The Patriots' Offense towards the end of the year were like a jalopy, parts were dropping off of the car and it was being held together with duct tape and bailing wire. The two weeks were clearly not enough to get healthy and their margin of error as a result was down to zero. They then made the mistakes that pushed it over the line.
The game was lost on the OL, specifically on Stork, Kline and Cannon. But the coaches didn't do anything to put them in a position to succeed. No adjusting of the snap count, no "no huddle" offense, no TEs chipping DEs before going out on patterns, no extra blocking when it was clear they were being overwhelmed. I've never seen a DL get such consistent pressure on the QB even when rushing three players. We were out of bullets. Next year our rotation should be Andrews at Center, Stork/Jackson/Mason rotating at guard and Vollmer/Solder outside. We're stuck with Cannon who got extended. Dola, Jules and Gronk were also clearly hurting and limited but they played their hearts out. I don't care to see LaFell in a Patriot uniform again. I guess that makes a Tackle, another Guard, an outside WR, and another TE the major needs for the draft. I think the Defense is mostly set.
Proud of the team and their fighting to the end and almost pulling the rabbit out of the hat. Credit to Denver, they won the battles physically and were deserving winners. Wonder if Bill and the gang are losing their edge a bit, those little things just weren't on our side this time like they usually are and they cost us.
