Gold Stars And Penalty Flags From Patriots' Terrible Loss To Eagles
BOSTON (CBS) -- I had to watch this Pats/Eagles game about four times to just get a feel for how bad the Pats played in this one. A terrible loss. Here are your gold stars and penalty flags.
The Gold Stars
James White gets a gold star. It took a little bit for James to get going but in the end he had his first 100-yard reception game as a pro against the Eagles. Why it took him so long is a question worth asking, and I'm starting to think it was the play calling. I think everyone thought more would become of White when Dion Lewis went down. Instead, the Pats have barely used him. That has to change. When in the game, James White helps the Pats win.
Jamie Collins and Danny Amendola get gold stars. Both played and both were used for most of the game. I thought they would ease Collins into the action but he was right back out there making tackles and leading the defense. Amendola caught a touchdown pass and paced the offense. Now that they have both gotten their feet wet, I expect to see more of them going forward.
The refs get gold stars. There were no plays that I thought they messed up. That was a huge improvement from the games in the past. That tells you how bad this seasons officiating had been.
The Penalty Flags
The special teams unit gets a penalty flag. Bill Belichick said it all week. The Eagles were going to be the best special teams unit the Pats were going to face and they still made huge mistakes. To get crushed in the punting game is awful. Fourteen points for the Eagles and the Pats had nothing to show for it. That's two weeks in a row that the Pats punt game has cost them.
Ryan Allen gets a penalty flag. To single him out may be wrong but he needs to take more responsibility. After the blocked punt, he should have been in alert and raised his game. He didn't; he made a horrible attempt at a tackle on a punt return. Allen needs to be better. Zoltan Mesko wasn't as good a punter but I'm pretty sure he would have made the tackle.
Brandon LaFell gets a penalty flag. He needs to start catching the football when it's thrown to him. Too many drops and he's also quitting on routes. If that doesn't stop, the Pats are going to let go Jo Jo.
