PonyExpress
In the Starting Line-Up
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2006
- Messages
- 4,659
- Reaction score
- 78
First of all, glad to see the site is accessible again.
Without drinking the kool-aid or p1$$ing in the punch bowl...
1) Brady is having a good season, and the numbers and wins should bear that out in the end. The inability of the O-coordinator to adjust during the game has made him look bad at times. BB may consider moving McDaniels upstairs where he can call the plays from the booth, to get a calmer, more circumspect look at the action. That may allow him to think more clearly and adjust without the poor sight angles and hectic nature of the sidelines to distract him. Many O-coordinators prefer the calm of the booth. There are great advantages to being on the sidelines as a coordinator, in the trenches, in the heat of the action... but not everyone has the stomach for it like Charlie did. Both Weis and Sean Payton were relieved of play-calling duties while O-coordinators, and it eventually helped their development. That is a last resort option if the "booth plan" fails.
2) Ty Warren, playing the strong side as DE, is more important to this team, right now, than Richard Seymour. I did not say "Warren is a better player"; but most teams run to the strong side 2/3 of the time or thereabouts. Against the Jets, Ty's absence cost the Pats dearly, more than Seymour's would have, because J. Green can play so effectively on the weak side in Seymour's absence. If Warren is out for an extended period the pressure on Brady and McDaniels could become intolerable, as the D could begin to implode a bit. IMO Warren's extended absence could lead to the worst case scenario, the 10-6, 9-7 season doom-and-gloomers are already trembling about.
3) Looking at the offense... How many players on the O actually played on the SB teams? 1) Brady 2) Light 3) Koppen 4) Neal 5) Dillon 6) Graham. But Neal is injured; Graham is ALWAYS injured; Dillon is at the end. That means only Brady, Light, Koppen and Dillon are past champions making an impact on this O. Everyone else is young, developing, a cast-off from another system. After this year, it is likely that only Brady and the O-line trio will be holdovers from the SB teams. I liken this team right now to the '85-87 49ers. The first 49er dynasty, the Dwight Clark dynasty, ended; It took 3 years for the Jerry Rice dynasty to learn how to win, and win big games, again. Reloading a dynasty is not as easy as building the first one... ask Pittsburgh how hard it is.
4) Patriots fans are spoiled, sore losers. The Jets showed great heart and guts out there with an average roster. They played a smart and gritty game. Sometimes you have to tip your cap to an opponent for admirable play. I was impressed by how much that victory meant to their players. They were jumping around like little kids at the end. Many of them had NEVER beaten the Patriots in their whole career.
5) The season is barely half-over, and the Patriots won't be the only playoff-caliber team to hit a rough spot. Injuries will mount on other contenders; pretenders will collapse; older teams will falter; younger teams will hit a wall or surge. The Patriots could still go 13-3, if the team shows more heart, faith, courage and determination than this fickle, sometimes embarrassing fan-base. It's a well known proverb of war, that when two armies face each other in battle, at some point both generals will believe that all is lost; the leader whose will is broken at that moment brings disaster on his men; the leader who holds firm in the face of failure often wins in the end. The Pats are at that point now. Here is where the leadership of Brady, Seymour, Bruschi, BB and MCDANIELS needs to prove its mettle. If they rise to the occasion, I have every confidence the team will soar into the playoffs. If they listen to the naysayers in the press, the nattering nabobs of negativity, and the whispers of doubt in their own hearts, hello 9-7. The outcome will be determined not by elaborate schemes but by will, toughness and grit.
Without drinking the kool-aid or p1$$ing in the punch bowl...
1) Brady is having a good season, and the numbers and wins should bear that out in the end. The inability of the O-coordinator to adjust during the game has made him look bad at times. BB may consider moving McDaniels upstairs where he can call the plays from the booth, to get a calmer, more circumspect look at the action. That may allow him to think more clearly and adjust without the poor sight angles and hectic nature of the sidelines to distract him. Many O-coordinators prefer the calm of the booth. There are great advantages to being on the sidelines as a coordinator, in the trenches, in the heat of the action... but not everyone has the stomach for it like Charlie did. Both Weis and Sean Payton were relieved of play-calling duties while O-coordinators, and it eventually helped their development. That is a last resort option if the "booth plan" fails.
2) Ty Warren, playing the strong side as DE, is more important to this team, right now, than Richard Seymour. I did not say "Warren is a better player"; but most teams run to the strong side 2/3 of the time or thereabouts. Against the Jets, Ty's absence cost the Pats dearly, more than Seymour's would have, because J. Green can play so effectively on the weak side in Seymour's absence. If Warren is out for an extended period the pressure on Brady and McDaniels could become intolerable, as the D could begin to implode a bit. IMO Warren's extended absence could lead to the worst case scenario, the 10-6, 9-7 season doom-and-gloomers are already trembling about.
3) Looking at the offense... How many players on the O actually played on the SB teams? 1) Brady 2) Light 3) Koppen 4) Neal 5) Dillon 6) Graham. But Neal is injured; Graham is ALWAYS injured; Dillon is at the end. That means only Brady, Light, Koppen and Dillon are past champions making an impact on this O. Everyone else is young, developing, a cast-off from another system. After this year, it is likely that only Brady and the O-line trio will be holdovers from the SB teams. I liken this team right now to the '85-87 49ers. The first 49er dynasty, the Dwight Clark dynasty, ended; It took 3 years for the Jerry Rice dynasty to learn how to win, and win big games, again. Reloading a dynasty is not as easy as building the first one... ask Pittsburgh how hard it is.
4) Patriots fans are spoiled, sore losers. The Jets showed great heart and guts out there with an average roster. They played a smart and gritty game. Sometimes you have to tip your cap to an opponent for admirable play. I was impressed by how much that victory meant to their players. They were jumping around like little kids at the end. Many of them had NEVER beaten the Patriots in their whole career.
5) The season is barely half-over, and the Patriots won't be the only playoff-caliber team to hit a rough spot. Injuries will mount on other contenders; pretenders will collapse; older teams will falter; younger teams will hit a wall or surge. The Patriots could still go 13-3, if the team shows more heart, faith, courage and determination than this fickle, sometimes embarrassing fan-base. It's a well known proverb of war, that when two armies face each other in battle, at some point both generals will believe that all is lost; the leader whose will is broken at that moment brings disaster on his men; the leader who holds firm in the face of failure often wins in the end. The Pats are at that point now. Here is where the leadership of Brady, Seymour, Bruschi, BB and MCDANIELS needs to prove its mettle. If they rise to the occasion, I have every confidence the team will soar into the playoffs. If they listen to the naysayers in the press, the nattering nabobs of negativity, and the whispers of doubt in their own hearts, hello 9-7. The outcome will be determined not by elaborate schemes but by will, toughness and grit.
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I'm still learning, you're right.
