More braindead sports writing . . .

[ctpatsfan77]

This time from Peter King:

8. New England (10-4). A 40-7 win would imply all is well in Patland. All is better. But 230 yards of offense? Against the league's 28th defense? Good thing the Pats had incredible field position all day.

Gee, you think maybe, just maybe these two facts are related?

Even worse still:

10. New York Jets (8-6). Amazing. This week the Jets will root hard for the Patriots. The Pats are at Jacksonville. The Jets and Jax are both 8-6. First tiebreaker is head-to-head, and Jags beat the Jets 41-0.

Many levels, all of them wrong. :bricks:

 

[patsox23]

Pats moved the ball well all game long. The offense looked fine to me. The low yardage total had everything to do with field position.

 

[Commander Shears]

Including Cassel, the Pats' passing stats were 19/27 for 125 yards, 2 TD 0 INT, and 43 of those yards came on the screen to Faulk. Pats receivers had a combined 8 catches for 34 yards. This is not a new problem, nor is it one a competent defense is likely to ignore.

 

[IcyPatriot]

I was greatly troubled to see 2 of our top 3 receivers were RB's Faulk and Dillon. I hope this was intended by Belichick to not give anything away and/or work the RB passing game a bit....we'll see this Sunday how it all plays out.

This time of year it's too hard to be critical of gameplans and #'s ... protecting the playbook is a close 2nd to winning the game...a great balancing act all future playoff teams are now working out.

Add to that the possible need to change all audibles and we see our team has much work to do...not having a 1st round bye may indeed be a good thing.

 

[hwc]

Including Cassel, the Pats' passing stats were 19/27 for 125 yards, 2 TD 0 INT, and 43 of those yards came on the screen to Faulk. Pats receivers had a combined 8 catches for 34 yards. This is not a new problem, nor is it one a competent defense is likely to ignore.

Yep. To me, the total inability to get the passing game going against a terrible defense was troubling. I know it seems weird to complain about a 40-7 win, but this offense is so dead in the water, it's not even funny. The only bright spot was that the run game was fairly effective. But, I think that any knowledgeable fan understands how quickly a good defense can shut down the run.

 

[richpats]

The 1st, 2nd and 4th FG's were preceded by short incomplete passes on 3rd down on plays that weren't executed properly, be it the throw, WR position or just not hanging on to the ball. The Brown play in the 4th is a perfect example, he hangs on it's a great call, if not it's a dud.

The 3rd FG was preceded by a short pass on 3rd and long while up 34-7. Conservative decision- if it works great, if not a high-pct FG for Gost. No need to risk a turnover in seeking a 34 point lead.

If we need a signature play for our situation on offense, it has to be the Gaffney drop on the 1st drive. It was drawn up perfectly, Gaffney had his man beat, perfect throw by Brady, Jabar has it in stride....and drops the ball. Execution was not there, plain and simple.

 

[richpats]

This time of year it's too hard to be critical of gameplans and #'s ... protecting the playbook is a close 2nd to winning the game...a great balancing act all future playoff teams are now working out.

Protecting the playbook and THE BALL was obviously a priority. We didn't take many chances downfield and didn't need to.

 

[edgecy]

How can you explain not punching it in from the 5 yard line? Face it, we have a lot of problems on offense. Plain and simple.

 

[richpats]

How can you explain not punching it in from the 5 yard line? Face it, we have a lot of problems on offense. Plain and simple.

a dropped pass by a receiver who was WIDE OPEN

The only problem I am concerned with on offense is turning the ball over. We're not the offensive machine of 2004 but we've done pretty well in spite of our personnel losses. If anyone thinks we're the only playoff-bound team with offensive problems look at the Bengals' performance last night against Indy or the Saints against the Redskins.

 

[DarrylS]

Protecting the playbook and THE BALL was obviously a priority. We didn't take many chances downfield and didn't need to.

I agree, only on this board and in this parallel universe can people whine and ***** about a 40-7 win. The stats do not matter, what matters is a W nothing else.

 

[frankiesfly]

a dropped pass by a receiver who was WIDE OPEN

The only problem I am concerned with on offense is turning the ball over. We're not the offensive machine of 2004 but we've done pretty well in spite of our personnel losses. If anyone thinks we're the only playoff-bound team with offensive problems look at the Bengals' performance last night against Indy or the Saints against the Redskins.

good point rich, i dont know what to think any more about the whole leauge. Teams look like there unbeatable one week, and there offense plays poorly the next. This past week in my football pool, i flipped a coin to determine my picks, and did the best i done all year.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

FOUR TIMES WE TOOK POSESSION ON THE HOUSTON 24, 31, 29 and 5 YL...and had to settle for field goals on each occasion.

And if they'd made all those TDs, they'd have had 56 points . . . and still not broken 300 yards on offense.

If you score 40 points, (A) you've had a relatively good day, no matter how you get those points, and (B) you're probably going to win the game.

 

[BelichickFan]

Not only is it difficult to gain a lot of yards when you don't have a lot of yards to gain (duh), the strategic approach changes when you're up 17-0, 20-0. Even early it's foolhardy to sling the ball around like you're tied or with a small lead. We were at the point that only mistakes and turnovers could lose the game - no need to be a hero.

 

[RayClay]

It's that damn goal line.

How can we make those beautiful 50 yard passes the Phantasy Phootball Phans love so much if we start on the opposing 40 yard line?

 

[pats1]

How can you explain not punching it in from the 5 yard line? Face it, we have a lot of problems on offense. Plain and simple.

2006 scoring offense: 9th

2005 scoring offense: 10th

 

[RayClay]

How can you explain not punching it in from the 5 yard line? Face it, we have a lot of problems on offense. Plain and simple.

What is our red zone percentage?

 

[BelichickFan]

What is our red zone percentage?

Per Reiss, we're only 4th best in the league on both sides of the ball :

Red zone efficiency
TDs scored -- 4th (60.4 percent -- 53 trips, 32 TDs)
TDs allowed -- 4th (36.7 percent -- 30 trips, 11 TDs)
ranked 3rd last week in TDs scored; 2nd in TDs allowed

We suck, we're down from last week's #3

 

[thomas144]

I was not at all impressed by the Patriots offense against the Texans. The Texans are just an awful team.

 

[BelichickFan]

This board is the NFL version of the Fall of the Roman Empire. We're 10-4. Our offense ranks fine in pretty much all the pertinent categories. And, yet. everyone thinks it blows. It makes one consider finding a crappy team to root for whose fans would actually appreciate a good season.

 

[pats1]

I was not at all impressed by the Patriots offense against the Texans. The Texans are just an awful team.

What the hell were you expecting? 60 points?

What does it take to satisfy some of the people on this board?