The mediots going off on "The Welker Situation" thread.(Merged)

[randomk1]

Re: Jackie MacMullan: Patriots don't look like themselves

What's the Pats record over the last 2 seasons again? 25-7 ?

 

[Deus Irae]

Re: Jackie MacMullan: Patriots don't look like themselves

Her column's pretty much right on point, so it's interesting to watch people attacking her for it. It shows just how far in the bag a lot of people have gotten themselves.

 

[jmt57]

Re: Jackie MacMullan: Patriots don't look like themselves

Her column's pretty much right on point, so it's interesting to watch people attacking her for it. It shows just how far in the bag a lot of people have gotten themselves.

You're right, the Patriots have never lost a game they were favored to win, and they have never previously played poorly.


Right on cue with the contraraian 'I'm the only sensible one here' comment.

 

[IllegalContact]

Re: Jackie MacMullan: Patriots don't look like themselves

Her column's pretty much right on point, so it's interesting to watch people attacking her for it. It shows just how far in the bag a lot of people have gotten themselves.

talk about stating the obvious.....that's a few minutes of my life I will never get back.

my only question is why it took until wednesday for her to come up with that drivel........seems like she copied most of her musings from this board

 

[BlueThunder]

Re: Jackie MacMullan: Patriots don't look like themselves

A bigger question is...WHY am I getting a political ad for Elizabeth Warren on this sports thread....take it to the politics board plz

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

Re: Jackie MacMullan: Patriots don't look like themselves

Her column's pretty much right on the point that while watching the game you had a bad felling that the Patriots would never be in control of the game and that bad things were bound to happen,

but she's 100% wrong in thinking that similar performances haven't happened time and time and time again, over and over again during the past decade. Every 16 game season has a stinker or two, a "WTF are we doing" loss.

This was one of those. It just isn't that rare. It's sports.

She knows that, and she may in fact be my favorite sportswriter. That doesn't mean that she didn't just "mail this one in" and write an easy column trying to assign more meaning to this loss than is warranted.

Does she write it if Gostkowski makes his 38th 4th quarter kick in a row, or whatever it was? If Gronk didn't hold? No. Then it would be about the gritty team who pulled one out on an otherwise bad day at the office.

 

[BrickPat]

Re: Jackie MacMullan: Patriots don't look like themselves

Her column's pretty much right on point, so it's interesting to watch people attacking her for it. It shows just how far in the bag a lot of people have gotten themselves.

Several folks on this board give knee jerk how dare you responses to any Pats story that is anything less than glowing. You can't really attack JM because as noted she is not known as a Borges.

These same folks view with contempt any fellow fans who dare ask a question or make an observation that is anything less than glowing. They're usually dismissed as being clueless and/or chicken littles. That's code talk for being disloyal.

 

[Deus Irae]

Re: Jackie MacMullan: Patriots don't look like themselves

You're right, the Patriots have never lost a game they were favored to win, and they have never previously played poorly.


Right on cue with the contraraian 'I'm the only sensible one here' comment.

I'm not being contrarian, and I don't think I'm the only sensible one here. I find it amusing that people are attacking someone for writing such an obvious article. The article's on point, regardless of whether or not you think that "never" has to be read in the strictest meaning of the word instead of how it's so often intended in print and speech.

The team looked way off in game two. Not only isn't this news, it's been the topic of discussion here since the game started.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Re: Jackie MacMullan: Patriots don't look like themselves

A bigger question is...WHY am I getting a political ad for Elizabeth Warren on this sports thread....take it to the politics board plz

(A) Ian doesn't have that granular a level of control over ads.
(B) If you subscribe to the board, no ads.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Re: Jackie MacMullan: Patriots don't look like themselves

She knows that, and she may in fact be my favorite sportswriter. That doesn't mean that she didn't just "mail this one in" and write an easy column trying to assign more meaning to this loss than is warranted.

Does she write it if Gostkowski makes his 38th 4th quarter kick in a row, or whatever it was? If Gronk didn't hold? No. Then it would be about the gritty team who pulled one out on an otherwise bad day at the office.

It's like all the handwringing over 4th-and-2.

If the Pats convert, it's a gutsy call that worked.

Instead, some people treat it like the biggest tactical mistake of all time, or a slap in the face at the defense, etc., etc.

 

[ThatllMoveTheChains!!!]

Re: Jackie MacMullan: Patriots don't look like themselves

You're right, the Patriots have never lost a game they were favored to win, and they have never previously played poorly.


Right on cue with the contraraian 'I'm the only sensible one here' comment.

You forgot to mention that they've never had a critical player injured... The only real sensible part of the article is this:

The season is young, just like this Patriots team. But if they lose more games like this, their story will get old in a hurry.

Everything that we saw Sunday has happened before; it's how the Patriots respond, adapt, and correct that separates them from most teams.

The article being garbage has nothing to do with the fact that it's critical of the Patriots, which it barely is. It's the fact that it's written as a knee-jerk reaction to a disappointing loss. There's no breakdown of why the errors occurred or why we should be worried about them being a continuing trend. It's just a bunch of nonsense about omens, attempts of mind-reading, and blatant ignorance of history. There's a ton of examples of the Patriots not looking Patriot like in the past as others in this thread have provided.

 

[BananaRepublican]

Re: Jackie MacMullan: Patriots don't look like themselves

Bright woman, dumb column.

"When did it feel all wrong?"

Ummm, 2002, right in the middle of the "automatic" SB titles era?

Actually 2001 felt all wrong for quite a stretch too. And who counted the Oakland win as "automatic" while it was happening?

 

[jmt57]

Re: Jackie MacMullan: Patriots don't look like themselves

I'm not being contrarian, and I don't think I'm the only sensible one here. I find it amusing that people are attacking someone for writing such an obvious article. The article's on point, regardless of whether or not you think that "never" has to be read in the strictest meaning of the word instead of how it's so often intended in print and speech.

The team looked way off in game two. Not only isn't this news, it's been the topic of discussion here since the game started.

The sub headline to the article states that "wins that used to be automatic now seem anything but"; I find that line of thinking to be way off, whether it be by her or any fan. Since when is any win automatic? The implication is that the Patriots have never lost a game before, much less lost a game in which they were favored to win. The implication is that the Pats have never had a bad game, never came out flat, never missed a field goal, never missed a catchable pass, never made a poor play call, never failed to overcome an injury, etc. History shows that is flat out not the case.

McMullen goes on to act as if the Patriots have never had a bad week of practice, have never had a lack of communication, have never had a punt blocked, have never allowed an opposing defense to pressure Brady, have never missed a field goal. She even writes about how inconceivable it is that the Patriots did not win a challenge of a play that was reviewed.

Huh? Sorry, but if she really believes that her memory is failing her.

It's an over reaction to a loss, no different from those who over react to a win by giddily declaring that the team is going to proceed through the season undefeated. That is why I disagree and find the article to not be on point whatsoever. Her recollection of the past must only include victories, championships and other happy thoughts; the suggestion that everything has always gone right for the Patriots in every single game and on every single play is absurd.

 

[Deus Irae]

Re: Jackie MacMullan: Patriots don't look like themselves

The sub headline to the article states that "wins that used to be automatic now seem anything but"; I find that line of thinking to be way off, whether it be by her or any fan. Since when is any win automatic? The implication is that the Patriots have never lost a game before, much less lost a game in which they were favored to win. The implication is that the Pats have never had a bad game, never came out flat, never missed a field goal, never missed a catchable pass, never made a poor play call, never failed to overcome an injury, etc. History shows that is flat out not the case.

McMullen goes on to act as if the Patriots have never had a bad week of practice, have never had a lack of communication, have never had a punt blocked, have never allowed an opposing defense to pressure Brady, have never missed a field goal. She even writes about how inconceivable it is that the Patriots did not win a challenge of a play that was reviewed.

Huh? Sorry, but if she really believes that her memory is failing her.

It's an over reaction to a loss, no different from those who over react to a win by giddily declaring that the team is going to proceed through the season undefeated. That is why I disagree and find the article to not be on point whatsoever. Her recollection of the past must only include victories, championships and other happy thoughts; the suggestion that everything has always gone right for the Patriots in every single game and on every single play is absurd.

The reactions to the article were what I was looking at and, as I posted above, she's really not saying anything different from what a large portion of the fan base has been saying since before the game even ended. I will point out that the columnist isn't the one writing the headlines, and I'll leave it at that.

 

[Captain Cliche]

Re: Jackie MacMullan: Patriots don't look like themselves

Would you prefer they come out hot and fade towards the end of the season?

This is a young, talented team and this is not their last stinker. The Titans game had me thinking they were going to steam roll over everyone. Maybe the players thought that also. But i just think they are a work in progress.

The D looks brutal and awesome. Fast, talented, energetic, with quality depth.

During the championship years, when they squeaked out wins, doing just enough on offense to win, I looked forward to the days when the offense was the straw that stirred the drink (to quote Patfanken) and we would get some comfortable blowouts . Man was I spoiled.

Clutch, luck, fearlessness...for whatever reason, Brady appears to have lost some mojo. I look forward to these days where we have a dominant D, good running game, and no longer have to rely on Brady to run up a big score to keep them in the game.

 

[BradyManny]

Re: Jackie MacMullan: Patriots don't look like themselves

Her column's pretty much right on point, so it's interesting to watch people attacking her for it. It shows just how far in the bag a lot of people have gotten themselves.

Deus, the defense looks as good as it has in five years. The offense had one of its most balanced efforts in recent history in Week 1. The defense almost single-highhandedly earned us a victory in Week 2. The offense played poorly in Week 2.

All this hand-wringing over one of our units' performance in one game is a silly exercise. It's an exercise I expect from fans and forum members like us, but with a reporter like Jackie M., she should know better. It's a huge waste of her talents. There's a decent chance all of this talk is moot by late Sunday.

 

[brdmaverick]

In all fairness if you were a member of the media it would be blasphemy not to address this situation.

 

[Rob0729]

I hope Welker plays 100% of the snaps on Sunday to end this overblown and overhyped story.

 

[ThatllMoveTheChains!!!]

I hope Welker plays 100% of the snaps on Sunday to end this overblown and overhyped story.

Or 0% just for the LULZ.

 

[Deus Irae]

Re: Jackie MacMullan: Patriots don't look like themselves

Deus, the defense looks as good as it has in five years. The offense had one of its most balanced efforts in recent history in Week 1. The defense almost single-highhandedly earned us a victory in Week 2. The offense played poorly in Week 2.

All this hand-wringing over one of our units' performance in one game is a silly exercise. It's an exercise I expect from fans and forum members like us, but with a reporter like Jackie M., she should know better. It's a huge waste of her talents. There's a decent chance all of this talk is moot by late Sunday.

This team has been built around the offense since 2006. This great defense you're talking about resulted in a loss to the Cardinals. If you didn't think the media was going to address a loss like this, you haven't been following the media for the past 50 years.