Album Listening: Aquemini - Outkast


Part 1 - Looking Back

Bill Belichik knows how to attack QB Carson Palmer
The defensive formations were classic BB schemes based on the versatility of his players. There was a constant rotation of packages and personnel. They started in 4 man front with Mike Wright, Myron Pryor, Vince Wilfork, and Ron Brace. All explosive and hefty. The d-line smashed into the Bengals o-line at every snap pushing them back and disrupting plays. Against the run the d-line blew up the plays and the linebackers and defensive backs cleaned up with solid tackles. When Palmer tried to pass, the Patriots rushers pressured up the middle to collapse the pocket. The team dominated the first half thoroughly with contributions coming from everybody, culminating in an outstanding individual play by cover package linebacker Gary Guyton. The third year player, signed as a undrafted free agent, finally got a chance to show the breakaway speed we had heard about when he undercut a short route and took it to the house.

Even on the Bengals 3rd qt TD drive there were some good signs. Promising 3rd year slot cornerback, Jonathan Wilhite made several good plays in the middle of the field. His near pick, the QB pressure, and the continuing physicality that defines good defenses gives me hope this defense could be special. The Bengals made several plays themselves that were quite good and ultimately scored twice in the 2nd half.
A worriesome sign is that when the Bengals were able to move the ball by going to a Colts style no huddle or quick huddle where the QB calls a play at the line of scrimmage based on the look of the defense, which leads to:

The Patriots crowd is quiet
A home crowd of a Superbowl contender should not let the opposing team call out plays at the line of scrimmage in the season opener. I could hear Tom Brady was not the first to notice the New England crowd going soft. We need more high fives, more raucous enjoyment of life! (more on this later)


Randy Moss is a sensitive dude and the Boston media is generally a bunch of sensitive dudes
Not a good match. Media also pounces on any vulnerable spots in an athlete. This whole situation is overblown crap. Largely Randy's fault for not following the Patriots media way which is based on the principle that you can't win with the modern media so just fight 'em to a draw by sticking to specific day-to-day, team based talking points. On the Boston media side of it, they think it is bad reporting to be nice to someone, part of the overall New England/Masshole attitude. If they would just act like his buddy he would give engaging and funny interviews. It might be possible to get a scoop without needling someone.

S Brandon Meriweather and MLB Gary Guyton will play fewer snaps this year
In 2009 Meriweather and Guyton were 1st and 2nd in defensive snaps played.
The fact that S Patrick Chung and elderstatesman S James Sanders are good enough to take snaps from Pro Bowl Alternate Merriweather is probably a good sign. Chung played every snap in the opener and he played well enough that Tedy Bruschi compared him to a young Lawyer Milloy.
Chung's speed and good tackling form were evident and he led the team in tackles for the game.


Part 2 Looking Ahead
Players sometime joke that NFL stands for Not For Long. They are usually referring to the short careers of NFL players. It also is true for teams and players remaining on top. Week to week and season to season teams and individuals rise and fall. Us fans and the media tend to overreact to what we just saw. Vegas sports betting is built on that fallacy. Never is this more true than in the opening of the NFL season. I'm very worried about all the experts swarming to the Patriots bandwagon. The Patriots themselves expressed more excitement and chatter about their team based on one win than I was used to. They all seem to think that the Bengals are a good team. We have no idea if the Bengals will even be .500% this year. They surprised the league by being good last year and Cedric Benson had a career year. Isn't possible that last year was an abberation they will return to mediocrity? If that is the case then can we really tell about how good the Patriots might be? Week 2 against the Jets in the Meadowlands will go a ways towards answering some basic questions:

1.) Can the Patriots win on the road in 2010?
Tedy Bruschi points out the Patriots only won games in three places last year, Buffalo, New England, and Old England. Take out the London game against the hapless Bucs and the Patriots went 1-6 last year on the road. The offense continually broke down against fired up defenses and crowds. How the o-line and Brady use the silent count and how Brady and the receivers use hand signals will determine how well the Patriots execute on offense in the New Meadowlands.

2.) How good are the tight ends?
The Patriot will have the opportunity to use the tight ends even more against the Rex Ryan defense. The rookies will have to be on their toes to be able to handle blocking against exotic blitz packages and also be able to exploit the weak coverage of Jet lb's and safeties. Brady will probably put the TE's and RB's in motion a lot to give him a picture of how the defense plan to cover. If a line backer moves if with the TE that means one thing, if a safety covers over them that means something else. Gronkowski and Hernandez will have to understand the subtleties of the Pats offensive presnap reads and adjustments. That ability is part of what makes Kevin Faulk, Wes Welker, and Randy Moss so special.

3.) Is the Pats defense for real, particularly against the run?
It is strange that going against a Jets offense that looked pathetic in Week 1 is a test. The young Pats defense has to establish itself as force to be reckoned with. If they can corral Ladanion Tomlinson and Shone Green that would be a big statement for the front seven to make considering all the new pieces up front. The pass defense looked very competitive against the Bengals.


Prediction New England Patriots 31- New York Jets 12