2014 New England Patriots Thread

Another great red zone stop.

Sure, but Patricia needs to be better prepared for that.

I'm guessing Cannon won't play many snaps in the 2nd half, that false start almost cost us a TD.

Great route by LaFell, great throw by Brady. Now we just need to not let them score for 69 seconds and then we get the ball back.

That was a goddamn awful angle by McCourty.

McCourty was running in a direction where no Packer was going when the ball was thrown. Ugh.

The refusal to run the ball is infuriating. These Packers DLs are undersized and can be blown off the ball. There's only been 8 rushing attempts so far, and I think you have to queue up some power runs.

Ninkovich is athletic for a DE. But he's not athletic enough to be manning up on running backs or used as a spy on Rodgers.

Their inability to generate a pass rush with their four down lineman is being exposed. Yes, you can scheme up some pressures with A-gap blitzes and zone blitzes, but at some point, your four guys have to beat their five guys. That hasn't happened with enough regularity.

Hooman was wide open, instead Brady overthrows Gronk by 5 yards because there's a DB draped all over him. Check it down, Tom.

I can excuse the generous spot that gave the Packers a 1st down in the 1st half. But not calling that OPI? Screw these refs.

The differences in the game: Brady's subpar accuracy early, the difference in pass rushes in terms of consistently applying pressure (caveat: the Patriots tried to keep Rodgers in the pocket and sacrificed some push to do so, but he had all day to throw most of the game, and guys like Wilfork and Chris Jones just didn't (and aren't going to) win enough 1v1s to generate a consistent rush).

The defense did its job. The offense was subpar for most of the day. That being said, it will be great to get 95 back.

Tough place to play and they still almost pulled it out. Can't lose again. Home field is key for this team.

Aaron Dobson is a popular pick as most disappointing 2nd year player but Duron Harmon should be right up there in that conversation. Patrick Chung has been outperforming expectations but if ever there was an offense where you would prefer a more coverage-oriented safety in the game it's Green Bay's.

After flashing quite a bit of promise at the end of last year, Harmon is going to be on the roster bubble next year.

Meanwhile, if Aaron Dobson lands on IR because of that hamstring, we'll know for sure what they they think of him ...

Oh, and most disappointing 3rd year player? Alfonzo Dennard wins that hands down.

I'm not just talking about the bottom-line yesterday. What the defense did was like giving up a ton of baserunners but only allowing four runs. Sure, that's "good enough to win," but it's a performance that makes you think worse about the defense today than you did Saturday. I still think they're a well above-average defense, but you saw the flaws out there (pass rush, coverage beyond the top two options, speed at linebacker).

PS: the main reason they were on the field so long was because they were unable to get a third-down stop outside of the red zone. That's on the defense.