Through the quarter point, this is not a good team. How do they get better?

Although the record at this point in the season shows a mediocre team at 2-2, they have strongly benefitted from playing the Matt Cassel-led Vikings, who served up 4 INT's on a silver platter and were enveloped in controversy and the Raiders, led by a rookie quarterback who came up an ill fated turnover short of tying the game at the end of regulation on the road. If the team had, say, Denver's schedule to open the season, they would be 0-3. Last night, they were completely uncompetitive. It was the most pathetic "effort" I, personally, have seen out of this team since the San Diego game in 2005. So far, the coaching on both sides of the ball has been awful and the talent on the team is highly questionable. That said, how does it get better? I have a couple of thoughts...

OFFENSE:
1. Stick with last night's interior OL. They had some growing pains, that was to be expected. But, early on, they were giving Brady a very clean pocket to step up into. I think the interior of Connolly-Stork-Flemming may be the best that we can field this season and we should roll with it and let them develop some cohesion. Now Solder is a different question altogether. He's been getting exposed all season and last night was no different. I'm of the opinion that, right now, he's the best LT we can field and should be given more of a chance to work through his issues. But, holy **** man, he's been bad.

2. Activate Dobson and Thompkins. Why these two are consistently being deactivated is beyond me. By all reports, both are healthy. Dobson, in particular, possesses a skill set that most of our receivers do not. He can threaten between the numbers, down the seam, and outside the numbers. Activate the kid and let him build chemistry with Brady. The offense BADLY needs him to make that second year leap and he's not going to do that from the god damn press box. Thompkins, at this point, is also able to get better separation than Amendola. Speaking of, Amendola should be the one inactive in this offense. Somehow, some way, he looks slower than he did last year.

3. Spread teams out and hurry up. They've been by far at their most effective when they spread the opposing defense out and target their LB's and CB's in their quick strike passing game. I understand we have some younger faces trying to get up to speed, but huddling between snaps allows the defense time to substitute based on match-ups. I want to see the hurry up implemented this week. Put Cincy on their heels and force their hand.

DEFENSE:
1. Why in God's name are the Pats employing so much off coverage? Am I losing my mind, or did we not sign one of, if not THE, best press CB's of all time. Revis has a unique combination of strength and elite movement skills. If he presses his man, his man is usually done... forcing the quarterback to go elsewhere. But for some unknown reason, Belichick and Patricia have been employing a lot of off man and zone coverages which COMPLETELY defeat the entire purpose of having a guy like Revis on the squad. Starting pressing more. You have the corners to do it now and you have a near elite FS who can cover more ground than most safeties in the NFL.

2. Where are the exotic blitz packages? Where are the well disguised weak side overload blitzes that we used to see? Where are the safety blitzes? Where is the aggression? This defense, through four weeks, has employed the most conservative, bland defense that I could possibly imagine and the result is that semi-competent offenses can move the ball on us. The Chiefs got a defensive gameplan that I would expect for a team like the Eagles and Smith picked us apart as a reslut. You have to move guys like Smith off their spot or they will tear you up.

3. Figure out the other safety position now that Browner is back. The answer is not Chung, Harmon, or Wilson (nice coverage on Kelce last night, by the way). I wouldn't mind seeing Logan Ryan back there. He's much better with his head turned toward the play (like McCourty) and has some natural ball instincts that would really help in the back end.

After this, I'm out of ideas. Please add your own. Hopefully, this will get turned around starting this week or we could get shut out and dominated again by the Bengals. Either way, I'm tired of watching this **** already. If I'm going to be subjected to this nonsense, I would rather be naked, strapped down in a chair, with two Asian women in S&M gear... one of which is swinging a bull rope into my ball sack while the other is putting out lit cigarettes on me.

Luckily they are in a weak division where 10-6 will win it which is where i think pats finish. But no 1st round bye this year that's for sure. I expect them to come out on fire sunday night as they usually do after a loss. If they don't then we know something major is wrong. They are awesome after a loss so if this changes....big problems

It was the most pathetic "effort" I, personally, have seen out of this team since the San Diego game in 2005

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2009 saints beats that IMO

KontradictioN said:

Although the record at this point in the season shows a mediocre team at 2-2, they have strongly benefitted from playing the Matt Cassel-led Vikings, who served up 4 INT's on a silver platter and were enveloped in controversy and the Raiders, led by a rookie quarterback who came up an ill fated turnover short of tying the game at the end of regulation on the road. If the team had, say, Denver's schedule to open the season, they would be 0-3. Last night, they were completely uncompetitive. It was the most pathetic "effort" I, personally, have seen out of this team since the San Diego game in 2005. So far, the coaching on both sides of the ball has been awful and the talent on the team is highly questionable. That said, how does it get better? I have a couple of thoughts...

OFFENSE:
1. Stick with last night's interior OL. They had some growing pains, that was to be expected. But, early on, they were giving Brady a very clean pocket to step up into. I think the interior of Connolly-Stork-Flemming may be the best that we can field this season and we should roll with it and let them develop some cohesion. Now Solder is a different question altogether. He's been getting exposed all season and last night was no different. I'm of the opinion that, right now, he's the best LT we can field and should be given more of a chance to work through his issues. But, holy **** man, he's been bad.

2. Activate Dobson and Thompkins. Why these two are consistently being deactivated is beyond me. By all reports, both are healthy. Dobson, in particular, possesses a skill set that most of our receivers do not. He can threaten between the numbers, down the seam, and outside the numbers. Activate the kid and let him build chemistry with Brady. The offense BADLY needs him to make that second year leap and he's not going to do that from the god damn press box. Thompkins, at this point, is also able to get better separation than Amendola. Speaking of, Amendola should be the one inactive in this offense. Somehow, some way, he looks slower than he did last year.

3. Spread teams out and hurry up. They've been by far at their most effective when they spread the opposing defense out and target their LB's and CB's in their quick strike passing game. I understand we have some younger faces trying to get up to speed, but huddling between snaps allows the defense time to substitute based on match-ups. I want to see the hurry up implemented this week. Put Cincy on their heels and force their hand.

DEFENSE:
1. Why in God's name are the Pats employing so much off coverage? Am I losing my mind, or did we not sign one of, if not THE, best press CB's of all time. Revis has a unique combination of strength and elite movement skills. If he presses his man, his man is usually done... forcing the quarterback to go elsewhere. But for some unknown reason, Belichick and Patricia have been employing a lot of off man and zone coverages which COMPLETELY defeat the entire purpose of having a guy like Revis on the squad. Starting pressing more. You have the corners to do it now and you have a near elite FS who can cover more ground than most safeties in the NFL.

2. Where are the exotic blitz packages? Where are the well disguised weak side overload blitzes that we used to see? Where are the safety blitzes? Where is the aggression? This defense, through four weeks, has employed the most conservative, bland defense that I could possibly imagine and the result is that semi-competent offenses can move the ball on us. The Chiefs got a defensive gameplan that I would expect for a team like the Eagles and Smith picked us apart as a reslut. You have to move guys like Smith off their spot or they will tear you up.

3. Figure out the other safety position now that Browner is back. The answer is not Chung, Harmon, or Wilson (nice coverage on Kelce last night, by the way). I wouldn't mind seeing Logan Ryan back there. He's much better with his head turned toward the play (like McCourty) and has some natural ball instincts that would really help in the back end.

After this, I'm out of ideas. Please add your own. Hopefully, this will get turned around starting this week or we could get shut out and dominated again by the Bengals. Either way, I'm tired of watching this **** already. If I'm going to be subjected to this nonsense, I would rather be naked, strapped down in a chair, with two Asian women in S&M gear... one of which is swinging a bull rope into my ball sack while the other is putting out lit cigarettes on me.

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I think they need to pick up the pace on offense, since 2012 this offense has slowed way down. We no longer get teams in unideal personnel packages; we are not wearing down the DL by keeping them moving quickly. The strength of are OL was the stamina in prior years, players like Solder are lean and in great shape so when we wear down the other teams DL they can win their battles.

There's not much they can do this season. In the offseason? Let's hope the 49ers cut ties with Harbaugh so we can hire him.

It's simple: The defense plays up to their talent. That could get us to 10-6, 11-5

Offensively, IMO, Brady is no longer an elite QB. The OL needs to improve quickly, we need to pound the rock, and we need to bench Amendola in favor of the kids. That's a start. The offense is awful, we need it to be average.

An average offense + the defense playing up to it's potential = a team that could do damage in January. We should aim to be the 2009-2012 Ravens.

FourierSeries said:

There's not much they can do this season. In the offseason? Let's hope the 49ers cut ties with Harbaugh so we can hire him.

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No offense, but please go away.

Rob0729 said:

No offense, but please go away.

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No, I think I'll stay, and continue to wish they hire Jim Harbaugh.

Interior OL looked better, although Fleming got pushed around a bit. LT is becoming a bigger and bigger issue, Solder is playing like he's still concussed or something.

Look, they are doing so many things wrong and in such an inexplicable way that I've got to buy @Joker conspirancy theory. Dobson and KT out yesterday? There is no explanation for that.

That kid Wright caught everything thrown at him so far, why he is not on the game plan, he's here for a month, that's training camp time, he knows the playbook.

Step 1) Ice Up

Get really aggressive on defense if you give up a big play so be it but i'd rather be really aggressive and give up a big play than guarding against the big play and giving it up anyway.

Let your legit 4 WR play. Dobson, Thompkins, Edelman, and LaFell. Amendola is done as a Patriot. If there was a sports god he will pick up his season ending injury against Cinci.

Make Cannon the left-LT and Solder the right-LT. Guy needs seriously help over there and you need your LG to focus on the middle

Cannon-Solder-Connolly-Stork-Fleming-Vollmer w/Gronk and 3 of Edelman, LaFell, Dobson, and Thompkins. Hope a 6-Man line gives Brady enough time to find one of them. Probably a better game plan than what McDaniels has drawn up this year.

varjao said:

Look, they are doing so many things wrong and in such an inexplicable way that I've got to buy @Joker conspirancy theory. Dobson and KT out yesterday? There is no explanation for that.

That kid Wright caught everything thrown at him so far, why he is not on the game plan, he's here for a month, that's training camp time, he knows the playbook.

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Yeah, that's what I'm trying to figure out. They game plan a spread attack all week, then deactivate their best outside WRs? And leave Tom with one shift inside/outside guy, a big guy who seems like he could catch on but isn't all the way there yet, and a guy who is basically a glorified blocker at this point.

And then they don't even use Wright like you said. Everything just looks so slow and old for a team that is supposed to be the fifth youngest roster. Either the game planning is way off, or the roster is just a lot worse than we all think it is.

I agree with all your points Kontra.

1. Whatever happened to going five wide? Edelman, Dobson, Thompkins, Gronk, and LaFell? Put the five best players on the field. Or come out in a base set of JE and KT/AD with Gronk, Vereen, and Wright. (WTF is up with Wright's snap count?) basically the same as when AH81 was here then go hurry up and you can spread out five wide or go under center, etc.

2. Five RBs? WTF is BB (Maybe JMcD) Is it that hard? Ridley should be the workhorse. Pound the rock between the tackles with him, bring Vereen in for screens, tosses, draws, etc. all you BB apologists, how about you defend 5 RBs?

3. Browner and Revis are PRESS corners! Browner would've been useful last night. Browner on Kelce. Where do they match up next week? Revis on Green, Browner on?? Why not bracket Green and let Browner press and beat him up a couple plays?

4. I was at Arrowhead last night, and Jamie Collins is an animal. He brings some physicality, that we lost with Spikes.

5. Amber alert needs to be put out for the pass rush and Ninks ankles. Get Nink off the field if you're going to run a 3-4. He CANT PLAY OLB! Just looked awful.

6. Tavon Wilson? Are you kidding? That may be one of the biggest reaches in draft history. All for a special teamer.

7. Brady was so rattled last night. Worried about Oline and no speed receivers. He knows Gronk is doubled so he has 5'9 JE or LaFell, who looked pretty damn good last night. Until the Pats get a run game ala Blount last year, the pass rush will continue to pin the ears back because they know Brady has to wait for guys to get open, and they don't have the playmakers to get open quick

End rant

The Giants won Super Bowls with worse teams (especially worse at the beginning of the season)

That's the optimism

primetime said:

The Giants won Super Bowls with worse teams (especially worse at the beginning of the season)

That's the optimism

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Even when those Giants teams were losing games early on, they were winning the LOS on both sides of the ball. This Pats team has yet to do that in 2014.

I know some people think he has no shot, and I don't think there's a high likelihood of it either, but personally I think Tyms could be a good prescription for what is ailing the Patriots offense right now.

He is big, tall, fast, has good hands, and most importantly he has DRIVE. I just see too many guys looking beat up and downtrodden out there. Edelman & Tyms can light a fire under the WR group. He wouldn't have to be an every play guy, but rotating him with Dobson as the outside guy could be helpful.

****, even if he's not that good, he wouldn't be any worse than what we're running currently, and at least he would be having FUN out there.

FourierSeries said:

No, I think I'll stay, and continue to wish they hire Jim Harbaugh.

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LMAO..............



The Patriots don't suck a 1/10th as much as many of their "fans" do. While the Patriots clearly sucked last night the KC fans made very clear just how lame and weak Patriot fans are. KC fans had many of the same concerns going into that game that the patriot fans had, yet they showed up and made life very difficult for the patriots offense. Patriot fans on the other hand could conduct church services every Sunday at Gillette because the crowd is so lame and so pathetic, and posts like this one reflect the spoiled quitter personality that so many Patriot fans now have. The Patriots definitely deserve a good deal of criticism for their performance to date this season, and other than Edelman no one should go untouched, but that is very different from the crybaby quitter posts we have been reading in this forum since the season started.

Go ahead and cry and go ahead and quit on them folks,. They really deserve much better but that may be too much too expect from this fan base at this point in time. I really hope the frontrunners go away, they really aren't needed anyways.

The biggest question for me is how they are still playing musical chairs on the OL. It's like training camp and preseason didn't exist. Surely they saw inconsistent OL play in the preseason, I can't imagine a drop off the cliff between preseason and regular season. So seeing inconsistent OL play in preseason, they traded their best OL and veteran leader in Mankins.

Until the OL stops looking like hot garbage, this team will not do anything.

My observation is simple ..... the Pats are woefully inept in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Until this gets fixed it really doesn't matter who the WR's or TE's are or if Patricia chooses to run press or off coverage with his DB's or if Wilson or Chung or Ryan are starting alongside McCourty ..... this team is doomed.

KontradictioN said:

Even when those Giants teams were losing games early on, they were winning the LOS on both sides of the ball. This Pats team has yet to do that in 2014.

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No they weren't. The 07 team was terrible early on. I remember Giants fans friends being excited at the possibility of picking first overall after the first few games. In fact, the main complaint - incredibly ironic, given the way the season turned out - was a total lack of defensive playmakers.

Regardless, the moral of the story is that the Patriots don't look great right now, but it's just 4 weeks into the season. Still 12 games left to go, and they could be worse off than 2-2.