2nd half collapses on the road - A major concern? - New England Patriots Forums

PATRIOTSFANINPA · 10-12-2009, 11:33 AM

There are several significant things I have seen from the 2 losses in 5 games so far...

Both games occured on the road
Both games had the Patriots ahead and seemingly in control
Both games had collapses on defense and Brady has not been Mr. 4th quarter

I am concerned over this short but worrisome trend

It seems as if the team does not let the crowd bother them early on and plays well enough to go into the locker room ahead on the scoreboard but they come out and the other team scores within the first few minutes and once the crowd gets into the game its all downhill
from there

Brady has been VERY unBradylike as the road game progresses into the 3rd and 4th quarter,throwing too wide,too far and missing targets he normally would successfully accomplish blindfolded pre-2008

Are we being outcoached in the 2nd half?- If there a big missing piece in the locker room like Vrabel,Harrison or Seymour whose talk and presence could have been key to keeping the defense and the game plan continuing on the winning path like it was in the first 2 quarters?

As far as this trend goes I hope it changes soon because if it does not we have ZERO and I mean ZERO chances of beating Indy and N.O. on the road.

The home games I am not as concerned with because the team seems to have kept its heart in those games when it counts most,The away games have been washed away with help from the 12th man and the lack of intensity IMO

It must change soon and Brady is not the only reason for troubles,I think Its no one picking up leadership roles on either side right now.

I have been one who has been very vocal about NOT resigning Seau,but if no one steps up to motivate these guys on the road once halftime ends then maybe Seau is the guy we need to assume the leader role.

Pats726 · 10-12-2009, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PATRIOTSFANINPA

There are several significant things I have seen from the 2 losses in 5 games so far...

Both games occured on the road
Both games had the Patriots ahead and seemingly in control
Both games had collapses on defense and Brady has not been Mr. 4th quarter

I am concerned over this short but worrisome trend

It seems as if the team does not let the crowd bother them early on and plays well enough to go into the locker room ahead on the scoreboard but they come out and the other team scores within the first few minutes and once the crowd gets into the game its all downhill
from there

Brady has been VERY unBradylike as the road game progresses into the 3rd and 4th quarter,throwing too wide,too far and missing targets he normally would successfully accomplish blindfolded pre-2008

Are we being outcoached in the 2nd half?- If there a big missing piece in the locker room like Vrabel,Harrison or Seymour whose talk and presence could have been key to keeping the defense and the game plan continuing on the winning path like it was in the first 2 quarters?

As far as this trend goes I hope it changes soon because if it does not we have ZERO and I mean ZERO chances of beating Indy and N.O. on the road.

The home games I am not as concerned with because the team seems to have kept its heart in those games when it counts most,The away games have been washed away by the 12th man and the lack of intensity IMO

It must change soon and Brady is not the only reason for troubles,I think Its no one picking up leadership roles on either side right now.

I have been one who has been very vocal about NOT resigning Seau,but if no one steps up to motivate these guys on the road once halftime ends then maybe Seau is the guy we need to assume the leader role.

I'm not at all bothered by the overall situation, but I also tend to agree trends like this is troubling...the Jet game was a perfect storm..and early when Brady had a lot of rust..this game was worse though..and it was in all units..not just Brady as u said...I think a lot has to do with the young ones..and maturation..Seau I think would help.
It's a certain thing that will take time..they did not pick it up and strike back, but sank just trying to hold on... THAT is not good...and the quicker they solve this the better...BUT I fear you are right Indy NO...will be very hard if they do not improve to get close to a win.

PATRIOTSFANINPA · 10-12-2009, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pats726

I'm not at all bothered by the overall situation, but I also tend to agree trends like this is troubling...the Jet game was a perfect storm..and early when Brady had a lot of rust..this game was worse though..and it was in all units..not just Brady as u said...I think a lot has to do with the young ones..and maturation..Seau I think would help.
It's a certain thing that will take time..they did not pick it up and strike back, but sank just trying to hold on... THAT is not good...and the quicker they solve this the better...BUT I fear you are right Indy NO...will be very hard if they do not improve to get close to a win.

On the road this team is not playing to win but playing not to lose...thats a big problem IMO

Patriot_in_NY · 10-12-2009, 12:04 PM

The problem is NO 2nd HALF ADJUSTMENTS. Something we used to excel at has now become a weakness. Yesterday was made worse by Light going down. We seemed to just throw in the towel "playcalling-wise" on offense after that. Jesus, I could have called a more imaginative offense after that.

**Ian** · 10-12-2009, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PATRIOTSFANINPA

There are several significant things I have seen from the 2 losses in 5 games so far...

Both games occured on the road
Both games had the Patriots ahead and seemingly in control
Both games had collapses on defense and Brady has not been Mr. 4th quarter

I am concerned over this short but worrisome trend

It seems as if the team does not let the crowd bother them early on and plays well enough to go into the locker room ahead on the scoreboard but they come out and the other team scores within the first few minutes and once the crowd gets into the game its all downhill
from there

Brady has been VERY unBradylike as the road game progresses into the 3rd and 4th quarter,throwing too wide,too far and missing targets he normally would successfully accomplish blindfolded pre-2008

Are we being outcoached in the 2nd half?- If there a big missing piece in the locker room like Vrabel,Harrison or Seymour whose talk and presence could have been key to keeping the defense and the game plan continuing on the winning path like it was in the first 2 quarters?

As far as this trend goes I hope it changes soon because if it does not we have ZERO and I mean ZERO chances of beating Indy and N.O. on the road.

The home games I am not as concerned with because the team seems to have kept its heart in those games when it counts most,The away games have been washed away with help from the 12th man and the lack of intensity IMO

It must change soon and Brady is not the only reason for troubles,I think Its no one picking up leadership roles on either side right now.

I have been one who has been very vocal about NOT resigning Seau,but if no one steps up to motivate these guys on the road once halftime ends then maybe Seau is the guy we need to assume the leader role.

This is exactly the type of thread I'm looking for - objective with some valid points. Thank you

***AndyJohnson*** · 10-12-2009, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PATRIOTSFANINPA

There are several significant things I have seen from the 2 losses in 5 games so far...

Both games occured on the road
Both games had the Patriots ahead and seemingly in control
Both games had collapses on defense and Brady has not been Mr. 4th quarter

I am concerned over this short but worrisome trend

It seems as if the team does not let the crowd bother them early on and plays well enough to go into the locker room ahead on the scoreboard but they come out and the other team scores within the first few minutes and once the crowd gets into the game its all downhill
from there

Brady has been VERY unBradylike as the road game progresses into the 3rd and 4th quarter,throwing too wide,too far and missing targets he normally would successfully accomplish blindfolded pre-2008

Are we being outcoached in the 2nd half?- If there a big missing piece in the locker room like Vrabel,Harrison or Seymour whose talk and presence could have been key to keeping the defense and the game plan continuing on the winning path like it was in the first 2 quarters?

As far as this trend goes I hope it changes soon because if it does not we have ZERO and I mean ZERO chances of beating Indy and N.O. on the road.

The home games I am not as concerned with because the team seems to have kept its heart in those games when it counts most,The away games have been washed away with help from the 12th man and the lack of intensity IMO

It must change soon and Brady is not the only reason for troubles,I think Its no one picking up leadership roles on either side right now.

I have been one who has been very vocal about NOT resigning Seau,but if no one steps up to motivate these guys on the road once halftime ends then maybe Seau is the guy we need to assume the leader role.

I think 2nd half play is a great point. It has been poor. I disagree that it is because the players dont care, dont try or need someone to motivate them to do their jobs.
I think rather that the issue is more the coaching staff figuring out how to put this group of players in the best position to succeed. Our defense has almost completely turned over in the last few years, and I think that part of closing out games is seeing the strengths and weaknesses of the players as a unit.
Same with the offense.
I think it is simply wrong to say Brady isnt right because of the injury. I think Brady is relearning his job after not doing it for a year. At the level he does it, how could you not expect a reacclimation? I think his coaches and teammates expect the same old Brady, and that is having a negative impact right now, because we are making decisions as if Brady is in midseason form.
Who would think we could be shut out in 2 second halves with the ball in Brady's hands? We certainly didn't gameplan with that in mind.

I just think we have a team that is developing before our eyes.
When you lose, in OT, on the road to a 5-0 team, thats not an epic failure. Few NFL teams could hope to be expected to win that kind of a game, and we aren't very far from delievering on that.

PATRIOTSFANINPA · 10-12-2009, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patriot_in_NY

The problem is NO 2nd HALF ADJUSTMENTS. Something we used to excel at has now become a weakness. Yesterday was made worse by Light going down. We seemed to just throw in the towel "playcalling-wise" on offense after that. Jesus, I could have called a more imaginative offense after that.

Thats exactly what I mean by playing not to lose compared to playing to win

The team had gone astray from the game plan which seemed to work fine in the first half,then we got conservative in the 2nd half with runs that went nowhere and offensive plays that even the fans in the upper tier bleacher seats could read before the ball was even snapped.

The game plan must be consistent for 60 minutes...this team has been inconsistent on the road and it needs to improve quickly to keep the faith of going deep into the playoffs.

alvinnf · 10-12-2009, 12:09 PM

Good teams win on the road. This team has yet to do so. Obviously, they are going to win on the road at some point. Unless they can tap into that resiliency that previous teams have had on the road, this teams going nowhere.

***AndyJohnson*** · 10-12-2009, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PATRIOTSFANINPA

On the road this team is not playing to win but playing not to lose...thats a big problem IMO

Not sure I agree. I actually think offensively they are playing to drive the nail in the coffin, but failing. I haven't seen a fear of making mistakes on offense at all. (By the way, the flavor of the week, that we changed the offense for Vollmer is crazy. Running in that game situation made sense. And the only reason it is getting legs is that the announcers suggested it. That is a surefire way to create wildfire opinion on this board, have the commentator say it right or wrong)
Defensively, you may be correct, but I kinda think we have played not to lose on defense for 10 years now. Its kinda the philosophy to be conservative.

borg · 10-12-2009, 12:13 PM

They just need to be able to score 1 point. Imagine two first year coaches pitching second half shut outs. Clearly, Brady's inaccuracy has been the major problem...but this team is too reliant on Brady to begin with. Discounting LoMo's ineptitude, the rest of the aging RB corps is sloooooooow of foot. Teams aren't worrying too much about RBs consistently busting through the front 7, and are concentrating on pass defense without rushing extra players. The Bend Don't Break model has worked well vs the Pats because Brady has been so inconsistent.