Tag: NFL Week 9

Patriots Packers Postgame Reaction and Quick Hits

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In what was supposed to be an epic battle between two of the best signal-callers to ever grace the field, both Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers were about as average as it comes in the Pats’ 31-17 win over the Packers on Sunday night.

Much of this had to do with stellar defensive play on both sides, as both quarterbacks failed to crack 300 passing yards. In fact, were it not for two big catches on consecutive plays at the end of the third quarter by Packers rookie Marquez Valdes-Scantling, totaling 50 yards, Rodgers would have barely topped 200 yards. The Packers also held Brady to just over 220 yards and no scores heading into the fourth quarter.

Basically, if you took the over and were expecting offensive firepower all night, you were severely disappointed.

I will also humbly eat a gigantic piece of crow pie this week, as I was a bit too quick to write off Cordarrelle Patterson as a runner in last week’s game notes. While I do stand by the fact he looked terrible outside of one play in Buffalo, the 27-year-old athletic specimen looked fantastic toting the rock last night, rumbling his way to 61 yards on 11 carries – which included muscling his way into the endzone on a five-yard goal-line score in the second quarter.

(To be fair, two games is still a pretty small sample size from which to draw any conclusions. But all I’m saying is that Patterson looked great last night. Good for you, bud.)

Here are a few other takeaways from last night’s solid win:

  • Trey Flowers, man. He finished third on the team in tackles and had a half-sack to boot. But, again, it’s what he does outside the stat sheet that truly counts, as his motor doesn’t stop all game long. The play that stood out to me was a 2nd-and-5 attempt for the Packers with about 1:50 to go in the first quarter, where Flowers absolutely plows through his first blocker and quickly sheds the next two guys on a DOUBLE-block to get in Rodgers’s face, forcing an incomplete pass and a third down. The guy continues to be an absolute force, especially these past couple of weeks. There’s just not much else to say.
  • Kyle Van Noy had another nice night as well, particularly as a run-stopper, finishing with nine solid tackles.
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The guy still can’t cover worth a lick, but he does do everything else pretty well and has been one of the D’s top performers this year.

  • Even with Shaq Mason being out this week, Brady was only sacked twice and hit just one other time. Much of this, however, might have to do with the fact that Brady has been blitzed at the lowest rate in the league this season, as pointed out during the broadcast last night by Cris Collinsworth. Not to take anything away from the offensive line, but apparently teams haven’t really been gunning too hard to get after him – which does, in fact, make a lot of sense considering the Pats’ dink-and-dunk approach which doesn’t call for Brady to hold on to the ball for much more than a second or two. Either way, it’s a good thing. I just thought it was interesting.
  • As if he needed yet another feather in his cap, Brady also became the first player ever to surpass 80,000 total yards in his career (including the postseason). The previous record-holder was Peyton Manning, with 79,978, but Brady took the top spot on the team’s go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter last night.

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  • I couldn’t believe my eyes, but Dwayne Allen actually had a catch last night! He was able to muster up a whole 21 yards on ONE whole target across 66 snaps, all while collecting even more of his totally reasonable $4 MILLION SALARY this year. (Catching the sarcasm at all there?)
  • Julian Edelman and Josh Gordon are the best pair of receivers Brady’s had in YEARS. They both dominated last night.

So, while the offense was definitely slowed a bit by a well-performing Green Bay defense, Brady & Co. were able to do just enough to grab a respectable win. Just over halfway through the season, the team is now five games over .500, and besides two respective matchups with the Vikings and Steelers, the Pats only have the Titans, Jets, Bills, and Dolphins left to worry about. (No really, though! That’s it!)

Be sure to check back in with The 300s this Thursday for our preview of Sunday’s matchup with the Titans down in Nashville.

Quick Pats Bills Game Notes/Pats Packers Week 9 Preview

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Remember when the Dolphins were tied with us for first in the AFC East? LOL.

Balance has now been restored in the universe, as the Pats are once again completely in the driver’s seat in the AFC East for the 4,568th year in a row. After Monday night’s 25-6 victory over the Bills, the Pats now lead in the division by two games and soon more.

Ya boy Mattes was in NYC for the past couple of days – and I cannot even TELL you just how good it felt to be rockin’ a Sox hat around that city this week – so I was unable to get up my review of the game on Tuesday. Therefore, before getting into Sunday night’s tilt with the Packers, here are a few quick things of note from the other night in Orchard Park:

  • Even though Derek Anderson is a statue in the pocket, the pass-rush looked excellent. Trey Flowers is an absolute monster, and I will personally pay whatever I have to in order to keep him around (he’s a free agent after this season). He may not have had any sacks, but there was one first quarter sequence where Flowers completely blew up one of the Bills’ cute, little Wildcat plays (what is this? 2008?), and then on the very next play he did his best Vince Carter impression, jumping sky-high in the air to block an Anderson pass attempt. He was just everywhere on Monday night and is the unquestioned heart and soul of the defense. Adrian Clayborn, Malcolm Brown, and Kyle Van Noy, who had two sacks on the night, were also noticeably active up front as well.
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Bill, please pay this man!

  • Although Van Noy was great on Monday night, he is a complete one-trick pony: excellent pass-rusher but absolutely USELESS in coverage. Seriously, he couldn’t cover a guy using a walker. Once again the Pats were able to stop the run but were completely carved up by the receiving game out of the backfield (LeSean McCoy had six catches for 82 yards while totaling just 13 yards on 12 carries). There were rumors this week that the Pats were looking at bringing back old friend Jamie Collins, which shows that even the team knows how soft we are in terms of pass-coverage over the middle. Seriously, it’s bad.
  • We desperately need Sony Michel back. Were it not for Devin McCourty’s key pick-six in the fourth quarter, the game would’ve been a helluva lot closer than it was. Much of that had to do with the fact that the running game was absolutely non-existent. And no, Cordarrelle Patterson absolutely did not look good out there; outside of one big 22-yard run, Patterson had 16 yards on nine carries. Sure, he is a physical specimen, but truthfully for most of the night he looked like a big buck trying to find its way out of a small barn. Nice try, Bill, but please don’t ever try that little experiment ever again.
  • Jason McCourty was solid once more, and he and Patrick Chung really helped to overcompensate for the guys in front of them all game.
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After a rough summer, J-Mac is certainly proving his worth this season.

  • Just like I said, now that Julian Edelman is back and Josh Gordon is in the fold, things have opened up once again for Chris Hogan. He simply cannot be a No. 1 or 2 option, but he is still an above-average third or fourth option for Brady, and some may be surprised to hear that he actually has 190 total receiving yards over the past three games.

On to the Pats/Packers preview, which will be a bit more brief than past primers. As always, here’s a quick look at where, when, and how to watch the game along with the latest lines:

  • Location: Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, MA)
  • Kickoff: Sunday, Nov. 4, 8:30 p.m. ET
  • TV: NBC
  • Odds (via Odds Shark): Patriots: -5.5 (spread)/Patriots: -235 (moneyline)/56.5 (total)

This is a game that has the NFL licking its chops: Tom Brady vs. Aaron Rodgers in a Sunday night primetime matchup. Is that a pylon in your pants Mr. Goodell, or are you just happy to see me?

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But all joking aside, this is truly a treat. It is absolutely criminal that the two greatest quarterbacks, possibly ever but definitely in the game right now, will be squaring off for just the SECOND time ever – the last one being a 26-21 Packers victory all the way back in 2014! That is just shameful.

The debate over who is truly better will rage on in NFL circles forever. Rodgers may not have all the stats and accolades Brady’s compiled throughout his career, but he’s also seven years younger. He’s also touting a pristine 13-to-1 TD-to-INT ratio this season compared to Brady’s 16-to-7 mark, and there’s a great argument to be made that he may have had less talent around him – especially on defense – throughout his entire career. But for now, even Rodgers himself ended the debate on Tuesday, per ESPN:

“I let you guys worry about those types of conversations,” Rodgers said of any debate about which player is better. “I think that’s end-of-career conversations. … I’m just worried about winning right now. He’s got five championships, so that ends most discussions, I think.”

But enough about those two. I think even the most casual fan understands that they’re both pretty good at football.

As far as Rodgers’s receiving options go, other than No. 1 receiver Davante Adams it’s a complete crapshoot each week regarding who the other top pass-catchers will be, much to the chagrin of fantasy owners everywhere. Adams is one of the game’s very best receivers – currently fifth in the league in receiving yards per game (98.5) – and will likely match up with Stephon Gilmore. But after that it’s between the oft-injured but resilient Randall Cobb or younger guys like Geronimo Allison and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. And don’t forget about Jimmy Graham, no longer one of the game’s elite tight ends but still a decent player nonetheless.

Aaron Jones and his 6.2 yards per carry will most likely lead the way in the backfield, especially after this week’s trade of Ty Montgomery, with Jamaal Williams serving as a more-than-capable No. 2 guy. This used to be a three-headed approach, but Jones’s 86-yard and one-score performance on just 14 touches Sunday presumably solidified his spot as the top dog.

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Go get this guy on your fantasy squad immediately.

As pointed out by Joey Ballgame earlier today, the Packers feature a top-10 defense and are fifth-best against the pass (even though they did trade away star safety HaHa Clinton-Dix to Washington this week, which is certainly not insignificant). They are beatable on the ground, though, coming in at No. 22, so hopefully Sony’s back this week in what should be a great matchup for him.

Prediction

This one’s tough to gauge, as it could really be anybody’s game. Both teams feature solid, multi-pronged offensive attacks, with the Packers gaining a significant edge on defense. I feel like it’ll be a beautiful boxing match between two heavyweights that goes the full 12 rounds. In the end, though, youth wins out and the Pats fall at home 28-24.