Game Report

If you celebrate, I hope that you and yours all had a lovely Thanksgiving, and if you didn’t see my tweet please know I am thankful for you…

And whilst I sit and write this, I have myself a sneaky piece of leftover pie, something sweet to take the edge off the game that was the Patriots at Minnesota last night. 

I don’t know about you, but I think maybe the most frustrating thing I took away from this close loss of 26 to 33, was the parts of the team you were confident in, special teams and the defence, generally were the weaknesses in a game against a good team. 

However! As you lovely lot know by now I like to be positive, and whilst this loss stunk, I’m going to attempt to highlight those things that you might smile about instead!

I can’t gloss over the things that went wrong, the unnecessary penalties, one from Myles Bryant, Jon Jones pulling face masks, and Pierre Strong running into the kicker. Poor Strong may be sitting out the festive season in the Belichick dog house!

Some fans will be ready to highlight poor officiating too, and I gotta say I can’t disagree, but those are points the Patriots can’t control… I mean Hunter caught the ball with his hand between it and the floor and he broke the line for a touchdown, worse case scenario it was a catch… but like I said, things they can’t control so I shall move swiftly forward!

Whilst that touchdown may have been denied, we weren’t fully deprived of some Thanksgiving tight endage. Yes folks, that high pitched noise your dog reacted to, may have in fact been my squeal of celebration, as Mac Jones found Hunter Henry down the middle of the field, with several men attempting to get hold of him, unsuccessfully, as he crossed the line for his second touchdown this season. Possibly, the sexiest thing this thanksgiving… but I digress. 

Jakobi Meyers may have had only a couple of plays (official stats: 4 targets for 3 receptions for 62 yards), but the catches he made were great! Good throws from Mac and nice catches by Meyers. Unfortunately, he seemed to get a little banged up and I wouldn’t be surprised if he turns up on an injury list of sorts this coming week. 

Rhamondre Stevenson continues to be a beast, even when he doesn’t have a super successful game, it is ridiculously difficult not to look at this guy and put him on your good list for his sheer prowess, power, and growing versatility in this offence. 

Whilst the defence didn’t seem to show up as strong this game, there were still some fantastic plays. Judon was denied a sack, but I would bet a couple of bucks on Kirk Cousins having the occasional Mr Red Sleeves nightmare. Raekwon McMillan displayed some of his football smahts, aka instincts, as he charged around making some great shut downs. Josh Uche had a beautiful sack to commence the fourth quarter, a big rush and a big play. Definitely a tasty treat to begin the dish of the last quarter of the game this Thanksgiving. Jon Jones may have incurred a few penalties, but he had an interception for 55 yards, and almost notched up a second before the game was done. 

So there you have it once again you lovely lot! And with the fantabulous Tom Shaw-Mellors doing the Pats Prop on tour thing, I shall be holding down the fort and will be back next week with your Pats Prop preview of the upcoming game against the Bills! 

I gotta say you lovely lot, these game recaps are becoming rather tricky to write, even when the Patriots do win, but I aim to please, so I shall give it a go!

So, it’s safe to say that the offense is of a worry to us all, and with David Andrews out with injury now… do we really want to talk about it? 

Okay let’s skim over some of the details, whilst Hunter Henry played 84% of the snaps he was only targeted once, for one catch, and Jonnu Smith was in for 54%, with four targets and four receptions, sigh. 

And whilst Parker, Agholor, Bourne and Thornton were in the game, it was really only faithful Jakobi Meyers who made it in the Clazzy notebook, with four receptions for 52 yards.

However! The running backs were utilised a little more. Damien Harris had a nitro injection for the second half of the the first quarter, with his 22 yard zip, and a fabulous stutter step, and Hunter throwing the block! Rhamondre Stevenson steamrolled into the end of the second quarter with a 19 yard gain on the 3rd and 16, unfortunately a great run from Mac Jones was then erased by a holding call from Cajuste. That darn laundry! 

I tell you what, let’s talk defence shall we?  

The Patriots defence feels like a force to be reckoned with at this point, ranked tenth on PFF, currently they have the top sack-er in the league, in the sheer gem that is Matthew Judon. 

At this point I would love to just take you through the ramblings that are my game notes, because I think they may paint the picture quite well:

Judon for the QB nightmare! 6 yard scramble by Zach Wilson

Bentley drilled the RB.

Uche and Bentley with pressure on Wilson.

Flush. Flush. Flush. 

And that was just within the first two minutes of the Jets possession in the first quarter! 

What followed was Devin McCourty with pressure on Mims, not to mention the catch he should have made when Zach Wilson threw him the ball at the end of the second quarter!

Deatrich Wise brought his six-year-jump-‘A’ game to this game too. What with his excessive pressure on Zach Wilson, batting the ball down to start the second quarter, hunting guys down like a ferocious tiger, 2 tackles, 3 assists and one sack! 

Bentley, Dugger and Jon Jones are names that seem to be appearing on the good list most weeks now, and whilst I do hate to repeat myself, like I said, this defence is a force to be reckoned with!

There were plenty of almost too. Especially in the last four minutes of the fourth quarter. Godchaux almost had a touch down if it weren’t for Zach Wilson’s darn elbow, Wise with an almost bat-down-for-an-interception, Kyle Dugger and Jon Jones both almost had interceptions, and then the game almost went into overtime if it weren’t for the rookie Marcus Jones and his mammoth, game on the line, punt return of 84 yards for a touchdown!

It wasn’t a pretty win, but it was a win. Defences may win you games, but only time will tell as to how many!

Until next time, you lovely lot, go Pats!

Sunday saw the Patriots move to 5 – 4 to enter the bye on a win. But it ain’t all sunshine and rainbows folks. 

Let’s get the offense out of the way first, and then we can really relish in the defense shall we?

It’s unfortunate to say, but it doesn’t matter which way you spin it, the Patriots offense is not doing good. 

But, they have high paid tight ends and plenty of wide receivers, I hear you cry! And don’t we know it. But the tight ends aren’t getting chance to play to their price tag abilities, and the wide receivers aren’t getting much of the ball either. 

Whilst Rhamondre Stevenson continues to be a serious performer, his late first quarter one handed catch was a gorgeous thing, he is maybe the only glimmer of beast mode on an offense that has a weak offensive line, and a quarterback that doesn’t seem to be aware that usually year two is where you make a performance jump. 

I have to be honest with you lovely lot, I’m not sure who is to blame, but am suspicious it’s a little bit of everything, including coaching. The offensive line is weakened, but they are also suffering some a serious rotation, as Bill said, they are “playing a lot of people” and I don’t know about you, but that just doesn’t feel great for consistency. 

The one spark may be with the return of David Andrews we see some return to solidarity on that line, but until we do, Mac Jones may continue to look increasingly uncomfortable in the pocket. I mean, can you blame him?! Would you be a little on edge if your centre drops back into you three steps, and your left guard is a rookie who keeps getting benched? 

We did see the tight ends attempt to make some plays when they were given the opportunity, Jonnu Smith can RUN and we all know what Hunter Henry can do from last season, but having to utilise them much more for blocking takes them away from the passing game, and being able to put up those numbers we are all crying out for. 

HOWEVER!

Yeah, you must have seen it coming folks, you know I’m not one for being too negative, and the Patriots did pull out a win, it’s just right now we are having to swallow a cold pill of realism when it comes to what the Patriots are doing on offense. 

When I run though my game notes from Sunday there wasn’t pages and pages, but there was a lot about the defense, and I’m sure every soul that covered the game could say the same thing. 

Matthew Judon’s name appears literally every week, if there was ever value for money, holy heck then he is it! Judon continues to be the thing of quarterback nightmares, as Mr Red Sleeves hunts them with the intensity of blood hound and TAKES THEM DOWN!

(Apologies, but the excitement has to be let out somewhere!)

The Colts offensive line is the highest paid in the NFL at the moment, and the Patriots defense pretty much made them look like a bargain basement sell off! 

Marcus Jones had a great punt return to start the second quarter, Jonathan Jones ran about 30 yards to block a Colts punt, Jalen Mills had good coverage of Michael Pittman, and caused a key incompletion that was followed by a quarterback sack from Josh Uche. 

Mack Wilson levelled out a returner, Jahlani Tavi had a take down, Lawrence Guy caved the Colts offensive line and Jabrill Peppers finished off a runner. Jack Jones had great coverage, and not to repeat his kudos, but if Matthew Judon didn’t have the sack, he helped in some way shut the front door! Poor Sam Ehlinger was boxed in most of the night, with Deatrich Wise continuing to own up and show up too.  

Finally, the latter part of the fourth quarter had another interception by Jonathan Jones and an almost interception by Devin McCourty!

So the defense do-w-minated as we like to say (for those of you who aren’t Patriots Unfiltered listeners, it’s just the way Paul Perillo says dominated when it needs extra emphasis). Whilst there is a lot of concern on the offense, Mac did still get the ball out to Stevenson on a short left that resulted in a touchdown, had a great ball placement to Jakobi Meyers towards the end of the second quarter, and whilst the punter part of special teams may have been having a bit of a bad night, the expert kicking leg of one Nick Folk, put a lot of valuable points on the board for the Patriots in their home win. 

So there you have it you lovely lot, week 9 is in the bag! Next week is a bye so there maybe a bit less from me without the need for a game recap, but as they say, tune in next time and Go Pats!

So, a much needed win was had on Sunday as the Patriots attempted to play some better football against the 5 – 2 (now 5 – 3) New York Jets.

Mac Jones started, which in itself as a fan felt like a bit of an accomplishment, but it wasn’t the best performance, it wasn’t the easiest game to watch, especially if you were a Jets fan! But, saying that it, wasn’t the smoothest of games for a Patriots fan either.

The game started promisingly with the Patriots forcing the Jets to a bad punt, but then the Jets defense shut anything the Pats had going, down. 

Unfortunately, the absence of centre David Andrews was as glaring as a lit jack-o-lantern at Halloween, with Cole Strange having a particularly tricky game, and finally getting benched.

Whilst Mac Jones suffered under some pocket pressure, Zach Wilson suffered some more! He seemed to fold under the pressure significantly, and threw the ball to Devin McCourty and Ja’Whaun Bentley. 

Speaking of pressure, Matthew Judon maybe the number one thing of quarterback nightmares as the lurking Mr Red Sleeves, but Deatrich Wise has to be the number two!

More pressure… Jack Jones put some out there on the Jets mid third quarter field goal attempt, which resulted in it being unsuccessful.

The end of the second quarter showed us that Rhamondre Stevenson may not only be a “Steamerson”, but has fabulous hands with his one handed catch, bringing the ball into his body. And whilst this was going on Jakobi Meyers secured his spot in our hearts, and maybe the roster more so, with some great blocking!

Speaking of guys doing a great job, Adrian Phillips really threw himself into the game to help fill the void left by an injured Kyle Dugger, as well as Mr Veteren himself Devin McCourty and his two interceptions. 

Oh, and did I mentioned Rhamondre Stevenson? I did? Yeah, but did I talk about his early third quarter charge where he broke three tackles, and pretty much ran through a safety?! 

To me the word for the game was pressure. The Patriots suffered under some, they gave a lot, and Zach Wilson possibly collapsed under it. The Patriots may have made Sam Darnold see ghosts, they also managed to fluster Zach Wilson and the Jets into beating themselves. 

The offensive line has issues, the defense has injury absences and Mac Jones looks a little uncomfortable out there still, BUT the Patriots are at 4 – 4 with still plenty of opportunity to rise!

If you celebrate, Happy Halloween you lovely lot! But until next time, Go Pats!

Unfortunately it’s not victory Monday, and that’s got nothing to do with the fact that it’s Tuesday!

Okay, there may not be much to recap on the game that you lovely lot will want to read, but I shall buckle up and give it a go buttercup!

Although a defeat to the, 31st in the league for most things Chicago Bears, it wasn’t all bad I promise.

Whilst the offensive line seemed to crumble a little, and Cole Strange had his first penalty, Isaiah Wynn didn’t have any… okay, okay you caught me, he wasn’t playing, and unfortunately Trent Brown seemed to take up the reigns to ensure that the sheet didn’t go clean when it came to offensive line holding penalties. 

The defense wasn’t great against the run, and they left too many receivers open on a Chicago offense that has been known to suck. 

A lot of the coaching left plenty to be desired, and the decision to play in-and-out with the quarterbacks didn’t quite pan out how it was probably hoped. 

The one point I would like to make that may come across as a little whiney, and I’m not an advocate for whinging and blaming the officiating, however… If the officials would have stopped casting a blind eye to all the Matthew Judon holds, he may have gotten to the quarterback even more, and shut down some of those air out plays that gave the Bears points. 

Okay, I can throw some sunshine on this, as I promised I would. 

If you tuned into the game moments into the second quarter (after the unfortunate Mac pick) and watched all the way through to the end of the second quarter, so yes okay about 13 minutes of clock time, you would have seen a fabulous Patriots team. 

Bailey Zappe came into the game, succeeded in a short completion to Jonnu Smith – tight endage people! – then he made a great read to Rhamondre AND, AND a beautiful deeeeeeep ball to a completely open Jakobi Meyers for a touchdown!

Next, Justin Fields threw out a floater, tipped by Matthew Judon, into the arms of Myles Bryant.

We move along to a spin and catch of Devante Parker as Zappe aired out a 43 yarder!

Rhamondre Stevenson continues his reign as Steamerson walking it in for a touchdown, with some great support blocking by Hunter Henry.

Zappe just seemed to look way more comfortable in the pocket than Mac this game and I for one enjoyed watching it, but also hope that Mac can get his mojo back too.

Well, there you have it you lovely lot, a game recap as best I could. I hope it wasn’t too painful!

Until next time…Go Pats!

In the throwback red uniforms Bailey Zappe may have handed the ball off to the beast that is Rhamondre Stevenson plenty of times, but he also attempted 21 throws, with 17 completions for 188 yards, and… one touchdown. 

Right now there is plenty to still nibble at that lower lip in concern for over the Patriots, but it’s victory Monday! And yes, whilst many will say “but the Lions defense sucks”, and they are not incorrect, may I please remind you… going into week 5 whilst the Lions were bottom, last, the worst, at points scored against them in the league with 141, they were also the very top at points scored in the whole league too, with 140.

So, to look at it another way, whilst the yes, third string rookie quarterback led, New England Patriots offense scored 29 points with only one touchdown against the bottom of the league Detroit Lions defense… they also held those top of the league in points scoring Lions to a big fat zero. Nada. Zilch. Zip. 

Whilst there are still areas to be worked upon, I can feel confident saying there are areas to celebrate!

Let’s get down to business shall we?

The word that I wish I had a nice, shiny British pound (or a nice, crisp, one dollar bill) for, was poise. Bailey Zappe showed significant poise. AKA the kid performed really well under the fair amount of pressure he was under, and that’s definitely a point the commentators, and many since, have hammered home. 

It would have been really easy for the guy to totally lose it, fumble and bumble, and he would actually have a decent excuse for doing so. He is a fourth round pick, rookie quarterback, in what was once known as one of the most difficult schemes in the NFL, with a still getting their stuffs together coaching staff. 

Yeah it would have been naff having to use the excuse, but I’m not exactly wrong, am I?

However, we saw a team pull the whole thing together. Like a huge, glorious parcel, all the corners (figuratively, not literally… well maybe a bit literally) pulled way in, and made a nice tight, tidy bundle of a team. 

Yeah, there were still the expected issues. I’m not a gambling girl per se but am curious to what the odds may be on an Isaiah Wynn false start/holding penalty call for, well, every game, and Nelson Agholor could probably do with some much stickier gloves!

However! Moving on to the glass, over half way full perspective! 

Rhamondre Stevenson ploughed all over this game, and there’s not much that I can write that would really do this beast mode guy justice. 

Tight man coverage on TJ Hockenson caused a huge headache for the Lions offense and Jack Jones, the ball hawk, displayed his lovely speed and athletic ability, with the late first quarter interception.

Following the mid-second quarter unfortunate interception from Nelson Agholor’s bobble, Jahlani Tavai attempted to grab hold of a runner whilst wrestling with TJ Hockenson, Adrian Phillips had a glorious take down, and Matthew Judon took on the mighty Penei Sewell and totally won. 

If you are a defense aficionado then this game was all sorts of delightful treats for you. 

Oh yes, and how ever can I forget, the beautiful sack by, who else, but Matthew Judon that was recovered by Kyle Dugger for the defensive touchdown!

The Patriots may have caused Sam Darnold to see ghosts, but I think that Jared Goff may be seeing a certain Mr Red Sleeves in his nightmares for a little while.

Cole Strange continued his positive progression with some more great work, and I spotted the elevated from practice squad tight end, Matt Sokol, throw up some nice, tidy blocks. Can I get a TIGHT ENDAGE anyone?

Speaking of tight endage (okay when am I not!?) but seriously, I can’t be the only one happy to see Hunter Henry out there catching a few balls, surely? He had a nice gain of 17 yards after the catch early in the third quarter, and then a late in the third quarter diving catch that was delightful!

Now, I know that’s not much, and plenty of you may be rolling your eyes, but hey it’s victory Monday, and we saw SOMETHING from the tight ends. I’ll take what I can get at this point. 

Until next time, you lovely lot! Go Pats!