Tempering Optimism
Now, I know I am not usually the one that is going to be the wet blanket with my incessant homerism and all. However, everyone may be getting a little TOO high today. Don't get me wrong, yesterday was a goddamn great win. And the team definitely showed a lot with their backs against the wall, with their ability to keep their composure (BB's buzzword of the week) and get a decisive victory. However, there are still some things to consider here. As always follow me @CultOfBelichick
-It's the Bills. Yeah, we ripped off 6 straight touchdown drives in the second half, but it's the freaking Bills. We are supposed to do this against the Bills. They suck. Straight up, they are not a good team in this league. The JETS put 48 points up on their defense. They have played Cassel, Sanchez, and Weeden prior to the Brady, and only managed to win two of those three games. And realistically, we were pretty close to losing. If Spiller gets in for a TD there, and we go into the half down 14, who knows, things could have been much different. Buffalo comes back out and scores another TD like they did and it is 28-7 really fast. That is a recipe for disaster. Also, the score was a little inflated as the last few touchdowns came after the Bills had quit.
-Brandon Lloyd has been average. Aside from that one nice catch down the sideline where he laid out, Lloyd did not have a great game yesterday. In fact, he hasn't had a great game yet. When he came here, I was expecting big things from him, notably consistency. There has been none of that at all. He has made a good play here or there, but has struggled with some drops and inconsistent route running. People keep saying "give him time," but after last year with Ochocinco, that argument falls flat with me. He got completely SMOTHERED by Stephen Gilmore yesterday. Yes, he does already have 25 receptions and 287 yards, which would put him on pace for 100 receptions and 1100 yards and those are great numbers, but they seem to be artificial to me. He has already been targeted 40 times, which is an absurd number. They are shoving the ball to him at every opportunity, and he really hasn't made the most of it. Considering the 40 targets, those numbers should be higher.
-Safety play has been horrific. This has to be number one on the list of things-that-scare-me. The corners have started to play a lot better, with Arrington looking more and more solid each week and Devin McCourty finally starting to come around. And then you've got Sterling Moore coming in at that 3rd CB spot and he's been playing great as well. However, the secondary still hasn't been great. Why? The motherfucking safeties. As of right now, Tavon Wilson has been the best back there. Yep, the guy that everyone in the league sans Belichick thought was a late rounder. Chung, who everyone in New England, myself included, expected to blossom into a top Safety in the league just hasn't. Like I tweeted on Sunday, we may have to accept the fact that he is just average. Steve Gregory has been just absolutely horrific. I don't think I have screamed his name in a good way yet this season. Just bad. Bad angles, bad tackling, no momentum swinging plays at all. Just completely useless. And we got rid of James Sanders for $2.8mil to pay Gregory $2.35mil per for three years? I don't get it. Looks like a bad signing so far, and this could be our Achilles heel going forward.
-Gostkowski missing. This was just weird. That big miss is obviously in his head, and he needs to shake this off. If we want to win a Super Bowl, he is going to need to make some big kicks, and he better start doing so fast. Hopefully, he can bounce back and continue to be the solid kicker he has been for the last number of years. That's about all I've got on this.
-It's the Bills. Yeah, we ripped off 6 straight touchdown drives in the second half, but it's the freaking Bills. We are supposed to do this against the Bills. They suck. Straight up, they are not a good team in this league. The JETS put 48 points up on their defense. They have played Cassel, Sanchez, and Weeden prior to the Brady, and only managed to win two of those three games. And realistically, we were pretty close to losing. If Spiller gets in for a TD there, and we go into the half down 14, who knows, things could have been much different. Buffalo comes back out and scores another TD like they did and it is 28-7 really fast. That is a recipe for disaster. Also, the score was a little inflated as the last few touchdowns came after the Bills had quit.
-Brandon Lloyd has been average. Aside from that one nice catch down the sideline where he laid out, Lloyd did not have a great game yesterday. In fact, he hasn't had a great game yet. When he came here, I was expecting big things from him, notably consistency. There has been none of that at all. He has made a good play here or there, but has struggled with some drops and inconsistent route running. People keep saying "give him time," but after last year with Ochocinco, that argument falls flat with me. He got completely SMOTHERED by Stephen Gilmore yesterday. Yes, he does already have 25 receptions and 287 yards, which would put him on pace for 100 receptions and 1100 yards and those are great numbers, but they seem to be artificial to me. He has already been targeted 40 times, which is an absurd number. They are shoving the ball to him at every opportunity, and he really hasn't made the most of it. Considering the 40 targets, those numbers should be higher.
-Safety play has been horrific. This has to be number one on the list of things-that-scare-me. The corners have started to play a lot better, with Arrington looking more and more solid each week and Devin McCourty finally starting to come around. And then you've got Sterling Moore coming in at that 3rd CB spot and he's been playing great as well. However, the secondary still hasn't been great. Why? The motherfucking safeties. As of right now, Tavon Wilson has been the best back there. Yep, the guy that everyone in the league sans Belichick thought was a late rounder. Chung, who everyone in New England, myself included, expected to blossom into a top Safety in the league just hasn't. Like I tweeted on Sunday, we may have to accept the fact that he is just average. Steve Gregory has been just absolutely horrific. I don't think I have screamed his name in a good way yet this season. Just bad. Bad angles, bad tackling, no momentum swinging plays at all. Just completely useless. And we got rid of James Sanders for $2.8mil to pay Gregory $2.35mil per for three years? I don't get it. Looks like a bad signing so far, and this could be our Achilles heel going forward.
-Gostkowski missing. This was just weird. That big miss is obviously in his head, and he needs to shake this off. If we want to win a Super Bowl, he is going to need to make some big kicks, and he better start doing so fast. Hopefully, he can bounce back and continue to be the solid kicker he has been for the last number of years. That's about all I've got on this.
