Dear Bill Belichek
I am writing to you as a concerned Patriots fan. I have a few issues with the path we have taken this year and i would like to discuss them with you.
1 The 3-4 system is best when the bulk of your talent in your front seven is at linebacker. THIS IS NOT THE CASE ANYMORE WITH THE PATRIOTS.
Willie Mac =gone
Ted J=gone
Tedy B= starting to look old ( i still love him but facts are facts)
Junior Say Ow
=gone
The talent in our front seven is in the Defensive line. You have won 3 Rings by being adaptable. I know you love the 3-4 but we dont have the personel to run it very well. Please consider swiching to a 4-3. You have a great football mind, you can find ways to disguise coverage in a 4-3 scheme. I think Seymour Wilfork Warren and Green on the field at the same time would be a nightmare for opposing offenses. Plus 3-4 personel are hard to find in the college ranks and more teams in the NFL who will be drafting before us run this same system.
>> Agreed, but we don't have a true 4-3 MLB on the roster. Maybe next year.
2 The two gap system is great at stopping the run (if the players are disciplined) however it makes it very difficult to rush the passer. The league has recently evolved to a pass crazy legue with the no contact (patriots rule) . You might want to rethink that 2 gap philosophy and allow defenders to attack a single gap instead of having to overpower the opposing offensive linemen to get any pressure. We need more pass rush badly. This would help Asante and Ellis more than anything else.
>> The defense probably runs some one-gap assignments, but the pass rush needs to come from the LBs, too.
3 You won 3 rings while having the best coaching staff in the legue. we essentially had 3 head coaches. I dont think either of your current coordinators will get any consideration for head coaching jobs this year. This should tell you something about them.
Were they the best guys available this year.?
>> Pees is ok; Skippy, OTOH, is completely unqualified. The coaching staff, as a whole, is undermanned. Coaches don't count against the cap - spend the $$, BK and BB, and hire more people. Who knows, maybe someone else will have some good ideas.
4 Have you and Scott Pioli taken into account that the salary cap has risen significantly. Therefore the value of a any given player must also rise since you are slicing up a bigger pie 53 ways. I keep waiting for other teams to have to let go key players but we seem to be only team that faces this. There will not be any good FA this year. Any player that is any good will get PAID so dont think you willl be able to pick up scraps from someone elses table. Those day are done for a while. You should work really hard to keep your own FA because i dont think you will be getting anybody from other teams.
>> Let's hope that the FO has learned its lesson, before it's too late.
5 Please forward this to Tom Brady : dink and dunk , remember that, you seem to be believing the hype that you are the 'golden armed boy'. You are starting to look like Drew Bledsoe sitting in the pocket waiting for a reciever to come open way down the field and taking sacks. Get rid of the ball quickly and accurately and hope for some RAC. Please adjust that post route where you send Ben Watson down the middle and there are two safeties waiting to crack his spine. You are going to get the guy killed. Have him sit down int the void between the LBs and the safeties. I have seen it several times this year with bad results, ball tipped in the air or dropped, fumbles and most recently injury.
>> Amen, brothers and sisters. TB eyeballs Bumblin' Bennie way too often. Case in point: first drive vs. Chicago. Watson was the least open receiver at the time. Faulk was wide open in the left flat, 3 yards from a 1st down, 7 yards from a DB.
6 Three words screen screen screen. we seem to have only recently remembered this play.
>> We'll see it again; don't worry.
7. This seems like the third of fourth year we have half the team is out due to injury. I have to believe that this cant be just bad luck. We are doing something different than other teams in the NFL. Maybe Strength and conditioning? too much? too little? Look into this.
>> I seem to recall that BB fired a very good S & C coach after the 2000 or '01 seasons. The injuries have piled up ever since.
8 Tell Tully that the spin move is not working. Tell Tedy B that his attempts to flip over blocking RBs when he is blitzing is counter productive. One day he is going to connect with the opposing QB in the knees and get a huge penalty. Tell Ellis to shut up/just play and turn around and look for the ball when the reciever does.
>> Yes, yes and yes.
9 Does Marquise Hill have naked pics of you or something? I cant see why this guy continues to take up a roster spot. Has he ever stepped on the field.
>> Bad draft pick then, bad player now. Hill would be BB's highest-drafted guy released, but it's past time. Admit your mistake, coach, and bring in someone who wants to play. What kind of example are you setting?
10 Take all the plays with Corey Dillion running to the outside and throw them away. Corey is not going to outrun anybody to the outside. Corey you have 3 options. A:find hole inside B:make a hole inside or C
ush a pile.
>> Agreed, but Dillon needs to run outside once in a while, to keep the defense honest.
11.Finally , next years draft. L I N E B A C K E R
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No more junkyard dogs
>> Abso-effin-lutely. At least one on the 1st day, and at least 2, both ILB and OLB, overall.