Just wondering what that's about. Anyone have any clue? Is it like when they called Belicheck's girlfriend's name, or whatever it was?DrewDawg said:
Papa john's! Papa john's! Likeagoodneighborstatefarmisthere hut!
The Game Ball Thread: Week 9 vs. the Broncos
- Thread starter SeoulSoxFan
- Start date
Papa john's! Papa john's! Likeagoodneighborstatefarmisthere hut!
"Belichick the GM is failing Belichick the HC!!" Didn't we hear that shit pretty often after the KC game? Game ball to the GM and Patricia for finding Ayers and Casillas and getting them up to speed and ready to contribute so effectively, so quickly.
Huge games for the newbies.
Huge games for the newbies.
yeah, here's to BB over Elway -- as GMs, who the fuck would ever say there's even a contest?
SoSH, baby.
I agree with pretty much every game ball so far...but let's just single out Brady and Gronk because as good as everyone else was, you need superstars. And. they. are.
Also Hightower and Collins were everywhere -- great on the run, on the blitz, and in pass protection. Fucking A they were studly.
Love this team.
SeoulSoxFan said:
SoSH, baby.
RedOctober3829 said:
I agree with pretty much every game ball so far...but let's just single out Brady and Gronk because as good as everyone else was, you need superstars. And. they. are.
Also Hightower and Collins were everywhere -- great on the run, on the blitz, and in pass protection. Fucking A they were studly.
Love this team.
Its Gronk's world and everyone else just lives in it. Of course, if you're with Gronk, you live better.
The zip blitz up the gut was something I wanted to see done, and I loved what Collins/Hightower/Ayers were able to do.
The best thing I saw all day was the consistency in the defensive play on contested balls. Peyton Manning is really good, and his recievers are pretty big and physical, yet on most of the "50-50" balls, Patriot defenders were able to get a hand in on the ball and make the play. Remember the days pre-Talib when the Pats were dying to have just one CB who could apply adequate play? Now it seems like BB has them falling out of his hoodie pouch.
So often we hear about how difficult it is to confuse the genius Manning. But Patrica did an excellent job, the guy is a scholar and he called a brilliant game today. That Nink play was wonderful, the way the defense adjusted to take away a Manning staple and amke a huge momentum swining play.
The best thing I saw all day was the consistency in the defensive play on contested balls. Peyton Manning is really good, and his recievers are pretty big and physical, yet on most of the "50-50" balls, Patriot defenders were able to get a hand in on the ball and make the play. Remember the days pre-Talib when the Pats were dying to have just one CB who could apply adequate play? Now it seems like BB has them falling out of his hoodie pouch.
So often we hear about how difficult it is to confuse the genius Manning. But Patrica did an excellent job, the guy is a scholar and he called a brilliant game today. That Nink play was wonderful, the way the defense adjusted to take away a Manning staple and amke a huge momentum swining play.
Jeff Howe @jeffphowe 4m4 minutes ago
3 of 5 for 56 yards, 2 PBUs, all catches allowed on that one drive RT @DelcioFelipe21: @jeffphowe any stats on Revis?
So after giving up three catches on Denver's first TD drive (and one was in zone, one was a shallow crosser in man that's a brutal assignment), Revis pitched a shutout the rest of the way. Not too shabby.
The secondary is really good, and if they can generate pass rush they'll go far. Only one sack tonight (the huge 4th-down one by Ayers) but they got a lot more pressure, especially in the second quarter.
3 of 5 for 56 yards, 2 PBUs, all catches allowed on that one drive RT @DelcioFelipe21: @jeffphowe any stats on Revis?
So after giving up three catches on Denver's first TD drive (and one was in zone, one was a shallow crosser in man that's a brutal assignment), Revis pitched a shutout the rest of the way. Not too shabby.
The secondary is really good, and if they can generate pass rush they'll go far. Only one sack tonight (the huge 4th-down one by Ayers) but they got a lot more pressure, especially in the second quarter.
Ok. First, I would like to say the Broncos are clearly the better team. Now that that's out of the way, on to the game balls.
TB - Great. Great performance. Still not as good as Manning but we'll take him. He's our guy, I guess.
OL - They still suck but had an OK game.
Gronk - He's pretty good, no? If he had been around in last season's AFC Championship Game, the Patriots might have been competitive.
Down:
Gray - He sucks. Try gaining more than two yards.
Pass D - They all suck. Manning goes off for 438 yards.
Coaching - How many yards are you going to keep giving up before you decide to do something about it?
Dennard - Can't even get on the field. Complete waste of a draft pick.
The Patriots schedule vs. the Broncos schedule - Just UGH. UGH. UGH, I tell you!
TB - Great. Great performance. Still not as good as Manning but we'll take him. He's our guy, I guess.
OL - They still suck but had an OK game.
Gronk - He's pretty good, no? If he had been around in last season's AFC Championship Game, the Patriots might have been competitive.
Down:
Gray - He sucks. Try gaining more than two yards.
Pass D - They all suck. Manning goes off for 438 yards.
Coaching - How many yards are you going to keep giving up before you decide to do something about it?
Dennard - Can't even get on the field. Complete waste of a draft pick.
The Patriots schedule vs. the Broncos schedule - Just UGH. UGH. UGH, I tell you!
JMDurron said:
This prompts an honorable mention to Ryan "The Puntator" Allen for booming a (wind-aided) 67 yarder.
Who said that Belichick can't dial up fancy Rex Ryan-style blitzes?
This defense looked like a different group than we've seen for years.
Belichick, Patricia, Hightower, Collins, Browner, Revis, Chung (!), Ninkovich all deserve game balls along with Ayers and Casillas. There were only a few players I didn't see do anything outstanding - McCourty? (And feel free to correct me, I didn't see every snap and replay) I don't remember any key Wilfork plays but the run defense was generally strong. Terrific defense today from the game plan to the pressure schemes to the hitting and tackling. Wow. If this defense plays like this all year it's going to be a fun season.
This defense looked like a different group than we've seen for years.
Belichick, Patricia, Hightower, Collins, Browner, Revis, Chung (!), Ninkovich all deserve game balls along with Ayers and Casillas. There were only a few players I didn't see do anything outstanding - McCourty? (And feel free to correct me, I didn't see every snap and replay) I don't remember any key Wilfork plays but the run defense was generally strong. Terrific defense today from the game plan to the pressure schemes to the hitting and tackling. Wow. If this defense plays like this all year it's going to be a fun season.
Al Zarilla said:
... while getting tackled mid-air and not even noticing.
simplyeric said:
I have to admit, I do think that chicken parm does indeed taste so good.
To be serious, previous posters have got it mostly covered. What I'll add is that the previous posters have mentioned most of the players/coaches. Tonight's win was a great team win. So many Patriots played very well, and the game plan was great. Also, Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. is one hell of a football player.
Actually, I'm going to give a game ball to the relative lack of weather. Just enough cold and wind to get in Peyton's head, and flutter his balls (so to speak), but not the crazy snow storm, once game time hit, to make us mitigate the "Why" of this victory. This team wins either way, I think that's pretty clear, and I think it's at least a little bit important.
I'll say Wilfork. I've been harsh on him this year but he looked good. Part of why they were in 3rd and longs were that they were getting nothing on the ground, especially early, and I remember Wilfork getting some good penetration to help with that.
I thought Chung was fine (and I think he hasn't been as bad as the general wisdom believes) but he was mostly matched up on Tamme it seemed and I'd hope he could hold his own there. The one time he matched up on Julius Thomas he got torched. So credit the rest of the DBs for winning their matchups consistently (especially Arrington on Welker) and making Peyton look at his 5th option.
I thought Chung was fine (and I think he hasn't been as bad as the general wisdom believes) but he was mostly matched up on Tamme it seemed and I'd hope he could hold his own there. The one time he matched up on Julius Thomas he got torched. So credit the rest of the DBs for winning their matchups consistently (especially Arrington on Welker) and making Peyton look at his 5th option.
iPad issues kept me from posting this earlier, so I'll guess I'm posting into the darkness here, but here goes...
Brady and Gronk stood out, as they so often do, and it doesn't take Will McDonough (or the BBtL experts) to recognize that. So well done, again, gentlemen.
I was a huge fan of the LBs generally, and Hightower in particular, but he's had his balls adequTely and appropriately washed herein.
What I was surprised to see missing was practically any mention of the exceptional pass protection. (One brief mention by PedroKsBambino was it?). Just one or two sacks, neither huge, right? Not a single holding penalty (I think?), though I guess you could put Brady's grounding on the OL. And most important, Brady almost always had adequate time to see what he was going to do before releasing the ball.
Any time a rookie center holds up so well, it deserves mention. Stork is a keeper. I'm no OL expert, but seemed to me Vollmer was especially good...but no whining about the rest of the OL either.
So let me give a long awaited thumbs up to the as-yet unmentioned (barely even in the game thread) Dave DeGuglielmo. That line is so freaking improved....and I'm not going to assume it's because he just found Dante's notebook.
Brady and Gronk stood out, as they so often do, and it doesn't take Will McDonough (or the BBtL experts) to recognize that. So well done, again, gentlemen.
I was a huge fan of the LBs generally, and Hightower in particular, but he's had his balls adequTely and appropriately washed herein.
What I was surprised to see missing was practically any mention of the exceptional pass protection. (One brief mention by PedroKsBambino was it?). Just one or two sacks, neither huge, right? Not a single holding penalty (I think?), though I guess you could put Brady's grounding on the OL. And most important, Brady almost always had adequate time to see what he was going to do before releasing the ball.
Any time a rookie center holds up so well, it deserves mention. Stork is a keeper. I'm no OL expert, but seemed to me Vollmer was especially good...but no whining about the rest of the OL either.
So let me give a long awaited thumbs up to the as-yet unmentioned (barely even in the game thread) Dave DeGuglielmo. That line is so freaking improved....and I'm not going to assume it's because he just found Dante's notebook.
He already has. These are the types of moves that are common at the deadline and often work out better than the star player. Titans loss is our gain and if this keeps up then I'm not having a problem with Bill giving up a late rounder that would have been used on a player who would get cut, practice squad, or would be normally a UDFA from Rutgers.GBrushTWood said:
On another note, god I missed those Gronk spikes!
Mugsy's Walk-Off Bunt said:
Rob Gronkowski's hands are both dominant. I hear he also won a staring contest with the sun.
Toe Nash said:
Byrdbrain said:
It was also not the only time Chung was matched up on Julian Thomas. I know this as a fact because I remember pointing it out to the room while watching the game and holding my breath during the play. However, my anxiety was mis-placed. Chung, when not asked to play deep and cover half the field is apparently a useful and productive football player. This game has finally turned me around on him.
And yes, that was a perfect pass to Thomas. If that ball is under thrown even just a tiny bit then Chung was in position to make a play. If it was thrown a little further out it would have required an incredible effort from Thomas to reel it in. Manning is a douche and all, but sometimes you have to tip your hat to a great play.
It's almost unfair to give a game ball out for that game. That was a quintessential team win. Brady, the O-line, the secondary, Collins/Hightower, special teams. Just an all around dominating performance. A few things stood out though other than the obvious (Gronk!, TB):
The LBs played an outstanding game. Collins is an excellent tackler and the Broncos are so tough in space, but he limited them by making tackles all over the field, especially on the RBs. Hightower has really showed more range this year although I'd guess he's the better run stopper of the 2.
The O line had a great game, but Solder did get beat on more than a couple of plays. Denver's D line is definitely a good unit, but a nit worth noting nonetheless. I've been a huge Stork fan since day 1, and since he became a regular starter, the O line has performed much better.
J. Thomas is a beast, and having Browner, Chung, etc. covering him was about as well as you can possibly do. All of the talk here regarding the coverages was on point - put Revis/Browner on the Thomasae and matchup Arrington/Dennard (and I think Chung on a couple of plays) on Welker. It's games like this that I wish the audience could have a 'Madden' like end zone view. We didn't see much of DMC, but there's no doubt he contributed a lot to the success of the coverage.
Special teams with Slater, Bolden, and Casillas is stupid good. A legitimate weapon.
LaFell is awesome. JE is okay too.
Can anyone speak as to the performance of the D line? I mean, it's obvious they had a good game because the defense as a whole had a great game, but I'm curious to see how the snaps came out (e.g. did Easley play much and how did he do?) and if others have details that can provide further insight.
This team is just the tits. So much fun to watch and their ceiling is just stratospheric when they play up to their abilities.
The LBs played an outstanding game. Collins is an excellent tackler and the Broncos are so tough in space, but he limited them by making tackles all over the field, especially on the RBs. Hightower has really showed more range this year although I'd guess he's the better run stopper of the 2.
The O line had a great game, but Solder did get beat on more than a couple of plays. Denver's D line is definitely a good unit, but a nit worth noting nonetheless. I've been a huge Stork fan since day 1, and since he became a regular starter, the O line has performed much better.
J. Thomas is a beast, and having Browner, Chung, etc. covering him was about as well as you can possibly do. All of the talk here regarding the coverages was on point - put Revis/Browner on the Thomasae and matchup Arrington/Dennard (and I think Chung on a couple of plays) on Welker. It's games like this that I wish the audience could have a 'Madden' like end zone view. We didn't see much of DMC, but there's no doubt he contributed a lot to the success of the coverage.
Special teams with Slater, Bolden, and Casillas is stupid good. A legitimate weapon.
LaFell is awesome. JE is okay too.
Can anyone speak as to the performance of the D line? I mean, it's obvious they had a good game because the defense as a whole had a great game, but I'm curious to see how the snaps came out (e.g. did Easley play much and how did he do?) and if others have details that can provide further insight.
This team is just the tits. So much fun to watch and their ceiling is just stratospheric when they play up to their abilities.
The OL did miss a few plays. Vollmer got torched on the sack by Ware, and Brady was forced to throw the ball away a few times. The other side of the fabulous Gronk catch was that Brady had to get rid of the ball quickly under pressure, causing him to throw it high and a bit off target. And there were not a whole lot of lanes open in the running game.Mugsys Jock said:
However, I would still give the OL a solid B+. The Broncos strategy was to bring pressure, which they did, but Brady did have enough time most plays to get the ball out. And it should be noted that the Broncos defense had not allowed 300 passing yards since the opener against Andrew Luck and the Colts. Bonus to the receiving/TE/RB corps for getting open when needed; those 2 catches by Amendola were huge and help offset his earlier tip.
I'm having a hard time understanding something about the secondary yesterday. I'm firmly in the camp that is going to say that the 400 yards that Manning threw for were empty and mostly meaningless. They don't really matter.
But at the same time, we saw Revis only give up three catches on 5 targets. One of those catches was clearly zone coverage and the receiver found the hole/zone, another was on a crossing route where Revis got knocked off coverage by a LBer. But what doesn't really make sense to me is, Revis played an outstanding game but the offense still gave up 400+ yards passing. Part of my brain is wondering how? Assuming Revis was locking down one receiver on every play, I would have expected more resources being devoted to covering the other receivers. But that didn't necessarily happen.
I'm not complaining by any means here, I thought the defense was exceptional last night. But does anyone else struggle with the concept of your lock down CB having a lock down CB type of game but the rest of the team still giving up 400+ yards in the passing game?
My best guess is that this was a result of a trade offs made to help stop the run game.
But at the same time, we saw Revis only give up three catches on 5 targets. One of those catches was clearly zone coverage and the receiver found the hole/zone, another was on a crossing route where Revis got knocked off coverage by a LBer. But what doesn't really make sense to me is, Revis played an outstanding game but the offense still gave up 400+ yards passing. Part of my brain is wondering how? Assuming Revis was locking down one receiver on every play, I would have expected more resources being devoted to covering the other receivers. But that didn't necessarily happen.
I'm not complaining by any means here, I thought the defense was exceptional last night. But does anyone else struggle with the concept of your lock down CB having a lock down CB type of game but the rest of the team still giving up 400+ yards in the passing game?
My best guess is that this was a result of a trade offs made to help stop the run game.
( . ) ( . ) and (_!_) said:
Denver gained ~300 of their total yards in the second half, when they were already down by 20.
I think this is important, because while the Patriots didn't quite soften up their coverage (a lot of Manning's big plays looked like they came in man coverage) the Broncos probably had to open up the playbook for riskier deep plays. That will bolster the yardage, but also the turnovers. This is reflected in Manning's passer rating (80.9) for the game, despite having good YPA.
( . ) ( . ) and (_!_) said:
Two of their receivers accounted for about 330 of those yards (Thomas and Sanders) Revis can't be on both at the same time. The Broncos just have a lot of weapons in the passing game, for you to shut all of them down you have to get to Peyton, which the Patriots didn't do much yesterday. They covered better than they rushed the passer, and against a team like Denver that will probably mean giving up 400+ if Manning attempts 60 passes.
Tyrone Biggums said:
It stuns me how good Ayers is, and I'm someone who coveted him the year he was drafted. But I really don't get this about the NFL -- the guy is a high draft pick, performed well, and then just ends up on the bench available for free. Seems like this happens time and time again. So much is invested in the draft and sticking to developing one's own players with so few trades, but it sure seems some gems are available consistently for cheap via trade.
Gronk. Brady. Coaches. Secondary. Game. Balls.
I know Brady is the leader and the game goes as he goes, but how much MVP talk does Gronk merit? Looking at the last few years, it seems that Brady goes as Gronk goes. Tom Brady with a full-time, top-of-his-game Gronk performs much better. It seems like a chicken or egg question. How much of it is Gronk, how much of it is Brady, how much of it is the o-line not being terrible, how much of it is the receiving corps gelling? Who knows. Regardless, I think Gronk is almost as important as Brady to the offense.
I know Brady is the leader and the game goes as he goes, but how much MVP talk does Gronk merit? Looking at the last few years, it seems that Brady goes as Gronk goes. Tom Brady with a full-time, top-of-his-game Gronk performs much better. It seems like a chicken or egg question. How much of it is Gronk, how much of it is Brady, how much of it is the o-line not being terrible, how much of it is the receiving corps gelling? Who knows. Regardless, I think Gronk is almost as important as Brady to the offense.
Revis gave up 3 catches early, then did not give up another catch the rest of the game. He was amazing.
Why aren't we still talking about Tim Wright's supposedly questionable block on JE's punt return TD?
"Torched" is pretty strong. He got beat by a bit and perfect dime-in-a-bucket throw by Manning. And I'm not even a Chung fan.Toe Nash said:
Manning did have 182 yards passing in the first half, and 256 in the second.
If we were to assume that the 182 is meaningful, and ignore the 2nd half entirely, that would give the Broncos and Manning 364 yards passing for the game. Interestingly, that would have been the 2nd most passing yards by Manning this season. Most of those passing yards, 140 to be exact, came in 3 drives: the TD drive, the one that ended in the missed FG, and the turnover on downs. At the conclusion of those latter 2 drives, the Pats defense forced Manning into 5 incompletions, a scramble in which Manning gained 4 yards, and a sack. Classic timely defense, aka, bend don't break. The New England defense also forced the Broncos to punt 3 times in the first half, and, of course, gets credit for the INT.
Manning did orchestrate 2 very nice drives in the 3rd quarter, during which he put up another 128 yards. Those drives bookended another great play by the NE secondary that led to the 2nd INT and a very short field for the Pats. In the 4th quarter Manning did complete 2 long passes down the middle of the field to add another 69 yards to his total, but then was forced into 3 straight incompletions. In the next drive, still early enough in the 4th quarter, Manning completed one nice pass for another 24 yards, but then stalled out again. Manning's last 49 yards came when the game was essentially over and really are not predictive of anything.
Yes, if you look at the passing yards alone, the Pats defense would not grade all that well. If, however, you believe that the 2 INT's were not simply random (aka, lucky) events, but were instead good plays by the defense, and if you believe the defense forced the premature ending of 3 Bronco drives via incompletions, then the D should at least get a solid B. If you decide to grade on a curve and recognize that the D was playing against Manning, Thomas, Thomas, Sanders, and Welker, and if you give the defense credit for holding the Broncos to all of 43 yards rushing (18 of which came in the game ending drive in the final minute), then the D gets an A.
One understated point in last night's game is that if you take away those 18 meaningless yards, the D held the Broncos to the lowest rushing total all season (Seattle gave up 36) and 1.8 yards per carry.
If we were to assume that the 182 is meaningful, and ignore the 2nd half entirely, that would give the Broncos and Manning 364 yards passing for the game. Interestingly, that would have been the 2nd most passing yards by Manning this season. Most of those passing yards, 140 to be exact, came in 3 drives: the TD drive, the one that ended in the missed FG, and the turnover on downs. At the conclusion of those latter 2 drives, the Pats defense forced Manning into 5 incompletions, a scramble in which Manning gained 4 yards, and a sack. Classic timely defense, aka, bend don't break. The New England defense also forced the Broncos to punt 3 times in the first half, and, of course, gets credit for the INT.
Manning did orchestrate 2 very nice drives in the 3rd quarter, during which he put up another 128 yards. Those drives bookended another great play by the NE secondary that led to the 2nd INT and a very short field for the Pats. In the 4th quarter Manning did complete 2 long passes down the middle of the field to add another 69 yards to his total, but then was forced into 3 straight incompletions. In the next drive, still early enough in the 4th quarter, Manning completed one nice pass for another 24 yards, but then stalled out again. Manning's last 49 yards came when the game was essentially over and really are not predictive of anything.
Yes, if you look at the passing yards alone, the Pats defense would not grade all that well. If, however, you believe that the 2 INT's were not simply random (aka, lucky) events, but were instead good plays by the defense, and if you believe the defense forced the premature ending of 3 Bronco drives via incompletions, then the D should at least get a solid B. If you decide to grade on a curve and recognize that the D was playing against Manning, Thomas, Thomas, Sanders, and Welker, and if you give the defense credit for holding the Broncos to all of 43 yards rushing (18 of which came in the game ending drive in the final minute), then the D gets an A.
One understated point in last night's game is that if you take away those 18 meaningless yards, the D held the Broncos to the lowest rushing total all season (Seattle gave up 36) and 1.8 yards per carry.
Total yards is a dumb statistic for all sorts of reasons. Most obviously, Denver had 14 drives, when most teams get 9-12 per game. Prorate their total yards over a 10 possession game and it looks a lot different.
While many are deserving of praise.. I am really impressed with Ayers.. only a few weeks since the trade and (according to Reiss) he played for 77/82 Defensive Snaps yesterday. That is stepping up.
The NFL Network is showing yesterday's game on the NFL Game Rewind (30 minutes) at 2:30 EST today btw.
The NFL Network is showing yesterday's game on the NFL Game Rewind (30 minutes) at 2:30 EST today btw.
Couldn't agree more on Ayers.
Another reason it's dumb is that the Broncos were in 4 down territory for most of the 2nd half giving them 25% more snaps to get 10 yards....oh, except they were 0-4 on 4th downs.
Morgan's Magic Snowplow said:
Another reason it's dumb is that the Broncos were in 4 down territory for most of the 2nd half giving them 25% more snaps to get 10 yards....oh, except they were 0-4 on 4th downs.
I don't remember a game in recent memory where the defense tackled as well as they did last night. I think that was the underlying reason the defense played so well. When they had a chance to wrap a guy up and bring them down, they typically did. It started in the first quarter with the run game.
Browner has been a very nice addition and I love seeing his tackling ability. I've had huge issues with the team's ability to tackle over the last several years and last night I was giddy with excitement every time a defender got hands on a Broncos player.
Hopefully it continues through the rest of the season. Game ball to tackling, is that allowed?
Browner has been a very nice addition and I love seeing his tackling ability. I've had huge issues with the team's ability to tackle over the last several years and last night I was giddy with excitement every time a defender got hands on a Broncos player.
Hopefully it continues through the rest of the season. Game ball to tackling, is that allowed?
Not sure where else to put this. Lafell had a couple of bad plays last night, but consider this: after not catching a pass the first two games, he now has 36 catches for 514 yards and 5 TDs on the season, accumulated in 7 games. Projected to a 16 game season, that comes to 82 catches for 1,175 yards and 11 TDs. He may be the best #2 WR they have had since Moss-Welker in 2009.
I liked the way they dropped the OLBs more often (29 coverages) than average and rushed the ILBs more often (24 rushes) than average. It made the defense less predictable before the snap and increased the amount of things Manning had to read after the snap.
Edit: And what is the media/fan consensus of how Brady played? I feel like that interception that hit Amendola's hands is making Brady's great game seem more like just a good game. I thought he was impressive yesterday as he was in any game this year.
Edit: And what is the media/fan consensus of how Brady played? I feel like that interception that hit Amendola's hands is making Brady's great game seem more like just a good game. I thought he was impressive yesterday as he was in any game this year.