ARE YOU NEW HERE? NOT LOGGED IN? PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO REGISTER FOR AN ACCOUNT AND LOGIN TO REMOVE THIS WINDOW
Welcome to PatsFans.com. Do you have an account? If not - please take a moment to register for our forum and experience a much smoother experience with fewer ads, along with no longer having to see this notification window. Also learn about how you can receive a free Patriots T-Shirt from the Patriots Official ProShop by CLICKING HERE. Please enjoy your stay here, and Go Pats!
Message to the moron contingent, we don't need less talent we need more. And it would help if it's durable. We lost tonight because we play on a margin driven in part by the value model. Brady is the least of this teams problems. When we lose what other little elite talent or as close to it as we've come of late at critical positions we don't have the pure talent to overcome an opponent who might struggle in season with less depth but if healthy in the post season poses a tougher matchup.
Branch was our 3rd WR on the field tonight. Welker and Lloyd both had drops but there was no alternative but to keep targeting the same two guys. And Hernandez, who simply isn't a $7M TE when not in tandem with another one. Both of whom shape an offense that struggles in their absence. The running game was supposed to counter some of that but for all it's flashes it still struggles when the chips are down. And Vereen's speed and receiving ability that might have been presumed to cause the Raven's D problems simply never was apparently never part of the game plan. The plan itself may be part of the problem because we react and rely so much on scheme it almost renders us incapable of simply stepping up and making plays. Some of that is lack of talent and some of it is over reliance on scheme. The more Belichick coached up that D the worse it played.
Brady had some time at times but no one who could get open. The defense was so worried about Flacco going deep they couldn't stop the run or the intermediate throws that converted 3rd and long. Once Talib went out they just wilted. I think it was one of the more poorly coached games I've seen in a while.
I agree it's time for a change, but that change involves addition rather than subtraction. They need another outside WR who can get open not via scheme but via talent and speed. Probably need to draft that guy since you have $15M per tied up in the TE's. Need to figure out whether to extend or replace Talib with equal or better and more durable talent. Need to figure out what you're doing with the young backs and commit to them or move on. Can't run a two TE offense when you often don't have two available talented enough to. Can't run 3 or 4 wide when you don't have the horses to. Can't count on the running game when you still can't run even when they know you are.
We became one dimentional again, the same thing Belichick supposedly tasked McDaniels last off season with eliminating the possibility of ever happening again. Guys are going to drop balls and even fumble them on occasion. You have to be able to overcome that. We still lack the talent to. Opponents are going to make plays but you have to be able to make stops too. And if you aren't getting any pressure you have to stop banging your head against the wall and change it up. We didn't on either side of the ball and so we end up with the post season headache again.
IMO,
If you add a DE who can get consistent pressure opposite an improved Jones, and DTs that can rush the passer this defense would be a top ten unit.
The offense is where some moves need to be made. Welker either needs to be re-signed for less money or let go. He's simply not indispensable, he's a finesse receiver who's no longer clutch. But if we keep him as our 3rd option? He suddenly becomes a valuable commodity again, if he signs for less. Players like Welker dropping passes in postseason games are costing us championships, we can't depend on them. But having him as an option makes our offense deadly. We just don't want to depend on him.
Speaking of WRs, add a threat like Wallace to the WR core and suddenly this offense truly becomes unstoppable. What's killing us is we're simply not deep enough. We need more than one true playmaker on offense. That way one little injury wont either kill our offense or effect it in big situations.
Also, the Oline. This unit needs to be improved. Can we please give Dante proven, tough offensive linemen and not scrubs? That's our biggest problem of all and the main culprit for our playoff woes. The most common theme you'll see in all our playoff losses is we get beat in the trenches. We can never get a good running game going in a big game, and we can never protect Brady. The right side of the line dissapears, Mankins dissapears and we haven't had good blocking from the center position since 2005. Everrrrry single postseason it's the same story, the big physical bully beats us up. Well where do you think the whole physical battle starts?
I remember when we used to eat teams that prided themselves on toughness. Remember the 03 Panthers? If this current Patriots squad faced that team they'd probably lose that game. That DL would tear our soft little OL to pieces. Yet our OL at the time ate their lunch, ya know why? Because back then we had tough offensive linemen that played mean in big games. What the heck has happened to that?
FEATURED ADVERTISEMENT
DONATE TO PATSFANS.COM
RECEIVE A FREE PATS T-SHIRT AND SAVE 15% OFF WHEN YOU BUY FROM THE OFFICIAL PROSHOP!
Free T-Shirt & Save 15% Off!
Like Our Site? Please help support our site and server costs by DONATING TO PATSFANS.COM and receive a FREE PATRIOTS T-SHIRT and SAVE 15% off EVERY purchase you make from PatriotsProShop.com. You'll also receive added benefits to your account including Removing All Ads During Your Experience Here At Our Forum.
NEEDED YEARLY SITE DONATIONS: 345 | CURRENT # OF SUBSCRIBED SUPPORTERS: 98
Whatever it is this is not working..We have become the Colts finesse teams do not win the Superbowl..Bill Belichek needs to get back to what the Giants were all about back in the 80's
You clearly weren't watching the game. This isn't a finesse team. This is a team that couldn't execute when the pressure was on. And it starts and ends with Brady. In all honesty, he's his own worst enemy and his interview with Marino showed that. He needs to get back to being the guy who fell asleep a couple hours before the SB and woke up with 30 min to game time.
He had several bad throws and missed numerous open receivers tonight. The short throw to Vereen that was to Vereen's INSIDE shoulder instead of his outside Shoulder that would have given the Pats a drive extending 1st down is just one example.
Now, where I blame McDaniels is on the 3rd and 2s.. Instead of lining up Ridley or Woodhead and either running a draw, running a screen or just running a wham, he has to get fancy and try for a 10 yard play.. Ridley, Vereen and Woodhead all have the ability to get outside, yet the Pats didn't use it effectively either.
Also, the defense took a hit when Talib came up lame. Not to mention that, for whatever reason, the Pats stopped jamming the Ravens receivers at the line which allowed the likes of Boldin and Smith to get open for big plays.
His cap hit this season was $8M. Against a cap that was $48M higher than in 2004. Ryan and Flacco weren't on cheap rookie deals, they were on expensive ones about to get more expensive. Ryan is finishing up a 6 year $66M deal with a cap hit of $10M. Flacco is finishing up a 5 year $30M deal with a cap hit of $8M. Believe me, both are going to get paid and neither is going to be replaced by some cheap pistol QB. Both of whom will be lucky to last long enough to get their first big deal in 2015.
Brady wasn't the problem tonight. It was the same problem that has dogged his team for some time now. Lack of sufficient talent compounded by multiple injuries on both sides of the ball to be able match up with healthy playoff caliber competition.
brady certainly was part of the problem last night, and ys, his cap # is 8M now because they made some changes to the desal.....it is 21M per for the next 2 years, and not sure wha tyou're going to do with that unless you want to extend him again which I certainly do not.....I watched the celtics die this way in the 80's. smart teams move on even if it means temporarily taking a step backward.......we are very close to that if not right there......injuries are compounded by the fact that you are paying a few players alot of money and can't afford higher quality depth, but tonight was nothing about injuries.....the pats could have had their entire IR healthy and they still would have lost this....and brady has screwed the pooch with more talent than this.
I understand your love for brady, but this is as good as it is going to get, and it is likely going to get worse......another year, another kid, more fear and age
__________________ “ I think good coaches will coach with the personnel they have, and if you only have one (good) linebacker, you’re not going to play a 3–4. ”
—Hank Bullough, who installed one of the first 3–4 defenses with the New England Patriots.
Other than the Boldin matchup (which normally would be matched or outweighed by the Gronk one) and the Pollard KO on Ridley (which normally would have been flagged by the refs), I didn't really see the Pats get physically beaten.
The Pollard hit would not normally have been flagged because RIDLEY was the one who lowered his helmet into Pollard.
I think that Gronkowski's injury was key in our loss today. He is such a weapon and there were many times in the game the he could have made a difference.
You clearly weren't watching the game. This isn't a finesse team. This is a team that couldn't execute when the pressure was on. And it starts and ends with Brady. In all honesty, he's his own worst enemy and his interview with Marino showed that. He needs to get back to being the guy who fell asleep a couple hours before the SB and woke up with 30 min to game time.
He had several bad throws and missed numerous open receivers tonight. The short throw to Vereen that was to Vereen's INSIDE shoulder instead of his outside Shoulder that would have given the Pats a drive extending 1st down is just one example.
Now, where I blame McDaniels is on the 3rd and 2s.. Instead of lining up Ridley or Woodhead and either running a draw, running a screen or just running a wham, he has to get fancy and try for a 10 yard play.. Ridley, Vereen and Woodhead all have the ability to get outside, yet the Pats didn't use it effectively either.
Also, the defense took a hit when Talib came up lame. Not to mention that, for whatever reason, the Pats stopped jamming the Ravens receivers at the line which allowed the likes of Boldin and Smith to get open for big plays.
It doesn't start and end with Brady. It starts and ends with BB and the coaches and the talent level on the roster and the lack of elite players at skill positions and the fact that if they didn't have bad luck with injuries they wouldn't have any.
It was over when Talib went out. The offense that remains predicated on the two TE's because aside from Welker they don't really have a receiver remotely as talented as anyone else features was already playing without it's best weapon. Belichick has failed again to account for that. Lloyd was a nice try, he just isn't that significant a player. And he had a drop too. Also had YAC once... And McD seemed disinclined to play the hot hand in Vereen until he was forced to and it was too late.
Brady didn't have numerous open receivers at any point. He almost never does unless the opposition blows coverage. That's the problem.
I'm just going to go ahead and say it even though I feel I'm going to get roasted.
Tom Brady is not what he used to be.
He's become the Peyton Manning we always used to laugh at, great in the regular season but not clutch when it counts most. Granted, I know receivers dropped passes, but early in the game on various 3rd and shorts, Brady went for the 10-15 yard throw into tight coverage instead of taking the first down underneath for an easy 5 yards. There were so many passes that were off target or in the ground.
I'm afraid the Brady glory days aren't coming back guys. Who cares about the regular season and regular season stats when he plays sub-par in the most important games.
13 points aren't going to do it.
Youre right, but the Homers will find where you live and make your life miserable.
Poor drafting and development has a lot more to do with it than Brady's cap hit which has always remained manageable. This year it was $8M. Screwing up the Welker situation and $20M in dead cap mistakes cost them a lot more against the cap.
While not the best when it comes to drafting the Pats have done well in this department the last several years.
While Brady's cap this year is low (because he re-did it), it isn't next year and beyond which is what restricts the team from entering into expensive, long term deals with better players that could help them now.
Make no mistake about, Brady's cap charge has and will be a hindrance for this team.
61Likes
Re: Time For Change
Linear Mode
