The end of an era?

Hey AndyJohnson, why don't do you grow up. Is the moderator around, I think this is a personal insult. I am not wanted here.

I guess we should all just root, root, root for the home team.

AndyJohnson said:

Then leave and find a new team. Its not like you are wanted here anyway.
If you can be that fickle, you were never really a fan to begin with.

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This isn't college, with fight songs and such. Its a professional game, and the fans owe the team nothing. Its the players and ownership that owe the fans, cause its the fans money that pays their ridiculously high salaries.

I disagree with the OP. I don't think the game passed BB by. I think that about 4 years ago, BB thought that the future was the way the Colts were playing. So he went about building his his team in that mold. At that, he's been very successful. We have become the 03-08 Indianapolis Colts.

A high powered offense, with a defense that can probably play well with a lead, but not one you'd want to count on in a close game.

Passed him by? No....... He just miscalculated that the sustained success that a team like that could have.

The Colts are now finding out the hard way the ramifications of the team they built 6-7 years ago. That's where we are headed unless changes are made.

I firmly believe SB 42 was the day the music died for this franchise. Since that day, the team has zero playoff victories and the decline in talent is astounding.....
yes, 14-2, whoop dee do,big freaking deal...still means NOTHING in the grand scheme of things because the team under performs in the playoffs ...in the end, the Patriots are a franchise in decline and UNTIL Krafty changes his penny pinching ways - which obviously influences the recent "trade DOWN for VALUE" crap - draft two third rounders and a fourth rounder because signing them would cost the same as ONE FIRST ROUNDER....
Krafty will do NOTHING until his bottom line changes. He owns a professional soccer team and it is the laughingstock of MLS....pretty soon, the Patriots may be headed that way....

The Patriots refuse to get good receivers (for what we need, not good for short catches) and good defensive backs. Unless they do that (which they won't) I will no longer argue that are time isn't up.

You just can't win games with a run defense and Welker, you need to pass and stop the pass, this isn't 1981.

I thought for sure this was a Tom Brady thread when I first saw the title. I will need regular counseling sessions when that sad day happens.

Any chance the Pats are able to re-sign Hoyer and keep him or does he definitely walk this offseason leaving Mallett as the clear cut heir?

FCB02062 said:

I firmly believe SB 42 was the day the music died for this franchise. Since that day, the team has zero playoff victories and the decline in talent is astounding.....
yes, 14-2, whoop dee do,big freaking deal...still means NOTHING in the grand scheme of things because the team under performs in the playoffs ...in the end, the Patriots are a franchise in decline and UNTIL Krafty changes his penny pinching ways - which obviously influences the recent "trade DOWN for VALUE" crap - draft two third rounders and a fourth rounder because signing them would cost the same as ONE FIRST ROUNDER....
Krafty will do NOTHING until his bottom line changes. He owns a professional soccer team and it is the laughingstock of MLS....pretty soon, the Patriots may be headed that way....

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I approve of this thread, The Patriots would be a lot better off if Krafty Bob would get off some of that money and actually spend some on real players. You can't take it with you buddy.

The Patriots haven't had a losing season since 2000! Yes, there are struggles but any astute fan knows how fine the line is between Champions and losers. I question many moves, staff and personnel decisions, but realistically this team is capable of getting to the second season and then anything can happen. The Giants are a good football team. They just need a spark or something to bring them together NOW! They are heading into the second half of the season. Go kick the snot out of the Jets in their house and finish strong. There is still a ton of talent on this team and I will not believe this era is over until Brady and Belichick are both out of the equation.

FCB02062 said:

I firmly believe SB 42 was the day the music died for this franchise. Since that day, the team has zero playoff victories and the decline in talent is astounding.....
yes, 14-2, whoop dee do,big freaking deal...still means NOTHING in the grand scheme of things because the team under performs in the playoffs ...in the end, the Patriots are a franchise in decline and UNTIL Krafty changes his penny pinching ways - which obviously influences the recent "trade DOWN for VALUE" crap - draft two third rounders and a fourth rounder because signing them would cost the same as ONE FIRST ROUNDER....
Krafty will do NOTHING until his bottom line changes. He owns a professional soccer team and it is the laughingstock of MLS....pretty soon, the Patriots may be headed that way....

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BendButDontBreak37 said:

I approve of this thread, The Patriots would be a lot better off if Krafty Bob would get off some of that money and actually spend some on real players. You can't take it with you buddy.

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Scumbag New Jersey Green Beans trolls who root for a team of scumbags. Be gone, you toothless cretins.

I remember watching the post game show after the pats lost the SB and Emmit Smith said after this loss this was the beginning of the end for the pats. I thought he was crazy at the time when he said that.

Since he said that Brady got hurt and the pats missed the playoffs, then they lost in the first round against the Ravens and the following year against the Jets.

At this point BB is the judge, jury and executioner for all things football related and it is not working. Brady will be 35 next season and I am really hoping BB decides to delegate some of his responsibilities soon.

Hardly Dykes said:

I thought for sure this was a Tom Brady thread when I first saw the title. I will need regular counseling sessions when that sad day happens.

Any chance the Pats are able to re-sign Hoyer and keep him or does he definitely walk this offseason leaving Mallett as the clear cut heir?

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(A) Hoyer's an RFA. He's not "walking" this offseason unless the Pats think he serves no purpose here AND they can't get anything for him in a trade.

(B) Right now, both Mallett's and Brady's contracts expire in 2014, so it's not clear that Mallett is the "heir" to Brady.

BradyMossWelker said:

I love this board after a loss...

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I hate everything and everybody after a loss. I went completely batsh!t last night.

Tunescribe said:

Scumbag New Jersey Green Beans trolls who root for a team of scumbags. Be gone, you toothless cretins.

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Have no idea why he isn't banned or even given a TO.

Patters said:

His students -- the coaches on other teams -- are becoming better than the teacher. His players no longer show the same blind faith in him they once showed.

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These two sentences jumped off the page at me.

Do you really think the coaches of the other 31 teams are Bill Belichick's students? "His students" include very accomplished football men like Super Bowl champion coaches Sean Payton, Mike Tomlin, Mike Shanahan, Mike McCarthy, Tom Coughlin ( a fellow assistant coach with the Giants under Parcells, and Conference Champions like Andy Reid, Lovie Smith and Ken Whisenhunt.

It's insulting to call these coaches "Belichick's students." Cut me a break.

None of Belichick's assistants who went on to head coaching jobs are even in the league any more. If anything, Belichick is awful at spawning.

The other sentence is also ridiculous" "His players no longer show the same blind faith in him they once showed." Where are you coming up with that? As if blind faith is somehow a desirable trait.

A coach doesn't want blind faith - he wants players who understand the objective, understand and can execute their particular role in the system to get there, and players who understand the game and the variables to adjust to fit the circumstances. It has nothing to do with blind faith.

There is no mutiny on this team, nor is there any lack of support or respect for the head coach.

goheels22002 said:

These two sentences jumped off the page at me.

Do you really think the coaches of the other 31 teams are Bill Belichick's students? "His students" include very accomplished football men like Super Bowl champion coaches Sean Payton, Mike Tomlin, Mike Shanahan, Mike McCarthy, Tom Coughlin ( a fellow assistant coach with the Giants under Parcells, and Conference Champions like Andy Reid, Lovie Smith and Ken Whisenhunt.

It's insulting to call these coaches "Belichick's students." Cut me a break.

None of Belichick's assistants who went on to head coaching jobs are even in the league any more. If anything, Belichick is awful at spawning.

The other sentence is also ridiculous" "His players no longer show the same blind faith in him they once showed." Where are you coming up with that? As if blind faith is somehow a desirable trait.

A coach doesn't want blind faith - he wants players who understand the objective, understand and can execute their particular role in the system to get there, and players who understand the game and the variables to adjust to fit the circumstances. It has nothing to do with blind faith.

There is no mutiny on this team, nor is there any lack of support or respect for the head coach.

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I think all coaches, including BB, are students of other coaches. They all study each others games. I think BB introduced a more original thinking into football than any almost other coach (he's certainly up there with the likes of Shula and Noll), and most good coaches carefully studied his award winning defenses, especially. Coaches like Bill Cowher outright admitted that he made changes that reflect BB's thinking, and other coaches have acknowledged BB's contributions to the way the run their teams. BB at his height offered most football coaches plenty of ideas from which they learned.

I think we used to hear players regularly say things like "In BB we trust" or "He puts us in positions to make winning plays." We hear that a lot less often now. I did not say there's a mutiny on the team. BB remains a great coach, but the era when he was head and shoulders above any other coach in the league (in the opinion of many) is over.

I'm longing for the end of the era where posters look back to an imaginary past where we just waltzed into the divisional championship on our way to the Super Bowl trophy every year.

I can dream, can't I?

This place is like watching an episode of "Family Guy" after a loss.

ctpatsfan77 said:

Technically, I don't have a problem with BB cutting Sanders and Meriweather. My problem is not adequately addressing the position during the offseason.

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What offseason?

End of an era?

Many seem to have forgotten that this season is an era unto itself. I never had any doubts this was going to be a "messy" NFL season in many ways, for a lot of teams.

There's a reason free agency typically happens before the draft. But this year, many fans have forgotten that offseason strategy was completely upside down and shortened.

I think there's a lot of questions about Bill Belichick's ability to thrive in the Bizarro Football world where NFL GMs are forced to draft players before free agency - no doubt about it.

So I'd have to say this era will end when the 2012 free agency period starts, then we get back to the good old era of offseason conditioning and off field work, then the draft, then new CBA friendly OTAs, minicamps, training camps, pre-season going into the NEXT Era... That of the first full season of the new NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement

That's the much more important Era and I'll judge Belichick on that - not based on this Bizarro NFL season.

I think some of the aura around BB must now be given to the DEFENSE during the championship run. The players were better individually, collectively and were a heck of alot more versatile than the current version. Team speed at WR and DB has increased league wide and I think its safe to say scheme no longer can make up for talent. I mean Troy Brown was a DB! Earthwind Moreland? Do we think todays DBs are better than those guys or do you think the talent on the other teams have simply improved? Buddy Ryan didnt have good luck in Philly with other players either. I think its a combo of talent, technique and timing. Its the BB mystique and media that created the "era"?? Or is the sweat of the players who made plays when it counts?