aluminum seats

It's a trial by fire, a chance for this defense to forge an identity.

There have been many encouraging signs from the defense this year, and they played well Sunday up until the last few minutes. Now apparently some members of the defense--perhaps all--got their feelings hurt when Belichick went for it on 4th down.

So, what the defense needs now is for its leaders to emerge. Tom Brady is the leader of the team, but he is, obviously, the leader of the offense. Be it Wilfork, or Warren, or Mayo, or Meriweather....these guys have to step up--in a visible, vocal way (I'm not talking about the press/public, but to the team) and say, forget the whining, the finger-pointing (we're looking at you, Adalius), this is OUR team, and we're going to win a championship. There is at least one guy on the defensive line, the linebacking crew, and the secondary who is a candidate to do this. Whether or not they can, and do, could make all the difference. Great teams have talent, and coaching, and, usually, players on the team who step up as leaders of men.

Harrison, Vrabel, Bruschi, etc. aren't walking through that door. The time for the next generation of leaders to stand up is now.

__________________
"So I'm going to throw myself against the wall...
'Cause I'd rather feel bad than not feel anything at all."

Intommywetrst

I totally agree with everything you said, but can we please stop talking about the Colts! There are plenty of things to talk about when it comes to the Jets.

Please, please no more Colts threads! Every time I see the word my stomach turns!

shmessy

I agree up to a point with you there.

However, let's just envision, the AFCCG in Indy in January 2010 - - this past game will be a HUGE advantage for the Patriots having experienced. We just saw Indy at almost full strength for THIS year (discount the IR's who won't be back, they were missing 2 bigtime players). The Pats were missing 7 bigtime players who will most likely be playing in January.

What it really comes down to is this: The game a few nights ago may turn out to be 10 times more foreshadowing than the 1st Rams game in 2001.

__________________
"They (Patriots) may be the greatest team ever" - Chris Mortenson, January 18, 2005 on espn.com

mayoclinic

I think the Colts and the rest of the NFL may regret winning last week's game in the long run, just like a lot of people regretted the Spygate incident.

The Pats will be on a rampage the rest of the season. The world has ganged up on BB for his 4th down decision, and the team will rally around him in an "us vs. the world" situation like they did after Spygate. They will destroy opponents and not let up. There's no excuse not to run up the score when you lost a key game with a 17 point comeback in the 4th quarter.

And if they somehow end up playing in Indy again this season I believe that it won't be pretty for the Colts. Though I think the Pats have a better chance of playing in the AFCCG right now than the Colts do.

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"OVER Loading at ANY position can create a Fatal Advantage. THAT is what interests ME. Attacking With Concentrated Force. THAT is what WINS. In the words ~ more or less ~ of General Patton: 'I'm fighting a WAR, here. Let the B*****ES worry about their FLANKS.' " - Off the Grid

"The key to any successful organization is to anticipate things, not react to them." - Michael Lombardi

PATRIOTSFANINPA

As mentioned before in another thread and articles on the net talk about the story of Barry Switzer and his similar 'gamble' in 1995 when the Cowboys loss vs. the Eagles was directly linked to going for it on 4th and short in their own territory which they also failed but let it be known that after that loss and after all the media called Barry a moron,the Cowboys never lost another game that season en route to SB victory.

That alone gives a reason to hope this is just a bump in the road and not a deep pothole that you cannot get your tires out of.

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Ice_Ice_Brady

Sorry to be negative, but I will take the confidence of winning that game, and the boost in the standings (for a potential #1 slot) over "proof" that we can play with any team in the league. Brady is 32- he has the weapons around him to win NOW. Virtually any team in the league can play it close on any given day. Are the 49ers and Texans also happy with their losses to the Colts? After all, they barely lost too.

I don't know how the Colts would regret winning any game. Supposing we beat them in the playoffs, it has nothing to do with losing this game. Playing them on the road and giving them a huge mental edge lowers our chances.

Now, the silver lining is you don't have to be perfect to win a Super Bowl. This was a terrible loss, but teams have come back from worse losses. You look at teams like the Lakers and Yankees, former dynasties that lost some brutal games on the biggest stage... both of them won a championship this year.

borg

I'm sure AD is working really hard to rally the troups behind BB....on that note

Boom


1000th post

Thank you, thank you. To all my fans, thank you....Borg Out

aluminum seats

I hear ya, but the idea here is looking forward--starting with the Jets game, will the Pats' new leaders respond. I'm guessing they will.

__________________
"So I'm going to throw myself against the wall...
'Cause I'd rather feel bad than not feel anything at all."

Wax Frog

Feelings like this are why I totally avoided this forum for the past two days (and had considered skipping today). The Jets game is the only reality for me, by choice...

Schmo

Something I have been glad to have all season was the depth on the Dline. Going into this game we were already down on both the DL AND OLB. This is what was a major contributor to the tiring and subsequent decline of the defense during the course of the game.

As long as the injuries heal, we should be fresh in the second half to easily take down the Colts in the playoffs.