They probably wouldn't have. Belichick is awesome and he knows things that I cannot even think about comprehending, but down 1 with a few seconds left in the game, he's probably kicking the XP.I think if they had made that PAT, they wouldn't have gone for 2 both times in the 4th Quarter. But what do I know, I was sure they had lost at halftime (but I didn't get out of my lucky seat or change anything else.)
I think he went up to McDaniels and said "stop calling the fucking game like we're trying to hold possession and run out the clock. Get Brady throwing within a couple seconds and tiring out the DL."I don't know what Dante Scarnecchia said to his guys before the fourth quarter started, but I've never seen an offensive line go from complete shit to impenetrable wall so quickly. Brady had such a clean pocket on the last two drives. Maybe it was just the Falcons defense finally tiring...
Correct. The Pats just martched right down the field. Amazing.I believe the Patriots didn't face a third down on the OT drive. Atlanta just had nothing left on D.
They shouldn't. They 3 holding calls were on a drive NE didn't score.I don't even need to navigate to the message boards. I am sure that the DPI calls have the rest of the country pissed about the calls.
Obviously, Freeman plays on a lot of pass plays, but I wonder if that was a play Coleman was usually in for? or if Coleman is better at pass protection? Because he got knocked out the play before (so a game ball for Flowers and Ryan (listed as the tacklers) or whoever injured him?)Yeah it sounds as though he just didn't pick up the coverage call
On wcvb now.Crowd for booing Goodell - when and where is the MVP trophy televised? Need to see it live! Anyone?!
In the sense that one playoff game in football is like an entire playoff series in baseball, that Patriots win was similar to the Sox coming back from the 3 game deficit against the MFY. (Without the historic significance.)Before last night, postseason teams had a 93-0 record when holding a lead of 19 or more in the 4th quarter.
Now they're 93-1.
I'll never understand the football fan's defense mechanism of blaming coaches when a team is clearly getting physically dominated. The play calls in those first 40 minutes really didn't matter because Atlanta's defense was simply blowing everything up. I know people hated seeing Blount run the ball instead of Lewis but what were they expecting Lewis to do with defensive linemen two yards deep in the pats backfield? People were screaming for the no huddle in the first half, but why? To reduce the amount of time between free rushers came running at Brady and have him get the crap kicked out of him more?Is this the place to talk about McDaniels' shitty first 40 minutes? Because we're all in bliss right now but I don't want that to disappear.
Agreed. The playcalling was largely fine. Not much McDaniels can do when Brady is getting pummeled, and when he isn't, throws are either off-line or dropped. The Falcons D was too fast for the RBs to screw around and run horizontally, but that's just what Blount did a few times. Again, not McDaniels fault.I'll never understand the football fan's defense mechanism of blaming coaches when a team is clearly getting physically dominated. The play calls in those first 40 minutes really didn't matter because Atlanta's defense was simply blowing everything up. I know people hated seeing Blount run the ball instead of Lewis but what were they expecting Lewis to do with defensive linemen two yards deep in the pats backfield? People were screaming for the no huddle in the first half, but why? To reduce the amount of time between free rushers came running at Brady and have him get the crap kicked out of him more?
There are certainly times when it's coaching and a bad game plan. Last night wasn't one of them. I'm sure there were a handful of questionable play calls, no one is perfect. But it didn't matter what they ran, Atlanta's D was playing faster and more physical then the Pats offense. I get that a lot of people put the players on pedestals, but last night it was on them. That was a 40 minute execution gap, not 40 minutes of bad play calling/game planning.
It's weird that fans can't be objective about this and that it must be the coaching when things go badly.
This story on Malcolm from 60 Minutes validates your theory that he is a keeper:Malcolm Mitchell is a keeper, by the way. Looked like a stud tonight.
If I'm thinking of the same play, wasn't it the 3rd play - because it was 3rd and 10. Making it even more unbelievable and awesome.I believe it was the first play on the 91 yard comeback drive but the out to Hogan for 15 or whatever. There's a great over the shoulder shot of Brady throwing to him and he is 2-3 steps from even looking.
Unbelievable.
They were running stretch runs to the outside against a fast defense with their slowest RB. They must have seen something on film that they thought was a weakness but it very clearly didn't translate to the game. They stuck with it much longer than I'd have expected. Either what they saw on film wasn't accurate or they didn't properly translate it to the skillset of their team and players. Either way, it's a major coaching issue and I think any fan who was on them was absolutely right. Stretch runs were not a major part of the Patriots gameplan all year, so it's not like they were calling their usual packages and the defense was just blowing up their normal stuff. They committed to something unusual and they spent a while learning that it wasn't going to work.I'll never understand the football fan's defense mechanism of blaming coaches when a team is clearly getting physically dominated. The play calls in those first 40 minutes really didn't matter because Atlanta's defense was simply blowing everything up. I know people hated seeing Blount run the ball instead of Lewis but what were they expecting Lewis to do with defensive linemen two yards deep in the pats backfield? People were screaming for the no huddle in the first half, but why? To reduce the amount of time between free rushers came running at Brady and have him get the crap kicked out of him more?
There are certainly times when it's coaching and a bad game plan. Last night wasn't one of them. I'm sure there were a handful of questionable play calls, no one is perfect. But it didn't matter what they ran, Atlanta's D was playing faster and more physical then the Pats offense. I get that a lot of people put the players on pedestals, but last night it was on them. That was a 40 minute execution gap, not 40 minutes of bad play calling/game planning.
It's weird that fans can't be objective about this and that it must be the coaching when things go badly.
I'll bet a Buffalo nickel they were hoping to wear out Mack and whatever equine strength pain killers he was on for his busted fibula.They were running stretch runs to the outside against a fast defense with their slowest RB. They must have seen something on film that they thought was a weakness but it very clearly didn't translate to the game. They stuck with it much longer than I'd have expected. Either what they saw on film wasn't accurate or they didn't properly translate it to the skillset of their team and players. Either way, it's a major coaching issue and I think any fan who was on them was absolutely right. Stretch runs were not a major part of the Patriots gameplan all year, so it's not like they were calling their usual packages and the defense was just blowing up their normal stuff. They committed to something unusual and they spent a while learning that it wasn't going to work.
They were hoping to wear out a center? By making it more easy for the Atlanta offense to get back on the field?I'll bet a Buffalo nickel they were hoping to wear out Mack and whatever equine strength pain killers he was on for his busted fibula.
I come down pretty close to this. They seemed wrong about what they thought they could do with the running game, although part of what they were trying to do was wear down the defense for later in the game. Id probably would have been a little bit more uptempo on the long third quarter drive (although I thought the criticism on the 4th quarter drive where they went 55 yards or whatever in 2:30 was a little over the top). Im somewhat surprised Lewis wasnt playing over Blount as I think he's clearly the better back (at least threaten the RB in the passing game). But basically, the OL got blasted with four rushers and the team was -2 TO's with a pick six. Pass/Run (by my quick count) was 22/13 in the 1st half and Brady was still getting beaten up (if someone has a blocking scheme criticism, Im all ears) so I dont know if just chucking the ball around more than 62 times in a 1.9/1 ratio or w/e was gonna work great. BB in his post game said they figured out by the end of the first quarter they were going to mostly have to throw the ball to the perimeter and the playcalling from that point on largely reflected that. Blount ended up getting only 17 snaps, James White got like 70, so they certainly adjusted on that front. I personally didnt watch the first three quarters and think "man this is a gameplan issue".I'll never understand the football fan's defense mechanism of blaming coaches when a team is clearly getting physically dominated. The play calls in those first 40 minutes really didn't matter because Atlanta's defense was simply blowing everything up. I know people hated seeing Blount run the ball instead of Lewis but what were they expecting Lewis to do with defensive linemen two yards deep in the pats backfield? People were screaming for the no huddle in the first half, but why? To reduce the amount of time between free rushers came running at Brady and have him get the crap kicked out of him more?
There are certainly times when it's coaching and a bad game plan. Last night wasn't one of them. I'm sure there were a handful of questionable play calls, no one is perfect. But it didn't matter what they ran, Atlanta's D was playing faster and more physical then the Pats offense. I get that a lot of people put the players on pedestals, but last night it was on them. That was a 40 minute execution gap, not 40 minutes of bad play calling/game planning.
It's weird that fans can't be objective about this and that it must be the coaching when things go badly.
How are they wearing out Mack by running the ball while Mack is on the sideline?I'll bet a Buffalo nickel they were hoping to wear out Mack and whatever equine strength pain killers he was on for his busted fibula.
Why bother? They won, and generally Josh is really good.Is this the place to talk about McDaniels' shitty first 40 minutes? Because we're all in bliss right now but I don't want that to disappear.
Yeah I thought that was from the Rex Ryan school of challenges. You won the challenge but was it really worth it?Dan Quinn deserves an honorable mention for burning up his second-half timeouts - challenging Amendola's return in the 3rd quarter was a needlessly aggressive gamble for, what, 8 yards if he was successful? Not worth the risk of missing timeouts in the 4th quarter against Bill Belichick.
The question is when did he throw the flag? If right away, then it was Ryan-esque. I suspect he waited through the entire commercial break, and his staff told him they had rock-solid video evidence first.Yeah I thought that was from the Rex Ryan school of challenges. You won the challenge but was it really worth it?
I know it was mentioned on Twitter just as the commercial break was starting. Even if you're 100% sure you're right and you will move the Pats back 8 yards, I don't think it's worth it to challenge. Either way it will be 1st down for New England, and you're severely hurting your replay ability for the rest of the game (one missed challenge in the final 28 minutes and you're out of challenges.) If you're challenging for 8 yards, it has to be something that's crucial for a first down conversion to extend or stop a drive.The question is when did he throw the flag? If right away, then it was Ryan-esque. I suspect he waited through the entire commercial break, and his staff told him they had rock-solid video evidence first.
Barnwell on ESPN kinda based his article today around it.Anybody know where to find an interactive win probability graph, where you can see which specific plays changed win prob the most? It'd be interesting to see which play or sequence of plays moved the needle. I'm wondering which was bigger, the Falcons backing up on the sack and hold, or the 2pt conversion to Amendola.
Cant find the original question to quote, but Amendola 2 point conversion is going to be the biggest play, takes WP from roughly 1/4 to roughly 1/2. The sack obviously mattered but the Pats were still going to be pretty big longshots by WP 90+ yards from the end zone down 8 with little time left.Barnwell on ESPN kinda based his article today around it.
I'll bet a Buffalo nickel they were hoping to wear out Mack and whatever equine strength pain killers he was on for his busted fibula.
Right. I think you'd lose that Buffalo nickel. I would like an explanation of those stretch runs with Blount -- made no sense but they obviously thought they knew something. Thank god they eventually stopped.They were hoping to wear out a center? By making it more easy for the Atlanta offense to get back on the field?
I believe you're right.If I'm thinking of the same play, wasn't it the 3rd play - because it was 3rd and 10. Making it even more unbelievable and awesome.
Atlanta D was already gassed when the Pats went hurry up. Great example of good awareness, sound situational football by the Pats and probably an advantage in terms of conditioning. The Pats took advantage of the situation and Atlanta D showed themselves to be what we hoped they would be - a not very good unit. And of course the Pats executed time after time.I think he went up to McDaniels and said "stop calling the fucking game like we're trying to hold possession and run out the clock. Get Brady throwing within a couple seconds and tiring out the DL."
Everything changed when they went hurry up and got Blount out of the game. That game plan went surprisingly poorly to start, but man did it take a while for them to adjust. Just in the nick of time, one might say.
I owe you 5 cents.They were hoping to wear out a center? By making it more easy for the Atlanta offense to get back on the field?