Pats make good use of coaching edge
talent. With free agency, you don’t have to stay horrible. You can go out and buy players. Coaching is where the tipping point is.”
Week 1, it tipped in the Patriots favor. Having lost three starting linebackers in free agency (Kyle Van Noy, Jamie Collins, Elandon Roberts), and a fourth who opted out (Dont’a Hightower), Belichick decided to draw from his strength — an elite secondary — to make up the difference.
Belichick dressed 11 defensive backs and 9 of them played. Let’s just say it wasn’t unusual to see the Patriots deploy seven defensive backs on certain downs.
Offensively, meanwhile, Josh Mcdaniels scripted a basic game plan for Newton using many different formations, while engineering play-action passes, misdirection runs as well as runs for his mobile quarterback. The newly-arrived Newton managed to pull that off, operating the offense without a glitch.
Newton has said he didn’t know what to expect coming to play for Belichick, but he’s gotten a much better idea in recent weeks.
“I just am blown away by his professionalism to adapt on the run,” Newton said during his weekly radio appearance on WEEI.
“You know there was a lot of in-game adjustments, and that was something cool to watch and see, but also the preparation leading up to it,” Newton added. “We do a lot of self-scouting here, and self-scouting means if we just focus on our fundamentals and how we can become better, that helps in itself. That’s something that has blown me away, knowing that I just have to be the best version of me, and knowing that the person next to me that I’m relying on… everybody’s going to be coached the same.”
Perhaps Brett Favre summed it up best during his weekly podcast on Siriusxm NFL radio.
“Bill Belichick is arguably the greatest coach ever and if this first game is any indication of the rest of the season it’s going to prove that he definitely is the best coach ever because it’s about winning and adapting and changing, and changing on the fly,” said Favre. “Obviously he’s had a whole offseason to prepare without Tom (Brady) and how that’s going to look. He’s not in it for style points. He just wants to win however that may be, and if it’s the quarterback doing it with his legs, so be it.”
The Brady Chronicles
Saints receiver Emmanuel Sanders has been on the opposing sidelines plenty of times squaring off against a Brady-led Patriots team.
He was on the opposite side Sunday, when the Saints beat the Brady-led Buccaneers.
He watched the quarterback wearing No. 12. But it still didn’t compute.
Appearing on Uninterrupted’s ‘17 Weeks’ podcast on Siriusxm/pandora, Sanders described the feeling.
“I don’t know, it just didn’t feel like it was Tom Brady out there. That’s just how I feel,” said Sanders. “Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, it didn’t feel like Tom Brady was out there, it just felt like it was versus the Buccaneers. And that’s no diss to Tom. That’s just how I felt. It didn’t feel like it was Tom Brady out there. Now, you put Tom Brady in a New England Patriots uniform, that feels more like Tom Brady out there. And I guess it’s an adjustment for the entire world, you know?”
Sanders, meanwhile, wasn’t quite as taken aback by seeing Newton, Brady’s successor, under center for the Patriots.
“I’m happy for Cam, man. I just don’t understand how the guy went from former MVP to making $1 million or $2 million, you know, whatever. I don’t feel like that would happen to too many guys,” said Sanders. “So everybody knows that wasn’t cool for Cam to even have to go through that situation. So you pull for him. And I’ve always pulled for Cam. So to have the opportunity to play for Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots organization, a prestigious organization, go over there and try to make a change and try to win a Super Bowl, obviously you gotta go against the mighty Saints, but I’m definitely pulling for him probably more than I’m pulling for anybody else on any other team besides my boys over in San Fran.”
When all else fails, go sockless
Stephen Gostkowski endured the worst possible nightmare for kickers Monday night, and then some.
While the story had a happy ending, with Gostkowski kicking the eventual game-winner, he did miss three field goals (one was blocked), and an extra point during the Titans 1614 win.
Right before the gamewinning kick, Gostkowski removed the sock from his kicking foot, for no apparent reason.
Although, with kickers, there’s always a reason.
Coming off hip surgery, Gostkowski said he had practiced quite a bit without socks. At that point, he was willing to try anything. So off went the sock.
“I mean, I would’ve taken my pants off to make that last kick, to try something different,” he joked after the game. “I wasn’t doing very well, I had to switch something up, maybe just for mental sake. You know, just kind of a weird quirk I guess.”
Gostkowski made a 25yarder with 17 seconds to play to propel the Titans to victory.
Woody rips Jets
From personal experience, ESPN commentator and former Patriot Damien Woody is never afraid to let it fly when it comes to critiquing a player, or a team.
That was certainly on display this week during Woody’s appearance on ESPN’S “Get Up!”
Woody, who played for the Jets later in his career, lit into head coach Adam Gase.
Woody accused Gase of turning Le’veon Bell “into a scrub.” Meanwhile, Sam Darnold, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 draft, has gotten worse under Gase, who is purported to have a great offensive mind.
“Name one aspect of the Jets offense that you can see that can go out there and compete with anybody. Anybody!” said Woody.
“I watched the Jets from Bristol Sunday along with all the other games. They were clearly the worst team in the league. They were an embarrassment to the Buffalo Bills. It looked like varsity vs. JV. It was awful, disgusting, nauseous. I’m done.”