What was the problem at the start of the 2014 season?

Ken Canin · Mar 7, 2015

Why did the Pats have so much trouble starting 2014? And what changed?

mayoclinic · Mar 7, 2015

The Pats really only had 1 bad game against Kansas City, and a bad 2nd half against Miami where the heat probably was a major factor. As for other reasons:

1. They had a lot of new pieces that needed time to get sorted out, particularly on the OL and the defense.

2. Stork's injury and the Mankins trade put the OL in flux, along with a new OL coach, and it took time to sort out a workable solution.

3. Gronk was still tentative, and LaFell was still learning the offense and earning Brady's trust.

4. Browner was serving his suspension. His return was a major catalyst for the secondary gelling, and the secondary was the straw that stirred the drink for the defense in 2014.

5. There were some struggles with defensive scheme, especially in base.

6. Jamie Collins had a thigh injury against Miami which caused him to miss time and slowed his emergence as a dominant playmaker.

By game 5 the OL rotation had settled down and adjusted to Googs (and Brady was getting enough protection to not be skittish, or adapting to get the ball out quicker), Browner was back (though it took a couple of games for him to get the rust off and for the secondary to find its form), Collins was back at full strength and starting to round into form, Gronk and LaFell were finally finding their groove, and the defense was playing mostly out of sub and not using Chandler Jones as a 5-tech.

I'm sure there are other reasons, but that's a start.

signbabybrady · Mar 7, 2015

That answer is simple. The problem was vulture media and chicken littles that bought the hype.

shmessy · Mar 7, 2015

mayoclinic said:
The Pats really only had 1 bad game against Kansas City, and a bad 2nd half against Miami where the heat probably was a major factor. As for other reasons:

Given the competition and the fact that it was in Foxboro, the eked out last minute win against Oakland was pretty unimpressive also.

Joker · Mar 7, 2015

why does this even matter? The Pats WON THE SUPER BOWL. What is it, they didn't do it good enough because they struggled out of the gate?

TinhWoodhead · Mar 7, 2015

The balls were overinflated

Tunescribe · Mar 7, 2015

Joker said:
why does this even matter? The Pats WON THE SUPER BOWL. What is it, they didn't do it good enough because they struggled out of the gate?

To me, that .500 start taints the whole season. I'll never understand why the Patriots can't at least space out their occasional losses a lot further, or perhaps eliminate them altogether. You think BB and Brady would've learned something from the 2007 regular season and carried that formula forward. This team is so frustrating!

Edit: for those who disagree, please note --

.

Ivan · Mar 7, 2015

I had to go back and consult the experts but they have assured me that it was a number of significant problems.

1) Bill Belichick- according to our experts this team was " the culmination of all of Belichick's mistakes. Terrible draft picks like Jamie Collins were a big reason our expert cited, and years of horrible personnel moves that left virtually every unit in shambles. And the last reason this expert cited was the Logan Mankins Trade, which they simply never recovered from.

2) Cheapskate ownership. Our expert on this matter who hails from Dartmouth, cited the willingness of rivals like Denver who went all in for Manning to fill the team with stars, a move that really paid off for the team as they went on to another banner year. The Krafts have long been known for their cheapskate ways and our expert from Dartmouth assured me that this was central to their poor performance and ultimate failure this season as they barely won the Super Bowl and as if to emphasize his point the victory came at the hand of a poor underpaid undrafted free agent name Butler. It would have come so much easier had they just paid Talib.

3) Tom Brady Our Brady expert repeatedly pointed out how old Brady is and was ahead of the pack in calling for the Patriots to trade him, a move we all wish they had made now, but alas it's too late. He also pointed out that Brady cannot be broken, because it's impossible to break something that soft. And he also pointed out that Since Brady was reprogrammed as a male model he has not won anything.

4) Bill Belichick the GM-it's true that our first expert, The God Of Wrath has already addressed his many faults and touched upon this but it was a overall theme amongst our experts, some of whom actually draft better than Belichick in their fantasy drafts, and who cited a long list of epic failures, among them Collins, Garrapolo, and McCourty, and the rest of the team.

I would like to thank all of our experts, you know who you are, don't be shy about it, for illuminating this subject with their expertise. I would also like to wish them all the best in the many fantasy drafts they have ahead of them. Godspeed.

VectorPrime · Mar 7, 2015

Joker said:
why does this even matter? The Pats WON THE SUPER BOWL. What is it, they didn't do it good enough because they struggled out of the gate?

Is this a serious question? Holy **** you really are something. It's more than justified to be curious about why the team struggled so much out of the gate and it makes it all the more impressive because they turned it around.

New England Pride · Mar 7, 2015

Tunescribe said:
To me, that .500 start taints the whole season. I'll never understand why the Patriots can't at least space out their occasional losses a lot further, or perhaps eliminate them altogether. You think BB and Brady would've learned something from the 2007 regular season and carried that formula forward. This team is so frustrating!

Agreed. Don't think I'll be buying any pats gear or watching next season until they get this straightened out.

In all seriousness and not to oversimplify things, the o line really wasn't playing well early.

Tunescribe · Mar 7, 2015

Ivan said:
I had to go back and consult the experts but they have assured me that it was a number of significant problems.

1) Bill Belichick- according to our experts this team was " the culmination of all of Belichick's mistakes. Terrible draft picks like Jamie Collins were a big reason our expert cited, and years of horrible personnel moves that left virtually every unit in shambles. And the last reason this expert cited was the Logan Mankins Trade, which they simply never recovered from.

2) Cheapskate ownership. Our expert on this matter who hails from Dartmouth, cited the willingness of rivals like Denver who went all in for Manning to fill the team with stars, a move that really paid off for the team as they went on to another banner year. The Krafts have long been known for their cheapskate ways and our expert from Dartmouth assured me that this was central to their poor performance and ultimate failure this season as they barely won the Super Bowl and as if to emphasize his point the victory came at the hand of a poor underpaid undrafted free agent name Butler. It would have come so much easier had they just paid Talib.

3) Tom Brady Our Brady expert repeatedly pointed out how old Brady is and was ahead of the pack in calling for the Patriots to trade him, a move we all wish they had made now, but alas it's too late. He also pointed out that Brady cannot be broken, because it's impossible to break something that soft. And he also pointed out that Since Brady was reprogrammed as a male model he has not won anything.

4) Bill Belichick the GM-it's true that our first expert, The God Of Wrath has already addressed his many faults and touched upon this but it was a overall theme amongst our experts, some of whom actually draft better than Belichick in their fantasy drafts, and who cited a long list of epic failures, among them Collins, Garrapolo, and McCourty, and the rest of the team.

I would like to thank all of our experts, you know who you are, don't be shy about it, for illuminating this subject with their expertise. I would also like to wish them all the best in the many fantasy drafts they have ahead of them. Godspeed.

You forgot to mention lack of cheating early in the season. It took a few games for the Patriots to devise clever adjustments around last off-season's rule changes.

shmessy · Mar 7, 2015

Joker said:
why does this even matter? The Pats WON THE SUPER BOWL. What is it, they didn't do it good enough because they struggled out of the gate?

It's a discussion, Joe.

No one is saying 'they didn't do good enough' the entire season.

But let's face it. They had problems and they fixed them.

If you don't want to discuss that reality, that's your prerogative.

Joker · Mar 7, 2015

VectorPrime said:
Is this a serious question? Holy **** you really are something. It's more than justified to be curious about why the team struggled so much out of the gate and it makes it all the more impressive because they turned it around.

OK, fine by me.It's a free country. YOU beat this dead horse into a dry blood splotch all you want. Let us know what earth shattering conclusions you come up with that alter RECORDED HISTORY.

shmessy · Mar 7, 2015

Geez, reading through the other posts in this thread is enlightening.

I'm as much of a homer as anyone here, but cut the Pravda act, Joe and Tunie. The Patriots had issues in the first part of the season and they fixed them.

Is that embarrassing in some way embarrassing or some type of indelible mark?

I would say that it displays the strength of the organization to actually fix and build something.

patsbrasilpatriotas · Mar 7, 2015

mayoclinic said:
The Pats really only had 1 bad game against Kansas City, and a bad 2nd half against Miami where the heat probably was a major factor. As for other reasons:

1. They had a lot of new pieces that needed time to get sorted out, particularly on the OL and the defense.

2. Stork's injury and the Mankins trade put the OL in flux, along with a new OL coach, and it took time to sort out a workable solution.

3. Gronk was still tentative, and LaFell was still learning the offense and earning Brady's trust.

4. Browner was serving his suspension. His return was a major catalyst for the secondary gelling, and the secondary was the straw that stirred the drink for the defense in 2014.

5. There were some struggles with defensive scheme, especially in base.

6. Jamie Collins had a thigh injury against Miami which caused him to miss time and slowed his emergence as a dominant playmaker.

By game 5 the OL rotation had settled down and adjusted to Googs (and Brady was getting enough protection to not be skittish, or adapting to get the ball out quicker), Browner was back (though it took a couple of games for him to get the rust off and for the secondary to find its form), Collins was back at full strength and starting to round into form, Gronk and LaFell were finally finding their groove, and the defense was playing mostly out of sub and not using Chandler Jones as a 5-tech.

I'm sure there are other reasons, but that's a start.

Raiders game wasnt pretty too.

Joker · Mar 7, 2015

shmessy said:
It's a discussion, Joe.

No one is saying 'they didn't do good enough' the entire season.

But let's face it. They had problems and they fixed them.

If you don't want to discuss that reality, that's your prerogative.

They have problems every season for the past 14 years. Why this incessant need to wallow in the misery of a slow start when the team WON THE SUPER BOWL just strikes me as a TYPICAL CL strategy to get back to whining nonstop about Belichick, Brady, this team and everything it does.

shmessy · Mar 7, 2015

Joker said:
They have problems every season for the past 14 years. Why this incessant need to wallow in the misery of a slow start when the team WON THE SUPER BOWL just strikes me as a TYPICAL CL strategy to get back to whining nonstop about Belichick, Brady, this team and everything it does.

Joe, the fact that the Patriots had a problem and FIXED IT displays a greater strength than anything else.

I don't know why you are so emotional about wanting to ignore the very basic fact that they had bad performances in 3 of the first 4 games of last year.

I understand you are very emotional about it, but once you take a breath and step back for a second you will realize that the greatest STRENGTH for a team is to be able to identify weakness and FIX the problem.

Nobody does that better than Belichick. If you choose to ignore that fact, then you are missing one of the great coaching careers in sports history that is taking place right in front of you.

Joker · Mar 7, 2015

BTW, pretty heavy handed insult equating me to a communist propaganda source. What's next, a return wallow in the mud of the Milloy cut?

Joker · Mar 7, 2015

shmessy said:
Joe, the fact that the Patriots had a problem and FIXED IT displays a greater strength than anything else.

I don't know why you are so emotional about wanting to ignore the very basic fact that they had bad performances in 3 of the first 4 games of last year.

I understand you are very emotional about it, but once you take a breath and step back for a second you will realize that the greatest STRENGTH for a team is to be able to identify weakness and FIX the problem.

You are missing MY point...these "look back" threads invariably degenerate into Patriot bashing and denigration of anything that follows. It's the exact same thing as "well, Amendola sucks so whatever he did in the playoffs and Super Bowl doesn't count".I WATCHED the first four games and all that I get out of it is they moved on to become a challenger for the title...as usual.

shmessy · Mar 7, 2015

Joker said:
You are missing MY point...these "look back" threads invariably degenerate into Patriot bashing and denigration of anything that follows. It's the exact same thing as "well, Amendola sucks so whatever he did in the playoffs and Super Bowl doesn't count".I WATCHED the first four games and all that I get out of it is they moved on to become a challenger for the title...as usual.

I thought the original post brought up a good discussion point. The entire key to the successful 2014-2015 campaign was the identification of what was wrong and the steps the team took to fix it.

It's a great story.

But evidently you don't want anyone to discuss it.

Tip toeing away.......trying not to make eye contact.........

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