This Offense....Ort Lack of At This Point Was Created in The Preseason

[SCPatBoy]

I mean I know I'll get thetypical...Your not a real Pats Fan..Or the we had bad games like this in 2001. Thats OK as I am a real Patsfan and I don't ever remeber a stretch where our offense looked this horrible and it progressively got worse every week. The truth of the matter is that we have only had a few good offensive games all year and those came against Bad defenses. I look at the state of our Offense and this is what I see.

1) Our O Line isn't very good. I would say around average, not horrible, but not dominating.

2) Our WR position is where we have become a poor offensive team. We have zero playmakers on the outside. and it has been obviuous most weeks of the year, but lately has really shown through,we have no threats there. Teams don't worry about our WR's and they play man to Man on our WR's and play a Safety at the line almost every down. And our WR's can't beat coverage when it's them against the corners. Even when there are safetry blitz's we don't have guys open.I mean the reality is , is that Caldwell is our #1 WR, a cast off average WR is our #1 guy. Then Brown, who I will always love, but is clearly at the end of his career is our #2. Our WR core would be situational guys on 90% of NFL teams out there. That is just the fatcs. This is what the Patriots created in the off and pre season, not being prepared to address this is really hurting us now. I love my Pats and keep hoping they can flip the switch, just don't think it is going to happen this year.

3) What is going to be done for next year, right now we look like we are going to go into next year with a cast away WR group for Brady and that would be a shame. Maybe Jackson turns out Ok, but still, maybe not. Maroney is the Lone present and future bright spot on offense for me. I can't believe how bad our Offense is right now!

 

[SCPatBoy]

I mean I know I'll get thetypical...Your not a real Pats Fan..Or the we had bad games like this in 2001. Thats OK as I am a real Patsfan and I don't ever remeber a stretch where our offense looked this horrible and it progressively got worse every week. The truth of the matter is that we have only had a few good offensive games all year and those came against Bad defenses. I look at the state of our Offense and this is what I see.

1) Our O Line isn't very good. I would say around average, not horrible, but not dominating.

2) Our WR position is where we have become a poor offensive team. We have zero playmakers on the outside. and it has been obviuous most weeks of the year, but lately has really shown through,we have no threats there. Teams don't worry about our WR's and they play man to Man on our WR's and play a Safety at the line almost every down. And our WR's can't beat coverage when it's them against the corners. Even when there are safetry blitz's we don't have guys open.I mean the reality is , is that Caldwell is our #1 WR, a cast off average WR is our #1 guy. Then Brown, who I will always love, but is clearly at the end of his career is our #2. Our WR core would be situational guys on 90% of NFL teams out there. That is just the fatcs. This is what the Patriots created in the off and pre season, not being prepared to address this is really hurting us now. I love my Pats and keep hoping they can flip the switch, just don't think it is going to happen this year.

3) What is going to be done for next year, right now we look like we are going to go into next year with a cast away WR group for Brady and that would be a shame. Maybe Jackson turns out Ok, but still, maybe not. Maroney is the Lone present and future bright spot on offense for me. I can't believe how bad our Offense is right now!

 

[JR4]

I agree with a lot of what you say. The Oline needs work
... time to spend some of that cap and fix it. Enough of Brady
being slamed when PATs play very good Defenses.
PATs need a solid LT that doesn't need help. Light can still
be useful ... maybe RT .... PATs need a LT take can take on
speed rushers without getting knock around.

 

[mac]

Go back to the offseason when so many on this board were saying, "No way I'd give a third for Moulds! A second for Stallworth no way!" A team can bargain basment for depth. A team cannot bargain basement for game changers.

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

So much for waiting until Brady and the WR's get into synch

I think this years Pats WR's might very well be the worst collection I have ever seen on a NFL team. I'm serious.

We could have Mike Shannahan and Don Coryell coordinating this offense and it still would suck with these crappy wideouts we have. It's no wonder Brady looks depressed out there.

The frustrating part though is it didn't have to be this way. In fact it shouldn't be this way. The Pats should not be trotting out Reche Caldwell, Troy Brown and the new guy as it's starting 3 WR's. It really is a joke and it's gonna cost us a bonafide shot at this years Lombardi trophy!

Such horribly mismanaged personnel matters is something that is reserved for a clueless team like the Cards and not the Pats.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

It was created back in may ,when Deion Branch decieded he wanted Reggie Wayne money with 1 yr left on contract.. BB and SP mismanged this one poorly.. We have Tom Brady in the prime of his carrer, and we have no one, i REPEAT NO ONE, to throw to.. Troy Brown and Kevin Faulk are ok, Reche is a nice third WR, but Doug Gabrial, Jabar Gaffney, cant catch a cold or run the right routes..

 

[DaBruinz]

I mean I know I'll get thetypical...Your not a real Pats Fan..Or the we had bad games like this in 2001. Thats OK as I am a real Patsfan and I don't ever remeber a stretch where our offense looked this horrible and it progressively got worse every week. The truth of the matter is that we have only had a few good offensive games all year and those came against Bad defenses. I look at the state of our Offense and this is what I see.

1) Our O Line isn't very good. I would say around average, not horrible, but not dominating.

Gee, that's funny because I look at our O-line and see two of the starters who are back from major injuries. Are they better? Yes, and no.

Oh, when did the Pats have a DOMINATING O-line in any of the SuperBowl runs? They had a very good stretch on 2003 when Graham was helping out Ashworth on the right side pretty regularly and Hochstein was playing RG. But that's it.

2) Our WR position is where we have become a poor offensive team. We have zero playmakers on the outside. and it has been obviuous most weeks of the year, but lately has really shown through,we have no threats there. Teams don't worry about our WR's and they play man to Man on our WR's and play a Safety at the line almost every down. And our WR's can't beat coverage when it's them against the corners. Even when there are safetry blitz's we don't have guys open.I mean the reality is , is that Caldwell is our #1 WR, a cast off average WR is our #1 guy. Then Brown, who I will always love, but is clearly at the end of his career is our #2. Our WR core would be situational guys on 90% of NFL teams out there. That is just the fatcs. This is what the Patriots created in the off and pre season, not being prepared to address this is really hurting us now. I love my Pats and keep hoping they can flip the switch, just don't think it is going to happen this year.

Wow. I didn't realize that a team that was scoring better than 23 points a game had become an offensive POOR team.

Now, as to your other complaints, I think you need to be reminded about a few things.
1) Caldwell wasn't brought in to be this team's #1 WR. Caldwell was a starter before his ACL injury. One that he was recovering from last year when he was the Chargers's #3 WR.
2) Branch put the Patriots in this position with his attitude in thinking that he was better than Brady or Seymour.
3) You must be watching different games because our WRs DO beat their men. The problem is that on more than a few occasions, they have dropped the ball or Brady has put the ball in the dirt or severely over the receiver's head.
4) You are making a truly uneducated and rather assinine assumption is saying that the Patriots front office wasn't prepared for the off-season. You have absolutely NO CLUE what their prepartion was. The fact that Jonathan Kraft was in the paper saying the front office set aside 10 million for the signing of Branch and Law tells me that this front office was MORE than prepared and that in one situation, the player was ignorant and though he was better than 2 of the best in the league and deserved to be treated better and in the second cast, the player chose his "BUDDY" over a real coach. Those things can't be helped because they are out of the Front Office's control. Just like it was out of their control when Mason's wife showed everyone who wears the pants in that family when she chose Baltimore over New England last year.

3) What is going to be done for next year, right now we look like we are going to go into next year with a cast away WR group for Brady and that would be a shame. Maybe Jackson turns out Ok, but still, maybe not. Maroney is the Lone present and future bright spot on offense for me. I can't believe how bad our Offense is right now!

This is an amazingly short-sighted set of statements.
1) David Thomas, Chad Jackson and Laurence Maroney are rookies. Thomas is a TE in a system that the coach has told us time and again takes 3 years to learn. Jackson has shown signs of being good, but most 1st year WRs don't put up gaudy numbers. Maroney does look to be very special.
2) The WRs we have are all relatively new to the system. Caldwell seems to have gotten the system down pretty well. Gabriel has shown spurts, but no consistency. Gaffney the jury is still out on. I think you are severely selling the Pats WRs short, but it will probably take until next season for it to be TRULY seen.

As for next year, the Pats have 2 1st round picks, 4 comp picks, and 6 other picks. They also have some 30 million in free cap space. My bet is that they surprise some people with some moves and this team continues to do well. Maybe, I am just optimistic, but I that the past for BB and Pioli shows more than people running around like the Patriots are 1-11 and pretending like the Pats don't have injuries and that they just plain stink.

 

[DaBruinz]

It was created back in may ,when Deion Branch decieded he wanted Reggie Wayne money with 1 yr left on contract.. BB and SP mismanged this one poorly.. We have Tom Brady in the prime of his carrer, and we have no one, i REPEAT NO ONE, to throw to.. Troy Brown and Kevin Faulk are ok, Reche is a nice third WR, but Doug Gabrial, Jabar Gaffney, cant catch a cold or run the right routes..

So, in your eyes, BB and Pioli screwed up because they treated Branch the same way they treated Seymour and Brady?

Sorry, gotta disagree with you there.

What you are missing is that Branch never once, in the 3 different attempts by the Patriots to negotiate with him, sent a counter offer to the Patriots. So, Branch had absolutely NO CLUE how high the Patriots were willing to go. The sticking point is that Branch did NOT want to play out the last year of his rookie contract. Something that the Pats insisted that Brady and Seymour do. Something that Brady and Seymour Both did. Yes, Both Brady and Seymour got signing bonuses for their extensions during the last year of their rookie contract, but Branch was being offered that as well.

The contract extension, when looked at strictly in terms of new money, was commensurate with the contract that Reggie Wayne got. However, Branch insisted that the last year of his rookie contract be thrown out and that the new money start THIS year. And that was something the Patriots weren't willing to do because, in their eyes, Branch wasn't more important to this team than Brady and Seymour. And before you go pointing to this current team, make sure you take into consideration that Branch only had one year where he wasn't injured for any length of time. And that was last year when the Patriots coddled him during training camp by not having him play during the games.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

Well your right,but I think they felt they would win this battle with Branch, but they misjudged it...

 

[DaBruinz]

Well your right,but I think they felt they would win this battle with Branch, but they misjudged it...

I think they felt that Branch would, at least, send a counter offer in May after the Branch interview where he said he'd play out his contract regardless of whether he had an extension or not. The Patriots took him at his word as a man. As it turns out, Branch lied and the Pats got screwed. But no one will know exactly how much the Pats were willing to offer Branch because Branch never sent a counter offer in. Branch only sent in his ultimatum.

Had the Pats known BEFORE the draft that Branch would do that, I am confident they would have traded Branch at the draft either for a player of Branch's caliber or 1st round pick. Either way, the Pats would have been in a slightly better position.

But, we get off-track.

Today's lack-luster performance stems from more than just not having Branch. The O-line didn't protect well. Brady didn't recognize defenses well. The receivers weren't making catches or were fumbling. The coaching staff, as a WHOLE, didn't adjust well on either side of the ball.

The only person I don't have a complaint about is Corey Dillon. He ran the ball pretty damn well today.

 

[shakadave]

So, in your eyes, BB and Pioli screwed up because they treated Branch the same way they treated Seymour and Brady?

Sorry, gotta disagree with you there.

What you are missing is that Branch never once, in the 3 different attempts by the Patriots to negotiate with him, sent a counter offer to the Patriots. So, Branch had absolutely NO CLUE how high the Patriots were willing to go. The sticking point is that Branch did NOT want to play out the last year of his rookie contract. Something that the Pats insisted that Brady and Seymour do. Something that Brady and Seymour Both did. Yes, Both Brady and Seymour got signing bonuses for their extensions during the last year of their rookie contract, but Branch was being offered that as well.

The contract extension, when looked at strictly in terms of new money, was commensurate with the contract that Reggie Wayne got. However, Branch insisted that the last year of his rookie contract be thrown out and that the new money start THIS year. And that was something the Patriots weren't willing to do because, in their eyes, Branch wasn't more important to this team than Brady and Seymour. And before you go pointing to this current team, make sure you take into consideration that Branch only had one year where he wasn't injured for any length of time. And that was last year when the Patriots coddled him during training camp by not having him play during the games.

Five-star post here!

 

[mgcolby]

In a twisted kind of way I am happy about this loss. First it wasn't unexpected, when I predicted a 14-2 record in the pre-season, I had this game circled as a loss. Not a beating, as it turned out - but a loss. I think this maybe good for them, it will hopefully wake them up.

Over the past three weeks the O hasn't played all that well but still managed to win. With this loss, I expect them to refocus. I fully expect them to handle Houston, I almost feel sorry for Houston as they will most likely be on the wrong end of a very bad beating. I am more interested in seeing how the Pats handle the Jags game, on the road against a good defense and a team that is fighting for the playoffs. To me that will be the game that will give us the best indication of how this team will play in the playoffs.

 

[the taildragger]

Go back to the offseason when so many on this board were saying, "No way I'd give a third for Moulds! A second for Stallworth no way!" A team can bargain basment for depth. A team cannot bargain basement for game changers.

I was praying for moulds too. I really think Levy blocked/screwed us on that...no way Moulds voluntarily prefered Houston over us if the money was in the ballpark. spilled milk now I guess.