Patriots-Packers 3 Up 3 Down: LaFell Shines, O-Line Struggles
BOSTON (CBS) - The Patriots' winning streak ended at seven games on Sunday after the Green Bay Packers narrowly defeated them by the final count of 26-21.
On Tuesday, 98.5 The Sports Hub's Mike Felger moderated a segment in which The MMQB's Greg Bedard and Tony Massarotti give their three best and three worst Patriots players from the game.
Greg Bedard has looked at the tape, he's analyzed it, and on Tuesday afternoon he shared his findings.
Bedard's 3 Up
1. Rob Gronkowski
"He's just a dynamic weapon. I think I counted five different ways the Packers tried covering him in this game. They did a good job, but Rob got his chances and I thought he did a really nice job. He also did a really nice job blocking in this game."
2. Brandon LaFell
"The more you watch him play, boy are you impressed with his all-around game. Even blocking on running plays he's just really solid. He's just totally different from the player we saw in Carolina who would drop a lot of passes, especially in big spots. Knock on wood for Patriots fans, but he seems well past that now. He's just a spectacular all-around wide receiver. I was thinking about this after the game, would I take Emmanuel Sanders or Brandon LaFell at this point? I'm not sure so sure because I really like how LaFell fits in this system."
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3. Akeem Ayers
"I'm gonna go with Akeem Ayers. He was very good in this game. He had four total quarterback pressures, a hit, three hurries and a stuffed run. Ayers had almost half their quarterback pressures. The Patriots only had 10 in this game, which isn't good. Ayers, if they didn't have him in this game, I don't know where they'd be."
Bedard's 3 Down
1. Marcus Cannon
"He whiffed on a run block, gave up a knock down, had a false start in the red zone -- that's the trifecta."
2. Dan Connolly
"[Recent play] is uncharacteristic of Dan, and Mike Daniels is one of the most underrated defensive tackles in the league. But to give up a half sack, three-and-a-half quarterback hits, two hurries and six total quarterback pressures, that's a lot. Brady only dropped back 38 times including penalties. He had a rough game."
3. Rob Ninkovich
"I love Rob and he's normally on point. While he did make a few plays, the play that sticks out was on third down when he got sucked up inside and Rodgers ran for five yards. Rob knows better than that, and you could tell from his reaction. He had a lot of those plays on Sunday. It was just not a good game from him."
Tony Massarotti also participated in the exercise, although his methods of analysis — and even he would admit — are not as scientific or extensive as Bedard's.
Mazz's 3 Up
1. Brandon LaFell
"Two touchdowns. That's a big spot. And he's not a guy who has played in a lot of these games, really. So to me there's still a little bit of an unknown there. Two touchdown catches. Brady went to him in the red zone and he caught them -- that's no small thing there. I was really pleased with LaFell. Very pleased."
2. Rob Gronkowski
"Gronk. There ya go. Greg said it best."
3. LeGarrette Blount
"Blount, in the time he was in there, was very good. When they gave him the ball, for the most part, how many times did he carry a guy for four or five yards?"
Mazz's 3 Down
1. Marcus Cannon
"Boy did he smell in this game. Seriously. Rancid. You could smell him from the other side of the river. Everything he did was bad. How many snaps was he out there for? Fifteen? He screwed 'em all up!"
2. Offensive Line In General
"Cannon is sort of the sixth guy so he's easy to pick on. But the other five? How do you get smoked on the left side of the offensive side of the line like they did on third down late in that game? It felt like a lot of times guys were swiping at Brady from the blind side."
3. Darrelle Revis/Devin McCourty
"That play at the end of the half can't happen. It. Cannot. Happen. Not with players like that in your secondary. Those guys are Pro Bowl caliber players."
Listen below for the full segment:
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