Time For Change

[Bobs My Uncle]

The Devil you (half) know or the Devil you don't? That's really what it boils down to. For better or for worse, though, Brady does give this team the best chance to win a Super Bowl, at least for the rest of his current contract.

Yes, most likely. Doesn't change the fact that his very large cap charge hinders this team from keeping players and/or getting better ones. Where once that maybe wasn't a problem, because Brady was good enough to make up for it, it no longer appears to be the case as Brady deosn't seem to be able to place this team on his back and carry them to SB wins anymore.

 

[bostonia3333]

People need to stop blaming injuries on our loss. Gronk needs to stay on the field, the guy is simply made out of glass and while freak injuries occur, it happens more to certain players than others--- at some point you have to credit the team who's most durable. I give guys like Welker and Brady alot of props for being able to stay on the field this year. Those guys took some vicious shots and probably played through injuries.


Pats front office has had several years to add pieces to this team, and they've let so many opportunities slip away. Guys like Fitzgerald/Peppers/Asomuga are players that come to mind...heck we should have at least 2 of those names by now, but instead we are stuck with garbage like Francis/Branch/Arrington. Gronk would not have solved matters tonight, his burst off the line of scrimmage isn't what it used to be since he got injured in the AFCCG.

Lloyd is an EXTREMELY overrated receiver...just merely a shade or hair better than Richochet Caldwell. He's like jack in the box. He catches the ball, falls down immediately, and just gets back up immediately. He has no physicality, speed, or size to his game You can't expect to win Super Bowls when you have those kinds of players. At least ATTEMPT to run after you catch it.

Welker is too small to be the focal point of your offense. His drops have cost this team two super bowls IMO. He catches that pass tonight, and we go up 20-7 and generate momentum and force BALT to adjust their game plan.

Team needs a DNA shift. Who knows if this is it for the Pats great playoff run, but it's quite simple now, Brady can't do it by himself anymore. We have to use Brady like the Cowboys used Aikman in the 90s....make the offensive line the focal point, inject the running game and screen game into the mix more, and use Brady moderately. No more 40-50 pass games please A deep threat would be nice, but the Pats are really stubborn with that stuff .

 

[IllegalContact]

just as a point of reference, back in 2004, 10 of the top 13 salaries on the team were defense players...then it was vinatieri......and troy brown and brady.

today, only 4 of the top 13 salaries are defense....the emphasis on offense has not won a thing........things went awry after the 2006 season.....someone got made and decided that this team was going to be all about offense.

 

[condon84]

The second half adjustments that the Ravens made on offense and defense completely turned the game around. Our defense didn't know how to react to Baltimore all of a sudden going on a pass heavy offense. They just never adjusted until we were 15 down.

And on offense, it was evident that Baltimore's D inside the red zone was going to force our outside guys to beat them one on one, which they knew they couldn't. Stacking all those guys in the middle close to the LOS was a brilliant move on Pees' part.

Once again, McD's offense couldn't adjust in the second half after the defense figures them out.

 

[holyredeemer]

I'll take a stab at this.....the texans were to the pats what the pats were to the ravens.....someone who got outplayed and outcoached in every single aspect.......clean sweep

we lost because brady played scared........and when he plays scared, the est of them play scared.......he's a great leader until someone hits him a few times, then he goes uh-oh and heads for the hills.

they lost because we got outplayed in every way possible......they lost because they didn't even try to use what worked so well against the texans. the defense did great in the first half except that the offense was incapable of taking advantage, and then the offense got shut out in the 2nd half.

someone mentioned the pats should get an RB like elway had in the end....why? they won't use him right.

the pats would have won the game if they tried to run the ball 50 times....the run worked well enough to do just that......but everything has to pass through brady because he gets paid so damned much. brady makes more than the 3 other AFCC/NFCC starting QB's combined.

We must've been watching different games. I saw WR's that couldn't get open when they needed to. I saw WR's dropping balls they should've caught that led directly to punts. I saw a D that was giving up 80+ yd. drives wrapped in a gift basket. I saw a D that couldn't force a turnover, and one that couldn't make a QB **** his pants with constant pressure even if he had the flu.

Brady playing "Scared" wasn't one of the things I saw. Was he perfect when he needed to be? No, he wasn't. He never has been. Not during our Superbowl heydays, never. Not sure if you remember this about those teams though. They had other guys who stepped up when they needed to. It was never all on one guy.

Brady's cap figure isnt the problem. ****ty drafts and terrible FA signings that never panned out are. Terrible play calling when the games on the line? Still a problem. Take some more stabs at it bud, I think you're missing the big picture.

 

[DocHoliday]

Here's what it comes down to.

This is an overachieving team. It doesn't have enough talent, and it wins as much as it does because it puts in 99% every game and plays with smart schemes.

But in the playoffs a good team at 99% will not beat emotional, talented teams like the Ravens who have more talent and play at 100%.

It's like the Giants - so much talent but they half-ass every season. When they get in, they play like they should. Thankfully, that D-line is getting blown up this season, but that's what happened to us in 2011.

 

[Fencer]

I didn't see the interview in which Brady blames himself for getting too anxious -- i.e. for choking -- but it sounds right to me. He has to get over it again.

 

[Joker]

hey, Brady made passes that hit receivers in stride right in the chest or the hands for big gains in the 1st half and they were DROPPED...those are plays receivers have to make...the Welker drop hit him in the hands..I was thirty feet away..gotta make that catch...they left a lot of points out there in the 1st half...they turtled in the 2nd half..period..the Raven are a better team

 

[hellolin]

The Patriots need to do with Brady what the Broncos did with John Elway late in his career. Get him a stud running back who takes the pressure off Brady to have to do it all by himself. He can't any longer. Tom Brady and these Patriots cannot beat tough physical teams.

There is a certain unhappy running back who can carry the team all on himself without a QB....somewhere down south in Florida, you know, he wants to get traded to a winning team btw

 

[bostonia3333]

Brady makes the game too complicated in these moments. He's either too "careful" when you need to make a 3rd and 2 or he's too aggressive when you need to just be smart and go with what you called successfully for 17 weeks. The Ravens weren't doing anything exotic on defense. Their coverage was adequate, but not stellar. Their pass rush wasn't really that effective either. I just think the 2010s Brady overthinks when the stage gets grander, because he knows how important it is to be perfect and that hinders him from being himself and performing like the usual TFB. In the 2001-04 era, Brady was invincible on 3rd downs, now that's his biggest weakness...

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Pats front office has had several years to add pieces to this team, and they've let so many opportunities slip away. Guys like Fitzgerald/Peppers/Asomuga are players that come to mind...heck we should have at least 2 of those names by now, but instead we are stuck with garbage like Francis/Branch/Arrington.

This may actually be the dumbest thing anyone has posted on this board in several months. As but one example: please explain to me how the Pats were supposed to get Peppers into Foxboro.

 

[hellolin]

every season playing extra games in the post season wears down on your body as well, we came one game short of playing the most games in a season one team can ever be. One thing I did learn is that Welker drop last year in the SB weren't a fluck, it is now normal as we see today and must be game planned in the future if we do resign him...that is his reputation from now on! Well he is the one that deserves a superbowl ring, Brady already had 3......and BB had 5!

 

[crypto]

fire obama

 

[Pessimistic Pete]

21-3 blown AFC Championship game lead (Where we would have advanced to play Rex Grossman)
18-1
14-2 and #1 seed then losing to Jets at home
Losing to the Giants for a second time
Losing the AFC Championship game at home to a ridiculously inferior team

2002, 2005, 2008 and 2009 didn't phase me as much. We weren't good enough.

However, all 5 of these games were complete and utter chokes, with 18-1 being the worst choke in the history of sports, considering what was on the line. This team has become flat out soft in the big moment.

These losses are getting as brutal as the wins were good.

My expectations are very high because we have quite possibly the greatest coach/QB combo of all-time. Once they're gone, who knows what happens.

This felt like the most surreal loss of them all. Excuse me for sounding like a homer, but I seriously feel like the Ravens defense did nothing tonight. It was all self-destructive failure to execute on the Patriots side. The Giants applied a strong pass rush, the Jets had our receivers covered like glue. What the **** did the Ravens even do? They just allowed us to beat ourselves.

 

[Sciz]

guys like fitzgerald/peppers/asomuga are players that come to mind...heck we should have at least 2 of those names by now, but instead we are stuck with garbage like francis/branch/arrington.

Reminder:
THERE'S AN EFFING SALARY CAP

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

Message to the moron contingent, we don't need less talent we need more. And it would help if it's durable. We lost tonight because we play on a margin driven in part by the value model. Brady is the least of this teams problems. When we lose what other little elite talent or as close to it as we've come of late at critical positions we don't have the pure talent to overcome an opponent who might struggle in season with less depth but if healthy in the post season poses a tougher matchup.

Branch was our 3rd WR on the field tonight. Welker and Lloyd both had drops but there was no alternative but to keep targeting the same two guys. And Hernandez, who simply isn't a $7M TE when not in tandem with another one. Both of whom shape an offense that struggles in their absence. The running game was supposed to counter some of that but for all it's flashes it still struggles when the chips are down. And Vereen's speed and receiving ability that might have been presumed to cause the Raven's D problems simply never was apparently never part of the game plan. The plan itself may be part of the problem because we react and rely so much on scheme it almost renders us incapable of simply stepping up and making plays. Some of that is lack of talent and some of it is over reliance on scheme. The more Belichick coached up that D the worse it played.

Brady had some time at times but no one who could get open. The defense was so worried about Flacco going deep they couldn't stop the run or the intermediate throws that converted 3rd and long. Once Talib went out they just wilted. I think it was one of the more poorly coached games I've seen in a while.

I agree it's time for a change, but that change involves addition rather than subtraction. They need another outside WR who can get open not via scheme but via talent and speed. Probably need to draft that guy since you have $15M per tied up in the TE's. Need to figure out whether to extend or replace Talib with equal or better and more durable talent. Need to figure out what you're doing with the young backs and commit to them or move on. Can't run a two TE offense when you often don't have two available talented enough to. Can't run 3 or 4 wide when you don't have the horses to. Can't count on the running game when you still can't run even when they know you are.

We became one dimentional again, the same thing Belichick supposedly tasked McDaniels last off season with eliminating the possibility of ever happening again. Guys are going to drop balls and even fumble them on occasion. You have to be able to overcome that. We still lack the talent to. Opponents are going to make plays but you have to be able to make stops too. And if you aren't getting any pressure you have to stop banging your head against the wall and change it up. We didn't on either side of the ball and so we end up with the post season headache again.

I have no problem with directing the message to the "moron contingent". There is an incredible amount of stupidity being displayed by some -- we are talking Pollard level of stupidity. I agree with many things you said such as not letting SV get some more touches along with how weak the WR depth is as well as some of the coaching lapses. I also agree that looking at next year, Brady is the least of the problems in the grand scheme. However, he did not deliver the kind of QB play needed when playing games this deep in the playoffs. That is not an agreement on the 'he's lost it' or 'we can't rely on him' general posts I am reading, it's a conclusion based on game observation. Further, you are critical of the run game as not helping out yet (even with not running the ball much in the fourth quarter due to the score) we had over 100 yards, averaged about 4 per carry and had about 10 first downs via the ground. Not world beating but hardly 'not giving the offense nothing'. And "Brady had some time at times but no one who could get open"? First, the OL did a pretty good job of protecting Brady versus what "when he did have time" implies. Also, "no one was open" is far from telling the whole story.

No need to shield Brady from any criticism. There were multiple issues that combined doomed the Patriots. BB/JM had there contribution to the loss, TB had his contribution to the loss, Receivers had their contribution, poor secondary play obviously had contribution to the loss.
We are lucky to have and have had TB as the QB of the Patriots but last night just wasn't his night. Oh well, on to 2013

 

[convertedpatsfan]

People need to stop blaming injuries on our loss. Gronk needs to stay on the field, the guy is simply made out of glass and while freak injuries occur, it happens more to certain players than others--- at some point you have to credit the team who's most durable. I give guys like Welker and Brady alot of props for being able to stay on the field this year. Those guys took some vicious shots and probably played through injuries.


Pats front office has had several years to add pieces to this team, and they've let so many opportunities slip away. Guys like Fitzgerald/Peppers/Asomuga are players that come to mind...heck we should have at least 2 of those names by now, but instead we are stuck with garbage like Francis/Branch/Arrington. Gronk would not have solved matters tonight, his burst off the line of scrimmage isn't what it used to be since he got injured in the AFCCG.

Lloyd is an EXTREMELY overrated receiver...just merely a shade or hair better than Richochet Caldwell. He's like jack in the box. He catches the ball, falls down immediately, and just gets back up immediately. He has no physicality, speed, or size to his game You can't expect to win Super Bowls when you have those kinds of players. At least ATTEMPT to run after you catch it.

Welker is too small to be the focal point of your offense. His drops have cost this team two super bowls IMO. He catches that pass tonight, and we go up 20-7 and generate momentum and force BALT to adjust their game plan.

Team needs a DNA shift. Who knows if this is it for the Pats great playoff run, but it's quite simple now, Brady can't do it by himself anymore. We have to use Brady like the Cowboys used Aikman in the 90s....make the offensive line the focal point, inject the running game and screen game into the mix more, and use Brady moderately. No more 40-50 pass games please A deep threat would be nice, but the Pats are really stubborn with that stuff .

Gronk is made out of glass? I'd love to see you say that to his face...

The guy played two full seasons without missing a game and played 11 more this year.

And why stop at Fitzgerald/Peppers/Asomugha? Why not add Ngata and Jared Allen to strengthen our DL and while we're at it, turn off the cap and turn on force trades and trade a 7th rounder for Peyton Manning as a back-up QB?

Honestly, I get that we're all hurting and this morning sucks but really, please, think before you post. Already two or three times this morning, I've started to write something and then closed it before hitting the post button. You should consider doing the same for a while...