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I understand your cynicism, Mayo, but he's trying to inform a fan base who seems to rate players on a play by play basis. Bedard is a valuable teaching tool, so that fans can understand that football is NOT a game of individuals, but a game where 11 people's success are integrally interrelated.
Its important in the creation of a well informed fan base that they understand this basic, but often forgotten concept. Its also important that fans understand that a team is not a static unit, but something that evolves a great deal AFTER it leave TC. This is something Pats SHOULD understand more than most.
That's the key point in Beddard's article is that the defense that had some fans wringing their hands at the beginning of season, was a work in progress due to the extreme youth of the group. Some of us understood this but we were in a distinct minority. The defense that we had then is NOT the same one we have now, and Bedard tries to explain to some degree what the process was.
As fans its important the we understand that there IS a plan, and that the plan is on track. What is so exciting to me in seeing this defense evolve is how much better it will get over the next few years as these extremely young players add experience to their raw talents.
I'm not anti-Bedard, just a bit frustrated that he's stating the obvious, and that he blows so hot-and-cold. I expect that stuff from others, but Bedard's disappointed me a bit in that regard.
BB talks each season about "climbing the mountain". The NFL season is an incredibly long one, and the teams that come out of training camp bear little resemblance to the teams in December and beyond. The season is a war of attrition as much as a war with the other 31 teams, and managing the roster under the salary cap and NFL constraints is a juggling act. We've talked about that:
http://www.patsfans.com/new-england...982221-mountain-climbing-salary-cap-era.html
Some of the things that many people have stated/predicted, going back to the pre-season and over the course of the regular season:
1. This was a young team with a lot of new parts on both offense and defense, new coordinators, and a lot of injuries that derailed continuity. It would take time for things to gel, on both sides of the ball.
2. The hot start by Houston was a classic example of a team peaking too soon, and that they would come down to earth and possibly fade down the stretch.
3. The 9-2 Baltimore Ravens were a mirage, and would collapse against a tough late season schedule.
http://www.patsfans.com/new-england...er-why-ravens-pretenders-not-contenders.html
4. The pass defense would significantly improve by the end of the season/beginning of the playoffs, in part due to #1, and more so due to McCourty moving to FS and Talib/Dennard emerging at outside CB, with a domino effect on the defense.
http://www.patsfans.com/new-england...ass-defense-about-go-terrible-very-good.html
5. The running game would emerge as a significant component of the offense and would be the best in years.
No one who knew what they were talking about expected instant results or immediate success. I'm sure BB didn't. The media - including Bedard - is as guilty as some of the fan base in terms of taking a short term view of things and making "snap judgments" (to use one well known mediot's term) based on the last game. Bedard talked about the Talib trade as a "desperation move", and we got to hear Curran, Felger, Mazz and others blast the team after every loss (all 4 of them) and some of the wins when they didn't blow people out of the water. So it seems just a bit hypocritical to me for Bedard to me jumping on the "the defense is ready, gee, it just took a season for it to mature" bandwagon. He's a johnny-come lately on that front, even if he may be serving a useful educational function.
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