Is this team physical enough to win?

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

This isn't about the Lions game,it is about a trend. Last year we got physically slapped around by the Ravens, Seattle and the 49ers.

Why?

Because they physically imposed their will on us.

Now we have to face the facts, it will be happening again this year.

Last year in many of the games that the Ravens, Seahawks, and 49ers lost, I am sure that they were physically manhandled too. When you get way down and begin to take chances, then the other team can tee off on you.

I think we are built to win the lines of scrimmage. Not every time, but more often than not.

One issue I had was the need to have receivers who can be effective despite drawing not-called contact. I think we have addressed this in the long term with bigger receivers, though it may be awhile before they add the strength they need to the size they already have.

 

[neuronet]

By the logic of the OP we would have gotten killed by the Texans.

I would submit that it isn't our toughness/finesse, it is simply a matter of some teams giving poor matchups, others better matchups.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

You're basing this on what, exactly?

It's kraft who has been incredibly sensitive to what the world thinks post-spy gate and now hernandez.

 

[borg]

I was expecting to see silly posts after that loss to the Lions, its preseason, I wouldn't read too much into the game, its more about evaluating players in certain situations and not game planning for a specific foe. This team will be plenty tough enough, mentally and physically.

Losses to Seattle, San Fran, Baltimore all prove the NE offense loses the LOS vs physical fronts and Brady hears footsteps....reinforced by the Detroit D line domination.
Why would anyone assume the problem is solved this year with the same O line, 2 less TEs, and a receiving corp fresh out of diapers.
On D....DT depth is nonexistant so it is all on the LBs. If the LBs can become play makers instead of play finishers, there may be some hope. But the thinness at DT is scary now.
As someone mentioned earlier, the yearly misfires in the secondary have depleted depth in several groupings. A top heavy roster IMO

 

[VrabelJr]

Dear September,

Get here sooner.

Sincerely,

VrabelJr

 

[JMC00]

Losses to Seattle, San Fran, Baltimore all prove the NE offense loses the LOS vs physical fronts and Brady hears footsteps.

Yep losing the LOS and Brady hearing footsteps was the reason they lost those games.

troll

 

[JackBauer]

Losses to Seattle, San Fran, Baltimore all prove the NE offense loses the LOS vs physical fronts and Brady hears footsteps....reinforced by the Detroit D line domination.
Why would anyone assume the problem is solved this year with the same O line, 2 less TEs, and a receiving corp fresh out of diapers.
On D....DT depth is nonexistant so it is all on the LBs. If the LBs can become play makers instead of play finishers, there may be some hope. But the thinness at DT is scary now.
As someone mentioned earlier, the yearly misfires in the secondary have depleted depth in several groupings. A top heavy roster IMO

A negative outlook on the Patriots from borg? Most shocking thing I've read all day. About as notable as your revelation that better teams tend to play the Patriots tough. Groundbreaking stuff as usual.

 

[jmt57]

A copy and paste from the other similar thread on this topic:

To me the whole 'Pats are soft', 'Pats are a finesse team', 'Pats can't beat physical teams' is just a bunch of smack talk that fans of rival teams throw out there - and that some in the media have picked up on in the name of ratings.


Just last year the Patriots beat a team that ranked 2nd in yards allowed and 4th in points allowed, twice beat a team that ranked 7th in points allowed, and twice beat another team that ranked in the top ten in both points and yards allowed.

How in the world does that happen if the Patriots are allegedly so weak, soft, and not physical?



So the team that was more physical won. News flash: in almost all cases the team that was more physical that day, that won the individual and collective battles in the trenches, that tackled better, that made more hits wins the game.

There is a major difference between not getting it done in that regard in one game - especially when it is a preseason game - and "never" winning the physical aspects of a game (blocking, tackling and hitting).


A bit of perspective, especially in the pre-season: it's never as good as you think it is when you win (week one and two), and it's never as bad as you think it is when you lose (week three). In a way, this is the perfect time for a bad game such as this. It gives Belichick and the coaching staff a chance to keep new players grounded, have the entire team eat some humble pie, and it provides plenty of teachable moments between now and the start of the season.​

Apparently to some whenever the Patriots lose a game against a good team it 'proves' something, but at the same time victories over good teams prove nothing.

 

[Froob]

This isn't about the Lions game,it is about a trend. Last year we got physically slapped around by the Ravens, Seattle and the 49ers.

Why?

Because they physically imposed their will on us.

Now we have to face the facts, it will be happening again this year.

Nearly beat both seattle and san fran. and would have beaten balt in reg season had kick been ruled no good. Does that mean these teams struggle with finesse teams?

 

[borg]

A negative outlook on the Patriots from borg? Most shocking thing I've read all day. About as notable as your revelation that better teams tend to play the Patriots tough. Groundbreaking stuff as usual.

A little more insightful than "the Pats are my team so they must be awesome."......swallow gulp. And I wouldn't call it a revelation that better teams beat the Pats, I would call it the truth. Teams that owned the LOS last year owned the Pats. Move your pom pom and get the foam finger out of your sight line....you might see what most everyone outside the NE haze sees....a finesse offense. No worries....the Dan Fouts Chargers were fun to watch also.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

If Gronk is healthy and Cannon is the real deal, we could have a seriously nasty front. Gronk/Vollmer/Cannon/Mankins/Solder, it's hard to see our run game get bottled up that badly with those guys in there. We also have a pretty physical secondary, once again at full strength, in Talib/Dennard/Wilson/Arrington.

That's the problem though it seems one guy goes down on either side and it's completely catastophic (Neal in SB42, Gronk in SB46, Talib in 2012 AFCC). Maybe it's just a lack a leadership on those units because I've seen teams (Ravens last year, Packers in 2010, us in 2003/2004) have several devastating injuries yet manage to play their best football with everything on the line.

 

[JMC00]

A little more insightful than "the Pats are my team so they must be awesome."......swallow gulp. And I wouldn't call it a revelation that better teams beat the Pats, I would call it the truth. Teams that owned the LOS last year owned the Pats. Move your pom pom and get the foam finger out of your sight line....you might see what most everyone outside the NE haze sees....a finesse offense. No worries....the Dan Fouts Chargers were fun to watch also.

 

[borg]

Nearly beat both seattle and san fran. and would have beaten balt in reg season had kick been ruled no good. Does that mean these teams struggle with finesse teams?

0-4 in those games.....is that good? If moral victories are your thing...then YEAH!!
As far as your attempt to turn the tables....yes the other teams struggle against NE...to the tune of 4-0. Excellent counter argument....en fuego.

 

[VrabelJr]

0-4 in those games.....is that good? If moral victories are your thing...then YEAH!!
As far as your attempt to turn the tables....yes the other teams struggle against NE...to the tune of 4-0. Excellent counter argument....en fuego.

What about the other 13 games we won last year? Half of the teams in the NFL don't even win 13 games in two seasons let alone one season.

 

[JMC00]

0-4 in those games.....is that good? If moral victories are your thing...then YEAH!!
As far as your attempt to turn the tables....yes the other teams struggle against NE...to the tune of 4-0. Excellent counter argument....en fuego.

 

[Kontradiction]

I'd like to see more physicality in the back end on the defensive side of the ball, but you've totally lost your mind in this thread. The premise is good, the delivery is among the worst I've ever seen.

 

[jmt57]

0-4 in those games.....is that good? If moral victories are your thing...then YEAH!!
As far as your attempt to turn the tables....yes the other teams struggle against NE...to the tune of 4-0. Excellent counter argument....en fuego.

Nice cherry picking; let's see if I can do it too.

- Packers are awful since they were 0-4 vs Seattle, San Fran, Giants and Colts
- Seattle 'never' wins on the road (losing at Cardinals, Rams, 49ers, Lions, Dolphins and Falcons)
- 49ers can't beat a 'tough, physical' team: losses to Giants, Seahawks and Ravens 'prove' that


Wow, how enlightening: when you ignore all the games a team won, that team lost every other game!

 

[borg]

Nice cherry picking; let's see if I can do it too.

- Packers are awful since they were 0-4 vs Seattle, San Fran, Giants and Colts
- Seattle 'never' wins on the road (losing at Cardinals, Rams, 49ers, Lions, Dolphins and Falcons)
- 49ers can't beat a 'tough, physical' team: losses to Giants, Seahawks and Ravens 'prove' that


Wow, how enlightening: when you ignore all the games a team won, that team lost every other game!

Huh? The Packers?? wah??
Verses physical fronts, the Pats shrivel. Eric Allen spent an entire segment the other day on NFLN talking about this very point. Guess its obvious to everyone without a foam finger blocking their view.
And why is this called trolling? Because it isn't pro Pats? What are we 12!

 

[mcmurtry86]

It's kraft who has been incredibly sensitive to what the world thinks post-spy gate and now hernandez.

Post SpyGate when they've brought in Hernandez, Dennard, Haynesworth etc?

I don't think that an owner who is "incredibly sensitive" signs off on a guy who punched a cop in the face right before the draft.

 

[JMC00]

Huh? The Packers?? wah??
Verses physical fronts, the Pats shrivel. Eric Allen spent an entire segment the other day on NFLN talking about this very point. Guess its obvious to everyone without a foam finger blocking their view.
And why is this called trolling? Because it isn't pro Pats? What are we 12!