The Game Ball Thread: Wk 10 @ 49ers

[SeoulSoxFan]

As expected, Patriots pull away after a lackluster first half. It's been a couple of weeks, but it's Game Ball time!

• Brady the Houdini: not sure what he worked on during the suspension, but Brady seems to have gotten even better moving around the pocket
• Front-four: the oft-criticized unit got steadily got pressure all game

And an honorable Game Ball goes to Cyrus Jones, who followed up his practice player of the week honors with a solid, error-free game as a punt returner. Especially good to see him take sensible fair catches.

It's on to the Jets!

 

[axx]

Mr Bunchden

 

[DJnVa]

Dion Lewis gets a game ball for getting back in the lineup and showing he's still got the moves.

The second half defense.

Blount

Mitchell--he's got obvious skills. If he can earn some trust from Brady, adding him and Lewis to the offense is very nice.

 

[jsinger121]

Brady
Mitchell
Blount

 

[EdRalphRomero]

Develin looked to have had a solid game.

 

[Harry Hooper]

Based on never really seeing him on camera more that a couple of times, I guessing Harmon played well today.

Seemed like Fleming put in considerable duty as the 2nd TE as well.

 

[Ed Hillel]

If Brady loses his next 62 games, he'll have the same record as Brett Favre.

 

[MuppetAsteriskTalk]

Brady
Edelman
Mitchell

 

[Tony C]

Brady -- that was awesome.
Mitchell
I guess the DL, though not sure I'd be giving prizes out.

 

[normstalls]

I thought Brady was phenomenal today. He's the best ever.

 

[NortheasternPJ]

If Brady loses his next 62 games, he'll have the same record as Brett Favre.

If he goes 1-31 he'll tie Papa John Manning's record.

Pretty incredible.

 

[GeorgeCostanza]

TB12 was a bit locked in on Jules for parts of the game, but that's a minor quibble. Could be there were no other options on those play so he just threw it up to his binky.

Slater made a hell of a play on the punt he downed, hope his injury isn't serious.

 

[amarshal2]

Tom Brady



This defense is a dynamic, QB pressuring defensive end and a good coverage LB who can rush the passer a bit away from being a top 5 unit.

 

[Stitch01]

I thought Brady was phenomenal today. He's the best ever.

Thought he was a B/B- which just shows how incredible the guy is at 39

 

[alydar]

TB12 was a bit locked in on Jules for parts of the game, but that's a minor quibble.

Not sure if that's actually a minor quibble or Achilles Heel. TB has locked on to Moss, Gronk in the past and, to a D.C. who can see it coming, it is an obvious flaw

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

Tom Brady



This defense is a dynamic, QB pressuring defensive end and a good coverage LB who can rush the passer a bit away from being a top 5 unit.

Too bad we traded Chandler Jones and Jamie Collins.

 

[Stitch01]

Not sure if that's actually a minor quibble or Achilles Heel. TB has locked on to Moss, Gronk in the past and, to a D.C. who can see it coming, it is an obvious flaw

With Gronk and Hogan back its less of an issue on this years team.

 

[PedroKsBambino]

Brady -- that was awesome.
Mitchell
I guess the DL, though not sure I'd be giving prizes out.

I agree with the overall defensive assessment---if pushed, I'd say Valentine had a couple nice plays, as did Flowers. Not game-ball worthy but perhaps "halfsies on a pizza" worthy...

 

[Super Nomario]

The cornerbacks deserve a shoutout for a nice game. Kaepernick was 4/15 for 52 yards and 0 TDs targeting wideouts Harper, Patton, Kerley, Streater, and Burbridge. Ryan had two passes defensed and it looked like he drew Kerley most of the contest - Kerley had 0 catches on 6 targets. He did have a holding penalty. Rowe had a breakup, and Butler had a sack.

 

[DJnVa]

Worth noting that the defense is now 3rd in league in points allowed. They are frustrating to watch at times, but it is what it is.

With Lewis back, Gronk and Hogan back soon, Mitchell emerging...

 

[pedroia'sboys]

Too bad we traded Chandler Jones and Jamie Collins.

Give me Mitchell and Thuney. So tired of hearing of the CJ trade. The market for DE is insane they weren't signing him or franchising him. Great trade.

 

[Ale Xander]

Dion and Mitchell

It was a below average game for Tom

 

[Old Fart Tree]

Dude what? It was pouring and he was getting away from heavy pressure regularly to make big throws.

 

[Mugsy's Walk-Off Bunt]

Brady Brady Brady
Edelman
Mitchell
LGBT
Dion Dion Dion

P.S. The secondary is absolutely terrible. The rain and QB Colin led to deceptively positive defensive stats. It seems like almost all incompletions we get these days are drops and overthrows.

 

[normstalls]

Dude what? It was pouring and he was getting away from heavy pressure regularly to make big throws.

Bingo. Couldn't agree more. I thought TB was great today.

 

[Stitch01]

He was incredible the last 18 minutes or whatever. Pretty meh before that, seemed to lock into Edelman and missed a handful of throws.

 

[normstalls]

Agree about Edelman-17 targets seems way too high when so many were forced, but I loved how he moved in the pocket and avoided pressure to make some really big plays.

 

[nothumb]

Agree about Edelman-17 targets seems way too high when so many were forced, but I loved how he moved in the pocket and avoided pressure to make some really big plays.

I thought a lot of the incompletions to Edelman were on routes that he doesn't run that much, more deep and intermediate routes, and I wondered if it wasn't them working on something that they think they'll need a bit more later. It may also have just been what the defense was giving them, but I do think they do stuff like that at times against bad teams.

 

[Old Fart Tree]

I thought a lot of the incompletions to Edelman were on routes that he doesn't run that much, more deep and intermediate routes, and I wondered if it wasn't them working on something that they think they'll need a bit more later. It may also have just been what the defense was giving them, but I do think they do stuff like that at times against bad teams.

That was my perception as well. One was an improv double move by Edelman after TB extended the play, and TB just missed him.

 

[InstaFace]

Dude what? It was pouring and he was getting away from heavy pressure regularly to make big throws.

I thought he was missing on a bunch of throws that he normally makes in his sleep. Midway through the 3rd, I was leaning towards "hey, below average game for Tommy". Then he put on that clinic of a drive, shuffling away from pressure a half-dozen times, capped off by the intuitive heave into the end zone as he was getting tackled, for a TD to a wide-open receiver in space. All I could do was shake my head and laugh. He followed that up by throwing that zinger into traffic where it went about 3 inches over the DB's shoulder and was caught-and-run for a 56-yd TD. He had an incredible 2nd half.

Accounting for the field conditions, his throwing was probably an average game for him. But his quarterbacking overall was first rate.

 

[Al Zarilla]

Dion and Mitchell

It was a below average game for Tom

You didn't end the sentence with a period, so I'm going to assume you got distracted and couldn't follow up with the weather, no Gronk...

 

[Tony C]

...the brilliant movement in the pocket, better than in his entire career etc etc

(yes, the offense went into a collective funk for a chunk of time, Brady included - but for the game as a whole TB was beyond great in very rough conditions)

 

[GeorgeCostanza]

During the game I wondered out loud if those field conditions were making it more difficult for the receivers to get separation, leading Brady to focus more on Edelman.

That dart to Mitchell for the TD was a beaut. Was nice to see Brady hit him a couple times on 3rd down.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

The Mitchell throw was the finest he's made in years. He had a window of about 8 inches to get it in there to him, and had to move in the pocket to find it, and then placed it in there perfectly. It was remarkable.

 

[DJnVa]

It's funny watching their offense--when the Blount TD came off the board, they turtled for like 4 possessions. Then, their second possession of second half, they hit a few crossing routes and I was like, "Okay, they're fine" and they were off.

Blount doing his Clock Killin' Corey Dillon impression was awesome.

 

[allstonite]

The Mitchell throw was the finest he's made in years. He had a window of about 8 inches to get it in there to him, and had to move in the pocket to find it, and then placed it in there perfectly. It was remarkable.

That might be my favorite non-Moss pass of Brady's career. He put it in a key hole on the run and off balance. When they showed it from behind going upfield you could see how perfectly he placed that ball over the corner's head and beating the trailing corner.

 

[Super Nomario]

It's funny watching their offense--when the Blount TD came off the board, they turtled for like 4 possessions. Then, their second possession of second half, they hit a few crossing routes and I was like, "Okay, they're fine" and they were off.

Blount doing his Clock Killin' Corey Dillon impression was awesome.

FWIW, Mitchell had the big catch on that TD drive, too (actually the third second-half possession): a 21-yard conversion on 3rd-and-9.

 

[Curt S Loew]

That might be my favorite non-Moss pass of Brady's career. He put it in a key hole on the run and off balance. When they showed it from behind going upfield you could see how perfectly he placed that ball over the corner's head and beating the trailing corner.

This is why I love the camera angle from behind. It really shows the precision that separates good from great QBs. I wish we had that angle his whole career.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

This is why I love the camera angle from behind. It really shows the precision that separates good from great QBs. I wish we had that angle his whole career.

It's just such a difficult throw to make even without any pressure. He makes a lot of tough throws that look easy for him; the TD pass to LaFell in the Ravens playoff game comes to mind, where he puts it right on Jojo's back hip as he's running. That's damned deadly difficult and he does it anyway with ease.

 

[dbn]

Dude what? It was pouring and he was getting away from heavy pressure regularly to make big throws.

Also, he was playing in front of his home town fans. That's a lot of pressure and Brady doesn't do well under the spotlight.

 

[lexrageorge]

Bottom line is that the 2016 Patriots will go as far as Brady is able to take them. What we saw yesterday is proof that there are far worse options; not that anyone needed reminding of that fact.

 

[dbn]

During the game I wondered out loud if those field conditions were making it more difficult for the receivers to get separation, leading Brady to focus more on Edelman.

That dart to Mitchell for the TD was a beaut. Was nice to see Brady hit him a couple times on 3rd down.

We need to go to the video on this one!

 

[DJnVa]

That's such a good play, but we had 3 WRs within 15 feet of each other, and Mitchell and Amendola seemed to be running the same route.

EDIT: And yes, I know that's because Brady scrambled and WRs change their routes...

 

[GregHarris]

I still have no clue how he dropped that one in there.

 

[LogansDad]

I didn't get to watch yesterday, so that was the first time I got to see the pass. Just ridiculous. It's amazing how every year we start the season with some people asking, "What if this is the year Brady falls off a cliff? Old quarterbacks do that eventually." And every year he seems to come out better than the year before. I will miss him when he is gone.

 

[DennyDoyle'sBoil]

I kind of like the Mitchell didn't care about the ball.

Dumped it quick and never seemed to worry about where it was or whatever. I'm sure someone saved it for him, and it's really a little thing, but the lack of concern about keepsakes kind of says he's got his eye on the bigger things.

 

[Jed Zeppelin]

I didn't get to watch yesterday, so that was the first time I got to see the pass. Just ridiculous. It's amazing how every year we start the season with some people asking, "What if this is the year Brady falls off a cliff? Old quarterbacks do that eventually." And every year he seems to come out better than the year before. I will miss him when he is gone.

To be fair, only one quarterback can be the greatest of all time, so comparisons to lesser mortals are generally going to look bad.

 

[lexrageorge]

Brady leads the NFL in TD percentage, adjusted yards/attempt, net yards/attempt (which adjusts for sacks), adjusted net yards/attempt, traditional QB rating, and the more recent QBR. He's 2nd in interception percentage, trailing only Brian Hoyer, who's yet to throw in INT in 6 fewer attempts. He's trailing only Drew Brees in completion percentage. This is at age 39.

 

[NickEsasky]

That's such a good play, but we had 3 WRs within 15 feet of each other, and Mitchell and Amendola seemed to be running the same route.

EDIT: And yes, I know that's because Brady scrambled and WRs change their routes...

Yeah it was either an incredible throw to Mitchell or a crappy one to Amendola. My vote is the former.

 

[bakahump]

Great Play by Mitchell. (I lean towards lucky for Brady.....but as Gramp used to say...."some people say they would rather be lucky then good....I would rather be both!")
Mitchell Ran his route, saw his QB in trouble improvised on a go then caught the DART. That had to be tough considering it was probably out of his line of site as it passed over the DBs head. Kept his balance and showed some elusiveness (missing running into the defender trailing Dola) and then turned on the jets.

Overall a really good game when we needed someone to step up and be another option to make up the missing Gronk Yards and TD(s).