Week 5 2022 Lions at Patriots

Mac is what he is. Average. He’s not gonna turn things into a higher gear. He’s needs to play smart and conservative.
Despite the lions having their best players banged up or out, I had this as a loss for NE. So I was wrong. I’m not sure it changed things on the season other than hurting the team at being able to draft a legit difference maker at QB next year.

Again, why do we let this guy post here?
Mac had a better rookie season than Brady. Oh, wait, Brady couldn’t even beat out Bledsoe his rookie season.

Such a goddamn troll. Delete your account.


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If BB can't coach these guys up by the end of November the way he wants them to be, he will replace the laggards for next year for sure.

That 2001 team had many mature solid plug-and-play veterans who knew how to play (and win) the way BB wanted. Defense especially.
Seymour was the only rookie who started in 2001.
This team has many more young players who may not come together the way BB ultimately wants.
That's my worry, anyway.
Who are the non laggards?
I.E. which players on this team will still be here in two years?
 
Who are the non laggards?
I.E. which players on this team will still be here in two years?
All 50 of the Jones' and Barmore

Actually Jonathan is probably going to get paid somewhere else, so BB needs to draft another Jones.
 
I can't find any pertinent quotes, due to the fact that the internet is choked with quotes about Mac's injury, but I know he has praised similar things about
Mac's ability to learn and process everything, his high intelligence, multiple times, but I can't prove it.

That "sees the game" paragraph made me think of a quote from Bill on a rookie Brady where he had asked him about a play that had happened a while before and Brady supposedly detailed
every bit of it and Bill had a somewhat different recollection and went back and watched the film. He was impressed to find that Tom was correct. That made an
impression on the Boss and he did what he does when he wants to show he is pleased with a player paying careful attention or having unusually good smarts by allowing
himself to be quoted. He loves it when a kid works as hard as he can and doesn't when he doesn't. No question about it.

The subtext of it, to me, was that a lot of rookie QBs can't really "see the game" and I wouldn't read much more into it than that. Certainly not anything like
"Zappe is smarter than Mac". Just that they are both bright.

Whenever he praises a player, opponents included, you can bet that it'll get back to the guy and he'll feel like if he impressed Bill than he
must be on the right track. He tossed way more than the usual share yesterday, especially towards Rhamondre. It was interesting to me that he didn't note the
49-yard run, like a lot of people would, but the first downs he ground out to help kill the clock on our final drive as well as the blitz pickups. He called him a
"football player" (his highest praise) and said "I love him", which floored me. It made me think of Stevenson getting trucked in pass pro early last season and
how much he has improved in a year.

Sometimes a word or two of praise towards you from somebody you look up to is the greatest feeling in the world.
On Mac vs Zappe, I would say no one knows how things will play out.
To me Mac's play was substandard against the Ravens. Looked out of sorts.
I plan on counting on both QBs. Ankle sprains have a way of coming back repeatedly.

Am curious why they drafted Zappe in the first place. Looks like the original plan was for him to warm the bench the first year. And think it's more than replacing Axle. More long term. Thinking drafting Zappe is like when then drafted Bruschi
, when they had a ton of LBs and someone on the Pats staff said to the media "we'll put him behind Johnson and just watch" paraphrasing.
 
They probably drafted him because backup QB is a crucial position, not sure how many examples are needed to show that but there are plenty just from this year. Super Bowls have been gotten to and even won by backups. I'd hate to have a season like the Colts when Manning went down and the season was completely lost. Of course that did help them suck for Luck.
 
If you think the issue is a lack of motivation from Mac Jones then I would say you don't really know much of what you are talking about.

I like how you come in here, after not really being here much, and basically tell everyone they are stupid with almost all your posts... In this thread anyway
 
They probably drafted him because backup QB is a crucial position, not sure how many examples are needed to show that but there are plenty just from this year. Super Bowls have been gotten to and even won by backups. I'd hate to have a season like the Colts when Manning went down and the season was completely lost. Of course that did help them suck for Luck.
TFB was the backup to to the backup. My favorite backup does good is Jeff Hostettler. What do they have in common?
 
to add...i'm still not used to a "nuts and bolts" football writer posting on the team site. i usually go there for pictures, pressers, etc.
 
I like how you come in here, after not really being here much, and basically tell everyone they are stupid with almost all your posts... In this thread anyway
Sorry if you take it that way. You should understand that sarcastic criticism is opinion not telling anyone they are stupid. BTW just because I don't post all the time does not mean I have not been around.
 
This was a really interesting game in terms of both personnel and scheme.

Tavai played more snaps than any other LB. His 90% was much more than Bentley's 69% and Judon's 62%. He played outside (with Bentley inside) on many rushing downs, and plenty inside as well. Uche was playing in the middle on some passing downs, aligned over the tackle or in the G/T gap, and attacking the interior OL with speed stunts in 2- and 3- man games with Barmore and others, designed to have 2 rushers occupy 3 blockers, or 3 rushers occupy the 3 IOL along with the RB. Generally, the rush on the interior is structured to get the edge rushers - especially Judon and Wise - singled up on the outside.

Speaking of which, Judon and Wise should be buying Barmore dinner on the regular. They're both having great years, but the stats they're racking up are hugely owed to Barmore sucking up double teams. On the strip-sack, Barmore, Uche, and...Wilson, I think?...ran a 3 man game and absorbed the entire IOL and the RB, and Barmore came almost free off the center and then left guard to the point where if Judon hadn't been able to bring Goff down from behind, Barmore likely would have gotten him as he bailed out of the pocket.

I was happy to see the return of McMillan, at the expense of some Wilson snaps. He did pretty well, but has a ways to go. Wilson is likely to end up a passing down specialist, though able to play multiple roles against the pass: dropping into zone, covering in man, or rushing the passer, which is nice vs other specialists we've had in recent years. McMillan can increase team speed on a wider variety of downs, and hold up against the run or pass.

Jennings played 38% of the snaps and had a really strong game. He was setting the edge, shedding OL blocks, and chasing plays down. He got some decent pass rush in as well, an area where he's struggled some.

On a day where they needed him badly, with Guy out against a strong rushing attack and a top-10 OL, Godcheaux was pretty awesome on Sunday. He was absorbing doubles on a huge percentage of the inside runs, holding his ground, stacking and making piles, and allowing others to make plays.

On the offensive side of the ball, a big shakeup in WR snap count this week. I was happy to see LJH's snaps fall way off with Meyers back on the field, and Parker's fell way off as well. I think Parker and Meyers both block pretty well in the running game, which allows Patricia to leave LJH on the sideline unless they're totally selling out on the run, and leave some doubt in the defense's mind. I wonder if playing LJH so much was at least partially a message to the WRs who were not effective in run blocking? Also among the WRs, Agholor's snaps dropped way off to just 12%, while Bourne was #2 at 57%, ahead of Parker at 52% and Thornton's debut was at #4 with 42% of snaps.

And on Thornton, don't be fooled by his statline. He was open on deep routes a number of times, but Zappe was targeting the shorter throws. I'll add that the shorter throws were in some cases open because they were to the side that Thornton had cleared out. I don't think Thornton will show up a ton in the stat sheet with Zappe under center playing very conservative, but even with the film on him already I think it's going to force defenses to adjust to his impact on the game. He seemed to surprise DBs with his higher gear a number of times in the game.

The OL was really strong in passpro, but had a decent number of misses in the run game. A huge part of Mondre's numbers were after contact and after broken and dodged tackles. Strange may have had his worst game run blocking since week 1 or 2, but he had a number of ++ plays mixed in there as well. Growing pains for sure, but still good progress. He's tracking to be a really good player, and Strange/Andrews/Onwenu is already among the top IOL groups in the league, and rising. Wynn was good run blocking, and okay pass blocking. Yet another penalty.

Zappe executed well with a very limited ask. He missed open deeper routes on a number of occasions, but was efficient and effective. They didn't need him to be more than that, with the defense pitching a shout-out and the game under clear control early, allowing for conservative play. If they asked the same of Mac, I expect he would have executed at least as well - maybe a slightly lower completion percentage with more yards and fewer missed deeper routes. But they're prepping for the later season, making sure to develop the capability to be more aggressive and score. What they're asking Mac to do is a longer game, building their capabilities for later in the year. There is no QB controversy, though I'm sure everyone is thrilled with what they're getting from Zappe at this point. They're asking less of Zappe than even the ultra-conservative field generalship they asked of Mac early last year.
 
Patriots rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe was highly efficient in his first career start, leading New England to a 29-0 Week 5 win over the Detroit Lions. Zappe was 17-of-21 for 188 yards with a touchdown and interception. He had no turnover-worthy plays, since his interception came on a drop by wide receiver Nelson Agholor, and one big-time throw.

Offensive spotlight: Running back Rhamondre Stevenson became the Patriots’ bell-cow back after Damien Harris was ruled out with a hamstring injury. Stevenson carried the ball 25 times for 161 yards, with 113 of those coming after contact. He also caught two passes for 14 yards and forced nine total missed tackles on the afternoon.


Defensive spotlight: The Lions’ secondary struggled with injuries and performance on Sunday against Zappe. Cornerback Mike Hughes, however, allowed three catches on four targets for just two yards in the game.

Rookie spotlight: Patriots rookie cornerback Jack Jones allowed just two catches on three targets for 37 yards and intercepted Lions quarterback Jared Goff. It was his second interception in as many weeks after he had a pick-six against Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers last week.

Offensive line spotlight: The Lions’ offensive line let up 15 pressures on 36 dropbacks, pending review. Evan Brown replaced Logan Stenberg at right guard for the second half. Right tackle Penei Sewell and left tackle Taylor Decker each let up a sack and three hurries. Center Frank Ragnow allowed four hurries.

 
This was a really interesting game in terms of both personnel and scheme.

Tavai played more snaps than any other LB. His 90% was much more than Bentley's 69% and Judon's 62%. He played outside (with Bentley inside) on many rushing downs, and plenty inside as well. Uche was playing in the middle on some passing downs, aligned over the tackle or in the G/T gap, and attacking the interior OL with speed stunts in 2- and 3- man games with Barmore and others, designed to have 2 rushers occupy 3 blockers, or 3 rushers occupy the 3 IOL along with the RB. Generally, the rush on the interior is structured to get the edge rushers - especially Judon and Wise - singled up on the outside.

Speaking of which, Judon and Wise should be buying Barmore dinner on the regular. They're both having great years, but the stats they're racking up are hugely owed to Barmore sucking up double teams. On the strip-sack, Barmore, Uche, and...Wilson, I think?...ran a 3 man game and absorbed the entire IOL and the RB, and Barmore came almost free off the center and then left guard to the point where if Judon hadn't been able to bring Goff down from behind, Barmore likely would have gotten him as he bailed out of the pocket.

I was happy to see the return of McMillan, at the expense of some Wilson snaps. He did pretty well, but has a ways to go. Wilson is likely to end up a passing down specialist, though able to play multiple roles against the pass: dropping into zone, covering in man, or rushing the passer, which is nice vs other specialists we've had in recent years. McMillan can increase team speed on a wider variety of downs, and hold up against the run or pass.

Jennings played 38% of the snaps and had a really strong game. He was setting the edge, shedding OL blocks, and chasing plays down. He got some decent pass rush in as well, an area where he's struggled some.

On a day where they needed him badly, with Guy out against a strong rushing attack and a top-10 OL, Godcheaux was pretty awesome on Sunday. He was absorbing doubles on a huge percentage of the inside runs, holding his ground, stacking and making piles, and allowing others to make plays.

On the offensive side of the ball, a big shakeup in WR snap count this week. I was happy to see LJH's snaps fall way off with Meyers back on the field, and Parker's fell way off as well. I think Parker and Meyers both block pretty well in the running game, which allows Patricia to leave LJH on the sideline unless they're totally selling out on the run, and leave some doubt in the defense's mind. I wonder if playing LJH so much was at least partially a message to the WRs who were not effective in run blocking? Also among the WRs, Agholor's snaps dropped way off to just 12%, while Bourne was #2 at 57%, ahead of Parker at 52% and Thornton's debut was at #4 with 42% of snaps.

And on Thornton, don't be fooled by his statline. He was open on deep routes a number of times, but Zappe was targeting the shorter throws. I'll add that the shorter throws were in some cases open because they were to the side that Thornton had cleared out. I don't think Thornton will show up a ton in the stat sheet with Zappe under center playing very conservative, but even with the film on him already I think it's going to force defenses to adjust to his impact on the game. He seemed to surprise DBs with his higher gear a number of times in the game.

The OL was really strong in passpro, but had a decent number of misses in the run game. A huge part of Mondre's numbers were after contact and after broken and dodged tackles. Strange may have had his worst game run blocking since week 1 or 2, but he had a number of ++ plays mixed in there as well. Growing pains for sure, but still good progress. He's tracking to be a really good player, and Strange/Andrews/Onwenu is already among the top IOL groups in the league, and rising. Wynn was good run blocking, and okay pass blocking. Yet another penalty.

Zappe executed well with a very limited ask. He missed open deeper routes on a number of occasions, but was efficient and effective. They didn't need him to be more than that, with the defense pitching a shout-out and the game under clear control early, allowing for conservative play. If they asked the same of Mac, I expect he would have executed at least as well - maybe a slightly lower completion percentage with more yards and fewer missed deeper routes. But they're prepping for the later season, making sure to develop the capability to be more aggressive and score. What they're asking Mac to do is a longer game, building their capabilities for later in the year. There is no QB controversy, though I'm sure everyone is thrilled with what they're getting from Zappe at this point. They're asking less of Zappe than even the ultra-conservative field generalship they asked of Mac early last year
 
The Pats were aided by 6 failed 4th down attempts but give our D credit for those failed attempts and the big goose egg hung on the Lions

FfHtmYlVIAUIROR
 
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