I think this loss is great news (hear me out)

[mcmurtry86]

2001 - 13 years ago
2003 - 11 years ago
2004 - a decade ago

2014 - 37yr old QB, No offensive line, no defensive play makers. Maybe there's a little bit of magic left, who knows? But there are ZERO comparisons to be drawn between those teams and this one.

Also, we can't ignore that the 2001 team turned it around by Brady replacing Bledsoe and the 2003 team's biggest opening day flaw (safety) was corrected by putting Eugene Wilson in for Antwan Harris.

The 2014 team's biggest flaws, DT and interior OL, don't have obvious upgrades in the wings. The DT's today were the same pile of suck we saw last year. Vellano still stinks but gets a lot of playing time. Wilfork looked like early 2013 Wilfork (old, handled by single team) than a quality player, Easley was a non-factor and Siliga is a backup caliber player. Who is going to step up? Chris Jones? I doubt it.

The OL might be more promising in that their problems today seemed to stem from a lack of cohesiveness and the mix-and-match personnel changes they had today. That unit might improve over time but I have no faith in the interior DL. The run D and overall stoutness of the interior DL was a problem last year and they did nothing to address it except to add an underweight pass-rushing DT who is clearly still working his way back from a torn ACL.

If Vellano, Siliga, Chris Jones and early-season Wilfork stunk last year vs. the run, why do we expect them to make a leap this year? Maybe they just aren't good players (or, in Wilfork's case, maybe his decline last year pre-injury was real).

 

[Joey007]

I'm just watching Denvers offense in envy right now.. we have a long way to go with this offense.

 

[mcmurtry86]

They allowed only one TD in the first half and that was a gift by the punting team by putting the ball on the Pats' 13. In fact, the Pats did pretty well in the red zone all game.

Right but they got 3 drives stopped by turnovers. I think it's unrealistic to think they were going to force 3 more in the 2nd half. The DL was getting worked in the first half and allowing Tannehill to complete passes at a 66% rate and the RB's to ruh for 5+ yards at a time is a recipe for disaster.

 

[Mogamedogz]

Can you pretend this was only one game of the season?

Im not saying that the seasons over. Im just saying that our defense lacks the big play makers that our SB teams had. It's been that way since 2007. Luckily Brady has been good enough to carry us. Now that he seems to be in decline, these missing pieces are going to start to become more and more glaring.

 

[Rob0729]

Right but they got 3 drives stopped by turnovers. I think it's unrealistic to think they were going to force 3 more in the 2nd half. The DL was getting worked in the first half and allowing Tannehill to complete passes at a 66% rate and the RB's to ruh for 5+ yards at a time is a recipe for disaster.

But just because they stopped them on turnovers, doesn't mean they wouldn't stop them without scoring. Even in the second half, they did well in the red zone. The Pats are typically a good red zone defense even when they are bad in the open field. In fact, the Wallace TD should have been a field goal opportunity because Revis did break up the pass, but the ball bounced off Wallace's knee and he was able to pull it in on the second attempt.

 

[meatface]

I just hope that after watching film they have enough to see who was the best combination of o-lineman. It makes me wonder if the loss of Scar is going to affect us more than we thought (maybe he would make adjustments that Goug isn't cable of making). We also need to figure out the defense quickly or Adrian Peterson will destroy us.

Yeah the only thing im really worried about is that run defense against Peterson, I just hoped that the solid LB and Big Vince back would help solidify the Run D but today did not look good

 

[Silver Blue&Red]

What I'm taking out of this game is: BB went into this game trying to beat the heat. I think he over rotated the roster to avoid over heating. That took a lot of continuity out of the team. They just never got a rhythm. Too many new acquisition to gel under the conditions. Road game, in Miami, Heat, humidity, noise...IMO, that was a mistake. Too much rotation. ...I hope

 

[rochrist]

Making a defensive play does not = Defensive play maker.
Assante was a play maker (even if he did blow the biggest of them all).

Asante was a soft-as-butter cb who was primarily concerned with always going for the flashy interception rather than playing his position solidly. Smartest thing BB ever did was not pay that clown's asking price.

 

[rochrist]

You wont see another stud WR in this offense so long as BB is here IMO. He puts very little value on the position and the draft picks he's made have for the most part ended up being JAGs. Jury is still out on Dobson, but I wouldnt bet a buck that he's turning into any sort of elite player.

There's only ever been ONE stud WR on the Pats during BB's entire tenure. And they didn't win when they had him.

 

[Brady6]

What I'm taking out of this game is: BB went into this game trying to beat the heat. I think he over rotated the roster to avoid over heating. That took a lot of continuity out of the team. They just never got a rhythm. Too many new acquisition to gel under the conditions. Road game, in Miami, Heat, humidity, noise...IMO, that was a mistake. Too much rotation. ...I hope

I think he out coached himself today with his game plan. It was not vintage Belichick. Sometimes I think he is to smart and involved for his own good.

 

[Archeryaddict12]

What I'm taking out of this game is: BB went into this game trying to beat the heat. I think he over rotated the roster to avoid over heating. That took a lot of continuity out of the team. They just never got a rhythm. Too many new acquisition to gel under the conditions. Road game, in Miami, Heat, humidity, noise...IMO, that was a mistake. Too much rotation. ...I hope

Very logical.

 

[Mogamedogz]

Asante was a soft-as-butter cb who was primarily concerned with always going for the flashy interception rather than playing his position solidly. Smartest thing BB ever did was not pay that clown's asking price.

All that maybe true, but where would you rank him on the list of CB's we've had in the Bill/Brady era, based on their contributions to our team ?

 

[Mogamedogz]

There's only ever been ONE stud WR on the Pats during BB's entire tenure. And they didn't win when they had him.

Yea, that's pretty much my point (though they should have won in '07). WR is not a high emphasis position on this team. Never has been really. There's an argument to be made on whether or not it should have been, especially as the windows been closing, but my point is that elite talent at that position is not valued in this system. Bill likes guys who are smart, unselfish, run good routes, block down field, and pick up YAC.

If only they were our biggest concern, I'd feel a whole lot better about the coming season.

 

[DocHoliday]

People are fetishizing Scar a little bit. There were major concerns about his offensive lines the past two years

 

[BradyFTW!]

Making a defensive play does not = Defensive play maker.

Teddy was a Play maker, Rodney was a Play maker, Assante was a play maker (even if he did blow the biggest of them all), Willie Mac was a play maker, Vrabes was a play maker.

Those guys came up big when we needed a play. Name one guy on the defensive side of the ball, on the roster now, that you'd classify as a play maker? A guy who you have confidence in coming up with a big play when the team needs it bad? Just ONE GUY.

If Asante and Vrabel were playmakers, then so are Revis, Chandler Jones, McCourty, and maybe even Ninkovich.

It's amazing how much people have romanticized the early-2000s teams just ten years out. They were really good, but there was nobody in those secondaries as good as revis

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

A loss is never great news. The only thing we can hope is that our team by season's end bears no resemblance to what we saw today which is one insinuation in the OP I do agree with. Awful in the trenches = no chance in playoffs regardless of how talented you are elsewhere, so that needs to change somehow. As someone said the main concern is this has been our recipe for disaster year after year in playoff losses - pressure on Brady, knocks him off his game even when he has opportunities. And no pass rush defensively. Like I said, best we can hope is this is one of those week 1 anomalies.

 

[Mogamedogz]

If Asante and Vrabel were playmakers, then so are Revis, Chandler Jones, McCourty, and maybe even Ninkovich.

It's amazing how much people have romanticized the early-2000s teams just ten years out. They were really good, but there was nobody in those secondaries as good as revis

I dont mean to offend (really). But how old are you? Im curious if you are old enough to remember those teams as an adult.

It's true that nobody in those secondaries were as good as Revis. Im not claiming they were. But time will tell how good Revis will be for "us". As for the other guys you listed, Ninko is the closest thing we have to a consistent play maker on defense.

 

[BradyFTW!]

I dont mean to offend (really). But how old are you? Im curious if you are old enough to remember those teams as an adult.

It's true that nobody in those secondaries were as good as Revis. Im not claiming they were. But time will tell how good Revis will be for "us". As for the other guys you listed, Ninko is the closest thing we have to a consistent play maker on defense.

Yes, I was an adult and I've seen every game since Belichick got here. Sounds like you have an incredibly arbitrary definition of playmaker.

 

[mayoclinic]

What I'm taking out of this game is: BB went into this game trying to beat the heat. I think he over rotated the roster to avoid over heating. That took a lot of continuity out of the team. They just never got a rhythm. Too many new acquisition to gel under the conditions. Road game, in Miami, Heat, humidity, noise...IMO, that was a mistake. Too much rotation. ...I hope

I'm not much of a Zuri Berry fan, but he had this bit that I thought was a potentially interesting take:

Mix and match, fix and scratch — Bill Belichick said after the game it was the team’s plan to play every single player. That led to the offensive line getting switched up practically every other series. Nate Solder and Sebastian Vollmer were set at the tackles while Marcus Cannon was set at left guard. But the center and right guard combination seemed to differ on a whim.

The Patriots brass appears to want to extend the tryouts for starting positions into the regular season. While Dan Connolly started at center and Jordan Devey started at right guard, Ryan Wendell would come in and play center and Connolly would shift to right guard.

The obvious inference from this shuffling of players is that the Patriots are unsure about which combo they truly desire. And there’s nothing better than live game action to find out, if we are to continue to infer upon the situation. That led to disastrous results on Sunday, with Tom Brady sacked four times — all in the second half — and six total hits on the quarterback. Everybody was giving up plays on the line and the communication appeared to be shot. Belichick and new offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo need to make a decision about who the starting group is now so that this unit can build cohesion. It certainly appeared that the coaching staff thought they could skate by against the Dolphins. They ought not make the same mistake twice.

http://www.boston.com/sports/footba...4/09/5_takeaways_from_patriots-dolphins.html

 

[Boston Boxer]

I just hope that this total ass whoping to our D makes BB understand that we do not have 3-4 personel. I fear that BB will continue to force this defense, even if it continues to show no real promise. Going back to the defense of the last few years, with Hightower at DE from time to time, would be a huge upgrade for our defense.

BB still thinks he is coaching the Giants D...we need to be more athletic rather than big slow LBs. Just my opinion