This is the group. Butler was terrific. The OBJ long TD was really McCourty's mistake.Amendola
Butler
Ghost
Amendola stepped up huge tonight and the Pats will need him the next 7 games to play like this.
Ghost is just unbelievably good.
This is the group. Butler was terrific. The OBJ long TD was really McCourty's mistake.Amendola
Butler
Ghost
http://espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=400791591"You're one kick away from being Public Enemy No. 1," Gostkowski said. "You're always one kick away from trending on Twitter as the No. 1 loser in America.
"But it's fun being on a good team. It's kind of like being on a baseball team where everybody's got a hit, and you can't wait to get up there and get a hit, too."
...
Gostkowski, the NFL's leading scorer the last three seasons, sent his winning kick soaring through the uprights.
Regarding Butler, I thought a telling moment was the pat on the ass from Beckham toward the end of the game, as in "hell of a game kid".
Butler is actually two and a half years older than Beckham.OBJ and Butler are both second year players, it's not like OBJ is a wily veteran with a long pedigree.
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2015111509/2015/REG10/patriots@giants#menu=gameinfo|contentId:0ap3000000580815&tab=videosAny possibility of that final drive recorded somewhere? Had to leave at start of fourth and missed everything
This is a thread where we are supposed to discuss the previous game and who played well or poorly. The third CB sucked, whoever it was and was exposed. Doesn't mean it's a problem for every game. Brady isn't going to throw INTs at the goal line very often either.People complaining that this team doesn't have a 3rd corner back are kind of ridiculous. I don't have the time to look in depth but I'm more then willing to say that all but maybe a handful of teams do not have a 3rd or 4th corner back that is not a liability that teams can expose. I'm curious if the people worrying about the 3rd corner are also complaining about their gold slippers being a half size too small?
Yes. Teams can attack Coleman or Melvin.
No. Not every team can execute consistently enough to do so.
Yes. The pats need a better pass rush to protect their DBs. They need to play complimentary football.
They really miss Collins and Easley was a non factor today getting any pressure up the middle. Once the backup center came in I was hoping for a better push up the middle but it didn't happen.
I mean, the INT was bad, although it looked like he thought LaFell was going to slant more across the field rather than break into the end zone so might only be partially his fault. He held the ball too long on the fumbles. Ball security is paramount so dock him some for that.Its grading on a curve...
But I was NOT happy with Brady. The Int (and almost Int) was HUGE. He was off all day (gronk Shoe tops, Dobson fake spike etc etc). Even the "Clutch" drive to win it started with 3 TERRIBLE Incompletions.
Its a results based game....and he DID drive them down and he DID throw for 334 and 2 tds (ho hum) and he DID win....without his best WR and most dynamic RB...so there's that . As I say I am being a dick professor grading my Best student I have ever seen, probably unfairly.
Tell me I am picking nits (I am).....But I dont like nits.
Yeah, even Pedro Martinez got rocked once in a blue moon. Brady only proved yesterday that he is human (gasp).Its grading on a curve...
But I was NOT happy with Brady. The Int (and almost Int) was HUGE. He was off all day (gronk Shoe tops, Dobson fake spike etc etc). Even the "Clutch" drive to win it started with 3 TERRIBLE Incompletions.
Its a results based game....and he DID drive them down and he DID throw for 334 and 2 tds (ho hum) and he DID win....without his best WR and most dynamic RB...so there's that . As I say I am being a dick professor grading my Best student I have ever seen, probably unfairly.
Tell me I am picking nits (I am).....But I dont like nits.
It looked to me like LaFell ran the route wrong. It's the same option play they run with Edelman where the read is to sit on the goal line, break back or continue the slant. Brady through it as if he was going to stop on the goal line.I mean, the INT was bad, although it looked like he thought LaFell was going to slant more across the field rather than break into the end zone so might only be partially his fault. He held the ball too long on the fumbles. Ball security is paramount so dock him some for that.
That said, but he's playing on the road without all of his tackles and they lost their best WR, who given the Giants defense strengths and weaknesses was probably the key to the game plan, early in the game. He hit two long passes during the fourth quarter and drove down the field for the game winning kick. Not sure you are going to put any quarterback into that situation and see materially better results. He's not a robot as good as he is.
Dobson fake spike was fine given game situation.
So yeah, Brady wasn't perfect and he's played better, but Im actually pretty damn happy with him this morning given that the Pats lose that game with nearly any other QB in the league at the helm.
Watching the replay, it's definitely the option route but I think the misread was on Brady not LaFell. Brady locks onto LaFell when he sees him singled on the outside with a 4 yard cushion pre-snap. LaFell runs at the CB (McBride) and fakes to the outside, but he doesn't get McBride to bite on the fake. Because of this he doesn't have enough separation to just stop on the goalline; even if he had been in the spot where the ball was delivered, he was either going to get undercut or be blanketed. At this point Brady still has the ball and has seen that McBride didn't turn to the outside; once he sees the corner diagnose the in route, he should expect LaFell to keep running away from McBride. Continuing the slant would have been the wrong read as it would have taken him into the safety in the middle of the field (Collins), who froze on the play action and Dobson running a slant across his face but was disciplined enough not to chase Dobson and leave the middle undefended. The only other defender on the left side is the corner covering Amendola in man, who is cleared out when Amendola runs along the back of the end zone. Once LaFell turns upfield he's got a window where he's wide open, McBride is behind him and chasing the play, and Collins is too far away to recover in time.It looked to me like LaFell ran the route wrong. It's the same option play they run with Edelman where the read is to sit on the goal line, break back or continue the slant. Brady through it as if he was going to stop on the goal line.
What's also remarkable is to think about how kicking has evolved so rapidly. I came of age in the John Smith era. I always recall him as a clutch, A-list kicker. Looking at his stats, though, for his career he was 67% (128 for 191), with a career long of 50 yards. Tony Franklin had seven 50+ yarders in his 10 year career, including a 59 yarder his rookie year with the Eagles. But he, too, was 67% for his career overall.To put Gostkowski in perspective, he is 12-13 (92.3%) on 50+ yard FGs in the last 4 years, the rest of the league is 273-428 (63.7%). This is such a big difference that it actually clears a 95% confidence interval of statistical significance despite the tiny sample size.
Benjamin Morris actually had a great piece on this back in January, where he talked about the rapid improvements in kicking and how it has affected in-game strategy.What's also remarkable is to think about how kicking has evolved so rapidly. I came of age in the John Smith era. I always recall him as a clutch, A-list kicker. Looking at his stats, though, for his career he was 67% (128 for 191), with a career long of 50 yards. Tony Franklin had seven 50+ yarders in his 10 year career, including a 59 yarder his rookie year with the Eagles. But he, too, was 67% for his career overall.
From Smith/Franklin to V in one generation, then to Ghost in another, is a pretty steep trajectory in terms of both accuracy and distance.
I think the issue is depth. If you tell me Butler and Ryan are going to be healthy all year, I can live with Coleman (or maybe even Melvin) as my 3rd CB. If one of them gets hurt, however, things start to get ugly. And we've seen in the past (or even this year with Tarell Brown) that you usually don't get total health from the secondary.People complaining that this team doesn't have a 3rd corner back are kind of ridiculous. I don't have the time to look in depth but I'm more then willing to say that all but maybe a handful of teams do not have a 3rd or 4th corner back that is not a liability that teams can expose. I'm curious if the people worrying about the 3rd corner are also complaining about their gold slippers being a half size too small?
Yes. Teams can attack Coleman or Melvin.
No. Not every team can execute consistently enough to do so.
The second of these "terrible" incompletions seemed to me to be a pretty obvious throw-away because everyone was covered. There's no sense dancing around and possibly taking a sack there.Its grading on a curve...
Even the "Clutch" drive to win it started with 3 TERRIBLE Incompletions. .
What's so impressive on re-watching the final drive is that everybody is so calm w.r.t. the clock. Brady isn't averse to throwing it in the middle of the field, there are no false starts & the clock is managed to near perfection. So a game ball to everybody just doing their job.
I just watched the second video in that stream...right after the final drive...entitled Butler vs. Beckham.What's so impressive on re-watching the final drive is that everybody is so calm w.r.t. the clock. Brady isn't averse to throwing it in the middle of the field, there are no false starts & the clock is managed to near perfection. So a game ball to everybody just doing their job.
Like I said...I am certainly being a hard ass graderThe second of these "terrible" incompletions seemed to me to be a pretty obvious throw-away because everyone was covered. There's no sense dancing around and possibly taking a sack there.
You also mentioned the fake spike play. That play had one read, and one read only. A quick toss to Dobson. The DB out there was on him, so it really wasn't a big deal.
If you will forgive the sacrilege.....Watching that Video...I just watched the second video in that stream...right after the final drive...entitled Butler vs. Beckham.
Other than the first play Butler did a hell of a job on Beckham.
What's so impressive on re-watching the final drive is that everybody is so calm w.r.t. the clock. Brady isn't averse to throwing it in the middle of the field, there are no false starts & the clock is managed to near perfection. So a game ball to everybody just doing their job.
And Stork recovered TB's fumble after Brady was hit from behind - having to hurdle over Brady and sprint to the ball, the only Pat not named TB within five yards of it - which was a HUGE save.I come to offer Honorable Mention to Stork. Yes, he got turnstiled a couple of times, but for a guy in his 2nd NFL season playing an entire game at a position he hadn't played before last week, a grade of "competent" is pretty damn remarkable.
And it's a line full of rookies, young players, and former practice squad guys.Indeed the last spike play to stop the clock for the FG happened under 10 seconds. If they get an illegal procedure or false start call there, it's a 10-second runoff and game over.
It was huge to recover it but he was only that close because he was chasing the giant he was supposed to be blocking that was causing the fumble.And Stork recovered TB's fumble after Brady was hit from behind - having to hurdle over Brady and sprint to the ball, the only Pat not named TB within five yards of it - which was a HUGE save.
It was huge to recover it but he was only that close because he was chasing the giant he was supposed to be blocking that was causing the fumble.
Great stuff, thanks.I took a look at the Amendola return, as it was clearly an all-out block by the Pats that Amendola managed to turn into a great play without a ton of help initially. Here's the recap.
That was a great read.I took a look at the Amendola return, as it was clearly an all-out block by the Pats that Amendola managed to turn into a great play without a ton of help initially. Here's the recap.
I took a look at the Amendola return, as it was clearly an all-out block by the Pats that Amendola managed to turn into a great play without a ton of help initially. Here's the recap.
Same here. That was fantastic. Pictures are good.Echoing the complements on the writeup.
Of note to me is the surprisingly small margin for error in high-level football: a 3-5 yard error 15-20 yards away from the ball spells disaster for the return team.
...or by a toe, as the case may have been...Same here. That was fantastic. Pictures are good.
Its like an engine. Lots of moving parts. If one is out of sync by even a hair, the whole thing crashes.
My favorite pieces around...I took a look at the Amendola return, as it was clearly an all-out block by the Pats that Amendola managed to turn into a great play without a ton of help initially. Here's the recap.
Very insightful. To my untrained eye, I thought the blocking must have been fantastic because I saw the Giants getting cleaned out after Amendola had crossed over toward the other sideline already. Little did I know how much of the credit should go to Amendola himself just for staying up long enough and getting into a situation where the blocks to happen.I took a look at the Amendola return, as it was clearly an all-out block by the Pats that Amendola managed to turn into a great play without a ton of help initially. Here's the recap.
Ditto - really terrific work, and so helpful to see the break-down of that whole sequence.That was a great read.
Thanks for writing that up.