Kirwan:Patriots pulling off rare feat of winning while rebuilding

[SVN]

NFL.com news: Patriots pulling off rare feat of winning while rebuilding

 

[VectorPrime]

The article is pretty good but it really shortchanges our defense. It seems to give all credit to our success to our offense when the defense has been critical to us winning games.

 

[IcyPatriot]

I think Bill is still pissed off about the loss of the 1st rounder.

If he is ...

I hope he stays that way.

 

[NJPatsfan26]

I think Bill is still pissed off about the loss of the 1st rounder.

If he is ...

I hope he stays that way.

It seems that when BB is pissed off, we win.

Keep up the good work media!!

 

[jmt57]

There's a couple of things that I feel have been sadly overlooked by fans and the media.

One is the amount of success the Pats have had in the Belichick era given the restraints of the salary cap and free agency; comparisons to franchises such as the Noll-era Steelers or Lombardi-era Packers, for example, are useless as those teams did not have to deal with those factors.

The second is a nearly complete overhaul of the roster while at the same time remaining highly competitive. Perhaps folks don't notice it because Belichick and Brady remain in place, but that just doesn't happen - in any era. Right now Brady and Light are the only players from the 2001, 2004 and 2007 teams. Gostkowski, Koppen, Neal, Welker and Wilfork are the only other players that have seen any appreciable amount of playing time both this year as well as in '07. The only players that were factors in both 2004 and 2010 are Brady, Branch, Light, Koppen, Neal, Wilfork and TBC. Despite this nearly complete turnover nobody has had a better record than the Pats in the AFCE since 2000.

That type of consistent winning is unheard of in the cap/free agency era - even from any one of the other very good NFL franchises such as the Colts, Steelers, Chargers, Eagles and Giants.

 

[TealSox]

The 2010 Patriots are far from the most talented team to take the field at Gillette, but are probably the most promising teams with their roster of young players. The common denominator for the Patriots winning has been Tom Brady and Bill Belichick; it can't be denied that this combo gives the Patriots a chance to win on any given Sunday.

Rare?

Surprising?

Yes. Having lost Ty Warren and Leigh Bodden, I was sure that the Patriots would stumble out the gates. Toss in the trade of Moss to the Vikings, I figured Belichick had a plan and so far the plan has been executed with a few degrees of success (not that I wasn't worried he was throwing in the towel on the season).

Hats off to the coaching for preparing the youth on the team to play on game day... a lesser coaching staff would be looking toward next season already.

 

[Wolfpack]

This is the result of having brilliant management always looking at the big picture, instead of trying to sign the latest overpriced, overhyped free agent du jour. Of course, having Tom Brady doesn't hurt.

 

[cloud34]

add Ty Warren, Kevin Faulk, Leigh Bodden, two 1st round picks, two 2nd round picks, two 3rd round picks...to what we already have here.....scary!!!

 

[SVN]

There's a couple of things that I feel have been sadly overlooked by fans and the media.

One is the amount of success the Pats have had in the Belichick era given the restraints of the salary cap and free agency; comparisons to franchises such as the Noll-era Steelers or Lombardi-era Packers, for example, are useless as those teams did not have to deal with those factors.

The second is a nearly complete overhaul of the roster while at the same time remaining highly competitive. Perhaps folks don't notice it because Belichick and Brady remain in place, but that just doesn't happen - in any era. Right now Brady and Light are the only players from the 2001, 2004 and 2007 teams. Gostkowski, Koppen, Neal, Welker and Wilfork are the only other players that have seen any appreciable amount of playing time both this year as well as in '07. The only players that were factors in both 2004 and 2010 are Brady, Branch, Light, Koppen, Neal, Wilfork and TBC. Despite this nearly complete turnover nobody has had a better record than the Pats in the AFCE since 2000.

That type of consistent winning is unheard of in the cap/free agency era - even from any one of the other very good NFL franchises such as the Colts, Steelers, Chargers, Eagles and Giants.

for me , the more interesting thing is how BB a defensive coach has evolved this offense every few yrs inspite of all the player and coaching changes. Ignore the player changes , just see the coaching and front office changes. Dont know how many teams survive that kind of talent drain.

 

[Sciz]

Wow. There are definitely some great stats in that article. I'll have to reread it when I'm not half asleep!

 

[jmt57]

for me , the more interesting thing is how BB a defensive coach has evolved this offense every few yrs inspite of all the player and coaching changes. Ignore the player changes , just see the coaching and front office changes. Dont know how many teams survive that kind of talent drain.

Yeah, BB saw rule changes and point of emphasis change with how refs were instructed to call a game, and adapted. And he's also adapted as opposing defenses have shifted from mostly 3-4 to mostly 4-3 to mostly 3-4 again. Very few businesses are willing to adapt; even fewer are successful at doing that.

 

[sbpatfan]

Yeah, BB saw rule changes and point of emphasis change with how refs were instructed to call a game, and adapted. And he's also adapted as opposing defenses have shifted from mostly 3-4 to mostly 4-3 to mostly 3-4 again. Very few businesses are willing to adapt; even fewer are successful at doing that.

I think Polian bypasses that with Colts by just making new rules for his offense.

 

[jmt57]

Thought I'd take a look at how teams have done since the start of the salary cap in 1994; real free agency started in 1993 so I'll use '94 as a starting point. W-L-T are in reference to number of winning seasons, number of losing seasons, and number of .500 seasons; not including 2010.

W - L - T -- Team
------------------
13--2--1 -- Pats
12--2--2 -- Packers
12--3--1 -- Steelers
12--3--1 -- Colts
11--4--1 -- Dolphins
10--3--3 -- Vikings
10--5--1 -- Eagles
10--5--1 -- Cowboys
9---6--1 -- Jets
8---7--1 -- Ravens/old Browns
8---7--1 -- Buccaneers
8---7--1 -- Chiefs
7---5--4 -- Chargers
7---6--3 -- Giants
7---6--3 -- Seahawks
7---7--1 -- Jaguars
7---8--1 -- 49ers
6---5--5 -- Titans/Oilers
6---9--1 -- Falcons
6--10--0 -- Bears
5---8--3 -- Redskins
5---9--2 -- Bills
4---8--3 -- Panthers
4---9--3 -- Saints
4---9--3 -- Raiders
4--10--2 -- Rams
4--11--1 -- Lions
3--11--2 -- Cardinals
2---9--0 -- Browns
2--10--4 -- Bengals
1---5--2 -- Texans

 

[DOGWARZ]

What no
cowboys comparison.

 

[Fencer]

It seemed he was saying that the Patriots were last in total possessions, yet very high in metrics such as points scored (good) and passing yards given up (bad).

If so -- is total possessions of one those low-variance stats, like average player age, with not a lot of difference between the top teams and lowest?

 

[BTTA]

add Ty Warren, Kevin Faulk, Leigh Bodden, two 1st round picks, two 2nd round picks, two 3rd round picks...to what we already have here.....scary!!!

If they hit a home run with next year's draft like they did with this year's, it will be the most remarkable rebuild in league history.

 

[Mike the Brit]

What no
cowboys comparison.

Too lazy to Google?

10-5-1 -- Cowboys

 

[apple strudel]

BB really knows when to accumulate draft picks and when to jettison them. If we have a lot of high draft picks you know he thinks we're rebuilding. Otherwise, he thinks that there's not a lot of room on the team for younger players and that the team is peaking (more or less).

 

[IllegalContact]

add Ty Warren, Kevin Faulk, Leigh Bodden, two 1st round picks, two 2nd round picks, two 3rd round picks...to what we already have here.....scary!!!

I think faulk is done. he's old, I don't think he will ever be as effective. besides...we now have danny woodhead.

I think at this point, the biggest loss has been bodden.

but the team is starting 5 rookies total and has the best record in the league. the season is already a success, and with the way things are working out, they have just as good of a chance as anyone else. an SB trophy this year would have the rest of the league real scared.

 

[PatsWSB47]

yeah but Kirwin didn't account for the strength of schedule