The Game Goat Thread: Wk.16 vs Cincinnati

[SeoulSoxFan]

2 gut punching losses in a row. The THREE extra point misses by Folk, fumble by Stevenson, drop by Thornton, fumbled punt by Jones, etc. etc.

But my game goat goes to Patricia for continuing to call plays like it was 1978. When Mac got the chance to attack deep, the game changed. I know he has played poorly for much of the season but with a better supporting cast & coaching staff, he can pick up where he left off at the last season.

The silver lining is that they could/should have won the games against the Packers, Raiders, Vikings, and now the Bengals. But close doesn't count in the NFL.

 

[NortheasternPJ]

Rham
Patricia
Mac

I’m not an anti-Mac guy but the “pass”, delay of games and the 15 yard penalty at the end are inexcusable. He did flash but critical mistakes.

 

[johnmd20]

Tar and feather Patricia and ride him out on a rail. This is the NFL and the Pat's have a negative value OC.

 

[Seels]

Patricia Patricia Patricia Patricia

- Why are they doing two runs and a pass for like 80% of their possessions
- Why are they running 4 fucking times in a row at the goal line
- When there are 24 seconds left and they are at the 40, why is Stevenson on the field? What does he accomplish? If you want someone to block a blitz, go get one of the tight ends.
- The playcalling in general would be better if they just did ask madden or whatever simulated shit. Patricia has to be gone after the year.

 

[JokersWildJIMED]

Mac, Folk, Stevenson

 

[lexrageorge]

Patricia - seems like Bourne gets used only when forced to.
Mac - still makes too many bad throws
Rham - cannot lose that fumble at the end; situational football matters, a lot.

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

Tar and feather Patricia and ride him out on a rail. This is the NFL and the Pat's have a negative value OC.

I second that with both hands and feet. More and more convinced that Mac is a much smaller problem than the coaching staff, Patricia being at the top (bottom?) followed closely by the OL & ST coaches.

 

[StupendousMan]

- When there are 24 seconds left and they are at the 40, why is Stevenson on the field? What does he accomplish? If you want someone to block a blitz, go get one of the tight ends.

It's a minor point, but ... both of the starting tight ends were out of the game with injuries at this point, and the only remaining backup tight end was limping badly on the field.

 

[amfox1]

Well-coached teams win close games, poorly-coached teams lose close games. This is a poorly-coached team, offensively. Swap out Patricia for BOB and this team goes to the playoffs, no question.

Game goats:
Belichick
Patricia
Stevenson
Folk

 

[Ale Xander]

Patricia

 

[jercra]

I second that with both hands and feet. More and more convinced that Mac is a much smaller problem than the coaching staff, Patricia being at the top (bottom?) followed closely by the OL & ST coaches.

Patricia is also the OL line coach, so 2 birds, one stone.

 

[johnmd20]

I second that with both hands and feet. More and more convinced that Mac is a much smaller problem than the coaching staff, Patricia being at the top (bottom?) followed closely by the OL & ST coaches.

I am so unbelievably frustrated by this incompetence.

Belichick really fucked this one up. And it was obvious in August, which makes it worse.

 

[Ale Xander]

Tar and feather Patricia and ride him out on a rail. This is the NFL and the Pat's have a negative value OC.

this

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

Well-coached teams win close games, poorly-coached teams lose close games. This is a poorly-coached team, offensively. Swap out Patricia for BOB and this team goes to the playoffs, no question.

Minimum 2 games better and at 9-6, that's a playoff team. Patricia should never ever call another play for the Pats. EVER.

 

[rodderick]

It's kind of amazing how pretty much everyone was right about the Patricia experiment being utter insanity. I was extremely concerned over him being OC and their TC struggles, but I never imagined it would be this bad. The incompetence is mind boggling.

 

[BrazilianSoxFan]

How can people put Mac ahead of Folk? A competent kicker and this game is ours.

 

[radsoxfan]

2 gut punching losses in a row. The THREE extra point misses by Folk, fumble by Stevenson, drop by Thornton, fumbled punt by Jones, etc. etc.

Not that it matters but it was 2 missed PATs and then a bad throw by Mac going for 2 on the other. Mac wasn't good, his solid stats were boosted by some fluky luck.

Brutal fumble by Rham at the end when they shockingly were in the driver's seat.

Marcus Jones is vulnerable in coverage given his size, but that guy is explosive with the ball.

Thornton is fast yet looking like another WR bust.

 

[Cellar-Door]

How can people put Mac ahead of Folk? A competent kicker and this game is ours.

Because the other team's kicker couldn't hit anything either so we assume the weather was a major problem factor

 

[ShaneTrot]

This team is just so stupid. The situational football is almost always screwed up by a dump penalty, a turnover, or a physical mistake.

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

Patricia is also the OL line coach, so 2 birds, one stone.

I am so unbelievably frustrated by this incompetence.
Belichick really fucked this one up. And it was obvious in August, which makes it worse.

And why the hell is Joe Judge not coach the ST?

He's officially listed as the offensive assistant and quarterbacks coach. So it looks like we have at least 2 coaches with negative value on this staff.

 

[Ed Hillel]

And why the hell is Joe Judge not coach the ST?

He's officially listed as the offensive assistant and quarterbacks coach. So it looks like we have at least 2 coaches with negative value on this staff.

Judge was a terrible ST coach fwiw.

The goat is Rham, not Matt Patricia. And Folk.

 

[E5 Yaz]

They had a pick-6 on a busted communication on a pass route, and a deflection touchdown on a third-and-29. It was a miracle they were even in a position to steal this one. my way of thinking, there were plenty of goat horns to go around -- on the field and along the sideline

 

[Curtis Pride]

Patricia.

I don't blame Rham for that fumble. I blame the play call of yet another running play near the goal. He got stuffed, and helmet, plus the cold, forced the ball out. Mix in a pass play there!

 

[Shelterdog]

Patricia Patricia Patricia Patricia

- Why are they doing two runs and a pass for like 80% of their possessions
- Why are they running 4 fucking times in a row at the goal line
- When there are 24 seconds left and they are at the 40, why is Stevenson on the field? What does he accomplish? If you want someone to block a blitz, go get one of the tight ends.
- The playcalling in general would be better if they just did ask madden or whatever simulated shit. Patricia has to be gone after the year.

Every thing you mention (maybe not Stevenson but certainly the other ones) are BB decision not Patricia decisions.

 

[OurF'ingCity]

Patricia, Rham, Folk, Mac, the OL, Belichick…the list goes on.

 

[Mooch]

Agreed on Rham. Two losses in a row that can be laid at his feet (hands.)

 

[Ale Xander]

Patricia Patricia Patricia Patricia

- Why are they doing two runs and a pass for like 80% of their possessions
- Why are they running 4 fucking times in a row at the goal line
- When there are 24 seconds left and they are at the 40, why is Stevenson on the field? What does he accomplish? If you want someone to block a blitz, go get one of the tight ends.
- The playcalling in general would be better if they just did ask madden or whatever simulated shit. Patricia has to be gone after the year.

I believe all the TE’s were hurt

 

[Toe Nash]

I don't think this was that much of a gut-punch because they were insanely lucky to be that close at the end. The Bengals relaxed at the half and tried to run out the clock, and it took a pick 6 on a missed route and a hail mary that was tipped to Meyers for NE to even have a shot. The first half was a complete beat down.

I will say it would be really nice to know what actually happened with Bourne, because he is getting open and making plays whenever he is in there but has fewer snaps than Thornton who sucks at this point. Whatever beef Patricia had with him in the preseason, the point should have been made after a couple games and it has been clear all year that he deserves to be #2 on the depth chart at worst.

 

[Jinhocho]

With keys guys missing on offense and defense, the pats rallies and snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

Goats

Stevenson - fumbles and drops. Two weeks in a row he cost us big.

Jones - reads, recognition, accuracy and arm strength all on display today.

Folk missed extra points killed us.

 

[Eddie Jurak]

This game has goats and came oh so close to game balls.

Goats:
1. Stevenson, not productive on the ground, fumbled the game away when it was within reach.
2. Folk, who misses 2 PATs.
3. Offensive coaching

Not going to mention Mac because he made some plays in the second half, without which there is no almost comeback.

Spoiler: The game balls I wish could have been given

1. Marcus Jones. A decisive pick six with a great return. A catch on offense that should have been nothing, but was a 15 yard gain because of Jones' athleticism. Recovered the fumble that gave the Pats an actual chance to win. Led the team with 14 tackles, 12 solo. He was all over this game.
2. Matt Judon. Had a sack, and forced the could-have-been-the-difference fumble at the end.
3. Kendrick Bourne. The Pats as a team gained 285 yards. Bourne had 7 touches for 129 yards and a TD. A couple of great catches. Looked like the Bourne of last year.

Honorable mention: Meyers for being there to ctach the tipped ball and score, defensive coaching, which held the Bengals to 7 after being lit up on their first 3 drives.

 

[Justthetippett]

Rham just has to hold onto that ball until the whistle. He’s a context specific GOAT even if he made some good plays. I thought it was a bad call, but don’t leave it to the zebras. Mac competes but he’s a child.

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

Judge was a terrible ST coach fwiw.

I remember him being hired by the Giants when he was the ST coach for the Pats. Just out of curiosity, I checked the ST DVOA during 2015 to 2019 when Judge was the ST coach:

• 2015: 5th
• 2016: 8th
• 2017: 3rd
• 2018: 16th
• 2019: 11th

And so far, NE is 14th this year. Not great but not terrible either.

 

[AB in DC]

How can people put Mac ahead of Folk? A competent kicker and this game is ours.

Do we even know how much of this was Folk's fault and how much was on the backup long snapper?

 

[Groovenstein]

Time, because we can’t get to next season fucking fast enough.

 

[Ed Hillel]

I remember him being hired by the Giants when he was the ST coach for the Pats. Just out of curiosity, I checked the ST DVOA during 2015 to 2019 when Judge was the ST coach:

• 2015: 5th
• 2016: 8th
• 2017: 3rd
• 2018: 16th
• 2019: 11th

And so far, NE is 14th this year. Not great but not terrible either.

Oh my bad, I thought he came on as head ST coach in 2018. His last couple years there was a real dropoff.

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

At least it's clear that both Bourne and Marcus Jones need to be involved in the offense on a REGULAR basis. If not, add that to the long list of reasons why Patricia should be fired as soon as the season ends.

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

Oh my bad, I thought he came on as head ST coach in 2018. His last couple years there was a real dropoff.

That might be because in 2018 when Chad O'Shea left to join the Dolphins, Judge became the only coach in the league who was both the ST and receivers coach (per Wiki) until he got hired by the Giants.

 

[P'tucket rhymes with...]

Patricia.

I don't blame Rham for that fumble. I blame the play call of yet another running play near the goal. He got stuffed, and helmet, plus the cold, forced the ball out. Mix in a pass play there!

Nah, I disliked the call, but that's on Rham.

 

[rodderick]

Patricia.

I don't blame Rham for that fumble. I blame the play call of yet another running play near the goal. He got stuffed, and helmet, plus the cold, forced the ball out. Mix in a pass play there!

Dude lost the team two games in back to back weeks because he didn't take care of the football. I really like Stevenson, but if the average RB holds onto the fucking ball in both those occasions, his WPA for the season is already above Ram's, even if he gives you 3.8 yards per carry and breaks no tackles. You can't be that careless with the ball. Can't. It's on him.

 

[Jinhocho]

Bourne and someone else laughing on the field right after the fumble is going to stick with me a long time. That's basically the game right there and you are laughing it up.

 

[Kliq]

Given the fact that running the clock down would be a positive play, really the only negative possibility on that play from Rham would be to fumble. Even running into the line for no gain would have some value.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

When your best offensive players in Rham and Meyers do stupid shit with the football to lose games in consecutive weeks, you need better best offensive players.

This is a disaster and it’s never going to get better.

 

[Jinhocho]

Given the fact that running the clock down would be a positive play, really the only negative possibility on that play from Rham would be to fumble. Even running into the line for no gain would have some value.

Same as last week. Idiotic play by guy trying to be a hero and not just doing his job.

 

[Reverse Curve]

1) Folk - Missed PATs changed the offensive strategy early, and I think 'offensive strategy' is an oxymoron as I typed that...
2) Rhamondre - Lost fumble and two dropped passes after Cincy tried to gift wrap a lovely early Christmas present.
3) Patricia - It's not rocket science. I liked Patricia V-1 much better calling the D, chewing pencils and wearing Goodell clown shirts.
I thought Mac played pretty well. Wish the coaching staff had utilized Bourne more this season, he obviously pissed someone off early on.

 

[RG33]

Every SoSH poster that complained about McD’s play calls the last 7 years.

Rham

Mac

Patricia

Folk

 

[NortheasternPJ]

Bourne and someone else laughing on the field right after the fumble is going to stick with me a long time. That's basically the game right there and you are laughing it up.

If I’m Bourne I don’t give one fuck and asking to be released or traded after the season.

 

[Toe Nash]

At least it's clear that both Bourne and Marcus Jones need to be involved in the offense on a REGULAR basis. If not, add that to the long list of reasons why Patricia should be fired as soon as the season ends.

When Marcus Jones came on the field on the second-to-last last drive and lined up a yard behind the LOS it was completely obvious that they were going to throw a screen to him but he still got 15 yards.

I really liked on the first play of the very last drive when Mac motioned someone around a bunch of times, putting him right behind the guard for some reason, then realized time was running out and almost signaled timeout, then realized that he didn't have timeouts and snapped the ball, ending up throwing a pass to Bourne inbounds which made them have to clock it. The offense just has no idea what they're doing in critical situations.

Mac also failed to recognize a nickel back blitzing at least twice.

 

[8slim]

Strictly speaking, the goat, once again, is Rham. Two weeks in a row that the losing play was him being a dumbass.

 

[scottyno]

Rham just has to hold onto that ball until the whistle. He’s a context specific GOAT even if he made some good plays. I thought it was a bad call, but don’t leave it to the zebras. Mac competes but he’s a child.

He had 15 total touches for 33 yards, there were no good plays.

When your best offensive players in Rham and Meyers do stupid shit with the football to lose games in consecutive weeks, you need better best offensive players.

This is a disaster and it’s never going to get better.

Who is this better best offensive player that they're going to get than Rham? He sucked today, but let's not pretend he's not really really good.

 

[Mystic Merlin]

Folk as GOAT? Uhhhh