When was the last time Brady had so many of the same offensive weapons back for a 2nd season?

[aluminum seats]

Still want to see what Lewis can do

Winner of the thread, as the rest focused exclusively on White & Cadet. And this was from last month. Amazing how quickly things can change.

 

[aluminum seats]

Yea i still can't figure out why the 2005 team couldn't dominate like 03-04

Offensively? Well, Dillon ran out of steam, so that component of the game was lost. And of course it’s a team game. Defensively, Bruschi had a stroke, Law was released, Harrison got hurt and was out for the season. And both coordinators left. As Belichick always preaches, every year is a new thing.

 

[Bradyking12]

Offensively? Well, Dillon ran out of steam, so that component of the game was lost. And of course it’s a team game. Defensively, Bruschi had a stroke, Law was released, Harrison got hurt and was out for the season. And both coordinators left. As Belichick always preaches, every year is a new thing.

From what i heard we got screwed by the refs in the wild card game besides that

 

[Oswlek]

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised about how easy it is to replace a 3rd down back.

FTW!

Yea i still can't figure out why the 2005 team couldn't dominate like 03-04

Injuries, primarily. By the time they finally got things straightened out, they were too tired from having to scratch and claw all year. Even then, it took NE needing to be on their 3rd string LT, 3rd string center, 4 turnovers and some truly abominable calls for Denver to put the stake through their hearts.

 

[aluminum seats]

From what i heard we got screwed by the refs in the wild card game besides that

It was more the bushels of turnovers in that game.

 

[JarOfMayo51]

I rather have Deion Lewis then Vereen...

I'm starting to feel that way too... although Dion's running style is going to expose him to injury, but Vereen missed nearly 3 full seasons with injuries so that would be tough to match

 

[Bradyking12]

I'm starting to feel that way too... although Dion's running style is going to expose him to injury, but Vereen missed nearly 3 full seasons with injuries so that would be tough to match

Yea sometimes i feel like one of these games Lewis is gonna get cracked

 

[JarOfMayo51]

Yea sometimes i feel like one of these games Lewis is gonna get cracked

I love his toughness and grit, but he's not built like Blount.. he's going to pay the price one of these games and has had injury problems in the past

At the same time, that fierce running style is what makes him as good as he is so can't really tell him to change.

Gronk learned how to protect himself more last year, so I'm sure Dion could learn when to just go down vs taking a crippling hit for 2 more yards

 

[TommyD4207]

I love his toughness and grit, but he's not built like Blount.. he's going to pay the price one of these games and has had injury problems in the past

At the same time, that fierce running style is what makes him as good as he is so can't really tell him to change.

Gronk learned how to protect himself more last year, so I'm sure Dion could learn when to just go down vs taking a crippling hit for 2 more yards

That's actually a bit of a misnomer. He had one bad injury that came at a point in the year where it cost him parts of two seasons. The Colts cut him because, I guess, they didn't trade a first-round pick for him. I bet they'd kill to have him back now. He doesn't get dinged up very much.

 

[Galeb]

I love his toughness and grit, but he's not built like Blount.. he's going to pay the price one of these games and has had injury problems in the past

At the same time, that fierce running style is what makes him as good as he is so can't really tell him to change.

Gronk learned how to protect himself more last year, so I'm sure Dion could learn when to just go down vs taking a crippling hit for 2 more yards

Although I agree that he is vulnerable at times when cutting or spinning, the way he bounces off of tackles makes me think that instead of absorbing the full brunt of blows, he redirects much of the energy. Broken legs generally aren't a sign of durability issues. IMO there isn't enough of a sample size to judge his durability.

 

[A Defiant Goose]

Now we just have to pray that Gronk stays healthy. I'll sacrifice a goat if I have to.

shoot ill sacrifice my first born for that. don't worry guys, ill take one for the team

 

[50-yard-line]

shoot ill sacrifice my first born for that. don't worry guys, ill take one for the team

Yeah, you mean your kid will...

 

[meatface]

I really wish we had been able to extend Vereen. I understand that the money simply wasn't right, but we're basically relying on White to replace him.

Oh how much 6 weeks changes things

 

[A Defiant Goose]

Yeah, you mean your kid will...

I'm sterile. I can pull a fast one on the devil

 

[Rhodey]

Field Yates knows......

Field Yates ‏@FieldYates Aug 13
89.9% of catches from WR/TE is back. Team has track record of replacing pass catching RB. Offense is loaded.

Isn't it a curiosity that anti-Brady people (i.e. opposing teams) never get into this stuff. They just conveniently leave out the fact that Tom has not been paired with a Jerry Rice for years and years. And most of the people who leave (i.e. for money) do not make the QB on the other team. (This typically shows how Tom Brady helped increase their value- not the other way around.)

In fact, this reminds me of that Amendola statement on that sick catch where he said all he did was put his hands out there. Just more stuff that gets ignored.

In an almost mode of cognitive dissonance, opposing fans retreat into a box where Brady isn't that good and the Pats only win because they cheat. Does that sound like an ignorant poor sport or what?

 

[NG Pats Fan]

Offensively? Well, Dillon ran out of steam, so that component of the game was lost. And of course it’s a team game. Defensively, Bruschi had a stroke, Law was released, Harrison got hurt and was out for the season. And both coordinators left. As Belichick always preaches, every year is a new thing.

Great post. The big difference was Dillon. Dillons legs gave out on him in 2005 due to age. He looked noticeably slower in 2005 compared to 04. It showed up on the stat sheet too, going from 1600 yards in 04 to only 800 in 2005. Dillon gave us one last great year in 04 before he hit the dreaded RB age of 30.

As far as the D goes, some of those players began to age, bruschi suffered a stroke and he was never the same again. Harrison Willie Mac Vrabeal Law all one year older and slower on the wrong side of 30.

It was the decline of those great Pats Ds of early 2000s plenty of hall of famers on those teams. So clutch, always made a play when we needed it

2005 was a disaster, we got blown out by manning 40-21. Only patriots team ever blown away by manning. If only we had gotten by Denver in playoffs, we would have beaten Pitt at home in afc championship, no doubt in my mind. We looked so undisciplined in that Denver game, after a great wild card performance vs Jacksonville.

 

[BTTA]

I rather have Deion Lewis then Vereen...

Having both simply wasn't in the cards. You might as well say, "I'd rather have Brady, then Brees." If Vereen were resigned, they probably wouldn't even have brought Lewis to camp.

 

[BTTA]

Great post. The big difference was Dillon. Dillons legs gave out on him in 2005 due to age. He looked noticeably slower in 2005 compared to 04. It showed up on the stat sheet too, going from 1600 yards in 04 to only 800 in 2005. Dillon gave us one last great year in 04 before he hit the dreaded RB age of 30.

As far as the D goes, some of those players began to age, bruschi suffered a stroke and he was never the same again. Harrison Willie Mac Vrabeal Law all one year older and slower on the wrong side of 30.

It was the decline of those great Pats Ds of early 2000s plenty of hall of famers on those teams. So clutch, always made a play when we needed it

2005 was a disaster, we got blown out by manning 40-21. Only patriots team ever blown away by manning. If only we had gotten by Denver in playoffs, we would have beaten Pitt at home in afc championship, no doubt in my mind. We looked so undisciplined in that Denver game, after a great wild card performance vs Jacksonville.

All of this, plus just the fatigue of going so late in the year the prior two years. BB has spoken numerous times about how exhausting a SB run is, how short the off season recuperation time is. Three in a row, with 16 game seasons, is a lot.