JSn

Alright, so being in neutral territory, I have friends who are fans of various NFL teams and I'm almost the lone Pats fan in my area. So that's given rise to some interesting discussion on what's up with the Patriots.

I think last year can tell us something.

2008 opened with some sloppy offensive work. Dropped passes, miscues and, depending on your perspective, a faulty block that cost us TFB.

What we saw, though, was a team rallying around the reality that Matt Cassel was the QB for the year, and at times they played really well. I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking that had we made the Playoff's, there was a decent chance of going all the way.

This year is starting the same in the technical miscues dept. We also have a rusty QB of whom expectations are way too high, and a team gelling.

More-over, we have a lot of new players. Not a BAD thing, just a thing. Might even turn out to be a great thing.

That being established, I think what we've got is another chance for the team settle down and rally around a QB who needs some time.

The odd abandonment of the run aside, I think the team tried to do that last week.

The X-Factor, though, is Brady. He's not Matt Cassel, so the team has this image of him, like we do, that he'll step onto the field and make everything right. But he hasn't (aside the Buffalo ending) and I think it's causing residual worry and sloppy play through the team a bit.

I hated that Jets game, but I think a LOT of good will come out of it as Brady works through his mental hurdles and the team settles down, realizing he's not TFB just yet.

I wasn't diggin' the Seymour trade from a "now" perspective, but I can't really harp on the D (so far). They've played well. Especially missing Mayo, that's no small feat. Kudos to them for keeping us in games the offense couldn't. That's going to mean a lot come winter.

Guyton is proving himself and Pryor and Brace are unknown but highly anticipated, and the secondary is WAAAAAAY better than last year.

Aiken's penalties were pretty unusual and he's going to correct those things, without a doubt.

I don't think it's worth panicking or writing the Pats epitaph. I think we're going to get to see how a Pats team plays as the underdogs again, and when all the lunch-pails are in the right lockers, the Patriots are going to show the NFL that they remain a great team.

Having said all that, I sure have been enjoying the leg-room here on the Bandwagon (though I'm stuck in coach, still).

Just my $0.02, looking forward to the gold star.

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derF

"We also have a rusty QB of whom expectations are way too high, and a team gelling."

Good point, just look at the back-to-back delay of game penalties...that won't happen again. If any team can find a silver lining in a loss, it's the Patriots!

Tom, Bill & gang will adjust, I'm looking forward to Sunday's game to see the progress.

Quick question for ya, do the fans of other teams up there hate the Patriots as much as it seems they do everywhere else...just wondering?

JSn

1) I think Tom said one of the DoG penalties was intentional to save a time-out. Can anyone confirm?

2) The anti-Pats hostility is pretty low, though I was dropping my kids off at school last Tuesday and bumped into a guy in a Bills hat who didn't look real excited about my Patriots cap.

Actually, the next most popular team here (or so it seems) is the Dolphins. So those guys are keeping to themselves, so far.

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klinefan

I saw Guyton standing around with his hands in his pockets on a lot of plays. Maybe he is good in coverage but in run support he's just kind of like "there", blending in with the woodwork, trying not to be noticed.

So much for "why wasn't he drafted?".

BrownNServe

Guyton, IMO, has played well above expectations, being undrafted and now starting for us. He has had trouble in specific areas, ie screen passes. But the kid is a player. It may be early but, he is leading our team in tackles both in solos and totals. Plus he was the only player to give chase and bring down cotchery on the long pass play, with tackles blown by wilhite and meriweather. It'll take some time for him to feel comfortable, but keep in mind that he played 56 plays out of a possible 56 plays on defense during the Jets game. He must be doing something right.

JackBauer

Not to mention the fact that he's playing out of position in a notoriously difficult system and position for young players to step right into and contribute.

JSn

Yeah, I have no beef with Guyton at all. He's on an upward trend and once Mayo comes back, we'll have two battle hardened, VERY athletic guys roaming around back there.

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PatsSox363804

Good analysis. I think the Pats are looking much like the Colts at the beginning of last year, and if you look at the stats overall after 2 games Brady and Manning both had 2 TDs and 2 INTs, both teams were 1-1, and both were asked to throw more passes than they probbaly should have been after coming off injuries. I expect the Pats to come around, hopefully sooner rather than later, the problem is that the Colts got insanely lucky last season to get to 3-4 before they clicked and then ran the table, and I fear if we don't get lucky we may be too far behind the pack and our schedule isn't as easy as theirs was down the stretch.

It has to start this week, if we can light up Atlanta at home I expect us to go on a run.

Reckedtrek

I agree with your comparison to the Colts, but as far as your prediction of going on a run, I don't think it'll be that smooth even if we beat Atlanta, and I think we will. I think we'll be 4-3 headed into the by week, although I don't think 5-2 as out of the question. after the By we get (hopefully) Mayo back and continue to get better as the season continues.

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102 Pat

When I was at work yesterday (working the day after a loss always bites), I was thinking about how this loss might be the game we look back on at the end of the year and say that maybe the loss was a "good thing".

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