New England Patriots thread (MOD WARNING - #4503)

Johnny_Fontane

munstermagic11 wrote: »

Moving to 8:3 after defeating the previously 9:1 Broncos (many people SB favorites) after trailing 24:0 at half time.
If you can't jump up and down after that, then what's the point in following a team.


The weather was a factor against both teams, and each side had excellent performers. There was a lot for both sides to take away from the game.

my point on this, is that both teams will get to the playoffs, the results really doesnt change anything. Peyton will throw for more than 150 yards and the patriots wont fumble the ball like that again. This was a one off game in my mind, created by incredibly difficult conditions on both sides. I too liked the 24 point comeback, but if you ask me, what Brady did against NO earlier was much more special.

as a neutral, I was left hanging the way that game ended. and I felt cold, just looking at them all....really cold!!

TO.

Johnny_Fontane wrote: »

im neutral to this but if I was either a broncos or a patriots fan, I wouldnt exactly be jumping up and down.

I think the weather played its part in a crazy game, but not sure there is too much to take away from that.

Both Broncos and Pats have no excuses when it comes to cold as fook icy weather with winds that would rip the skin off you as they both experience when it comes to this time of year at home. The fact that both teams kept plugging away making an exciting game for all to watch shows that.

There is not a supporter in here that would not be jumping up and down if their team came back from being 24-0 down and win it with a gripping field goal in the dying minutes of OT against the team who many consider the favourites this year.

TO.

Johnny_Fontane wrote: »

my point on this, is that both teams will get to the playoffs, the results really doesnt change anything.

Yes it does. Home field advantage and skipping the wild card round would be key for a start.

Johnny_Fontane

TO. wrote: »

Yes it does. Home field advantage and skipping the wild card round would be key for a start.

I accept that! But i'm not sure the colts, bengals or jets really provide much of a threat to the patriots getting the bye at the moment.

Vanolder

Long day today after staying up to watch that outrageous comeback!

What is the injury list looking like and return dates?

Hazys

Vanolder wrote: »

Long day today after staying up to watch that outrageous comeback!

What is the injury list looking like and return dates?

Cannon and Dennard got injured as far as i can recall.

I'm hoping neither is serious and in Dennard's case he pulled himself out of the game so i'm thinking he wanted to stop just in case he aggravated his current injury.

Son Of A Vidic

Johnny_Fontane wrote: »

I accept that! But i'm not sure the colts, bengals or jets really provide much of a threat to the patriots getting the bye at the moment.

American Football is one area where Amateur fortune telling skills never do well. Just look at the prediction thread and see how unpredictable it is at times. But since you so sure of future results, why don't who join those of us who call games every week and start calling them yourself.

me89

Thought Chandler Jones was great last night, he's really stepping up and becoming a leader.

His 10.5 sacks is 5th in the league this season and he's only going to get better.:)

Son Of A Vidic

Hazys wrote: »

Cannon and Dennard got injured as far as i can recall.

I'm hoping neither is serious and in Dennard's case he pulled himself out of the game so i'm thinking he wanted to stop just in case he aggravated his current injury.

We can add Hightower to that list , he went out in the 2nd quarter and never came back.

Dennard imo, shouldn't have been playing for 2-3 weeks after his meniscus procedure. I couldn't believe he was even included in the game. They probably left it to him to make a decision on how he felt, but I would have rested him until the Browns game.

Son Of A Vidic

me89 wrote: »

Thought Chandler Jones was great last night, he's really stepping up and becoming a leader.

His 10.5 sacks is 5th in the league this season and he's only going to get better.:)

I didn't realise he was in double figures now, so he has nearly doubled his sacks for last season already (6).That puts him on course for a 15 sack season. What more can we ask for.

j8wk2feszrnpao

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

We can add Hightower to that list , he went out in the 2nd quarter and never came back.

I was happy enough with Jamie Collins.
Hightower doesn't seem to much of a play-maker; doesn't hit hard at stopping the run (Spikes), or have the speed to cover when required (Mayo).
The kid is going to be here for a bit longer (will Spikes be resigned?) but he hadn't come near to impressing like Jones has done.

j8wk2feszrnpao

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

I didn't realise he was in double figures now, so he has nearly doubled his sacks for last season already (6).That puts him on course for a 15 sack season. What more can we ask for.

He was injured mid season last year. I don't think he was even near a decent level of fitness during the final run-in of games.
We're seeing what he has to offer this year.
Pack on a few more pounds and he might hit another level.

Son Of A Vidic

munstermagic11 wrote: »

I was happy enough with Jamie Collins.
Hightower doesn't seem to much of a play-maker; doesn't hit hard at stopping the run (Spikes), or have the speed to cover when required (Mayo).
The kid is going to be here for a bit longer (will Spikes be resigned?) but he hadn't come near to impressing like Jones has done.

My point about Hightower was he's yet another injury we can add to our list. We know he hasn't got the coverage speed for the pass, but he's our 4th leading tackler this season. He was never going be a sack master on this team. I've seen nothing wrong at all with his run stuffing abilities and as slow as he might be covering the pass, at least he can be relatively near a play. Unlike, Spikes who is really dire covering the past.

Dane Fletcher played 57 snaps last night and did very well. He certainly gives the coaches food for thought going forward. As bad as the run defense was last night. I think the strategy was to focus on Mannnings passing threat more. We were in 4-2-5 nickle defense most of of the night, which left us down a man up front to cover the run. Wilfork was never more sorely missed than last night.

Son Of A Vidic

Hazys wrote: »

Ridley is like that ex-girlfriend whose number you call when you know you shouldn't. It starts off great, reminding of the good times and this time it may actually work out but he/she ends up breaking your heart and you feel sick wondering why it went wrong.

Hopefully we don't drunk text Ridley during the playoffs

That is brilliant.:D

Masked Man

Feel asleep at half time :mad:

But I love these things after that type of game, win probability:



Also BB deferring in OT is actually something I've been thinking about lately. I guess it was to do with the weather but I'd like to see what happens if teams do it in normal conditions.

Son Of A Vidic

What McCourty said after the game....

“Bill’s a genius. He’s a genius,” said McCourty. “I mean, even the captains didn’t know. We were like, ‘Defer? Take the wind?’ And, it was obviously the best call, and it was a great call by him.”­­

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/11/25/belichicks-ot-gamble-pays-off-bills-a-genius/

j8wk2feszrnpao

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

My point about Hightower was he's yet another injury we can add to our list.

Yeah, hopefully it isn't going to keep him out for any time.
Dane Fletcher played very well when he came in. He was responsibly for the forced fumble. That's the type of play I don't see Hightower make (I open to be corrected on that).

j8wk2feszrnpao

Masked Man wrote: »

Also BB deferring in OT is actually something I've been thinking about lately. I guess it was to do with the weather but I'd like to see what happens if teams do it in normal conditions.

It was all to do with the weather.
The commentary team mentioned a number of times that you'd need to get close to the 20 to have a shot due to the wind.

Adamcp898

Masked Man wrote: »

Also BB deferring in OT is actually something I've been thinking about lately. I guess it was to do with the weather but I'd like to see what happens if teams do it in normal conditions.

Would be crazy under normal conditions imo, even under last night's conditions I was uneasy about the decision.

You're just risking too much by deferring like being beaten like how Tebow's Broncos beat the Steelers in the playoffs a couple of seasons back. Ignoring the defensive play call, that ball only travelled 25 yards in the air inside the numbers and would've been possible even on a night like last night. Just imagine how everyone would be feeling today if Manning had managed that on the first play of OT. Total deflation.

Son Of A Vidic

munstermagic11 wrote: »

Yeah, hopefully it isn't going to keep him out for any time.
Dane Fletcher played very well when he came in. He was responsibly for the forced fumble. That's the type of play I don't see Hightower make (I open to be corrected on that).

Your spot on, Flecther forced a fumble on Monte Ball. His speed and athleticism got him to the ball. It's a play Hightower and Spikes don't have the speed for.

And guess who was beside him just in case? My my main man Ninkovich.

Masked Man

idk how crazy it is in normal conditions. Obviously against a team like the Broncos it'd be suicidal but if you had a lot of faith in your D could it be a good play? I really need to do a bit of research but it seems like an interesting debate with the current OT rules.

Son Of A Vidic

Lost in all the hazy was how fantastic Brady was in those conditions. Wind chill was -15c with a nasty wind.

These were his numbers...

34/50 for 344 Yards and 3 TD's. And to have a completion rate of 68% in those conditions last night was simply outstanding. Yet another GOAT performance under his belt.

j8wk2feszrnpao

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

And guess who was beside him just in case? My my main man Ninkovich.

Niko was relentless last night.
If there's any positive to losing Mayo and Vince, it's that Niko and Gregrory have stepped up like captains. It should benefit us next season.

Masked Man

oh and I imagine this game will take over from the SF game as my go to example when people try to give out about running up the score.

j8wk2feszrnpao

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

Lost in all the hazy was how fantastic Brady was in those conditions.

Once the OL got their act together, Brady took over. Like any great player in any sport, he makes the tough stuff look simple.

Full credit to Edelman also. Just finished watching the (condensed) highlights. The guy was involved so much.

Hazys

Odin Brief Watchband wrote: »

Niko was relentless last night.
If there's any positive to losing Mayo and Vince, it's that Niko and Gregrory have stepped up like captains. It should benefit us next season.

Harmon had a big game in Gregory's absence...he played every snap which must show how much faith the coaches must have in him.

What about McCourty? The guy is a beast, he plays all 3 downs on Defense and then the 4th down for punt returns and he's on kickoff coverage and returns. All those plays and he never puts a foot wrong.

Masked Man

Yesterday was the 11 year anniversary of Marty Mornhinweg deferring in OT (under the old rules) and losing to the bears. Nice coincidence.

Son Of A Vidic

Odin Brief Watchband wrote: »

Once the OL got their act together, Brady took over. Like any great player in any sport, he makes the tough stuff look simple.

It's the weird thing about this season from the OL, shocking first half excellent second half. Fair play to the coaches for making the second half adjustments, but the OL needs consistency in games and not in patches.

Son Of A Vidic

Hazys wrote: »

Harmon had a big game in Gregory's absence...he played every snap which must show how much faith the coaches must have in him.

Harmon has performed and has been given responsibility that nobody ever expected for his first year. I'm really looking forward to his year 2 jump.

kryogen

Under the new rules deferring is fine, as long as your D is able to make a stop of course and keep the team to a field goal at worst, you have faith your D can do this I don't mind a deferral. You will know exactly what you need to do with the ball in your hand then. Under the old rules you take the ball every time, but the new rules do give a little more food for thought and when the weather was the way it was last night I wasn't surprised at all at a deferral, not sure how many were?