New England Patriots Links 10/13/09 - Silver Lining: Jerod Mayo is Back

by Marima on Oct 13, 2009 10:19 AM EDT in New England Patriots News

Broncos' Knowshon Moreno fumbles the football as he is tackled by Patriots LB Jerod Mayo in the first quarter Sunday. New England recovered the fumble.

Bill Belichick talks about the pass rush on Sunday.

"If there was an order in the chain reaction, it would have started with the Broncos’ quick and short passing attack, then the coverage, then the pass rush. In other words, it’s all connected,’’ he said.

"Pass defense is all inter-related. It’s all about the timing of the coordination between the coverage and the rush. So if the receivers are covered and the quarterback has to hold the ball, then your pass rush has a chance to get there. If they’re not covered, then it doesn’t make any difference, they don’t have to block anybody, the ball’s already gone. It’s all about timing.’’

"There wasn’t a lot of time when [Orton] was standing back there holding the ball. There were times when we were getting to him but the ball was out of there.

Ron Borges actually makes sense when evaluating Tom Brady's performance Sunday:

The simplistic way to explain this loss is to blame Tom Brady, who did not have a good day throwing the ball. When your offense not only fails to score in the final 30 minutes but fails to convert a single third down (0-for-6) it is obviously a dreadful day, and so there is responsibility to be accepted for what went on.

Yet Brady’s inconsistency is to be expected because every quarterback who came back from major ACL surgery has followed this same up-and-down pattern in the early games of the new season, so deal with it, people. That’s not an excuse, it’s just reality.

TEAM TALK

Erik Scalavino Mayo's return a silver lining in loss; Monday news and notes.
Ask PFW: Part I - Brady Bashing addressed and more.
Ask PFW: Part II - Trades, schedules, players and more.
WEEI Patriots Monday: Tom Brady (23.34min.), Vince Wilfork (10.35 min.), Sammy Morris (10.20 min.), Chris Baker (4.50 min.) and Bill Belichick (34.28 min.)
Patriots Today: A defeat in the Mile High city. (12.40 min. video)

LOCAL LINKS

Monique Walker focuses on the inconsistency of the offense which operated with efficiency in the first half but looked confused and out of sync in the second.
Christopher Price notes Sammy Morris is positive about the offense's problems being fixable. "I think we’ll work on those things and kind of right the ship," Morris said.
Karen Guregian looks at the numbers and boldly declares that Brady has been off. Gee, good thing she had the stats to back it up because otherwise no one would believe it.
Christopher Price takes one final review of Patriots-Broncos before moving on to the Titans. Wilfork had a great game, Mankins did not. Patriots probably should have kept Gaffney, it might have saved everyone a lot of headaches - including Brady and Galloway.
Mark Farinella offers his Hots, Nots and game notes from Sunday.
Mike Reiss offers the snaps played by defensive players, snaps played by offensive skill position players and offensive positional groupings vs. Broncos.
Chris Gasper notes the Patriots either have to take better advantage of the attention being paid to Moss or find a way to get him the ball.
Ian Rapoport reports the Patriots defense is very aware that they have to improve their tackling techniques and effectiveness.
WEEI offers the Transcripts from Bill Belichick's Q&A on The Big Show yesterday, and Tom Brady's Q&A with Dennis & Callahan.
Ron Borges grades the Patriots in his weekly Report Card.
Boston Globe Patriots Notebook: No update yet on the right knee injury sustained by Matt Light Sunday after teammate Dan Koppen rolled into him; Belichick talks about the pass rush; Leigh Bodden admits he has to tackle better; Gostkowski isn't stressed over the missed FG kick, he's just going to keep working hard.
Mark Farinella notes that this Sunday will be another AFL Legacy game, pitting the Boston Patriots against the Houston Oilers (Tennessee Titans). Farinella, along with many fans, has no love for the throwbacks.

NATIONAL NEWS

Judy Battista (NY Times) To beat Patriots, Broncos made all the right moves.
Jeff Legwold (Denver Post) Breakdown: Pats fail to adjust.
Peter King (SI) MMQB: Broncos, Bengals open some eyes with impressive Week 5 wins.
Andrew Perloff (SI) Thoughts on Tom Brady, retread coaches and more from week 5.
Don Banks (SI) Snap Judgments: The surprising Bengals, Ravens problems and more.
Pro Football Weekly Titans unlikely to capture '08 magic.

Tweet Comment 12 comments | 1 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

On Brady Bashing...

“The emotion-filled reactions we’ve been getting from fans border on the immature. Brady’s not at his best right now, even he’ll admit, but the mistakes he and the offense are making are correctable. To suggest that he deserves anything less than the opportunity to fix them is just plain unfair to a guy who’s done so much for this franchise. "

That is a very good point from the Pats website. As fans I think we have been very spoiled this decade with the QB play and we need to lay off on the Brady bashing a bit. Yeah its frustrating to watch, but we at least owe Brady our patience.

by bbismyhero on Oct 13, 2009 11:24 AM EDT reply actions

I know... it was embarrassing to read that.

It’s an easier thing to say that Brady will take time to get back to his normal form in theory, but watching the games play out and seeing him miss throws that he could have made before with his eyes closed, is harder. He’s a hard-working, elite QB but not a robot that just had a part replaced. Sometimes people are just insensitive and clueless.

Keep the faith!

by Marima on Oct 13, 2009 11:45 AM EDT up reply actions

You called? Did somebody mention insensitive and clueless?

I think the problem from the fan standpoint is that we can see that there is something wrong with Tommy Terrific; a blind man could see it. What most people fear the most is the unknown. Is it his knee? Is it his shoulder (the Haynesworth hit – note: Tom connected with Moss before the hit)? Is it his head (worried about the knee, worried about the wife, not in the game)? Is it just timing from lack of practice? We see him struggle and we want to know why. We will never know why during this season.

We are, therefore, left to trust that:
1. Tom is a hard worker driven for perfection. If he can fix it, he will fix it.
2. Hoodie can adapt to cover whatever Tom can’t do.
3. The skill players on the team are going to adapt to less than optimum performance from Tom (like Welker’s shoe string catches).
4. Whatever is wrong with his throwing, Tom’s brains are one of his most valuable assets. For that alone, he should be under center.

I don’t do the whole in Bill we trust thing. I trust in God. Heal Tom of his physical and mental impairments, and guide the Pats players to come together as a team.

The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.

by SlotMachinePlayer on Oct 13, 2009 12:07 PM EDT up reply actions