I think that quote from Shakespeare’s Richard the III sums up the media's thoughts on YOUR New England Patriots. Because no matter where you look read or listen, everyone is unhappy with the Patriots. If this were just coming in from other cities of the NFL or AFC then it would be understandable. Certainly they would have reason to hate on this team and its coaches. But this is even coming from the people who are fans and supporters of the Pats. It seems that no matter what the team does it is not the correct thing.

First the team is passing too much. This said while the fact that the Pats were at one point one of the top 5 rushing teams in the league. Then last week, there was not enough passing. On a day when a grind it out style of football was what you wanted with the wind and rain. This was a day that conspired to make each pass from Tom Brady a crap shoot. And still people were upset that the Patriots did not do what they expected them to do. We wanted revenge and in a big way. Everyone thought that Bill Belichick would have the team try and go for 70 points. It did not happen and people found fault.

Shouldn’t we be happy that the team can adapt to what teams are giving us?

More simply put, at 14-0 should we not just be flat out happy?

The closer we get to 16-0, the bigger the story becomes and the more determined everyone is to prove that THEY know what will happen and how it should happen. And most annoying of all is that I have gotten sucked up into the whole thing. Because there is that certain allure in predicting what will happen. But there are two big problems with this for us Pats fans. First is that the track record of sports writers is woefully poor. But that is ok because no one ever remembers what predictions were wrong. The second thing that especially applies to us is that..

No One has any Idea what Belichick is going to do.
And anyone who says they do is either lying or delusional.

Week after week the media, ranging from ESPN to the small town paper will tell you what Bill is thinking and what he is going to do in this next game. All of it is just fluff and filler. There only to sell newspapers and get viewers. Because Belichick is a .. “riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” The only thing I know about this man is that I have no idea what he is going to have the team do in any game. And, in so much, I know that I am saying that I know something about Belichick. So in fact I do not even know that I know that I know nothing about him or his plan. Ya know?

We always laude our coach as the guy who stays one step ahead of the competition. We always talk about his in-game adjustments and how he is supposedly the best at taking what the other team gives and using it to his advantage. And then when he does these things we act surprised and alarmed that he is not doing what we think he should be doing. Last Sunday, The Patriots ran the ball. And ran the ball. And then they ran it some more. This then raised the question: Was this all premeditated or was it a reaction to what the Jets were giving the Pats. I.e. a defensive alignment with only 1 down lineman.

And my reaction is that I don’t care. We won. And that is, as it always is, the most important thing. Given the choice in having the team win and me not knowing what our coach is doing to achieve this against losing games because our coaches ideas are obvious, I will take the former. Because understanding breeds predictability. Predictability breads losses. I know this because it applies to everything and not just Belichick. Or does it not apply to Belichick at all? I just don’t know.

Nor’easter
It was not a very good day for a team that likes to put the ball up in the air. When you can see the wind moving across the space above the playing field in walls and waves of water drops, you just know that this is a raw and evil day to be outside. Despite the number of people who chose not to come to the game, the stadium was pretty full. And those that were there made some decent amounts of noise. Glad I was there. Glad I had a warm dry place to go to after the game.

Noise
We need to come to terms with the fact that there are factors that work against Gillette stadium being the kind of noise venue that Indy and KC are known to be. We cannot change the fact that the architecture keeps the majority of the fans too far away to make the place deafening. But we all need to be more aggressive in helping those who are new toe the concept of this sport to
a) Make noise
b) Make More Noise
c) Use all parts of your body to generate noise
d) Know when to make noise.
Oh Yeah and
e) Make still more noise.

As the Patriots were getting ready to score their only offensive TD of the day, the fans in the south end zone were screaming wildly. This despite the fact that Tom Brady was trying to wave them down, to ask them to please “Shut UP!” I am pretty sure that there were some girls in sections 114 and 128 thinking “Oh, look! Tom is waving at me! HI TOM! Yes I love you too!”

Do not be afraid to inform the people around you that on offense we shut up when the boys are in the huddle and before the snap. It is OK to cheer good plays, but the time and place for unbridled noise is when the other team has the ball. When the other team is on offense, scream whistle bang on the chairs, clap your hands, sneeze, fart, cough. Anything. Just make as much noise as possible.

No Pro Bo fo Schmo?
I can kind of understand Wes Welker not getting to the Pro Bowl. I can also kind of understand quantum physics. After all other players have gained more yards than him. I mean it did take him all of 14 games to get to 1,004 yards on the season. But this guy is catching passes at an insane rate. He will likely end the season as the league leader in catches.

New Kid on the block
I know that Kelley Washington was officially signed to be a wide receiver. But this guy is turning in one great season on special teams. A blocked punt, a forced fumble on punt coverage and helping to down the ball deep in Jets territory. He seems to be having fun and works to get the crowd jacked and pumped with is arm waving and screaming before and after the plays. I hope he is back next season. But that discussion is for much later.

New scorer
Eugene Wilson makes the total of players to score for the Patriots in 2007, 21. I am hoping that number 80 suits up on Sunday and becomes scorer number 22.

Nebraska ‘95
When Jets starting QB went out he was replaced by Brady Smith I thought that we were back in the glory days of the Big 12 and the wishbone triple option. And for one play, they were. For one play it got the better of the Patriots’ defenders. For one play. From then one, they contained the slash-esque QB.

Newgene Wilson
I am not sure what they did with the old number 26 but this new guy wearing No. 26 in the game on Sunday was having a whale of a game. He had an interception for a TD, recovered a fumble and was really hitting. Welcome back Gino. But lets try and tighten up the coverage on those wide outs a bit O.K.? Don’t worry about that pass interference call on you in the 3rd. That was as clean as it can get.

NASCAR Cameras needed
I am surprised that given the fact that the technology exists that the NFL has not taken steps to make their TV cameras better suited to games where they know there is strong chance of rain. Some of the camera’s lenses were so wet and water logged from the driving rain that it looked like the game was being played in a fog. You could actually see the water on the lens. At one point I saw a cameraman reach around to the front of his camera and wipe a large white town across the lens. The only problem of course was that this towel was soaking wet as well.

What they need to do is use those machines that the NASCAR have on their in-car cameras. It would seem that there is a protective film over the lens. As the lens becomes fouled with debris or water a roller pulls the film to the side while a new section of the roll of protective film moves into place to cover the lens. This roll must be really long as they do this many times during a race. Why can the NFL not do this? You guys in the NFL offices do know that there is a thing called NASCAR right?

No Pressure
There were times during the Jets game were it seemed as though Brady was on the set of the movie “I am Legend.” It was not just that there was no pressure on Tom, there was no one even close to him. That is because he was standing back there with no one else in sight. Most insane play was with 3:30 left in the 1st qtr. The protection he was getting for many of these plays was just nuts and based in part on the fact that the Jets were not blitzing. So then later, with 5:30 left in game there was a bit more pressure and Brady ducked down in anticipation of a sack, which never came. It seems as though even his internal clock could not believe that he was getting this much time to throw the ball. So then he stepped forward and delivered the ball, which was dropped. Such was the day.

Near Picks
For the day the saviors to some degree was the defense. But the question that needs to be asked is “was this improvement a result of better play by the defense or the poor play byt the Jets O?” The Pats defensive backs came so close on a number of occasions to get more pickoffs. In the forth quarter a lone Asante Samuel, Randall Gay and Ellis Hobbs all had near picks. But had a stronger armed passer fire those passes, would the near picks been so near?

No Moss, No Moss
3rd down and 6 at NYJ 10 with 3:30 left in game. Trips left(Gaffney, Welker & Stallworth). Moss right, alone.
Jets had pressure on Brady which limited his time to work through his progressions. On this play he looked at Moss and tracked him as he went for the EZ. Moss was covered 1 on 1 and there was safety help over the top that came over to help on Moss. On the opposite side of the field Gaffney and Welker ran go and slant routes. Stallworth ran Welker’s patented short down and hard out route to the left. I cannot attest to the level of openness that Jabbar and Wes experienced on this play, but the man covering Donté was far off him and the short throw was there. I know that it is understandable why Brady wants to go to Moss. Look at how many times this season that Moss has made amazing catches when he is closely covered. But in this game, given the problem delivering the ball in the wind and rain, it would have been better for the Pats if Brady had tried to get the ball to the guys who were blatantly open. Who, also happened to be the closer player. One where the ball spends less time in the air and the wind.

If you work to win the game, the records will come. So don’t worry people. Be Happy. The offense knows how to get it done. And it will. Next Sunday. When we again go for something that has never been done. Winning the first 15 games of a regular season. Just don’t try to figure out how Belichick is going to do it. Because I know that you can’t know what he is going to do. Or do I?

See you next week after we
Squish the Fish

Go Pats!

Erdoboy
Please visit me at PatriotsArchive.com