ALRIGHT; you want positive morale I'll give you positive morale.
I watch a lot of Patriots play as do most of you. Now, think about when it started to get "sloppy." Think about when the coaching started to seem sort of strange. It was after the Patriots started to really have a good handle on their division. So the point I want to start to get at here is that, as a team virtually certain to win their division, why not treat even regular season games similarly to preseason games?
Remember how people kinda wondered why the Patriots didn't run very much against Indy? Do you consider it could be because it would give the Patriots a serious advantage next time they face Indianapolis? Now Belichick will be able to analyze what did and didn't work in the passing game. Indianapolis will have little experience handle the NE run game in the playoffs. Keep in mind that the pats aren't a flashy team, they play to win in the postseason. Compare that to the Colts, for example, whose president has a reputation for reciting obscure records his team has set (which no one else noticed or cares about). This is how the Patriots formulate their team and coaching style to win in big games. The Indianapolis game was a big game, but did we need to win? Heck no. Will we need to win next time? Yes.
I missed the Chicago game, unfortunately, so I won't try to comment on that one. But this last game against the Lions also gave me a feeling that the coaching wasn't making winning their absolute top priority. Ben Watson didn't even seem to be in the game until the 2nd half, where it appeared the Patriots really started to try. I believe that if they'd wanted to destroy the Lions, they could have. They could have dominated them the whole game the way they did in the last 20 minutes. But as strange as it may seem, if you're guaranteed a comfy playoff spot, why not go with a gameplan that helps you work out the imperfections in the offense? Why not throw to Caldwell virtually the whole time? Why not try to make your offense work without much rushing? Then, if you're not winning at the beginning of the 4th quarter, tell Brady, "now the game is yours to win, do whatever it takes."
I'm not trying to say there weren't times that the Pats didn't play well. Denver and NYJ ring a bell. But the team that played Denver isn't the same one we have now, so forget about that. NYJ was a bad game, period. But vs Indy, there is an advantage to intentionally not playing full strength. Against the Bears and Lions as well. I'm sure they would have liked to win, but only if they didn't need to use their whole bag of tricks to do it. I don't put it past Belichick to try to challenge his team to become better, even if it risks losing a game they don't need to win.
There are many ways these regular season games have a preseason flavor to them if you ask me, but there's no way we'd ever know the whole story on that. Its all top secret.
PLEASE COMMENT WHAT YOU THINK!!
I watch a lot of Patriots play as do most of you. Now, think about when it started to get "sloppy." Think about when the coaching started to seem sort of strange. It was after the Patriots started to really have a good handle on their division. So the point I want to start to get at here is that, as a team virtually certain to win their division, why not treat even regular season games similarly to preseason games?
Remember how people kinda wondered why the Patriots didn't run very much against Indy? Do you consider it could be because it would give the Patriots a serious advantage next time they face Indianapolis? Now Belichick will be able to analyze what did and didn't work in the passing game. Indianapolis will have little experience handle the NE run game in the playoffs. Keep in mind that the pats aren't a flashy team, they play to win in the postseason. Compare that to the Colts, for example, whose president has a reputation for reciting obscure records his team has set (which no one else noticed or cares about). This is how the Patriots formulate their team and coaching style to win in big games. The Indianapolis game was a big game, but did we need to win? Heck no. Will we need to win next time? Yes.
I missed the Chicago game, unfortunately, so I won't try to comment on that one. But this last game against the Lions also gave me a feeling that the coaching wasn't making winning their absolute top priority. Ben Watson didn't even seem to be in the game until the 2nd half, where it appeared the Patriots really started to try. I believe that if they'd wanted to destroy the Lions, they could have. They could have dominated them the whole game the way they did in the last 20 minutes. But as strange as it may seem, if you're guaranteed a comfy playoff spot, why not go with a gameplan that helps you work out the imperfections in the offense? Why not throw to Caldwell virtually the whole time? Why not try to make your offense work without much rushing? Then, if you're not winning at the beginning of the 4th quarter, tell Brady, "now the game is yours to win, do whatever it takes."
I'm not trying to say there weren't times that the Pats didn't play well. Denver and NYJ ring a bell. But the team that played Denver isn't the same one we have now, so forget about that. NYJ was a bad game, period. But vs Indy, there is an advantage to intentionally not playing full strength. Against the Bears and Lions as well. I'm sure they would have liked to win, but only if they didn't need to use their whole bag of tricks to do it. I don't put it past Belichick to try to challenge his team to become better, even if it risks losing a game they don't need to win.
There are many ways these regular season games have a preseason flavor to them if you ask me, but there's no way we'd ever know the whole story on that. Its all top secret.
PLEASE COMMENT WHAT YOU THINK!!