Official Pats/Saints PostGame Thread

Our lack of pash rush is what really has turned this unit into easy targets. We never can get pressure with just the front 3 or 4, meanwhile our offense just hasn't proven to be clutch under pressure. Our road performance really illustrates that. The lack of a #3 WR has really slowed the offense. It just seems that in the big games teams can take Moss out of it and we don't have an answer. That and there just seems to be no rhythym to our playcalling. The run is working early, boom let's leave it and throw and become predictable. It's as if we have no answer. The defense may be getting younger, but our pass rush isn't going to fix itself.

BadMoFo said:

Please, he had a bad game. The first INT that killed the momentum was his fault. The three deep passes to the end zone to end the first half were his fault. He had other options on those four plays, but made the wrong choices.

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We should have never went five wide on that first down play, especially with the way we pounded the ball down their throat with the run the series before that. You can throw some of that blame on O'Brien as well.

“You are what your record says you are”


This team need to regroup and need some luck , they are down now , they need to regroup and beat the Dolphins.

We're a classic case of 'you are what you are' - look at our results so far. We're a shade better than the Falcons and Ravens of the league but we're not in the class of the Colts or Saints, not yet anyway (and in the latter's case it looks a way off).

Just a humiliation today. Credit to the Saints - they're a terrific football team, Brees is awesome, that defense is impressive, and they well and truly lived up to the expectations of them coming into this game when it would have been easy to cave under the pressure. That said, we didn't half make things insanely easy for them at times - terrible coverage, weak-ass tackling, some extremely dubious play-calling once again particularly on offense. It's 5am here and delving into things any deeper than that seems pointless, we were just outclassed in every area.

Not giving up hope of a SB run by any means, but it's fair to say my expectations have lowered somewhat. Too many problem areas - no pass rush, no legit 3rd receiver, poor defense against the elite, special teams look a bit shaky right now. A genuine tilt at the SB will be a pleasant surprise.

One blowout loss makes everyone think Moss has lost it---statistically he's one of the best WRs this year and I think most non Pats fans would say Moss is the best WR in the NFL by a hair--you can make a case for Wayne. Our Offensive coordinator is one of the worst. I can call these plays from my living room.

Plus who goes 5 wide on 3rd and 1?

Can someone please explain to me why the Saints can get touchdowns from 17 different jag receivers but we can't get one from Moss or Welker?

Oh and BTW Jonathan Wilhite should be cut yesterday, he is horrible.

Oh yeah one more thing, our OL sucks. 3 man rush and they are teeing off on Brady.

I just can't help but think it's a scheme thing that's our problem on defense, not a talent thing. NO had guys coming in off the street and they were in the pockets of our receivers all night long. There's no way they are more physically gifted than our DBs, yet they outplayed them. McKenzie jumped an Aikens slant on one play, then a Moss square out a few plays later. Two different receivers, 2 different patterns, same result. Either our receivers are really bad at getting open or McKenzie KNEW what play was coming. I'm thinking it was a good defensive play call by NO.

Our DBs, in contrast, seem to always be in 'late reaction' mode, arriving just in time to tackle the receiver after the already-successful pass completion. Are we coaching this technique or are we constantly guessing the wrong patterns on crucial downs? I can think of one pass where we jumped a route for an interception this year. Bodden's picks recently were mostly on off-target throws, not amazing reads on the receiver's route.

Offensively I have similar concerns. Do our wideouts ever use double moves? I've seen Welker do it on occasion, and Faulk had a long gain on a fake-cross-then-reverse-field pattern early on. But on those crucial plays with the game on the line, our receivers always seem to make one move and try to get the quick completion.

weswelker#83 said:

“You are what your record says you are”


This team need to regroup and need some luck , they are down now , they need to regroup and beat the Dolphins.

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Very true seriously ... we are pretty much our record. We lost one we should have won and we won one we should have lost.

I think some things have hurt that we were counting on...


1 We thought we would sign Jason Taylor
2 Joey Galloway was suppose to be a 3 option
3 The secondary , is a work in progress..
4 Jerod Mayo , has taken a step back..

I guess the point is lets get in the tournment.. and see what happens, but we are not the same old Patriots, we are a team that needs to be a offesnive juggernaunt..

This was a game I highlighted when the schedule came out last spring, there is usually 2-3 games a year that stand out and this one for sure did being a monday night game against an explosive team in a hostile dome...and it just did not live up to expectations. I figured it would come down to the last minute of the game like the Colts game did. It was a fun game for a while but a very disappointing final score.

I think one of the main issues with the offense is we continue to try to spread the field with receivers and the defense doesn't respect anyone but Moss and Welker. In '07 we had Stallworth, Gaffney, and Kelly Washington while in '09 we have Aiken, Edelman (when healthy), and Stanbeck. We only have 2 established WRs and (equally as important) we don't have a guy who can threaten the defense opposite of Moss. If the defense only has to worry about one receiver past 20 yards (or really past 15) it's not too hard to defend.

First of all let me congratulate the Saints - that was a very impressive performance, they out coached, out scored and out played us. They are one if not two cuts above the Colts. As the commentators said they were on fire, and that is what the Patriots lacked tonight if not most of the season.

When they can bring in free agents like MacKenzie and play with the passion and 60 minute focus they did tonight then they will be hard for anyone to beat.

There are a number of problems on the Patriots but they didnt choke so much as croak. The offense is becoming so predictable that the Saints were able to snuff out our two biggest threats Moss and Welker. After that our biggest problem on offense is not having a 3rd receiver. Tom has little to no confidence either in them or his arm when he throws to them. Overthrows and underthrows that has to be his worst game since the 4 INT game against Miami.

The running game was abandoned yet again but this time they were behind and had little option other than to pass, and with only two legitimate receivers both closed down their fate was sealed. I agree with an earlier poster who saw Nunn as better than Stanback and his departure to the Bucs may cause more regret than Lewis to the Vikings.

The defense wasn't good but it wasn't as bad as the score suggested, apart from the dropped cover on Henderson and a few missed tackles it was fairly tight, it was just that Brees was surgical and remorseless. Some of those throws were amazing, hitting the numbers and the spaces with 07 Brady like precision., but then we never really brought much pressure. He is elite and well ahead of Brady at the moment. Of course he will miss out on MVP but in my mind he is the most deserving.

We have 5 weeks to find a reliable 3rd and 4th receiver, and solid back up to Maroney. Taylor coming back will be a big boost, as will Vollmer and Edelman. I am not as optimistic as I was and cant see this team in the Superbowl, but if they can find that passion and fire that was in the SB teams you never know.

The Saints are realistic Superbowl favorites.

Bill O'Brien is terrible, Kaczur is garbage, oh well, at least we can maybe replace Kaczur. BOB will have to wait until after the season.

Brady has got to start taking some of the blame. His throws were off.

decent assesment by reiss
First-half analysis - Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

Brady struggled to consistently find his rhythm, affected by the Saints’ pressure as the protection has broken down too often. The combination of the Saints’ tight coverage on Randy Moss and Welker helped the Saints win more snaps. Moss was held without a catch until 49 seconds remained in the half and appeared frustrated at times.

The Patriots’ pass-catchers aren’t getting separation, forcing Brady to work the ball into tight spots.

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chrisfx811 said:

Lol...

Hey look, we have a running game. Well, let's get away from that now that we have the lead, and let's get predictable!

LoMo played his ass off, especially in the 1st half. Sadly, the lack of consistent run blocking and abandonment of the run game eventually reared their ugly heads.

3rd/4th down playcalling is getting so predictable if we need more than 2 yds. Dbs are just not afraid of our Wrs getting behind them. Short crossing routes and that's it.

I just don't know what our D is built for. D-line can't rush the passer. CBs can't blitz well, can't hit well, and can basically just get in the vicinity of WRs. LBs seem too big to really handle passing teams. Our safeties are a bright spot, as is Big Vince.

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Yup. When we gave the ball to Maroney, we were kicking ass. When we decided to get cute, we got our asses kicked. I'd say that I hope we learn our lesson or something, but I know we won't

BradyFTW! said:

Yup. When we gave the ball to Maroney, we were kicking ass. When we decided to get cute, we got our asses kicked. I'd say that I hope we learn our lesson or something, but I know we won't

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We stopped running because we had to score quickkkk!!!

JFK said:

We stopped running because we had to score quickkkk!!!

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That's exactly why we stopped running down 10-7 in the second quarter

Yeah, I wasn't sure if that was sarcasm or something, but we certainly didn't need to score quick up 7-3 towards the end of the first after that Welker punt return. And yet we come out empty backfield after the success we had running on that terrific first drive, go figure.

One positive during this game is that Maroney is getting a bit better by the week. Without looking at his stats it seems like his average yardage per run is improving. He also seems to be getting better at the timing on his dancing to get around blockers too to get a few more yards. On the other hand he does need to learn how to hold on to the ball better and not fumble it. Seems just like Adrian Peterson he's due for at least one fumble a game or so.