Curran gives the Pats a B+ grade

[VJCPatriot]

Do you agree? 5-1 but with room for improvement. I think his grade isn't far off the mark. We need to see more from this defense but I think it is turning the corner.

Curran: Patriots earn B-plus

 

[BradyFTW!]

The bar has to be set pretty high for 5-1 and a division lead being only a B+. That said, the bar should be high for the Pats, so I'm okay with it. There are a lot of areas where they can and should improve as the season goes on, so a B+ sounds fair, considering that letter grades on this kind of thing are subjectively weighted anyways.

 

[Rob0729]

I guess base on expectations, B+ seems about right. Going into the season, we all expected a radically better defense. The defense is improving by leaps and bounds and they were never as bad as people made it out to be, but it isn't what we expected.

 

[Uncle Rico]

The bar has to be set pretty high for 5-1 and a division lead being only a B+. That said, the bar should be high for the Pats, so I'm okay with it. There are a lot of areas where they can and should improve as the season goes on, so a B+ sounds fair, considering that letter grades on this kind of thing are subjectively weighted anyways.

My thoughts exactly, except I give them an A- (A for 5-1, minus for room for improvement). To be 5-1 and have so may areas where you know players and units will get better, that's pretty exciting.

 

[mcsully]

I want to like Curran a lot but everytime I watch or see him, I feel like I need to punch him..

Esp on quick slant..

 

[Simkin]

5-1 and Brady trhew 4 picks in the Loss. The bar is BB and Tom Brady , the best coach and QB of all time.

 

[Dutchmaster617]

Nothing wrong with that, they don't deserve an A, defense is not getting to QBs and Brady is on pace for a career high in INTs, those need to change before we become an A team.

 

[Patspsycho]

Do you agree? 5-1 but with room for improvement. I think his grade isn't far off the mark. We need to see more from this defense but I think it is turning the corner.

Curran: Patriots earn B-plus

Don't feed Prentice McCray's ego. It's liable to explode.

 

[NEGoldenAge]

Big news, a total doosh gives the Pats a B+.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Fair enough. It was good to see this team gut out a win last week. In some ways that can be a more fullfilling win than a 30 point blowout, just to watch the team under pressure and making clutch stops/clutch scores. There will be instances where the offense will be grounded so it's good to see that. Let's just hope the offense is learning from these games because if they find the answers they will be nearly impossible to stop.

 

[NinjaZX6R]

I would give them an A-. If the D hadn't improved over the course of the last 4 weeks, I would have given them a B+.

 

[Wides]

I give the Pats a A+, quick, someone start a thread about it!

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

This type of grading system is probably arbitrary and relative. The grade is likely skewed by looking at not only Patriot teams of the past but also dominant teams of the past. The measuring stick for what grade the 2011 Patriots have earned is not relevant to those past factors. The measuring stick for 2011 should be entirely based on what the team's play is this year compared to the play of other AFC teams this year. What the NFC has done is also not relevant because the only measuring stick that matters after 6 games is progress towards getting the #1 seed. It is and should be the exclusive factor for judgement. Based on the Patriots being 5-1 and would be the #1 seed in the AFC, the Patriots have earned an A+. What the other stats say is that whatever the Patriots haven't done well, other teams have done those and/or other things less well.

Stepping back one level and looking at how their offensive, defensive and ST play stacks up against other teams, this reveals elements that are, obviously, not A+. It also provides fodder for what may happen. But it can't be used for the 'week 6 grade'.

For fodder's sake, grading the offense and defense based on points scored and points allowed is easy. The offense gets an A+, the defense gets a D+/C-. ST probably gets a B (based upon FG attempts that are successful, net punt yardage, net kick return yardage, ST scores allowed)