Someone needs to tell Bruschi

[DESERTPAT]

That BB had no confidence in the D for a Reason. Teddy, the defense has been sub-par for several years now, remember the last playoff game in Indy?
Hanson could have put the ball at the one and Manning would have them in the endzone with about 30 seconds to spare. I have no problem with BB's call but I do have a problem with the wasted time outs which also helped in their demise.

 

[mayoclinic]

That BB had no confidence in the D for a Reason. Teddy, the defense has been sub-par for several years now, remember the last playoff game in Indy?
Hanson could have put the ball at the one and Manning would have them in the endzone with about 30 seconds to spare. I have no problem with BB's call but I do have a problem with the wasted time outs which also helped in their demise.

Didn't the defense make a key interception 2 drives earlier? And the offense couldn't capitolize inside the red zone, and came away with only 3 points.

If we run the ball on 3rd down we force Indy to use their last timeout. Then they get the ball back with 70+ yards to go and around a minute and a half left. That's much harder then getting it back with 2 minutes left and 1 timeout at the Pats 29.

If you don't believe the Pats defense can stop Indy with 70-80 yards to go, then you certainly don't believe we can stop them with 29 yards to go. In that case you should let them score as quickly as possible so that TB can get the ball with with as much time as possible to try to set up a game-winning FG.

The inconsistency makes no sense. I don't think the Pats coaching staff anticipated having a close game at the end. They wasted timeouts, made poor play calling decisions, and were inconsistent in their end game strategy. Those mistakes were critical.

 

[Tunescribe]

If you consider all the ex-player/ex-coach analysts, opinion is pretty evenly divided between offensive and defensive minds. Guys like Bruschi and Harrison say we should've punted, then Mike Martz, etc., defend the call. Bruschi lacks even-handed perspective, he still looks at the game like a current player.

 

[tajapandu]

ok, ill tell him.

 

[Bill B.]

What I thought was amazing was 3 out of the 4 hacks on Around the Horn were defending the call. Marriotti was calling it the stupidest move he has ever seen. But Plashke, Paige, and Adande all thought it was a great call. I was shocked. It was great seeing Marriotti sputtering in disbeleif because nobody was agreeing with him.

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

Being a defensive player of course Ted is going to pull out the disrespect card and will talk about the pride that the defensive players have in going out there and closing down a game with their play.

But the same thing would be true if you were to ask the super prideful Tom Brady the same question. "After dominating the Colts defense all night long does it hurt that coach didn't think you guys were good enough to close the deal by getting 2 paltry yards and a 1st down?"

Not sure why this angle isn't being talked about in these discussions?

 

[crypto]

Bruschi is cheering the Pats on from the expert panel. That is all.

Edit for clarity: That is, he's firing them up.

 

[Patspsycho]

Didn't the defense make a key interception 2 drives earlier? And the offense couldn't capitolize inside the red zone, and came away with only 3 points.

If we run the ball on 3rd down we force Indy to use their last timeout. Then they get the ball back with 70+ yards to go and around a minute and a half left. That's much harder then getting it back with 2 minutes left and 1 timeout at the Pats 29.

If you don't believe the Pats defense can stop Indy with 70-80 yards to go, then you certainly don't believe we can stop them with 29 yards to go. In that case you should let them score as quickly as possible so that TB can get the ball with with as much time as possible to try to set up a game-winning FG.

The inconsistency makes no sense. I don't think the Pats coaching staff anticipated having a close game at the end. They wasted timeouts, made poor play calling decisions, and were inconsistent in their end game strategy. Those mistakes were critical.

I have no idea where you get the energy to consistently set posters straight... very impressive. I think I've seen about 100 posts from you between now and last night.

:youtheman:

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Don't forget that if our defenders do so much as breathe on a Colt's WR on a deep pass they will be flagged for interference. And the clock stops.

 

[patsinthesnow]

If you consider all the ex-player/ex-coach analysts, opinion is pretty evenly divided between offensive and defensive minds. Guys like Bruschi and Harrison say we should've punted, then Mike Martz, etc., defend the call. Bruschi lacks even-handed perspective, he still looks at the game like a current player.

It was kind of interesting watching the offensive and defensive playoffs argue over the call. It felt like politics....O wait, not interesting

 

[skri65]

That BB had no confidence in the D for a Reason. Teddy, the defense has been sub-par for several years now, remember the last playoff game in Indy?

Really, you're making a fool of yourself. "The defense has been sub-par for several years now." Get yourself some perspective, you seem like just another Pats fan who can't beyond the emotions of a game.

The Patriots, even after giving up 35 points against the Colts, are 3RD IN POINTS ALLOWED THIS YEAR. They were 8th in points allowed last year, and the year before they were 4th. Sure, the Pats D over the past few years may have not been up to your standards. But only to a completely spoiled Patriots fan would those number be "sub-par." Give me a break, step outside your own frustrated bubble for just one second. In no way has the Patriots D been "subpar." That is simply factually untrue.

I've had a few beers at this point , so forgive my honesty, but you all really need to calm down. We lost in an unfortunate way against the best team in the league...and we have many weeks to go to improve. Us and the Colts are the best teams in the league, and we dominated for a long time in this game. We have a very good chance to go far in the playoffs, perhaps win it all. To blame a team that has put up performances that nearly every other team would give anything up for over the past year is sad as fans. Frankly, you all need to get a grip.

Sure, everyone is welcome to criticize. But I completely disagree that any aspect of our team over the past few years has been hugely flawed. Sure, we've had some faults, but that's a NFL-wide fact, EVERY team has flaws. You all need to get a grip. This team is going to have flaws. The 2001 team had flaws, the 2003 team had flaws, and the 2004 team had flaws. The only team that didn't have any huge flaws was the 2007 team (besides a significant run game)...and we all know how that ended. So please guys, stop crying chicken little. We still have a season ahead of us, although we probably lost home field advantage. Then again, look at what the Giants did. Moreover, Morris and Taylor will be back by the playoff push...and we all know how much that run game was needed at the end of the game.

We are in GREAT SHAPE so far. We showed we can stick it with the best team in the league. Can't wait to see how the season unfolds.

We all have a right to criticize. But to claim that we as a team are really losing it is absurd. We have a top 5 team in the league, most likely a top 2 team. And that's with many weeks to go. Can't wait to see how everything unfolds. Let's hope we can strengthen weaknesses and get healthy as we near the playoff push.

 

[bobgeorge]

Didn't the defense make a key interception 2 drives earlier?

That pick happened ONLY because Reggie Wayne cut in when he should have cut out. That had nothing to do with our defense. Willhite happened to be there at the right time, but it had nothing to do with him covering Wayne.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

That pick happened ONLY because Reggie Wayne cut in when he should have cut out. That had nothing to do with our defense. Willhite happened to be there at the right time, but it had nothing to do with him covering Wayne.

What about all the 3 and out's they forced

 

[Kontradiction]

Someone needs to tell Dean Pees that a prevent defense doesn't work against Peyton Manning. Why we called the dogs off on both sides of the ball is beyond me. Oh well. I still have faith in this team finishing the season 13-3.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

The field position difference there would have been a net of about 25 yards given Hansen's average. I get a kick out of people persistently claiming Manning would have had to traverse 70+ yards if we punted.

That said, if not for a phantom PI call the defense would have stopped Manning on the prior posession on 3rd and 5 incomplete to Collie before allowing them to close to within 6. Thereafter given Bill's preference for playing prevent defense behind a lead kicked in, they probably couldn't have stopped him from any distance.

The fact is Belichick decided the odds of assuming his offense could net 2 yards in two tries from any position on the field was preferable to giving Manning back the ball with 2 minutes and a time out left. Considering what transpired thereafter he was probably right. The problem was you can't assume anything when you face the Colts on their turf with their 12th man lurking in the wings, as the PI call should have warned him.

If there is a silver lining in all this it should be that we never have to listen to that running up the score crap ever again...

 

[MoLewisrocks]

That pick happened ONLY because Reggie Wayne cut in when he should have cut out. That had nothing to do with our defense. Willhite happened to be there at the right time, but it had nothing to do with him covering Wayne.

LOL Damned if you do and damned if you don't... Wayne made a mistake, Manning and Wilhite didn't.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Someone needs to tell Dean Pees that a prevent defense doesn't work against Peyton Manning. Why we called the dogs off on both sides of the ball is beyond me. Oh well. I still have faith in this team finishing the season 13-3.

Yeah, like maybe Belichick. Oh wait...

 

[mikegibbons]

If we run the ball on 3rd down we force Indy to use their last timeout. Then they get the ball back with 70+ yards to go and around a minute and a half left. That's much harder then getting it back with 2 minutes left and 1 timeout at the Pats 29.

If you don't believe the Pats defense can stop Indy with 70-80 yards to go, then you certainly don't believe we can stop them with 29 yards to go. In that case you should let them score as quickly as possible so that TB can get the ball with with as much time as possible to try to set up a game-winning FG.

Running on 3rd and 4th sounds fine in hindsight, but Brady dropping back was pretty comforting all game long, right?

And the "70-80" yards to go argument is a bit dishonest. The Pats were on the NE28. Hanson has a career net of 36.2. I'll give you another 4 for the indoor factor, so that's 40.2 which puts it on IND32 and is 68 yards to go.

The thing with that is, though, it's just an average. If you're going to put a range there, you need to give consideration to a 25 yard net punt---a shank or nice return is definitely possible as is a booming punt that's covered well.

So just as possible as it would've been for Manning to have started on the IND30, it's a distinct possibility he could've started from midfield or the NE side or back on his own 15.

Aside from the statistical evidence, this is also why I was totally for this 4th down attempt. I think common sense dictates going for it based on this. If you disregard any possibility that Indy could start from a shorter field then 60 yards out, yeah I guess I understand that you would like Manning to have to drive 70 to 80 yards---but that's not a sure thing.

 

[Patspsycho]

That pick happened ONLY because Reggie Wayne cut in when he should have cut out. That had nothing to do with our defense. Willhite happened to be there at the right time, but it had nothing to do with him covering Wayne.

To be fair, Manning was also under pressure on that throw.

 

[SVN]

Someone needs to tell Dean Pees that a prevent defense doesn't work against Peyton Manning. Why we called the dogs off on both sides of the ball is beyond me. Oh well. I still have faith in this team finishing the season 13-3.

probably gassed and out of depth with TBC and Ninkovich out .