Post Game Thread: Wk1 at Miami

[rodderick]

This offense lacks any kind of athletic abillity. There isn't a single player who's a legitimate threat to make something happen with the ball in his hands, and they may very well have the slowest outside receivers in the league. What shocked me yesterday wasn't even Brady's poor accuracy on deep throws, but the fact that they kept coming back to those plays when it was obvious he couldn't fit the ball in to guys who were getting no separation on the sidelines. If they got Brandon LaFell in hopes of him being something of a deep threat, they're in a lot of trouble. Don't get me wrong, Brady was terrible throwing deep yesterday, but aside from the Edelman plays (both the completion and the incompletion) I can't remember a single instance of the receiver having a step on the defender. The team is filled with good route runners/crafty receivers who scare absolutely no one on defense.

 

[ivanvamp]

Ridley and Vereen are terrific athletes.  Edelman is a great athlete.  He is a big play threat.  Just look at his punt returns.  
 
It would be nice to have 2007 Randy Moss back.  But that ain't happening.  

 

[dcmissle]

This offense lacks any kind of athletic abillity. There isn't a single player who's a legitimate threat to make something happen with the ball in his hands, and they may very well have the slowest outside receivers in the league. What shocked me yesterday wasn't even Brady's poor accuracy on deep throws, but the fact that they kept coming back to those plays when it was obvious he couldn't fit the ball in to guys who were getting no separation on the sidelines. If they got Brandon LaFell in hopes of him being something of a deep threat, they're in a lot of trouble. Don't get me wrong, Brady was terrible throwing deep yesterday, but aside from the Edelman plays (both the completion and the incompletion) I can't remember a single instance of the receiver having a step on the defender. The team is filled with good route runners/crafty receivers who scare absolutely no one on defense.

I am not saying you are wrong, but does Ridley fit under this umbrella?

The characterization, I think, is generally true as compared to the better teams in the League, which means your offensive line really needs to be squared away.

That's going to take a while, so if that "top 5 defense" was not just a figment of imagination in some of our threads, next week would be a really good time for it to show up.

 

[dcmissle]

Even Andrew Luck threw fewer passes than Brady yesterday (53 to 56) -- and that was after falling behind 24 to 0. Only Flacco has thrown more so far in week 1.

 

[redsahx]

I think that come December we'll be able to look back at the doom & gloom predictions here and chuckle a bit. Still some reasons for concern, but there are adjustments that can be made, and I do think Miami was better conditioned for the elements in the 2nd half.

One of the major problems defensively (particularly with the pass rush) was that once Miami established the run they not only set themselves up with a lot of favorable 2nd and shorts and 3rd and shorts, but it also prevented the Pats from being able to focus on getting pressure. The CSNNE postgame show tabbed Revis as a dissapointment, but I noticed how he was right there with his man on pretty much every throw (w/ the exception of the one where Wallace got behind him and couldn't stay in bounds). I had gotten quite accustomed to opposing receivers getting a big cushion downfield, and that certainly wasn't happening with Revis.

 

[TheMoralBully]

I mean, NIGHT and DAY.  
 
So the Patriots played probably their worst half of football since…well…actually, since last year's first half of the Denver game, when they were outscored 24-0.  That was pretty hideous.  Fortunately, they played great in the second half and won that game.  Yesterday, their good first half wasn't enough to overcome their crappy second half.
 
Long story short, the Pats have, in recent years, played some pretty awful halves of football.  Usually they are able to overcome it.  Not yesterday in Miami, a place that traditionally gives them problems.  

 
I wouldn't classify the first half as dominate.  The Patriots played well, but so did Miami for the most part and Tannehill really hurt them.  He was missing open guys or not putting the ball in a good spot with time to throw, and when he did get pressured he threw that horirble INT.  The fumbles came on some nice hits, but that's not something that was probable to happen again in the second half.  The second half collapse of the offense was crazy but the signs were there for Miami to score some points if they stopped tripping over themselves and Tannehill got it together.
 
It's still week 1 and I think they're better than last years team.  This game just kind of killed the offseason buzz a lot of us were feeling about a top 5 defense, I'm sure.

 

[ivanvamp]

Starting in 2001, here's how NE has fared in Miami, just for some context:
 
2001 (Pats finished 11-5*, Mia finished 11-5), Oct 7, L 30-10, out gained 296-149
2002 (Pats finished 9-7, Mia finished 9-7), Oct 6, L, 26-13, out gained 319-245
2003 (Pats finished 14-2*, Mia finished 10-6), Oct 19, W, 19-13 (OT), out gained Mia 332-326
2004 (Pats finished 14-2*, Mia finished 4-12), Dec 20, L, 29-28, out gained Mia 322-231
2005 (Pats finished 10-6, Mia finished 9-7), Nov 13, W, 23-16, out gained 437-365
2006 (Pats finished 12-4, Mia finished 6-10), Dec 10, L, 21-0, out gained 315-189
2007 (Pats finished 16-0, Mia finished 1-15), Oct 21, W, 49-28, out gained Mia 443-382
2008 (Pats finished 11-5, Mia finished 11-5), Nov 23, W, 48-28, out gained Mia 530-392
2009 (Pats finished 10-6, Mia finished 7-9), Dec 6, L, 22-21, out gained Mia 448-416
2010 (Pats finished 14-2, Mia finished 7-9), Oct 4, W, 41-14, out gained 400-265
2011 (Pats finished 13-3, Mia finished 6-10), Sep 12, W, 38-24, out gained Mia 622-488
2012 (Pats finished 12-4, Mia finished 7-9), Dec 2, W, 23-16, out gained Mia 321-277
2013 (Pats finished 12-4, Mia finished 8-8), Dec 15, L, 24-20, out gained Mia 453-378
2014 (first game of the year), Sep 6, L, 33-20, out gained 360-315
 
That's 7 wins, by an average of 14.6 points per game, out gaining Miami by an average of 84.3 yards per game.
 
That's 7 losses, by an average of 10.4 points per game, getting out gained by Miami by an average of 27.7 yards per game.
 
During that stretch (not counting this year), the Patriots have been, on average, a 12-4 team, while Miami has been, on average, a 7-9 team.  So the Pats have been *significantly* better during these last 13+ years, and yet going to Miami has effectively been a 50-50 crapshoot.
 
Color me not surprised that they lost this game, in other words.  Even when the Pats have been great and Miami has sucked (2004, 2006, 2013), they've lost down there.

 

[redsahx]

 

Color me not surprised that they lost this game, in other words.  Even when the Pats have been great and Miami has sucked (2004, 2006, 2013), they've lost down there.

 
This is where I'm at too. Even though the Pats were atrocius in the 2nd half, you can still point to a few individual plays with prevantable mistakes that could have allowed the Pats to change the final outcome.

#1: Wake strip sack of Brady - 1st possesion of 2nd half, Pats had just gotten a first down and looked like they still had the 1st half rythym going on offense. If Brady holds onto the ball, even if they do end up eventually punting, they avoid setting up Miami in prime position for the tie.

#2: LaFell Offensive PI - Pats starting to put a good drive together, across midfield down 3, and Amendola gets the first down (which he would have gotten without LaFell's help). If the play had stood, the Pats were close to field goal range for a tie, but also would have had momentum to potentially take the lead.

#3: Jones roughing the passer: Pats defense had settled in and forced two consecutive punts at that point, and the team had controlled field position during that time. Jones had already done enough to force a throwaway, and the Pats defense had them in a 2nd and 10 inside their 20. Instead it's a first down and 15 yards, Miami gets momentum back, and Moreno finishes the Pats off.

None of these plays changes the fact that Miami was far and away the better team in the second half, but each of these plays served to really kill some momentum for the Pats and really allowed Miami to maintain control.

 

[Stitch01]

This offense lacks any kind of athletic abillity. There isn't a single player who's a legitimate threat to make something happen with the ball in his hands, and they may very well have the slowest outside receivers in the league. What shocked me yesterday wasn't even Brady's poor accuracy on deep throws, but the fact that they kept coming back to those plays when it was obvious he couldn't fit the ball in to guys who were getting no separation on the sidelines. If they got Brandon LaFell in hopes of him being something of a deep threat, they're in a lot of trouble. Don't get me wrong, Brady was terrible throwing deep yesterday, but aside from the Edelman plays (both the completion and the incompletion) I can't remember a single instance of the receiver having a step on the defender. The team is filled with good route runners/crafty receivers who scare absolutely no one on defense.

Theyve been the slowest team in the league for years on offense, including when they were scoring at a near record pace in 2011.

 

[Silverdude2167]

If this was an accurate demonstration of the teams line play I am not confident for the rest of the season, if not things will improve.
 
The one thought I have had is that and we have seen it with AFCE teams in the past specifically the Jets, maybe the Dolphins really got up for the game and were treating it like their superbowl. Next week should tell us a lot both about the Pats and Dolphins. If the Dolphins come back to earth or lay and egg against the Bills, it may make this loss easier to understand from a level of compete perspective.

 

[Scriblerus]

Looking back on the game, I think the lack of conditioning for playing in the heat really took its toll in the second half.  There were a bunch of three and outs by both teams in a row, preventing the ol and dl both from getting any time to rest/hydrate.  Heat exhaustion has a cumulative effect and performance suffers more drastically the longer you engage in the activity.  By the fourth quarter, the Patriots lines were both completely gassed and it was not pretty.  My guess is that's why 4-5 guys who had a shot at Moreno on that TD couldn't wrap him up.  The OL couldn't keep Brady safe, so when he was able to get a pass off, he threw off the back foot or rushed it.

I also think it was a momentum situation.  Coming out of halftime down by ten is not that bad, and once Miami started putting it together they went for the jugular.  On the flip side, losing a lead, being wiped out from the heat, getting manhandled led to the downward spiral of suck for NE.  By the end, it just looked like the Patriots wanted it to be over.

 

[Toe Nash]

I think the 98 to 99 heat index during the game has more to do with this than we realize. We were rotating the lines early, I believe that was due to the heat rather than personnel matchups or groupings. First half was fine, second half was a mess. One team hit a wall, the team that practices in that stuff didn't. 
 
I do think the lines will improve, I also think they weren't ready for the heat. Miami chose white for a reason. Same thing happened at Carolina years ago. Dark jerseys, hot day, we looked like shit.

I'm with this. The players will say "Oh, we need to be strong for 60 min, can't blame the heat" and that's fine, but the lines pretty clearly faded in the second half and it was players who are usually much better (Vollmer, Solder, Wilfork), not the rookies or new starters.
 
Reiss has the following snap counts for defensive guys (out of 74 possible):
Hightower: 74
Chandler Jones: 70
Wilfork: 50
Mayo: 74
Collins: 73
 
I thought Mayo looked OK most of the game, but for both him and Wilfork this was not only their hottest game in a long time but their first full game in close to a year.
 
I'm also on the worried about Brady's deep ball bandwagon. Hitting Edelman in stride seems like a throw an NFL QB should really make, and there were others that were pretty disappointing, even taking the pressure into account. Maybe the heat bothered him too.

 

[DJnVa]

It is seldom easy at Miami, where Brady has rarely played particularly well. 1:00 o'clock at Miami on Sept 7 had trouble written all over it.

There was, "well they'll get used to the conditions in August." Never persuaded by that

 
FWIW, I was listening on the radio, and going into the half they mentioned that Miami was down 2 defenders and the defense was using oxygen on the sidelines the last 2 Patriots possessions. How they couldn't take advantage of that in the second half is mind-boggling to me.
 

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

Miami didn't start one of it's LBs and the other two who did start both went down with injuries in the First Half.  And the Pats couldn't take advantage.

I know you can't fool a defense with the end around more than a couple times, but when it worked so well once in the first quarter, and ok the second time, why wasn't it rolled out just once more in the second half?

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

Brady says "look it's not like we're not capable of doing it -- we scored 20 points facing some long yardage situations" on WEEI this morning. I've probably listened to every single one the last few years and he sounded as irritated as I've ever heard him (relatively speaking, as Brady's always composed and cordial on these weekly sessions). 
 
He also shaved the beard off after being "so pissed". Giselle's happy, so that's good.
 
The day after, more questions about scheme as well as the player personnel:
 
@DougKyedNESN I've seen a lot of criticism of Belichick's use of 3-4 > 4-3. I think 3-4 works with Wilfork, Chandler, healthy Siliga/Chris Jones.
@DougKyedNESN I don't think 3-4 works with Vellano as a 2-gapper, though.
@DougKyedNESN What I really don't understand is using a 3-man front on nickel snaps with Hightower dropping half the time.

 
Also:
 
@smartfootball Patriots had serious issues with Miami's gun runs (new MIA OC Bill Lazor came from Chip Kelly's staff). 2 safeties deep; LBs stuck on blocks

 

[Stitch01]

One other disappointment, still early and subject to change and health, is how little the Pats got yesterday out of players from what has looked until now like a promising '13 draft.  Those are the guys who should be improving the team from within as they make the 2nd year leap. 
 
Collins played pretty much every snap and looked good generally and is progressing as a player.  Dobson was either a fifth on the depth chart healthy scratch or is still damaged goods, disappointing given the need for an outside receiver.  Ryan played but has fallen behind Arrington and Butler on the depth chart instead of stepping forward.  We hoped Harmon would grab the safety job opposite McCourty, he took four snaps and is now behind Pat Chung and Tavon Wilson.  Boyce couldn't make the team.  Buchanan injured.  Beauharnais gone.   That's not a lot of production from 2nd year guys right now.
 
PFF quick notes with usual caveats about the numbers for those interested
 
Worst three players on offense:
Devey (-3.7 driven by -4.1 pass block)
Brady (-3.2)
Amendola (-2.1)
 
Every lineman graded negative
 
Best three players on offense
Gronk 1,8
Vereen 0.6
Thompkins 0.2
 
Best three players on defense
Ryan (2.3...maybe his PT will step back up)
Hightower (1.1)
Revis (1.1)
McCourty (1.1)
 
Worst three
Chandler Jones (-4.8, penalties and run defense)
Jamie Collins (-2.8)
Joe Vellano (-2.7)

 

[Stitch01]

 
Brady says "look it's not like we're not capable of doing it -- we scored 20 points facing some long yardage situations" on WEEI this morning. I've probably listened to every single one the last few years and he sounded as irritated as I've ever heard him (relatively speaking, as Brady's always composed and cordial on these weekly sessions). 
 
He also shaved the beard off after being "so pissed". Giselle's happy, so that's good.
 
The day after, more questions about scheme as well as the player personnel:
 
@DougKyedNESN I've seen a lot of criticism of Belichick's use of 3-4 > 4-3. I think 3-4 works with Wilfork, Chandler, healthy Siliga/Chris Jones.
@DougKyedNESN I don't think 3-4 works with Vellano as a 2-gapper, though.
@DougKyedNESN What I really don't understand is using a 3-man front on nickel snaps with Hightower dropping half the time.

 
Also:
 
@smartfootball Patriots had serious issues with Miami's gun runs (new MIA OC Bill Lazor came from Chip Kelly's staff). 2 safeties deep; LBs stuck on blocks

 

Brady also had a little bit of passive-aggressive whining about the officiating talking about LaFell getting called for offensive PI for running a slant route.  That's a bit unusual for Brady.

 

[Toe Nash]

One other disappointment, still early and subject to change and health, is how little the Pats got yesterday out of players from what has looked until now like a promising '13 draft.  Those are the guys who should be improving the team from within as they make the 2nd year leap. 
 
 

I dunno, they didn't have a 1st-rounder. I think Dobson was just held out because he couldn't go at 100% but I thought he was great in the preseason game. Getting Collins and Dobson out of 7 picks when you don't have any pick above #52 would be perfectly fine with me.
 
They also got Thompkins, Vellano, Allen and Kline as UDFAs that year.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Brady also had a little bit of passive-aggressive whining about the officiating talking about LaFell getting called for offensive PI for running a slant route.  That's a bit unusual for Brady.

 
He should grow up. Bad calls are part and parcel of the NFL. Brady didn't play either, so whining about the refs is weaksauce.
 
If he's still moping about Mankins being gone he needs to move on ASAP.

 

[JohnnyK]

Would rather have kept Tommy Kelly than the scrub in Joe Vellano.

According to this Cards writer on ESPN, Kelly asked to be released.
 

 
Kelly, who signed a one-year contract worth $955,000 with Arizona, said he “kinda asked” to be released by the New England Patriots on Aug. 24.

 
Why they held firm with Waters a few years ago but let Kelly go probably reflects on how they viewed him though.

 

[Harry Hooper]

 

One other disappointment, still early and subject to change and health, is how little the Pats got yesterday out of players from what has looked until now like a promising '13 draft.  Those are the guys who should be improving the team from within as they make the 2nd year leap. 
 
Collins played pretty much every snap and looked good generally and is progressing as a player.  Dobson was either a fifth on the depth chart healthy scratch or is still damaged goods, disappointing given the need for an outside receiver.  Ryan played but has fallen behind Arrington and Butler on the depth chart instead of stepping forward.  We hoped Harmon would grab the safety job opposite McCourty, he took four snaps and is now behind Pat Chung and Tavon Wilson.  Boyce couldn't make the team.  Buchanan injured.  Beauharnais gone.   That's not a lot of production from 2nd year guys right now.
 
PFF quick notes with usual caveats about the numbers for those interested
 
Worst three players on offense:
Devey (-3.7 driven by -4.1 pass block)
Brady (-3.2)
Amendola (-2.1)
 
Every lineman graded negative
 
 

 
 
What was Hooman's grade? I would think he was a candidate for worst 3.

 

[Silverdude2167]

 
He should grow up. Bad calls are part and parcel of the NFL. Brady didn't play either, so whining about the refs is weaksauce.
 
If he's still moping about Mankins being gone he needs to move on ASAP.

You have never been a little passive aggressive about something you did not like?
He did not blame them for the loss.

 

[bakahump]

I may be all by myself but some thoughts, bitches and gripes I havent seen in other posts.
 
1. Where was Dobson? He looked great in the last preseason game and I dont recall any reports of him missing practice etc this week.  He would go a long ways in helping the "deep ball".  Speaking of which..
2. Brady was dreadful at it....we all saw it we all know it.  One time he will hit a guy in stride (no time yesterday) then he will miss BADLY.  I wonder if in part its by design?  I dont recall Brady throwing many Deep Ball picks.  Seems like most QBs INTs are on deep balls.  Am I crazy?
3. OL looked fine in the 1st half. Broke some runs....kept Brady upright ....even on some slow developing routes.  2nd half, I have to assume they where smoked by playing 45 (ish) 1st half snaps in that heat.
4. No Devlin in the 2nd half?  Yea he had an egregious hold on a nice Ridley run (maybe it was nice BECAUSE of the hold...) but no Devlin to help with the Pass rush in the 2nd?? No Devlin to help with the quick passing game in the second?  No Devlin to HELP RUN THE CLOCK WITH THE RUNNING GAME IN THE 2nd half?  You have a 10 point lead in oppressive heat....Why not a Run heavy 1st series of the 2nd half to see if you can grind Odrick, Wake and Co into the dirt.
5. Chandler Jones looked TERRIBLE to me.  No Pass Rush (one late hit isnt a Pass Rush).  No Setting the edge.
6. Wilfork looked to me like he penetrated a couple times.....problem is as its always been the QB escapes the pocket and Vince running a 5.5 forty isnt gonna catch him.
7. Revis was unimpressive.  I know that guys would still make catches even against a Deion Sanders - Ty Law love child who had Champ Bailey as an uncle.....but Revis looked pedestrian.  I will say the TD was just a GREAT play by the Dolphin. The "Near miss Wallace TD" was not promising.
 
 
Its early.  Lets see how they respond.....They are usually good (bad?) for @2 clunkers a year.   Maybe we got one out of our system early.

 

[Stitch01]

I dunno, they didn't have a 1st-rounder. I think Dobson was just held out because he couldn't go at 100% but I thought he was great in the preseason game. Getting Collins and Dobson out of 7 picks when you don't have any pick above #52 would be perfectly fine with me.
 
They also got Thompkins, Vellano, Allen and Kline as UDFAs that year.

Yeah, and Im still bullish on Dobson long-term, just didnt really get a lot out of that group yesterday and with Harmon/Ryan seemingly taking a step back in the offseason.
 

 
He should grow up. Bad calls are part and parcel of the NFL. Brady didn't play either, so whining about the refs is weaksauce.
 
If he's still moping about Mankins being gone he needs to move on ASAP.

I just noted it because its actually pretty out of character for him to say something like that the morning after a game.

 

[IdiotKicker]

Just some quick thoughts after watching the game again this morning:
 
-Nink was solely responsible for the blocked punt.  Garbage blocking
-Nink was not responsible for the first touchdown.  That was a really well-designed play, not just the action to the other side of the field initially, but the rollout created the perfect throwing lane.  There's no LB in the league that could make that play
-The Pats second drive was very well-managed.  Quick ins/outs/hooks, ball out of the hand quickly
-Shane Vereen is going to have a huge year if healthy.  Love his game
-Jamie Collins had a huge play on the Wallace fumble, tracking his man, then switching off quickly on the pass to make the hit.  Great play
-Jerod Mayo ended up on Wallace on way too many plays for my liking.  Not sure why, but I don't love that for obvious reasons
-Dennard's pick was athletic, but it was a shitty throw from Tannehil.  A good throw has Dennard beat
-Vince looked pretty bad.  Consistently pushed off the ball, no gap control
-Mayo looks very inconsistent right now against the run.  Stacks and sheds well at times, but gets walled off way too much to be effective
-Revis was very solid.  Even on the Wallace TD, he got a hand on the ball and Wallace made a hell of a play
-Jamie Collins is great against the pass and rushing the passer, but he's pretty much useless against the run
-Tackling was generally shitty.  I would imagine this will improve as the season goes on, since the preseason is such a joke at this point
-Ryan Allen had a very strong day, very good to see him consistently getting good hang and distance
-I'm not sure about the penalties on Chandler Jones.  I just don't know where the line is at this point

 

[Harry Hooper]

 
 
I just noted it because its actually pretty out of character for him to say something like that the morning after a game.

 
 
Was this somewhat of a defense of BB (or maybe just frustration) over the non-call on Welker for OPI in the AFCCG?

 

[Super Nomario]

I dunno, they didn't have a 1st-rounder. I think Dobson was just held out because he couldn't go at 100% but I thought he was great in the preseason game. Getting Collins and Dobson out of 7 picks when you don't have any pick above #52 would be perfectly fine with me.
 
They also got Thompkins, Vellano, Allen and Kline as UDFAs that year.

They had a first-rounder; they traded it. I don't think that was a bad decision, but at the same time you can't give them credit for degree of difficulty if they imposed that difficulty on themselves.

 

[DJnVa]

ESPN Stats & Info ‏@ESPNStatsInfo now
On Sunday, Patriots QB Tom Brady was 2-for-18 on throws 15 or more yards downfield

 

[Stitch01]

As asked above: Hooman -1.3, sucked at all phases.
 
EDIT: Also worth noting, 11 hurries allowed by the interior of the line.  They didn't allow sacks, but they were terrible.

 

[Stitch01]

Just some quick thoughts after watching the game again this morning:
 
 
-Vince looked pretty bad.  Consistently pushed off the ball, no gap control
 

Wonder how long the 3-4 gets rolled out if the coaches see this as well.  Dont see how this personnel works in a 3-4 without a very effective Wilfork.

 

[redsahx]

 

5. Chandler Jones looked TERRIBLE to me.  No Pass Rush (one late hit isnt a Pass Rush).  No Setting the edge.

There weren't that many opportunities though to just get after the passer. The Dolphins were running the ball so well that they were hardly ever in a passing down situation, and the Pats needed to respect the run. I was hoping to see more too, but I'm not sure how much of it had to do with the situations the defense often found themselves in, and how Miami often got to set the tempo and mix things up.

7. Revis was unimpressive.  I know that guys would still make catches even against a Deion Sanders - Ty Law love child who had Champ Bailey as an uncle.....but Revis looked pedestrian.  I will say the TD was just a GREAT play by the Dolphin. The "Near miss Wallace TD" was not promising.

How many catches did he actually give up? I seem to remember only 2, one of which being the TD where he got his hand on the ball and knocked it down into Wallace's leg causing it to bounce back. I'd give him a B-. He didn't play like a $13 million man, but he seemed to be handling his assignments and only got truly beat once on the play that Wallace failed to stay inbounds.

 

[Ed Hillel]

Wonder how long the 3-4 gets rolled out if the coaches see this as well.  Dont see how this personnel works in a 3-4 without a very effective Wilfork.

 
I also think Chandler Jones is much more effective as an End in the 4-3. He's not built to be playing in a 3-4.  

 

[RedOctober3829]

 
Brady says "look it's not like we're not capable of doing it -- we scored 20 points facing some long yardage situations" on WEEI this morning. I've probably listened to every single one the last few years and he sounded as irritated as I've ever heard him (relatively speaking, as Brady's always composed and cordial on these weekly sessions). 
 
He also shaved the beard off after being "so pissed". Giselle's happy, so that's good.
 
The day after, more questions about scheme as well as the player personnel:
 
@DougKyedNESN I've seen a lot of criticism of Belichick's use of 3-4 > 4-3. I think 3-4 works with Wilfork, Chandler, healthy Siliga/Chris Jones.
@DougKyedNESN I don't think 3-4 works with Vellano as a 2-gapper, though.
@DougKyedNESN What I really don't understand is using a 3-man front on nickel snaps with Hightower dropping half the time.

 
Also:
 
@smartfootball Patriots had serious issues with Miami's gun runs (new MIA OC Bill Lazor came from Chip Kelly's staff). 2 safeties deep; LBs stuck on blocks

 

They've had trouble with shotgun draws for as long as I can remember.  You only have to look back to last year's games against Denver as an example.  Moreno is a very patient runner who waits for the play to develop in front of him.  He did an outstanding job of finding the seams on cutbacks yesterday.  Minnesota is more of a traditional run team, so we'll see if the poor run defense continues.  My thought is that it will get better next week.

 

[IdiotKicker]

How many catches did he actually give up? I seem to remember only 2, one of which being the TD where he got his hand on the ball and knocked it down into Wallace's leg causing it to bounce back. I'd give him a B-. He didn't play like a $13 million man, but he seemed to be handling his assignments and only got truly beat once on the play that Wallace failed to stay inbounds.

 
I believe this is correct, I think it was 2 catches given up, one of which was just a great play by the receiver after Revis deflected it.
 
 

Wonder how long the 3-4 gets rolled out if the coaches see this as well.  Dont see how this personnel works in a 3-4 without a very effective Wilfork.

 
If you see a repeat of this over the next couple weeks, Bill will be on the horn to bring someone in before the trade deadline.  They showed some different fronts yesterday, and I need to look at the all-22 to see how they were set up from an alignment perspective, but as we know, a solid NT has typically been a critical part of a BB defense.

 

[Harry Hooper]

 
I also think Chandler Jones is much more effective as an End in the 4-3. He's not built to be playing in a 3-4.  

 
 
Is there a counter-argument to this? I am interested to hear it.

 

[redsahx]

 

Is there a counter-argument to this? I am interested to hear it.

 
Yeah he certainly doesn't fit the same mold as Richard Seymour or Ty Warren. Also looking at other 3-4 teams around the league for reference, the Ravens have occasionally shifted Ngata to the end, and have Chris Canty playing at the other end. They also have the rookie Jernigan playing end, and he was an interior 4-3 guy at Florida State.

 

[Super Nomario]

It's important to distinguish between the conventional 2-gapping 3-4 the Pats ran in the early 2000's, the attacking 3-4 Wade Phillips uses, and a 3-4 in name only that's just a 4-3 with one of the ends standing up instead of in a three- or four- point stance. It's also important to distinguish between playing Jones inside regularly or occasionally kicking him inside on passing downs so he can get a one-on-one matchup with a guard. I don't think they're asking Jones to do what Richard Seymour did, by-and-large, but I haven't gone through the tape to see. Whenever I focused on him yesterday, he was pretty bad though.

 

[ivanvamp]

I haven't seen the game yet but from what I heard by way of commentary it seemed like Jones was getting held a lot. True?

 

[Super Nomario]

I haven't seen the game yet but from what I heard by way of commentary it seemed like Jones was getting held a lot. True?

People whine about this every game.

 

[SMU_Sox]

I feel like I've heard, "If the refs wanted to they could call a hold on half the plays or more", before from several reputable sources (former coaches, players, big time analysts, etc).

 

[Clears Cleaver]

Pats are 2-6 in their last 8 road games.

 

[Stitch01]

Cool story

 

[Ed Hillel]

Meh.

 

[Ed Hillel]

Double.

 

[BornToRun]

I think you mean 3-5. I refuse to acknowledge the Panthers loss.

Fucking Clete Blakeman.

 

[Shelterdog]

People whine about this every game.

 
Sure. But was he held more than usual?