Curran:Patriots have deep-seated, and vexing, problems

http://www.csnne.com/new-england-patriots/patriots-have-deep-seated-and-vexing-problems

this is my biggest question

How can a team can go from being the second-best in the AFC playing without key players like Jerod Mayo, Vince Wilfork and Rob Gronkowski, get those guys back, and be worse? After they added Darrelle Revis? With another season under the combined belt of the promising rookie class of 2013 -- Kenbrell Thompkins, Aaron Dobson and Jamie Collins?

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They are just poorly coached right now at least on defense.

That is what has made this so frustrating for me. I really had high expectations for this team.

SVN said:

http://www.csnne.com/new-england-patriots/patriots-have-deep-seated-and-vexing-problems

this is my biggest question



They are just poorly coached right now at least on defense.

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2 of the 3 promising rookies of 2013 were inexplicably benched. Coach/GM is making some bizarre choices lately.

Couldn't possibly have anything to do with the head coach, could it?

Either they are worse than last year or other teams are better. I would say both are probably true. The person that has regressed the most appears to be Tom Brady. I think Father time has finally caught him.

The answer is last year was total smoke and mirrors, we were running on fumes and easily could have been 8-8. This shouldnt be a shock to anyone we had like 3 or 4 miracle wins we had no business winning. We had no chance in that AFC Championship game and it showed.

Dagg said:

The answer is last year was total smoke and mirrors, we were running on fumes and easily could have been 8-8. This shouldnt be a shock to anyone we had like 3 or 4 miracle wins we had no business winning. We had no chance in that AFC Championship game and it showed.

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They had a chance in that AFC Championship game. They had to play a perfect game but they had a chance.

That team last year was able to move the ball and score and look like an NFL offense. When push came to shove, that team fought back and made a game of it. There were close wins but that doesn't mean that team sucked. The 2013 Patriots were one of my favorites because of how much adversity they faced and continually pushed through it.

This years team has struggles picking up a first down. It's way too simplistic to just say that last year was smoke and mirrors. Something has changed dramatically.

I'm telling you that the team is still in training camp

They're running a soft, passive defensive scheme. Off man and zone coverage when the corners are better suited to play press and their blitz packages, when they use them, are not creative or well disguised in the least. It's basically always an A or B gap blitz. Zero weak side overload blitzes like you would expect a team with a stacked secondary to use.

SVN said:

http://www.csnne.com/new-england-patriots/patriots-have-deep-seated-and-vexing-problems

this is my biggest question



They are just poorly coached right now at least on defense.

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Many seems to have forgot that Wilfork sucked last season before he got injured. He did the same in both losses. In fact the supposed great players in the front 7, Mayo, Wilfork and C Jones, have been awfull in the 2 losses. The defence looked better last season with Spikes and rookie DTs, than with Mayo and Wilfork.

As for the offense, getting rid of Mankins was an big mistake. Now they struggle to establish the run, can't convert short 3rd downs by running, can't sustain drives, can't control the clock, the whole OL play has badly regressed.

The problems are indeed deep. You know you have problems when you make Oakland look like a NFL team (and playing at home to boot).

KontradictioN said:

They're running a soft, passive defensive scheme. Off man and zone coverage when the corners are better suited to play press and their blitz packages, when they use them, are not creative or well disguised in the least. It's basically always an A or B gap blitz. Zero weak side overload blitzes like you would expect a team with a stacked secondary to use.

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I was questioning the zone coverage throughout the first half in the chat. It didn't make a lot of sense to me, especially when it became apparent that Smith had no problem exploiting it.

Taking a wait and see approach, I guess. The Cinci game will speak volumes.

mosi said:

Either they are worse than last year or other teams are better. I would say both are probably true. The person that has regressed the most appears to be Tom Brady. I think Father time has finally caught him.

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I disagree. Brady will carve you up if you give him time. His biggest weakness though is his mobility and scrambling ability, or lack thereof. If he doesn't get a clean pocket and has to throw to mediocre receivers he doesn't have much chance of success. He needs more help than he used to but he can still be great.

I really wouldn't place this coaching staff in the High IQ category - I'm not talking about football IQ either, just old fashioned intelligence. I would love to find out what Josh McDaniels' SAT scores were....

IllegalContact said:

I'm telling you that the team is still in training camp

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What do you mean by that exactly? It does seem as if BB isn't even taking the games seriously, and is just throwing guys out there for reps.

Ross12 said:

What do you mean by that exactly? It does seem as if BB isn't even taking the games seriously, and is just throwing guys out there for reps.

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I think the assumption is that they will win the division handily and being ready for the playoffs with a full and healthy roster is more important than a bye.....so pulling strings now with that in mind is what I am hoping for

TommyBrady12 said:

I really wouldn't place this coaching staff in the High IQ category - I'm not talking about football IQ either, just old fashioned intelligence. I would love to find out what Josh McDaniels' SAT scores were....

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SAT scores don't measure intelligence.

VrabelJr said:

SAT scores don't measure intelligence.

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Getting an 800 doesn't suggest you are smart either....

We have to realize that NFL coaches are not brain surgeons. They are what they are -average intellect.

IllegalContact said:

I'm telling you that the team is still in training camp

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i hope so.......

how do you improve so much over here in the football forum......like a metamorphosis

james87654 said:

i hope so.......

how do you improve so much over here in the football forum......like a metamorphosis

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No difference....

Bottom line is bottom line

TommyBrady12 said:

Getting an 800 doesn't suggest you are smart either....

We have to realize that NFL coaches are not brain surgeons. They are what they are -average intellect.

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I'm as down on our coaches as any other right now, but I'm trying really hard to figure out where the heck you are going with this.