The Respect Issue

[Ring 6]

Its funny reading all of this and then thinking back 4-6 weeks ago, when half of this board had the Patriots dead and buried.

Comments such as "If this team makes the playoffs it has NO CHANCE to win a playoff game" were the consensus around here.

The idea that the team, under BBs guidance would improve by playoff time, was met with something like, thats a dreamworld, the players will be the same, so they won't improve.

About that time were the posts, with wide agreement that Brooks Bollinger was a lock to throw for over 300 yards against us. (I think he got about 110)

Where Brady is saying the team was given up on he is correct, because it happened HERE.

What Brady is really saying is that at 4-4, or 6-5, nobody believed the team could play as well as it has since then.
And he is saying now that, basically, underate the Pats all you want, because you will be wrong.

Or, out a different way, "No one thought we could do what we have done 6 weeks ago, and we are just getting started"

 

[T-ShirtDynasty]

Where Brady is saying the team was given up on he is correct, because it happened HERE.

It happened here in spades. Remember, it was so bad I had to whip up:

Sadly, since the board crashed, we no longer have the list of those that signed up for protection.

 

[maxhagen]

You are right Andy,

A bunch of people here gave up on the boys. I knew they would come around and that they only needed to make the playoffs to scare the cr@p out of people. And I was sure they would win the AFC East.

PATS Kool-Aid... it does a body good!!!

 

[dryheat44]

Well, what was said, in spades, was If the Patriots continue to play like this they aren't going far in the playoffs. I think that WAS warranted. So yeah, I understand where Brady's coming from. However, I think we can all agree that the Patriots played much better weeks 11-17 than 1-10.

 

[PATSNUTme]

I never gave up on my Patriots. Now, I want a little damn respect.

 

[Ring 6]

Well, what was said, in spades, was If the Patriots continue to play like this they aren't going far in the playoffs. I think that WAS warranted. So yeah, I understand where Brady's coming from. However, I think we can all agree that the Patriots played much better weeks 11-17 than 1-10.

NO.

There were MANY comments such as if they get in they will be one and done.
There were MANY comments saying they couldnt or wouldnt improve.
Most of those that were called out for projecting failure in the playoffs before the regular season was over, stuck to that certainty, and considered any possiblity of improvement homerism.

I'm not saying everyone, but MANY fans here didnt bother to add the "if they keep playing like this" qualifier and sealed the doom with certainty.

 

[Richter]

What's funny is that the first thing I thought of when I heard Brady's comments was this board and all the naysayers that couldn't see that the team was moving in the right direction. It got pretty bad, I could barely read some of it for how shortsighted it was. I think Brady himself was talking largely about the Boston media, along with the fans in attendence (especially during that lousy stretch of stadium noise), and how the media not only had them dead and buried, but barely gave them much coverage, other than to print garbage from the likes of Wrong Borges and Tom Donahoe's personal ball-washer Nick Cafardo saying how the Pats suck. And quite frankly, the national media can shove it too, because they've been picking the Dolts or the Squeelers throughout this whole run, and then playing the mea culpa card once the Pats won through. Saying "I was wrong, the Pats are the best" after the fact isn't respect, it's bowing down to the obvious. Respect is picking the team to win, or at the very least not saying "they can't repeat, they're done, time to move on to someone else we find sexier".

 

[mgcolby]

I even started a thread titled "why all the doom and gloom". I remember that thread T-shirt that was funny as hell.

 

[mcdonut16]

I'll admit I thought earlier in the season that the Patriots would make the playoffs and that's it. My Superbowl hopes were dashed. You cannot win a championship if you cannot stop the run. I remember watching the games against SD, Indy, and even the Bills where the defense could not get off the field. My hopes for a Superbowl were not realistic at that time based on the performance up to that point.

It still blows my mind how the run Defense went from one of the worst in the league, to the best in the league in the second half of the season.

Now that the Patriots can stop the run again, I think they can win it all again.

I have read the "The Education of a Coach" and in the book there is an excerpt from Pepper Johnson when Belichik was the D coordinator of the Giants. Johnson said that Belichick was making the Giants D play a base pass oriented Defense and the Browns we running all over them in a pre season game. Johnson was waiting for Belichik to change his defense, but refused saying something to the effect of "If you play for the Giants, you stop the run no matter what defense is called and you better find a way to stop the run or you won't play for the Giants".

I seriously wonder if Belichick was proving a point to his team earlier this year. They played a very vanilla defense the first half of the season, until after the Chiefs game they let the dogs loose. I know there were injuries, personel changes etc. but to go from the best last year, to the worst earlier this year, back to the best again ?? That is almost illogical to swing that much in such a short period of time.

It's like they were playing with one hand tied to their backs. Maybe Belichick was doing his Bud Light commercial immitation: "Pour it down the middle, AGAIN, AGAIN, AGAIN !"

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Unfortunately most in the national media totally misread Brady's comments, as did a number of fans hereabouts. And few in the local media seem to want to take a stand and point that out to them. Because it would involve indicting themselves as well as some highly touted NFL analysts and even coaches. He's not saying nobody ever respects us, he's saying they were not respected as a contender all season because they were almost totally written off as serious contenders from week 6 on. Sure some people jumped back on them as "dangerous" by week 16, but that was just two weeks ago.

Remember how Brady got skewered for telling Schottenheimer to mind his own business? He was dead on, yet he got ripped for it at the time. In hindlight who was right? The guy leading his team into the playoffs tomorrow night or the coach who said sometimes there are just too many injuries to overcome, who ended up sitting home waiting for a phone call from Dr. Andrews as he begins planning for next season?

Just remember though, the misconception starts with the local media. They shape national perception (including for meaningless award voters), and have historically done a piss poor job of it compared to the media in other cities. Around here they are often too busy nit picking their own championship team, while hiding behind the I'm no homer cover. I really think this team has gotten less respect along the way than say a NY or Pitttsburgh or Dallas team would have in the midst of winning 3 of 4 in part because the Boston media was afraid to demand it from their peers in other venues.

Hey, WEEI is disrespecting them even as I type. Big O, Fred and DeOssie just opening the Friday Football Show on playoff weekend with more Manny talk. The media in this town would rather talk about what Tune refers to as Desperate Houswives melodrama than a Dynasty.

 

[lutontown_fc]

Well I remember getting lectured by fans who thought they were only being 'objective'.

There is a difference between blind loyalty and fans who recognise the achievements of their team in recent years and its ability to raise its game.

The most embarrassing aspect was the 'fans' who constantly told us that we were 'better off not in the playoffs as we would get embarrassed so badly'.

On another related point - I notice alot of people will spend a whole post questioning BB's coaching - then sign it off 'IN BB we trust' - like that cancels out all thier doubts and second guessing.

I think this team deserves better.

NM

 

[marty]

Sadly, since the board crashed, we no longer have the list of those that signed up for protection.

I was so mad at most post during that time that I resorted to talking in Max's shoe! Never fell off the wagon tho'!

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

It's like they were playing with one hand tied to their backs. Maybe Belichick was doing his Bud Light commercial immitation: "Pour it down the middle, AGAIN, AGAIN, AGAIN !"

To a degree he was - before the season started what was the majority media opinion loss the team had to overcome (hint, they now coach their own teams)? The new coordinators needed to go through growing pains on how to call a game and make in-game adjustments. Mangini was doing stuff in Denver that left people on an island, he was also not adjusting fast enough. But as we head into the playoffs we've suddenly been pretty satisfied with how the team is playing - and a large part of that is the coordinators making the right calls for the situation. BB spent more time coaching his staff to develop them, mid-season it started trickling down to the players and took off like a prairie fire when the injured vets started filtering back into the line-up. Life is good.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

I was so mad at most post during that time that I resorted to talking in Max's shoe! Never fell off the wagon tho'!

I knew there was a reason chaos quakes when your posting!

 

[ClosingTime]

Andy, I sincerely hope you are not calling Pats fans fairweather.

 

[Pats_Bryan]

I wasn't on this message board at the time, but I never gave up on the Pats! I wish I had a trail of posts to prove that Ask my wife! She was much annoyed at my often animated and boistrous not-giving-up.

I've seen detractors complain that the Pats late-season schedule was soft, so they haven't played a really tough team since about mid-season. But that argument is a non-starter. The front end of their schedule was a monster, which ensured the injury list would be good and long by the time they faced the Colts. But the Pats won a few of those games, too. I figured if they could survive the first half of the season, the last half would allow enough guys to get healthy to make the Pats a force in the playoffs.

I still haven't given up on another Super Bowl, and I won't give up until the last second of their last game this post-season, whichever game that may be.

 

[mgcolby]

Andy, I sincerely hope you are not calling Pats fans fairweather.

Any successful team is going to have its fair share of bandwagon fans. Its par for the course and you should know your team has the most. I would compare the Bandwagon red sox fans to the Bandwagon Colts fans, its hip to root for the loveable losers.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

I wasn't on this message board at the time, but I never gave up on the Pats! I wish I had a trail of posts to prove that Ask my wife! She was much annoyed at my often animated and boistrous not-giving-up.

I've seen detractors complain that the Pats late-season schedule was soft, so they haven't played a really tough team since about mid-season. But that argument is a non-starter. The front end of their schedule was a monster, which ensured the injury list would be good and long by the time they faced the Colts. But the Pats won a few of those games, too. I figured if they could survive the first half of the season, the last half would allow enough guys to get healthy to make the Pats a force in the playoffs.

I still haven't given up on another Super Bowl, and I won't give up until the last second of their last game this post-season, whichever game that may be.

I believe that's the fourth game.

 

[mgcolby]

I can't remember who came up with the slogan "IV games to XL" but that was classic.

 

[mcdonut16]

If people were making negative comments about the Patriots on this board (including myself) that is not jumping off the bandwagon.

A bandwagon jumper would have already moved on to another team or would not have taken the time to post here at all.

Most posters including myself were frustrated that the Defense was statistically, and by all of our eyes, one of the worst defenses in the league. They simply could not get off the field. The team I was watching earlier this year was not the team that I have been watching for the past 4-5 years under Belichick.

I don't know how any team can turn it on to the extent the Patriots have turned it on the second half of the year. Because I was critical does not mean that I didn't love and support this team.

If you are having a problem in the real world, you don't sit around hoping for a situation to get better, and say "things are going to get better" you do something about it and make some changes. Belichik made changes and critiqued his coaches and players, he didn't blindly say and hope that his team would get better.