There is no reason to panic

JSn said:

How did the Pats ever win games before Moss and Welker?

I'm a newish fan and I think it blows to see Wes go down for the count, but come on guys. Let's remember who this team is.

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exactly, who is this team?

JSn said:

How did the Pats ever win games before Moss and Welker?

I'm a newish fan and I think it blows to see Wes go down for the count, but come on guys. Let's remember who this team is.

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I think you are remembering who this team was.

Usually they won big games pre-Moss/Welker when they got great plays in clutch moments from Bruschi, Vrable, Willie Mc, Ty Law, Rodney, Seymour, Vinateri, Brady, Brown, Branch, Givens, Dillon, and Faulk. Most of those guys are long gone.

That era with a tough, disciplined, physical defense and a diverse offense both of which excelled in the clutch is over. It ended on a Sunday night in Janaury 2007 in an overheated dome in Indy. BB unquestionably changed the way the team was built after that game.

Who they are now is a much different team - an offense first team, a passing team who will now be without their best, most consistent weapon and a defense that is (pick your own term) in transition? inconsistent? shaky? just not that good? Both units have been equally unable to perform in the clutch this year when one 1st down or 1 defensive stop was needed to win the game.

Does Welker's injury mean they lose to Baltimore? I don't think so. Are they going to SD and Indy and then to Miami to beat the best the NFC has to offer? They probably weren't before his injury and those chances went way down when he got carted off.

mayoclinic said:

Very good post.

Brady - like just about everyone else - is a totally different QB when he has time to throw. The book on Brady used to be blitz him at your peril, because he will find the open man, but I think it's pretty well proven by now that he can be rattled and rushed into mistakes just like everyone else. A lot depends on how well our OL plays. Brady was hit 6 times yesterday, which is too much, and sacked twice.

There's absolutely no reason to panic, but there's also absolutely no reason to have any confidence that this team is ready to make a deep run in the playoffs. We're 1-6 in true road games, we've blown 10 point or greater leads in the 2nd half in 5 games, our defense has yet to show that it can stop a top QB and passing attack when it counts, and we're still struggling with fundamental mistakes. And we've lost our most consistent and dependable offensive performer. This is clearly the weakest Pats playoff team since 2005, and the 2005 team at least finished the season 4-1 with some momentum. Arizona went to the SB last year coming into the postseason looking ragged, but I wouldn't count on that as a recipe for success.

No need to panic, but reality shouldn't be interdicted either.

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The 2009 team finished 3-1. Both teams pooched the last game.

Playcalling and OL play is the most important, with or without Welker. We did have Welker when we blew 3 of those double digit 2nd half leads, so having him does not abstain us from these problems. My only concern like I said in the other thread is will there be an adjustment period to life without Welker and how much will it bring the offense down... I'll feel alot better with a win Sunday and seeing that ball get spread around effectively.

I am a little worried with Welker down, but not completely without faith. I know the Texans Defense isn't the best in the league, but the Pats did score 27 pts without Welker in for most of the game and with Hoyer playing some as well. They are going to face tougher defenses, but I think they can still put points on the board and it will be the defense and 4th quater play that worries me.

It's an unfortunate time to have to make an adjustment from targeting tendencies, but if anyone can adjust it would be Brady.

What I wish is that there was the technology available for a ligament transfer...I would suffer through a surgery and a year of recovery/rehab and swap ligaments for Welker to play. I am joking, but something tells me I would consider it.

That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds and snakes, an aeroplane - Lenny Bruce is not afraid. Eye of a hurricane, listen to yourself churn - world serves its own needs, regardless of your own needs. Feed it up a knock, speed, grunt no, strength no. Ladder structure clatter with fear of height, down height. Wire in a fire, represent the seven games in a government for hire and a combat site. Left her, wasn't coming in a hurry with the furies breathing down your neck.

Team by team reporters baffled, trump, tethered crop. Look at that low plane! Fine then. Uh oh, overflow, population, common group, but it'll do. Save yourself, serve yourself. World serves its own needs, listen to your heart bleed. Tell me with the rapture and the reverent in the right - right. You vitriolic, patriotic, slam, fight, bright light, feeling pretty psyched.

It's the end of the world as we know it.
It's the end of the world as we know it.
It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.

Six o'clock - TV hour. Don't get caught in foreign tower. Slash and burn, return, listen to yourself churn. Lock him in uniform and book burning, blood letting. Every motive escalate. Automotive incinerate. Light a candle, light a motive. Step down, step down. Watch a heel crush, crush. Uh oh, this means no fear - cavalier. Renegade and steer clear! A tournament, a tournament, a tournament of lies. Offer me solutions, offer me alternatives and I decline.

It's the end of the world as we know it.
It's the end of the world as we know it.
It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.

The other night I tripped a nice continental drift divide. Mount St. Edelite. Leonard Bernstein. Leonid Breshnev, Lenny Bruce and Lester Bangs. Birthday party, cheesecake, jelly bean, boom! You symbiotic, patriotic, slam, but neck, right? Right.

It's the end of the world as we know it.
It's the end of the world as we know it.
It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine...fine...

RhodyPatriot said:

Brady's binky is Moss. He's the player Brady forces the ball to and causes critical INT's.

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True but how much of that was directly related to him knowing he could find welker 9 times out of 10.

So he could focus on Moss, look for it, look for it, not there, quick to Welker

That's gone so maybe he looks elsewhere

dhamz said:

Are they going to SD and Indy and then to Miami to beat the best the NFC has to offer? They probably weren't before his injury and those chances went way down when he got carted off.

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If we're honest with ourselves, the reality is this team has not inspired confidence going into the post season - prior to the loss of Welker. This sort of feels like the final nail... All the rest is BS and what we are left with is a week or two of half fullers admonishing half emptiers and when the season ends (as it most certainly will prior to Feb 7th) the half fullers will lecture on the true meaning of what it is to be a fan (come rain or shine, come hell or high water, through thick and thin...). And they will have a point as it's much better to go through life as a half fuller, it's just that some of us aren't wired that way.

Timbo717 said:

I am a little worried with Welker down, but not completely without faith.

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Maybe that's it. I was never one for religion. I would venture to guess that most half fullers probably are.

mb6592 said:

Maybe that's it. I was never one for religion. I would venture to guess that most half fullers probably are.

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I'm not really one for religion either. I suppose "not completely without hope" would've been a better phrasing but it's Monday and such details escape me. I know the word faith is typically associated with religion, but perhaps it was just a bad use of words.

To me (personally), hope in this situation would refer to believing a certain outcome will happen, while the "faith" refers to believing in the people who would produce that outcome.

Triumph said:

NEWFLASH:

This team isnt the same as the SB Championship teams. The offense relies heavily on Moss and Welker and really hasnt identified a 3rd WR all season.

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+ 1 million. This team MAY beat the Raven - maybe - but it's over after that. Lets be honest here.

MoLewisrocks said:

If they're going to survive it's going to have to be with a punishing running game and a solid defense...

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Besides the injury to Wes, the thing that bothered me most yesterday was when we got the ball back with 9 minutes or so to go, I was hoping for a kill-the-clock running attack like the 12-minute drive vs. Jacksonville.

Since it didn't come close to happening, I'm wondering if that great 12-minute drive vs. the Jags was merely an illusion. I hope not. With a healthy O-line we need to pound it. Now, I know we were rotaing O-linemen in the 2nd half, so maybe that had something to do with not having a sustained drive there. Hopefully that is the reason.

I knew that without Wilfork and Warren, stopping the run was an issue.

Still I wanted the game-ending clock-killing drive.

The patriots won championships on getting the best out of no name players. Losing Welker is bad, but players like Edelman and Stanback have proven they can play and they might be the surprise performance the team needs to get past these playoff teams.

The patriots are the best at coming back as a team when a key player goes down. I think a lot of people will be surprised.

mb6592 said:

If we're honest with ourselves, the reality is this team has not inspired confidence going into the post season - prior to the loss of Welker. This sort of feels like the final nail... All the rest is BS and what we are left with is a week or two of half fullers admonishing half emptiers and when the season ends (as it most certainly will prior to Feb 7th) the half fullers will lecture on the true meaning of what it is to be a fan (come rain or shine, come hell or high water, through thick and thin...). And they will have a point as it's much better to go through life as a half fuller, it's just that some of us aren't wired that way.

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And how is that different than other years (2006) when we were a blown PI call on Reche Caldwell from getting to the Super Bowl?

This team, without Rodney Harrison, and Moss, and Welker, and a top notch Bruschi, beat San Diego and well should have beaten Indy that year. I cant say that that team had more talent than this one. In fact, I'm not sure if I'd prefer Samuel, Hobbs, etc., back then to Bodden, Springs, Butler, Sanders and Meriweather now. I don't think an older Bruschi and Vrabel were better than what we have now. We're missing Seymour from the DE, that's true. Our OL is the same, replace Caldwell with Moss and Gaffney with Edelman. We have a better RB situation.

As I remember, that Patriots team lost 21-0 to the lowly Phins in December, and they struggled mightily against Jax in one of the last games at home. People were pessimistic going into the playoffs just like they are now.

Palm Beach Pats Fan said:

Besides the injury to Wes, the thing that bothered me most yesterday was when we got the ball back with 9 minutes or so to go, I was hoping for a kill-the-clock running attack like the 12-minute drive vs. Jacksonville.

Since it didn't come close to happening, I'm wondering if that great 12-minute drive vs. the Jags was merely an illusion. I hope not. With a healthy O-line we need to pound it. Now, I know we were rotaing O-linemen in the 2nd half, so maybe that had something to do with not having a sustained drive there. Hopefully that is the reason.

I knew that without Wilfork and Warren, stopping the run was an issue.

Still I wanted the game-ending clock-killing drive.

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The big difference is that Jax was beaten, while the Texans were still fighting. Plus the Texans sold out yesterday to stop the run. They were run blitzing. The Patriots should have had a much much better day throwing the ball, but I suspect they were very vanilla.

Palm Beach Pats Fan said:

Besides the injury to Wes, the thing that bothered me most yesterday was when we got the ball back with 9 minutes or so to go, I was hoping for a kill-the-clock running attack like the 12-minute drive vs. Jacksonville.

Since it didn't come close to happening, I'm wondering if that great 12-minute drive vs. the Jags was merely an illusion. I hope not. With a healthy O-line we need to pound it. Now, I know we were rotaing O-linemen in the 2nd half, so maybe that had something to do with not having a sustained drive there. Hopefully that is the reason.

I knew that without Wilfork and Warren, stopping the run was an issue.

Still I wanted the game-ending clock-killing drive.

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The goal of the 2nd half yesterday wasn't necessarily to win the game or run the ball, it was to get Brady in tune with the new recievers. BB knows what he was with Taylor/Maroney/Morris pounding the ball but probably wanted to get a good look at Edelman and company. I'm hopeful that in the case of needing to put the game away, there will be more of a committment to the run, or at least a better mix of pass plays. Houston absolutely could not stop the screen yet we didn't go to it once in the last couple Brady drives. So at the time I'm not too bothered about the 2nd half.

PATSYLICIOUS said:

Houston absolutely could not stop the screen yet we didn't go to it once in the last couple Brady drives. So at the time I'm not too bothered about the 2nd half.

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Brady's 2nd to last pass was a screen to Sammy Morris that lost 5 yards.

I have just one question, does brady ever throw to our TEs anymore? Are Watson, Baker that bad? I think those guys can be a threat, particularly in the red zone.

Moss-Edelman-Aikan-Baker/Watson can be dangerous. I mean they are not that much better than the WR/TE corps. that we won 3 super bowls with. THen again, we don't have the defense we used to.

Well, if we beat the Ravens and put forth a solid effort, the mood here will be bright, cheery, and "I knew it along" type-stuff. Like after last week's JAX game. And if not, well, the season's over and I can take a hiatus from this place and not have to read the *****ing anyway.

Dale and Holly are suggesting that Aiken wont' be playing either. So that's bad. But I do think Watson can potentially do a lot more than he has done so far this year.

And it is true, based on what we heard in the postgame, that the Pats game plan in the second half was about getting Brady comfortable without Welker, not about winning the game.

TommyBrady12 said:

I have just one question, does brady ever throw to our TEs anymore? Are Watson, Baker that bad? I think those guys can be a threat, particularly in the red zone.

Moss-Edelman-Aikan-Baker/Watson can be dangerous. I mean they are not that much better than the WR/TE corps. that we won 3 super bowls with. THen again, we don't have the defense we used to.

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