Serious Question: Score With A Healthy Brady?

[newton_tom_cat]

1st i was thinking this was all about losing the league's best player at the most important position. but the more i think about it would he have made that much of a difference that we wouldn't have lost today? really, what could he have done to get the defense to read the 6 direct RB snaps that hurt us so?

i have a fear setting in that TB masked a rot that's been going on with this team for years, especially to an aging defense. maybe we were headed into serious decline anyway, even with TB.

what do you all think?

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

1st i was thinking this was all about losing the league's best player at the most important position. but the more i think about it would he have made that much of a difference that we wouldn't have lost today? really, what could he have done to get the defense to read the 6 direct RB snaps that hurt us so?

i have a fear setting in that TB masked a rot that's been going on with this team for years, especially to an aging defense. maybe we were headed into serious decline anyway, even with TB.

what do you all think?

The D looks bad,

I think we would have been competive with Brady, and played differently.. But who knows.. I know the first 2 weeks should have been blow outs with Brady..

 

[swheeler23]

With Brady at qb the defense is not on the field as much. Last year the high scores helped the defense in two ways. They were not on the field as much and other teams had to throw because they were always playing from behind. Masking the Patriots trouble with stopping the running game.

 

[BelichickFan]

Everything changes, there's no way to say. Defense plays different with the lead, more rest, OL doesn't have to deal with the Dolphins blitzing with NO threat at all of Cassel burning them deep. Etc.

 

[newton_tom_cat]

Everything changes, there's no way to say. Defense plays different with the lead, more rest, OL doesn't have to deal with the Dolphins blitzing with NO threat at all of Cassel burning them deep. Etc.

thats true of course, but question is would things have changed enough to make us a winner? 6x we got burned on direct snap ... my greatest fear is we lose anyway. now thats a real crisis

 

[Alk]

We walked into a buzzsaw yesterday. I don't think having Brady would have made that big of a difference. The last time this team looked this bad was against Miami and that was with Brady.

 

[Rob0729]

I don't know the score, but I still think the Pats lose. It would have been closer though.

 

[PATS68]

I think Brady would have made a difference in the game becasue he scores points and not FGs. The D has to defend the whole field when he is in the game. The Cassel lead O has been playing only what seems like a 20 yard space.

I think Brady at QB he could at least made the game into a shoot out. Brady does not miss a wide open Dave Thomas down the field. That play easy as it gets TD.

 

[BradyManny]

I don't know the score, but I still think the Pats lose. It would have been closer though.

IMO, we win w Brady, and win big - and its no knock on Cassel. But its an entirely different game yesterday if Brady plays. For starters, the Dolphins go in probably expecting to get their a**es kicked - and Brady probably takes those first two drives and puts 14 points on the board. With a 2 score lead, the whole game changes, and we probably don't see Ronnie Brown abuse the defense the way he did.

 

[D-Money]

I think people are giving up on this defense way to quickly.I expect the D to bounce back but that doesnt mean that we will put up 20 or more points.There is alot of pressure on the D because Cassel cant put up more then 20 points.

 

[fourthandmiles]

I see Dolphins putting it all out on the field for that win. Do they think that snap to RB will be working all year? Patriots save that stuff for late season and playoffs. They just did it to beat the us and get some positive mojo early in an attempt to save the season from tanking.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

We walked into a buzzsaw yesterday. I don't think having Brady would have made that big of a difference. The last time this team looked this bad was against Miami and that was with Brady.

Brady opened the season with this group and led 2 failed drives because his WR's and blockers were not executing consistently. People here forget that Brady was not undefeated in the last 7 seasons. When they struggled so did he, and while he was sometimes able to overcome them or will them to elevate their performance in game, that's what makes him a HOF'er. You can't reasonably expect that effect from ANY other QB brought in to that kind of situation. And for those concerned about Cassel's ability to motivate his teamates to perform for him, remember they are paid professionals and Bill expects them to be self motivated or it's on them...

Beyond 2003 and 2004 this defense has not performed consistently at an elite level, sometimes due to injuries, though Bill generally gets them going at a higher level more consistently as the season progresses. I think he can bandage this D fairly effectively over time, it's one of his and his systems strengths to mask weakness via scheme. It will be tougher to do that on offense since Brady was his main masking agent on that side of the ball. His most logical course remains to let the system and the players in it do the masking, as they did in 2001 through 2006, but that will equire 11 guys executing at a high level within the system to accomplish that.

It's too late now to make substantive changes in personnel because they won't be capable of executing within the system, and that will make it impossible for many others who can to continue to. Most HC's in that predicament will over react to pressure to just win now and screw the long term impilications of abandoning a course or system because their jobs hang in the balance. Bill knows his does not. And he's one of those rare birds who truly has the courage of his convictions. They got him this far in a 30 year NFL career and resulted in 5 rings in the last 2 decades for teams he coached according to his convictions. And while his convictions do not always carry the day, they have more often than not over the last decade in particular.

And don't forget when opening these threads that the OP's biggest fear is really his secret hope. Because it would validate what he's been saying here for a couple of seasons now. He seldom posts here when things are clicking...

 

[Jimke]

I see Dolphins putting it all out on the field for that win. Do they think that snap to RB will be working all year? Patriots save that stuff for late season and playoffs. They just did it to beat the us and get some positive mojo early in an attempt to save the season from tanking.

I am amazed that Belichick, Capers, and Pees could not counter that play.

 

[NovaScotiaPatsFan]

I'm gonna put myself in the middle here, I'm not gonna say we would have gotten blown out like we did were Brady in there, but I'm not sayin he would have won the game either. I think it would have been closer but we still would have lost. The reason being he may have been able to magically put somethin together to keep the ball away from the Fish more and turn one or two FGs into a TD. So probably like 28-21, or 28-17.

This loss was not Matt Cassel's fault, and anyone who thinks it was either is a bandwagoneer, loves TFB more than is healthy, or hated Cassel and was just waiting for him to fail.

 

[fourthandmiles]

I am amazed that Belichick, Capers, and Pees could not counter that play.

First time, shame on players,
third - fifth time, shame on coaches,
sixth time...

 

[NovaScotiaPatsFan]

Yeah, THAT was embarrasing, even I gotta say that.

 

[newton_tom_cat]

Brady opened the season with this group and led 2 failed drives because his WR's and blockers were not executing consistently. People here forget that Brady was not undefeated in the last 7 seasons. When they struggled so did he, and while he was sometimes able to overcome them or will them to elevate their performance in game, that's what makes him a HOF'er. You can't reasonably expect that effect from ANY other QB brought in to that kind of situation. And for those concerned about Cassel's ability to motivate his teamates to perform for him, remember they are paid professionals and Bill expects them to be self motivated or it's on them...

Beyond 2003 and 2004 this defense has not performed consistently at an elite level, sometimes due to injuries, though Bill generally gets them going at a higher level more consistently as the season progresses. I think he can bandage this D fairly effectively over time, it's one of his and his systems strengths to mask weakness via scheme. It will be tougher to do that on offense since Brady was his main masking agent on that side of the ball. His most logical course remains to let the system and the players in it do the masking, as they did in 2001 through 2006, but that will equire 11 guys executing at a high level within the system to accomplish that.

It's too late now to make substantive changes in personnel because they won't be capable of executing within the system, and that will make it impossible for many others who can to continue to. Most HC's in that predicament will over react to pressure to just win now and screw the long term impilications of abandoning a course or system because their jobs hang in the balance. Bill knows his does not. And he's one of those rare birds who truly has the courage of his convictions. They got him this far in a 30 year NFL career and resulted in 5 rings in the last 2 decades for teams he coached according to his convictions. And while his convictions do not always carry the day, they have more often than not over the last decade in particular.

And don't forget when opening these threads that the OP's biggest fear is really his secret hope. Because it would validate what he's been saying here for a couple of seasons now. He seldom posts here when things are clicking...

well maybe, i rememver when we got ripped by bills 31-3 right after we let milloy go to them ... that was all about emotion. maybe this was a somewhat delayed response as playing the jets last week at least provided enough incentive to motivate for at least a week. also, the season we got whipped by bills we went on to beat them by same margin later in season and won the super bowl. actually getting scared at my optimism here, so i had better stop ....