Long route works well

last week I was very critical of our "vaunted" D Line for it's lack of pressure and sack total this year which in turn exposes our secondary to getting burned. After watching the game very closely on a 50" HDTV with a DVR and running the Seattle Pass plays in slo mo it became apparent I owe Vince, Ty and Big Sey an apology. The non holding calls against our lineman was incredible. Jersey being pulled and grabbed and no calls. It was unreal. I can't be the only one who is seeing this. On the fade route to Branch over Hobbs for the touchdown LeKevin Smith was mauled, grabbed and held and guess what - no flag. This is just one example of what I saw but it is an indication of what has been happening all year which leads to a lower sack count for this front than there should be. You would like to think the officials have no agenda against the Patriots but think about it. Our front 3 are all Pro Bowl caliber players. Anyone will tell you that so how else can you explain it. TTeams are allowed to get away with a little more against us because thats the way they want it.

Nice analysis Mike - now how about the reverse? It seems like our defense gives up a lot of 10-plus play drives - is that true?

Mike, quick question though. In those games with 10 plus drives, whats the W-L record for those teams in which they had those drives. Im just curious if holding the ball for a long drive equates to wins in the NFL

Mike - out of the 26 scoring drives, what is the breakdown of touchdowns versus field goals? How does that compare to the other teams? Seems like they drive but leave a bunch of points out there.

Another indicative factoid from MikeR. Long, sustained drives are NFL killers (recall Giants time of possession in SB 1st quarter). Majority of credit goes to McDaniels, the OL, BB's/Pioli's strategy to stockpile quality RBs, but especially to Cassell. Sustained, productive drives are clear indication of his rising ability and value.

The only disappointing aspect of a long drive is when a high percentage don't result in TD's. Goskowski leads the league now in points scored: a mixed blessing, as certainly Pats coaches and even Gostkowski would gladly trade that distinction for more TD's.

Tim beat me to my question - any stats on scoring production resulting from those many Pats sustained drives? How do they compare with others?

Zak - yeah seemed there was more than the usual share of holds by Seattle OL, especially in the 1st half. I rationalized that my Pats homerism was to blame, plus the old adage that offensive holding could be called on every play.

long drives, tons of plays doesnt equate to wins. that just means we have a tough time breaking off huge runs like a willie parker or westbook would and that we can't connect on deep bombs...

I agree with Alex. All this shows is the Patriots aren't taking many risks. Not going a lot for that deep ball or picking up a big gains on the ground. Cassel has been told from the beginning that it's better to walk off the field and punt then to take that risk of an interception. He's been doing just that and his rushing numbers have already doubled any year of Brady's career.

Why do people forget that Tom Brady did quite a bit of Dink and Dunk too? I seem to remember the Jags complaining that the Pats D&D them to death in the playoffs last year. It seems people only remember the highlight reel of Randy's catches. And it was really only last year that Brady had ANY sort of deep threat.

This is a take what they give offense.