Pats play terrible

[PromisedLand]

We will make the playoffs - and almost certainly win the division (thanks, Bills!) but this team is not a threat to go deep into the playoffs - the team is too seriously flawed.

IMO the reason the pass protection appears poor against a good defense like Miami's is that the wide receivers are not getting enough separation. Too often, Brady is holding the ball, looking for an open receiver, until he either gets hit or throws it away.

I am giving BB/SP a mulligan on the past offseason. After 3 SB in 4 years they have certainly earned at least that. BUT I want to see them roll over the $6M in cap space to next year using the LTBE trick that we all know, and REALLY GO FOR IT next year. Get a serious threat at wideout. Bring in a solid, nay better than solid, linebacker. Resign Asante, and Graham.

The window of opportunity for Brady and co. is still open for 2, 3, maybe 4 more years, but it won't last a whole lot longer tham that. He is not getting any younger. Now (next year) is the time to play for the present even if it poses some problems for the future.

 

[patpatriot]

You so called "optimists" have drunk way too much koolaid. The Pats played their best game of the year against the Bears and have been going downhill since that point. They quite simply lack the talent to compete with the top teams in the NFL. I mean, did you see Hobbs go for the pick against Booker on the TD (instead of playing the man) and then look around like "Wha Happened?". The Pats are *not good enough*. The FO screwed up and put a team out there that is not even as good as last year's team let alone better. The Pats are basically in a "death spiral" at this point. Do you think things are going to get easier next year with that schedule? It's going to be a *long* time before this team sees the SB again.

 

[fgssand]

There really is nothing wrong with our players. It was just a couple of games ago that most people in here were raving about how our receivers have developed, and I agree, they have. Are they great? No, but they are more than adequate, as a group...

But what the problem has been is that they are being dealt a bad hand, by the dealer, in this case Josh McDaniels.

Here is the analogy I have made before.

You can take the greates poker player in the world, Sit him dow at a table with five average players and if he is constantly dealt bad cards, he will not be a winner.. He may bluff once in a while,but over a period of time, with bad cards, he will lose.

Same thing here, we have a dealer, Josh McDaniels. The crds he deals out are PLAYS and if he consistently deals BAD PLAYS, no matter who the players are, they will not win, for the most part...you canhave the greatest football players in the world, but if they are given plays doomed to fail, they will not succeed, and that is exactly what is happening here, and happened today, again.

I know that when I played poker, if I was constantly getting bad cards, I would ask for a new deck to be put into the game.

McDaniels does NOT put new plays into the game, he continues to deal the bad ones.

See my point?

Yep..I hear ya, in a word - PREDICTABILITY - if we, the untrained fan know what's coming, then this team is in trouble.

By the way, what happened to the guy in the press box - Ernie Adams?? He used to keep things unpredictable and always would spot trends and tells.

 

[feelthepain]

Gee it sure is nice to see you knowledgable Pat fans watch a lot of football. I guess it couldn't be that Miami is just a better team then you think, hmmm??? We have won 5 out of the last six games, have probably the Defensive MVP this year in Jason Taylor and our O while not a serious threat to win a playoff game at this point due to injuries, is still able to play efficent football. I mean we handled some pretty good teams over the last six weeks. The Pats are 9-4 and leading the division, but to listen to 99% of you here, you haven't won 3 games this year.

This was a divisional game, what did you expect??? I don't care how good any team is, in a division game there are no guarantees. Look at what Jacksonville did to to Indy today.... 250 yards rushing in the first half??? That's sick!!! It seems as though you spoiled fans just refuse to live in the real world. You should be happy your team has won as much as they have, instead of thinking it's your god given right. BTW, hows Brady looking without the help around him??? He sure isn't carrying the whole team on his back, is he? like so many of you here want to believe.??? Brady's a great QB, no doubt, but without a supporting cast he would't have 1 SB ring, much less 3.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

get ready for all the naysayers and the threads that start:

Time to Fire McDaniels
A thread lamenting the loss of Givens and Branch
Is Teddy Bruschi too old?
The offensive game plan sucked..

Bottom line is a mediocre team who knows us played extremely well today, and our team which is pretty good played absolutely crappy today. Let you know next week the effect of this loss... right now hard to tell.

LMAO! If only we had a graphic artist who could do a bang cartoon ripoff of the dance of the NEMMY Glum Fairies, just to get into the Christmas spirit.

 

[A.C Vegas]

You so called "optimists" have drunk way too much koolaid. The Pats played their best game of the year against the Bears and have been going downhill since that point. They quite simply lack the talent to compete with the top teams in the NFL. I mean, did you see Hobbs go for the pick against Booker on the TD (instead of playing the man) and then look around like "Wha Happened?". The Pats are *not good enough*. The FO screwed up and put a team out there that is not even as good as last year's team let alone better. The Pats are basically in a "death spiral" at this point. Do you think things are going to get easier next year with that schedule? It's going to be a *long* time before this team sees the SB again.

You so called "optimists" have drunk way too much koolaid. The Pats played their best game of the year against the Bears.

You mean to tell me that a 5 turn over game is the best game of the year there is no way that was the best game of the year best win maybe but not game

The Pats are basically in a "death spiral" at this point. Do you think things are going to get easier next year with that schedule? It's going to be a *long* time before this team sees the SB again.

so an extra year of development for Maroney and CJ plus 2 first rounds picks and another year of Brady and his recivers are going to hurt the Pats next season. And let me guess next you'll be saything that the super bowl next year will be the Raiders vs the Lions

 

[skri65]

OK - so we didn't blow the division today after all. The sky is not falling - we actually still have an outside chance for a bye.

I am not going to panic - Patriots are not as bad as they played today.

Lots of players injured and they all should return by month's end - including Harrison.

See y'all in the playoffs......relax.

You're my kind of poster. :ditto:

 

[Michigan Dave]

You so called "optimists" have drunk way too much koolaid. The Pats played their best game of the year against the Bears and have been going downhill since that point. They quite simply lack the talent to compete with the top teams in the NFL. I mean, did you see Hobbs go for the pick against Booker on the TD (instead of playing the man) and then look around like "Wha Happened?". The Pats are *not good enough*. The FO screwed up and put a team out there that is not even as good as last year's team let alone better. The Pats are basically in a "death spiral" at this point. Do you think things are going to get easier next year with that schedule? It's going to be a *long* time before this team sees the SB again.

A couple things. First, why on earth would you think the Pats played their best game against Chicago? That was one of the worst. And still, they beat the team with the NFL's best record that day. It goes to show there is not a team out there without problems! I would say they played their best game against Minnesota, or possibly the Bengals.

As for the Booker TD, it was Hawkins, not Hobbs. I have no issue with a player trying to make a play there. They needed to turn momentum, and Harrington had just underthrown a ball, so making that adjustment and trying to make the play wasn't that bad.

Maybe we're spoiled by success. I guess I have a sense of appreciation, because where I live the team is 2-11, fans don't care, and it's an NFL wasteland. So I can watch my Pats every weekend and gain a sense of perspective. Most teams would kill to be 9-4 and in a position like this. You say it may be a while since we sniff the SB again? OK. I don't necessarily believe that, but I'm sure as hell going to have fun on the ride, and enjoy another division title, and playoff run.

This league is cyclical, and in time, we will be one of those "down" teams. At that point, we'll all be yearning for what we have now. Losing sucks, and I have no issue with breaking down a loss. However, the chicken little doom and gloom that goes on after a loss here is comical.

 

[PromisedLand]

If they are not etting separation, wouldnt it seem logical that the offensive coordinator would change the routes of the plays he is calling, instead of calling the same ones, over and over and over again and expecting a different result. If Brady is looking toolong, wouldnt it be logical for the offensive coordinator to, maybne, try a no huddle offense, or something other than what he has been calling, over and over and over again. If it aint working, you change it, plain and simple, McDaniels doesnt know that yet, its on page two of the book and he is still on page one.

I am not defending McDaniels but it is not all him either. And after all NEM you always put the blame on the OC - even when we were winning three Super Bowls in four years you were criticizing Charlie. But there are other problems and my point stands.

 

[PromisedLand]

A win next Sunday clinches it, thanks to Buffalo.

I don't think that is the case since by losing yesterday we haven't clinched the tiebreakers against the Jets - first tiebreaker is head to head record where we finish the season tied with them - second tiebreaker is division record where we are now 4-2 and they are 3-2. etc. We needed to beat Miami and have them lose to Buffalo to clinch better division record vs. Jets.

 

[Brownfan80]

Re: Pats play terrible

McBee post terrible

 

[Stokes]

There really is nothing wrong with our players. It was just a couple of games ago that most people in here were raving about how our receivers have developed, and I agree, they have. Are they great? No, but they are more than adequate, as a group...

But what the problem has been is that they are being dealt a bad hand, by the dealer, in this case Josh McDaniels.

NEM, I would agree with you that the playcalling yesterday could have been better, I particularly would have liked to see more screens/short crossing patterns in the 2nd half against the blitz. That being said, I'm pretty new here and I already understand VERY CLEARLY that you think McDaniels is a big problem with this team, and would like to see the car keys taken away from him. I find it tiresome that you feel the need to reiterate this opinion in almost every thread. You claim to have a lot of football knowledge, why not give us a little analysis of the team BESIDES McDaniels? For example, how about the O-line getting beat both physically and mentally (misreads on blitz pickups, I'm thinking about 1 by Koppen in particular)? How about reasons why the running game picked up for Miami late in the game (was it all Wilfork going out, or them getting tired, or misplays from the 4-3 look that they went to, etc.?). Please, if you feel the need to post so much, say something different once in a while! I respect your opinion about McD, but for god's sake man, let it go already!

 

[AzPatsFan]

get ready for all the naysayers and the threads that start:

Time to Fire McDaniels
A thread lamenting the loss of Givens and Branch
Is Teddy Bruschi too old?
The offensive game plan sucked..

Bottom line is a mediocre team who knows us played extremely well today, and our team which is pretty good played absolutely crappy today. Let you know next week the effect of this loss... right now hard to tell.

Ah common sense!! Why is it so... UNCOMMON?

 

[RayClay]

I don't even want to call them the Patsies, they are just too sad for that. They're like the stray dog you see on the street, your heart just breaks. "I hope someone will give him a home! He looks so nice! Poor doggy!"

I don't know what they can do to improve. You get beat like this, it's hard to pull out anything positive.

And is there another team in the league that is this boring? I mean really.

Jacksonville, Houston, Tennesee. I could see them losing 2. If they lose 3 they could, yes, not even make the playoffs!

At least they'd get a good draft pick?

 

[feelthepain]

So, you believe that our OC attacked your defense in the best way possible?

I think Our DC attacked your O the best way possible. We have a very good, if not one of the best DC in the league in Dom Capers. We have Jason Taylor, Kevin Carter, Vonnie Holliday, Keith Traylor, Jeff Zgonina all are very good to great Dlinemen. Add a nice rotation of youth with Matt Roth and David Bowens and we are stout on the Dline. We have a very good LB core, with Zach Thomas, Channing Crowder and Donnie Spragan, we rotate in Derrick Pope Keith Adams and Keith Newman. Our secondary is staring to gel and this is key to the rest of the D. Andre Goodman has upgraded our corner position and so has Will Allen, we are seeing a lot more effort out of our first rund DP Jason Allen. Yeremiah Bell is playing lights out at saftey for us and will be a future probowler IMO.

Early in the season we had issues with Daunte and and the secondary was not playing well together. Well we made major changes to the team in the 06 off season and it took time for everyone to get comfortable with each other. It's starting to pay off. We are the # 3 overall D #3 passing D and we are in the top 5 in rushing D, allowing just over 100 yards a game total, and only 6 rushing TD's all year. The Pats weren't playing a bad Dolphins team, they were playing a Dolphins team that gets little respect. So to answer your question, I think the Fins controled what the Pats could do and there was little they could do about it. At least for this game game.

 

[Jacky Roberts]

I think Our DC attacked your O the best way possible. We have a very good, if not one of the best DC in the league in Dom Capers. We have Jason Taylor, Kevin Carter, Vonnie Holliday, Keith Traylor, Jeff Zgonina all are very good to great Dlinemen. Add a nice rotation of youth with Matt Roth and David Bowens and we are stout on the Dline. We have a very good LB core, with Zach Thomas, Channing Crowder and Donnie Spragan, we rotate in Derrick Pope Keith Adams and Keith Newman. Our secondary is staring to gel and this is key to the rest of the D. Andre Goodman has upgraded our corner position and so has Will Allen, we are seeing a lot more effort out of our first rund DP Jason Allen. Yeremiah Bell is playing lights out at saftey for us and will be a future probowler IMO.

Early in the season we had issues with Daunte and and the secondary was not playing well together. Well we made major changes to the team in the 06 off season and it took time for everyone to get comfortable with each other. It's starting to pay off. We are the # 3 overall D #3 passing D and we are in the top 5 in rushing D, allowing just over 100 yards a game total, and only 6 rushing TD's all year. The Pats weren't playing a bad Dolphins team, they were playing a Dolphins team that gets little respect. So to answer your question, I think the Fins controled what the Pats could do and there was little they could do about it. At least for this game game.

Hey, welcome back. Haven't seen you around these parts since the week before the first Pats-Fins game. Wonder why you returned...

 

[pats1]

This is (obviously) the last time the Patriots play a game in that stadium this year. With the Jets coming on hard, I think we're wildcard bound to be honest. This team is terrible.

You're always good for a pathetic chuckle, Jacky.

 

[stcjones]

I appreciate your optimism and effort to cheer us up but it is OVER. Win the division probably; win a playoff game maybe; win the Superbowl no way!!!! Today's loss was so bad I can no longer deny reality. The 2006 Patriots do not have what it takes to win Superbowl 41. Our offense is anemic; we are turn over junkies and after today we have "No Heart".

Well, I guess I will have to find some other things to keep me busy. I will still watch and follow our team but now it won't matter to me what other teams do. Our fate is sealed.

This is probably the most realistic post I have read in awhile....This loss yesterday was PAINFUL....Yes, Miami always plays us tough IN Miami (just like we usually play them tough in Foxboro)........but yesterday was one of the most embarrassing, heartless, and pathetic losses that I can remember in the past 10 years....just an out an out collapse of our offensive line...they got b**ch slapped all over the field. Our D played great at times and sloppy at other times.......but they couldn't do it all.....and eventually they got tired ....and gave up some scores....

But as far as WHO we are this year, and where are we going......I am hopeful that this team can win the division this year....but that is where the story ends for 2006 IMHO......I would love to see them get further OF COURSE....but I for one just don't see it...especially after watching the last 2 games....one man's opinion

 

[lobster]

I feel bad for the fans who paid good money to travel to Miami and watch a team held back by poor coaching.

 

[stcjones]

You so called "optimists" have drunk way too much koolaid. The Pats played their best game of the year against the Bears and have been going downhill since that point. They quite simply lack the talent to compete with the top teams in the NFL. I mean, did you see Hobbs go for the pick against Booker on the TD (instead of playing the man) and then look around like "Wha Happened?". The Pats are *not good enough*. The FO screwed up and put a team out there that is not even as good as last year's team let alone better. The Pats are basically in a "death spiral" at this point. Do you think things are going to get easier next year with that schedule? It's going to be a *long* time before this team sees the SB again.

Very realistic post for the most part here...and while I hope that it is not a LONG time before the Pats get back to the SB again...you may very well be right.......I kind of look at us being like Denver is right now....since they won their SB's they are hanging around every year but just can't get the magic back to get them into the big dance again......I hope for Brady's sake that he has not seen his last Lombardi in NE..........