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I've been avoiding the main board since Monday, trying to ignore the meltdown. Others have commented on most issues, from all perspectives. But as I see it, the Pats' rather sudden and dramatic drop this season comes down to a basic set of problems: too much youth, too little leadership, and too little mental toughness.
Tom Brady alluded to some of these issues today:
http://nesn.com/2014/10/tom-brady-patriots-need-mental-toughness-no-magic-play-to-snap-skid/
This team has gotten very young, very fast. There's a reasonable core of leadership on defense - Wilfork, Mayo, Ninkovich and McCourty have all been captains - but very little on offense outside of Brady. Logan Mankins' play had deteriorated significantly, but his toughness and leadership couldn't be questioned. The offense is extremely young.
There have been some clear warning signs about a lack of leadership on offense. People commented earlier this season on little things like Brady getting knocked down and none of his linemen picking him up. Tedy Bruschi commented earlier this season (before the Miami opener) that he was a bit surprised about Dan Connelly being named a captain, as he didn't see Connolly being the kind of tough, vocal leader that Mankins had been:
http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story...ngland-patriots-defense-difference?src=mobile
I think that there's a fundamental breakdown in leadership and toughness on this team right now, at both the player and coaching staff level. The sloppy fundamentals and glaring errors that we've seen on both sides of the ball are indicative of this. The problem is bigger and more fundamental than the OL, the WRs, the offensive and defensive schemes, and other such issues.
We've seen something like this before, a couple of times. In 2009 the problems led to an up-and-down 10-6 season, and early 1st round playoff drubbing, and a major overhaul in the offseason. But in 2011 back-to-back losses to Pittsburgh and the Giants along with a notable lack of effort led to Albert Haynesworth being cut and the team pulling together to make a SB run.
I think it's gut-check team for the team. They need to find out how much intestinal fortitude they have. Given the youth and the fundamental issues we've seen so far, it may not be enough. They could easily fall apart like in 2009. But if they can dig deep and pull together, then I think we could see something similar to 2011, where the team that emerges is significantly greater than the sum of its parts.
I'm not going to pay a lot of attention to the board for a bit, but I will be paying attention to the team to see how this plays out.
Tom Brady alluded to some of these issues today:
“I think you gotta have enough mental toughness to endure through all of the tough situations,” Brady said Wednesday morning on WEEI radio. “It tests your will, it tests your mental discipline and your work ethic. I think those are things that are going to be tested by us for the rest of the year. I don’t think it’s going to be easy to roll our helmets out there and expect to go out there and win games.
“There’s no magic play. There’s no magic scheme. It’s up to the players to play a lot better than we’re playing. This hasn’t been an isolated incident. I don’t think offensively we’ve played well all year. I don’t think we’ve played well for a long time. We’ve gotta figure out the reason why we’re not playing as well as we’re capable and try to improve them.”
http://nesn.com/2014/10/tom-brady-patriots-need-mental-toughness-no-magic-play-to-snap-skid/
This team has gotten very young, very fast. There's a reasonable core of leadership on defense - Wilfork, Mayo, Ninkovich and McCourty have all been captains - but very little on offense outside of Brady. Logan Mankins' play had deteriorated significantly, but his toughness and leadership couldn't be questioned. The offense is extremely young.
There have been some clear warning signs about a lack of leadership on offense. People commented earlier this season on little things like Brady getting knocked down and none of his linemen picking him up. Tedy Bruschi commented earlier this season (before the Miami opener) that he was a bit surprised about Dan Connelly being named a captain, as he didn't see Connolly being the kind of tough, vocal leader that Mankins had been:
The only real surprise is Dan Connolly. You have to have some type of leadership presence along that offensive line. It usually takes a captain a good portion of the year to settle in and feel comfortable in that vocal role, as a vocal leader. I don't see Dan Connolly as a vocal leader, and hopefully he'll settle into those captain shoes and be that aggressor/enforcer thatLogan Mankins was. He is a lead-by-example type of guy.
http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story...ngland-patriots-defense-difference?src=mobile
I think that there's a fundamental breakdown in leadership and toughness on this team right now, at both the player and coaching staff level. The sloppy fundamentals and glaring errors that we've seen on both sides of the ball are indicative of this. The problem is bigger and more fundamental than the OL, the WRs, the offensive and defensive schemes, and other such issues.
We've seen something like this before, a couple of times. In 2009 the problems led to an up-and-down 10-6 season, and early 1st round playoff drubbing, and a major overhaul in the offseason. But in 2011 back-to-back losses to Pittsburgh and the Giants along with a notable lack of effort led to Albert Haynesworth being cut and the team pulling together to make a SB run.
I think it's gut-check team for the team. They need to find out how much intestinal fortitude they have. Given the youth and the fundamental issues we've seen so far, it may not be enough. They could easily fall apart like in 2009. But if they can dig deep and pull together, then I think we could see something similar to 2011, where the team that emerges is significantly greater than the sum of its parts.
I'm not going to pay a lot of attention to the board for a bit, but I will be paying attention to the team to see how this plays out.