The Hoodie
Let's make it 5!
What a thrilling start to the season. With all the draft and lockout nonsense it was great to see our boys back on the field. Great to be back writing a review.
The game started off shaky--the defense was getting rocked and MIA made them look like chumps. Most notable was the lack of a pass rush. They came out in a 3 man front but the ROLB came down and went into a stance, turning it into a 4-3. The lack of pass rush was evident on the first drive, but the flags started flying out. A WR (Marshall, I believe) catches a ball clearly out of bounds and there is no replay, and a few plays later another WR catches a ball after it bounces off the ground and is ruled a catch. Penalties were key to the game, as we've seen. There was a good rush by Ninkovich to force a bad throw, but otherwise we didn't see too much of a pass rush in this opening drive. The defense did force them to 4th down but they went for it and made it. The original personnel on 4th did not include Albert, but after a time out he came on the field.
Ras-I and McCourty were playing the outside, which I thought was a good idea. However, we saw that McCourty was lined up against Marshall. I'm not sure why, perhaps this is because McCourty has more experience than Ras, but Ras should definitely be lined up against Marshall because of their similar size.
Anyway, the offense came on the field and played spectacular. A beautiful PA deep pass to WR Slater added to the tempo. We only saw Chad on the field once during the 1st quarter, which was negative because Chad was incorrectly lined up and the play was called back. Attribute his lack of knowledge in the system for this matter, IMO. When Chad gets a better grasp of the playbook, I have a feeling he will be utilized in a great way. A key matchup was Nate Solder vs the right side, whether it be Wake or someone else. He fared very well in his NFL debut, not getting destroyed like most thought he would be. This is a combo of Nate himself being a fine OL, but also the coaching. He looked very good against a very good pass rusher tonight.
We came out in 3 TE sets a lot of the time, which might signal run but there were lots of PA passes. I reckon they were to keep that defense off guard as they were constantly running PA plays. In the 1st quarter, the defense was getting burned by Reggie Bush, and they clearly made the adjustment into the 2nd half. They needed to plug the middle (as most--if not all of his runs came from there) and fill the gaps, and we saw that they adjusted accordingly. The pass rush improved from the 1st quarter but not what we all thought it would be. Props to Miami's OL.
Haynesworth looked very good, he got good penetration and when he did go to the ground, he didn't lay down. I liked what I saw from him.
As the game moved on, we saw a lot more PA passes, and passes to the TEs, who they had struggles stopping.
At halftime, Miami was down by 7 and celebrating. That should say a lot.
Good 2nd half by our Patriots. Then, there was the INT, which came off a deflected pass off a botched screen. I thought this was interesting because Brady's previous INT against the NYJ came off of a screen play. It was a great play by the defender to take it down, and a great hustle by Branch to stop the TD. The defense allowed a walk in. Marshall was hot around this time because he was lined up against a much smaller McCourty, who was getting burned by his physicality and speed. When MIA was at the GL, they put Ras-I on Marshall, and it seemed as whenever Ras was on Marshall, Marshall was stopped.
Defense did a fine job when the Bess dive was called back and MIA had it at the GL. A poor play call allowed a turn over, and the 99 yard TD from Brady to Welker is the TD that put the nail in the coffin.
So, obviously there are some kinks to work on with defense. Devin McCourty didn't look bad, but not too great tonight and he was visibly tired because of the work Brandon was giving him. Ras, my favorite rookie, played very well for his debut. There were no turnovers, but our pass rush generated a few sacks on the night. The pass rush must improve, and the run defense needs to make more efforts to plug the middle.
On offense at times, we looked unstoppable. The TEs we have seem to be uncoverable--one is a huge, huge target, and the other is a bona fide WR. It's unfair to have two guys on one roster like that, but no team seems to have come up with a remedy to stop them. Brady did a great job picking on MIA's #2 CB as Branch had a phenomenal day, making key grabs. There is correcting that needs to be done on offense clearly---the mental errors that force picks like today, and utilizing the RBs, as Ridley was unheard of today.
All in all, a great performance by the offense today. The defense played fine at times, but horrid at other times. Shame to hear about the injuries to Koppen and Marshall. It was a good start to the season. Defense needs work, but I think we'll see that over time. Only time can tell, and next week, our opponent won't be as "easy" on our defense. Thanks for reading.
The game started off shaky--the defense was getting rocked and MIA made them look like chumps. Most notable was the lack of a pass rush. They came out in a 3 man front but the ROLB came down and went into a stance, turning it into a 4-3. The lack of pass rush was evident on the first drive, but the flags started flying out. A WR (Marshall, I believe) catches a ball clearly out of bounds and there is no replay, and a few plays later another WR catches a ball after it bounces off the ground and is ruled a catch. Penalties were key to the game, as we've seen. There was a good rush by Ninkovich to force a bad throw, but otherwise we didn't see too much of a pass rush in this opening drive. The defense did force them to 4th down but they went for it and made it. The original personnel on 4th did not include Albert, but after a time out he came on the field.
Ras-I and McCourty were playing the outside, which I thought was a good idea. However, we saw that McCourty was lined up against Marshall. I'm not sure why, perhaps this is because McCourty has more experience than Ras, but Ras should definitely be lined up against Marshall because of their similar size.
Anyway, the offense came on the field and played spectacular. A beautiful PA deep pass to WR Slater added to the tempo. We only saw Chad on the field once during the 1st quarter, which was negative because Chad was incorrectly lined up and the play was called back. Attribute his lack of knowledge in the system for this matter, IMO. When Chad gets a better grasp of the playbook, I have a feeling he will be utilized in a great way. A key matchup was Nate Solder vs the right side, whether it be Wake or someone else. He fared very well in his NFL debut, not getting destroyed like most thought he would be. This is a combo of Nate himself being a fine OL, but also the coaching. He looked very good against a very good pass rusher tonight.
We came out in 3 TE sets a lot of the time, which might signal run but there were lots of PA passes. I reckon they were to keep that defense off guard as they were constantly running PA plays. In the 1st quarter, the defense was getting burned by Reggie Bush, and they clearly made the adjustment into the 2nd half. They needed to plug the middle (as most--if not all of his runs came from there) and fill the gaps, and we saw that they adjusted accordingly. The pass rush improved from the 1st quarter but not what we all thought it would be. Props to Miami's OL.
Haynesworth looked very good, he got good penetration and when he did go to the ground, he didn't lay down. I liked what I saw from him.
As the game moved on, we saw a lot more PA passes, and passes to the TEs, who they had struggles stopping.
At halftime, Miami was down by 7 and celebrating. That should say a lot.
Good 2nd half by our Patriots. Then, there was the INT, which came off a deflected pass off a botched screen. I thought this was interesting because Brady's previous INT against the NYJ came off of a screen play. It was a great play by the defender to take it down, and a great hustle by Branch to stop the TD. The defense allowed a walk in. Marshall was hot around this time because he was lined up against a much smaller McCourty, who was getting burned by his physicality and speed. When MIA was at the GL, they put Ras-I on Marshall, and it seemed as whenever Ras was on Marshall, Marshall was stopped.
Defense did a fine job when the Bess dive was called back and MIA had it at the GL. A poor play call allowed a turn over, and the 99 yard TD from Brady to Welker is the TD that put the nail in the coffin.
So, obviously there are some kinks to work on with defense. Devin McCourty didn't look bad, but not too great tonight and he was visibly tired because of the work Brandon was giving him. Ras, my favorite rookie, played very well for his debut. There were no turnovers, but our pass rush generated a few sacks on the night. The pass rush must improve, and the run defense needs to make more efforts to plug the middle.
On offense at times, we looked unstoppable. The TEs we have seem to be uncoverable--one is a huge, huge target, and the other is a bona fide WR. It's unfair to have two guys on one roster like that, but no team seems to have come up with a remedy to stop them. Brady did a great job picking on MIA's #2 CB as Branch had a phenomenal day, making key grabs. There is correcting that needs to be done on offense clearly---the mental errors that force picks like today, and utilizing the RBs, as Ridley was unheard of today.
All in all, a great performance by the offense today. The defense played fine at times, but horrid at other times. Shame to hear about the injuries to Koppen and Marshall. It was a good start to the season. Defense needs work, but I think we'll see that over time. Only time can tell, and next week, our opponent won't be as "easy" on our defense. Thanks for reading.
