And they made it look easy. I knew the passing game was going to better, but I was surprised that they went to it so often. But that's what happens when the running game doesn't get started. They move on to something that is working.
The game was over after the Pats went up 23-14. What a great all around play by the defense on the Wilfork interception. From cbs.sportsline.com:
"Seymour, who as usual made a half-dozen big plays on defense, pushed Raiders center Jake Grove into quarterback Kerry Collins. Meanwhile, Jarvis Green, who became the fourth lineman when the Pats switched to the 4-3, came around from the right side and sandwiched Collins as he was throwing. The ball popped into the air and into the hands of 325-pound nose tackle Vince Wilfork at the Raiders 20."
The Raiders made one more drive that made me sit up and take notice (and no, it wasn't the drive they scored on). But that was it. They looked like they were done and they were.
The running game will improve. Anyone who doesn't think Dillon will improve on his yards wasn't paying attention last year. The Pats mold their offense and defense to their opponent. So one week, they'll hand it to Dillon 40 times, the next only 20. It all depends on what Bill thinks his opponents biggest weakness is. Obviously, he thought the Raiders would be susceptible to the passing game (especially with all the depth at WR and TE this year).
The passing game will be just as good almost every week. Brady has a lot of targets who are experienced. But fantasy wise, none of the WR will be good picks this year. Dillon, Brady, Vinatieri and the defense are all good choices, but the offense spreads the ball around too much to pick up any of the receivers, except in very deep leagues.
Randy Moss is impressive, but I wouldn't want him on my team. Instead of going after the ball on the two point conversion, he settled for the cheap pull down of Samuel. He just doesn't want to win the game. That said, I'd take him onto my fantasy team in a second!
Friday, September 09, 2005
Patriots roll right over the Raiders
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5 comments:
I hardly think the Patriots rolled over the Raiders, the final was an 8 point difference...with a few Oakland mistakes compared to almost no mistakes by New England and Brady being again Awesome with completions. I think the difference was that Oakland fumble that led to a touchdown, or when Oakland was able to block that kick in the 4th quarter it would have been better had they returned it for a touchdown instead of needing to keep the offense out there for 2 minutes....also it dosent help when u blow all 3 timeouts of the last half when u know u may need them most in a game that was so close with the exception of the 2 touchdown lead in the 4th.
I think Oakland looked very good and put up a great fight against the defending 2 time champions, just to many mistakes by oakland and Collins didnt look very comfortable most of the time. For the record Im a Falcons fan not a raiders fan, but i dont think it was a blowout or new England rolled over Oakland...i thought it was very close and could have been closer if there were fewer mistakes and smarter decisions, Look for oakland to be good this year.
GO PATS!!!!!!!!
I do not believe the Raiders will do well this year. I do believe they were outclassed by a better team and it showed throughout the second half. The win/loss did was not the result of just one play. They were simply beaten into submission (as much as one team can beat another in the NFL).
And I'll tell you why the Raiders won't be that good this year. Yes, they have Moss, but they also have Collins. How often has Collins succeeded? Try none.
one word: BLEDSOE
Bill, I'm not sure I understand your point? Are you saying that Collins is like Bledsoe?
BTW, Collins history comes down to this: 153 TD's, 154 Int's. Oh, and 108 fumbles in 137 games.
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