When Winning Doesn't Feel Like Winning Remember, You Won

That was a worse than worst case scenario first half for the Patriots against the Dolphins. It felt even more depressing than the 17-3 score might indicate. Then the Patriots took the second half kickoff and showed absolutely nothing on their first drive. It looked like it was going to be a long afternoon. I felt crushed. I know it’s wrong to invest so much of my emotional life in the outcome of a football game. Well, wrong is a strong word but I guess I have to admit it’s a trivial choice, at best. So there it is. When you judge me remember I’m not one of the people trying to set the world on fire for – from my perspective – questionable reasons. I know I’m setting the bar low here. It is what it is.

 

Anyway, that first half was a full on junk punch, some kind of gridiron nightmare where the opponent seems to be constantly converting 3^rd and 24 situations. (How does a team that can convert a 3^rd and 24 wind up in a 3^rd and 24 situation in the first place?) It was like watching a car wreck in slow motion only to realize, hey, that’s me in that car wreck! A car wreck that keeps kicking me in the man region with robotically mirthless monotony. It almost doesn’t hurt any more. It’s like I’m numb. Hideously swollen and discolored, but numb.

And then, it’s like I’ve passed out and I’m coming to, and there’s nothing but blue skies and cotton candy clouds as far as the eye can see.

I do so love a happy ending.

Anyway, I guess we saw, once again, that NFL games typically come down to a few big plays and who makes more of those big plays. The Dolphins had a clear edge statistically but when it came to those big plays, it was the Patriots who made more.

Bill Belichick Doesn’t Need a Weatherman to Tell Which Way the Wind Blows

Belichick called a timeout with 0:18 left in the third quarter, a decision that allowed Stephen Gostkowski to attempt a 48-yard field goal attempt with the wind at his back. Gostkowski converted the try, giving the Patriots a 20-17 lead. In retrospect, this seems like an obvious decision. After all, New England’s rally had started after Miami’s Caleb Sturgis clanked a 46-yard attempt – into the wind – off the right upright at the top of the third frame. Still, I wonder how many NFL head coaches burn a second half timeout in that situation. I mean, you’ll need those timeouts when your offense can’t get lined up in the right formation and needs to save a five-yard delay of game penalty, right? With the win over the Dolphins, Belichick became one of only three NFL head coaches that won 100 more games than they lost. George Halas, Don Shula and Bill Belichick. That’s a pretty good list.

Logan Ryan’s Coming Out Party

Ryan gained a bit of notoriety for his Pick 6 TD celebration against the Jets. (I still don’t know why this is a penalty. Men grab themselves all the time. It’s what we do. You can’t change me!) After two sacks, a forced fumble, a pass defensed and five tackles – in what was essentially one half of action – I think he’s bought back some good will. More to the point, you can never have too many playmakers on defense. Can we expect to see more of this from Logan Ryan? Let me be the first to say I hope that was a rhetorical question.

The TD Pass to Dobson

As per usual, the protection was breaking down and a Dolphin defender was flying at Brady so he steps back as he throws and you never do that! Throwing off your back foot may actually be worse than throwing across your body. Still, Brady has enough arm strength to throw a beautiful, high arcing pass to Aaron Dobson in the end zone. (Dobson actually had a pretty good game overall, catching four of the five passes thrown his way for 60 yards.) Brady’s struggles this year have been documented, deconstructed and contextualized. The interception he threw to start the game was a shockingly bad pass. But is he done? I don’t think so. This play is the only argument I need.

The 4^th and 4 Run by Brady

Brady almost never does this. The last time I remember him doing anything like this he was faking Brian Urlacher out of his jock. Brady has rushed 424 times in his career (2.3 rushes/game) for 766 yards and a 1.8 yard per attempt average. No doubt a fair number of those rushing attempts were kneel downs at the end of Patriots victories which would depress the average with all those -1s. Not to say Brady is a rushing threat. Brady’s specialty is the quarterback sneak. For his career, Brady has a 34.2% 1^st Down conversion rate on his rushing attempts. In 2005, Brady converted 59.3%. He converted at least 46.5% of his rushes to 1^st Downs in 2002, 2011 and 2012. Money.

Chris Jones is Living the Dream (the one I have where the Patriots win football games with guys you never heard of)

Chris Jones? Chris Jones. The guy who wouldn’t even be playing if it weren’t for injuries to Vince Wilfork and Tommy Kelly (and Armand Armstead) totaled seven tackles, including a sack and two tackles for loss against the Dolphins. Jones was drafted late and cut late by the Texans and he had a cup of coffee in Tampa Bay before heading north to New England. I was unsurprised to find he had an excellent 3-cone drill time. Chris Jones has 4.5 sacks in just five games. He played all 80 defensive snaps against Miami. Maybe the Patriots don’t need to trade for a defensive tackle after all.

The Blitz

I love the blitz! Who doesn’t? The Patriots got after Ryan Tannehill with extra defenders in the second half and completely shut down Miami’s offense. Linebackers Dont’a Hightower, Dane Fletcher and (as noted above) cornerback Logan Ryan all logged sacks as New England sent extra defenders with great cunning and guile. Rob Ninkovich was also credited with a sack and three quarterback hits (not to the head).

Stevan Ridley

Are the Patriots managing Ridley’s carries? Did he ride the pine in the first quarter for disciplinary reasons? Was it a game plan that inexplicably ignored the fact that Ridley is clearly the best running back on the roster? Once Ridley was on the field, he left any rationale for keeping him out of the line up in tatters; 14 for 79 (5.6 yards/attempt) with 1 TD and a long run of 23. Perhaps while Tom Brady’s hand is not swollen, the Patriots could put the ball in Stevan Ridley’s hands five or six more times a game.

The “Tip Drill” Interception

Devin McCourty and Marquice Cole combined for an interception that falls somewhere between ridiculous and incredible on the standard scale for sports hyperbole. I’ve found the clip on just about every blog I’ve visited (and rightly so). McCourty and Cole are core special teamers and they played this one very much like downing a punt near the goal line; McCourty going high and tipping the ball back into the field of play and Cole catching the ball and getting both feet down to complete the interception. I’m going to watch it again right now. Ninja, baby.