Careless Patriots Nearly Give One Away

Careless Patriots Nearly Give One Away

Bob George

In Vince Wilfork's mind Brady has already proven that he's the best in the game, and after hearing some of the critics in recent weeks, he told WEEI on Wednesday that having people question him as a player is something that doesn't make him happy.

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Thumbs down.

This guy again....

Ridiculous. Of course there are about ten pages of the game day thread that were equally hysterical. The Bills were never going to win that game.

Another "almost loss" (commonly called a win). The Bills gave it away, and the Pats almost gave it back. Let's ignore 466 yards and 8 sacks.

Read Bob George column or get a root canal. Hmm ... difficult choice.

I don't know if any of you guys heard it, but Rodney Harrison said it was Belichick's ego that allowed the Bills to come back because Belichick wanted to run up the score to embarrass Rex Ryan. I couldn't watch the game today. Reasonable criticism or not?

How would that even make sense? Belichick did run up the score - they put 40 points on the board. The Bills came back, so to speak, because the Patriots seem to often take the fourth quarter off once the outcome is no longer in doubt.

The only thing Belichick and McDaniels did that I question was trying to force the ball to Chandler in the end zone since they were playing his former team.

NYPatsFan said:

I don't know if any of you guys heard it, but Rodney Harrison said it was Belichick's ego that allowed the Bills to come back because Belichick wanted to run up the score to embarrass Rex Ryan. I couldn't watch the game today. Reasonable criticism or not?

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We won't ever know, but it's a reasonable take.

Everyone knows that mistakes were made that made this a closer game, but can't you save the dark cloud take for Borges?

Tunescribe said:

Read Bob George column or get a root canal. Hmm ... difficult choice.

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might draw the line at a colonoscopy...might.

RelocatedPatFan said:

might draw the line at a colonoscopy...might.

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I'm due for one, so I think I'll run this by my doctor and see what he thinks. He'll probably recommend the colonoscopy.

Oh Bob, here you go again. However, I do think the Pats 1) let up on defense and got sloppy down the stretch (maybe they were tired too - what a LONG game) ; and 2) tried to get Tom Brady his 400th (!!!) TD at the end of the game, thus they were still throwing it late when they should have been running it to run out the clock. Luckily it didn't matter but Rodney was right with his criticism. The Bills were too ****y before the game and we almost got too ****y at the end. Alls well that ends well, though! On to Jacksonville!

NYPatsFan said:

I don't know if any of you guys heard it, but Rodney Harrison said it was Belichick's ego that allowed the Bills to come back because Belichick wanted to run up the score to embarrass Rex Ryan. I couldn't watch the game today. Reasonable criticism or not?

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Yes, it was reasonable. The Pats were up by a lot in the 4th quarter and they kept throwing it (Brady only needs 1 TD to reach 400) when they should have been running. They did not take enough time off the clock, and then Brady was strip sacked on a possession late in the game, almost giving Buffalo new life. Luckily their new fabulous QB threw it up for grabs right after that.

PatsDeb said:

Oh Bob, here you go again. However, I do think the Pats 1) let up on defense and got sloppy down the stretch (maybe they were tired too - what a LONG game) ; and 2) tried to get Tom Brady his 400th (!!!) TD at the end of the game, thus they were still throwing it late when they should have been running it to run out the clock. Luckily it didn't matter but Rodney was right with his criticism. The Bills were too ****y before the game and we almost got too ****y at the end. Alls well that ends well, though! On to Jacksonville!

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Don't tell me you actually read his column. Did you take a shower afterward?

Tunescribe said:

Don't tell me you actually read his column. Did you take a shower afterward?

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LOL, don't worry Tune, I did not read it. I got the gist from the headline. I stopped reading some time ago and even complained to Ian that he should not be allowed to write for the site, but apparently he was in on Patsfans on the ground floor so we're stuck with him. That's okay as long as you don't read it!

Boy George once again fails to see the forest through the trees.

I don't know what the reason for the bad 4th quarter clock management but one would have to be deaf, dumb and blind to not have noticed it as well as how it had a direct hand in allowing the Bills a chance at victory they probably should not have had.

It's about the math. When you are up by three scores with about 10 minutes left against a team that doesn't have a potent offense, you emphasize using up clock as the surest method for victory. It's just smart winning football. Just play to win the game, nothing else. And while I am not necessarily in favor of 3 runs and a punt every possession, I am in favor of a strategy of running the ball in conjunction with short/high% passes with an almost complete focus on using up clock while targeting just enough to move the chains.
The Patriots showed most of the game they were very capable of executing that kind of strategy (clock management-move the chains football). So why they instead opted for continuing to pass on virtually every play is not only perplexing but certainly is one of the reasons the Bills were afforded a tangible chance at a comeback that, IMHO, they had no business having.