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Week 5 - 3 up and 3 down


tonyto36

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UP:

1. Safeties

Cheating a bit, but I thought all three safeties had a very good game. The one down was an angle Harmon took on that third and 2 gaffe with Jackson/Butler, but Chung had a big bounce back game and McCourty was great even when tasked with a ton of responsibilities.   Chung actually played 100% of snaps this week after getting his snaps reduced two consecutive weeks.   Harmon was even on the field for 87.5% of snaps. [per patspulpit].  Against a team who liked to push the ball downfield, the Bucs did not have much going on in that department.  The only big chunks they got came from shorter passes and YAC.  

2.  Danny Amendola

Another clutch performance from DA, Brady 8 for 8 going to him, and him quickly looking like Bradys go-to guy in high leverage situations.  Did get tagged for a tick tack OPI but then immediately made up for it the next play.   Made some impressive catches in traffic as well as made good separation when matched up against a LB.   Like Welker and Edelman another underrated part of his game is he is a high effort guy on run block and did a pretty solid job there.

3.  Dont'a Hightower

Like McCourty, was lined up all over the place.  There was some calls by Mayo for him to be up the middle more, but I thought he was actually more effective at DE when I watched him.  He was in the middle when the Patriots gave up a couple huge gains + huge holes on that first Bucs TD drive and got washed out a little more than you'd hope.  But at DE he consistently set a good edge from what I saw and did a decent job rushing the passer.  His power rush is definitely his strength and until he can sell that he's capable at turning the corner  a bit better teams are going to sit on his power rush, but even with that, he did pretty well and collapsed the tackle on the QB a couple times.   Also without the benefit of rewatching tape the couple times I watched him at DE, they tended to run away from his side.

HM:  Lewis, Butler, Gilmore, Hogan, Brady, Gillislee, Cannon, R. Allen

Note:  While I do think Butler/Gilmore played better, I didn't include them as top 3 because I think the Bucs made it easier for them with very simple alignments, little motion, and didn't move them around much.  The whole "you follow this guy" thing you can get away with against simple schemes, but teams like the Texans and even moderately basic playbooks like the Panthers did more to confuse.  Maybe it was the short week but it was surprising.  Teams in the future are going to go at them(Gilmore) with more complexity IMO. 

DOWN:

1.  Nate Solder

Defended him up to this point, and stick by that defense, but last night he was abysmal.  Just terrible against a mediocre player he should have dominated.  Injury or not, he has to play better than that.  He was getting clean beat with consistency and quickly.  One play McCoy almost got past him completely unblocked before Solder desperation grabbed him and cost us a decent running game.

2.  Alan Branch

A big part of the defenses' decline this year has been it's interior presence up front.  Branch was huge for us last year and at times our best player.  Seems like he got paid, and then got fat and lazy - and to make matters worse I've heard rumblings he was complaining about his playing time even after being terrible.  Healthy scratch is never good.  Hopefully he rebounds.  We need him.

3.  Mental Fortitude

Way too many stupid mistakes/penalties.  And not that any penalty is good, but a handful of them were just mindblowingly bad ones.  Marsh lining up in the neutral zone.  Bolden offsides on a punt and giving a free first down.  Butler and company getting into a fight and then with the Bucs having zero chance of getting points, and knowing the refs are going to be more strict because of the fight, give the Bucs MULTIPLE roughing the passer yards.   Wise' hands to the face was laughably bad - even a casual fan should know that you can't just grab their facemask and push it up for 5 seconds and think it won't get called.   I feel like there are even more I'm forgetting.  Another uncharacteristically bad mental day for a Belichick team.

HM: 

Andrews, Bolden, Roberts, Brown, D. Allen, Thuney

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Up:

Pat Chung/Devin McCourty - Good performance by the safeties. They gave up the 2nd TD but that was an almost uncoverable pass. Otherwise, they played really well in both pass and run D

Danny Amendola - Always reliable. Hope he can stay healthy or at least be healthy for the stretch run. He's integral to their chances thDiois year

Dion Lewis - Perfectly used and had a couple of nice plays when called upon

Honorable mention: Stephon Gilmore

 

Down:

Joe Judge - Every week the ST units are taking stupid penalties and costing the team yards or 1st downs.

Nate Solder - The worst performer on the worst performing unit.

Alan Branch/Malcom Brown - Branch's disappearance could have been the opportunity Brown needed to take another step in his development and live up to his draft status. Instead, he's been below average and hasn't even flashed the type of ability he showed in spurts in 2015 and 2016. Without a talented space eater next to him, his deficiencies are really obvious. 

Dishonorable mention: Dwayne Allen, David Andrews, Joe Thuney

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On 10/7/2017 at 1:24 AM, tonyto36 said:

Brown has played like some practice squad scrub.  Just a name at this point.  Hugely disappointing player.  

Woah he's not playing up to his draft pick expectations but he ain't a practice squad scrub.  

 

We would be having a really really bad time if Brown wasn't playing because he's really the only guy stopping the run.  Flowers is great but, sometimes he gets beat up at the LOS; Deatrich is super inconsistent, and Guy/Branch/Butler are borderline scrubs right now.  I'm honestly surprised we're not getting absolutely gashed on the ground but I think it's because we're committing too much of our secondaries' attention to the run game; which is why our secondary, which doesn't suck, somehow sucks.

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Im not on board with the Brown is a PS scrub line of thought, but he definitely isnt helping much in the run game. Guy has also been much more consistent overall. Suffice it to say, the interior is one of, if not the, biggest hole on the defense. 

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7 minutes ago, Deadpulse said:

Im not on board with the Brown is a PS scrub line of thought, but he definitely isnt helping much in the run game. Guy has also been much more consistent overall. Suffice it to say, the interior is one of, if not the, biggest hole on the defense. 

Dunno...I'd rather take Brown over Guy right now.

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53 minutes ago, bluemushrooms said:

Dunno...I'd rather take Brown over Guy right now.

Depends in the situation. In the run game, Brown consistently gets pushed back 2 yards. Pash rush, he is hit or miss. Guy seems to stand his ground in the run game, but honestly isnt a big help, mostly just a body to free up LBs to make plays. Guy, however, is more consistent in the passing game. 

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2 hours ago, bluemushrooms said:

Woah he's not playing up to his draft pick expectations but he ain't a practice squad scrub.  

 

We would be having a really really bad time if Brown wasn't playing because he's really the only guy stopping the run.  Flowers is great but, sometimes he gets beat up at the LOS; Deatrich is super inconsistent, and Guy/Branch/Butler are borderline scrubs right now.  I'm honestly surprised we're not getting absolutely gashed on the ground but I think it's because we're committing too much of our secondaries' attention to the run game; which is why our secondary, which doesn't suck, somehow sucks.

If you think Guy and Butler are scrubs, you should rewatch or watch the All 22. They've been the two best big bodies by far (albeit in limited snaps)

 

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23 minutes ago, iothar said:

It's weird how Mike Reiss says Brown has been playing well. I think Guy has been mediocre but better then Brown. Butler has brought some great energy, and that roughing the passer call on Wise Jr was BS.

Reiss is a terrible analyst. He's a nice guy and decent beat reporter but his football knowledge is quite poor. 

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