New England Patriots thread (MOD WARNING - #4503)

me89

Ninko and Gregory injured ffs

me89

What are the doing at ht that the come out so slow, another shocking 3rd qtr. :mad::mad::mad::mad:

Son Of A Vidic

me89 wrote: »

Ninko and Gregory injured ffs

My gamepass is down, what happened?

me89

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

My gamepass is down, what happened?

Ninko has a foot injury and gregory landed on his wrist and looked in pain

me89

ha and now gronk limps off. you couldn't make it up

j8wk2feszrnpao

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

My gamepass is down, what happened?

First possession, Ridely turned over the ball in Pats territory, and we cough up a TD.
Pats then go three and out, ball ran back into Pats territory, and we cough up a TD.
On neither possession do we target our elite TE.

Third possession, we target Gronk for 16yrds.
Gronk goes off with what looks like a dead-leg injury, but we start moving again into Pitts territory.
Gronk back in.

j8wk2feszrnpao

Pats settle for FG.
But if OL could have given Tom 3 secs instead of allowing a sack on 3rd and 3 at the Pitt 5yrd, it would have been a TD to an open Amendola.

j8wk2feszrnpao

The D gets a stop, Edelman takes it 43yrds back to the Pitt 34.
Need to get going again and get Gronk back into the action.

j8wk2feszrnpao

Tom to Dobson, TD!
Two nice drives by the Pats for a FG and TD.
Poor start to the 3rd quarter, gave the D short fields to defend, but since then we've stepped up.

j8wk2feszrnpao

A really good 3 and out forced by the Pats D.
Sopoaga could have an INT.
Arrington breaks up a pass.
Sack by Fletcher.

Pats could end it here with a TD.

j8wk2feszrnpao

Gronk is a beast, picks up 8yrds on a 3rd and 7 with a tackler hanging off him.
Ridley then runs strong three times for the TD!

Lets keep it going, don't allow Pitts back into this and have a nervy finish.

me89

Mike Reiss ‏@MikeReiss 16m DE Rob Ninkovich has returned to the sideline with a helmet, and gave a thumbs-up to his teammates.

Son Of A Vidic

me89 wrote: »

Mike Reiss ‏@MikeReiss 16m DE Rob Ninkovich has returned to the sideline with a helmet, and gave a thumbs-up to his teammates.

We really, really, really need Ninko to stay healthy.

me89

Brady to Dobson 81yd TD. I LOVE IT!!!!

j8wk2feszrnpao

Oh hell yeah!!!
Brady, 23/33 for 432 yards and 4 TD's.

Son Of A Vidic

Odin Brief Watchband wrote: »

Oh hell yeah!!!
Brady, 23/33 for 432 yards and 4 TD's.

Brady looking like Brady again.

j8wk2feszrnpao

Good time to have the bye.
Need to get Niko, Gregory and Talib fit.
The D can't carry any further injuries.

Got to be happy with the offense today. The only blip being the 3rd quarter.
The D gave up a lot of yards, but made some stops when required.

We're 7:2.
Work left to be done, but we've got to be happy going into the bye (injuries aside of course).

Coming up:
@ Carolina
Broncos
@ Texans
Browns
@ Miami
@ Ravens
Bills

Hazys

12-4 is certainly doable

Son Of A Vidic

Hazys wrote: »

12-4 is certainly doable

I predicted 11-5 way back. But I agree with you, if this offense is turning the corner and beginning to click then absolutely.

j8wk2feszrnpao

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

I predicted 11-5 way back. But I agree with you, if this offense is turning the corner and beginning to click then absolutely.

The Carolina and Broncos games look the most formidable.
If we split those games, then 12:4 should be the goal.

Hazys

Pats Win! High 5!

bruschi

After the last couple of weeks, I was going to come back in with my positively negative attitude and state how Brady is looking way off form and not going well at all. I'm glad I was busy in work and didnt get a chance to humiliate myself!

He was excellent last night. And honestly, the first time this year we have seen a proper consistency with him. Maybe a fully fit Amendola and Gronk helped with that? I dont know, but he looked sharper than he has done all year. The throw to Dobson for the 81 yarder was precision at its best, something which he hadnt been close to doing all year. The throw to Amendola down the seam was similar to the play where he missed him recently, cant remember what game, but he over threw a wide open Amendola whereas last night he was absolutely bang on the money.

As most have said all along, I'd happily take the win/loss ratio we have playing poorly, but is last night a turning point? I hope so. I wouldnt want to read too much into one game, as the Steelers were absolutely pathetic, but still, they had to be beaten, and we had to pass catch and run, and we did that briliantly. Finally too, Ridley gets a shot at an all down back and not in a committee, and shows his worth. When he lost the forced fumble, I thought the usual benching would happen, but was pleasantly surprised to see him stay in, and fully make amends as he got the next 3 touches of the ball on our next posession.

As for our D, we stopped the run pretty well I thought considering it was much talked about as our weak point. Our secondary got caught out a few times too many for my liking though, especially on deep balls for TDs. Too often they are chasing back and dont get their head back around to see the flight of the ball, and instead of preventing the catch, we try disposess the catch after or as its being made.

A really good win though. Some really good positives to take from it. Brady in great form. 3 receivers with over 100 yards. Amendola baing right in the thick of it. Gronk looking fully fit. Dobson really showing speed and a deep threat. Ridley taking the rushing load and going over 100 yards. Edelman still chipping in with receptions and excellent punt returns. 55 points is a good score in what looked like cold windy weather.

Son Of A Vidic

Belichick has given the team an unprecedented 6 days off. This very banged up team really needs that rest.

j8wk2feszrnpao

Hazys wrote: »

Pats Win! High 5!

3 rings, 5 AFC Championships, dominated the AFC East, plenty of records since arriving in the NFL in 2000, and a guaranteed HOF.
Yet Tom still has the drive and the passion, and just loves winning.
The guy is an example to all.

Son Of A Vidic

This offense has been a work in progress since preseason. No QB in history has ever entered into a season with 94% of all pass catchers gone. We have started with an entirely new receiving corp. We all have the worst receiving corp in the league for the sheer amount of drops. Of course Brady hasn't looked himself this season and how could we expect anything else tbh. I said at the start of the season, that I expected his legendary low Int rate to probably double on last seasons total and it probably will.

These are the things that should have been expected. But on top of having to struggle with a new offense. We have had to watch him getting battered about for the last four games, thanks to some poor O line play at times. And that was not expected. He has nearly equaled the total amount of sacks he had last season already and we still have 7 games left. Look at Brees getting tormented against the Jets yesterday or even how the Colts harried Manning. No QB will play to their ability when under such pressure. Our O line needs to regain it's consistency.

On our first series yesterday nobody could get open or create any separation. Thankfully they improved and Gronks presence is really massive. Look at how good the run game is even looking. There's no TE in the league that can block and contribute to the run game like he can. The guy is a football god, he doesn't everything so well and he's not fully fit yet. Brady knows he can pass the ball to Gronk and trust him to be there. That's something he hasn't had all season. Brady has had more bad throws and throwaways this season than in his entire career. And it's no mystery why it was happening.

Dobson had a big drop yesterday in the third quarter. At a time when we needed to get going. But he came out in the 4th, had a massive catch at 3rd & 4 and goes onto score a fine TD. That really impresses me. It shows me the kid can put a bad play behind him quickly, not dwell on it, come out and get it done. The final TD had Brady to Moss written all over it. If these guys are getting on the same hymn sheet then it's drool time. Dobson said several weeks ago during a locker room interview. He wasn't making excuses for his drops, but he said the power and speed behind Brady's passes was something he was still adjusting to. An interesting tidbit I thought and these are all the little intricacies of the game we often don't consider when watching a game.

Our run game was excellent yesterday. Ridley leading the way is always the way to go for this team. Bringing on battering ram Blount in the 4th, is something I like to see. His power against tiring opponents is always a nice combination. Bolden had also a couple of nice runs to add in for himself. Great to see for the first time this season, the return of our strong & balanced offense. I will need to see a couple of more offensive performances like yesterday before I think we've turned the corner on the teething problems. I also really hope they get Thompkins back on the field because he needs to keep out there to improve. It looks like they might have parked Boyce away for the season which is frustrating. But I just I'm wrong on that assumption.

Tristram

How is Vereen coming along?

Son Of A Vidic

Tristram wrote: »

How is Vereen coming along?

He's already back in practice and should be ready to play against the Panthers.

j8wk2feszrnpao

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

Look at Brees getting tormented against the Jets yesterday

Yeah, while watching that game, and seeing Brees lose some of his receivers to injury, it just highlighted how QB's will struggle when their top targets aren't available.
Tom may not have been his usual self, but those dropped passes and the sacks were killing him and the team.

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

Gronks presence is really massive.

Gronk is as elite as it gets at TE.
While Hernadez is a loss (as a player, not as an individual), if Danny continues to play like he did (way more pace than Wes) and Dobson continues his rise (already an improvement over Llyod), then along with the running game; there is is no reason this offense can resemble the offense of previous years.

In terms of a SB run, we'll need to stay healthy.
It's a big ask, but if we lose Gronk on offense and Talib on defense, I do feel that we'll struggle against the top teams.
But, entering the bye at 7:2, we can remain optimistic.

TaosHum

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

He's already back in practice and should be ready to play against the Panthers.

I think Brady has missed not having a running back who can turn check downs into significant gains. The likes of Faulk and Woodhead had significant roles in the passing game and Vereen is better than both IMO.

Vereen will add another dimension to that offense and after last night, thats a scary thought.

Hazys

This pass was insanely accurate by Brady

http://www.nfl.com/videos/new-england-patriots/0ap2000000276258/QB-Brady-to-TE-Gronkowski-19-yd-pass-TD

The older WRs are getting healthier and the rookies are getting better but I think Brady has improved his performance in spite of that.

Brady is getting his swag back and i'm excited.