Belichick doesn't understand psychological warfare

[condon84]

What we need are emotional leaders on this team. BB's personality isn't a rah-rah so expecting him to be that way is pointless. Before, we had Bruschi, Rodney, McGinest, and Milloy who would get into people's faces to get everyone riled up. Now, we don't have anyone with an attitude. Vince is a leader, but he doesn't seem to have the in your face personality that this team is lacking. For the most part, we have flat liners like Mayo and Sanders. Faulk was that guy for us on offense, so him getting injured was a big blow emotionally. Seems like Edelman could be that way emotionally, but he's not too involved or is too young to feel like he has the right to get into people's faces.

In an evenly matched contest, emotions can tip the favor to those who channel them positively.

 

[PATSNUTme]

So now I know. It was BB's lack of understanding psychological warfare that made Tom throw that pick. Alge drop the TD,and Chung fumble the snap.

I've been racking my brain over and over to find the reasons, and now I have been enlightened.

 

[Rob0729]

Deus,
I respect BB for the way he handled things throughout the week, but I agree with you that benching Welker (minutes before kickoff?) was not the right call. It seemed to affect the whole team. Maybe if in the days leading up to the game, BB pulls TB and the offense aside to let them know of his decision would have allowed the team to put it behind them and focus on the game. Instead, it looked like they came out a big unenthused and sluggish.

I thought that benching Welker was the wrong thing, but I totally disagree that it affected the whole team. The Pats dominanted the Jets in virtually every way the first quarter except the scoreboard. If Welker's benching affected the team, they would have come out flat instead of on fire. A Brady bad throw and a Crumpler dropped gimme TD was the difference between a 3-0 start and a 14-0 start.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

Deus,
I respect BB for the way he handled things throughout the week, but I agree with you that benching Welker (minutes before kickoff?) was not the right call. It seemed to affect the whole team. Maybe if in the days leading up to the game, BB pulls TB and the offense aside to let them know of his decision would have allowed the team to put it behind them and focus on the game. Instead, it looked like they came out a big unenthused and sluggish.

If it affected the team then why did the offense come out in the first two series and march the ball right down the field? And why did the D come up with a big stop after the Jets intercepted? Sorry, not buying any of this, the game turned when the Pats marched down the field twice and came away with only 3 points and the jets went up 7-3.

 

[robbomango]

BB the guy that doesn't give one sound bite to a team to use as motivation to the point where Rex has to invent most of his commentary. He's the master of blocking out the nonsense, motivating players with strategy and knowledge, conveyed with clarity.

To think BB doesn't understand psyche warfare is laughable.

 

[The Messiah]

If BB could replay this game knowing now what the Jets were going to do the Patriots could win this time.

 

[Deus Irae]

I thought that benching Welker was the wrong thing, but I totally disagree that it affected the whole team. The Pats dominanted the Jets in virtually every way the first quarter except the scoreboard. If Welker's benching affected the team, they would have come out flat instead of on fire. A Brady bad throw and a Crumpler dropped gimme TD was the difference between a 3-0 start and a 14-0 start.

If it affected the team then why did the offense come out in the first two series and march the ball right down the field? And why did the D come up with a big stop after the Jets intercepted? Sorry, not buying any of this, the game turned when the Pats marched down the field twice and came away with only 3 points and the jets went up 7-3.

Not all impacts are felt immediately. Much like a lesser team gains confidence in games where the obviously superior team doesn't put them away early, a team that's had the emotional wind taken out of it can fold when faced with adversity.

That's what we saw on Sunday. The team came out fine to start but wilted when things went bad early.

Now, whether that was because of the Welker benching, the mishandling of Ryan's (and the Jets players) talk all week long, because the team was just mentally weak, or some combination of the three, is a matter of opinion and speculation.

 

[LetsGoPats36]

I seriously cracked up when I read the title of this thread.

 

[Rob0729]

Not all impacts are felt immediately. Much like a lesser team gains confidence in games where the obviously superior team doesn't put them away early, a team that's had the emotional wind taken out of it can fold when faced with adversity.

That's what we saw on Sunday. The team came out fine to start but wilted when things went bad early.

Now, whether that was because of the Welker benching, the mishandling of Ryan's (and the Jets players) talk all week long, because the team was just mentally weak, or some combination of the three, is a matter of opinion and speculation.

C'mon, they screw up the fake punt and go down 14-3 at the half because of it and in the lockerroom the Pats players are thinking to themselves that they could overcome that, but because of the Welker benching it is too much to bear?

Sorry, the team lacked the adjustments neccessary to counter the Jets which is on Belichick and his staff. They made boneheaded mistakes which is also on the coaching staff. Belichick and his staff deserve a lot of blame for this loss, but the stupid fluffy BS that people are complaining about aren't those things. If Welker's benching had more than 0.02% affect on the reason the Pats' lost, I would be shocked.

As for the "mishandling of the Jets' talk, I strongly disagree. I think he handled it exactly right. In fact, the first quarter showed it. The Pats came out fired up and the Jets were flat other than the Harris gimme INT which he dogged down the field and should have been a TD. Coming into the game, the Pats had the psychological edge. The problem was you can only hold that edge so long with costly errors like the Brady INT, the Crumpler dropped TD, and the botched fake punt. I argue if two or even possibly one of those mistakes don't happen and people would be talking this week that Ryan should have had his players shut up and focus on the game at hand. Those were the reasons, the emotions turned in the game. Not the stupid BS that led up to the game.

 

[Deus Irae]

C'mon, they screw up the fake punt and go down 14-3 at the half because of it and in the lockerroom the Pats players are thinking to themselves that they could overcome that, but because of the Welker benching it is too much to bear?

Sorry, the team lacked the adjustments neccessary to counter the Jets which is on Belichick and his staff. They made boneheaded mistakes which is also on the coaching staff. Belichick and his staff deserve a lot of blame for this loss, but the stupid fluffy BS that people are complaining about aren't those things. If Welker's benching had more than 0.02% affect on the reason the Pats' lost, I would be shocked.

The deflating of the team was obvious after the INT/dropped TD, and the team never recovered from that. That took place well before the fake punt. Denying that just shows an unwillingness to admit the obvious.

As for the "mishandling of the Jets' talk, I strongly disagree. I think he handled it exactly right. In fact, the first quarter showed it. The Pats came out fired up and the Jets were flat other than the Harris gimme INT which he dogged down the field and should have been a TD. Coming into the game, the Pats had the psychological edge. The problem was you can only hold that edge so long with costly errors like the Brady INT, the Crumpler dropped TD, and the botched fake punt. I argue if two or even possibly one of those mistakes don't happen and people would be talking this week that Ryan should have had his players shut up and focus on the game at hand. Those were the reasons, the emotions turned in the game. Not the stupid BS that led up to the game.

Disagree all you want. It was painfully obvious from the way the emotional part of the game shook out that your position is incorrect. However, it's not something that we can assign numeric values to and offer proofs about, so it's not really worth getting into.

 

[Rob0729]

The deflating of the team was obvious after the INT/dropped TD, and the team never recovered from that. That took place well before the fake punt. Denying that just shows an unwillingness to admit the obvious.

You do realize that the next Jets drive after the Crumpler dropped pass, the Pats defense held the Jets to a 15 yard drive?

The fake punt was the final nail because they gave the Jets plenty of time and a short field to get at least three when they should have punted and gone into the half 7-3.

Disagree all you want. It was painfully obvious from the way the emotional part of the game shook out that your position is incorrect. However, it's not something that we can assign numeric values to and offer proofs about, so it's not really worth getting into.

As pointed out on the Big Show, the Pats won the first quarter, but the Jets won the game. If the emotions of week played into the the game at all, the Jets would have been the better team off the bat. Personally, I think if the Pats did not make those two mistakes, the game would have been a blowout the other way. The Jets weren't playing well early and the Pats let them gain their confidence by a couple of mistakes. That is how football goes.

What I saw psychologically was the Jets were still a little scarred from the 45-3 drumming early and when the Pats failed to score on their first two drives the Jets' confidence started to emerge. If the Brady didn't drop the TD

 

[PatsFanStnfrd]

The OP does have a point. There are reasons why a player is benched. But this was one of the few instances where the player -- WW-- had a rather classy put down of the foul-mouthed Jets. Well disguised and well spoken. If there was to be a punishment it should have been strictly in-house -- with the kind of ambiguity that BB is known for. But in this case uncharacteristically, the team confirmed WW's punishment. That is really shooting yourself in the foot. It distracts the team even if momentarily from an important game. Play 60 minutes with your best players -- that is what BB owed his team.

 

[Deus Irae]

You do realize that the next Jets drive after the Crumpler dropped pass, the Pats defense held the Jets to a 15 yard drive?

The fake punt was the final nail because they gave the Jets plenty of time and a short field to get at least three when they should have punted and gone into the half 7-3.





As pointed out on the Big Show, the Pats won the first quarter, but the Jets won the game. If the emotions of week played into the the game at all, the Jets would have been the better team off the bat. Personally, I think if the Pats did not make those two mistakes, the game would have been a blowout the other way. The Jets weren't playing well early and the Pats let them gain their confidence by a couple of mistakes. That is how football goes.

What I saw psychologically was the Jets were still a little scarred from the 45-3 drumming early and when the Pats failed to score on their first two drives the Jets' confidence started to emerge. If the Brady didn't drop the TD

You keep overlooking the obvious, because you're focusing solely on the statistics as if they mean something when they don't. The reason the Jets drive died is because the Sanchez/Keller connection screwed up on 3rd down after the Jets had gotten an earlier first down, not because the defense was playing at some overwhelming level. As I said, this is just not worth getting into.

As for the Big Show, come on. They got everything wrong leading up to the game. Hell, Ordway couldn't even figure out that Welker was digging the spurs into Ryan with his statements, and was belittling the notion that such was Welker's intent. Why on Earth would I look there for the post-game analysis?

 

[Bradyfan 75]

You keep overlooking the obvious, because you're focusing solely on the statistics as if they mean something when they don't. The reason the Jets drive died is because the Sanchez/Keller connection screwed up on 3rd down after the Jets had gotten an earlier first down, not because the defense was playing at some overwhelming level. As I said, this is just not worth getting into.

As for the Big Show, come on. They got everything wrong leading up to the game. Hell, Ordway couldn't even figure out that Welker was digging the spurs into Ryan with his statements, and was belittling the notion that such was Welker's intent. Why on Earth would I look there for the post-game analysis?

I am over the loss stop the Brady Bashing and tell me where the hell was this coach and team !!!!

 

[jcdavey]

BB dose not play on sundays this team never had the talent to win a SB they won 14 games cause Brady, was playing out of he's mind if Brady dose not put up 30 points a game they cant win.... this defense feeds off of other teams mistakes and when teams dont make any they are a plan bad defense

they beat the ravens 23-20 in 2010 when brady had 2 ints and only 1 td

ravens had zero turnovers that game, NE had 2

so it's not impossible at all, and the pats defense, had just held the jets to 3 points in NE, 41 days prior

very possible without NE O/special teams mistakes, they get on that kind of roll again


a few mistakes by the O here and there changed the course of the game, and possession time, and the D folded up camp late

 

[convertedpatsfan]

I knew the loss was going to lead to some crazy posts, but this one is just way too much.