I listened to a Patriot podcast today. It was from a couple days ago. No players or coaches, but a couple of their radio "experts". My observations: 1. Their fans are more distraught than Jets fans (about the season, not the Jets game) 2. They didn't seem too worried about the Jets game 3. They fully expect the Sanchez to take a lot of shots downfield 4. They advocated blitzing Sanchez regularly 5.*They're very fond of Bellichick, but have no use for most of the rest of the coaching staff, particularly the DC for obvious reasons.*
When your Defensive secondary has been horrible for the past 6 years and lost you two games already, you're going to hear the wrath of the fans.
I wouldn't call myself "distraught". I think we have a very good team. We are just disappointed in the results so far. Almost all of us came into the season expecting better than .500, which is where we are at this point. Some people just have a hard time accepting the fact that close games aren't going to result in wins all the time. Every team has stretches of time where everything seems to fall their way, and other stretches where the opposite happens. As it stands, we have lost 3 games by a total of 4 points. At some point that will turn around. I still expect that we will finish the season looking far stronger than we have looked so far. I have nothing against Patricia. I think he has done a good job with what he has had to work with. I would be much more inclined to direct my anger/disappointment towards Josh Boyer and Brian Flores who are in charge of coaching and developing our CBs and Safeties. IMO, that is where our defense coaching staff has failed (development of young players in particular). I wish we blitzed more in general than we do. Not just against Sanchez. Chandler Jones has been great for a rookie, and Ninkovich gets some pressure on the QB as well, but our pass rush rarely gets to the QB consistently enough to change the opposing offense's attitude or gameplan. I expect that Sanchez will take shots downfield. Will that be effective? I'm not sure. On one hand, we should be able to contain the deep threat since the ground game is a favorable matchup for us, and since the Jets' receiving talent doesn't pose a huge threat to begin with. On the other hand, I have come to accept the fact that our secondary makes it easy for below average players to make big plays. We'll see.
Nice post gopats88. You obviously have a good team and will likely win the AFC when Bellichick gets the wrinkles smoothed out. There are some new kids on the block getting some media love (Houston and Denver), but the Pats will beat them when it counts. Some questions: 1. Who have you blitzed? Was it effective? 2. Do you think Hernandez will play? 3. Is there anything about the Jets offense that concerns you guys?
Gotta love the pre-game excuses. Just because our WRs don't have a lot of experience doesn't necessarily make them ''below-average'' players...
I can honestly say that if the secondary is still bad, at the end of the season Kyle Arrington and Devin Mccourty will be ex-Patriots. I think one of the reasons the Patriots never won another Super Bowl since 39 is that even though Brady has stepped up his play immensely during that time, the rest of the players, especially on the defense, haven't and regressed badly during that time. If the Patriots want to win the Super Bowl again in the Tom Brady era, you need a running game and a defense that isn't swiss cheese. At least one of those have been checked off. Tom Brady can only do so much.
Pats fans are spoiled. They have had it great for a decade. That is coming to a close in the near future and like the Red Sox, will fade into oblivian until they strike gold another QB. The only question in my mind is will Belichek follow Brady out the door. My gut says yes.
I think we may see a lot of Cromartie at WR this week and if Sanchez could be even slightly accurate with his downfield throws there could be some big gains.
One thing I'll have to admit with Red Sox fans is that they've always been there. No matter what Boston seems to support their baseball team throughout the decades. I'm very curious what will happen to the NE fanbase when Brady & BB retires. It's extremely unlikely to get two QB or two HC that good back to back.
One of the biggest questions affecting the nearish term future of the AFCE, some say thats what Belichick will do but others think he'll want to prove what he can do without TB12 (although he did go 11-5 in '08 w/o him)
the pats secondary has sucked the past 2 years. the last 2 years @NE sanchez has 1 TD, 5 Picks(including a pick 6), and 3 fumbles. we need a miracle.
Patriots News Article Online/Print "2. They didn't seem too worried about the Jets game..." Hey! Wait a minute. What about Sanchez? No ponder? No Fear? :sad: "Tim Tebow of Jets gives Patriots plenty to ponder Even though he has been used sparingly at quarterback, deployed in a number of other roles, Tim Tebow gives the Patriots’ defense plenty to ponder leading up in Sunday’s game against the Jets. “Absolutely,’’ said nose tackle Vince Wilfork. “I mean, he’s shown up on offense and special teams. They use him, so you have to account for him. The guy’s a playmaker. He’s a winner and he’s passionate about playing football, so we have to be able to understand, when he’s in [the game], how they’re trying to use him.’’ When he was acquired March 26 from the Broncos, Tebow triggered a quarterback controversy in New York, where Mark Sanchez remains the starter. Tebow, meanwhile, has completed two of three passes for 32 yards and rushed 18 times for 64 yards. He’s also made an impact on special teams, converting three fake punts for first downs, on a pair of runs and a pass. “I think the alertness level has to go up tenfold,” said Matthew Slater, the Patriots’ special teams captain. “This guy is capable of running it and throwing it. Say what you want about the guy, when he has the ball in his hands, he makes plays, and he’s been able to do that for them in the special teams area of the game, and we’re just going to have to play disciplined this week and do our job as a unit.’’ Defensively, the Patriots will have to take the same approach with Tebow, whose last visit to Gillette came Jan. 14, as the Broncos’ starting quarterback in a divisional playoff game. Tebow was held to 136 yards passing and 13 yards rushing, and was sacked five times as the Patriots won, 45-10. “It’s a different year, so you can’t really focus on last year,’’ said Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo. “He’s playing receiver, he’s playing fullback, he’s playing every position on the field. You have to know where he is, but at the same time they do some of the things you see on film.’’ As for tackling Tebow, he will present a different challenge than the one posed by Seahawks rookie Russell Wilson, who overcomes his small stature (5 feet 11 inches) by using his speed and athleticism. Tebow? “Very tough,’’ Mayo said. “He’s a big, strong guy. He breaks a lot of tackles . . . He’s a physical guy. He tries to run you over.’’ Asked if he’s ever had to prepare for a team that uses its backup quarterback in such a manner, Mayo replied, “I don’t think so. He doesn’t only play quarterback, he plays a lot of different spots. I don’t know how much he’ll be playing quarterback against us, but we’ll be ready for it.’’..." Reference: http://www.boston.com/sports/footba...enty-ponder/7IYv7Jk3sYVI13DieRUPdP/story.html
Pats fans are spoiled. It's like they've come to expect to win 15 games every year, so if they have 1 somewhat average season, it's terrible. That's not going to always happen. 3-3 is not the end of the world. Any given Sunday is a true philosophy of football. You can't expect to always win. The Pats have won a lot of close games over the years inflating that record. Now they have lost a few close ones. Get over it. It's like Yankees fans bitching about making the AL championship series and losing and wanting to gut the whole team. That shit happens. If the Jets won 3 SBs in the last decade I wouldn't care at all if they had a poor season and missed the playoffs one year.
if BB is smart, he will be out the door 30secs after Brady retires. He is incredibly fortunate that he had Tom Brady all these years. Nothing would ruin his legacy more than a 2/3 year run of 5-11ish seasons after no.12 hangs them up. That, coupled with spygate, the 18-1 season and the recent run of playoff losses with Brady in his prime, will knock him down a good few notches. And rightfully so.
The Patriots have lost three games by four total points. Each of their losses has literally come down to a single play and/or a single drive... missed FG against the Cards, allowing the Ravens to march downfield for the game-winning kick, and blowing coverage in Seattle leading to the Sidney Rice game-winning TD. I'm not sure that Patriots fans are as concerned about the actual record as they are about the issues that have lead to that record. If they had pulled out close wins in those three games, they'd be 6-0, but would still have major deficiencies in the secondary. And the secondary, overall, has more raw talent than some of the championship teams. Back in the day, they took street free agents and undrafted players like Randall Gay and Earthwind Moreland, coached them up, and got good results. Now they've got a 1st round pick in McCourty who can't seem to cover anyone man-to-man and who has turned into a PI machine, a 2nd round safety in Chung who plays hard but looks lost in coverage a lot of the time, a second-round pick in Tavon Wilson who hasn't shown why the Patriots reached for him, a high second-rounder in Ras-I Dowling who has been invisible, etc. So... better talent these days, but much worse in terms of the results. Back in the day, Mangini was the secondary coach and apparently did a very good job of getting guys to play over their heads, above their talent levels. Now they have a lot of guys who look better on paper than they do on the turf. It's not all doom and gloom up here... most of the die-hards understand that the season isn't even half over. But anyone who's watched football can tell you that their ability to stop the pass is just nonexistent. It's not really about 3-3... that's fine, and the team will probably still finish in the vicinity of 11-5. The goal is always to get a high seed so you have to play one less game in the post-season. It's going to be an uphill climb for the Patriots to get there.
Maybe this is gonna sound a little crazy, but I don't think 18-1 will tarnish anyone's legacy. Obviously it didn't work out the way they wanted it to, but as the years go by, people will look back on it and realize that - despite the bitter way it ended - that was still a pretty goddamn good achievement.
Niners are one of the few exceptions. After seeing how great Montana/Rice was I never believed I'd see such a connection again. Then immediately afterwards starts the Young/Rice connection. Sometimes I wonder if such a thing would be possible in today's NFL. That was before the salary cap and there were quite a few teams interested in Young while he was warming the bench for Montana. With Rice/Taylor/Roger Craig/Lott I've got a feeling Young would've left them while Montana was still playing (if players had the same flexibility back then).
