Transferring my Godchaux post from the Dolphins game-thread, over here:
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Can't forget Gilmore, who was declared a bust by half of Pats' fans after 4 games with the team. I remember saying at the time that he looked pretty good but there were clearly communication issues. He finally came around.
Godchaux is going to be more than fine. I read that he got Andrews, Mason, and Thuney's recommendation. The dude has tree-trunk legs and is explosive and strong. I'd chalk up his mediocre performance to early season stuff + Miami's big OL.
Hard to watch this and not come away feeling that he's going to be just fine.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXOg_EBDsyw
I made this post a few days ago, only for Godchaux to, quite frankly, play really poorly yesterday.
When I saw his Miami games from years past, I thought it'd be hard to screw him up. Looks big, powerful, explosive. Strong enough to anchor at NT with a bit of athleticism and ability to play in space, to boot. I'm not sure what's going on, but he just doesn't look great so far. Could be a conditioning issue, an undisclosed injury (or struggles to bounce back from his torn biceps, which he suffered last season), or some issues adapting to the defense (which, while possible, would seem odd, given he played for Flores).
I hope the guy comes around. When I look at his play the last two games, most of what I see is not great. He's doing a decent job of getting his hands on guys and extending his arms, but isn't able to anchor and shed. Seems a bit hesitant/indecisive, almost immediately is worked downfield a yard or so on most plays, and it's not because he's getting overpowered, it's because he just doesn't seem sure of what to do at the snap, and kind of stands there and plays his technique, but without any force and violence. Lots of horizontal movement, not much/any decisive (yet under control) aggressive initiation against offensive linemen, working upfield (by this I mean, into the backfield).
So, yeah ... I guess we'll see. Could be a lot of things, some of which are easier to fix than others. If it's a conditioning issue (maybe a little complacency after the nice contract), I expect he'll round into form around week 4-5. If it's a lack of comfort with the defense, I hope he'll get more comfortable, and perhaps think a bit less and attack a bit more (I know Belichick likes disciplined players, and aggressively working upfield every play isn't the right answer, but he also doesn't want his NT immediately gliding 2-3+ yards downfield on most running plays). If it's an injury issue, hopefully it's relatively minor and he shakes it quickly (I think this is a relatively unlikely explanation; his snap count is too high to indicate an injury, IMO).
Semi-related to the conditioning theory, it was in the 80s and sunny in central, VA today. Apparently it was about 5-10 degrees cooler in East Rutherford, so not blazing hot by any means, but a bit toasty (and sunny). The Jets also forced the Pats into wearing those godawful, monochrome navy blues, which both look terrible and were certainly eating a lot of sun. No excuses, but a shortened preseason + hot weather is going to expose the folks (particularly the big guys) who aren't in the best shape, and it'll take them 4-6 weeks to really round into form, as they play themselves into shape and the weather simultaneously starts to cool.
Be curious to hear
@Hawg73's thoughts on the guy.
In terms of the other front-7 guys in week 2, IMHO:
- Barmore - all things considered, really good. needs time to physically mature and develop, but he appears to be a hard worker, a smart player, has a silly amount of talent, and played really darn well from what I saw. best IDL in week 2, IMO.
- Judon - pretty good
- Uche - pretty good
- Hightower - good, better than week 1. still room to improve.
- Bentley - pretty good'ish, played a good game (but still seems a bit too lumbering and scares me when he's in space).
- Langi - I don't think the guy will necessarily be anything special, but he's the closest thing we have to a modern ILB in terms of athleticism in space. For that reason alone I'd like to see him get some snaps against appropriate teams/personnel.
- Carl Davis - okay'ish, had a nice pass-rush snap. he has good length but doesn't possess that much strength
- Guy - kinda good. definitely in the twilight of his career. had a strong goal-line run defense play.
- Wise - he was fine, but I still just don't see it with the guy.
- Bower - looked okay from what I saw, nothing special. Isn't terrible at setting the edge, seems like Wise, sort of, with a bit less raw length, but seemingly plays a little more under control and with a better sense for leverage and angles.
- Winovich - meh. he's active around the QB and, I guess, technically, makes some positive plays at times, but he just doesn't seem to have developed/evolved whatsoever from year 1 to now.
- Anderson - meh
- Godchaux - poor
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