After watching last night's game...

[GimmeTheBall!]

The Pats front 7 isn't what it used to be and they have let to many good corners walk.

Their arrogance of just replacing anyone has finally caught up to them defensively.

Ah always knew that iffin you wrote enough posts that someday you'd have a coherent and reasonable one. So, good work. For once.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

Originally Posted by DallasEast
wow

You are kidding right?

Is anything I posted there really that far fetched? or is it based on what we have shown from time to time?

You two are so inscrutible and so insightful. You are like that chinese master and that cateerpillar ... no wait, cricket feller or something who would later end up in the Old West and kick everbody's behinds after they scorned him and pushed him into Stallone mode.

Anyway, you two deep thinkers sure give us something to thank about. ty.

 

[yimyammer]

add to this that Bush didn't play and Shockey only got something like 15 yards, so their weapons are seemingly endless

In my opinion , the only possible way to beat this team is to have a HELLACIOUS rush that never gives Brees more than 1.5 to 2 seconds while still stopping the run and beating the living crap out of Brees when he's sacked and even when he gets the ball out.

I just watched several plays they analyzed on the NFL network and I was amazed to see so many 3 step drops by Brees where he was getting the ball out in about 2 seconds. His passes weren't dump offs either, they were quick, precise passes 20 yards down field.

I guess our receivers need to jamb their receivers at the line and hope they can cover long enough for the rush to get there as well. Brees is accurate as hell so there isn't much room for error

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

You two are so inscrutible and so insightful. You are like that chinese master and that cateerpillar ... no wait, cricket feller or something who would later end up in the Old West and kick everbody's behinds after they scorned him and pushed him into Stallone mode.

Anyway, you two deep thinkers sure give us something to thank about. ty.

Have a candy bar.

 

[Eskimo]

The Saints are for real, there isn't much doubt. Dallas is the only team that, on paper, poses a threat to them running the table for the season.

New England is not the same team that suited up for 2007. They are still good, but Brady threw a couple of awful throws that cost them badly and their defense had some major breaks in coverage. If Brady doesn't float that duck last night that got intercepted it could well have been 14-3 New Englad instead of 10-7 New Orleans. The Pats never recovered from that turn-over, they just seemed to play shell-shocked the rest of the game.

Brady doesn't handle pressure well. If his line doesn't keep him clean, he will fold. Say what you want, but Romo handles true QB pressure - the type where a barely slowed DL is bearing down on you due to a blown OL assignment - way better than Brady can.

Outside of that 2007 season, Brady never really put up a monstrous stat season. He is good, but probably overrated because that season's performance is still fresh in people's minds.

Pats won because they were lucky, played great defense and Brady played well under pressure in tight, big games.

 

[Eskimo]

BTW, anyone think Randy Moss has finally lost a step - he wasn't really much of a force against a depleted secondary. That wasn't due to Brady being unable to find him or constant double teams. He just seems to have lost that special extra gear he had. He will now have to start practicing and working hard if he wants to continue to be great.

 

[Eskimo]

Dust off Parcells game play against the Colts few years back when they were high octane and undefeated until we beat them in Dallas.

Ball control, shorten the game, convert 3rd downs and score touchdowns instead of FGs. Make them earn every yard by keeping everything in front and pound the ball. Make them have to run 10 plays 80 yd drive to score. Usually rush various 4-5 players but keep 6-7 DB back. Get a passrush with just 4 or 5.

Pretty much can win with that formula every game.

The key to that game was Ware knocking Manning senseless at the start of the game.

We were physical and mostly played coverage that day.

I think the Saints WRs need to be challenged all game long. Brees will exploit zones like nobody's business. We need to disrupt their timing and get a few shots on him. We also have to get our tackling down to a science on all those checkdowns, screens and short passes to the WRs. I think our collection of CBs are the best in the NFL in man coverage skills and physicality and this gives us a chance.

We need Ware, Spencer and Ratliff to play out of their minds getting after Brees so he can't be calm in the pocket. A few punches to the mouth and everyone starts to play differently - so we must also come after Brees and get there and hit him as hard as we possibly can. I don't care if he gets some big plays - we can't let him be comfortable back there.

 

[Eskimo]

The Patriots remind me of us when our run was coming to an end, they had better start retooling starting with the coaching staff. I have always said that the way to pull down a dynasty is to take it's coaching staff. Unless you can replace the coaches with the same quality, and still keep good chemistry you can maintain.

I also believe Belichek is starting to get burned out. To stay on top takes a toll on you mentally, and mental fatigue is worse than physical fatigue

We're already used to being pillaged - Payton took some with him to NO and BP/Sporano took some with them to Miami. We actually seem to be getting collectively better with time.

The one big letdown has been Houck - the blitz pickup must improve and he has no excuse because most of these guys are vets and have done it better in the past.

 

[Don Corleone]

The one big letdown has been Houck - the blitz pickup must improve and he has no excuse because most of these guys are vets and have done it better in the past.

So the players aren't held accountable for their own performance? I've watched replays of the games, and you can routinely see Flo and Kosier missing blitz assignments.

Blame the o-line coach if you want, but sometimes the players don't get it.

Flo, while being physically talented, has a 2 cent brain and is definitely not a smart player.

Carry on.

 

[Beast_from_East]

The only way I think we can beat the Saints is to just be totally physical with them. I mean jam the WRs at the line and get after Brees like there is no tommorow.

We have got to put Brees on his backside, even if he hits a couple of passes downfield, we have got to keep up the pressure. Now I am not just talking about sacks here, I am talking about knockdowns, pressures, batted balls, ect....

Even when he does complete a pass, there needs to be alot of "pocket trash" around his feet with o line and d line guys on the ground. Basically, we have to do anything we can to keep Brees from having a clean pocket and feeling comfortable dropping back. I dont care how good a QB you are, if you are getting hit play after play ater play, you start looking at the rush instead of downfield.

Thats our only shot guys.

 

[RainMan]

Saints looked damn impressive. Not going to take anything away from them in a statement win.

But I will say this. It's obvious you're not going to beat the Saints if you give Brees all day in the pocket, and the Patriots did little to get in his face. Certainly some of that is because New Orleans' line is so good, but another part is because the Patriots' defense has gotten to the point where Belichick would rather just go for it on fourth down than rely on it.

 

[RainMan]

The key to that game was Ware knocking Manning senseless at the start of the game.

We were physical and mostly played coverage that day.

I think the Saints WRs need to be challenged all game long. Brees will exploit zones like nobody's business. We need to disrupt their timing and get a few shots on him. We also have to get our tackling down to a science on all those checkdowns, screens and short passes to the WRs. I think our collection of CBs are the best in the NFL in man coverage skills and physicality and this gives us a chance.

We need Ware, Spencer and Ratliff to play out of their minds getting after Brees so he can't be calm in the pocket. A few punches to the mouth and everyone starts to play differently - so we must also come after Brees and get there and hit him as hard as we possibly can. I don't care if he gets some big plays - we can't let him be comfortable back there.

Yeah, I think you nailed it, Eskimo.

 

[Beast_from_East]

BTW, anyone think Randy Moss has finally lost a step - he wasn't really much of a force against a depleted secondary. That wasn't due to Brady being unable to find him or constant double teams. He just seems to have lost that special extra gear he had. He will now have to start practicing and working hard if he wants to continue to be great.

I dont know about losing a step, they showed one replay where Moss went deep and he just blew past the corner for the Saints. Of course Brady either didnt see him or had to dump it off to avoid a sack.

Moss didnt look to happy after that play and after the Saints got up by double digits, it looked like Moss just quit playing. He looked totally bored on the sideline and just didnt want to be there in my opinion.

 

[malbis030347]

jamming their receivers at the line will be our path to salvation, Brees needs 2 seconds and a cloud of dust ..it's over!...so we have to do something that none of the other teams have been able to do..
we may even have to resort to those boring Parcells long drives where we pound the ball running and control the clock...we tried 2 weeks ago but we could not get points off that strategy but we better this time!

 

[Eskimo]

So the players aren't held accountable for their own performance? I've watched replays of the games, and you can routinely see Flo and Kosier missing blitz assignments.

Blame the o-line coach if you want, but sometimes the players don't get it.

Flo, while being physically talented, has a 2 cent brain and is definitely not a smart player.

Carry on.

If the guy you have on the field is messing up, you replace him with someone else - end of story. That's how you hold a player accountable. We probably can't do it now with Free taking over RT for the injured Columbo but we could have done it earlier in the year. As for Kosier, we have Holland who could replace him. As for Gurode, there is Proctor who could replace him.

This is such a big issue that it has to be fixed - we are getting blitzed on half of our passing plays so I'd rather have a more limited guy who knows his assignments and will at least try to block the right guy than a more talented guy who is blocking air.

 

[Eskimo]

I dont know about losing a step, they showed one replay where Moss went deep and he just blew past the corner for the Saints. Of course Brady either didnt see him or had to dump it off to avoid a sack.

Moss didnt look to happy after that play and after the Saints got up by double digits, it looked like Moss just quit playing. He looked totally bored on the sideline and just didnt want to be there in my opinion.

What about that out on Mckenzie on 4th down - he had single coverage and couldn't take advantage of it against a guy just brought in off the street. I guess my point is Moss isn't scaring people anymore - they aren't afraid to challenge him and his level of production has dropped off dramatically from 2007. He actually looks to be coverable for the first time in his career.

 

[DallasEast]

Saints looked damn impressive. Not going to take anything away from them in a statement win.

But I will say this. It's obvious you're not going to beat the Saints if you give Brees all day in the pocket, and the Patriots did little to get in his face. Certainly some of that is because New Orleans' line is so good, but another part is because the Patriots' defense has gotten to the point where Belichick would rather just go for it on fourth down than rely on it.

Glad that some could see that. A quick review of the games where Brees and his wide receivers struggled (i.e. Dolphins, Rams, etc.) at various points will show anyone the same thing. When Brees has time and is on, the Saints offense is virtually unstoppable. That's why playing good defense in this league will net you positive results.

 

[Marktui]

The Patriots didn't apply any sort of pressure on Brees. On some of those throws he had 3-4 seconds and no one around him. He had that "clean pocket" that qbs love. He was throwing on rythm all night long. Do the same thing to Brady and he will tear you apart.

That Patriot defense looked a little slow to me and looks like they have some issues with their front seven. That defense is built for the Foxboro weather not the fast track of the Superdome!!

 

[Gumbo1]

So we've addressed how to handle their receivers,what about their running game which I think is in the top 5

 

[CF74]

The play calling has been top notch for the Saints. They don't just come out throwing deep all day, they take their time and they let it develop. They run the ball well, they throw short little passes, screens, dump offs to the rb's in the flats, and then.....Boom they hit you deep. Patience is key. The short pass, the check down, & the dump off has replaced the ole pounding of the rock from old. You gotta have a short passing game to be effective today...