Florio cautiously stirs the pot

[SVN]

Pats need better players, not schemes | ProFootballTalk.com

And the sooner they do it, the better. Eventually, the fans and the media will begin to clamor for change, especially since coach Bill Belichick's public demeanor isn't the kind of thing that will prompt folks to give him the benefit of the doubt in times of turmoil.

kinda showing his own power here..

 

[Patspsycho]

He does make sense from time to time.. for instance prior to saying that, he does say this:

The Pats also need more experienced players, and they need to get rid of some of the guys who don't have the same team-first/team-only attitude that characterized great Patriots teams of the past.

And the sooner they do it, the better.

 

[SVN]

He does make sense from time to time.. for instance prior to saying that, he does say this:

thats just obvious . IMO the whole idea ofthe blog post was to write the last few lines. he isnt some football analyst to say what the team needs to do. just my2 cents

 

[unoriginal]

I don't think I've ever seen Florio make a point without mixing it with nonsense, contradiction, and tautology.

Would someone not ashamed to visit his site please pull up a quote of his to the effect that "the Pats clearly need younger, faster players" please? The more recent the better. Bonus points if he opines what "the media" thinks about Bill Belichick's persona.

 

[IcyPatriot]

Bill knows he needs younger and faster players ... he said it a few years ago. We're in a transition period but we have enough key players that it was possible for them to pull it off. Not sure why these media people make it into some great mystery. You can't win it all every year ... you just can't. But I would easily lay money on Bill winning it once or twice every 10 years.

 

[the wrothbroughterer]

I completely agree. It seems like there are a whole bunch of players on our roster, especially on the defensive side of the ball, that wouldn't make a lot of other teams.

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

No, they need to change their scheme because it's too difficult for them to find players to fit their current scheme.

 

[alvinnf]

I completely disagree with Florio. This current team isn't lacking in talent. It is lacking in leadership, both in the clubhouse and on the coaching staff. The HC has the message and the schemes to convey to the players, but does he have the staff to back him up?

 

[JoeSixPat]

Pats need better players, not schemes | ProFootballTalk.com


kinda showing his own power here..

I don't have any real problem with what Florio says... though I would point out that Belichick doesn't always seek to take away what a team does BEST - in some cases he only seeks to limit the damage, and adopts a bend but don't break approach.

And while some leadership would be helpful, in the past, guys with less talent DID pull together to be greater than the sum total of their parts. That's about heart more than talent, as Belichick could usually craft the right schemes for those with the heart drive and desire.

Ultimately more talent - in the secondary and at WR - IS going to be critical, but that doesn't come easy either.

 

[Rob0729]

The fact of the matter is the media hates coaches like Belichick. They don't give sound bites, they aren't accomodating, they are adversarial with the media.

Personally, I don't need have a coach tell me that he is "jacked and pumped" or "If a frong has wings, he wouldn't bump his booty" and put out a loser. I don't care about the demeanor of the coach of any of our sports teams. I want winners. Just because Pete Carroll was a great guy, I didn't want him to remain a head coach when he clearly lost the team. Just because Belichick's public persona is to be an arse, doesn't mean I am going to turn on him the first sign of problems.

 

[ATippett56]

He does make sense from time to time.. for instance prior to saying that, he does say this:

Sounds like a direct slam against Adalius Thomas.

 

[Kontradiction]

No, they need to change their scheme because it's too difficult for them to find players to fit their current scheme.

For the first time, well... ever, I can fully agree with you. It's hard finding linebacker types for the 2-Gap. It's pretty easy to find linebackers for the 1-Gap.

 

[Deus Irae]

Ehh.... the Patriots lost Bruschi, Seymour, Harrison and Vrabel, and replaced them with Green, Burgess, McGowan/Chung and Guyton, and that's just from 2008-2009. Pointing to a talent drain isn't exactly calling a million-to-one shot.

 

[Rob0729]

Ehh.... the Patriots lost Bruschi, Seymour, Harrison and Vrabel, and replaced them with Green, Burgess, McGowan/Chung and Guyton, and that's just from 2008-2009. Pointing to a talent drain isn't exactly calling a million-to-one shot.

At this point, replacing Bruschi, Harrison, and Vrabel wasn't setting the bar that high. I think they may have in most cases. Bruschi was a liability in coverage and so was Harrison their last year. Personally, I didn't think Bruschi was going to make it through camp last year and might not have if they actually got someone to play ILB like Hobson was supposed to do. Vrabel was not very productive and couldn't put pressure on the QB in 2008.

I agree they didn't replace Seymour, but I you can make the argument that they replaced the on the field production of Bruschi, Harrison, and Vrabel. But you can argue that those are three players the Pats were in desperate need of upgrading in the first place because other than their leadership, they didn't bring a whole lot to the team anymore.

 

[Deus Irae]

At this point, replacing Bruschi, Harrison, and Vrabel wasn't setting the bar that high. I think they may have in most cases. Bruschi was a liability in coverage and so was Harrison their last year. Personally, I didn't think Bruschi was going to make it through camp last year and might not have if they actually got someone to play ILB like Hobson was supposed to do. Vrabel was not very productive and couldn't put pressure on the QB in 2008.

I agree they didn't replace Seymour, but I you can make the argument that they replaced the on the field production of Bruschi, Harrison, and Vrabel. But you can argue that those are three players the Pats were in desperate need of upgrading in the first place because other than their leadership, they didn't bring a whole lot to the team anymore.

I pointed out players who left this season, regardless of their state of decline. However, the fact that there's a valid question as to whether the replacements of a 500 year old Bruschi, a 475 year old Vrabel and a 450 year old Harrison were actually upgrades makes the point about talent drain pretty well, I think, particularly when you add in the reality that the team brought back Methuselah (a/k/a Seau) out of necessity, and had him playing key downs in the playoffs. And that's not even getting into any talent loss from Colvin and the curious deterioration of Thomas' level of play.

It is what it is. Hopefully at least one of the IR duo (Crable & McKenzie) can make a meaningful contribution this season and help start to reverse the LB talent decline.

 

[Rob0729]

I pointed out players who left this season, regardless of their state of decline. However, the fact that there's a valid question as to whether the replacements of a 500 year old Bruschi, a 475 year old Vrabel and a 450 year old Harrison were actually upgrades makes the point about talent drain pretty well, I think, particularly when you add in the reality that the team brought back Methuselah (a/k/a Seau) out of necessity, and had him playing key downs in the playoffs. And that's not even getting into any talent loss from Colvin and the curious deterioration of Thomas' level of play.

It is what it is. Hopefully at least one of the IR duo (Crable & McKenzie) can make a meaningful contribution this season and help start to reverse the LB talent decline.

I would say that TBC was an upgrade over Vrabel. How much of an upgrade is up for debate. Same with McGowen over Harrison. I will say for at least the first half of the season, McGowan was a decent upgrade. I would also say Ninkovitch was an upgrade over Bruschi, but as much as it pains me to say about Bruschi since he is my favorite Patriot of all time, a warm body would be an upgrde over how he played last year.

I will give Belichick a little slack on OLB because as you mentioned the IRed players and I think he got duped by Jason Taylor and figured he was a sure thing only to find out that Taylor used the Pats to get the Dolphins to give him a contract. He thought he had an upgraded replacement and it probably stopped him from looking at other players or at least getting Burgess in early so he could adapt to the system better than he did so he could be productive before December.

 

[SVN]

here is the video where the directly debate if a coachingchange is needed
nbcsports.com Video Player

 

[Spiral]

Eventually, the fans and the media will begin to clamor for change, especially since coach Bill Belichick's public demeanor isn't the kind of thing that will prompt folks to give him the benefit of the doubt in times of turmoil.

I agree with Florio's assessment, but disagree with his last sentence. I would substitute "the media" for "folks." I think the fans will stick with him a lot longer than the media will. Witness the Gillette fans' reaction to Spygate, for example.