gonzo

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I know this is a goat thread and all but as a post mortem, JC Jackson might be REALLY good.
Really is a great development. The run D is the biggest issue for me.

Offensively, bad game. Don’t see them putting up a performance like this again this year in terms of drops and penalties the rest of the year.
 

SeoulSoxFan

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Tom had one bad series, the last series of the game. otherwise he was fine.

putting him on the goat list is insane to me.
The INT was why I put him there. 25/36 for 279 is not a bad day especially with the constant pressure.

I echo others in not understanding why they got away from the running game, with Pitt being one of the best pass rushing defense in the league.
 

cshea

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Really is a great development. The run D is the biggest issue for me.

Offensively, bad game. Don’t see them putting up a performance like this again this year in terms of drops and penalties the rest of the year.
I don’t know, the offense on the road has been more bad than good.

I thought Tom was good. My game goats on offense are the line and Edelman. They never recovered from the first Edelman drop, plus he committed a false start and an illegal formation.
 

cornwalls@6

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Offensive line.
Josh’s awful play calling.
Overall team discipline and mental toughness: Penalties were awful again today. And while there were clearly a couple bad calls, there’s no excuse for the stupid, sloppy, procedural penalties.
Defensive front seven: While only yielding 17 looks good on paper, no consistent pressure again today, and they were once again gashed frequently in the run game. They are slow, un-dynamic, and not at all impactful up front. The entire operation, coaching, scheme, and personnel on that side of the ball needs to be overhauled.
 

Bowhemian

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The whole team. Just a poorly played game. Most of the penalties were legit. Multiple brain farts.
This team is just not that good, period.
 

j44thor

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Jules doesn't get enough hate, every game he has a drive killing drop that hits his hands. He is far more cooked than 12.
Not asking him to make every tough catch but drops where it hits your hands in stride are inexcusable.
 

normstalls

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I love Jules, but it’s hard to ignore the drops this yr. Seem WAY up and often drive ending.
 

Euclis20

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You know what? Big fucking deal. Beat the Bills and Jets at home and then either get the bye or play a home game against the Titans or whoever and then go down to Houston. Big fucking whoop.

They are two easy home wins away from a fucking skate to the AFC Champiinship game as far as I’m concerned and when they get there anything can happen.

Their next road game they are going 4-4 in the red zone and then hosting the Chargers. Fuck all this negative shit. Brady is going to kick ass. He lives to prove you wrong.
I'm not getting this at all. The bye is a huge fucking deal. The're 11/12 in getting to the AFC title game with a bye, 1/3 without it. Maybe it's a chicken and egg thing (do they get farther in the playoffs because they have to play fewer games? Or do they get farther in the playoffs because they're better, which is also how they end up with the bye), but the bye matters, a lot. Beyond what it means for the bye, this Pats team is now pretty clearly the worst of this decade, which means the journey to AFC title game is more difficult than ever.
 

SoxinSeattle

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I'm not getting this at all. The bye is a huge fucking deal. The're 11/12 in getting to the AFC title game with a bye, 1/3 without it. Maybe it's a chicken and egg thing (do they get farther in the playoffs because they have to play fewer games? Or do they get farther in the playoffs because they're better, which is also how they end up with the bye), but the bye matters, a lot. Beyond what it means for the bye, this Pats team is now pretty clearly the worst of this decade, which means the journey to AFC title game is more difficult than ever.
I'm sure Denny agrees with you he is just choosing to see the glass half full. Though it might be half full of shit for this team.
 

SeoulSoxFan

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Everyone knows the value of a bye. The expectations are definitely lowered where an AFCCG appearance would be a minor victory.
 

8slim

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OL. A couple holds were BS but the pre snap penalties were atrocious.

WR. No separation, bad hands. This position needs to be totally retooled next season.

DL. Gashed in the run game and no QB pressure.
 

Salem's Lot

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Jules doesn't get enough hate, every game he has a drive killing drop that hits his hands. He is far more cooked than 12.
Not asking him to make every tough catch but drops where it hits your hands in stride are inexcusable.
He’s coming off an ACL injury in his 30’s, some decline was expected.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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Edelman has to be at the top, along with the offensive line and McDaniels. I have no idea how Gordon and Gronk went so long without any targets. It's no wonder Gronk was gassed at the end, he spent the whole game blocking and running diversion routes. Overall, the amount of penalties was so "un-Patriot" like I wasn't sure what team I was watching. It's easy to blame the refs because they definitely missed some calls, but they played like shit for the second week in a row and fourth time this year. Brady was fine.
 

BaseballJones

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You know, the only goat I'm gonna give is for the pre-snap penalties on the offensive line. That's it. Brady was, except for one bad play (where he was trying to throw it away and didn't get enough on it as he was being hit), was really solid today. Four guys dropped passes - two by Edelman, but for the most part the receivers were fine. One of those drops, Edelman was clearly interfered with but no call.

The run game was fine.

The pass defense was pretty solid for the most part. Brown and JuJu did nothing except for Brown's TD that came after the horrifically bad DPI penalty on the Pats.

The run defense was bad but I am convinced that they game planned to take away the pass and if Pittsburgh wanted to spend the day running the football, NE was for the most part fine with it. They did hold Pit to just 17 points at Heinz.

The 14 penalties - just a few were arguable (bad DPI, horrifically bad D holding on Brown on Pit's last drive), and one other one I can't recall at the moment. The point isn't that they were arguable really. The point is that you can go through the game and see Pit doing literally the exact same thing on every play and it's infuriating to see a 14-4 disparity. But that said, the pre-snap penalties are inexcusable. That's really it. Ghost was fine and the punt team was fine.

No goat for Brady. Not for Edelman either, despite the one really bad drop. Not for Gronk or Burkhead or any single defender. Just for the pre-snap penalties on offense. That's it. Can't have those and there's no excuse for them.

Win the last two at home, pummel the crap out of the Jets and Bills, maybe maybe maybe get the #2 seed and a bye, but if not, fine, win the wild card game in Foxboro and take your chances in Houston in the divisional round.
 

Salem's Lot

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OL. A couple holds were BS but the pre snap penalties were atrocious.

WR. No separation, bad hands. This position needs to be totally retooled next season.

DL. Gashed in the run game and no QB pressure.
This is why not resigning Solder, trading Cooks, and not using those 2 first round picks on defense baffles me.
 

Dr. Gonzo

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This is why not resigning Solder, trading Cooks, and not using those 2 first round picks on defense baffles me.
I’m assuming they expected more from Shelton in terms of the run D based on what they gave up. Big whiff unfortunately
 

4 6 3 DP

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James white was wide open on second and third down if the last drive. He probably gets the first down if Brady looks at him. I'm a Brady apologist, and the goat is the offensive line who should hitchhike home, but Tom isn't seeing the field the same way anymore.
 

j44thor

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This is why not resigning Solder, trading Cooks, and not using those 2 first round picks on defense baffles me.
Cooks trade was solid value but they drafted the wrong RB from the same team. Chubb would have been a poor pick but better than Michel. Darius Leonard was the stud LB NE needed.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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I'm not getting this at all. The bye is a huge fucking deal. The're 11/12 in getting to the AFC title game with a bye, 1/3 without it. Maybe it's a chicken and egg thing (do they get farther in the playoffs because they have to play fewer games? Or do they get farther in the playoffs because they're better, which is also how they end up with the bye), but the bye matters, a lot. Beyond what it means for the bye, this Pats team is now pretty clearly the worst of this decade, which means the journey to AFC title game is more difficult than ever.
Nothing we can do about it now. So, we’ll take the harder road and kick ass that way.
 

SeoulSoxFan

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This is why not resigning Solder, trading Cooks, and not using those 2 first round picks on defense baffles me.
Solder? I make that decision 10 out of 10. He got paid like an All-Pro. Brown had outplayed him this year.

The real sh*t bomb is getting zero contribution from Derek "The Ghost" Rivers.