I'm still hopeful, and here's why

[aluminum seats]

I don't think I've ever watched the Pats through rose-colored glasses--I just go by what I see. And going by that, I think this team could still go far in the playoffs this year. Look at the problems so far, and question whether they can be fixed:

1) The offensive line. If the line, including Vollmer and Neal, is healthy for the playoffs, it will make a tremendous difference for this offense. Watching Kaczur getting steamrolled is painful.

Q: Can the line get healthy?

A: Of course. And play at a high level.

2) Brady. Just about every game this year except the Saints could have been won if Brady played like pre-injury Brady. The numbers aren't bad, but he's obviously not himself. The guy's human, and he missed a year.

Q: Can Brady be himself by playoff time?

A: Of course. Would you bet against him?

3) Coaching. Belichick has set such a high standard, it's jarring to see the Pats make the kind of mistakes we're used to other teams making. The coordinators aren't impressing anyone, particularly the offensive playcalling. The Pats lost yet another second half yesterday, and another 4th quarter lead. The feeling at the end of the game isn't what it used to be.

Q: Is there another coaching staff (HC and staff) that you'd rather have coaching the team come playoff time?

A: Nope.

4) The pass rush sucks. Actually it's more like a pass stroll, or pass crawl. Be it personnel, or schemes, any QB will look good if they have all day to throw, and good QBs will destroy you.

Q: Can the Pats pass rush, through more innovative schemes and/or certain players (Thomas) finally stepping up, perform at a championship level come playoff time?

A: Um....well....gee....this post is getting kind of long.....

OK, I'm stuck. See, no rose-colored glasses. Far as I can see, the Pats are out of luck here this year. Maybe somebody else can supply a better answer to this one.

 

[Mogamedogz]

Re: I'm Still Hopeful, and Here's Why....

1 and done if they can even make it in.

 

[stephens44]

Re: I'm Still Hopeful, and Here's Why....

I agree w/what you said and I'm hopeful too. They can only tweak a few things this year and any dynamic change will have to wait until the offseason.

 

[DefenseRules]

Re: I'm Still Hopeful, and Here's Why....

1 and done if they can even make it in.

You know, I have to agree with you. This Patriots team is not a playoff team.

 

[stephens44]

Re: I'm Still Hopeful, and Here's Why....

I do have to say though..... I DO NOT like the way the 2009 Pats play at all.
As a Pats fan tough defense, physical play and a tough running game are the things that I find most endearing. This pass happy offense is great for stats and even scoring in bunches, but I am more entertained by a punishing running game (2004 anyone?). Quite simply...I don't like this offense.
The defense speaks for itself, it can't play worth sh.....t. Even if this team makes the playoffs or even SB it doesn't much matter to me, I don't like the way they play the game anymore (not physical, no heart, no fire) and I am quite simply as a fan....not entertained. Isn't that the point? Put an entertaining product out there for the fans to buy? If you follow a team because they win, well then good luck with that piece of psychology.

 

[Mack Herron]

Re: I'm Still Hopeful, and Here's Why....

I do have to say though..... I DO NOT like the way the 2009 Pats play at all.
As a Pats fan tough defense, physical play and a tough running game are the things that I find most endearing. This pass happy offense is great for stats and even scoring in bunches, but I am more entertained by a punishing running game (2004 anyone?). Quite simply...I don't like this offense.
The defense speaks for itself, it can't play worth sh.....t. Even if this team makes the playoffs or even SB it doesn't much matter to me, I don't like the way they play the game anymore (not physical, no heart, no fire) and I am quite simply as a fan....not entertained. Isn't that the point? Put an entertaining product out there for the fans to buy? If you follow a team because they win, well then good luck with that piece of psychology.

http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/114/Winning-is-not-an-accident.html

The mission statement of the New England Patriots states, "We are building a big, strong, fast, smart, tough and disciplined football team that consistently competes for championships."

Maybe the plaque fell down.

 

[condon84]

Re: I'm Still Hopeful, and Here's Why....

Look at the playoff teams:

Indy
SD
Cincy
Denver (WC)
Baltimore (WC)

The top three teams have QBs that can light up our weak pass defense. Even Orton can light us up and Flacco has the ability.

I just don't see it with the current scheme and play of our guys.

If there's another section of the playbook that Bill's been holding out on and he suddenly unleashes it and it solves most of our pass rush/coverage deficiencies, then yeah, we can make a run. But our current play is not encouraging.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Re: I'm Still Hopeful, and Here's Why....

Winning is not an accident - Business-Coach - Allen Hatton



Maybe the plaque fell down.

LOL

10 chars

 

[102 Pat]

It's a cliche, but once you get to the playoffs, it's a whole new season. You would think the loss yesterday ended the season.

 

[Rob0729]

Re: I'm Still Hopeful, and Here's Why....

1 and done if they can even make it in.

They said that about the Steelers in 2005, the Colts in 2006, and the Giants in 2007 too. And the Cards last year. After the last four years, I am convinced that if you get into the big game, anything can happen.

As long as the Pats lose only one more and it is the Panthers, they win the division. They would win the tiebreaker with either the Jets or Dolphins. If the Dolphins lose one more, the Pats can lose any one game and win the tiebreaker with the Jets if both are 10-6.

Miami has a fairly tough schedule left: at Jacksonville, at Tennessee, Houston, and Pittsburgh. All are currently playing for their playoff lives.

The Jets have at Tampa, Atlanta, at Indy, and Cincy. Tampa should be a win and the Colts may be resting players. Atlanta is holding onto the last wild card spot. Cincy could be playing for the #2 seed in that last game.

It is unlikely either of those teams will win out. It is conceivable both will lose 2 or more. That means the Pats still have a bit of a cushion to win the division.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Good post. We have 4 games to fix our issues and become a capable contender. Most importantly as you noted, get healthy on the OL. It's been said a million times, gmaes are won and lost in the trenches.

 

[Wax Frog]

It's a cliche, but once you get to the playoffs, it's a whole new season. You would think the loss yesterday ended the season.

Yes, but no two game stretch in the past decade has planted seeds of doubt quite like these

 

[aluminum seats]

Re: I'm Still Hopeful, and Here's Why....

They said that about the Steelers in 2005, the Colts in 2006, and the Giants in 2007 too. And the Cards last year. After the last four years, I am convinced that if you get into the big game, anything can happen.

As long as the Pats lose only one more and it is the Panthers, they win the division. They would win the tiebreaker with either the Jets or Dolphins. If the Dolphins lose one more, the Pats can lose any one game and win the tiebreaker with the Jets if both are 10-6.

Miami has a fairly tough schedule left: at Jacksonville, at Tennessee, Houston, and Pittsburgh. All are currently playing for their playoff lives.

The Jets have at Tampa, Atlanta, at Indy, and Cincy. Tampa should be a win and the Colts may be resting players. Atlanta is holding onto the last wild card spot. Cincy could be playing for the #2 seed in that last game.

It is unlikely either of those teams will win out. It is conceivable both will lose 2 or more. That means the Pats still have a bit of a cushion to win the division.

I am not worried in the slightest about winning the division. They'll finish 11-5. I'm disappointed about yesterday's game because it was the only one I thought they might lose the rest of the way, and the #2 seed was likely theirs if they had won.

Unfortunately, Miami is the Patriots' House of Horrors, along with Denver. The Pats inability to win on the road so far is just an ongoing oddity--that's not a concern to me either.

 

["WICKED"New England]

Re: I'm Still Hopeful, and Here's Why....

Hope , we all have it , we dont walk out in half time if we are behind "fin fans" !!! e are and always will be Pats. no matter where we live or where we are. Stop whining . or do we have a Gator here among us...

 

[wilfork is beastin']

Re: I'm Still Hopeful, and Here's Why....

Stop whining . or do we have a Gator here among us...

well, there has been some talk about drafting Tebow..

 

[MrNathanDrake]

Re: I'm Still Hopeful, and Here's Why....

No pass rush... not winning.


Now that it's been exposed teams wont even waste time trying to run on us. Next time we'll have Peyton Manning doing what he did in the 4th qtr last meeting, for the entire game.

 

[aluminum seats]

Re: I'm Still Hopeful, and Here's Why....

Hope , we all have it , we dont walk out in half time if we are behind "fin fans" !!! e are and always will be Pats. no matter where we live or where we are. Stop whining . or do we have a Gator here among us...

Jeez....good luck with post #2.

 

[SoCal Pmen]

Agree with all your points but I'm just not seeing how this pass rush can be fixed. They don't have the personnel to get it done. Maybe some different schemes would help but I'm not confident in this area. Weak pass rush = domino effect on the rest of the defense

 

[aluminum seats]

Agree with all your points but I'm just not seeing how this pass rush can be fixed. They don't have the personnel to get it done. Maybe some different schemes would help but I'm not confident in this area. Weak pass rush = domino effect on the rest of the defense

Unfortunately, I don't see how it can be fixed either. I guess my hope there lies in a combination of three things:

1) The defensive playcalling can improve, slightly.

2) The performance of the players can improve, slightly.

3) The performance of the rest of the team will improve enough to cover what will still be a deficient pass rush.

Hey, we can hope. We're only fans, after all.

 

[The Dynasty]

I dont know about this team...I have been a believer up until this week. The same problems keep coming up and they havent been corrected. They have not proven that they are a team that is feared among teams in the NFL. Our defense is young an inexperienced, cannot get a pass rush or come up with a big stop when it is needed. Our offensive with the talent that it has is definitely under achieving and struggling in 2nd halfs when it matters. In all our our losses except the Saints and the Jets games we have had double digit leads, and have lost them all in the 2nd half. All of those factors just dont point to a team that is capable of going anywhere in the playoffs.

With that said I still am going to cheer for the Pats and hope that they can go somewhere in the playoffs. I am not going to look ahead towards next year. This team will win the AFC east whether they finish 11-5 or 10-6 and get a home game on wild card weekend. They will win that game and then have to go into Indy, and we'll see what happens there. I do know if most of the Pats issues are not corrected by then it will be a long night in Indy. Hopefully the Pats can turn everything around in their last 4 games and I dont think any team wants to play BB and Tom Brady in the playoffs.