Jared

Phillips specifically was down during the two minute warning. The clock was already stopped.

Quick googling found this: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/cfl-playoff-fans-fight-players_n_61ae386de4b044a1cc2698c0

The problem is if you DON'T pay the market rate for a 'starting QB', you run the risk of ending constantly burning draft picks trying to replace the guy you just let walk, or a revolving door of retreads. There is no guarantee you'll find a Russell Wilson in the 3rd round, or a Dak in the 4th round on your first try.

Pats fan here, please be nice. I think too many people are in too much of a rush to judgment on rookies all the time. Everyone is being hyped as the next HoFer or the next big bust. Mac is what he is: a high floor guy who is in a situation where the team hasn't had to ask him to single handedly win games. Comparisons to Tom Brady should be comparisons to 2001 Tom Brady: the guy everyone was calling a system QB and a dink and dunker. We have no idea where his career will end up, and there are all sorts of trajectories it could take. He could be already at his ceiling, in which case the "healthy Chad Pennington" comparison may be apt. But even if true, that is good enough to win a lot of games, and maybe a Super Bowl. Brad Johnson and Trent Dilfer have rings because they played on teams with great defenses and merely "ok" offenses. It isn't impossible that his career could end much higher than it started (see, for example, Brady/Brees). It also isn't impossible that he gets his shoulder wrecked and turns into a noodle-armed career backup before becoming a D2 college coordinator. But anyone who claims with certainty that they know where his career is going to go is full of it.

The 2003 Patriots defense was pretty damn nasty. Led the league in PPG allowed (14.9). This team could break that mark, but it will depend a lot on how things like injuries and the like play out. There are a number of good offenses they play later in the year that will inflate the numbers a bit.

The problem is there is no guarantee you can replace him with someone at least as good. The entire AFC East has been chasing a franchise QB for the last 20 years other than the Patriots. In three teams the best we've see has been Noodle-Armed Pennington in even numbered years, and the husk of Drew Bledsoe for a couple seasons, and the Ghost of Brett Favre in 2008. That was about it. If you have even an above average QB, you have to build a defense around them. You do NOT take your chances on the QB Roulette and try to get a better one.

Down 3 out of 5 starting OL at the 3 most important OL spots, have barely NFL quality TEs, lost their FB for an unknown period of time. Edelman has banged up ribs, apparently Gordon keeps getting his finger dislocated. I don't think you can say NO adversity. It is true that they haven't played any elite opponents yet, but frankly other than the Chiefs, there don't appear to be any really elite teams out there in the league. Every team has flaws. The Fish are a dumpster fire, the Jets are... I don't know, a recycling bin fire?

lol projection. You ignored everything he said because you have no response. Spygate was proper punishment not because of competitive advantage but because of hubris. The league office sent out a memo saying "don't do this." Pats did it, got punished. But Deflategate aka Ballghazi? The Wells Report, with science commissioned from a firm that exists to gin up reports for polluters and tobacco companies, basically had to claim the head ref from the game was lying, because if he wasn't, then all the measurements exactly matched the Ideal Gas Law. You can't prove ****, because there isn't **** to prove. Look, I get it, it sucks to lose. It sucked to be a Pats fan before Bledsoe/Tuna. We had glimmers of hope that were mercilessly stomped out. But living in a delusional world isn't healthy bro.

I think the bigger issue is that very few players, on their own, are the deciding factor between a winning and losing season. Each individual personnel decision adds up though.

I also went to JetNation and FinHeaven, but neither has a game thread. I'm reading here and /r/NFL

Because Pats fans are insufferable. I don't want to have to scroll past 50 "so and so is a bum!" if a WR drops a pass.

16 years later, this bandwagon don't stop.

I checked JN and FH also, 2BD is the only place with a game thread. I don't like being around other Pats fans during games.

You know that is true for like... every offensive lineman on every team, right?

The Chiefs 3 man rush plan is not working, but as a Pats fan, I'm glad they are doing it.

Hightower is definitely not a coverage guy. As a rookie he was pretty bad in coverage, and he has improved since then, but he is definitely only average in that regard. He is a monster coming downhill, both against the run and as a blitzer. Not a sideline to sideline pursuit guy (like a Ray Lewis or an Urlacher), so if that is what you want out of your LBs, you'd probably be overspending.

He is drunk as ****. Dude was a bleacher riding drunk fan long before he ever bought the team. He didn't stop being a drunk fan AFTER he bought the team.

White probably gets flagged if Gilmore doesn't grab his arm.

Thankfully all clean hits, but damn that closing speed.

If he just rode him down, he would not have been flagged. The extension of the arms makes it look like he shoved him well outside of the lines.

Correct. That box is labelled "conspiracy theorist."

It is the chemtrails.

He probably isn't even one of the top 10 players on the team, though, and Chris Long's solid play basically makes him a luxury.

You'd be surprised to find out how massively over-educated most comedians/cartoonists/etc are. The Simpsons and Futurama writing staffs famously had a ton of ridiculously credentialed people for a long time (Harvard educated mathematicians, PhDs, etc)

Pats fan here. For those asking about deep throws, Brady has never been a great deep thrower himself. Part of this is the receivers they've had. Back in the earlier Brady years, it was David Patten, Troy Brown, and then eventually Deion Branch and David Givens. None of those guys are pure burners (Patten is probably the fastest of the group), and most were 5'10 or under. Givens was the biggest of the group, but he was no Randy Moss. Except for a couple Randy years, the Pats have never had a big+fast downfield threat who can consistently win one on one battles 50 yards down the field. Instead, most of the deep plays are the result of creative play design which gets 2nd and 3rd tier receivers WIDE OPEN or they hit a squirrely receiver 15 yards down the field, and rely on YAC to get more. Troy Brown, Deion Branch, Wes Welker, Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola. That is how those guys rack up the yards. Get them in the ball in space and let them work. What that means for Jimmy? If he can play through pain and still make the right reads and deliver quickly, he should be fine. This offense doesn't rely on arm strength (and Brady has never been one of the top arm strength QBs in the league). The biggest issue will be protecting him and keeping him upright. If a couple Bills fall on him and start beating him up, will he get happy feet? Will he be afraid of contact? Those are the issues that are most likely to hold him back (other than basic things like receivers not getting open, etc).