Week 2, 2022 - Pats @ Pittsburgh

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TommyD420 said:
I saw them both play in college. It's not close who was the better prospect coming out.
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I saw Pickett at Pitt and he played a similar style to Mac but at a much lower level of competition. What he will be as a pro is a complete unknown and
Breer is a total nutsack for suggesting "it's a toss-up" between he and our guy.

In any case, we'll get to see him in black and gold really soon. Possibly this coming week. The fans don't like Mitch, nor should they, and as long
as there is hope on the bench then Tomlin won't be able to keep him there for much longer. One thing he has going for him there is a better receiving corps but
it remains to be seen whether he can handle NFL defenses.
 
chevss454 said:
The game was in our control all the way & we won that game going away. The 3 point margin could have been 10. There's really nothing to complain about. The coaches played the game conservatively to let the players gain confidence. Mac did pretty well, imo. Baby steps. Mission accomplished.
We out rushed them, we out passed them - 376 yds to 243 yds.
We won the turnover battle 2-1. That's big for us.
We overcame having more than twice as many penalties against us than they had - 7 for 55 yds vs 3 for 20 yds.
We won time of possession - 33:36 vs 26:25.
There's nothing not to like from a fan's perspective although the coaches still have plenty of coaching points.

Old school but I'll take it.
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People always seem to forget that winning those ugly, hard-fought games was the Pats calling card at the front end of the dynasty.
 
Flagg the Wanderer said:
I wasn't psyched about what I saw from Mac, tbh. One pick was dropped, and the TD to Agholor could have easily been picked as well, and both would have been on Mac.

That said, it all went pretty well, and if you're getting good tape to learn from without paying the price for it, that's the best of all worlds as long as he takes coaching well and isn't blowing it off and mentally calling "scoreboard."
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I agree. I think Mac has shown some signs of impatience and he wants to get the ball downfield right now. I could make a case that the Agholor TD was very similar to the first drive INT vs. Miami. The result was different, sure, but Agholor wasn't open and that ball could have been picked as well. Mac's field vision isn't quite where it needs to be, although it's still well ahead of the curve for his experience level. He's smart enough to figure that out, but he's been a lot more aggressive than he was last year and might need to readjust or he'll throw too many picks. The TV coverage wasn't great, but I believe that if we could see the all-22 then Mac also missed seeing some wide-open guys and threw instead into coverage. He won't be happy on film day. We tend to think that he is already there, but sharp though he is, he's still got a lot of room for improvement with the mental side of the game.

I think what we are right now is a slightly better version of what we were last year. We're a straight-ahead power running team that can move the sticks when Mac is firing precision passes in the short to middle zones. I think that can change with Thornton but right now, Jones seems to be taking too many chances in an attempt to spread coverage out when we don't have the speed to really force them to put more coverage over the top. Square peg in a round hole.

I also realize it's also a lot to ask of Tyquan who hasn't really proven anything, but the glimpses are too tantalizing for me to not think about where we could go with him in the lineup in place of, say, Parker who doesn't seem to be able to get open when I focus on him. I thought he'd look faster.

On first watch, I'd also guess that we did very little pre-snap motion yesterday and if we ran any outside zone then I didn't notice it. This may have been an attempt to simplify things while the OL is trying to find it's footing, but my point is that there are still unused tools in the bag. With Montgomery on IR, I'd love to see Strong work his way into the lineup over the next month, but I don't know if that is realistic.
 
Agree on Mac, he takes too many chances with deep balls into coverage. He needs to be more patient. He has the personnel around him to have to run a powerful run/short passing game that will move the sticks.

The throw on the opening drive in Miami was a terrible decision he made.
 
O.Z.O. said:
People always seem to forget that winning those ugly, hard-fought games was the Pats calling card at the front end of the dynasty.
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So damn right.

I know I shouldn't say this out loud. I really should not.

But I am gonna anyway. Does this season smell familiar to anyone else. Am I just wishing. Insane even?

Great D-line. Playmaking LB's and a (usually) super reliable kicking game.

Game manager QB. Dink/Dunk. Solid running game. Clock killing --- by committee.

Bill getting trashed by idiot talking heads at the Globe. Talk of internal team dissension.


Don't blame me. O.Z.O. started it.
 
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aloyouis said:
So damn right.

I know I shouldn't say this outlaid. I really should not.

But I am gonna anyway. Does this season smell familiar to anyone else. Am I just wishing. Insane even?

Great D-line. Playmaking LB's and a (usually) super reliable kicking game.

Game manager QB. Dink/Dunk. Solid running game. Clock killing --- by committee.

Bill getting trashed by idiot talking heads at the Globe. Talk of internal team dissension.


Don't blame me. O.Z.O. started it.
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:D

I'm with you two. A mere 3-point lead and still playing out the end of the game by shoving the ball down the Steelers' throat when everyone within 2 miles of the stadium knew they were going to run....that's priceless. Memories of Antowain Smith in 2001 and Corey Dillon in 2003-4.
 
Roberto71 said:
Agree on Mac, he takes too many chances with deep balls into coverage. He needs to be more patient. He has the personnel around him to have to run a powerful run/short passing game that will move the sticks.

The throw on the opening drive in Miami was a terrible decision he made.
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I am going to go in a slightly different direction here,

On both the Agholor TD and the pick in Miami it was more the ball placement than the decision to throw it. Both throws were inside when that's where the DB had leverage, if both are to the sideline they'd have both been fine throws.

The Pick yesterday was just not seeing/feeling the coverage.

Since I don't expect this kid to be perfect I'm not discouraged yet. If this team continues to develop the running game it will be fine.
 
Darth Despot said:
I am going to go in a slightly different direction here,

On both the Agholor TD and the pick in Miami it was more the ball placement than the decision to throw it. Both throws were inside when that's where the DB had leverage, if both are to the sideline they'd have both been fine throws.

The Pick yesterday was just not seeing/feeling the coverage.

Since I don't expect this kid to be perfect I'm not discouraged yet. If this team continues to develop the running game it will be fine.
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Agree. It's not as if TFB never threw an int.
 
AnOldTroll said:
.

When a team doesn't have to defend Watt it gets more difficult to get to the QB.
He's a disrupter,, able to change momentum. Fact.
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The Pats ran the ball for the last 6+ minutes of the game when everyone knew they were going to run the ball and the Steelers crumpled like plastic Barbie dolls. Fact. Not fact but an intriguing possibility: You or I could have run for a couple first downs at the end of the game.

Every team loses players during the year. Fact. If you can't generate a pass rush with Heyward and Highsmith, then you are might as well exchange your Terrible Towels for Terrible Toilet Paper. Fact.
 
Hawg73 said:
I agree. I think Mac has shown some signs of impatience and he wants to get the ball downfield right now. I could make a case that the Agholor TD was very similar to the first drive INT vs. Miami. The result was different, sure, but Agholor wasn't open and that ball could have been picked as well. Mac's field vision isn't quite where it needs to be, although it's still well ahead of the curve for his experience level. He's smart enough to figure that out, but he's been a lot more aggressive than he was last year and might need to readjust or he'll throw too many picks. The TV coverage wasn't great, but I believe that if we could see the all-22 then Mac also missed seeing some wide-open guys and threw instead into coverage. He won't be happy on film day. We tend to think that he is already there, but sharp though he is, he's still got a lot of room for improvement with the mental side of the game.

I think what we are right now is a slightly better version of what we were last year. We're a straight-ahead power running team that can move the sticks when Mac is firing precision passes in the short to middle zones. I think that can change with Thornton but right now, Jones seems to be taking too many chances in an attempt to spread coverage out when we don't have the speed to really force them to put more coverage over the top. Square peg in a round hole.

I also realize it's also a lot to ask of Tyquan who hasn't really proven anything, but the glimpses are too tantalizing for me to not think about where we could go with him in the lineup in place of, say, Parker who doesn't seem to be able to get open when I focus on him. I thought he'd look faster.

On first watch, I'd also guess that we did very little pre-snap motion yesterday and if we ran any outside zone then I didn't notice it. This may have been an attempt to simplify things while the OL is trying to find it's footing, but my point is that there are still unused tools in the bag. With Montgomery on IR, I'd love to see Strong work his way into the lineup over the next month, but I don't know if that is realistic.
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Agree about the play calling. Thought Patricia did fine and was instructed to keep it conservative.
Don't think 17 points wins a lot of games so definitely hope they got more plays available.
The receivers always seemed blanketed and with minimum YAC. Would think that can improve with the players they have.

I heard comments that they had multiple WRs in the same area several times (though I didn't see that).
 
sg14 said:
Agree about the play calling. Thought Patricia did fine and was instructed to keep it conservative.
Don't think 17 points wins a lot of games so definitely hope they got more plays available.
The receivers always seemed blanketed and with minimum YAC. Would think that can improve with the players they have.

I heard comments that they had multiple WRs in the same area several times (though I didn't see that).
Click to expand...
I saw that once, two receivers running an incut from right to left one behind the about 4-5 yards apart. THe ball went to the second guy, but the front guy was close enough to make a grab for it behind him, just couldn't reach far enough. Thought it was a pretty bad route combination or someone ran the wrong route.
 
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