Great Win, But...

Those of you that made the bus trip, I'm jealous, it was probably a great time to attend. Hopefully I'll get to go with you next season. It was a great win on Sunday, but should we take it with a grain of salt because the Bills aren't very good? The humble blog author says NO!

A division win is a division win. Did you know that the Pats are 29-7 in their division in the Brady era? Yes I know, the Pats have beaten the Bills by an average of 28 points when playing for the second time in a season. And yes I know that the Bills don't pose much of an offensive threat. (Maybe they can re-acquire Bledsoe now that he's been benched in big D.) However, the Pats showed some offense against a good Buffalo Defense which, I think is ranked 14th overall.

The Good.
-Maroney's kick return. He won AFC special teams player of the week.
-The secondary: Asante goes without saying, but solid perforamces were turned in by all.
-Vince Wilfork. Let me expand on this for a moment. Do you remember the play early in third quarter, when Seau burst through the line and tackled McGahee for a 3 yard loss? If you taped the game, watch Wilfork on that play. Wilfork was blocked by the center, and the weakside guard was pulling to block the linebacker (Seau) in the hole McGahee was designed to run in. Wilfork saw the gaurd pull, got leverage on the center and moved close enough to the gap that the pulling gaurd had no choice but to double team Wilfork. Seau, now unblocked runs through the gap and looks like a hero.
-It was great to see Jackson get so open on his TD
-How about Gabriel's TD catch on a ball that should never have been thrown?
-Watson's 6 catches for 50 yards. (But it always seems like he either breaks every tackle or goes right down on first contact.)

The Bad
-The offensive tackles were aweful. Brady was getting hammered out there.
-While they finally scored a TD on a first posession, I thought the play calling was horrendous until miday through the 3rd Quarter. If the Pass rush is that fierce and Brady is getting hurried on every pass play, why not slow down the pass rush? Any NFL, college or high school coach will tell you that the best way to slow a pass rush is with screens and draws. I can remember one screen pass, and it was to Ben Watson. It turned out to be a decent game of play calling thanks to the 3rd quarter, but I'm still VERY weary of McDaniels.
-Hey, that's all I can complain about!

The Ugly
Roseanne Barr naked.

Here's where the Pats rank thusfar this season:

RushingYards per game -- 6th (131.5)Yards allowed per game -- 6th (83.8)
TurnoversDifferential -- tied-9th (plus-3 -- 9 takeaways; 6 giveaways)
PointsScored -- 10th (22.6)Allowed -- 4th (13.3)
Third down efficiencyConverted -- 8th (41.9 percent)Allowed -- 16th (37.8 percent)
Red zone efficiencyTDs scored -- 2nd (63.6 percent)TDs allowed -- 10th (42.9 percent)
Pretty amazing stats.

As Peter King would write, "10 things I think I think."

1. the Pats may be a dangerous offensive team come playoff time if Gabriel and Jackson continue to progress.
2. the Defense is good, but I'm not convinced that they are superbowl calliber.
3. the D can really prove itself next Sunday night against the league, I mean, Peyton Manning.
4. Stephen Neal is a very under-rated gaurd.
5. Maroney's gonna light it up back in Minnesota
6. the divorce rate would go down significantly if they took women out of the workplace (just a theory)
7. the Pats will win the superbowl as long as someone else knocks out Denver.
8. Rodney Harrison should be a first ballot hall of famer.
9. Rodney Harrison will not be inducted to the hall of fame.
FACT: Rodney Harrison is the ONLY PLAYER IN NFL HISTORY to record at least 30 INT's (31)and 25 sacks (28).
10. I think you should tell your friends to read this blog. (not that I'm counting)

Did you hear the latest on the Pats/Indy feud?

First the background: Indy's GM/president is Bill Polian. He hates the Pats. He built the current Indy team, starting with drafting Marvin Harrison right up to now. He's also a hot-head. When Indy played at the Jets on Oct. 1, Polian accused the Jets of turning up the stadium speakers when Peyton had the ball. He was so pissed, he threw a Jets employee into a wall.

Second, the action: Polian has heard rumors of the Pats shitty field. Well, he put in a formal complaint with the league, siting the Gillette Stadium turf being below NFL standards. The league then sent officials out to see the field and are making them tear up the field and re-sod BEFORE next Sundays home game against Indy. Did I tell you the league loves Peyton? (Look, I agree that the field sucks, but other teams have had to play on it so far this year, why should it HAVE to change now, right before Indy arrives?)

Last, revenge the Belichick way: Belichick put a request in to the NFL to provide extra security for the Indy game to protect the Patriot's employees! Slap in the face to Polian and I for one love it!

I'm having trouble figuring out the Minnesota match-ups, but I have a feeling that the Pats are going to win this one going away.

Just Bitchin' don't know why I'm in a bad mood....

First, I hope you guys aren't reading this blog as one big complaint about the Pats. There were many positives covered in the last post. You can't tell me though, that any of you are satisfied with the way the offense has been playing. If it weren't for the turnovers, they would have lost 10-3.

And somebody explain to me how Miami is a "quality opponent". They lost to a bad, Rothlesberger-less Steelers team, lost to Buffalo at home, barely squeaked by the Titans at home, lost to Houston and they have no QB. Additionally, I can't find a power ranking with the Dolphins ranked higher than 24th. My apologies to the previous commenter, I just don's agree with what you said.

While I'm bitchin, what the hell is wrong with the field at Gillette? They've got million dollar drainage and heating systems under that thing, but they can't grow grass because thesoccer team plays there once a week? If any of you have been to Gillette to watch practice, the 2 practice fields (the ones they practice on and 'tear up' every day) are in pristine condition. I mean they look like fairways! There is no reason why, if they wanted to, they couldn't have perfect grass - we all know they have the money to re-sod that thing every week if they had to. Speaking of, have you seen the new dome stadium they built in Arizona? It's natural grass. In the dome. After the game, they entire grass surface gets slid out the side of the dome for sunshine and watering. On Sunday morning they roll it back inside. How cool is that?

I'm out of here. Going to Florida next week, feel free to tear me up while I'm gone.

UG - LY

Per Barry's request, a Monday Post:


Ugly. The only way to describe yesterdays 20-10 victory over the 'phins. Granted, a win is a win - just ask Indy.

3 Key Plays:
Harrison forcing the Ronnie Brown fumble
Samuel's first INT
Mike Wright's blocked fieldgoal.

My favorite play:
Watson's catch of the game in which he caught the ball on thrd down at the line of scrimmage, threw jason Taylor to the ground, sidestepped a defender and ran over the cornerback for a first down.

Offensive player of the game:
Troy (3rd down) Brown. 5 catches, 60 yds, a TD and 4 first downs.

Defensive player of the game:
Asante Samuel. While one of his picks was pure luck, in my book 2 INT's will win player of the game any week.

Looking good:
The 'bend but don't Break' Defense is starting to resemble the SB defenses of years past. I'm still furious at their lack of pass rush though.

Looking bad:
The anemic offense. If Watson's so good, why can't he get open? Does anyone else play WR besides Brown? What's up with Brady's inconsistancy (one play he's pinpoint accurate, the next he's throwing at the receiver's feet)? I'm not so happy with Doogy Houser, I mean Josh McDaniels' play calling. It seemed like the entire second half the Pats ran straight up the middle, then threw on 2nd and 3rd downs. They only played Maroney and they insited on running him up the gut. Get him outside in space where he can make people miss. (see New Orleans and Reggie Bush) Anyway, the play calling was WAY too predictable. One shot downfield and Brady's longest completion was only 15 yds.

Here's the drive summary for 4 straight pats drives beginning in the 3rd quarter just to prove my play calling point:

Drive 1
1st-Maroney 2yd run
2nd-inc pass
3rd- pass Watson for 1st down

1st-Maroney 1yd run
2nd-inc pass
3rd inc pass
PUNT

Drive 2
1st-Dillon 2yd run
2nd-4yd pass Watson
3rd-15yd completion to Brown for 1st down
PASS 15yds Faulk
PASS14yds Brown
PASS Watson 2 yds
PASS inc
PASS inc
PUNT

Drive 3
1st-Maroney 2yds
2nd-inc pass
3rd-inc pass
PUNT

Drive 4
1st Maroney 2yds
PENALTY MIAMI- 1st down
1st Maroneyno gain
2nd inc pass
3rd Pass Thomas 11yds - 1st down.
then they ran the clock:
1st Maroney 1 yd
2nd Marone 4yds
3rd Maroney 2 yds.

AARRGGGHHH!!!!!!!!Do you see a trend here or is it just me? When's the last time you saw a screen pass? Did they even bother to play action yesterday?




In breaking news, the Pats have signed 5th year receiver Jabar Gaffney. I don't know why he is a street free agent, but he had 55 catches last year for Houston. They also released Johnathan Sullivan and Hank (little) Poteat.

Comments?

Kool Aid...

Don't you just love watching Laurence Maroney run the football? Nothing against Dillon, but I personally haven't been this excited about a running back since Curtis Martin's rookie year. I have a lot to say in this post, but not all in a particular category, so I'm just going to list them out, point by point.

Barry, I know you'd like to see a post on Monday...I'm not sure I could do it, but if I did what do you want? I'm not giving a game summary. How about key plays, best player and observations? I could also just post 'blank' game blogs and let all of YOU post your monday morning thoughts.

It's really amazing what one game can do to the confidence of patriots fans and the media. For 3 weeks we heard that Brady's not Brady and after the Denver loss we heard that the team was in trouble. As it turns out, the Denver fiasco was just one game. Denver really does have something on the pats and from the teams I've seen, they have to be the superbowl favorite hands down.

Kudos to the patchwork secondary. With Hobbs and Wilson out no one gave them a chance to cover Johnson and Whosyourmamma, but somehow they did. Maybe Poteat and Scott and Hawkins should have been the starters all along!

A+ to the coaches for the gameplan. I'm not as much of an X's and O's guy as I'd like to be, and the camera angles we get on TV don't allow us to see the 'exotic' coverages, but whatever they did in the scheme seemed to work very well. This was also the first game that I liked the Offensive play calling. I loved the direct snap to Faulk reverse to Jackson, that was a nice wrinkle on a play we've seen numerous times.

I hope the Pats got wind of the Carson Palmer post game comments. He was disappointed that his team didn't play well against a team they should beat and will beat when they play again. How'd that turf taste Carson?

The least glamorous guys - the ones in the trenches are playing great on both sides of the ball. Green had a monster game (3 sacks, forced fumble and fumble recovery) and Warren was right behind him (2 sacks forced fumble, fumble recovery). But let's not forget the O-Line in this game. 236 rushing yards, a 5.8 yd avg and no sacks and only 5 hurries on 26 pass attempts. This with the likes of Wesley Britt (WHO??) starting at right tackle. Britt played at Alabama and was drafted in the fifth round in 2005 by the Chargers. He was released in January and the Pats signed him to their practice squad. Roll Tide!

Through one-fourth of the season the Pats are in the top ten in the following statistical categories as noted on Mike Reis' Blog:

* Punt coverage -- 1st in the NFL Opponents averaging just 1.5 yards per return
* First downs -- 2ndWith 91, only the Colts (96) have more
* Rushing yards per game -- 3rdWith Laurence Maroney (60 carries) and Corey Dillon (58 carries) essentially splitting duties 50-50, the team is averaging 154 rushing yards per outing (only the Falcons and Chargers are better)
* Net punting -- 3rdJosh Miller makes an early statement among AFC punters for Pro Bowl consideration with an impressive 41.4 net
* Sacks allowed per pass play -- 4thTom Brady has dropped back to pass 137 times and only been sacked four times
* Punt return average -- 4thKevin Faulk's career average is 8.3 yards, but he's at 13.4 at this point
* Points allowed -- tied-7thThe most important stat of all: the Patriots are holding foes to 16 points per game
* Third-down offense -- tied-9thTeam has converted 23 of 56 third downs, for a 41.1 percent success rate

Looking ahead to Miami, the Pats should beat this team with the same 38-13 score as last week, however, the Dolphins are a division opponent and they are a desperate team. They really need to win or their season may be over. Expect them to come out with everything they've got, a desperate team is a dangerous team. Watch for the same gameplan that Denver employed, loading the box with 8-9 guys to stop the run and force Brady to find his chemistry with the receivers or lose the game.
Pats 17-13.