Yes, it took me forever to finally finish watching Sunday's game and get around to putting my thoughts together. If you missed my first quarter analysis, you can find it here. Watching the remainder of the game and giving my remote control one heck of a workout, this is what I came up with.
Patriots Defense- Didn't play that poorly. Yes, they had some trouble with Knowshon Moreno, but Miami was smart with going to the run once the second half rolled around and the Patriots defense was tired. Why was the Patriots' defense tired? Probably because the offense couldn't stay on the field.
Patriots Offense- Looked pretty good going into the half. The second half was awful. For starters, they couldn't get a first down if their lives depended on it.
Patriots Offense- Looked pretty good going into the half. The second half was awful. For starters, they couldn't get a first down if their lives depended on it.
- Possession 1 - 4 plays, 1:47, fumble
- Possession 2 - 3 plays, 1:02, punt
- Possession 3 - 4 plays, 2:50, punt
- Possession 4 - 3 plays, 1:27, punt
- Possession 5 - 3 plays, 1:32, punt
- Possession 6 - 4 plays, :25, fumble
- Final Possession - Inconsequential - 15 plays, 2:36, turnover on downs
Tom Brady- To say he didn't look good would be an understatement. While he looked pretty good in the first half, he looked pathetic in the second. Watching the game I can't put the blame on the offensive line. While they did struggle to protect him, he definitely wasn't helping himself. If you rewatch the second half you will see that Brady is just going through the motions at half speed. He's stepping back to throw the ball like he is playing catch with Gisele on some secluded beach. While Brady usually tries to sell some sort of fake on 90% of his plays, I don't think he did it once in the second half. As a matter of fact, there were several times when he and Ridley were obviously supposed to be "selling the run" and they both did nothing other than get within an arms reach of each other. Additionally, I have no idea what was up with Brady's footwork in the second half as it is completely different than what he showed in the first half.
Chandler Jones- Talk about a game of inches. This guy was so close to making a great defensive play, not once but twice. Then both turned into huge penalties. Both of Chandler's penalties looked completely unlucky in my opinion. I'm not saying that the umpire made the wrong call, just pointing out that both plays could have easily been game-changers for the Patriots, but with a smidge of bad luck went the other way. On his first roughing the passer penalty, it looked like he had a little bit of help (unintentional) from Knowshon. During his second penalty the offensive assist goes to Tannehill when he stepped in to get rid of the ball to avoid the sack.
Special Teams- They had good and bad moments. Good would obviously be field goals, the successful punts and the touchbacks. Bad would be the blocked punt, short punt, missed tackles on returns and whoever heard of being offsides on a kickoff?
Play Calling/Personnel- If you are going to only play Gronkowski a few plays in the second half, you can't go to him every time he is on the field. HELLO...predictable much? I'm sorry but I was not impressed by Develin or Hoomanawanui. They are on the team because they are supposed to be able to block as needed. Well, we needed it on Sunday and it was nowhere to be found. While it likely would have been too little too late, I don't get why the Hail of Mary receiving team consisted of Edelman, LaFell, Amendola and Wright. In my opinion Thompkins needs to be part of that. Speaking of Thompkins, I would like to see him and LaFell on the field at the same time once in a while. And if they are on at the same time, let's not have a play called for Gronkowski each and every time.
Chandler Jones- Talk about a game of inches. This guy was so close to making a great defensive play, not once but twice. Then both turned into huge penalties. Both of Chandler's penalties looked completely unlucky in my opinion. I'm not saying that the umpire made the wrong call, just pointing out that both plays could have easily been game-changers for the Patriots, but with a smidge of bad luck went the other way. On his first roughing the passer penalty, it looked like he had a little bit of help (unintentional) from Knowshon. During his second penalty the offensive assist goes to Tannehill when he stepped in to get rid of the ball to avoid the sack.
Special Teams- They had good and bad moments. Good would obviously be field goals, the successful punts and the touchbacks. Bad would be the blocked punt, short punt, missed tackles on returns and whoever heard of being offsides on a kickoff?
Play Calling/Personnel- If you are going to only play Gronkowski a few plays in the second half, you can't go to him every time he is on the field. HELLO...predictable much? I'm sorry but I was not impressed by Develin or Hoomanawanui. They are on the team because they are supposed to be able to block as needed. Well, we needed it on Sunday and it was nowhere to be found. While it likely would have been too little too late, I don't get why the Hail of Mary receiving team consisted of Edelman, LaFell, Amendola and Wright. In my opinion Thompkins needs to be part of that. Speaking of Thompkins, I would like to see him and LaFell on the field at the same time once in a while. And if they are on at the same time, let's not have a play called for Gronkowski each and every time.
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