What a game yesterday. Let me first say that at 24 years old I may have heart problems after watching this team this year, but we're winning some tough games. Why did I give the thread this title? Because yesterday's game was decided by the acorns (as many have mockingly called every player picked up) stepping up big when called upon.
Let's start with the obvious hero in Michael Thomas. In a game where our 2 starting CBs get hurt, a kid who was just signed 3 days ago was asked to play in the crunch as a corner; a position he hadn't played since his freshmen year of college. He was also asked to do so against Tom Brady. The interception was a great defensive scheme (more on that later) but was the 3rd big play Thomas made on that drive. He knocked Shane Vereen down in brounds which forced the Pats to call a timeout, and he jarred a sure fire TD out of the hands of Danny Amendola. Great way to introduce yourself to the team.
Another guy who deserves praise is Jelani Jenkins. While his stat line may not be impressive, he took the very dangerous Shane Vereen out of the game. Since returning from injury, Vereen had games with reception totals of 7,8,8,5, and 12 with a 100 yard receiving game. Vereen is a HUGE part of New England's passing game and Jenkins is a big reason for the defense holding him to 3 catches for 8 yards. There were a few targets that were incomplete due to pressure, but would not have been big gains due to Jenkins being right there with Vereen.
While we've all loved him when we drafted him, Rishard Matthews made some really clutch catches today... and they were impressive. While the team still misses Brandon Gibson, Matthews has done a good job in adding a different dimension as a slot guy.
The last acorn I give mention to is Sam Brenner. We've sang his praise since he's been promoted from the practice squad, but the last 2 games really show that he's as much of a reason for the line's improvement as Bryant McKinney is. McKinney being a strong LT helps a lot, but Brenner's ability to pull and move opens up that zone ready Sherman loves to run so much. What had been getting blown up for losses because Incognito couldn't pull (and Martin couldn't hold a block) is now routinely gaining yards. Also early in the season we couldn't run a screen to save our lives, but now we're getting positive yards. To me, Sam Brenner has earned the right to be considered the starting left guard going into OTAs.
As for the rest of the team.
I see a lot of people saying Will Davis got torched. It was a rough game to get his first real action, but I honestly was not upset at his effort (granted I also really liked him coming out of school). Sure playing soft coverage against slot guys isn't smart, but he didn't give up any YAC so that's a plus.
Jimmy Wilson has been very good all year in the slot, but a boundary corner he is not. His tackle attempt on Edleman's touchdown was pathetic. Still a decent slot guy but we need Grimes and Carroll healthy.
I've noticed the last couple games that we aren't really using Reshad Jones and Chris Clemmons like we did last year, which IMO is part of the reason for the lack of big plays from Jones (the other part is poor play early in the season). Last year we played a lot with Jones as a roaming safety and Clemmons playing in centerfield. This year we're doing a lot of 2 deep when we aren't blitzing one of them. Both played well today, but Clemmons again had 1 dropped interception... maybe 2. Those drops may cost him a contract extension. But the point being is this was another solid game for the safeties.
The LBs had an up and down day. Too many times they lost Amendola or Edlemen in zone coverage, and Wheeler got beat by an awesome catch for New England's first TD. However after the first drive they did better defending the run. Misi had a good day disrupting some plays, and I already mentioned how Jenkins did. While Ellerbe and Wheeler had some bad moments (again), it wasn't their worst performance.
Coyle's scheme was working after the first drive until Brent Grimes got hurt. Nolan Carroll getting hurt forced Will Davis into the lineup, but even when he was in Tom Brady was attacking Brent Grimes. Once Grimes got hurt and forced Jimmy Wilson to the boundary corner, Coyle then switched up the coverage. That's when Brady started attacking Davis. Still one or two brain farts a game and a poor run D at times (maybe we suit AJ Francis up next week) but the defense doesn't give up many TDs and turnovers are way up from years past.
Mike Sherman had probably his 4th straight game where I really don't have any complaints about playcalling. I also LOVED the screen call to Charles Clay on 4th. If it wasn't for Tannehill having to make an adjustment due to Donte Hightowner being in his way, that screen would have gone for huge yards. New England was not ready for it, and Clay had blockers in front of him. PERFECT call from Mike Sherman and good adjustment by Tannehill. Have to give props to Hightower for making himself big, the play got us a first, but him being where he was gave his teammates enough time to recover. Also loved the playcalls on Thigpen and DTs touchdowns. If Sherman calls games like he did yesterday, it's going to be very hard to beat us.
A big reason for our offensive struggles early had been lack of YAC. Our WRs are finally starting to get more YAC. This is partly due to us not calling so many hitch routes, but this week was also the Charles Clay effect. New England wanted to take Clay out of the game. They not only put Aquib Talib on Clay, but gave safety help as well. This gave Mike Wallace single coverage and he took advantage.
Slowly both Dion Sims and Michael Egnew are both getting more looks in the passing game. It's progress. Hopefully one or both can become a redzone threat.
While Marcus Thigpen is on my ****list right now for not having a good year returning, he did a great job adjusting on his touchdown catch, and also did a good job on his other catch. If Thigpen can continue to show that he can be an asset in the passing game (had a few nice plays earlier in the year) I'm okay with him sticking around.
Daniel Thomas and Lamar Miller are running hard and getting yards, but the RBs were responsible for 2 of the sacks yesterday. Still have to work on their blocking, but running has improved.
That FG botch looked like it was going to be a fake FG. I can't say for sure, but as soon as the ball was snapped a few of our guys ran routes. Had we lost that play is all we would have heard about this week.
Some people are going to fall out of their chair when I say this but Joe Philbin and his staff outcoached Bill Billicheck and his staff... our at least I should say the New England staff actually hurt them down the stretch while ours didn't. Josh McDaniels Mike Sherman'd the Pats. We had no answer for LaGarrett Blount early, and they went away from him. Granted late their slot WRs killed our makeshift CBs going down the field, but them leaving the run game cost them in the 3rd and early in the 4th.
Finally there's Ryan Tannehill. What can I say that hasn't been said? Still has some work to do, but he went toe-to-toe with Tom Brady and came out on top. All the players are calling him the leader of the team now. Preseason I said my expectations were 25 and 15 (adjusted to 22 TDs when Keller got hurt) so Tannehill is about where I wanted him to be.
I also want to add that I find the Pats and their fans complaining about missed flags comical. I could complain about the illegal picks the Pats run, or the missed holding call on Edleman's TD, but I won't.
All-in-all this was a huge win for us that shows that the team has fight in them. Ryan Tannehill is money in the 2 minute drill, and we now control our own destiny. We can't have a letdown against Buffalo. And to add, if the Ravens lose tonight and against the Pats while we beat Buffalo we clinch a playoff spot. Of course there's also an outside shot at the division title, but either way the playoffs are a realistic dream.
Let's start with the obvious hero in Michael Thomas. In a game where our 2 starting CBs get hurt, a kid who was just signed 3 days ago was asked to play in the crunch as a corner; a position he hadn't played since his freshmen year of college. He was also asked to do so against Tom Brady. The interception was a great defensive scheme (more on that later) but was the 3rd big play Thomas made on that drive. He knocked Shane Vereen down in brounds which forced the Pats to call a timeout, and he jarred a sure fire TD out of the hands of Danny Amendola. Great way to introduce yourself to the team.
Another guy who deserves praise is Jelani Jenkins. While his stat line may not be impressive, he took the very dangerous Shane Vereen out of the game. Since returning from injury, Vereen had games with reception totals of 7,8,8,5, and 12 with a 100 yard receiving game. Vereen is a HUGE part of New England's passing game and Jenkins is a big reason for the defense holding him to 3 catches for 8 yards. There were a few targets that were incomplete due to pressure, but would not have been big gains due to Jenkins being right there with Vereen.
While we've all loved him when we drafted him, Rishard Matthews made some really clutch catches today... and they were impressive. While the team still misses Brandon Gibson, Matthews has done a good job in adding a different dimension as a slot guy.
The last acorn I give mention to is Sam Brenner. We've sang his praise since he's been promoted from the practice squad, but the last 2 games really show that he's as much of a reason for the line's improvement as Bryant McKinney is. McKinney being a strong LT helps a lot, but Brenner's ability to pull and move opens up that zone ready Sherman loves to run so much. What had been getting blown up for losses because Incognito couldn't pull (and Martin couldn't hold a block) is now routinely gaining yards. Also early in the season we couldn't run a screen to save our lives, but now we're getting positive yards. To me, Sam Brenner has earned the right to be considered the starting left guard going into OTAs.
As for the rest of the team.
I see a lot of people saying Will Davis got torched. It was a rough game to get his first real action, but I honestly was not upset at his effort (granted I also really liked him coming out of school). Sure playing soft coverage against slot guys isn't smart, but he didn't give up any YAC so that's a plus.
Jimmy Wilson has been very good all year in the slot, but a boundary corner he is not. His tackle attempt on Edleman's touchdown was pathetic. Still a decent slot guy but we need Grimes and Carroll healthy.
I've noticed the last couple games that we aren't really using Reshad Jones and Chris Clemmons like we did last year, which IMO is part of the reason for the lack of big plays from Jones (the other part is poor play early in the season). Last year we played a lot with Jones as a roaming safety and Clemmons playing in centerfield. This year we're doing a lot of 2 deep when we aren't blitzing one of them. Both played well today, but Clemmons again had 1 dropped interception... maybe 2. Those drops may cost him a contract extension. But the point being is this was another solid game for the safeties.
The LBs had an up and down day. Too many times they lost Amendola or Edlemen in zone coverage, and Wheeler got beat by an awesome catch for New England's first TD. However after the first drive they did better defending the run. Misi had a good day disrupting some plays, and I already mentioned how Jenkins did. While Ellerbe and Wheeler had some bad moments (again), it wasn't their worst performance.
Coyle's scheme was working after the first drive until Brent Grimes got hurt. Nolan Carroll getting hurt forced Will Davis into the lineup, but even when he was in Tom Brady was attacking Brent Grimes. Once Grimes got hurt and forced Jimmy Wilson to the boundary corner, Coyle then switched up the coverage. That's when Brady started attacking Davis. Still one or two brain farts a game and a poor run D at times (maybe we suit AJ Francis up next week) but the defense doesn't give up many TDs and turnovers are way up from years past.
Mike Sherman had probably his 4th straight game where I really don't have any complaints about playcalling. I also LOVED the screen call to Charles Clay on 4th. If it wasn't for Tannehill having to make an adjustment due to Donte Hightowner being in his way, that screen would have gone for huge yards. New England was not ready for it, and Clay had blockers in front of him. PERFECT call from Mike Sherman and good adjustment by Tannehill. Have to give props to Hightower for making himself big, the play got us a first, but him being where he was gave his teammates enough time to recover. Also loved the playcalls on Thigpen and DTs touchdowns. If Sherman calls games like he did yesterday, it's going to be very hard to beat us.
A big reason for our offensive struggles early had been lack of YAC. Our WRs are finally starting to get more YAC. This is partly due to us not calling so many hitch routes, but this week was also the Charles Clay effect. New England wanted to take Clay out of the game. They not only put Aquib Talib on Clay, but gave safety help as well. This gave Mike Wallace single coverage and he took advantage.
Slowly both Dion Sims and Michael Egnew are both getting more looks in the passing game. It's progress. Hopefully one or both can become a redzone threat.
While Marcus Thigpen is on my ****list right now for not having a good year returning, he did a great job adjusting on his touchdown catch, and also did a good job on his other catch. If Thigpen can continue to show that he can be an asset in the passing game (had a few nice plays earlier in the year) I'm okay with him sticking around.
Daniel Thomas and Lamar Miller are running hard and getting yards, but the RBs were responsible for 2 of the sacks yesterday. Still have to work on their blocking, but running has improved.
That FG botch looked like it was going to be a fake FG. I can't say for sure, but as soon as the ball was snapped a few of our guys ran routes. Had we lost that play is all we would have heard about this week.
Some people are going to fall out of their chair when I say this but Joe Philbin and his staff outcoached Bill Billicheck and his staff... our at least I should say the New England staff actually hurt them down the stretch while ours didn't. Josh McDaniels Mike Sherman'd the Pats. We had no answer for LaGarrett Blount early, and they went away from him. Granted late their slot WRs killed our makeshift CBs going down the field, but them leaving the run game cost them in the 3rd and early in the 4th.
Finally there's Ryan Tannehill. What can I say that hasn't been said? Still has some work to do, but he went toe-to-toe with Tom Brady and came out on top. All the players are calling him the leader of the team now. Preseason I said my expectations were 25 and 15 (adjusted to 22 TDs when Keller got hurt) so Tannehill is about where I wanted him to be.
I also want to add that I find the Pats and their fans complaining about missed flags comical. I could complain about the illegal picks the Pats run, or the missed holding call on Edleman's TD, but I won't.
All-in-all this was a huge win for us that shows that the team has fight in them. Ryan Tannehill is money in the 2 minute drill, and we now control our own destiny. We can't have a letdown against Buffalo. And to add, if the Ravens lose tonight and against the Pats while we beat Buffalo we clinch a playoff spot. Of course there's also an outside shot at the division title, but either way the playoffs are a realistic dream.
