The Game Goat Thread: Wk. 3 vs Ravens

8slim

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Bedard repeatedly said in training camp that it was the worst offense he'd ever seen in the NFL; that they're merely meh right now suggests there's hyperbole there.
The O looked atrocious in the pre-season games as well. We all saw that and didn't require a Bedard filter on it.

I've literally been an 'In Bill We Trust' guy since the day he was hired. I remember telling a buddy that if Kraft thinks BB is worth a #1 pick, then we just have to trust the both of them and see how it plays out. Of course, it has played out as well as humanly possible. But Bill's not omnipotent and in year 3 post-Brady the O is still a work in progress. I don't really care much about the "media is out to get him" narrative, and the O really seemed to be a mess in August.
 

rodderick

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I've heard the complaint before but the Pats have been pretty predictable about running from run sets and passing from pass sets for quite a while, dating back to Corey Dillon and continuing through Maroney, Sony Michel and it looks like up to the present. (Likewise Faulk, Vereen, White weren't going to run the ball very much when they're in). That doesn't bother me; it seems to be intentional that when they want to run they have heavier sets and a bigger back and when they want to pass they have a third down back and more good receivers.

I haven't studied enough to see if their play calling is vanilla (and it is earlier in the season, they often get more dynamic as the season progresses). It might be? The great playcallers spend all that time charting stuff up so they can make minior adjustments and trick other teams or isolate particular matchups, and that part of the game is just too subtle for me to tell. But so far they're looking like a reasonably normal NFL offense to me.




Bedard repeatedly said in training camp that it was the worst offense he'd ever seen in the NFL; that they're merely meh right now suggests there's hyperbole there.
He also repeatedly said he didn't believe Bill would stick with the running and protection schemes that were the mains reasons the offense looked like a trash fire. And apparently they didn't stick with them.
 

Shelterdog

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He also repeatedly said he didn't believe Bill would stick with the running and protection schemes that were the mains reasons the offense looked like a trash fire. And apparently they didn't stick with them.
Yeah they've been running wide zone and other zone runs a reasonable amount--and with some success--in the games (just like they did pretty much every other year for the best 20 years) so I'm not so persuaded by Bedard's claims that they just abandoned the stuff he said wasn't working because they are out there running wide zone shit.

EDIT: To continue the Bedard discussion, Bedard's claim on his podcast is that Mac's thinking is that he's not happy with the team because Patricia is his coach and Lil Humphries is playing instead of Bourne so Mac is having second thoughts about listening to the Patriots about possible surgery.Oh and that Patricia is doing a bad job calling plays because Patricia and BB think that coaches matter and not players and that's why they're playing Humphries instead of Bourne which would obviously be better for the team.
 
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jasail

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Giving my GOAT to Mac. Mac's decision making - which was his strength in his rookie season - has been terrible this year. Over the first three games he's made some really bad reads and forced some passes. Ravens game was no different. He made a number of inexcusable throws throughout the game, none worse than the interception in the end zone in the 4th. That was a desperation play at a time when desperation was not necessary. Throw the check down, throw it away, or take the sack and let the FG unit make it a one score game for the lead. He also tried to force the ball to Parker in the middle of the field and did not see the LB lurking and did all he could to give Queen a pick six opportunity.

HM - Safety play. DMC, Phillips, and Peppers had a day to forget. They got crushed on TE coverage in the passing game with Andrews having a day and ended up on a milk carton in run support during the second half.
 

PedrosRedGlove

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Giving my GOAT to Mac. Mac's decision making - which was his strength in his rookie season - has been terrible this year. Over the first three games he's made some really bad reads and forced some passes. Ravens game was no different. He made a number of inexcusable throws throughout the game, none worse than the interception in the end zone in the 4th. That was a desperation play at a time when desperation was not necessary. Throw the check down, throw it away, or take the sack and let the FG unit make it a one score game for the lead. He also tried to force the ball to Parker in the middle of the field and did not see the LB lurking and did all he could to give Queen a pick six opportunity.

HM - Safety play. DMC, Phillips, and Peppers had a day to forget. They got crushed on TE coverage in the passing game with Andrews having a day and ended up on a milk carton in run support during the second half.
Was at the game. This was one of the more noticeable things. Lot of bad angles in run support, especially McCourty. He's still a capable safety, but father time is catching up quick now it seems.
 

BaseballJones

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Was at the game. This was one of the more noticeable things. Lot of bad angles in run support, especially McCourty. He's still a capable safety, but father time is catching up quick now it seems.
Not having Dugger REALLY hurt in run defense. He's excellent at it and would have been a great "spy" (if they chose to go that route) on Jackson. Alas....
 

PedrosRedGlove

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Not having Dugger REALLY hurt in run defense. He's excellent at it and would have been a great "spy" (if they chose to go that route) on Jackson. Alas....
Yeah, totally untrained eye but it felt like McCourty was being tasked with that. Then when it was a handoff instead of a QB keep he'd be breaking down to the wrong gap... and if it was a keep Lamar was too fast.