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12 Thoughts Following the Patriots Loss to The 49ers
By: Ian Logue

Sunday night's outcome was disappointing although there were some bright spots, and here are 12 thoughts following the loss to the 49ers....

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mayoclinic

Some thoughts:

1. Unless Cleveland or KC beats Denver and the Pats win out, the Pats will likely host the #6 seed at Foxboro and then hopefully go to Denver. 2 very winnably playoff games with Gronk back. The team needs to regroup from this, focus on one game and a time, and get back to form.

2. This was the first really "bad" game from the Pats all year. Obviously the 49ers had something to say about that, but some of the turnovers were due to sloppiness on the Pats' part. 4 turnovers will lose a game most times, and the Pats haven't had that kind of performance since Buffalo in 2011. Lots of other mistakes. Just not the kind of execution we've seen the past several weeks. For a team that had been showing signs of mental toughness, not what I wanted to see. Need to see them tighten up their execution the last 2 games.

3. San Francisco and Seattle have by far the two best defenses in the NFL, IMHO. Good role models for what to shoot for.

4. The Pats had more difficulty with Colin Kaepernick's movement skills than I had anticipated. Kaepernick is no Tebow - his accuracy and arm strength have to be respected along with his running ability. Definitely looks like a good gamble for Harbaugh, and the kind of player who could give the Pats fits.

5. 180+ yards rushing allowed. Ouch. Given that the #1 priority on defense had to be stopping the SF run, this is a clear fail. SF won that battle.

6. I thought the offense hurt the defense tremendously in the 1st half by not being able to sustain more than one drive. Too much time on the field, too much time with your back against the wall. I'm guessing at some point they got a bit pooped, but again, i didn't see the second half.

7. Credit to the team for coming back from 31-3 down, but teams seldom win even when they come back from that far down against a good opponent. It takes so much out of you. They can't dig that big a hole.

8. We lost our "playoff" game but live to play again. No more margin for error in big games.

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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

Sivy

Tom Brady is the clear chocice for MVBP and it aint even close. He took that team on this shoulders and tied after being down 31-3. AInt his fault he dont play special teams and cant stop them from getting a 60 yard return. If
Manning wins, the award is a sham

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"The people who are claiming that the Pats are dead are the same ones who would go up and check if Jason Voorhees is "really" dead by leaning over his body." -Someone at jetnation.

BelichickFan

Adrian Peterson will win MVP - and deservedly so.

Manning will win Comeback Player of the Year - and deservedly so.

ivanvamp

The run defense wasn't very good last night, but the overall stats are a bit misleading.

SF: 39 rushes, 180 yds, 4.6 average

But one of those rushes was the fake punt, where Goldson ran for 31 yards. Take that away and here's what you get:

38 rushes, 149 yds, 3.9 average

And that 31 yarder, sure, the Pats gave it up, but that was a special teams failure, not a run defense failure.

The 49ers were averaging 162 yards per game and 5.2 yards per carry heading into last night's game. And the Pats' run defense allowed 149 yards and 3.9 yards per carry last night.

The previous week they held Houston to just 100 yds rushing and 3.7 yards per carry, when against everyone else Houston has averaged 143 yds rushing and 4.2 yards per carry.

So against two of the very best rushing offenses in the league the past two weeks, the Patriots have held them under their season's average in both yardage and yards per carry.

fxkane

Having to play Denver in Denver is NOT a "very winnable" playoff game.

In fact, this board voted that the AFC team they feared most was Denver. And to boot we have a long history of poor performances at Mile High.

And is there any doubt about our having to go there--and win there.

Bravo777

We will learn from our mistakes and hopefully not repeat them. As I remember, the last few years we always have at least one subpar game. I'm still confident that we can go deep in the playoffs.

Ochmed Jones

Is Ridley a cold weather fumbler?

patsfaninpa

Speed and athleticism.

everlong

Winnable, yes, but Denver has not been a kind place for the Patriots to play in general no matter how bad the Broncos are and this team is pretty good.

Arizona was a really bad game. Perhaps worse in a lot of ways.

It was a great game plan from Harbaugh. I think our back four were re-exposed. If teams are willing to take deep shots good things are generally happening for them.

CK's fakes were pretty impressive. I had a hard time figuring out if he had the ball for a second or two almost every time. Additionally Gore does an amazing job of hiding behind his lineman. You could tell the defense was having a hard time picking up the ball carrier. Hopefully if they got another shot at this team being familiar with them would help.

No we lost our bye and therefore have to play all our big games on the road.

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"When Peyton Manning was a kid he used to go to bed at night and dream about throwing the winning touchdown for the Saints in the Superbowl. And on Sunday he did."

There's only two conclusions for Patriots fans on rookies. They are either a bust or being fitted for their bust in Canton.


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