If anyone can shut down Alshon Jeffery its Gilmore having played against him in practice for 3 years at South Carolina.
SBLII: Patriots vs. Eagles, the Build-Up
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http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000907662/article/gene-steratore-will-be-referee-for-super-bowl-lii
ref who pulled out the index card in the DAL-OAK game. yay.
ref who pulled out the index card in the DAL-OAK game. yay.
They are going to hope that the new members of the Pats defense have communication issues and keep leaving guys wide open in the secondary.
Thank god we didn't cut him after 4 games! Gilmore looked great yesterday. He's not Revis Island in his prime, but I've got no issue with him taking on Jeffrey and winning most of those 1 on 1's.
They "struggled" for a half.
In the second half these were the Jax drives:
9 plays/39 yards (20 of those yards on one play)
3 plays/-2 yards
11 plays/66 yards
3 plays/9 yards
5 plays/22 yards
3 plays/-1 yards
6 plays/32 yards
In the 4th quarter Jax ran 18 plays for 62 yards. Once the Patriots figure out what's going on they clamp down.
if anyone can beat Gilmore it's Jeffery having played against him in practice for 3 years at South Carolina.
Ajayi in 2 games against the Patriots in 2016
5 carries 14 yards 2.8 YPC
16 carries 59 yards 3.69 YPC
5 carries 14 yards 2.8 YPC
16 carries 59 yards 3.69 YPC
He's a little better than Talib, IMO, and he doesn't pull a hammy in the 2nd Quarter of AFC Championships. So that's a plus.
And I think that the Jags have a much better run game than the Eagles do. Ajayi and Blount seem like the type of RB's the Pats can easily shutdown.
Unfortunately, they have one more in Clement and he’ll be a real threat. The big backs are generally ok for the Pats. The quick and elusive ones...notsomuch.
Lombardi seems to be overcorrecting for ripping Pederson and mocking Philly's fans all season, then dimissing the team's chances when Foles struggled in his first few games filling in. I realize that the Eagles can cause problems and that Foles does have something of a track record that pre-dates this current run, but to me it seems bipolar to suddenly jump wholeheartedly on that bandwagon based on one strong offensive game. It was clearly a knee-jerk "rapid reaction," and I'll be curious to hear whether his take becomes more nuanced over the next couple weeks.
Clement is good but still a rookie and really has not done much in the playoffs for the Eagles.
Yeah, KC has a shit ton of great athletes on offense, including the quarterback. I don't see how the Eagles can replicate that gameplan with their offensive pieces, considering explosive plays were 85% of the reason the Pats lost the opener.
Agree. Lombardi's main thought was that Jax "ran out of plays" in the 2nd half because they had not been a heavy RPO team most of the season. He said that the Eagles likely have a much larger and more sophisticated set of RPO plays to mix and match over the course of a game. Agree with the above...I think he is overreacting and simply trying to get away from his season-long take that Pederson is a bad coach.
Hear you but the Douche Quotient of Giants fans after those two gets was off the charts. 18-1 and all that. And I have to admit that seeing the Pats get beat by Manning Lite ripping a horse shoe out of his ass in SB 42 on that last drive generates a lot of hatred in me.
But your point about the Jets is very well taken.
This is one of those look inward things as a fan; I'm sure we were no less obnoxious after knocking off the Rams, and that team wasn't undefeated.
I am ready for the Pats to win a Superbowl 38-7. The last 2 wins while glorious nearly killed me.
RE: Marciano:
I sincerely don't think that Pats fans were obnoxious after the Rams. That was a legit "Can you believe it?!" win. Even New York fans (I lived in NYC at the time) were congratulating me after that one. It was perceived as a fluke, and even Pats fans thought of ourselves as simply fortunate more than anything else. I distinctly recall being told "Enjoy it because they ain't going back anytime soon [with this schmo Tom Brady as QB]." It was also fundamentally different than SB 42 because there was no natural dislike between Boston and St. Louis.
Judging from how I was treated by NY fans from 2001-2008, Pats fans didn't begin to be perceived as obnoxious until their second SB appearance. That's when the talk went from "Can you believe we won one?!" to "Our team is better than yours."
I sincerely don't think that Pats fans were obnoxious after the Rams. That was a legit "Can you believe it?!" win. Even New York fans (I lived in NYC at the time) were congratulating me after that one. It was perceived as a fluke, and even Pats fans thought of ourselves as simply fortunate more than anything else. I distinctly recall being told "Enjoy it because they ain't going back anytime soon [with this schmo Tom Brady as QB]." It was also fundamentally different than SB 42 because there was no natural dislike between Boston and St. Louis.
Judging from how I was treated by NY fans from 2001-2008, Pats fans didn't begin to be perceived as obnoxious until their second SB appearance. That's when the talk went from "Can you believe we won one?!" to "Our team is better than yours."
I live in NY/NJ area from about 1998 to 2011. I completely agree.
On a side note, I used to wear my Sox hat around pretty much all the time. The only times I got harassed were from Jets fans. Never from Yankees fans nor Giants fans, not surprisingly.
Pederson a bad coach? Strikes me as smart and aggressive. He’s not going to make things easier for us. No kneel downs with 55 seconds left and 3 timeouts. Fourth and short — he’ll go for it.
And although Schwartz is an asshole (he backstabbed Pederson early in the season), he is a good defensive coach as well.
This game will not be a coaching mismatch. No Reids or Tomlins on the other side.
I am happy we have the two-week break for reasons beyond Gronkowski. They played a perfect game. Let them cool off and think about the next one. I especially want Foles to think about the next one. No disrespect of Foles or the team, but they have not been through this crucible.
And although Schwartz is an asshole (he backstabbed Pederson early in the season), he is a good defensive coach as well.
This game will not be a coaching mismatch. No Reids or Tomlins on the other side.
I am happy we have the two-week break for reasons beyond Gronkowski. They played a perfect game. Let them cool off and think about the next one. I especially want Foles to think about the next one. No disrespect of Foles or the team, but they have not been through this crucible.
Could be. The difference is that there's no natural rivalry with the Rams or St. Louis. But these things are all very subjective, to your point.
A few thoughts about Philly fans while I am here.
One, I was in Jax and the Iggles fans outnumbered Pats fans by a huge ratio. My guess is that it was something like 4:1. There are always a bunch of non-partisans and corporate types at SBs there but there were vastly more Eagles jerseys than Pats at this one. In the end, the Pats obviously overcame whatever noise edge they had and that Stadium, being outdoors, didn't trap the noise all that well. I wonder if history repeats itself -- and I suspect that it will -- and the Eagles will effectively have a home field advantage. This time it might be one that actually matters given that the venue is a noisy dome. This is not the biggest of deals as the Brady Pats have operated in many loud, hostile venues. But still.
Two, the Philly fans in my world still walk around with some version of "you're telling me that the spying didn't give your team at least three points of advantage in SB 39?!" Kinda funny and not something I ever choose to engage on as it's an argument that cannot be won and the point is inane.
Three, inasmuch as I was rooting for Minny to lose, mostly because I did not want the Pats to have to play a home team, I note the point I made first above and, on a personal level, the odd fact that I have SIX friends/neighbors on my block in Northern NJ who are Eagles fans. The personal heat on this one is way higher than when the Pats played Seattle, St. Louis or Atlanta, and I didn't have these neighbors in 2004. Weird quirk.
I'm not really sure where to put this, but
Philly fan chases train, hits pole.
http://abc7.com/sports/video-excited-eagles-fan-chases-subway-runs-into-pole/2977197/
Philly fan chases train, hits pole.
http://abc7.com/sports/video-excited-eagles-fan-chases-subway-runs-into-pole/2977197/
I think it reads "My team is the 2017 Conference Champion and look down to see jorts"
I didn't hear the segment, but the matchup that jumps off the page to me is at the tight end position. Ertz and Burton, and even Celek, are going to be a handful. The Patriots have been average to a bit worse against the tight end position this year, especially in the red zone. The only arguably elite tight end they played this year in Ertz's category is Kelce, and he did pretty good. (Maybe Walker is elite, and they did ok against him except a couple of plays though he may have taken a knock.) I actually think the Patriots' stats against the position are a little misleading when you figure that three tight ends dropped easy touchdowns -- Sefarian-Jenkins (the bobble touchback), James, and Clay.
Foles looked pretty comfortable with Ertz yesterday. He's big, runs wide receiver routes, and is tough to get on the ground. Burton is tough too. I think containing these guys without giving up pass rush and without leaving lots of single coverage for the wide outs needs to be a priority for the game. Chung is going to have his hands full, particularly.
Very late to the response game, but I wanted to explain myself as a Giants fan turned green for a few weeks. The bolded above is what I meant when I said it amusing me to see Pats fans here discuss other fan bases as obnoxious. This is why, even though I am a Giants fan, it is super easy for me to cheer against the Pats. I mean, REALLY easy. I actually assume that if I were not a member of this board, I'd just not give as much of a crap who wins this Super Bowl. But the lack of introspection (and among most other Pats fans I know) makes it a pretty easy decision for me. I mean, sure Philly fans are a-holes. But fans of every team are a-holes. Giants fans? A-holes. Jets fans? A-holes. Dolphins? Bills? Chargers? A-holes fans, all. And seemingly fans of other teams, with the exception of the Pats fan base know this. I live in the suburbs of Philly. Every person I know out here is an Eagles fan, and to a person, they will admit how obnoxious and over the top they can be. They own their a-holery and are ok with it. I also have full extended family on both sides as Pats fans - probably about 30+ aunts and uncles and cousins, among them several season ticket holders, who are like you guys are in the Pats forums. They live this stuff. They buy into all of it, and heck, they're fans, so they should buy into it, as should this place. But they often miss out on the fact that the buying into it so openly and so exuberantly sort of annoys the crap out of non-Pats fans. And then they act like they are a higher class of fan because "Belichick and Brady", as if they had something to do with BB's brilliance or Tom Brady's golden aura of perfection. I mean, that's the epitome of a-hole fandom in the opinion of many other teams' fans. Go ahead and buy into it, and cheer like a nut job. But ceremony, at least admit that you're as much of an idiot fan as any moron on the other side, because you are. Belichick and Brady did not make you special, or smarter or more entitled. They made you lucky as shit. So I cannot root for you guys.
Also, you guys, if Tom Brady were on ANY other team and was still himself - meaning successful and handsome and perfect and wearer of 5 rings and also self-promoting and weird with the diet/trainer guru, etc. and the upcoming facebook TV show about him, by him, with him, - you guys would DESPISE him. Respect, sure. But, like, Derek Jeter level hatred would be dripping in the Pats forum here. You should love him as much as you do, because he's yours and he's gotten you 5 rings, but fans outside of NE see the guy as a totally insincere pretty boy. He is SO SO SO easy to despise if you are not a Pats fan. And, so, yes, Eagles fans want another shot at him. They want to knock him into "Bolivian." I imagine that's true for every other fanbase out there.
I don't understand that statement about Tom Brady and the hate. I am not a Patriot fan, nor am I a Patriot hater. I've loved football forever and so I have a great appreciation for Tom Brady. Why should I hate him again?
The Jeter reference doesn't hold up for me because the Yankees are my favorite teams' rival. I guess if were a Colts fan maybe I'd hate Tom Brady because his team used to beat my Colts teams ass when it mattered most. Other than that though, why the hate?
The Jeter reference doesn't hold up for me because the Yankees are my favorite teams' rival. I guess if were a Colts fan maybe I'd hate Tom Brady because his team used to beat my Colts teams ass when it mattered most. Other than that though, why the hate?
I wonder what a decent national ad campaign would do for Brady. He's not that great in front of the camera, but nobody seems to hate Aaron Rodgers or Manning (outside of rivals) in large part because they're in a bunch of commercials.
Rodgers also doesn't make it to the super bowl in 50% of his seasons. Manning didn't come close, either.
The Brady hate is certainly related to the fact that he wins so many more games than anyone else. And Belichick isn't "nice" to the media.
He has nice eyes, but he's not really that good looking. And he has that cute dog. And a cool TD celebration move.
Indeed. Just look at the sequence at the end of the first half that basically put the game out of reach:
-Up 14-7, 3rd and 10 on your own 47 with 1:18 on the clock, 53 yard bomb to Jeffery to go up 21-7
-After a stop, get ball back on your own 20 with 29 seconds left. No kneeling, three straight passes to get into field goal range.
That's going for the jugular.
I don't really get the Brady stuff other than he's killed everyone (but the Giants which was my original point), but we have a different point of view obviously. He literally never says anything controversial. The only time I can remember was the "rule book" comment that started deflate gate. Off the field he's like white toast (not that he'd ever eat that).
In terms of Jeter, I always despised Jeter because he was vastly overrated because he was a Yankee! and couldn't play defense. His "calm eyes" and all that bullshit. If Jeter played in any other market and had the exact same career he'd be a blip on the radar.
I guess I'll never understand rooting for a bitter rival over a team in the other conference because "they win too much" (that the Giants beat twice!)
Seriously...I can't imagine the sequence of events that would make me root for the Dolphins, Jets, Broncos, Colts, or Steelers in a Super Bowl...(Bills, maybe...kinda have a weird soft spot for them).
What are you talking about? He's already had two
If normal people can't relate to those campaigns, then I don't know what else he can do.
Pederson gets it. I defended the sequence with 55 seconds left, but I may have been mistaken. Up in the game, Bortles at QB, fine. What I did not consider until this morning is that that approach was the ultimate “no confidence” vote in Bortles — a guy they were counting on the second half and the SB if they made it.
What makes Pederson particularly dangerous this postseason: he well knows he is playing with house money. Not much to lose with all of the injuries they have had, Wentz being the worst. If Wentz were playing in this SB, we might be looking at a pick’em game. He is worth that much.
Yeah, this stuff is not complicated. People hate him (and the Pats) because he is the best.
All football fandoms have a significant asshole contingent, and any group of fans will seem insufferable if their team has an extended period of dominance. Levels depend on the culture of the city and region.
I have no problem with obnoxiousness. The only place I draw the line is with violence, which is terrible and not funny. I appreciate the Philly fans’ intensity and dedication, but the violent stuff is sickening and it’s really gross that non-crazy fans yuck it up about that stuff.
I'm with Marciano and others on this. I have lived in the Giants market for 18 years as a 49ers fan. Giants fans don't talk about the Patriots, they don't really care about the Patriots. If anything, a small part of them wants to Patriots to win so they're the only team that is the Pats killer.
I see a lot of hate for the Giants on this board, and they're probably one of the fan bases that hate the Pats the least. They hate the Cowboys, Eagles and Redskins, most likely in that order.
Jets fans are a whole different story.
From what I can tell the Giants hate is based back when the Pats were in the AFL. My father f'ing hates the Giants because they were always shown locally in the NFL due to the AFL being the little brother. I probably have some of it wrong, but there's a deep rooted hatred of the Giants from those days in older fans.
I personally don't give one shit about the Giants (now that the wounds have been healed with 2 more SB's). If the Giants were in the SB against the Jets or Colts or Steelers, I'd be head to toe in blue.
Quite a few Giants fans I know hate the Jets and their fans. And they enjoy seeing the Jets getting their helmets handed to them by the Patriots for that reason. But, otherwise, most I know don't spend much time worrying about the Patriots. Instead, their hate is spewed toward their division rivals.
I do know an Eagles fan that still to this day is convinced that Spygate was the worst cheating scandal in all of professional sports and that Belichick should have been suspended for life because of it. He deserves our sympathy....
I guess we all have different experiences. I've been in living in NJ and working in NYC since 1994. Giants fans were total dickheads in the aftermath of each SB loss. That Jets fans are worse doesn't change that.
I do agree with the point that they like that the Pats beat everyone else in SBs but their team.
I know more than one.
Living in the Philly suburbs for over a decade (especially during Spygate and Deflategate) provided some of the worst experiences with other team’s fans I have ever had.
I have to say, I'm perplexed by the line (which I think opened at 6 and is now 5.5 most places). Philly just ran roughshod over the #1 defense in the NFL, and the quality of Philly's defense is pretty well-established. I guess the books just assume that there is a lot of blind support for the Pats, so they need to make the Pats medium favorites to keep the betting even?
A couple things: This is a neutral field game and the Patriots are one of the best road teams of all time. The patriots have a lot of super bowl experience, Philly has very little. I think most oddsmakers don’t believe Philly can post points like they did yesterday again with Foles at QB. Those 3 things are likely weighted heavily into the line.
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