Offense, Not Defense, Let the Patriots Down on Sunday

[pheenix11]

Is it the offense's fault because they kept going 3 and out and putting the defense back on the field or is it the defense's fault for allowing the Broncos to dominate time of possession?

Chicken or the egg? Our first two drives were 3 and out so I know where I stand on that one.

 

[PatsSox363804]

Just because the offense sucked doesn't mean the defense wasn't atrocious, and they were god awful. Denver dominated time of possession and scored on every drive but the first one. Inexcusable. If the defense got even one stop maybe the offense would have done something. Frankly it was a total team loss, trying to assign blame to the offense over the defense and vice versa is just trying to find some one to specifically blame in a situation where really, there isn't one. The whole team sucked out loud except for the punter and kicker.

 

[moejr]

Is it the offense's fault because they kept going 3 and out and putting the defense back on the field or is it the defense's fault for allowing the Broncos to dominate time of possession?

Chicken or the egg? Our first two drives were 3 and out so I know where I stand on that one.

I vote for Offense going 3 and out. The D held Denver to 26 points. 9 points under their average. The D did their job. Our offensive gameplan sucked and cost us.

 

[deters]

yes, because the offense let manning hold onto the ball for 7 and 8 minute drives... :bricks:

Both sides of the ball sucked ass yesterday.

 

[DocHoliday]

Total team loss. Indisputable.

 

[Tunescribe]

Uh, time of possession.

Deep into the middle of the 4th qtr., the Patriots got their second possession of the half.

I question how anyone can miss TOP in this game, and how thoroughly the Broncos offense dominated the Patriots D, and how the Denver punter was the missing man. When a team's punter doesn't play, that's on the defense. Look at the yardage the broncos racked up and the TOP. The Patriots D didn't stop them at all.

The Patriots offense at least, besides the 2 TDs and a field goal, had two additional long drives, one stopped by a bogus penalty on Hooman, and the other stopped by sack on 4th down. If the defense managed to stop the Broncos just once or twice more, maybe the Patriots would have had another drive as well. Good for say 3 or 7 points. Add the 10 they lost on the other 2 drives, and that's more than enough offensive production.

Yup. Sometimes yards allowed counts. Denver punted once then scored on five-straight possessions. But let's face it, this was a pretty "well-rounded" team loss.

 

[Ian]

yes, because the offense let manning hold onto the ball for 7 and 8 minute drives... :bricks:

Both sides of the ball sucked ass yesterday.

No, the offense didn't let Manning hold the ball for 7 and 8 minute drives. But they didn't take advantage of their opportunities to put up any points to force Denver to play from behind either. Manning doesn't get to kill the clock and take his time if he's trying to come back from a deficit, and New England didn't do anything offensively Sunday to give themselves a chance to take Denver out of their offense.

Don't get me wrong, I thought the defense was bad as well. Unfortunately I just thought the offense was just that much worse.

 

[ensoul]

The defense is not great but the problem is the the offense is not close to the same level as the defense. I am not saying this team needs some sort of record breaking offense but for the love of god give Brady someone to throw to.

Must be frustrating for Brady watching Manning have guys to throw to while he is stuck with with rookies, guys who cannot stay healthy and guys who should be a 3rd options as his core of receivers.

Before you say "Well Brady is better and has more rings." Maybe this is true but with the new rules this is passing league now and BB has simply not adjusted. Brady at 37 cannot win games with sub-par receivers anymore.

 

[VrabelJr]

The Broncos took our game plan and beat the **** out of us with it on defense and offense. That's all that needs to be said. On defense we were in the wrong play 75% of the time. On offense we just failed to execute and I think we ripped up our offensive game plan after the first two drives.

I know people love to bash John Fox and Jack Del Rio because we usually have their numbers but this time they completely stole our lunch.

 

[condon84]

manning had the ball for 14+ mins for 2 drives. Brady missed some throws sure but there is enough blame to go around on the defense.they didnt touch manning on defense. Easy to blame the QB and offense.

If Brady makes those throws and we score points, the flow of the game would have changed IMO. There would have been a little more pressure on the Broncos Offense and our defense would have stayed on the sideline if Brady and the O extend their drives.

In a game that we needed to be perfect to beat Peyton, Brady came up short.

 

[JPsPats]

Offence went 3 and out way to much and couldn't convert third and short.
If you told me before the game that Denver would only score 26 points I would be feeling really good. Offence was why we lost/Thread.

 

[Ian]

If Brady makes those throws and we score points, the flow of the game would have changed IMO. There would have been a little more pressure on the Broncos Offense and our defense would have stayed on the sideline if Brady and the O extend their drives.

In a game that we needed to be perfect to beat Peyton, Brady came up short.

That's exactly the point I was trying to make :yeahthat:

You can't keep coming up empty and forcing a depleted defense to bail you out against a team like that. Denver's just too good, and they outplayed them yesterday.

 

[VrabelJr]

Offence went 3 and out way to much and couldn't convert third and short.
If you told me before the game that Denver would only score 26 points I would be feeling really good. Offence was why we lost/Thread.

Trust this: If our offense scored more points, Denver's offense would have scored more points, too. They had two 7 minute plus drives because they had the luxury of having a big lead. They showed that their offense could do whatever they wanted with our defense. We played this game on Denver's terms, not ours.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

Defense did its job. Held and only gave up 2 TD's in 6 red zone trips. Were very tired after two very long Broncos drives. The offense did not help by giving the ball back so soon, did not help the defense get rest.

 

[deters]

No, the offense didn't let Manning hold the ball for 7 and 8 minute drives. But they didn't take advantage of their opportunities to put up any points to force Denver to play from behind either. Manning doesn't get to kill the clock and take his time if he's trying to come back from a deficit, and New England didn't do anything offensively Sunday to give themselves a chance to take Denver out of their offense.

Don't get me wrong, I thought the defense was bad as well. Unfortunately I just thought the offense was just that much worse.

Oh the offense was absolute trash, including play selection but the defense was equally as bad if not worse.

Zero pressure on Manning, zero 3 n outs, no turnovers, nearly 30 first downs, 500 yards allowed and a full 11:30 more in TOP! Horrible, horrible, horrible.

 

[Ian]

Trust this: If our offense scored more points, Denver's offense would have scored more points, too. They had two 7 minute plus drives because they had the luxury of having a big lead. They showed that their offense could do whatever they wanted with our defense. We played this game on Denver's terms, not ours.

That's why those opportunities early in the game were so huge. If they hit them and score twice in the early going, that changes Denver's approach.

 

[deters]

Trust this: If our offense scored more points, Denver's offense would have scored more points, too. They had two 7 minute plus drives because they had the luxury of having a big lead. They showed that their offense could do whatever they wanted with our defense. We played this game on Denver's terms, not ours.

Their first 7 minute drive was with a 3-0 lead and the second was at 13-3. Hardly a big lead...

Their first 3 drives lasted 4, 4 and 7 minutes. One Broncos drive lasted more than 3 of ours combined!

 

[Ian]

Oh the offense was absolute trash, including play selection but the defense was equally as bad if not worse.

Zero pressure on Manning, zero 3 n outs, no turnovers, nearly 30 first downs, 500 yards allowed and a full 11:30 more in TOP! Horrible, horrible, horrible.

Both were horrible, but they needed to at least get something going on a couple of those drives to help the defense out. They definitely weren't going to be able to shut Denver down, and mustering one field goal until the fourth quarter doesn't put any additional pressure on Manning to hurry or force a throw. Tough to beat anyone that way, especially at this stage of the playoffs.

 

[VrabelJr]

That's why those opportunities early in the game were so huge. If they hit them and score twice in the early going, that changes Denver's approach.

It would have kicked Denver into fast scoring mode is all that it would have done. I agree that 14 points certainly would have helped us though.

 

[Ian]

It would have kicked Denver into fast scoring mode is all that it would have done. I agree that 14 points certainly would have helped us though.

That may be, and I'm certainly with you. But it would have forced Denver to at least possibly change what they wanted to do at that point. Otherwise Denver never really had to change their approach and took advantage of a depleted group once Talib went down. Can't force Manning to make an errant throw if he doesn't need to take any chances, and he didn't need to yesterday. They could have used a turnover late but there really wasn't an opportunity for one.