The Game Ball Thread: Wk 11 vs Bills
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Not a player on the D who doesn't deserve a game ball, including Chung who shouldn't be asked to defend vertices routes by fast receivers without help.
Other than the entire defense I'd include Amendola and King who is an awesome gunner.
If Amendola doesn't play, Denver is a pick 'em. I also wonder if they go into the game with only 3 healthy WRs. What options do they have with 6 days and nobody who knows the playbook? Thompkins and Cadet and Welker are on rosters. Lloyd, Moss, and Branch are retired for a reason. Anyone ends on the PS or shadow roster?
Other than the entire defense I'd include Amendola and King who is an awesome gunner.
If Amendola doesn't play, Denver is a pick 'em. I also wonder if they go into the game with only 3 healthy WRs. What options do they have with 6 days and nobody who knows the playbook? Thompkins and Cadet and Welker are on rosters. Lloyd, Moss, and Branch are retired for a reason. Anyone ends on the PS or shadow roster?
What a tool he is. He couldn't just stop with "They screwed up."
Randy Moss is awaiting a phone call.
White had a good game, but some of the protection problems could be attributed to the RB.
On this 41-yard completion to Amendola, White should have stepped up in the middle (can't stop thinking that's what Lewis would have done) and stop the blitzing linebacker.
Instead, White blocks to the left without checking for a blitzer, towards two DL that are already well contained by the guards:
Thank god Amendola got so open & Brady was able to get the ball out before he got sacked. White would have to clean up his game going forward.
On this 41-yard completion to Amendola, White should have stepped up in the middle (can't stop thinking that's what Lewis would have done) and stop the blitzing linebacker.
Instead, White blocks to the left without checking for a blitzer, towards two DL that are already well contained by the guards:
Thank god Amendola got so open & Brady was able to get the ball out before he got sacked. White would have to clean up his game going forward.
Tavon Wilson. Inactive for half the season, he stepped in and saw significant snaps out of their nickel and dime defense. A couple of big tackles, at least one QB pressure (which should have been a holding penalty) plus a pass breakup. And a great block on the Amendola punt return.
That was an incredible throw knowing he is about to get destroyed by the blitzer. Threw a strike to DolaWhite had a good game, but some of the protection problems could be attributed to the RB.
On this 41-yard completion to Amendola, White should have stepped up in the middle (can't stop thinking that's what Lewis would have done) and stop the blitzing linebacker.
Instead, White blocks to the left without checking for a blitzer, towards two DL that are already well contained by the guards:
Thank god Amendola got so open & Brady was able to get the ball out before he got sacked. White would have to clean up his game going forward.
I've beaten this drum before and I get obsessive about obscure players, but Greg Salas is one player who can come in and help.
Doesn't the explanation of the whistle and play make things worse? Inadvertent whistle, ok. Then they say the whistle blew after the catch, so the ball is placed at the spot of the catch. But the whistle clearly blew before the catch, so by rule the down should have been replayed. Am I missing something?
Also, the patriots punted with 5-6 min left the the 4th with about 15 seconds left on the play clock, why not kill another 10 seconds?
Also, the patriots punted with 5-6 min left the the 4th with about 15 seconds left on the play clock, why not kill another 10 seconds?
Logan Ryan had an outstanding game. Lead the team in tackles and was consistently involved in run D with great coverage.
While he missed a handful of throws Brady put on one of the toughest displays of QB play I've seen. BUF had ridiculous pressure tonight with a lot of it right up the gut. He was sacked only once but must have taken hits on about 1/3 of his drop backs.
While he missed a handful of throws Brady put on one of the toughest displays of QB play I've seen. BUF had ridiculous pressure tonight with a lot of it right up the gut. He was sacked only once but must have taken hits on about 1/3 of his drop backs.
I can see a reason: you want offensive players to be able to stop the clock on their own, but a defender hitting a player backwards out of bounds shouldn't benefit the offense.
I took it to mean "Spygate, deflategate, spygate, deflategate,...".
Malcolm Butler is so good it hurts. I remember a bunch of us said we had illusions of granduer that his play would catapult him into a solid corner with upside because we had heard good things and seen some good things in one whole quarter of an NFL game against a below average receiver. And now, 10 games through the season, I'd rather have Butler than Darrelle Revis, who has clearly lost a step and gets banged up every week.
Others:
Ryan
Malcom Brown
Sheard
Hightower
Amendola
Brady (good game, considering the OL trainwreck, outside of that "oh no" heave for an INT.
The whole D was great, and has been, and it's still missing one of its most dynamic players in Collins. Tremendous job by BB and the rocket scientist.
Others:
Ryan
Malcom Brown
Sheard
Hightower
Amendola
Brady (good game, considering the OL trainwreck, outside of that "oh no" heave for an INT.
The whole D was great, and has been, and it's still missing one of its most dynamic players in Collins. Tremendous job by BB and the rocket scientist.
1. Gee, I wonder why he lost track of the football. Maybe a loudmouth coach was in his way for no good reason?
2. That said, why would you blow the whistle if you lose track of the ball? There must be plenty of times in a game where a line judge loses sight of a ball; that's why they have multiple refs.
I think he blew the whistle because Brady was out of bounds (or about to be out of bounds) and was protecting him from a hit.
In fairness, everything in Brady's body language suggested 'I am throwing the ball out of bounds'. If you watch the replay, Tirico is in the process of saying 'Brady ... now throws it away' before the whistle sounds. The line judge got distracted by Grimace for a moment, presumably, and everything told him that the ball was headed out of bounds in that split second.
Edit: and what Koufax said-- the protecting-the-QB impulse
The best candidates have been mentioned but Stork deserves a little love. Between spelling a strangely ineffective Andrews at center and playing some guard, a week after doing a much better job than Cannon at tackle, the man was invaluable last night.
Tirico (and the camera we all watched through) had the entirety of the Bills bench...coaches, players, staff...standing between him and the sideline. I can buy where he saw Brady getting close to the sideline and guessed at what was about to happen. That's part of his job.
No excuse for the official though. Looking at the replay, Brady was a full step away from the line and turning away from it when he made the throw, so there's no reason to blow the whistle as if he was out of bounds and needed protecting. As for anticipating the ball going out of bounds, that's not his call to make, at least not until the ball, you know, actually goes out of bounds. Okay, he was screened by Ryan so he couldn't see where the ball went. It still didn't warrant a whistle. Not with other officials out there who still had eyes on the play.
Game ball for Rex too for going to a 3 man rush at the end of the first half (up until the White TD play) when the Pats had really been struggling to do anything against the blitzes.
They also ran a number of draw plays while down multiple scores in the fourth. Odd play calling.
I'm pretty sure he's referring to his team being better than they were last time out against NE. He was pretty complimentary of the Pats last night after the game.
It means that there were a lot of replays last night.
You know, football, video, football, video.
Thats why hes in the booth not coaching, he seemed lost as to what the Pats were doing often last night.
I sort of get this, but you're not allowed to hit a player out of bounds whether or not a whistle has sounded. This reasoning would make sense if he thought Brady was going to slide or give himself up, but stepping over the line should give Brady the protection.
Sorry, according to the Bills massage boards (EDIT: was going to fix that autocorrect, but I think "massage" is actually more apt) he's 24-3 with two seconds (STILL!) left!
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That's how I took it. That his team is getting better as the season is going along. But if you only heard that one line and not the rest of what he said, it would have been confusing. His entire interview was about how the Pats are still better than the Bills and he gave us a ton of credit.
Exactly.
That excuse -- that he blew the whistle to "protect" Brady -- is the equivalent of how the prosecution got Colonel Jessup in A Few Good Men ("If you gave an order that Santiago wasn't to be touched, and your orders are always followed, then why would Santiago be in danger? Why would it be necessary to transfer him off the base?").
There are rules about hitting out of bounds. The whistle isn't necessary to enact that rule.
It was merely a stupid screw-up, nothing more.
I absolutely love how Belichick handled himself when the official came over to explain that they screwed up. Can only imagine how someone like Harbaugh would have conducted himself in game and after the game.
I think he blew the whistle because he thought Brady threw the ball away and was blowing it when he thought it crossed the out of bounds line. Would fall in line with the timing of the whistle, Blandino's explanation, and Rex's whereabouts at that time. I don't think he got fooled on the pump fake or was protecting Brady. I think he thought the ball was OOB, uncatchable and was looking to halt contact.
Which is a buyable excuse if you ignore the fact that the ball itself never came close to crossing the out of bounds line, and the official was in no position to see that one way or the other. Brady was moving toward the sideline but he threw across his body back into the field of play. Where Amendola caught it was further from the line than where Brady threw it from, and he caught it moving away from the sideline.
I didn't see Slater listed as inactive pre-game but didn't see him on ST. What's his health status?
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All the blitzes and stunts and complex choreography can really get at Brady, but if anyone misses a dance move, the Pats are probably going to break something big. With so little time it made sense to play 'prevent', which was maybe working until...they did another complex d-line move and apparently someone missed an assignment: TD.
And even so, white could have been tackled on that play, which scored with like 13 seconds left. So even with a successful 1st down there, if they tackle him there's a strong chance that the Pats end up kicking a field goal. (13 seconds left, time for one throw to the end zone?)
So, I think the conservatism in that circumstance made sense, even if it turned out to bite Rex in the ass.
That kinda made sense to me, actually.
All the blitzes and stunts and complex choreography can really get at Brady, but if anyone misses a dance move, the Pats are probably going to break something big. With so little time it made sense to play 'prevent', which was maybe working until...they did another complex d-line move and apparently someone missed an assignment: TD.
And even so, white could have been tackled on that play, which scored with like 13 seconds left. So even with a successful 1st down there, if they tackle him there's a strong chance that the Pats end up kicking a field goal. (13 seconds left, time for one throw to the end zone?)
So, I think the conservatism in that circumstance made sense, even if it turned out to bite Rex in the ass.
Yea. I'd like to see the play later and see if his eyes follow the ball. Can't check it out right now. No matter what, it was a huge mistake. Officials not having a good year.Which is a buyable excuse if you ignore the fact that the ball itself never came close to crossing the out of bounds line, and the official was in no position to see that one way or the other. Brady was moving toward the sideline but he threw across his body back into the field of play. Where Amendola caught it was further from the line than where Brady threw it from, and he caught it moving away from the sideline.
I just came across this, this morning.
Here's the video.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2592426-tom-brady-yells-rex-ryan-at-line-of-scrimmage
The video posted upthread in post #86 has a pretty clear view of the official. It certainly appears to me that he has a clear line of sight to Brady and/or the football. Rex is right next to him, but does not look like he is blocking the refs view.
My simpleton mind is thinking that the ref had the whistle in/near his mouth, and when he went to yell at Rex to move his fat ass, the whistle blew since it was already in/near his mouth.
The blow wasn't accidental. It's was the repeater signal. On off on. Very clear and intentional.
He played, I definitely saw him. He hurt his leg at one point, but got back into the game.
Butler was amazing. Watkins was targeted 6 times and caught 3 for 39 yards. His first catch didn't come until 7 minutes left in the 4th quarter and the other 2 came when they were playing prevent defense on the last drive.
And one catch was an otherworldly grab that Sherman couldn't have stopped even standing on Norman's shoulders.
No doubt that he intended to blow the whistle. The question that needs answering is why. He raised it to his mouth in anticipation of Brady going out of bounds which is standard operating procedure there to be prepared to blow the play dead when it is dead. However, since Brady never got to the line and instead threw a pass, there was no longer an imminent need to blow the whistle.
What gets me about the play is that the white border is there, and coaches/players are barred from it during plays, so the officials have room to maneuver along the sideline enabling them to see the action unobstructed. Ryan was out in the white area and clearly in violation, but why was the official backed into the bench beyond the white area? That strikes me as bad technique for an official, which rendered him out of position and even more vulnerable to being obstructed by Ryan. Ryan could have been standing in front of him and obstructed his view without being in the white area by the time he blew the whistle.