Let me preface my post game comments by letting you know that I am thrilled the Pats were able to win handily vs. the Jags. Initially, I was elated with the victory. Afterall the Pats had just beaten a 12-4 team 28 to 3. The Defense was hitting, causing turn overs and getting sacks. While Dillon sucked as usual, Tom Brady did what he had to in order to win the game. I think the first half he had was very under-rated. All anyone harped on was 7 for 17 passing for 70 something yards. A closer look at that first half performance shows the true greatness of Brady. His receivers weren't open early, so rather than force the ball, he threw it away or over their heads so no one could catch it or he even tried running. The point is that he never forced it, he never gave the Jags a chance for an interception. Once again sacrificing possible stats for a patient victory. Of course it wouldn't have hurt him if Branch made the catch at the end of the half or Watson caught his pass that he tipped and was nearly intercepted. Either one would have made brady 8-17 with 100+yds and 2 TD's in the first half. Very respectable if you ask me.
The reason why I needed to preface this post is that, looking back at the game and reading a few different takes on the game, the Pats played pretty badly. Had fumbles gone the other way on the Brady fumbled shotgun snap, the Brady strip sack and the Ben Watson fumble, we would be talking about how the Pats gave the game away. What is very obvious is that the Pats will need to be MUCH MUCH better to have a shot AT Denver.
More to come...
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3 comments:
Denver is going to be a tough game. They've got one of the biggest home field advantages in all of the NFL. Luckily, the last time we played them we were 3-3 and had a ton of guys out. They only beat us by 8pts then. Lets take it one game at a time here. We haven't won in Denver yet.
In regards to Saturday though, I'm tired of cursing out Asante Samuel the entire game and then having him make it all up on one play. I wish he'd be more consistent. Don't get me wrong, I was jumping up and down (almost falling over the glass of the 300 section), screaming my head off, and hugging everybody around me when he made that 73yd return. It just sucks to see him not wrap up, be lagging behind, and have poor coverage most of the game. Oh well, that's why he's a rookie. He's learning though. There's definitely been improvement, and I think he's going to develop really well. Speaking of rookies, I thought Ellis Hobbs looked awesome. He's one man I am glad to have in our secondary.
Corey Dillon better step it up too. He was reminding me of the old Antwain Smith the way he was playing. I don't know if it he was pissed about the "media crap" that's been going on or what. But thank god for guys like Kevin Faulk being able to step it up and bust through.
Not wrapping guys up in the secondary is going to be their demise. They just seem to nudge guys to try and tackle them. Then again, the Pats have always suffered on tackling technique. The O-line looked good in the second half. Brady got hit just a few too many times than I would have liked to see in the first half. The D-line did a great job at stuffing Fred Taylor. I'm truly fired up at our ability to stuff the run and pressure the QB. We all know how well that fairs at the RCA Dome should the road to Detroit go there.
Willie McGinest kicked some SERIOUS ass. He now has more playoff sacks than any other player in the NFL ever. Seeing those 4.5 sacks was a little slice of heaven. Every time the number 55 flashed by, something awesome happened!
There were a lot of good points, but a lot of bad points to that game. We need some serious improvement if this dream is truly possible. We had some good luck in that game, and that's part of the game. Lets just not rely on luck so much for the rest of the playoffs.
We have now set an NFL record of 10 playoff wins in a row! GO PATS!! MENTAL TOUGHNESS BABY!!!
I've also read how lucky the pats were taht some balls rolled their way but I think whats overlooked here is that breaks happened on both sides. The pats missed that easy touchdown at the end of the first half and the Jags missed some easy catches as well. To point to one or two bad plays and say that could've ended the Pats season I think you can almost always say that unless it is a blow out from the get go.
The most striking difference in the Pats for the 2nd half of the season is the tremendous improvement in their run stopping. Denver heavily relies on the run and if Teddy Bruschi is able to play well I think the Pats have a good chance to continue this. Making Denver one dimensional will prove quite advantageous for the Pats. The other key statistic for the Pats in the second half of the season has been ball control. Even when Dillon has played poorly Brady seems to find a way to get it done. That will be key in the Denver game.
Fear not Young Mike Skywalker, Pats Report has no fear of Darth Broncos. You'll be reading the evidence soon enough in the next post.
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