Brady_to_Moss

the trolls like to make stuff up

Ifleninwasawizard

From my time lurking on this board it is just an example of how a lot of people here think. Gronk didn't get 10 catches, a TD, and break off a 50 yard run causing Mike Ditka to instantly burst into tears of envy. So to most people he was invisible.

Patriots Nation NY

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mgteich

Gronkowski is personally responsible for the best 2 week running attack the patriots have had since 1978. Gronkowski's blocking has been awesome, and he has playing fine, especially considering his continuing injury.

crawhammer

The bottom line with this team is if Brady plays below his elite QB status then the team usually loses. They don't have anything reliable enough to compensate for his underperformances... the running game isn't good enough... the defense certainly isn't good enough (as they prove literally every single failed opportunity to close out a game late)... and no, Belichick is not good enough, not a good enough head coach, and unequivocally not a good enough GM. This is after all Belichick's lousy defense that he put together schematically and personnel-wise. The astonishing amount of putrid defensive back draft picks has especially become a huge stain on his legacy.

brdmaverick

I wanted to start a similar thread. Whenever the team loses, people naturally complain. Just as naturally, some members of the forum wnat to claim everyone is playing chicken little.

My take is that the reality is somewhere in the middle. Here it is.....

We're 3-3 which is still good enough for a tie atop the division. Of the other teams in our division we still appear to be the odds on favorite. So no issue there.

Now the bad, most of the key components return from a team that was one Wes Welker reception from a Super Bowl victory. All offseason we were comforted by the fact that we added defensive reinforcements (Chandler Jones and Dont'a Hightower) and even bolstered our receiving corp (getting Lloyd, Gaffney, and Stallworth). So even if the defense was still a letdown, our dynamic offense would be even more equipped to bail them out. Our additions brought up multiple comparison discussions to the 2007 team. Now add in the fact that our schedule was one of the weakest in the league. With our team stacked and our easy schedule, it was tough to even find three losses. Sure, we knew that Baltimore, Houston, and San Fran would be tough opponents, but no one predicted that we would lose all three.

Now wake up to reality, we are six weeks in and we are 3-3. So in six weeks we already suffered as many (or more losses) than many predicted before the season even started. Sure, we're still not REALLY sweating the division title just yet, but it's clear that expectations need to be reassessed. We came into the year thinking 1 or 2 seed, but we're already behind Baltimore and Houston.

Sure, many will point out that we should not go crazy thinking about three games in which we lost by a grand total of four points. I do see it as a concern though. The Patriots staple year in and year out is making the key plays at the end of the game that allow your team to win. In this department the Pats just haven't been able to close the door. You figure the Brady/Belichick experience and aura would count for something, but not even they could not stop a rally from a rookie quarterback. This is NOT the 2004 Patriots, and it's clear that we're not the 2007 Patriots either. It's time to lower expectations. The harsh reality is that maybe we're just not as good as we thought.

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TheOutsider

Everyone settle down I am still putting you guys in the SB this year and possibly having the number 1 seed in the AFC when its all said and done.

Deus Irae

Well, it was a bad penalty call that cost them the Cardinals game. It was multiple bad calls that cost them the Ravens game. The only game they truly lost on their own was this one.

What I didn't see coming was the collapse of Chung and Arrington. I'd expected little from either, but they're not even reaching that status. I hope Dennard or Ras-IR can ramp it up for next week.

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mgteich

Yes, hopefully Dennard and Dowling will continue to improve.

As was the case last year, it our safeties that are even a worse problem.