Really wish the All-22 film was up on Mondays, it would make turning the page to the next game that much quicker and easier. Alas, the film review will have to wait until tomorrow. In the meantime I took a quick re-watch of the Pats-Steelers game.
Here are some notes and some leftovers to go with the extensive Posits post from yesterday, as well as some notes on the fallout around the league after Week 7.
— Gotta start with Chandler Jones, who is reportedly in negotiations with the Cardinals on an extension. Good for Chandler and way to move on it when it’s still October and he’s still playing great. Traditionally his play has fallen off a cliff later in the year, often due to injuries. Bertrand was acting like this trade was a huge mistake yesterday on the Sports Hub, which made me almost want to call in and yell at him.
First of all, you get Joe Thuney, who looks like he’ll start at left guard for the next decade. Then there’s Malcolm Mitchell who is the most under-the-radar rookie receiver in recent Patriots history. The fact that Mitchell is getting consistent snaps is a major positive sign, even if he’s not putting up much stats. The fact that Jonathan Cooper didn’t really work out doesn’t even affect my view at all.
It should be surprising Jones is doing well in an attacking defense. But he’d be doing different things in New England and I doubt he’d be of much help to a defense that really doesn’t need him. We should at least wait until December and maybe not until another year or two before truly deciding a verdict in this trade, but even as things sit today I’d still do it every time.
— The defense continues to improve each week and despite this week’s lack of pass rush stats, they executed their gameplan and finally put together a strong game on third down and in the red zone. People can continue to freak out about the defense but they’re trending in a positive direction and it’s foolish to dismiss points against as a meaningless stat. Every year it’s a process and I think the defense is just scratching the surface of their potential. Just because they didn’t hit it right out of the gates isn’t a reason to lose your mind.
Tomorrow I’ll take a closer look at a few of the painful plays the Patriots defense gave up and try to figure out exactly what went wrong. But we’ll stop short of complaining that a three-man rush didn’t sack the quarterback.
— Still, Jabaal Sheard didn’t even register on the stat sheet. That’s strange. I’m surprised Sheard has had so many average games. I think for the defense to truly hit what they’re capable of it’s got to start with Sheard (and Chris Long to a lesser degree) making more impact plays than he/they’ve been making.
— The Patriots offense is as close to unstoppable as you can get when LeGarrette Blount is running like he did in this one and for most of the season. It’s weird, Blount seems so feast or famine, not only from game to game, but carry to carry. He already has 566 yards and a career-high eight touchdowns. If he stays healthy he’s a lock to beat his career high 1,007 rushing yards but we just can’t have one of those famine games in January. Dion Lewis should help manage his load a bit too.
— On Blount’s 25-yard longest run of the day, Edelman blocked two guys and got his clock cleaned for the effort. Just an outstanding and often missed example of how Edelman contributes on every down.
— Danny Amendola has truly become a designated weapon, whether it’s filling in as a kick or punt returner, or coming on as the third-down slot receiver. The Pats have been able to manage him brilliantly so far this season and he’s a great backup to have. Will be interesting to see if his snaps increase as the season progresses or if this is truly just his part-time role now. But who doesn’t love having a guy capable of making clutch catches on their bench for the season’s biggest moments?
— One final note on the decline in the NFL’s TV numbers. There have been plenty of interesting explanations to the decline, but one I think hasn’t had much discussion is the lack of quaterbacks this season. The young, promising next generation guys are having terrible years — Rodgers, Luck, Newton were supposed to be the next superstars but none are living up to that. Then you have all the guys who are hurt like Romo and Roethlisberger. There are plenty of young promising QBs now, but it takes time for the fans to get invested in guys like Carr, Mariota, Prescott and Wentz, while it takes them time to learn how to consistently win.
The Patriots are the only team living up to expectations. Everyone else is up and down, thus we’re in this purgatory awaiting the new world order of the NFL. Yes, a lot of the games are bad, but that’s also in large part because we had been in prime quarterback years for the last decade-plus. Now the next generation has to rise up.
And if the other teams can’t get their shit together, this just might be the year that Tom Brady and the Patriots are simply the only team left standing with an (I’m sorry) elite quarterback and head coach. The Pats will face adversity, but it’s clear they’re the best team in the NFL right now and I’m not sure it’s ever been less close. The problem with all this is that my expectations are now even more through the roof.
One game at a time. No injuries. There’s still a long way to go. Deep breath…