I deliberately waited a little while before posting after the game. It was obvious that people had lost their minds just by reading thread titles. So, apologies in advance if some of this contains errors due to memory issues, but I haven't re-watched the game. Having said that, I'll keep the O.P. short....
- Prior to this game, I don't remember the last time I had actually hated an offensive game plan. It was as if the Patriots decided to avoid attacking every Ravens weakness.
- Lloyd has become so contact-phobic that he's now diving to the turf on fairly wide open and easy catches. That has to be dealt with, or he'll be all but useless in the future.
- Also, why has Lloyd evolved into a short-middle guy in the offense? That's poor utilization of him.
- For those who used to bash on Maroney for his "dancing", he's got company now.
- Arrington is absolutely awful on the outside. He's an inside CB3, at his very best, and is really a CB4. It's terrible to have to point this out again after all the draft picks and other signinigs, but this team needs to add an outside CB [highlight]even if[/highlight] Talib returns.
- That said, this team's top priorities in the draft need to be S, WR and OL, probably in that order. If Gregory's the answer, I don't want to hear the question.
- If the officials are going to let Dennard run downfield with a glove on his opponents, that kid is going to be very tough to throw on in the future. He's got a tenacity that I'm not sure anyone else in that secondary has, and that includes Mr. Talib.
- This team's linebackers should be in a 3-4 in non-passing situations. That was shown, once again, in that game, IMO. Whether they accomplish that by putting Jones in as the "elephant", or by dropping Ninkovich into the LB group isn't as important to me as them actually doing it.
- Take Welker and Gronk out of that offense, and you might have the softest group in the NFL.
- Why the hell didn't the Patriots put in a Woodhead/Vereen duo into the game and then just empty the backfield or move Hernandez back there while splitting the WRs out? That's exactly the sort of thing that would have taxed that Ravens defense.
- Brady needs to run when the run is there.
- Lastly, to have the Super Bowl right there, and to see it taken away largely because of injuries (again) and poor play by the Patriots rather than dominance by the opponent, is starting to feel a bit too much like Charlie Brown kicking and Lucy holding.
Pretty much agree with your analysis.
There's been some very good analysis of this teams issues both on this board and on the radio in recent days.
Interesting observations I've heard in recent days,
*When the Patriots were punched in the nose by the Ravens they responded the way all teams do - they showed their true team personality.
Remember how we heard all year about balance on offense, about running the ball, Patriots now have two quality RB's? When the Ravens punched the Patriots in the face the Patriots responded by morphing back into who they really are - the Indy Colts. The run was abandoned, the creative playcalling was abandoned, the utilization of ALL the weapons on offense was abandoned. Aggressiveness was abandoned. Brady refused to run for makeable 1st downs. Belichick refused to go on 4th down in Raven territory.
They became a vanilla, pass happy and Brady-centric against a team that could be run on. They became timid when they should have been "in your face".
*What John Elway wants to build in Denver is a team much like the one he had late in his career when he finally won championships - a team with a terrific run game and defense that does not need the QB to dominate in order to win. The Patriots need to acquire that philosophy.
*Outside of the 2007 NE Patriots, clearly the best team top to bottom in the NFL that year, the Patriots have NOT been the best team in football every year since 2004. This run of excellence they've been on really is a testament to the QB, the coach and the quality of their team preparation.
*Patriots would have struggled to beat San Francisco in the SB. Losing out in the championship game, a rarity for this team, is preferable to losing a 3rd straight Super Bowl.
*Patriots can win it all next year. (Agreed!!!)
*The Niners are going to crush the Ravens in the Super Bowl. Game has blowout written all over it. (Definitely agree
)