Currently watching '21'

[pats1]

The main difference I see so far between the 03/early 04 and the 05 Pats?

Turnovers. Good God, I've already lost count of how many the defense forced. Rodney's forcing fumbles and grabbing INTs. Poole, Wilson, and Law are bringing in the INTs as well. Phifer, Bruschi, and McGinest are forcing fumbles left and right.

What else? The running game. Smith. Faulk. Cloud. Cutting left, cutting right, running over defenders.

Also - special teams. Izzo and Chatham. Johnson and Brown.


Man, just has me thinking what would have happened if the Pats stayed healthier this past season and had the magical, consummate team chemistry combined with solid coaching.

We need Rodney back. The 'swagger' needs to return to this team. That's something I noticed the lack of such this entire season. Be it the loss of RAC and WC, Bruschi early, Rodney early, hits to the line and defensive backfield, but I always had the feeling something wasn't quite right.

2006 needs to come. Fast.

 

[BelichickFan]

And turnovers from us. We NEVER made mistakes in 2001. Compare that to the Denver loss. Faulk fumble. Hobbs fumble. Brady INT. Brown fumble. Vinatieri miss. The difference between a 14 point loss and a 17 point win.

 

[pats1]

And turnovers from us. We NEVER made mistakes in 2001. Compare that to the Denver loss. Faulk fumble. Hobbs fumble. Brady INT. Brown fumble. Vinatieri miss. The difference between a 14 point loss and a 17 point win.

Most certainly.

 

[BelichickFan]

Most certainly.

It really was amazing how we stopped creating turnovers, though. Hobbs showed a spark there and Samuel did at the end. The way we were pressuring the QB the second half, I think the turnovers will be back if the Safety play is a little better (hopefully with Rodney).

 

[richpats]

And turnovers from us. We NEVER made mistakes in 2001. Compare that to the Denver loss. Faulk fumble. Hobbs fumble. Brady INT. Brown fumble. Vinatieri miss. The difference between a 14 point loss and a 17 point win.

The more I think about the Denver game the more I think that we were never meant to win that game. There was a no-call on Wilson for bumping into Branch on a pass, and I just knew the refs were going to call things Denver's way, and I bet the Pats did too, hence the edgy play and frequent mistakes. For example, that incompletion on 4th and 1 was terrible execution of a risky play call.

I knew we'd need at least 14 points the 1st half to win and all we could manage was 3 (and even that was close). If the D hadn't stepped up it would have been Week 6 all over again. Then the refs decided to essentially give Denver the lead on Asante's phantom PI.

I know we were moving the ball on the Broncos in the 3rd quarter, but even if Brady takes a sack or throws it away we're still down 10-9 and we haven't made it into the end zone. TD's win playoff games, not FG's.

Even after Champ's pick, we still had plenty of time to get back in it. Adam's miss told the world that it wasn't our night. Troy's fumble (on a TERRIBLE S/T call) was the backbreaker.

In retrospect, it wasn't as bad a loss as it seems. We weren't going to win by 17. We never had control of the game, unlike Miami in '04, where we blew an 11-point lead w/ 4 minutes left. We were underdogs on the road, it's better than blowing one at home or in the SB.

The loss is going to help the team re-focus for next season. It sucks to have to remember it as their last game but when the 2006 schedule comes out we'll have teams to circle, most notably "DENVER" and "INDIANAPOLIS".

 

[pats1]

In my traditional fashion, let's see how this 2006 defense will compare itself to 2003:

Pos. - 2003 - 2006

LE - Hamilton/Pleasant - Warren

---A bit of an upgrade with a younger, more versatile Warren.

RE - Seymour - Seymour

---Seymour has improved, and showed it the second half of 2005

NT - Washington/Klecko - Wilfork/?

---Wilfork is younger and can rush the passer a bit better, and showed improvement later in 2005, but a capable backup (not Wright) needs to be found


LOLB - McGinest - McGinest

---He's now getting all the reps, and is likely to be retained for 2006. Hasn't lost his touch

ILB - Bruschi - Bruschi

---His 2005 performance wasn't as fiery and effective as in 2003, but we'll see where a full season of working out brings us

ILB - Phifer/Johnson - Vrabel

---Phifer and Johnson made for a damn nice combo, but I'd still take a versatile Vrabel. We'll see how more learning time can benefit Beisel

ROLB - Vrabel - Colvin

---Both Vrabel and Colvin were beasts in the specified years, but now they'll be on the same starting line (Colvin was hurt all of 2003)


CB - Law - Samuel(?)

---Obviously a no-contest. The Pats need to improve here. Samuel is good, but should only be a #2/3 CB.

CB - Poole - Hobbs

---The 2003 aberration Poole is unlikely to return in 2006. Hobbs could very well be as effective as Poole was in 2003 - or better.

NB - Samuel - Gay

---A 2004 Randall Gay would bring stability to this defensive backfield. Add in possibly Poteat, Chad Scott, and Artrell Hawkins and it's solid.

FS - Wilson - Wilson

---Hopefully Wilson can level out his play, but the burden will still be higher than that of 2003-4, even with rodney possibly back. Let's see if he can keep reaching up for that bar.

SS - Harrison - Harrison(?)

---Obviously a 2003/4 Harrison will be better than a recovering 2006 Harrison. If Hawkins and Sanders are given reps, things should be working well. Hawkins starting again though just won't cut it. There needs to be an exceptional #3 safety brought in (e.g. Victor Green - 2002)

Defensive Reserves/Special Teams

Izzo, Chatham, Davis, Banta-Cain, Stone. Special teams seem pretty damn solid.

Jarvis Green provides front-line DL backup, with Hill, Wright, Thomas, and possibly Klecko helping out.

LB depth could be improved. Chad Brown is a capable swingman reserve, and Beisel is still a work in progress. Let's see what Claridge can do.

DB depth depends on free agency. If Gay, C. Scott, G. Scott, Stone, Poteat and Hawkins are retained, it remains adequate. Sanders will get more shots, and Ventrone might crack the roster.