How About Those Patriots? (Bourne: camp, closing, live)

[OutdoorLover]

Farewell to John Madden, he had an immense and immensely likable personality, and no one else made watching a football game so much fun, as he could.

"NFL Hall of Fame coach, broadcasting icon John Madden dies at 85"
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/32953839

[MikePRU]

John Madden and Pat Summerall were definitely one of the best sports broadcasting duos of all time. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said they made it fun. Madden also made the complexities of the game understandable for the general public.

[GeoffD]

It now looks like @Buffalo for the wildcard game. Unlikely Buffalo could lose to the Jets. Making the playoffs with a rookie QB is "exceeds expectations". Particularly after the 2-4 start.

[OutdoorLover]

The Patriots certainly looked impressive yesterday, of course it was versus the Jaguars, but still, it was a big blowout win - beats the alternatives :-). Hopefully it will be good for their confidence. Mac Jones returned to form, and besides that first throw to Jacoby Myers - which he had to really lunge for despite no cover defender near him - Jones was pretty much right on the money with his throws for the day, was nice to see.

Kristian Wilkerson looked real good right off the practice squad to score two TDs at WR! Of course, he no doubt wasn't a big focus of the Jags defense, he's basically unheard-of, but still, he made those big play catches - the moment wasn't too big for him. He was in for N’Keal Harry, who was a healthy scratch. There's some speculation that Harry might ride the pine from now on after Wilkerson's big day. I don't know about that, but hopefully Wilkerson can become a regular contributor.

[porterhouse]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

There's some speculation that Harry might ride the pine from now on after Wilkerson's big day.

Regardless of what Wilkerson did during the game I think Harry was already outside the circle of trust, and rightfully so.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by porterhouse

Regardless of what Wilkerson did during the game I think Harry was already outside the circle of trust, and rightfully so.

The guy was only able to run a really limited selection of routes and he had stone hands. A total waste of a 1st round pick. They REALLY whiffed on that one because there were a lot of really talented receivers in that draft that went after Harry.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

Kristian Wilkerson looked real good right off the practice squad to score two TDs at WR! Of course, he no doubt wasn't a big focus of the Jags defense, he's basically unheard-of, but still, he made those big play catches - the moment wasn't too big for him. He was in for N’Keal Harry, who was a healthy scratch. There's some speculation that Harry might ride the pine from now on after Wilkerson's big day. I don't know about that, but hopefully Wilkerson can become a regular contributor.

I guess I watched a different game. Look at a game replay with 13:26 on the clock in the 4th quarter. Wilkerson muffs a 50 yard bomb from Mac Jones. He had a couple of other drops. He played like an undrafted practice squad elevation. Inconsistent. I was really impressed with how Belichick used a blowout game as a scrimmage for Mac Jones throwing the deep ball. There’s no substitute for game experience. If the Patriots get some real wide receiver talent, that’s going to be a frightening offense. You can’t load 8 in the box if you have a Randy Moss or a Brandin Cooks you have to double team.

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

I guess I watched a different game. Look at a game replay with 13:26 on the clock in the 4th quarter. Wilkerson muffs a 50 yard bomb from Mac Jones. He had a couple of other drops. He played like an undrafted practice squad elevation. Inconsistent. I was really impressed with how Belichick used a blowout game as a scrimmage for Mac Jones throwing the deep ball. There’s no substitute for game experience. If the Patriots get some real wide receiver talent, that’s going to be a frightening offense. You can’t load 8 in the box if you have a Randy Moss or a Brandin Cooks you have to double team.

I hope they can do it, but finding and acquiring the next Randy Moss is a tall order!

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

I hope they can do it, but finding and acquiring the next Randy Moss is a tall order!

And if they don’t, they will continue to struggle scoring points against the strong defenses. They looked great against Jacksonville. Mediocre against Indy and Buffalo.

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

And if they don’t, they will continue to struggle scoring points against the strong defenses. They looked great against Jacksonville. Mediocre against Indy and Buffalo.

I am not saying they can't use more WR talent. I am saying that in my opinion, athletes of Randy Moss' caliber are very few and far between, so getting one is easy to desire, but hard to achieve.