2019 Game Goat Thread: Wk. 13 at Texans

Dr. Gonzo

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Any ideas as to why the TEs are not getting involved in the passing game? LaCosse and Watson are not Gronk and Hernandez but anything resembling leave average in terms of tagets/receptions would be helpful. LaCosse had the nice seam route, also had a drop, and Watson had a very nice play to extend a drive. Outside of those, they did nothing.
 

Shelterdog

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They put up a graphic last night then when Sony is in it's a run 65% of the time. Having the "run guy", the "pass guy", and the guy who can do both but is pretty much mediocre makes them way too predictable. Sony's inability so far to become a complete back is unfortunate at best. Sony over Chubb is looking like a massive whiff today.
While you'd obviously rather have L. Tomlinson , I don't think this is that big a problem; whether you're running or passing is not as big a surprised based on down, distance, and personnel. Hell the Pats haven't had a true dual purpose lead back in the BB era ever. Chubb's a beast, no disagreement there, but Michel looked pretty good last year, last week and last night when they used him so the term massive whiff seems a little much. I do wonder why they didn't stick with the heavy sets more after the first series.

I think the team's only hope on offense is that the running game gets a bit stronger with Wynn back and Roberts hopefully getting more comofrtable at fullback, the protection improves as the line hopefully coheres, and Brady gets a lot more comfortable with some combination of Sanu, Jakobi and Harry really quickly.
 

Rico Guapo

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Any ideas as to why the TEs are not getting involved in the passing game? LaCosse and Watson are not Gronk and Hernandez but anything resembling leave average in terms of tagets/receptions would be helpful. LaCosse had the nice seam route, also had a drop, and Watson had a very nice play to extend a drive. Outside of those, they did nothing.
Watson struggles to get open because he's 38. He was also never super quick in short spaces to begin with, 7.38 second three cone at the combine.

LaCosse is just bad. Slow, bad hands, etc.
 

NomarsFool

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Was the INT really a terrible play by Harry? I couldn't really tell what happened exactly. Seemed like Harry was going into sort of a seated position, either on purpose to get low for the throw or he fell down - couldn't quite tell, and Robey jumped in front.
 

lambeau

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Bedard has a nice article on the receivers going over the interception (Harry), the Orlovsky play (Dorsett), and the third down play where Meyers quit on his route leading to Brady's throwing his helmet and expostulating--all to show why Tom's so frustrated with them all.

It's behind his paywall, but today only there's a cyberMonday deal giving one year for $21.
 

richgedman'sghost

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I thought the Pats actually had a fairly decent running game early as Red posted above. Michel was hitting the hole with power but then we barely saw him. The offensive line provided Brady with plenty of time to throw but the receivers were not able to get open.
 

BusRaker

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Sexy Rexy trolls: "Worst Patriot team he's ever seen"

Reality: 10-1 Pats throw up a dud on the road against a 7-4 divison leader after 17 players had the flu all week.
 

NomarsFool

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We really need a good blowout game. The last 2 wins have felt very tight, almost smoke and mirrors, kind of stuff. Even the Browns game felt a little bit like the Browns pretty much beat themselves.
 

Deathofthebambino

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The surprise to me was that they abandoned the run very quickly. Here's how the Patriots started the game:

1st and 10: Michel run for 4 yards.
2nd and 6: Michel no gain
3rd and 6: Pass to Edleman for 11.
1st and 10: Burkhead for 1 yard
2nd and 9: Burkhead for 4 yards
3rd and 5: Brady to Edleman for 12 yards.
1st and 10: Edleman end around -7 yards.... unnecessary roughness 15 yards and a first down
1st and 10: Michel for 5 yards
2nd and 5: Michel for 5 yards
1st and 10: Michel for 17 yards
1st and goal: Michel for 2 yards
2nd and goal: Brady incomplete to Meyers
3rd and goal: Brady incomplete to Dorsett
FG
Michel had 6 carries for 33 yards. Yes, the Patriots needed to convert on 3rd and 5, but it seems they were controlling the clock and getting into easier conversion situations.

2nd drive:
1st and 10: Brady incomplete to Sanu
2nd and 10: Brady to Sanu for 6 yards
3rd and 4: Brady INT (Harry).

3rd Drive:
1st and 10: Michel for 3 yards
2nd and 7: Brady incomplete to Edleman
3rd and 7: Brady runs for 13 yards
1st and 10: Brady incomplete to Edleman
2nd and 10: Brady to White for 4 yards
3rd and 6: Brady incomplete to Meyers

Just seems like they are really struggling with their lack of an offensive identity. The only time it seemed to get some decent pass protection/open routes were off of the play action. I'd guess we'll see more of Burkhead so that the run/pass distribution isn't so obvious, but who knows. It makes it very tough for the defense, batting illnesses for most key players, when they can't get off the field. The defense started the game forcing Houston to punt twice in a row. Then Brady has an INT and Houston gets the ball on the 20 - not much you can do with that. After a Houston TD, the Patriots control the clock on their next offensive possession for 2 minutes.
I said this in the game thread at the time. Their first drive was excellent until they bogged down in the red zone. Houston was selling out on 1st down to stop the run when Sony was in there, and even then, Sony was getting yards. It seemed to me they were getting ready to set up the play action pass on the next drive, but instead, they came out on the 2nd drive in a no-back, 5 wide set and it all went to shit. It made no sense. Sony then has 4 carries the entire rest of the game? What? I have no idea what Josh is doing sometimes, but last night had me completely scratching my head. It was almost as if they said "well, Brady couldn't find anyone in the red zone on 2nd and 3rd down, so we have to try to something different and spread them out." But, the 1st drive was fine, better than fine, just couldn't finish it. No reason to throw out the playbook at that point.
 

E5 Yaz

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I said this in the game thread at the time. Their first drive was excellent until they bogged down in the red zone. Houston was selling out on 1st down to stop the run when Sony was in there, and even then, Sony was getting yards. It seemed to me they were getting ready to set up the play action pass on the next drive, but instead, they came out on the 2nd drive in a no-back, 5 wide set and it all went to shit. It made no sense. Sony then has 4 carries the entire rest of the game? What? I have no idea what Josh is doing sometimes, but last night had me completely scratching my head. It was almost as if they said "well, Brady couldn't find anyone in the red zone on 2nd and 3rd down, so we have to try to something different and spread them out." But, the 1st drive was fine, better than fine, just couldn't finish it. No reason to throw out the playbook at that point.
Even down 14-3, they could have stayed with it. But it just looked like they fell back into "Welp, we're behind, better let Tommy bring us back" mode, and that was that.

They're in transition as an offense, or after last year's playoff run it sure looked like they were. Now it's as though someone wants to throw that out the window.
 

brandonchristensen

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I enjoyed the end of the game. It is astounding that after stinking up the joint, they were a tipped ball away from having a shot at coming back.

Glad to see some fire on their last three drives. Hopefully they can learn from it.

BEAT THE CHIEFS.
 

Ed Hillel

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Harry sure looks like a bust. No receiver has ever looked bad with Brady before getting much better that I can remember. Even Edelman looked good in the limited time he got when he was behind Welker. People either get it and gain Brady’s trust, or they don’t. Myers I still think can carve out a role as a third or fourth guy, but the talent among pass receivers is overall bad. McDaniels needs to start switching stuff up a bit with schemes.
 

NomarsFool

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It would seem that Harry should almost be able to fill that TE type role. Obviously he's not the blocker that a TE would be, but he's a big guy that should be able to make some catches in traffic like Gronk used to.

And with everyone doubling Edelman and White, seems like Harris should be able to get open once in awhile - like Watson and Lacosse seem to about once a game.
 

riboflav

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Houston after the first series last night put an extra man on LoS. Thus, the Patriots ran less from that point on. BB said as much
 

Ralphwiggum

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It was a disheartening game but last year's team looked way, way more dead in the water following the Pittsburgh and Miami games than this team (not to mention early season stinkers to the Jags and Lions). December football still to come.
 

( . ) ( . ) and (_!_)

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What is going on with Harry? I've been looking forward to him all season. As a first round pick, you'd think he'd be a fairly talented receiver - but still, pretty much nothing. He was hardly targeted, and I'm not even sure he was on the field all that much. Is he a busted pick?
Are you really asking if a rookie WR that got no reps for months and is well known to be a raw prospect is a bust because he was not a difference maker in the second game of his career? Did you seriously expect the 32nd pick of the draft to come in and play well immediately?
 

Jed Zeppelin

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Harry sure looks like a bust. No receiver has ever looked bad with Brady before getting much better that I can remember. Even Edelman looked good in the limited time he got when he was behind Welker. People either get it and gain Brady’s trust, or they don’t. Myers I still think can carve out a role as a third or fourth guy, but the talent among pass receivers is overall bad. McDaniels needs to start switching stuff up a bit with schemes.
I'm willing to give some time for Harry since it is so catastrophic to not be able to get a full camp or anything close to a full season of practice reps as a rookie due to injury. But yeah, short leash moving forward.
 

DJnVa

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As pointed out, last season at this time we were about to lose to Miami and Pittsburgh, neither of which made the playoffs, and had yet to morph into the power running team that we ended up becoming.

One thing I'll note is that in the Tom vs. Time series one thing he pointed out was that he realized he was angry on the field a lot and it effected his play. He said even when there are reasons to be upset, he needs to let it go because it causes more problems.

I think maybe someone should show him that clip again.
 

Shelterdog

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Harry sure looks like a bust. No receiver has ever looked bad with Brady before getting much better that I can remember. Even Edelman looked good in the limited time he got when he was behind Welker. People either get it and gain Brady’s trust, or they don’t. Myers I still think can carve out a role as a third or fourth guy, but the talent among pass receivers is overall bad. McDaniels needs to start switching stuff up a bit with schemes.
He is three games into his playing career--I'm not quite ready to give up on him.

James White had five receptions as a rookie. Shane Vereen had 8 combined his first two seasons. Malcolm Mitchell had 7 catches in his first eight games. All hope is not lost although the chances that he's going to do a lot this season are clealry dropping by the minute.

EDIT: I'd also be leary of reading too much into bad games against Belichick coaching tree coaches--they always coach so hard against BB and they really do a super effective job of neutralizing easy plays for the Pats and figuing out how to create favorable matchups especially on short passes. This happens almost every time we play a legacy Pats coach.
 
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normstalls

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They're in transition as an offense, or after last year's playoff run it sure looked like they were. Now it's as though someone wants to throw that out the window.
This is what I was thinking last night. In my view they were a very effective power running team late last season and into the post-season. That obviously opens up the play action game as well. Then you lose both blocking tight ends, your center, your LT and your full back. The power running game is not really a great option at that point, but due to lack of weapons they are struggling to adapt.
 

E5 Yaz

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Breer / salt

At some point, the Patriots need to find a way to better incorporate their rookie receivers, N’Keal Harry and Jakobi Meyers, into what they’re doing. You see San Francisco’s Deebo Samuel, Seattle’s D.K. Metcalf, Baltimore’s Hollywood Brown and Pittsburgh’s Diontae Johnson contributing to contenders at the position. And it’s clear the Patriots need a spark on offense, so bending a little (they generally have been too complex for many young guys to contribute) for talent would make sense.
Yeah, I know, Breer ... but he has a point. Find out what Henry and Meyers (and Dorsett, even) do well and build their confidence (and Brady-trust) through that. It has always just seemed to me that this look of "make one mistake and you're buried" that McDaniels and Brady appear to exhibit needs to adapt ... particularly in an offensively-challenged season[/quote]
 

E5 Yaz

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Brady, on the topic:

Brady said Monday morning on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” that he was not freezing out Harry after that first-quarter interception. “I would never think that way — ‘I am done with him’ … that’s crazy,” Brady said.

Later in the game, Brady appeared frustrated with rookie wideout Jakobi Meyers. Based on some lip-reading, Brady gave his wide receiver corps an expletive-laden pep talk on the sideline. Meyers wound up playing 61 snaps and received seven targets in the game.

“A quarterback’s responsibility is to lead and motivate. We’re often the voice of a lot of situations. First, we’re calling plays in the huddle and B, we have a lot of information because we talk with the coaches and coordinators with what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to motivate people and get people to play their best.

“Guys are trying. I have no problem — I love playing with Phillip Dorsett. I love playing with N’Keal. N’Keal is working his tail off. He hasn’t had a lot of opportunities out there and he’s learning as he’s going. To expect someone to go out in their third game of the year and be perfect, I think that is unrealistic for anyone.

I love what N’Keal is bringing. We’re gaining confidence every week. I love what Jakobi (Meyers) is doing. We’re gaining confidence every week. Gaining confidence with Mohamed (Sanu). Julian (Edelman) and I, we’ve played together for a long time and I think that shows itself pretty well. I think you see, James (White) and I, we’ve played together a long time.”

Me: That said, however ...

Story: White, Edelman and Meyers received 30 of Brady’s 46 targets Sunday night. Sanu, Dorsett, Harry and tight ends Matt LaCosse and Ben Watson shared the remaining 16 targets between them. White, Edelman and Meyers also accounted for 250 of Brady’s 326 yards and all three touchdowns.

Read more at: https://nesn.com/2019/12/tom-brady-was-not-done-with-nkeal-harry-after-early-interception/
 

ShaneTrot

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This was the first game when it seemed most of the skill players that are still on the active roster were healthy. That is what is so depressing.
 

dcmissle

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Signature strengths of this franchise —

1. Don’t focus on what players can’t do; focus on what they can do. That’s how you end up with good players that others passed on.

2. Don’t ask players to do what they cannot do.

McDaniels and Brady tantrums don’t advance the cause.
 

ifmanis5

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Is it time to simplify the playbook for the receivers? Jules and Dorsett are the only two who know where they're going most of the time.
 

RedOctober3829

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Breer / salt
He's right. This is the team they will have going forward so instead of force-feeding an offense that may not fit their strengths they need to figure out what they can do and build an around that. In the GT last night, I wondered aloud where the quick screens/bubble/tunnel screens out to the flat went. With Dorsett, I think that is something that fits him with his speed. He's not getting open so get him the ball in open space. Move White around the formation so he can get a favorable matchup He can use his speed in different ways other than a go route. Maybe get Dorsett on some jet sweeps like they used Patterson last year. They also should go back to running more shallow crosses with Edelman and Meyers or Sanu. It is a way of getting Edelman free from a double team and if the coverage keeps shifting to Edelman then Meyers or Sanu can run off his defender a bit easier dragging across the field. Use more stack formations so that players don't get doubled often. They started doing that in the 2nd half with Edelman.
 

BaseballJones

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The offense sure struggled but came on.

They had 29 first downs.
They had 79 total plays.
They had 448 total yards.
They had 145 rushing yards.
Brady threw for 326 yards.
They had almost ten minutes more TOP.

They had a FG when they should have had a TD on their first drive. They essentially had two missed PATs. They had the bad Brady INT that led to a Texans TD. They had a fourth down that Sanu had but couldn’t hang on that probably was a penalty anyway against Houston but not called.

The offense showed plenty of signs of life. They just made critical errors. Maybe they won’t be able to correct those errors. Maybe they’ll just keep committing them. But if they clean that up, the offense showed that it can still play. As it is they almost certainly should have had 28 points.
 

E5 Yaz

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The offense sure struggled but came on.

They had 29 first downs.
They had 79 total plays.
They had 448 total yards.
They had 145 rushing yards.
Brady threw for 326 yards.
They had almost ten minutes more TOP.

They had a FG when they should have had a TD on their first drive. They essentially had two missed PATs. They had the bad Brady INT that led to a Texans TD. They had a fourth down that Sanu had but couldn’t hang on that probably was a penalty anyway against Houston but not called.

The offense showed plenty of signs of life. They just made critical errors. Maybe they won’t be able to correct those errors. Maybe they’ll just keep committing them. But if they clean that up, the offense showed that it can still play. As it is they almost certainly should have had 28 points.
You simply can't look at the final numbers and say that it showed the offense was showing signs of life. Did you see the play at the end where the Texans basically let White have 25-30 YAC?

Those final two drives would not have happened in the same fashion if Houston thought the game was in doubt ... they never would have played prevent, and allowed the Patriots to have the center of the field to burn clock. You have to judge the offense based on when Houston was still going full bore on defense.
 

E5 Yaz

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1. Don’t focus on what players can’t do; focus on what they can do. That’s how you end up with good players that others passed on.

2. Don’t ask players to do what they cannot do.
It always has seemed to me that this has held less true with receivers than at any other position.
 

Red Averages

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This was the first game when it seemed most of the skill players that are still on the active roster were healthy. That is what is so depressing.
Both starting tackles were questionable with the flu heading into the game, including Cannon missing a series to get an IV during the game. Sanu has an ankle injury. Most of the starters on defense had the flu and required flying on another flight because they were still sick.

Plus, even the guys that are back (Wynn/Harry) would likely benefit from more game experience over the next few weeks. Now that's not an excuse, but there is certainly room for improvement on this end that should hopefully offer some encouragement.
 

lexrageorge

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Signature strengths of this franchise —

1. Don’t focus on what players can’t do; focus on what they can do. That’s how you end up with good players that others passed on.

2. Don’t ask players to do what they cannot do.

McDaniels and Brady tantrums don’t advance the cause.
The frustrations seemed to be around execution: being in the right place at the right time, which is something the players can do.
 

Super Nomario

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Even down 14-3, they could have stayed with it. But it just looked like they fell back into "Welp, we're behind, better let Tommy bring us back" mode, and that was that.
They really did try to stick with the run. They came out in the second half and ran the ball on first down twice on their first possession (for zero yards and four yards), were able to convert one first with penalty, couldn't get a second. The second possession, they ran three times on five first-or-second-down plays, but they couldn't convert the fourth-and-one to Sanu. Then they were down 21-3. Even then they continued to sprinkle in the run, arguably to their detriment. They are just not consistent running the ball so it is hard to sustain drives handing it off a lot.

Breer / salt

Yeah, I know, Breer ... but he has a point. Find out what Henry and Meyers (and Dorsett, even) do well and build their confidence (and Brady-trust) through that. It has always just seemed to me that this look of "make one mistake and you're buried" that McDaniels and Brady appear to exhibit needs to adapt ... particularly in an offensively-challenged season
The funny thing is ... I think they tried to do that, and it winds up looking like they buried Harry. They had specific packages they put Harry in last night, probably to simplify things into roles and situations he can handle. But then they went down big fairly quickly and they had to get away from those packages. That wound up getting Meyers way more playing time - and he finished third on the team in targets, so I don't know what people want there.

EDIT: I don't know where this idea that McDaniels and Brady exhibit a "make one mistake and you're buried" attitude comes from. Meyers kept getting run out there and Brady kept throwing to him. Dorsett kept playing after the route miscommunication and Brady threw to him on a critical fourth down.
 
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E5 Yaz

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The funny thing is ... I think they tried to do that, and it winds up looking like they buried Harry. They had specific packages they put Harry in last night, probably to simplify things into roles and situations he can handle. But then they went down big fairly quickly and they had to get away from those packages. That wound up getting Meyers way more playing time - and he finished third on the team in targets, so I don't know what people want there.
I'll cede the point ... but he was not targeted again after the INT. If you're putting in packages to ease him into action, then never throw to him again, what good does it do?
 

TheMoralBully

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The problem with the they need to simplify the playbook and Brady is freezing guys out theory, is these guys never seem to go on to have any success elsewhere. With examples like Kembrell Thompson, Bethel Johnson, Aarson Dobson, it points more toward problems with recognizing WR talent than utilizing it.
 

PedroKsBambino

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The problem with the they need to simplify the playbook and Brady is freezing guys out theory, is these guys never seem to go on to have any success elsewhere. With examples like Kembrell Thompson, Bethel Johnson, Aarson Dobson, it points more toward problems with recognizing WR talent then utilizing it.
Agreed. As well as the Pats drafting and evaluation philosophy works overall I just don't know how one can feel good about their success with WR. They have done fine with RBs, TEs but not the outside guys. Some of that may be Brady, but there's no way to skip the fact that most of the guys they have drafted just don't appear to have been NFL-caliber players.

I have liked what I have seen from Harry, and missing all those reps is a huge hindrance for him. There's just no way around that. I hope they are doing what SN suggested--building in specific packages for him to get involved.
 

BaseballJones

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You simply can't look at the final numbers and say that it showed the offense was showing signs of life. Did you see the play at the end where the Texans basically let White have 25-30 YAC?

Those final two drives would not have happened in the same fashion if Houston thought the game was in doubt ... they never would have played prevent, and allowed the Patriots to have the center of the field to burn clock. You have to judge the offense based on when Houston was still going full bore on defense.
The last drive I’ll grant. The other two scoring drives? No, Houston was trying to stop them from scoring for sure. The Pats just finally made some plays.
 

Jimbodandy

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Holy crap this thread is disappointing.

McD for not having enough plan B

Little Bill and Mayo for not fooling Watson whatsoever. The kid just turned 24, and he was coaching up the sidelines with his tablet like it had the defensive gameplan on it

Cannon. Love the dude for trying, but I think that there are guys on this board who could have speed rushed him last night.
 

Super Nomario

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I'll cede the point ... but he was not targeted again after the INT. If you're putting in packages to ease him into action, then never throw to him again, what good does it do?
I don't think that was the plan. I think the plan was to essentially alternate personnel grouping between the "big" group (which Harry was a part of) and the "small" group (which he wasn't), but game situations (the two-minute drill at the end of the first half, trailing big for basically 40% of the game) dictated the "small" group got way more playing time. I would think they planned on a more even split, which would have resulted in more opportunities coming Harry's way (and Sanu's and Michel's for that matter).
 

Bowhemian

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My goat is without question the flu/bug. If these guys have/had what I have had for the past 5+ days, then I can’t blame them one iota. I am on day 6 of this thing, and I still can’t breathe. I realize that I am a fat, out of shape old guy, and these guys are young and in way better shape. But this bug, if it is the same thing, or even something similar, is a beast. And before you ask, I am not patient zero. I have not been anywhere near Foxboro for the past year.

Given a healthy team, I think the Pats beat the Texans 9 out of 10 times.
 

SMU_Sox

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He's right. This is the team they will have going forward so instead of force-feeding an offense that may not fit their strengths they need to figure out what they can do and build an around that. In the GT last night, I wondered aloud where the quick screens/bubble/tunnel screens out to the flat went. With Dorsett, I think that is something that fits him with his speed. He's not getting open so get him the ball in open space. Move White around the formation so he can get a favorable matchup He can use his speed in different ways other than a go route. Maybe get Dorsett on some jet sweeps like they used Patterson last year. They also should go back to running more shallow crosses with Edelman and Meyers or Sanu. It is a way of getting Edelman free from a double team and if the coverage keeps shifting to Edelman then Meyers or Sanu can run off his defender a bit easier dragging across the field. Use more stack formations so that players don't get doubled often. They started doing that in the 2nd half with Edelman.
Karras and Newhouse struggled a ton with the screen game. With Ferentz and Wynn I think we see more of it.

I think SN has it right with Harry and specific packages.

The Pats have a slightly under-average expected value from their receiver picks but it’s most likely random and doesn’t include UDFA picks who made contributions. With Harry BB changed his philosophy and got someone slightly less athletic and with more production. Harry wasn’t a burner or the best route runner but he was large, fit with bully-ball (long live Bully Ball!), could lineup anywhere, etc. I think Harry is doing well for what he has faced. Maybe I’m in the minority. I wasn’t a big Harry guy either.

As for goats: the right side of the line. Mason and Cannon looked ill or injured or both.
 

BigJimEd

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Reading this thread is like listening to sports radio or Skip Bayless.
Harry is a bust after three games. Holy hot takes.

My goats for the week:
Brady
Cannon (sick so understandable but not a good game)
Sanu (really receiving corp in general minus Edelman)
Jones (one of his worst games). J McCourty might have helped
 

RedOctober3829

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The offense sure struggled but came on.

They had 29 first downs.
They had 79 total plays.
They had 448 total yards.
They had 145 rushing yards.
Brady threw for 326 yards.
They had almost ten minutes more TOP.

They had a FG when they should have had a TD on their first drive. They essentially had two missed PATs. They had the bad Brady INT that led to a Texans TD. They had a fourth down that Sanu had but couldn’t hang on that probably was a penalty anyway against Houston but not called.

The offense showed plenty of signs of life. They just made critical errors. Maybe they won’t be able to correct those errors. Maybe they’ll just keep committing them. But if they clean that up, the offense showed that it can still play. As it is they almost certainly should have had 28 points.
You have no context to go with your numbers. A huge chunk of the passing yards and 1st downs were gained when the game was out of hand and the Texans were playing soft zone coverage. White and Edelman were not open at the frequency they were until they played in their prevent style D when they were up 28-9. I don't think they showed any signs of life when the game was truly in the balance.
 

RedOctober3829

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Jul 19, 2005
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deep inside Guido territory
Karras and Newhouse struggled a ton with the screen game. With Ferentz and Wynn I think we see more of it.

I think SN has it right with Harry and specific packages.

The Pats have a slightly under-average expected value from their receiver picks but it’s most likely random and doesn’t include UDFA picks who made contributions. With Harry BB changed his philosophy and got someone slightly less athletic and with more production. Harry wasn’t a burner or the best route runner but he was large, fit with bully-ball (long live Bully Ball!), could lineup anywhere, etc. I think Harry is doing well for what he has faced. Maybe I’m in the minority. I wasn’t a big Harry guy either.

As for goats: the right side of the line. Mason and Cannon looked ill or injured or both.
I'm not even talking about the traditional middle screens. I'm just talking about line up in a bunch formation, snap the ball, and get it out to the numbers to Dorsett or White. The screens they've been running are slow-developing or double pumped screens which the OL hasn't given Brady the time for those to develop.
 

BusRaker

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Aug 11, 2006
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The offense showed plenty of signs of life. They just made critical errors. Maybe they won’t be able to correct those errors. Maybe they’ll just keep committing them. But if they clean that up, the offense showed that it can still play. As it is they almost certainly should have had 28 points.
Not to mention credit Houston for playing absolute mistake-free football (aside from a few scattered penalties).
 

j44thor

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Aug 1, 2006
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Reading this thread is like listening to sports radio or Skip Bayless.
Harry is a bust after three games. Holy hot takes.

My goats for the week:
Brady
Cannon (sick so understandable but not a good game)
Sanu (really receiving corp in general minus Edelman)
Jones (one of his worst games). J McCourty might have helped
I have a hard time blaming Jones when he was asked to cover 4.3 speed receivers on an island for 50+ yards. That is a coaching issue not a personnel one. I can't think of too many DBs that would succeed in that scenario. Fuller/Stills are among a handful of the fastest receivers in the NFL yet they were throwing zero blitz looks at them which made no sense. If they deploy a similar game plan vs. KC (they won't) Hill would go for about 250 yards and 3 TDs. Last year they had a S over the top of Hill on virtually every snap. Fuller is probably the only WR in Hills class yet they were asking Jones to cover him 1-1 most of the game.

They were sorely out-coached yesterday.
 

BaseballJones

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Oct 1, 2015
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You have no context to go with your numbers. A huge chunk of the passing yards and 1st downs were gained when the game was out of hand and the Texans were playing soft zone coverage. White and Edelman were not open at the frequency they were until they played in their prevent style D when they were up 28-9. I don't think they showed any signs of life when the game was truly in the balance.
As I’ve already said, the last drive I’ll grant. But not the two before that. Houston was trying to keep NE from scoring. The Pats just actually made some plays finally.