My thoughts on the team going forward

[slash83]

1. I still feel confident we win the division fairly easily, but given the teams struggles throughout the season I would not be surprised if they went one and done in the playoffs.

2. The team as a whole can only go up cause I think the Saints game was rock bottom for the Pats. Hopefully they take this game as a wake up call and start playing more consistent football on both sides of the ball.

3. I for one feel more relaxed with Vollmer in at LT than Light. The differnce I notice between the two is that they are both good at the initial point of attack. Where Vollmer has the edge is that he has the ability to win the point of attack and give the rusher little to no chance to get to Brady, where as Light does not hold up as long as Vollmer can.

4. I think Springs needs to be activated from here on out, I think hes the clear cut better corner than Wilhite, Id even rather see Butler starting over him at this point. Seems like week after week Wilhite either gets beat for a big play or a TD.

5. The O-line today gave up too much initial pressure fairly often when the Saints only rushed 3 players. I understand sooner or later somebody is going to break through but to give up almost instant pressure with 3 rushers VS 5 protectors is unacceptable.

6. The team needs to find a game changer on the edge of the front 7. Whether it is through the draft or yes somehow getting Peppers, something has to be done an upgrade is a necessity at this point.

7. Finally when its all said and done I still think the team will improve over the next 5 weeks or so. Hopefully they turn it on once they get in the playoffs where anything can happen.

 

[mayoclinic]

1. I still feel confident we win the division fairly easily, but given the teams struggles throughout the season I would not be surprised if they went one and done in the playoffs.

Agreed. There's always the chance that we get our act together and make a run in the playoffs, but right now this team looks more like a "1 and done" team (like 2005) than a deep playoff contender. We can make a lot of adjustments, but we can't cover up the lack of a pass rush, just like we couldn't cover up the lack of LBs in 2005. That will kill us in the playoffs against Manning, Palmer, Rothlisberger and Rivers.

The Pats are good at beating up on the small fry of the NFL. They just can't beat the good teams with top QBs. I don't expect us to lose more than 1 of our remaining games, and we could easily run the table. We'll finish 11-5 or 12-4, but I don't think anyone will be fooled again into believing that we're an elite team until we actually fix the problems.

I said before the game that Vollmer's loss was huge, and it was. Vollmer is a franchise caliber LT. Light is a good one. Not that Light is to blame for the OL's woes. But we need to put Vollmer at LT and Light at RT for the rest of the season, and put Kaczur on the bench where he belongs.

I'm getting tired of seeing Wilhite beat, too. He's looking more and more like Ellis Hobbs. I want to see Butler and Bodden starting the rest of the way.

Agreed. The O-line was terrible, and one of the biggest differences in the game was that Brees had time to throw and Brady didn't. We need to fix the right 3/5 of our line.

I don't believe it's possible to win the SB in the modern NFL without a pass rush. It's no coincidence that the last 2 SB winners did so based on a dominant pass rush. It's like trying to win without a QB.

Anything can happen. But I think that we've had our flaws exposed, and other teams will key on them. I can't see us missing the playoffs, but it's hard to see us developing a pass rush in the next 5 weeks. We don't have the horses.

 

[Patriot Missile]

My thoughts are focused on winning the division. Priority 1. Any bit of playoff experience will be good for the young guys for the future. You never know what will happen what once they get there or what adjustments will be made from now until then.

Random thoughts

This loss was easy to take. The better team won. Plain and simply there weren't a lot of what if's like the Colts and Jets game which make you angry and bitter.

Although I venture to say the Saints are probably the best team right now...they are beatable. Ask the 07 squad. Brees is the best QB in the NFL this year, but his throws were so accurate and perfect I would dare him to do it again. The guy was on fire last night. Everyone has superhero nights.

It's too bad Jared Allens don't grow on trees because I'd like this team to have one. People have been ripping these cornerbacks which blows me away. That blown coverage? Sure, fire away. but for the most part they were alone for 4 -7 seconds with the those wr's. No pass rush=losses against high powered passing offenses.

 

[mayoclinic]

It's too bad Jared Allens don't grow on trees because I'd like this team to have one. People have been ripping these cornerbacks which blows me away. That blown coverage? Sure, fire away. but for the most part they were alone for 4 -7 seconds with the those wr's. No pass rush=losses against high powered passing offenses.

I agree with this. The secondary is a scapegoat. They made some mistakes, but so did the rest of the defense (lots of missed tackles). You can't expect any secondary to stop Manning, Brady or Brees when they're on and when they have no pressure on them.

I heard that BB was a big Jared Allen fan when he was with the Chiefs, and I used to dream that there was some way we could get him. I'd like this team to have one (preferably two) as well.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Everyone is talking about playoffs but the last time I looked this team has failed to win in another team's stadium and until they do I wonder if they will this season.

Next week's game is a MUST win if this team is to cruise to another AFC east title which they should if they win in Miami sunday,If they lose then they fall to just a 1 game lead of the Dolphins and the Jets who should win on thursday.

Until they beat Miami,the division and a playoff berth is far from a certainty.

 

[BionicPatriot]

I agree with this. The secondary is a scapegoat. They made some mistakes, but so did the rest of the defense (lots of missed tackles). You can't expect any secondary to stop Manning, Brady or Brees when they're on and when they have no pressure on them.

I heard that BB was a big Jared Allen fan when he was with the Chiefs, and I used to dream that there was some way we could get him. I'd like this team to have one (preferably two) as well.

First off, I fully agree with what you said above. This team does not have the horses to suddenly become a dominant pass rusher team unfortunately. My only hope, as he does sometimes in December, is BB can take over the D a little and come up with blitzes. Some one on this board said we're more of an attacking defense than the stand back, play disciplined Bill tries to install.

Just by seeing them melt down last night, there are no vets on the field. I really think Bill needs to do what ever he can, and just let the defense attack at this point. Why not? 2/3 last weeks the defense has been exposed. This is december, this could seriously cost this team the playoffs.

This team is far invincible folks. If the right team with the right coach attacks this team through the air, this team could drop one or 2 and who knows what could happen. This team needs to grow a sack and attack on defense.

 

[BionicPatriot]

Everyone is talking about playoffs but the last time I looked this team has failed to win in another team's stadium and until they do I wonder if they will this season.

Next week's game is a MUST win if this team is to cruise to another AFC east title which they should if they win in Miami sunday,If they lose then they fall to just a 1 game lead of the Dolphins and the Jets who should win on thursday.

Until they beat Miami,the division and a playoff berth is far from a certainty.

Yup. It's a huge game for this team to stay alive. Beating the Dolphins proves nothing, but they need this win to lock the division up or this things going to get TOO interesting.

 

[Lockdown06]

the biggest adjustment i want to see is at least one of our safeties consistently blitzing on passing downs.

In the past, Meriweather, Chung, Sanders, McGowan - all of them have shown an ability to be holy terrors to QBs when given the chance, I think its clear that our secondary is good, but they don't consist of a bunch of Nnamdi Asomughas who are capable of shutting down good receivers in the absence of a pass rush.

Since we're getting burned anyways, lets try and cut down the time the QB gets and use our safeties to punish the QB like they are capable of doing

 

[slash83]

My thoughts are focused on winning the division. Priority 1. Any bit of playoff experience will be good for the young guys for the future. You never know what will happen what once they get there or what adjustments will be made from now until then.

Random thoughts

This loss was easy to take. The better team won. Plain and simply there weren't a lot of what if's like the Colts and Jets game which make you angry and bitter.

Although I venture to say the Saints are probably the best team right now...they are beatable. Ask the 07 squad. Brees is the best QB in the NFL this year, but his throws were so accurate and perfect I would dare him to do it again. The guy was on fire last night. Everyone has superhero nights.

It's too bad Jared Allens don't grow on trees because I'd like this team to have one. People have been ripping these cornerbacks which blows me away. That blown coverage? Sure, fire away. but for the most part they were alone for 4 -7 seconds with the those wr's. No pass rush=losses against high powered passing offenses.

I agree, this loss is much easier to move on from than the Colts game which we should have won. We got spanked and did not deserve to be on the same field as the Saints last night.

 

[Patspsycho]

1. I still feel confident we win the division fairly easily, but given the teams struggles throughout the season I would not be surprised if they went one and done in the playoffs.

2. The team as a whole can only go up cause I think the Saints game was rock bottom for the Pats. Hopefully they take this game as a wake up call and start playing more consistent football on both sides of the ball. I don't think it was as much hitting rock-bottom as it was big-game jitters.

3. I for one feel more relaxed with Vollmer in at LT than Light. The differnce I notice between the two is that they are both good at the initial point of attack. Where Vollmer has the edge is that he has the ability to win the point of attack and give the rusher little to no chance to get to Brady, where as Light does not hold up as long as Vollmer can. Light is not in game shape, he's missed a month of play time.

4. I think Springs needs to be activated from here on out, I think hes the clear cut better corner than Wilhite, Id even rather see Butler starting over him at this point. Seems like week after week Wilhite either gets beat for a big play or a TD. Wilhite got yanked in favor of Butler last night. It will be interesting to see if Butler starts over Wilhite in Miami.

5. The O-line today gave up too much initial pressure fairly often when the Saints only rushed 3 players. I understand sooner or later somebody is going to break through but to give up almost instant pressure with 3 rushers VS 5 protectors is unacceptable. You do realize that the Saints DL is top notch? Smith Grant and Hargrove have almost 20 sacks amongst themselves this season.

6. The team needs to find a game changer on the edge of the front 7. Whether it is through the draft or yes somehow getting Peppers, something has to be done an upgrade is a necessity at this point. Peppers is NOT going to work. Our system is read and react which is why Burgess is having a hard time fitting in. Peppers would just have the same problem.

7. Finally when its all said and done I still think the team will improve over the next 5 weeks or so. Hopefully they turn it on once they get in the playoffs where anything can happen.
This should hopefully be the case. We win the rest of our games and we are 12-4.

my response

 

[brady et al fan]

1. I still feel confident we win the division fairly easily, but given the teams struggles throughout the season I would not be surprised if they went one and done in the playoffs.

2. The team as a whole can only go up cause I think the Saints game was rock bottom for the Pats. Hopefully they take this game as a wake up call and start playing more consistent football on both sides of the ball.

3. I for one feel more relaxed with Vollmer in at LT than Light. The differnce I notice between the two is that they are both good at the initial point of attack. Where Vollmer has the edge is that he has the ability to win the point of attack and give the rusher little to no chance to get to Brady, where as Light does not hold up as long as Vollmer can.

4. I think Springs needs to be activated from here on out, I think hes the clear cut better corner than Wilhite, Id even rather see Butler starting over him at this point. Seems like week after week Wilhite either gets beat for a big play or a TD.

5. The O-line today gave up too much initial pressure fairly often when the Saints only rushed 3 players. I understand sooner or later somebody is going to break through but to give up almost instant pressure with 3 rushers VS 5 protectors is unacceptable.

6. The team needs to find a game changer on the edge of the front 7. Whether it is through the draft or yes somehow getting Peppers, something has to be done an upgrade is a necessity at this point.

7. Finally when its all said and done I still think the team will improve over the next 5 weeks or so. Hopefully they turn it on once they get in the playoffs where anything can happen.

I agree with all but the first one. I think we win the division and get to host the Broncos and win one. After that though, I see no evidence that this team can win on the road against a good team.

Wilhite has been my scapegoat all year. He's my least favorite Patriot. But in fairness to him, I though Merriweather had an awful game getting completely fooled by Brees which was one of the biggest surprises for me last night. He offered no help at all downfield. Besides that, Brees just threw the ball as well as anyone I've ever seen and some of those balls were impossible to defend against.

 

[slash83]

my response

I know the Saints like is good, but still rushing only 3 players and still getting good pressure against 5 o linemen is unacceptable. It shouldn't happen nearly as much as it did last night.

 

[mgteich]

Perhaps adding the best 3-4 DE in the game, a top kick returner and a dime back (at the level of our best 2008 corner) might have helped. But then, the front office thought that these two players weren't needed.

Agreed. There's always the chance that we get our act together and make a run in the playoffs, but right now this team looks more like a "1 and done" team (like 2005) than a deep playoff contender. We can make a lot of adjustments, but we can't cover up the lack of a pass rush, just like we couldn't cover up the lack of LBs in 2005. That will kill us in the playoffs against Manning, Palmer, Rothlisberger and Rivers.



..

 

[mayoclinic]

Brian Baldinger from NFL.com had a nice summary of where the Pats stand:

"The Patriots will win the AFC East, and they'll be in the playoffs. But can they be a dangerous team in the postseason? Yes, they can. But I have a couple of concerns. One is the Patriots don't have great pass rushers and don't scheme to put pressure on QBs. They tend not to blitz or overload pressure to one side, and it's why Kyle Orton and Drew Brees have picked them apart. They don't have outside guys like Jared Allen or Dwight Freeney. And Tully Banta-Cain, Derrick Burgess and Adalius Thomas aren't bona fide pass rushers who can make QBs speed up their process. The Patriots like to play zone and keep things in front of them, which they're pretty good at, even though they got exposed against the Saints. The lack of a pass rush has been a problem all season, because they can't change personnel. They don't have a guy who can win the one-on-one matchups. I'm also concerned their offensive tackles just aren't good enough. They're not good enough on the edges to play five-receiver sets all the time, forcing them to spend a lot of time on protection."

Patriots' porous defense doesn't bode well for playoffs (see side box)

Pretty accurate summary, IMHO. The two biggest vulnerabilities of this team - the lack of a pass rush, and the offensive line. A deadly combination.

Regarding our OT's, I think Sebastian Vollmer addresses part of that concern, and moving Matt Light to RT may address the other part. But our interior line has also been vulnerable, and I'm not sure our OL is good enough overall.

I have no idea at this point how to fix the pass rush this season. Maybe unleashing CB and safety blitzes. Chung, McGowan and Meriweather seem like better blitzers than we have pass rushers on our front 7. But that's a risky game at best.