WEEI: Brady has negotiated a brutal stretch in 2009

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patriots - Brady Has Negotiated A Brutal Stretch In 2009 - WEEI | Kerry Byrne
FWIW ..although iam not sure i completely buy into it. We have won such games in the past and he is leaving out the oline/defensive performances in the losses.

 

[BradyManny]

Re: WEEI:Brady Has Negotiated A Brutal Stretch In 2009

patriots - Brady Has Negotiated A Brutal Stretch In 2009 - WEEI | Kerry Byrne
FWIW ..although iam not sure i completely buy into it. We have won such games in the past and he is leaving out the oline/defensive performances in the losses.

He was on 'EEI this morning talking about it. I buy it. Brady was playing at a high level in the middle of the season, so its hard for me to put too much blame for the offensive struggles of late on him.

I think there is a ring of truth to the toughness of our schedule. The only team we've played the blew us out was New Orleans. We're an elite team that is under-performing and playing through a difficult schedule. The playoffs will be an equalizer for us. I think we can do some damage.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Re: WEEI:Brady Has Negotiated A Brutal Stretch In 2009

We're an elite team that is under-performing and playing through a difficult schedule. The playoffs will be an equalizer for us. I think we can do some damage.

Sorry BradyManny but elite teams beat elite teams and don't under-perform.

The 2009 Patriots are not an elite team. The are a good team- nothing more.

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

Re: WEEI:Brady Has Negotiated A Brutal Stretch In 2009

Sorry BradyManny but elite teams beat elite teams and don't under-perform.

The 2009 Patriots are not an elite team. The are a good team- nothing more.

Only one #1 seed has won the Super Bowl since 2000. I believe "elite" is overrated.

 

[BradyManny]

Re: WEEI:Brady Has Negotiated A Brutal Stretch In 2009

Sorry BradyManny but elite teams beat elite teams and don't under-perform.

The 2009 Patriots are not an elite team. The are a good team- nothing more.

I'm not disputing we have serious problems on our squad, but so do other teams.

The Colts passing defense is sub-par. They've been behind going into the 4th quarter in half their games. To their credit, they have pulled out ALL of these games, but the law of averages says this might not hold true for 19 games (see SB 42...) Manning is throwing more interceptions this year than he has in recent memory. Their rushing attack on offense is pretty average at best.

The Saints, likewise, have won several games they should've or could've lost. That's to their credit, sure, but they are not as near-perfect as their record indicates. Their offense has been calmed by above average defenses, and their defense has problems in the secondary.

The Vikings are cooling off now that Favre is hitting the wall.

The Chargers are still the Chargers led by Norv Turner and could choke at anytime. Admittedly, they might be playing the best ball in the league, their QB is probably playing the best ball in the league, and they might have the fewest holes on their team.

We'd be in the same group as these teams if a couple more games go our way. There is nothing to say that the games won't go our way in the playoffs.

 

[fgssand]

Re: WEEI:Brady Has Negotiated A Brutal Stretch In 2009

Sorry BradyManny but elite teams beat elite teams and don't under-perform.

The 2009 Patriots are not an elite team. The are a good team- nothing more.

Could be a lot of fun around here all off season watching people eat their words.........this team is nowhere near done.

 

[BelichickFan]

Re: WEEI:Brady Has Negotiated A Brutal Stretch In 2009

Could be a lot of fun around here all off season watching people eat their words.........this team is nowhere near done.

I'm not too confident right now but the numbers in the link don't lie; we can all have our opinions on this team or that team but the QB rating against compared to what Brady did - well, that is what it is.

 

[farn]

Re: WEEI:Brady Has Negotiated A Brutal Stretch In 2009

Only one #1 seed has won the Super Bowl since 2000. I believe "elite" is overrated.

Prob more than true - but you gotta admit having more confidence in 03, 04, and 07 than this year !

I agree that this 09 team is "good". Can they pull an 06 where they get a good bounce or two and look like they could roll ? Yes. Is it a likely scenario that this team can win at home, then beat (potentially) SD & Indy on the road to get to the last game and then beat NO, Minny, or Philly ? Unlikely. Possible, but not probable.

So... really no stress... if they go far, it'll be gravy at this point.

 

[JSn]

Re: WEEI:Brady Has Negotiated A Brutal Stretch In 2009

Sorry BradyManny but elite teams beat elite teams...

Did you happen to read this before you hit the submit button?

 

[fgssand]

Re: WEEI:Brady Has Negotiated A Brutal Stretch In 2009

I'm not too confident right now but the numbers in the link don't lie; we can all have our opinions on this team or that team but the QB rating against compared to what Brady did - well, that is what it is.

Call me crazy or homer - whatever, but I am starting to get a feeling that this team is going far, this year.

We are developing a running game, getting healthy with key players returning. Win this week so we get a year end bye and let's give brady some rest and recovery and there may be blue skies ahead. See you in Miami.

 

[DefenseRules]

Meh, it sounds nice but I don't buy it. It doesn't explain the offensive malfunctions that have taken place in recent games. The Miami game is a glaring example.

 

[Fencer]

Big problem w/ the logic -- defensive passer rating depends in part on who your opponent is. And the Pats' opponents typically play a bunch of other AFC East teams which don't have great passing offenses.

Smaller problem -- talking about defensive passer rating and weather is a bit of double-counting. Teams that play cold-weather games vs. the Pats tend to play other cold-weather games as well.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Interesting. Underscores the cold hard fact that while this team has problems, Brady per se isn't one of them. He may be struggling a little with the ribs and finger of late, but there are a lot more areas that need improving on this team and QB isn't one of them. If that were not the case guys could step up around him to shoulder the load. Welker and Faulk are the only two who consistently seem to play as if they sense the need for some intensity. That Tom remains where he always is, essentially consistent top ten performer, even when he's battling injuries and the talent around him is inconsistent as all get out, is just further testament to what a special, committed and driven football player he is. This team needs more guys like that on both sides of the ball.

 

[supafly]

Meh, it sounds nice but I don't buy it. It doesn't explain the offensive malfunctions that have taken place in recent games. The Miami game is a glaring example.

Besides the obvious mistakes of
--leaving the ball on the 5 yd line on a failed 4th down
--leaving the ball on the 5 yd line due to an EZ interception

I saw the MIA game as at the very least, pretty decent offensive production. When you consider that the offense scored TD's in the first 3 quarters, then had another chance in the 4th--but made a costly mistake with the INT, I don't know how much I consider that particular game a bad offensive performance.

Even though they 'only' scored 21 pts, they moved the ball all day long with good enough capacity. A simple FG instead of going for it on 4th makes it 24, which would rank in the top 10-12 in offensive ave/per game.

I agree that they should've been able to put the game away, but moving the ball wasn't as big of a problem as some here think. I think anytime you get Welker 200 yds receiving, throw 3 deep balls, and even get the #3 WR involved for big gains, you're moving the ball pretty well.

I'll take that offensive production from the MIA game anyday heading into the playoffs, because chances are that Brady doesn't throw that endzone INT again (or at least rarely). Aiken was heavily involved, Welker had 200 yds receiving, and Brady was actually throwing a nice deep ball considering his injured finger + ribs on the Moss bomb. TFB took waaaay too much criticism in my book for a bad descision in the EZ, the rest of the 4th I attribute partly to a MIA defense that had momentum and was playing some tougher defense.

It's offensive production like Sunday's game vs BUF that scares me. Besides a decent (more like adaquate) running game, and the TD to Moss, there wasn't much to get too excited about entering top-level competition in the playoffs.

4 catches for Welker, and 11 completions for Brady + approx. 200 total yds probably doesn't get you many wins vs. playoff competition.

Too much talk about nothing in the MIA game in my honest opinion. Sometimes in divisional away games stuff happens. I was still impressed they even played that tough coming off a blowout loss on MNF, then had to travel again on a shortened week, etc.

 

[Fencer]

By the way -- Brady DID win Offensive Player of the Month.

So it's not like he's been mediocre for the whole season.

 

[Schmo]

Re: WEEI:Brady Has Negotiated A Brutal Stretch In 2009

Did you happen to read this before you hit the submit button?

I guess what he means is that elite teams beat great teams (or something along those lines). Well....... guess what the playoffs are? Our chance to beat the best teams in the league and have it really, truly count. I don't know about anyone else on this board, but the '07 team was the best team in the history of the NFL.... until the Super Bowl. With all the great teams we beat that year, it turns out we weren't elite.

#1: Make the playoffs.

#2: Say hello to the 2009.5 Patriots. We start over and go undefeated. Then we're elite.