Hollywood Donahoe

I can't decide if AKC is someone who: a) holds beliefs and opinions that are indefensible, thus forcing him to resort to unfathomable semantic-specific tactics to somehow convince himself that he's correct. or: b) has great difficulty understanding simple concepts, and truly can't see why his logic and arguments are so flawed and inaccurate. I'm leaning towards "a" at the moment, for his snideness does not fit the profile of "b." A fascinating psychological subject, though.

Who said the article is based on pass stats? It's fairly obvious to anyone with an ounce of logical reasoning and reading comprehension ability that the relevant portion of the article in question is based on the distance a pass travels through the air, not the distance between the LOS and the eventual end of the play. You can't be serious about all of this. Look at this passage: "The disparity of short and vertical passes clearly illustrates the Patriots passing game philosophy. When the Pats pass short, they are going to be certain they don't make mistakes on it. They are more willing to make mistakes on vertical passes." Notice the author's word use - "short and vertical passes," not "short passes that are stopped immediately and short passes that go for big gains." It's obvious that by "deep balls" or "vertical passes," the author is referring to passes that are thrown from one point and are caught much further down the field. Am I speaking simply enough? I'm not sure how much more plainly I can put it so that you can be made to understand this fairly simple concept.

Not a terribly difficult task. Jackson's monochrome suits usually do a good enough job of making him look very stupid.

Couldn't have said it any better myself, OJ's Glove. In fact, I've been trying to. Couldn't get it as succinct as that.

Actually, someone over at the KFFL boards did just that. Brady was first in the league, if I recall.

I very much liked it too! Fascinating documentary.

You repeat this theme like a mantra, so I'm going to call you on it. Brady has thrown 3 career post-season INTs. The first was in the Snow Bowl against the Raiders, and was not in the end zone. The second was against Indianapolis in the '03-'04 playoffs. I'll give you that the defense bailed him out on that one, but keep in mind, Christian Fauria did drop 2 TD passes in that game. Doesn't absolve Brady of blame, but kind of puts things in perspective. The third was also in the end zone, against Carolina in Super Bowl XXXVIII. I would like you to explain how the defense bailed Brady out of that one, given that: - the defense gave up a LOOOOOOONG go-ahead TD 3 plays after the INT. - Brady immediately put the Pats back up with a flawless TD drive that ended with a TD pass. - the defense quickly surrendered the lead, allowing a long TD drive to tie the game. - Brady led the Pats into FG range on another great drive with time running out. I've posted this sequence of events in response to one of you now-standard "Brady's defense bails him out of his EZ INTs" posts, but you didn't reply. Not surprising. So two EZ INTs in 9 playoff games is a lot? Even though he bailed himself out of one of them? Illogical, to say the least.

The article mentions "deep balls," which are obviously balls that travel far through the air. I don't know why you object to this definition of the term, since you yourself define "deep" and "deep balls" in the same way: You are talking about passes that traveled far in the air in each of these posts. You used multiple terms - "deep balls," "long balls" - but never felt the need to indicate that you were talking about "passes in air." Neither did Zimmerman in writing his article. Neither did the author of the FoxSports piece on Brady's deep passing abilities. In short: YOU'RE ALL USING THE SAME TERMS. Get it yet? The facts have been established. Brady throws many deep balls per season, more than the vast majority of other NFL QBs. It's all there in writing.

"The Patriots also ranked second in medium pass percentage and fourth in deep pass percentage." Do you know of another definition for "deep pass" other than a pass that travels, in the air, over a great distance? The author's use of the words "short," "medium" and "deep" to describe passes very obviously refers to the pass in air, as the wording makes little sense when referring the length of a completed pass+RAC (no on would refer to a 5 yard slant taken 80 yards for a TD as a "deep pass"). Understand yet?

Only it isn't a fantasy. The numbers are right there. I posted them. Keep on ignoring them if you wish, but that won't make them go away. The truth has been stated. Acknowledge it or don't.

Indeed, ESPN polls are the ultimate authority on player quality. The matter has been settled. Brady sucks.

So they're wrong, and you, of all people, are right? Missing the playoff once in four years and winning the Super Bowl in all the other demonstrates just one thing - that Brady is the best QB in the NFL. You can bet it won't be you. There are these things called "track records," and yours is a joke. Really? My apologies. Can I still call you the human reverse barometer? It suits you so well.

Except Brady won that game. Don't like that fact? Take it up with NFL record-keepers. You mean that even with a piss-poor defense, Brady can still lead his team to a tie for first place in the division, missing out only on one of the last tie-breakers, all while leading the NFL in TD passes? Man, he SUCKS! You've said a lot of things multiple times, and you've nearly always been wrong. Remember when you guaranteed that the Colts would beat the Pats in the playoffs last year, and then guaranteed that Pittsburgh would? Your laughable record of accuracy speaks for itself. That very same coaching staff went 5-13 without Brady in '00-'01 Thanks for the good luck, O Reverse Barometer. You're like the anti-Nostradamus. You're Nostra-dumbass!

Yeah, it is a bit of a splooge-fest. But the numbers are there.

Isn't it nice? What you can't see in the picture are Donahoe's little shorts.

Found it. http://msn.foxsports.com/fantasy/story/3763778 The relevant portion: "New England also has a very clear idea of what role they want their passing game to serve in their overall offensive philosophy. When the Patriots pass, they want to do one of two things. They either want to use the passing game to augment their running game, or they want to get vertical. The best way to illustrate this is by their percentage of short, medium and deep passes. "The Patriots had the lowest percentage of short passes in the entire league, and there's a clear reason for this. Their short passing game is simply a tool to accomplish three things: 1) To keep defenses from putting eight defenders in the box; 2) To make sure the defense backs don't stay too far off the line to cheat for the deeper passes; and 3) As a checkoff in the event the deep pass isn't open. The Pats also run a very safe short passing game. Brady only had one poor decision on a short pass all year, and that was in the Miami Monday night game. "The Patriots also ranked second in medium pass percentage and fourth in deep pass percentage. I haven't looked at the combined percentages for these metrics for the entire league, but I'd have to think that this probably makes them either No. 1 or a close No. 2."

This is a "pass in air" statistic. I remember hearing it during the playoffs, I believe, and I'm presently trying to dig it up in print form. Here are some numbers for you to chew on in the meantime, since I'm assuming that you include the Colts in your oh-so-exclusive list of teams that throw a lot of deep balls: In 2004, Manning threw 495 passes. Remember, this is throw distance, no Yards After Catch. 63 behind the line 225 thrown 1-10 yards 143 thrown 11-20 yards 48 thrown 21-30 yards 14 thrown 31-40 yards 2 thrown 41+ yards So 58% were thrown 10 yards beyond the LoS or less. And 87% were thrown 20 yards beyond the LoS or less. FWIW, here are Brady's numbers : 64 behind the line 172 thrown 1-10 yards 129 thrown 11-20 yards 39 thrown 21-30 yards 21 thrown 31-40 yards 14 thrown 41+ yards 54% thrown 10 yards beyond the LoS or less. 83% were thrown 20 yards beyond the LoS or less. The really interesting thing is throws (not gains) of 31+, Manning had 16 whereas Brady had 35 despite 439 attempts for Brady vs. 495 for Manning. So Brady threw the ball 31+ yards 7.9% of the time whereas Manning did 3.2% of the time . . . As for the "nap time" comment, haven't we been over your personal attacks before? You really should learn to treat others with civility.

Translation: I haven't watched the Patriots play in two and a half years, and despite the fact that a published journalist, who actually has watched Brady play, considers Brady an elite deep passer, I'll just go right on believing that he's still a dink-and-dunker, even though the 2004 Patriots were among the league leaders in average length of attempted pass. Aren't you one of the remaining Bledsoe backers? Do you have any credibility left around here?

There's something wrong with playing by the rules. ESPN never exaggerates for emphasis. That game was as clean as any playoff game. Refs keep their flags in their pockets come January. http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/live/NFL_20040118_IND@NE 3 != 10 You were a year late on that. I chalked that up to inevitability rather than you actually developing enough emotional maturity to admit that you were completely wrong about everything. Official NFL statistics credit Brady with that win, as does everyone but you and your straggling band of Bledsoe apologists. Bringing up the fact that Brady has missed the playoffs just once in 4 years and that he has won the Super Bowl in all the others does nothing to discredit him, believe me. Funny you should mention that. The Pats have won big games without just about everyone...except Brady. Wonder what that could mean... Sure seems that way sometimes, doesn't it? And it's killing you.

I don't mind guys hating on the Pats (fans of division rivals should hate on each other's teams), but at least be realistic about it. I hate the Colts, but I admit they have a dynamic offense that will almost surely lead them to the playoffs yet again. Most posters here hate Brady and the Pats but concede that they are legit. Guys like AKC and MadBuffaloDisease can't bring themselves to, instead falling back on excuses and conspiracy theories. It's sad.

Don't forget the part where he angrily unbuckled his chin strap!

Two in Buffalo (to Givens on 3rd and LOOOOOONG and to Patten to bring the ball near the goal line), one to Bethel in the Seattle game, and two to Branch in the AFCC game. That's 5 just off the top of my head, and in only 3 games. So that makes you...wrong. No surprise there. Yep, only Pats homers appreciate Brady's deep passing skills. That must be why, in the 1/31/05 issue of Sports Illustrated, Paul Zimmerman wrote: "Almost lost in the descriptives of Brady's competitiveness and big-game savvy is the fact that he is probably the NFL's most accurate and consistent deep passer." People who have been watching the games acknowledge this fact. You're obviously not among them.

Again, have fun living in the past. Brady's become one of the most accurate deep passers in the league over the past couple of years.

Haven't watched the Pats since '02, huh?

I've wondered the same thing, given that they have a surplus of talent along the DL and a shortage among the LBs. They seem pretty high on the rookie SS out of Fresno State (James Sanders), so maybe they bring him in sometimes and use Harrison as a quasi-LB. Should be interesting to see how they handle it. I do like what I've seen from and heard about Beisel, for the most part, although he does seem to need a little more familiarization with the system.