Why did we stop blowing out opponents?

[NENGFAN]

Do you think there was a specific reason for that? I really liked it when we were blowing out opponents - somehow it changed during the last 4-5 games.

Do you think we will blow out teams in the playoffs? I hope so.

 

[WhiZa]

blueprint!

 

[tombonneau]

We blew the Steelers out.

We didn't blow the Jets out IMO mostly due to weather.

Pretty much blew the Dolphins out, could have been bigger if not for sloppy second half.

Giants game was just a great, competitive game.

So in the last 4 games we had two blowouts, one semi-close game due to weather, and one good, close, competitive game vs. a playoff team.

I'm not worried and regardless of opponent expect the Pats to win by 20+ in round 2.

An AFCCG vs. Indy I'd expect to be pretty close, but Pats could dominate depending on how Indy plays us sans Freeney.

 

[MRBLAZE]

Can't blow every team out, even if there are times late in the year, like versus Miami where we could have expanded the playbook some more to counter their adjustments, why do it? Had a 28pt lead at halftime, scouts were also there in attendance. No need to pile on 28 more, game was controlled.

 

[DaBruinz]

Do you think there was a specific reason for that? I really liked it when we were blowing out opponents - somehow it changed during the last 4-5 games.

Do you think we will blow out teams in the playoffs? I hope so.

It changed for a variety of reasons (in no particular order).

1) Weather.
2) Injuries - Neal, Kaczur, K. Brady, S. Morris, R. Colvin. Losing Neal forces the Pats to run LEFT more than right. Hochstein just isn't as good a run blocker. Even though the Pats tried to run behind O'Callaghan and Hochstein, they couldn't do it with much success.
3) Game Plan / Quality of the defenses they were facing. Baltimore and Pitts have very good defenses. Philly has a very good run defense. The Giants aren't schmucks either.
4) Pats went to vanilla defenses.

 

[Grogan's neck roll]

Do you think there was a specific reason for that? I really liked it when we were blowing out opponents - somehow it changed during the last 4-5 games.

Do you think we will blow out teams in the playoffs? I hope so.

I have a theory on this and it was supported by others I heard on the radio (sorry, can't remember where). As the season drew on playoff teams were scouting the Pats in anticipation of playing them. BB knew this, and as such, particularly on defense, became fairly vanilla, not a lot of complexity, playing things fairly straight up, going against earlier tendencies. The idea being to mask the true tendencies of the D with less complex tendencies.

I went to the Dolphin game, and felt they were pretty vanilla on D, and as for the offense, Brady threw deep to Moss 5 times in the second half, resulting in 2 picks and 3 incompletions. I think he was getting greedy against a team he knew wouldn't come back.

Also, against the Giants I thought there was a lot of 3 men rushing in the first half, which allowed Eli to have some time, but when they really needed stops in the second half they did some more complex rushes with blitzing.

One man's opinion.

 

[hambone1818]

Do you think there was a specific reason for that? I really liked it when we were blowing out opponents - somehow it changed during the last 4-5 games.

Do you think we will blow out teams in the playoffs? I hope so.

I think it had something to do with teams adjusting to our game plans, focusing on strength's (Moss and Welker) while attacking the line more. It became apparent that a fast, physical front 7 could wreck havoc on the Pats O-line and while Brady still managed to avoid the sack in most games he also didn't have the time he had earlier in the season. Also, the defense may have worn down a bit as the season went on, especially the aging linebacking corp. Losing Colvin certainly didn't help, but with 30-something's throughout the most important part of a BB-coached defense I think 1) the pressure on opposing QB's was limited--making the AJ Feeley's and Eli Manning's of the world look like Pro Bowlers--and 2) allowed for some big rushing days out of opposing RB's.

In addition, while it can't be measured or analyzed like the above statements can, I think teams 'came to play'--so to speak--a bit more as the season progressed. There's nothing like hearing about a team going undefeated all weak to add that extra motivation, and football is the ultimate 'gut-check' sport: you're running off adrenaline and something close to hatred most of the game, and if you constantly hear about how unbeatable a team is you're damn well going to do everything in you power to shut all that talk up. We saw it early in most every game the Patriots played down the stretch, and it appeared to me that 3 teams were able to keep that intensity up the entire game: the Ravens, the Eagles and the Giants. And I really believe that's why those games outcome remained up in the air until the final minute.

 

[Fanfrom1960]

Do you think there was a specific reason for that? I really liked it when we were blowing out opponents - somehow it changed during the last 4-5 games.

Do you think we will blow out teams in the playoffs? I hope so.

There will be two medium sized blowouts and one close (7 - 13 point win) game in the playoffs. I mean, who the f knows, and if the Pats could have continued the blowouts in the regular season, they would have. This isn't Madden football. l

 

[RayClay]

Do you think there was a specific reason for that? I really liked it when we were blowing out opponents - somehow it changed during the last 4-5 games.

Do you think we will blow out teams in the playoffs? I hope so.

Philly played us physical. You don't let superior talent run loose.

Why do you want us to blow teams out? A win is a win.

The teams least likely to perform well are front running finesse teams. I hope to gawd we're not one of those.

For that reason, the last games of the season have been excellent preparation for playoff football.

 

[Horace's Ivories]

I also think that going back aways, maybe excluding Pittsburgh which was a blowout, those teams had very little to play for other than pride. So they play loose and easy and its easier to play extremely well. Gives those teams credit but the playoffs will be different as the opponents sphincter's tighten.

 

[FibSeq13478]

Do you think there was a specific reason for that? I really liked it when we were blowing out opponents - somehow it changed during the last 4-5 games.

Do you think we will blow out teams in the playoffs? I hope so.

Coincidentally, the blow outs stopped after Brady indicated on D&C radio interview after the Buffalo game that they wanted to kill teams so that they will have a psychological advantage the next time they play them. I don't think it is likely but it is possible that this proclamation gave bulletin board material to the remaining teams on our schedule.

 

[Grogan's neck roll]

Coincidentally, the blow outs stopped after Brady indicated on D&C radio interview after the Buffalo game that they wanted to kill teams so that they will have a psychological advantage the next time they play them. I don't think it is likely but it is possible that this proclamation gave bulletin board material to the remaining teams on our schedule.

I disagree, do you honestly believe that bulletin board material had an approximately 15 point affect on game outcomes? I can't believe that.

 

[BradyManny]

Do you think there was a specific reason for that? I really liked it when we were blowing out opponents - somehow it changed during the last 4-5 games.

Do you think we will blow out teams in the playoffs? I hope so.

I think any team not named the Colts could get blown out, but at the same time, any team in the AFC right now has a chance to scare you. Which is more likely? I don't know.

 

[FibSeq13478]

I disagree, do you honestly believe that bulletin board material had an approximately 15 point affect on game outcomes? I can't believe that.

I said it is NOT likely but it is possible. Who knows what other teams' coaches did. But is there any doubt that BB would have used it as a bulletin board material if it was some other team saying it and the roles were reversed?

Regarding 15 points difference, there were additional factors as well- out of this world odds from Vegas motivating prideful players, playing their superbowl, very good offensive lines for Baltimore, Philadelphia and NY Giants that imposed their will for at least a while on the Pats D to sustain drives etc. Also note that a sustained drive that results in 7 points could account for 14 point difference because it also reduces the number of opportunities for Pats Offense.

 

[richpats]

Philly, Baltimore, the Jets, Miami and the Giants were expected to be blowouts. Only Miami was. The Steelers were expected to beat NE - and they were blown out.

Come playoff time there won't be any 'expected' blowouts - just actual ones

 

[PatriotsReign]

Do you think there was a specific reason for that? I really liked it when we were blowing out opponents - somehow it changed during the last 4-5 games.

Do you think we will blow out teams in the playoffs? I hope so.

I posted this in another thread as well, but I believe it sums up what happened.

1. the weather
2. Haven't you ever been so close to a personal goal and experienced the last few pieces seemed to take the greatest effort?

I think the Patriot WERE vulnerable toward the end of the year. The key word being "WERE". They were vulnerable because it was getting late in the season and several of their oponents were (or appeared) mediocre at best.

They are NO LONGER vulnerable because they know they are 3 wins from taking the super bowl. This is the position the Patriots love...one & done! They will have no mental lapses or lack of motivation. They will be their usual Playoff-intense selves. Personally, I think anyone who believes they were losing it toward the end of the season and this may carry into the playoffs is not a student of the game.

The Patriots will be more intense than they have been at any point in the season. They will execute better than they have to date. I have no doubt because I've watched every single game since BB & Tom Brady came here. That is their MO & I have no doubt it will carry them through once again.

Look at last year's loss to the Colts. Think about the Patriots team that played that game and think about the team we now have...NIGHT & DAY my brothers....night & day.

 

[NYPatsFan]

I would love to think that the Pats stopped kicking butt because they were trying to go against tendancies, but I think it has a lot to do with the fact that other teams played them like it was the Super Bowl and the Pats didn't match the intensity of their opponents.

 

[GameDay]

Do you think there was a specific reason for that? I really liked it when we were blowing out opponents - somehow it changed during the last 4-5 games.

Do you think we will blow out teams in the playoffs? I hope so.

Blowouts are exception, not norm. Very difficult to blowout teams. It takes one team near perfect and one team completely outplayed to have a blowout.
In games 9-16, opponents scouted the Pats better and no more surprise factor. If they just played solid and no mistake, even if they were not as good as the Pats, they could lose but not blown out. Also, as many said, other teams were jacked up to play.

There are several ways you can analyze this statistically.... and the evidence is clear that teams were more competitive against the Pats in games 9-16. The bottom line is that blowouts are rare.

(PS if you were a bettor, you might know that many people [non-Pats fans] bet against the Pats in the games 9-16 for the reasons mentioned).

 

[GameDay]

Philly, Baltimore, the Jets, Miami and the Giants were expected to be blowouts. Only Miami was. The Steelers were expected to beat NE - and they were blown out.

Come playoff time there won't be any 'expected' blowouts - just actual ones

I wouldn't qualify the Miami game as blow out, unless the Pats intentionally slowed down in the 2nd half. The Steelers game was a good win, but not the same kind of blowouts in the 1st half of the season.

 

[hambone1818]

I would love to think that the Pats stopped kicking butt because they were trying to go against tendancies, but I think it has a lot to do with the fact that other teams played them like it was the Super Bowl and the Pats didn't match the intensity of their opponents.

However, much like the 'vanilla defense' claim, if it was in fact an inability to match the intensity then it bodes well for the playoffs. We all know the Patriots have been stellar during BB's reign in the postseason (with two clear exceptions), their focus, big-play ability and intensity unmatched. I expect to see this again in the next month, which is why I'm confident (definitely not sure, I'll say that much) that they'll be playing for a 4th Super Bowl.

While the regular season was all about 16-0 (at least the last few games), it's hardly the motivating factor that the Super Bowl is. As (I believe) Adalius Thomas said, at no point during the preseason did they say 'we want to go undefeated', it was always 'we want to win the Super Bowl'. You don't get motivated for an undefeated season (until, again, the last few games), it's all about playing for the postseason. Now that the Pats are there I expect them to equal or exceed the intensity of every team they play.