I want the opposite. I'd like to see the Pats take the ball and sustain a long drive to get points, any points.I'd stick Atlanta's offense on the field to start the game. Tough to come off of a 2 week layoff with 11-13 offensive players full of nerves and execute a touchdown drive right out of the gate.
Yes I had to turn the volume up and reply it 3-4 times before I could make it out.Eli Manning
Agreed, but it shouldn't matter.Isn't it smart to defer because of the long halftime? I love the idea of the Pats having the ball before the half, then 30 minute wait, then getting the ball to start the second half. At that point the Falcons offense will have been sitting for almost an hour.
2001 game - A fade to (a relatively beefy) Kevin Faulk??? No thanks. (But it worked.)Just for fun
Pats-Falcons 2001 (Watch the Troy Brown TD)
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap3000000781210/2001-Week-8-Patriots-vs-Falcons-highlights
Pats Falcons 2009
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap3000000781009/2009-Week-3-Falcons-vs-Patriots-highlights
Terry Glenn didn't get a ring in 2001, but obviously somewhat different circumstances. I'd imagine Collins would get one.Just a thought, if the Pats win SB51, does Jamie Collins get a Super Bowl ring since he played a half season?
I was at that 2001 game. I thought I had seen Vick. But I forgot how crazy Troy Brown's TD was. I also remember calling my Dad an idiot because he was advocating for Bledsoe's return. I still remind him I had that one right.Just for fun
Pats-Falcons 2001 (Watch the Troy Brown TD)
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap3000000781210/2001-Week-8-Patriots-vs-Falcons-highlights
Would he even want one? Hard to put a ring on someone who just wants to be free(lancing).Terry Glenn didn't get a ring in 2001, but obviously somewhat different circumstances. I'd imagine Collins would get one.
Can always put it on eBay.Would he even want one? Hard to put a ring on someone who just wants to be free(lancing).
I'd stick Atlanta's offense on the field to start the game. Tough to come off of a 2 week layoff with 11-13 offensive players full of nerves and execute a touchdown drive right out of the gate.
FWIW, there was plenty of pressure on the Falcons in the playoffs - the team's last trip to the playoffs was five seasons ago, and very few Falcons players had been in the playoffs at all before this year. Seattle started the first playoff game with a long touchdown drive...and it had no impact on Atlanta's offense for the rest of the game.I'd take the ball. If you can get ahead a couple scores early, Atlanta's inexperience may cause them to panic and allow for it to get out of hand.
They have asked. He did not. First time there was, I believe, the game in 2009.It occurred to me this morning that as Matt Ryan lived in Boston from 2004-2007, he would have had the opportunity to see the Patriots in person on numerous occasions if he'd wanted to. Entirely as a human interest story (and in no way trying to be analytical), I wonder if anyone has asked Ryan about that this week, and whether he was enough of a football connoisseur as a college kid to watch and study Belichick et al. even then.
He and Spikes should start a society or something.Would he even want one? Hard to put a ring on someone who just wants to be free(lancing).
The guy who "minds" the museum at the end of the Fenway tour who's like 900 years old and about to turn to dust has rings.Nomar got a 2004 WS ring
All this ring giving talk is making me uncomfortable.Giving Collins a ring is the right thing to do, doesnt really cost them anything, and doesn't piss off any potential free agents that we want to retain who may still be friends with him (Hightower).
Agreed. Imagine if this was 2002? People would be banned for such talk.All this ring giving talk is making me uncomfortable.
I'm pretty sure they get AFC championship rings, at any rateAll this ring giving talk is making me uncomfortable.
Jeez. Art Spander was a mainstay in The Sporting News in the early 70s.Listening to 95.7, local Bay Area sports talk show in the car a bit and Spander, the long time local writer that found it said he wouldn't try to do anything with it because that would be unethical. He then said he wouldn't understand any of it anyway. Naturally, the 95.7 guy then said it's a good thing it didn't get into the hands of a Belichick spy, of which he has thousands. I don't even get pissed any more, just laugh.
Maybe defenses don't put linebackers on the widest receiver anymore, even if he's just a RB split wide. I bet if they put Dion Lewis out there and got a LB covering him, Brady would find a way to work that matchup.If there has been a fade to a RB in the NFL since then I missed it...but I doubt there has been. Kinda crazy to think the Pats ran a play in like Brady's 5th game that they wouldn't run again over the next 15 seasons with the same QB.
The Celtics had 2 or 3 different levels of rings for their recent title as did the Sox. I know the guy who ran an elevator at Gillette had rings, but also not the same as the Players' ring.The guy who "minds" the museum at the end of the Fenway tour who's like 900 years old and about to turn to dust has rings.
And he loves them.
I'm (sincerely) glad you're here as a reality check for our hottest takes.This stuff is idle, overblown speculation.
Agreed. Can we cool it with that? Last time we got that far ahead of ourselves the corpse of Peyton Manning beat us in the AFCCG.All this ring giving talk is making me uncomfortable.
This isn't Indianapolis Donny, there are rules!I'm pretty sure they get AFC championship rings, at any rate
This is where I get confused. Do they get AFC Championship participant rings or AFC Championship rings?I'm pretty sure they get AFC championship rings, at any rate
Isn't the wheel route the same difference? i.e. exploiting LB on RB coverages?Maybe defenses don't put linebackers on the widest receiver anymore, even if he's just a RB split wide. I bet if they put Dion Lewis out there and got a LB covering him, Brady would find a way to work that matchup.
Good question. On offense, the Falcons are full of depth talent on top of their star names; Patrick DiMarco is one of the best fullbacks in the league, and you probably saw him sneak out of the backfield on the first drive against the Packers for a 31-yard reception. I don't suppose Taylor Gabriel counts as a surprise player at this point, but obviously he's the speed/deep threat to watch out for on top of Julio. Justin Hardy is my sleeper pick to have an offensive impact on Sunday; the fourth-round draft pick from East Carolina in 2015 has great hands and would have a much higher profile on the team already if there wasn't so much receiving depth in front of him.I'm (sincerely) glad you're here as a reality check for our hottest takes.
While we've got you - who are the (non-superstar) impact players on the Falcons whose names we should remember and watch for? Not Ryan / Julio / etc but the equivalent of the Matthew Slater, Rob Ninkovich, James White types - the guys who don't get their own national commercial spots but always seem to be making plays?
Well, on a wheel route, you are betting that the LB is going to cover the RB out of the backfield, and that is almost always the case. If you line up the RB on the outside, you may or may not have an LB on the RB. Depends on where other receivers are lined up.Isn't the wheel route the same difference? i.e. exploiting LB on RB coverages?
78 years old.Jeez. Art Spander was a mainstay in The Sporting News in the early 70s.
Maybe it was 1,2,3,4,5?78 years old.
Was the password on the Falcons laptop password or password1?
Interesting note there is that the sneak is often a Brady line call based on the gap defenders. If it's not open, he runs the play called.Interesting article on QB sneaks.
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-patriots-are-even-sneakier-than-you-think/?addata=espn:frontpage
1 2 3 4 5? That's amazing! I've got the same combination on my luggage!Maybe it was 1,2,3,4,5?
Winner.1 2 3 4 5? That's amazing! I've got the same combination on my luggage!
78 years old.
Was the password on the Falcons laptop password or password1?
The ratings are going to be fine. It's hard to travel to the Super Bowl, get lodgings, and tickets. It's also extremely expensive. It's not costly at all to turn on the TV to watch the game.Demand for hotel rooms are down. Ticket prices have dropped. I'm expecting lower than usual ratings. America wanted to see the Cowboys or Rodgers. They got neither. The Falcons aren't a public team and I think many will stay away or tune out to avoid watching the Pats win again.