The Game Ball Thread: Week 5 vs Colts

SeoulSoxFan

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Another deflating loss for the AFC Participatory Champs.

My game balls go to Michel and Gordon. And a special Golden Game Ball to TB12 for the win & the 500th TD pass.

2 wins in 5 days ain't bad at all!
 

Ed Hillel

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Brady was incredible, but he’ll just look meh because his receivers screwed him over. He gets mine.
 

heavyde050

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Brady gets it. He played awesome.
He also deserves one because he had to overcome some uncharacteristic sloppiness from Gronk and Hogan.
Also a game ball to Gordon.
 

RoDaddy

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Brady, Brady, Brady - played better than the numbers (as good as those still were)

We need a pass rush, y'all. Otherwise we're back to the end of last year. This might be a good year to trade some highish draft choices, maybe second rounders, for a bona fide pass rusher if one's available. It would totally transform the defense
 

BigSoxFan

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Brady: Came out and methodically marched the team down the field without forcing any throws. Horrible luck on the 2 INTs but rebounded nicely.

RBs: White continues to be such a key player for the team. 18 catches last 2 games and 5 TDs in 5 games. He ties up a LB on every play and continues to show some nice elusiveness. Michel started slow but looked to be more of an OL issue to me. The TD was a very impressive outside run. Last 2 weeks have been very promising.

Edelman: One bad drop but was otherwise his normal self, which was impressive after such a long layoff. The White/Edelman safety blanket combo is just so lethal.

Gordon: Only 2 catches on 4 targets but the TD essentially iced the game and it could have easily been a butt-clenching INT. No other WR on this team makes that catch and I’m really excited to see him continue to progress. There will be times when Brady needs to Flacco it up there and now we have our WR who can go get the ball.
 

Harry Hooper

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Dr. ElAttrache given that in the first half Brady took a shot right on or just below his surgically-repaired knee and bounced right up.
 

SeoulSoxFan

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Lol. Jules at his post-game press conference:

1. Revealed that he played ping-pong with Gordon

2. Knows the exact number of days since he last played in a professional football game, 405

3. Says "it's always great to beat a conference opponent, especially the Colts...[pause]...and let's leave it at that"

LOVE the bearded menace.
 

E5 Yaz

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New Colts banner:

Andrew Luck Hasn't Been Injured In The Past 4 Games
 

InstaFace

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Yep.

That’s a 50 point performance without those fluky turnovers. Tom was stupendous.

He’ll need to keep that up next week.
Really? I thought Tom was pedestrian, and just as "meh" as his receivers' effort tonight. There were a ton of unpressured throws that he turfed or otherwise made uncatchable, including all 3 in a row in that series in the 2Q. It's not like he was a net negative out there, obviously, but this didn't strike me as one of his finer nights, nor was he one of the top contributors tonight.
 

normstalls

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Really? I thought Tom was pedestrian, and just as "meh" as his receivers' effort tonight. There were a ton of unpressured throws that he turfed or otherwise made uncatchable, including all 3 in a row in that series in the 2Q. It's not like he was a net negative out there, obviously, but this didn't strike me as one of his finer nights, nor was he one of the top contributors tonight.

Well, off the top of my head... you flip those Edelman, Hogan, Gronk drops and Pats have 50+.

So I’m leaning more towards TB12 was great tonight
 

InstaFace

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You take the half-dozen throws Brady is going to get the "Johnny Foxborough" treatment for tomorrow morning, and make them catchable, you probably see 50+ too.
 

Zedia

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Brady had 10 incompletions. Minus the two interceptions that landed in Patriot receivers’ hands, the Jules drop, the Gordon “underthrow” (it was intentional) and at least one “this screen isn’t working, I’ll throw it Shaq’s feet”, that’s 5 bad passes. Is that bad?
 

riboflav

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Brady had 10 incompletions. Minus the two interceptions that landed in Patriot receivers’ hands, the Jules drop, the Gordon “underthrow” (it was intentional) and at least one “this screen isn’t working, I’ll throw it Shaq’s feet”, that’s 5 bad passes. Is that bad?
Inexcusable in Patriot land. We demand perfection. If you want to compare his effort to the rest of the NFL QBs, I don't know what to tell you... other than sure it stacks up better than most if not all but come on he (and we) went undefeated in 2007 when TB12 was a video game QB so it's bad... he's 41? He sucks. #hottakeweei
 

BaseballJones

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Just got home from the game. The Pats easily could have put up 50+ on Indy tonight. Brady had just a couple of bad throws. Edelman with the bad drop. Hogan and Gronk messing up leading to two wholly undeserved interceptions for Brady.

White was fantastic and Michel played well. Great to see Edelman back. Gronk’s numbers were better than it felt like. Gordon’s TD was great though Brady didn’t see a WIDE open Hogan on the play.

Things to work on but this should have been a 4-TD win.
 

Zedia

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Since it’s the west coast and I’m enjoying a beverage, I figured I’d fast forward thru the game. Here are Brady’s incompletions:

Started the game 14-15 (Jules drop)
Overthrew White deep
Bad throw at wide open Gordon’s feet (maybe he was expecting him to sit?)

17 for 20 after Hogan catch 3:40 left in 1st half
Incomplete, short outlet pass to White, under pressure :27 left 1st half
Brady finishes the half, 203 yds, 2 TDS, 1 rush TD
2nd half - underthrown to Gordon, this is one I had as intentional
Next play, Under pressure, inside 10, throws it away
Hogan INT
2:40 3rd QT, throw away on blown up screen
Gronk INT
3:12 4th QT, bad throw to open White on 3rd and 4

Edit - I realize this is all pretty pointless, he made some less than stellar throws that were completions. But I hope he plays till he’s 50.
 

mauf

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The coaching staff.

The fact that the Pats scored 38, and we’re debating how many points they left out there, tells you how brilliant McD’s schemes were tonight. I was all over him after the Detroit loss, so credit where credit is due.

The D wasn’t quite as eye-popping, but keeping a good QB like Luck out of the end zone in the first half without the benefit of a pass rush was a helluva accomplishment.
 

steveluck7

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Any “meh” in Brady’s game was negated by the laser he threw between the 8 and 7 to Gronk with a d lineman wrapped around his legs, bringing him down. That was an amazing throw
 

Ed Hillel

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Really? I thought Tom was pedestrian, and just as "meh" as his receivers' effort tonight. There were a ton of unpressured throws that he turfed or otherwise made uncatchable, including all 3 in a row in that series in the 2Q. It's not like he was a net negative out there, obviously, but this didn't strike me as one of his finer nights, nor was he one of the top contributors tonight.
What he should have been, minus drops/turnovers:

40-47 for 450 yards 5 or 6 TD (including his rushing) and 0 INT.

I get the standards are high, but geeeeeesh.
 

DJnVa

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Yeah, this felt like one of the games from a few years ago where you’re lamenting points left on the field yet scored 38.

Now after a few days rest, the offense can spend a lot time getting all the weapons on the same page...

The best part of the Gordon TD—there’s trust behind that throw.
 

alydar

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Are we 100% sure that TD throw was actually intended for Gordon? I think I recall Buck or Aikman noting that Brady was gesturing to Hogan as he moved in the pocked, who was coming across the back of the end zone on the same side. Brady then chucked it off his back foot, so perhaps he didn't get as much on it as he wanted.

Yes yes, turd in punch bowl and all that...
 

Byrdbrain

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Well, Brady and Josh said it was.
I thought it was pretty obvious that it was.
It was obviously a dangerous throw and Brady got bailed out by Gordon but I really have no idea what anyone complaining about Brady's play last night was watching.
 

j44thor

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The coaching staff.

The fact that the Pats scored 38, and we’re debating how many points they left out there, tells you how brilliant McD’s schemes were tonight. I was all over him after the Detroit loss, so credit where credit is due.

The D wasn’t quite as eye-popping, but keeping a good QB like Luck out of the end zone in the first half without the benefit of a pass rush was a helluva accomplishment.
Might need to pump the brakes just a bit and consider the opponent/circumstances. IND didn't have enough healthy bodies to fill an active roster. Listed leading tackler/sack leader Darious Leonard and at least one other defensive player as active and immediately ruled them out. They were also down their top 3 corners, top WR, RB, S, TE. They then proceeded to lose 3 defenders during the game.

Not sure the schemes were that amazing, in fact I'd guess it was a rather vanilla game plan given they didn't have any time to implement or practice a new game plan and Jules had I believe 1 actual practice.

The fact that IND was within 2 scores with the ball late in this one is a little concerning. Ebron looking unstoppable has to be a huge concern with Kelce next on deck. Luckily the coaching staff will be able to implement a full game plan for that one.
 

Ed Hillel

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Need a shoutout for Josh Gordon’s spike. That might have been the GOAT spike, apologies to Gronk.
 

Curtis Pride

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Really? I thought Tom was pedestrian, and just as "meh" as his receivers' effort tonight. There were a ton of unpressured throws that he turfed or otherwise made uncatchable, including all 3 in a row in that series in the 2Q. It's not like he was a net negative out there, obviously, but this didn't strike me as one of his finer nights, nor was he one of the top contributors tonight.
Brady's official numbers for the game:
34-44, 341 yds, 3 TDs, 2 int, 102.6 rating
Brady's numbers had Gronkowski held onto the ball for a 25-yard TD:
35-44, 366 yds, 4 TDs, 1 int, 122.2 rating
If Hogan also held onto the ball, and Brady completed two more passes for another TD:
38-46, 396 yds, 5 TDs, 0 int, 138.8 rating

Brady wasn't perfect, but even with the drops and interceptions, he had a good game. if the interceptions were completions instead, he would have had an awesome game with Patriots offense putting up 52 points instead of merely 38.

You may have a point if the Gordon TD pass was also intercepted:
33-44, 307 yds, 2 TDs, 3 int, 80.4 rating

Now that would qualify as "pedestrian."
 

Ralphwiggum

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"Tom was pedestrian" pretty much sums up the degree to which we have been spoiled.

Brady, White, Michel, Gordon and Jules for me (bad drop for Edelman but still great to see him back).

Despite the nice strip/fumble recovery play, thumbs down for DMac who was abused by Erik freaking Ebron all night.
 

johnmd20

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Really? I thought Tom was pedestrian, and just as "meh" as his receivers' effort tonight. There were a ton of unpressured throws that he turfed or otherwise made uncatchable, including all 3 in a row in that series in the 2Q. It's not like he was a net negative out there, obviously, but this didn't strike me as one of his finer nights, nor was he one of the top contributors tonight.
You really should have your posting privileges revoked for at least a month for this post.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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Had to tape this one and watch this morning. I’ll give InstaFace credit for his very funny and obviously satirical send-up of a bad poster. It was a good bit.

This was a massive blowout under the guise of a small blowout. Two dumb drops that should be exhibits 1A and 1B when someone finally tries to change the interception rule. Hell you can throw that Colts receiver play in as 1C.

All things considered, Sony getting up to speed, Jules coming back, Gordon still getting up to speed, and so on, this was encouraging. Gordon finding that ball so easily and making it look like he was wide open the whole time was incredible. Pretty excited to see what this O can do moving forward.
 

Number45forever

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This offense is going to be fucking great if the current crew stays healthy. That was mid-50s for points without those two horrific bobbled catch INTs. So much fun to watch that game and see TB12 put on another clinic.

Buckle up, going to be a fun rest of the season. KC: you're next.

Game balls:
- White
- Brady
- Gordon
- D-Mac for the Bruschi-like mugging of a weak Colt for a turnover

Awesome game.
 

Van Everyman

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Was Instaface sending up bad posting with that? I thought it was too measured for parody.

Anyway, I think Brady was pretty close to amazing – maybe not 500 yards against the Eagles amazing but pretty close given that he’s got a handful of weapons who notwithstanding their talent haven’t been on the field much or at all until recently.

The turfed throw to Gordon was on Gordon misreading the deep coverage – Brady thought he would do a curl and Gordon realized it too late. Some of the other plays were timing issues – with Edelman back in the lineup as his go-to release valve, you’d expect some of the timing stuff would improve from previous games but some of his profressions would still be off a tick. That’s what I saw.

Brady talks a lot of pablum about football and quarterbacking being a team success but he’s not wrong. Assuming health, I’d expect this unit to continue to improve. Which, given that they just about dropped 50 is, like, watch out-ville.
 

lexrageorge

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If you read Volin's article in the Globe, you'd think the Pats lost by 2 scores (I won't link it here; everyone knows where to find it).

It's always hard to judge the predictive value of a game where there are a lot of turnovers. Pats D benefited from a couple, while the Pat's offense was hurt by a couple. But I'll take a sloppy win on a Thursday night any day of the week, especially coming off the big win against the Dolphins. The varsity comes to town in 10 days.
 

DJnVa

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The Pats scored 76 points in 5 days.

Now BB and the defense need to figure out a way to stop Mahomes, Hill, etc. And we have a few extra days.
 

Zososoxfan

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The coaching staff.

The fact that the Pats scored 38, and we’re debating how many points they left out there, tells you how brilliant McD’s schemes were tonight. I was all over him after the Detroit loss, so credit where credit is due.

The D wasn’t quite as eye-popping, but keeping a good QB like Luck out of the end zone in the first half without the benefit of a pass rush was a helluva accomplishment.
Big props to the coaching staff. I didn't get to watch much of the first half, but that looked like an NCAA game in the second half with the Colts getting schooled on scheme as much as talent/execution. Runs up the middle, stretch plays to the outside, tosses, screens, PA, traps, whams, etc.

Because all of that was possible, big +++ to the OL.
 

JokersWildJIMED

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The turnovers were a bit fluky as they were deep in Colts territory and essentially cost the team 2 TDs. The JE drop was essentially another turnover as it came on third down and would have arguably set them up in or close to the red zone.

Doubtful they can stop or even slow down the Chiefs much, but Kansas City's defense, at least thus far, is probably worse than Miami's or Indianapolis, although both Miami and Indy were missing key players.
 

MuppetAsteriskTalk

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I don't know how anybody can think Brady had a bad game.

But I also don't understand all the game balls for DMC. I get that he forced a huge turnover, but he also gave up huge plays all night. One of his worse games as a safety imo.

I've got Brady, White, and Sony for game balls.
 

dbn

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Half empty: Patriots were at home agains a Colts team that isn't good when healthy, and they were unhealthy. Next week is true test.

Half full: good teams take care of business against bad teams, especially at home, and as others have pointed out the Patriots dominated the game more than the final score indicates. Well done.
 

ShaneTrot

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Did anyone else get the feeling that in the second half the Pats wanted to work on their passing game? They seemed to have no trouble getting 3-7 yards from Michel per play, yet they threw the ball anyway.