The Game Goat Thread: Wk.14 at LAR

SeoulSoxFan

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A Scud Away from Hell
Sure, it's a short week against a good team but this was an embarrassing performance. Everyone got a game ball last Sunday. Everyone gets big, fat, ugly, wet, smelly goat this today (except Bailey & Gunner).

I've flip-flopped on Cam all season but I'm really done with Newton. Just don't see any positive signs moving forward. In fact, he seems to be regressing. That pick-6 was inexcusable.

Sure, the OL and DL shat the bed but you just can't give away 7 points playing playoff-caliber teams.

Let the Stidham Era begin (again).
 

BaseballJones

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On the pick, the RB was held by Donald. Legally, but it kept him from being where he needed to be. Yes bad throw, but that play by Donald made it happen.

But everyone gets the goat's horns except Bailey and maybe Gun Show, who gave it a really nice go as a PR.
 

BaseballJones

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NE only had 10 first downs all night long. And in 4 trips to the Red Zone, they had two turnovers on downs, a FG, and a pick-six. So in four trips to the Red Zone, they had a net point total of -4.

I mean....

Wow.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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Whole team and coaching were bad except for Harris, the random DB who made the pick, and Bailey + punt coverage. Oh and Phillips made a bunch of solid tackles in the secondary I guess.

Particular goats to Cam on offense and linebackers on defense. Jennings had a really rough night in particular.
 

Silverdude2167

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NE only had 10 first downs all night long. And in 4 trips to the Red Zone, they had two turnovers on downs, a FG, and a pick-six. So in four trips to the Red Zone, they had a net point total of -4.

I mean....

Wow.
It's actually amazing how we all think they played like shit and if they had played better in the Red Zone they probably win.
 

bankshot1

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They got run over on D in the 1st qtr, but with any kind of offense they could have been in this shit-show of a game.

This game was lost in the trenchs, both sides.
 
Apr 24, 2019
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Cam
The OL
The DL

Basically, everyone except Bryant, Bailey, Gunner and Harris. The team isn't good. At all. It's a re-set year, next year comes the actual rebuild. I"m not sure why anyone is surprised at this point. They weren't going to win this game. Cam is a great guy. Love him. He can't play - certainly not in this system. No rhythm, no pocket presence, slow and poor decision-making. They need to throw Stidham in and see what they have, and move on from there.

EDIT: I don't think they gave up. I saw a lot of effort out there. This team doesn't quit.
 

BigSoxFan

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The oddsmakers. Rams only giving 5 points? Sure...

But, seriously, they just didn’t show up tonight. At all. Complete failure.
 

Cellar-Door

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I love Belichick and pretty much trust him 100%. Playing Newton at this point is inexcusable.
It's perfectly excusable if you think he's the best QB on the roster. We don't have any QBs, Cam is a well liked vet, there is no particular reason to bench him.
 

chilidawg

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It's actually amazing how we all think they played like shit and if they had played better in the Red Zone they probably win.
I doubt they win, but it sure would have been a different game. After a terrible start they had a good 2nd Q., moved the ball well and stopped the Rams a couple times. The 4th and goal stop and pick 6 killed what momentum they could have created. Could have been a relatively even game going into the half.

Game lost in the trenches. Amazing how bad the pass protection was.

Newton
Elumanor
Jennings

If I had to pick 3.
 

Cellar-Door

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Except that he's playing worse than any quarterback in the league at this point. Besides that, no reason.
You only bench your QB if you think your backup is better is the point. It is clear that Bill does not think that, and there isn't a whole lot of reason to doubt him on that front.
We have the worst QB room in the league probably, our backup is neither a reliable vet nor a potential future starter.

I'm sure that if we had Tua on the bench, or Ryan Fitzpatrick he'd consider the move.... we don't.

Also, I'm not sure Cam is playing worse than some of the rest of the league (Wentz, Lock, Finley and Allen have all likely been worse on balance, Cam has had some of the worst performances, but also some perfectly fine ones).
 

SMU_Sox

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Bryant had a good day. Harris had a few moments.

GOATs: edge setters who can't set an edge, OTs who are in way over their heads against good pass rushers, BB the GM... Cam played horribly. WRs for not getting consistent separation or close to any all game.

HT to Sean McVay who has shifted his strategy from almost exclusively 11 in 2018 to going to be close to 30% 12 in 2020. He's adjusted. He's been coaching better all year and making changes to his scheme to get the most out of his offense. A lot of coaches plateau after the leagues adjusts to what they are doing and they can't counter/grow from that. So... McVay's growth as a coach is a goat.
 

Bergs

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You only bench your QB if you think your backup is better is the point. It is clear that Bill does not think that, and there isn't a whole lot of reason to doubt him on that front.
We have the worst QB room in the league probably, our backup is neither a reliable vet nor a potential future starter.

I'm sure that if we had Tua on the bench, or Ryan Fitzpatrick he'd consider the move.... we don't.

Also, I'm not sure Cam is playing worse than some of the rest of the league (Wentz, Lock, Finley and Allen have all likely been worse on balance, Cam has had some of the worst performances, but also some perfectly fine ones).
Wentz would be putting up numbers with this coaching staff and team. I actually hope we get him on the cheap next year.
 

Mugsy's Jock

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I don’t recall Cam’s mobility being particularly on display — certainly last night, and really for a lot of the last 6-7 weeks. The Rams pass rush is hellacious to be sure, but last night the best Cam could do was almost but not quite escape. Brady, much as he is criticized for his lack of speed, had infinitely better pocket mobility... and I don’t just mean pocket awareness.

Designed runs for him are getting less frequent and are usually unsuccessful. And even his runs from inside the 5, allegedly his single most distinctive and effective weapon, have sucked unrelentingly for weeks. There was never the slightest doubt he’d be be running on two goaline rushes tonight, and he was easily stuffed on both.

Why does 6’5” Cam get so many passes knocked down? Just bad OL play? Does it occur more often throwing to wither side of the field?
 

Sandy Leon Trotsky

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Playoff aspirations are clearly over.... can we just play Stidham and see what he has? Cam isn't going to be back next year so WTF?
 

bigq

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Cam and Eluemunor on O really stood out.
Agree with this. Cam’s pick six and his decision making in general was poor for much of the night. I don’t know what Eluemunor was doing. There were at least a couple of plays where he blocked no one. For as good as this team looked last Sunday they looked equally as inept last night. The Rams are a legit team and I’m sure who the opponent is has much to do with the Patriots’ Jekyll and Hyde nature. They were outclassed in pretty much all aspects of the game last night.
 

Super Nomario

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I don’t recall Cam’s mobility being particularly on display — certainly last night, and really for a lot of the last 6-7 weeks. The Rams pass rush is hellacious to be sure, but last night the best Cam could do was almost but not quite escape. Brady, much as he is criticized for his lack of speed, had infinitely better pocket mobility... and I don’t just mean pocket awareness.

Designed runs for him are getting less frequent and are usually unsuccessful. And even his runs from inside the 5, allegedly his single most distinctive and effective weapon, have sucked unrelentingly for weeks. There was never the slightest doubt he’d be be running on two goaline rushes tonight, and he was easily stuffed on both.
Cam couldn't run at all last night, but he was effective the two weeks prior (9 for 46 vs AZ, 14 for 48 and 2 TDs vs LAC). Like everything on this team, it's hit or miss. They couldn't run up the middle last night, and that's kind of all the offense has.
 

bigq

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I don’t recall Cam’s mobility being particularly on display — certainly last night, and really for a lot of the last 6-7 weeks.
On his running plays last night he tended to dive forward into head first tumbling slides. I haven’t watched him enough to know if he has consistently done this throughout his career. I was concerned for his well-being. He’s going to get destroyed with a head shot from a LB or safety coming at him at full speed.
 

EL Jeffe

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Obviously we don't have line of sight into anything behind the scenes, but playing Jennings over Winovich feels like coaching malpractice (on the surface, at. least). Jennings and Simon were comically bad on the edges. They're both fairly limited athletically, so if they can't set their edges, there's not much else they're going to bring to the table. I don't know if they're sending messages to Wino or what, but he's orders of magnitude better than Jennings and much more disruptive than Simon. Let's see more Uche, too. His ratio of splash plays is really encouraging; let him figure it out on early downs. Unlike Jennings, he's got the rare athleticism to have a really high ceiling.

OL got overwhelmed, which we haven't seen happen in a long time. Seemed like every single one of them had their share of misses, with Uncle Phil having some egregious ones.

45-0 to...whatever that was in the span of a couple of days is just wild.
 

j44thor

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You only bench your QB if you think your backup is better is the point. It is clear that Bill does not think that, and there isn't a whole lot of reason to doubt him on that front.
We have the worst QB room in the league probably, our backup is neither a reliable vet nor a potential future starter.

I'm sure that if we had Tua on the bench, or Ryan Fitzpatrick he'd consider the move.... we don't.

Also, I'm not sure Cam is playing worse than some of the rest of the league (Wentz, Lock, Finley and Allen have all likely been worse on balance, Cam has had some of the worst performances, but also some perfectly fine ones).
The bigger issue is Cam requires you to run a bad college offense and is likely regressing the rest of the team yet doing just enough to win enough games to ensure you won't get to draft a QB next year either. We won't know if Harry/Myers are serviceable WR because Cam can't read a defense, they don't attempt to pass and instead seem content to go 7-9 this year. Cam will end up being the worst FA signing in the Bill B era, not for the results on the field but because of the trickle down effect for seasons to come.
It is baffling they continue to trot him out there.
 

steveluck7

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Best case with Cam as the QB, based on the way the season has gone, Cam leads you to 2-1 over the final 3 for an 8-8 finish, missing the playoffs.
Worst case with Stidham as the QB, he leads you to 1-2 for a 7-9 finish, missing the playoffs.
 

JokersWildJIMED

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It is so utterly predictable...Cam simply cannot throw the football, yet the coach continues to trot him out there and for weeks folks have been backing up the decision and finding excuses for Newton's play. We all know what Cam's ceiling is and we do not know what Stidham can do with a week of practice and a game plane, but with the season over it is obviously worth a shot.
 

Silverdude2167

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Wait, who?
We are apparently blaming BB for losing Brady and taking a large-cap hit in the process while having Hightower opt-out after winning 3 super bowls in 6 years.

I think we can start blaming the GM next year if the team has the same flaws, but to blame the GM for this year is kinda stupid.
 

ColonelMustard

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The bigger issue is Cam requires you to run a bad college offense and is likely regressing the rest of the team yet doing just enough to win enough games to ensure you won't get to draft a QB next year either. We won't know if Harry/Myers are serviceable WR because Cam can't read a defense, they don't attempt to pass and instead seem content to go 7-9 this year. Cam will end up being the worst FA signing in the Bill B era, not for the results on the field but because of the trickle down effect for seasons to come.
It is baffling they continue to trot him out there.
Like many, I have waffled on Cam as well. Cam should only be benched if Stidham has shown anything in practice. This take is strong and I wouldn't go that far. If Stidham lacks the ability to read a defense, then we have the same issue with Harry/Myers. The trickle-down effect is limited to draft positioning. A poisoned locker room playing to lose has lasting effects as well.
 

Ralphwiggum

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Cam, man it is getting hard to watch.
O line
D line

I am not one to blame Josh but the play calling sequence on the first and goal in the 3rd quarter when it was still theoretically a game was pathetic. But that might be more to do with the fact that they don't trust Cam to make good decisions, and he had already thrown a pick 6 on a red zone screen pass which is like impossible to do.
 

Deathofthebambino

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i would like to give an honorable mention to Spence for taking a defensive offsides, creating a first and goal from the 1 for the Rams, as they were about to go for it on 4th down, while winning by 14 at the end of the third. If the Rams get stuffed there, and the Pats come down and score, win or lose, McVay should have been killed for that decision. Spence eliminated any chance of that.
 

Garshaparra

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We are apparently blaming BB for losing Brady and taking a large-cap hit in the process while having Hightower opt-out after winning 3 super bowls in 6 years.

I think we can start blaming the GM next year if the team has the same flaws, but to blame the GM for this year is kinda stupid.
Do either Brady or Hightower play tight end? Because that's what's killing me. It's clear that TE is an incredibly important role in the modern NFL, and after atrocious play in 2019, The GM drafted two kids (good!), but didn't sign any pros to start the season (bad!). Hollister or Eifert at the move TE would have completely changed this offense, or Ebron if The GM had been willing to splurge, giving them an actual receiving threat off of play action or RPO. Both Keene and Asiasi got hurt, and they still picked up nobody.

Fast forward to last night, and neither Keene or Asiasi had any meaningful impact, clearly lost as blockers and receivers. Just ugly.
 

Super Nomario

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Obviously we don't have line of sight into anything behind the scenes, but playing Jennings over Winovich feels like coaching malpractice (on the surface, at. least). Jennings and Simon were comically bad on the edges. They're both fairly limited athletically, so if they can't set their edges, there's not much else they're going to bring to the table. I don't know if they're sending messages to Wino or what, but he's orders of magnitude better than Jennings and much more disruptive than Simon. Let's see more Uche, too. His ratio of splash plays is really encouraging; let him figure it out on early downs. Unlike Jennings, he's got the rare athleticism to have a really high ceiling.
To put numbers on this, Uche only played 16 snaps last night. Winovich (24) did out-snap Jennings (22), but only barely. Simon (47) played a ton.

OL got overwhelmed, which we haven't seen happen in a long time. Seemed like every single one of them had their share of misses, with Uncle Phil having some egregious ones.
Yeah, the OL might have been the worst unit on the field last night. They just got killed. That's a great DL, but man, it got ugly.

The bigger issue is Cam requires you to run a bad college offense and is likely regressing the rest of the team yet doing just enough to win enough games to ensure you won't get to draft a QB next year either. We won't know if Harry/Myers are serviceable WR because Cam can't read a defense, they don't attempt to pass and instead seem content to go 7-9 this year. Cam will end up being the worst FA signing in the Bill B era, not for the results on the field but because of the trickle down effect for seasons to come.
It is baffling they continue to trot him out there.
I don't think Cam requires you to run a bad college offense. I think they wanted to run a bad college offense. They drank the kool aid that the run game was the key to the 2018 SB run and have been chasing it ever since.