****** Patriots v. Dolphins post game thread ******

[TomPatriot]

Division games are always tougher, no matter who the opponent is. I'd rather have this win than the ptitful 49ers division loss in OT to the Rams.

 

[PatriotFan77]

First sporting event you ever watched, then?

Cmon don't get pissy, just explain more. You're saying the Pats aren't that good despite the win because the phins rookie QB sucks, I get that. The win against Manning mean anything? He is up for MVP and Broncos are on fire. Pats still not that good?

 

[Deus Irae]

FINALLY SOMEONE UNDERSTANDS WHERE I'M COMING FROM!!!!!!!

The holes we saw today almost always COMEBACK WHEN THE PATRIOTS CAN'S AFFORD THEM TO!!

This was was good, but it can also be seen as a warning sign/blueprint to defeat.

They won. I don't think it was a warning. I think it was getting away with a subpar game and I think it showed that the defense is still a work in progress and that quality QBs are still a huge threat. I also think Mayo's follow up post to you

Sure they will, and I agree it shouldn't have been close. But they aren't all going to be high scoring affairs. Winning a trap game on the road against a good defense when you're a bit off isn't bad. Plenty of humble pie for BB to serve up before Houston comes to town.

pretty much nailed it. It was a win, but it wasn't what it should have been, and there's still a long way to go.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

No. In 2003, they won by having their defense grind the hell out of opponents. It wasn't about being a little better than the other team. It was about shutting down the opponent. They went 14-2 despite hitting 30 points only 5 times in that season, and they won 5 games while scoring under 20 points.

Who knows what would happen, though, if you took the 2003 defense and transplanted it to 2012 with today's passing rules. . . .

 

[ALP]

Brady was off today

the receivers were off today

the O line was prob. the worst all season, or at least in the last month and half

the defense didn't play so well either


and the biggest positive was that when the game was close and late in the 4th, when the Pats needed to waste time and hopefully score, they were able to

down the stretch even though the passing game did not work, they were able to finally run on the fins, and put the game away, that might come in necessary again, and now we know we can do it

 

[Salva135]

No. In 2003, they won by having their defense grind the hell out of opponents. It wasn't about being a little better than the other team. It was about shutting down the opponent. They went 14-2 despite hitting 30 points only 5 times in that season, and they won 5 games while scoring under 20 points.

Wow, what a turd in the punch bowl you are. I am as critical of this team as any, but this Dolphins game was never going to tell us much about their playoff prospects. Coming out of there with a divisional road win was good enough. We won't know what this team is capable of until the Texans and Niners come to town, and that was always the case.

 

[JackBauer]

Listen, the offense can be more efficient if they got more production from the outside.Mainly LLoyd who to me has been a dissapointment.

Yeah, they're only, like, the best offense in the league. If only they were more "efficient" on the outside. And we get it: you think Lloyd is a disappointment. You don't really need to repeat yourself.

 

[PATSNUTme]

can someone explain to me what brady saw on that interception..............................................................................................

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Brady completed 24 of 40 passing attempts or 60%, not counting at least 4 drops otherwise he'd have completed 70%. He threw a pick targeting a guy who just signed an $8M per deal because he's a matchup nightmare and near impossible to single cover... He was sacked 4 times. We ran for 8 yards in the first half. He somehow managed to avoid a couple of more playing behind a patchwork OL only Scar and Brady could manage to cobble together just enough to win with.

FWIW SF lost in OT...And the Texans didn't exactly light up the Titans. Lucky for them the Titans don't have a starting QB. They greased the Texans skids with 3 fumbles lost and 3 INT's. For the first time in 3 weeks they weren't taken to OT...by a bad team.

 

[Deus Irae]

Cmon don't get pissy, just explain more. You're saying the Pats aren't that good despite the win because the phins rookie QB sucks, I get that. The win against Manning mean anything? He is up for MVP and Broncos are on fire. Pats still not that good?

See, that's not what I'm saying. However, go find the team's record, post 2008, when they put less than 20 on the board. It's something like 1-9.

 

[Gwedd]

As I posted elsewhere:

Still and all, I'm not surprised with how this game went. Despite the various records, every game in the AFCE is usually a dog fight. I mean, each team sees each other twice a year. there just aren't that many things you can keep a secret from them, you know?

Each team knows the other very well, and sooner or later they'll figure it out. Usually, like today, it comes down to which team executes their plays the best, which defense reads the fastest and reacts properly. And yeah, which team has the calls go their way.

But I'm happy with the win, and looking forward to next Sunday.

 

[D-Money]

Hey Marqui,have u been watching LLoyd this season?Seriously.He is on pace to do what Branch did last year and Branch is no longer on this team.I expected more consistency

 

[D-Money]

To say that u didnt expect more from LLoyd at this point is nonsense.

 

[NSPF]

The question about the Patriots is not whether they can beat playoff teams when they put 40 points on the board. The question is not whether they can beat crap teams in the regular season when they don't put up 40 points on the board.

The question about the Patriots is whether or not they can beat playoff teams when the offense gets held in check. Today offered nothing to tell us that they can. They struggled to beat the Dolphins and Ryan freakin' Tannehill.

They won in Miami in December. That's great. If Tannehill didn't suck, things could have been different. If you can't see why that's an issue, you haven't watched this team in recent years.

Be more pessimistic pleeez. Do you expect the Patriots to be the greatest team ever that has no chance of losing to even the best opponents? Plus you're falling for the same double standard that everyone else does... If the Patriots score 17 points it was a terrible day for the offense, but because the opponent managed to score 21 the Patriots' defense is the worst defense ever. Do you think that the Patriots have the only offense in the NFL that should ever be capable of scoring? Guess what, if the offense plays like crap, and the opponents offense doesn't, yeah no kidding they'll lose games! Why do you want to see a game so badly where both offenses play terrible?

Oh and by the way, if you want to see a close game against a playoff team that the Patriots won despite their offense struggling, how about, oh I don't know, the AFC Championship game last year? And don't tell me that they only won because of a fluke play from Sterling Moore... Then you'd be asking the Patriots to win a game against an elite team where the offense struggles and the defense doesn't make any plays? Also, I know "it's a completely different team from last year", but give me a break, it's a marginally different team at most. They are clearly capable of beating elite teams, and they are capable of winning close games, and they are capable of doing both at the same time.

Now enjoy the 10th Division Championship under Brady like everyone else is!

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Meanwhile that washed up QB with no big, fast WRs is losing 10-7 in the 3rd QTR to the vaunted Bucs
Stuff happens

 

[Deus Irae]

Be more pessimistic pleeez. Do you expect the Patriots to be the greatest team ever that has no chance of losing to even the best opponents? Plus you're falling for the same double standard that everyone else does... If the Patriots score 17 points it was a terrible day for the offense, but because the opponent managed to score 21 the Patriots' defense is the worst defense ever. Do you think that the Patriots have the only offense in the NFL that should ever be capable of scoring? Guess what, if the offense plays like crap, and the opponents offense doesn't, yeah no kidding they'll lose games! Why do you want to see a game so badly where both offenses play terrible?

Oh and by the way, if you want to see a close game against a playoff team that the Patriots won despite their offense struggling, how about, oh I don't know, the AFC Championship game last year? And don't tell me that they only won because of a fluke play from Sterling Moore... Then you'd be asking the Patriots to win a game against an elite team where the offense struggles and the defense doesn't make any plays? Also, I know "it's a completely different team from last year", but give me a break, it's a marginally different team at most. They are clearly capable of beating elite teams, and they are capable of winning close games, and they are capable of doing both at the same time.

Now enjoy the 10th Division Championship under Brady like everyone else is!

My posts were pretty clear, so I'm surprised that you were able to get them completely wrong.

Oh, well.

 

[resdubwhite]

It never amazes me how people find things to get pissy about here.

Hell, we're far from perfect. But no-one in this league is.

Would I like an all encompassing juggernaut.

Yeah. I'd also like an evening with Baby spice too.

 

[PatriotFan77]

See, that's not what I'm saying. However, go find the team's record, post 2008, when they put less than 20 on the board. It's something like 1-9.

Ok, since 2009 the pats needed to score 20+ to win most of their games. I just am not seeing the connection to today's game.

It's a good thing the rookie QB sucked otherwise the pats could have lost. Wouldn't that be true for any team?

 

[Marqui]

Hey Marqui,have u been watching LLoyd this season?Seriously.He is on pace to do what Branch did last year and Branch is no longer on this team.I expected more consistency

Not putting up elite fantasy WR numbers =/= "lost" in the offense. He knows what to do, he's just not getting a ton of separation.

And Lloyd is doing almost exactly what I expected: give the team a legit outside threat to bump up the offense #1 in the league. It's your expectations that are way off. There was no reason to expect a 31 year old, 4 million dollar receiver that no other team wanted to put up elite fantasy numbers.

 

[PatsWSB47]

The question about the Patriots is not whether they can beat playoff teams when they put 40 points on the board. The question is not whether they can beat crap teams in the regular season when they don't put up 40 points on the board.

The question about the Patriots is whether or not they can beat playoff teams when the offense gets held in check. Today offered nothing to tell us that they can. They struggled to beat the Dolphins and Ryan freakin' Tannehill.

They won in Miami in December. That's great. If Tannehill didn't suck, things could have been different. If you can't see why that's an issue, you haven't watched this team in recent years.

Point taken but 49ers, Texans and Broncos have had crappy games recently. On those days little or nothing was offered to tell us they can beat playoff teams when their offenses are held in check.