patsox23

Many of us think that this is a misguided post without ALSO thinking that "everything is all right."

Deus Irae

I'd fall solidly in that category.

AndyJohnson

I dont think anyone thinks everything is perfect. I think many of us think the good far outweighs the bad, and when we sit here on 12/20/06 we are in the mix, we are good enough to win a SB, and we trust that the players and coaches who have won 3 of them give us an edge once the tournament starts.
Of course we have flaws but so does every other team. Some choose to pick isolated examples, and conclude they are proof of ultimate failure. Some choose to find the good, and ignore the bad.

Personally, I can discuss and accept any negative, but only in context with the positives.
My tendancy is to focus on the positive rather than the negative NOW for one simple reason: BILL BELICHICK.
I have the ultimate confidence in Belichick. I think he is far and away the best coach in the NFL, and has the best plan and system. I EXPECT things to work out better 2,3,6,8... weeks down the road than they look today with this team, because BB has earned that expectation.
When Pete Carroll, or Dick McPherson, etc, etc were here I did not have that expectation. If I were a Colt, Charger, Bengal, etc fan, I wouldnt have that expectation, because there is no strong reason to believe so. With BB there is proof, so I continue to look at everythign optimisitcally.

Flying Fungi

Bartender

I'll have what he's having

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Mike the Brit

The defense has held up remarkably well, considering the injuries that it has had. Just remember: both starting safeties are gone, plus one nickel/starting corner (Randall Gay) and a starting inside linebacker. Then there are innumerable back-ups/special teamers/short-term injuries that have made things difficult. I can't believe that Hobbs, for instance, isn't really hampered by the cast on his hand. The level of performance we have had from Hawkins, Sanders, Scott is a very pleasant surprise.

Things aren't perfect. I'm not overwhelmed by Seymour's play this season, I wish that the linebackers were as dynamic as Miami or San Diego's, and it's really noticeable how much the run-stopping has diminished since Junior Seau went on IR. I worry how the team will match up against the Colts' offense or San Diego's. But, on defense at least, the good very much outweighs the bad, in my opinion.

Anyway, players play, coaches coach and fans (if they're sensible) enjoy the ride.

__________________
My prized possessions: Our family pictures; my dad and me getting doused by Bruschi in Super Bowl XXXIX [Shalize Manza Young Up Close with ... Bill Belichick]


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They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Well, Pats fans should be invincible by now. [Fitzy, 16 November 2009]

Still here to learn

Fencer

A. The defensive results have, with few exceptions, been somewhere on a spectrum between "That's about what should have happened with those personnel" to "Wow! How did they ever manage that with those personnel?" I think Pees' body of work is very solid.

B. They carried three guys on the roster to begin the season at DL who didn't play. Two have been there all year. I think they're aware that their young depth is suspect. But thanks for reminding them anyway.

C. Punctuation is your friend. It is traditional to end questions with question marks.

D. I'm sure they've knocked themselves out considering the injury plague. I hope they haven't overlooked anything. I admit to not being wholly confident in that.

E. The team has lost 3 of its top DBs and a 4th has played hurt all year. The secondary represents a phenomenal job of personnel acquisition and coaching.

F. In the defensive front seven, everybody except Bruschi and Seau was acquired by the current regime while he was still young. The same goes for the rest of the team with very few exceptions (mainly Brown, Dillon, and punters among the starters and front-line players).

G. There are only four teams in the league with better records than the Pats, and the Pats have beaten and are probably better than one of them. The Pats are also probably better than all the teams with poorer records, including three that (ouch) they've lost to. Of the three teams that really seem better, one has a famously unsuccessful post-season coach, one has a disastrous run defense, and one has a highly fragile QB.

I don't know wtf is going on with WRs or with the OL's inconsistency any more than the rest of you do, but I do think the general theme of the OP was way off base.

AzPatsFan

3)
BB said before the season began that he wanted to keep the system that he had. He didn't want to bring in a new guy and have 25 guys have to learn a new system when they are/were successful with the system that they have.

You have been listening to NEM too much, and its rotting your brain.

NEM, a Friend, hasn't and doesn't, like ANY OC. He despises anyone who doesn't have 100% success with every play. If a play fails for whatever reason, it the OC's fault for calling the play, irrespective of whether the players executed it well or not, or the Defense made a great play. JM, a nine year NFL coach, has the Offense in the top dozen of the league, quite frankly with mirrors, while playing with a lot of very young &/or very new players to the Offense. Getting this far with what he has, ought to warn the league what's in store for them, with another year of maturity on Offense.

6)
The Pats have used the screen. Its just not as effective as it was when they could pass a team silly. Did you know they ran five (5!) screens against Miami for example? The longest gain was 4 yards! A couple were facing big losses, when the receiver purposely dropped the ball to make it an incompletion, rather than a completion and a loss of 4 or 5 yards. Screens ONLY work when you are a passing team, not when the Defense is run blitzing. It ONLY works when you can fool the defense. if you can't fool them it results in an easy loss,as a screen is a simple play to defense if you are looking for it.

8)
TBC is doing fine for his first year of starting. He has sacks and QB pressures and his run defense has actually been pretty good. I still want to see more of his pass defense, but he has NOT STUNK at the toughest part of converting from DE to OLB, and has turned in some fine coverage plays.

10)
Why doesn't anyone give Dillon any credit? You've been listening to Tom Casale and the PFW people too much. They are way too black and white. They hav eonly two categoreis All_pro or he sux. Dillon is a franchise talented back on the downside of his career, who has become short yardage and TD terror. He has runs of 50, and a pair of 25 yarders this season so he can still make the big play, occasionally. The Patriots are facing run blitzing; and they apparently don't have the simple cure for that problem.

Its called a lead blocking Fullback.

Evans is much better as a blocker than he was. Pass is on IR. But Heath was terrible at it, when he arrived; as a matter of fact that was why he got cut by a team that invested a #3 pick on him. In college he carried the ball, and never blocked. He has the determination to learn, and the Coaches are teaching him but, they haven't put him in front of Dillon, as needed.

Against Houston, Dillon gained 85 yards and lost twenty or more, and ended up with 60 or so, when tackled in the backfield by a gambling run blitzer. Remove the losses and drives continue and Dillon carries for several more carries and ends up over a hundred yards. If Dillon gets started and gets to the line he is good for 4-10 yards.

The Rx is a lead Fullback, and the Pats apparently don't have one. A lead fullback would put a guy at the point of attack and allow Dillon to cut off of him as he gets to the hole. Dillon wouldn't have to cut it outside after a gambling safety shows up in the hole he planned to use. Dillon as he is is just like Bettis and good for another couple of years when used correctly.

BTW... LM needs a lead fullback too; he dances when the hole is closed and doesn't get anywhere.

Rob0729

I don't know if it is brave to post a rant of things that are really not correct. I also think it is unfair to bash the "Kool-Aide drinkers" and call the original poster brave for acting like this team is a total wreck when they are at 10-4.

First, why should the Pats scrap the 3-4? We are second in the league in points allowed. Let me say that again. We are second in the league in points allowed. Why in the world would we scrap a defense that has given up less points so far this year than 30 of the 31 other defenses? Why not cut Brady while we are at it? And don't say it has gotten worse since Seau went down because he went down a month ago already and we are still second.

Second, why would we want to abandon the two-gap? We are eighth in the league in sacks and only three sacks behind the fourth team in the sack category. If we aren't doing a good job getting pressure on the QB than virtually no team in the NFL is getting pressure on the QB and there should be about 24 other teams that should scrap their defense.

Third, the Pats have used the screen pass in virtually every game this season with varying results. Contrary to many people's opinion, the screen pass does not work all the time vs. every defense. Maybe there are times where we might have been suited to use it more, but overall we do make an effort to use it.

Fourth, Brady will do whatever is neccessary to win. He does at times try to carry the team on his shoulders, but he isn't afraid to throw high percentage but not big gain type of plays like he did against the Texans.

Fifth, I feel the Pats did misjudge the market because of the new cap, but I doubt this will be an ongoing thing.

Sixth, I don't know how you can criticize TBC's moves after have a great game this weekend. I haven't watched him specifically on a lot of plays, but he did get two sacks this weekend.

I don't think everything is well with the Pats. I just don't think it is as dismal as some people like to make it. We are still a good team. Some people feel that if we aren't the odds on favorite to win the Super Bowl every year that we are some kind of 6-10 team. We just can't win the Super Bowl every year.

MrBigglesWorth

if the Pats don't have Vince sunday and they stay in the 3-4 they are going to get shredded for rushing yardage.

Deus Irae

Fred Taylor pulled up lame with a bad hamstring this past week, and Jones-Drew tweaked his knee. Taylor is questionable, and Jones-Drew is probable, according to Jacksonville.