CHFF: Open letter to BB

[SVN]

WEEI 850AM Sports Radio - An open letter to Bill Belichick

 

[reflexblue]

Re: CHFF:Open letter to BB

WEEI 850AM Sports Radio - An open letter to Bill Belichick

I agree with the article and have been thinking the same thing myself. We went to far on the offensive side of the ball in the last couple of years. It started when we lost Givens and Branch and over compensated for that loss. We didn't win SB's with great offense,it was great defense. So i hope that BB focous's on the defensive side of the ball we have enough offense. imho.

 

[mike_usagisan]

Re: CHFF:Open letter to BB

Didn't we have a post before that talked about BB's focus on the defense? We got AD, who was the best linebacker in free agency that year. We got Mayo in the first round. We got a hardhitting safety in Meriweather in the first round. We've drafted two young CBs. We resigned Warren. We've kept Seymore and Wilfork this long at least.

From all appearances, BB has been trying to focus on the defense, they just haven't been getting it done as well as the offense has. I mean, would it be better if we didn't have Welker and Moss?

 

[NE_Paddy]

Re: CHFF:Open letter to BB

I absolutely hate open letters. They are usually self-aggrandizing pools of drivel. "Look at me, I'm talking to Bill Belichick".

That being said...

Sure, Belichick needs to invest in the defense and make it the stamp of next years team, but trade Moss and Welker? Ok. Like the 49ers would have been wise to trade Jerry Rice to boost their defense.

Am I crazy or does the defense seem to have the pretty fundamental problem of being bad tacklers? I seem to get frustrated many times a game by one or more of our defenders getting hands on the ball carrier but not actually bringing him down. It was the same last year (the failure to down Marion Barber and Eli Manning being the 2 most glaring examples).

 

[JSn]

Re: CHFF:Open letter to BB

Did anyone watch the SB this year or see the point margin?

 

[JSn]

Re: CHFF:Open letter to BB

self-aggrandizing pools of drivel

Um... textbook definition of an article by Kerry Byrne, imo.

 

[dhamz]

Re: CHFF:Open letter to BB

That was the writer's very long, very full of himself way of saying the Pats defense has slipped from what it was in their title years and the focus should be to get better on defense this offseason.

I don't think that is news to most people and certainly not news to BB.

 

[Nordberg]

Re: CHFF:Open letter to BB

That has to be one of the best written pieces I have read in a long time....

 

[ScottieC]

Re: CHFF:Open letter to BB

I agreed with this, "Far be it for me to tell you how to run your football team".

 

[Sicilian]

Re: CHFF:Open letter to BB

This should have been called a long, boring, letter to BB.

I was expecting more of a statistical breakdown with numbers pointing to some higher truth.

Instead we get the notion that somehow Belichick caved into the media hype and decided that good defense was necessary anymore. Are you kidding?

Nobody's perfect. Sometimes you try to build a defense the way you have before and it doesn't work out, either because times are changing or the players just don't react the same way as they (or others) did in the past.

To say their lack of success is because BB suddenly wants a flashy team is the most ridiculous statement I can imagine.

 

[reflexblue]

Re: CHFF:Open letter to BB

Didn't we have a post before that talked about BB's focus on the defense? We got AD, who was the best linebacker in free agency that year. We got Mayo in the first round. We got a hardhitting safety in Meriweather in the first round. We've drafted two young CBs. We resigned Warren. We've kept Seymore and Wilfork this long at least.

From all appearances, BB has been trying to focus on the defense, they just haven't been getting it done as well as the offense has. I mean, would it be better if we didn't have Welker and Moss?

We had a pure offensive draft in '06 in '07 we drafted Meriweather signed Stallworth traded for Welker and traded for Moss. Last year was a defensive draft with MAYO Wheatly, Crable etc. But i don't think its enough We may lose Seymour or Wilfork we need another LB, safety, and CB.
Maybe i'm wrong but it seems our defense is the thing that has let us down by wearing down at the end of the year or through injuries. The older you get usually the more injury prone you get. Its just natural, look at Rodney, Teddy B, Seau etc.

 

[xmarkd400x]

Re: CHFF:Open letter to BB

Please. If BB could have upgraded the defense, he would have. It's not like he eschewed signing defensive talent for Moss, Welker, Stallworth, or Morris. The Pats, as always, upgrade where they can, and do their best where they can't.

Seriously, which transactions (or non-transactions) have been errors at this point? None. The defense just isn't that good. That's because even mediocre defensive talent gets ripped away from the Pats for starting salaries.

The Patriots can't afford to overpay their players just because they are their players. Other teams overpay Pat's players just because they used to be on the Pats (Givens, Branch, Samuel, the list goes on).

I used to like CHFF, but now it just seems like he's reaching for things to say rather than drawing conclusions. I tend to see a lot more of the "Varitek could have made better contact" type comments rather than real analysis, and that makes me not want to read it as much.

 

[Lansdowne]

Re: CHFF:Open letter to BB

I think the shift in focus from defense to offense was a result of the stricter rules in place following the Patriots' defeat over the Colts in the playoffs 5 years ago. An offensive-minded team with a play-making defense won just two years ago (Indy). The NFL is hard to predict year in and year out.

 

[T-ShirtDynasty]

Re: CHFF:Open letter to BB

That has to be one of the worst written pieces I have read in a long time....

 

[reflexblue]

Re: CHFF:Open letter to BB

Please. If BB could have upgraded the defense, he would have. It's not like he eschewed signing defensive talent for Moss, Welker, Stallworth, or Morris. The Pats, as always, upgrade where they can, and do their best where they can't.

Seriously, which transactions (or non-transactions) have been errors at this point? None. The defense just isn't that good. That's because even mediocre defensive talent gets ripped away from the Pats for starting salaries.

The Patriots can't afford to overpay their players just because they are their players. Other teams overpay Pat's players just because they used to be on the Pats (Givens, Branch, Samuel, the list goes on).

I used to like CHFF, but now it just seems like he's reaching for things to say rather than drawing conclusions. I tend to see a lot more of the "Varitek could have made better contact" type comments rather than real analysis, and that makes me not want to read it as much.

Good point about the defensive talent leaving. ,but you have to replace it with the same caliber player somehow. Like i said its just my dumb azz opinion but it seems in the last few years it hasn't been the offense,its been the defense either threw injury (we have to have the most consistantly injured secondary in history) or by the D getting older and slower.

 

[BradyManny]

Re: CHFF:Open letter to BB

This line of thinking drives me nuts.

We were 150 seconds of play clock from being the greatest NFL team ever and one of the greatest teams in the history of American sports.

Think about that for a second. The single most dominant team in the sport...how can you dismiss what led to the creation of that team as a bad thing??

And what everyone seems to fail to mention is that the vaunted defenses of 2001, 2002 & 2004 all came damn close to giving the Super Bowl away in the 4th quarter - 2 of the teams did blow a lead, and the other allowed the lead to dwindle.

 

[mike_usagisan]

Re: CHFF:Open letter to BB

Good point about the defensive talent leaving. ,but you have to replace it with the same caliber player somehow. Like i said its just my dumb azz opinion but it seems in the last few years it hasn't been the offense,its been the defense either threw injury (we have to have the most consistantly injured secondary in history) or by the D getting older and slower.

I think he has been trying to replace it, but with more and more teams going to 3-4, it's hard to find those quality players as far down in the draft and free agency. And it's not like he hasn't tried to bring in replacements (AD, Mayo) to make up for who we lost.

Injuries are going to happen. That doesn't mean the focus wasn't there, it just means @#$% happened.

 

[ScottieC]

Re: CHFF:Open letter to BB

That has to be one of the worst written pieces I have read in a long time....

One of the most catastrophic professional sports injuries ever (non career ending) and a 3 point loss in the Super Bowl, somehow gives this idiot the balls to write that - it's a sad day in New England Sports.

 

[supafly]

Re: CHFF:Open letter to BB

Yeah let's give "pointers" to the best coach in the history of the NFL. Then they wonder why he has no respect for most sportswriters / commentators. I'm sure our HOF bound coach, who we should COUNT OUR BLESSINGS FOR EVERY SINGLE DAY is hard at work, as we humbly speak--improving our defense right this second.

It's almost his fault that Reche Caldwell drops 2 important passes in the AFCCG. It's almost his fault that we had 3 guys almost pick off Eli in XLII on the last drive. And most of all, it's almost his fault that we battled through infinite key injuries this year, only to be the first team ever (since 6 playoff team format) to go 11-5 and miss the playoffs.

What this article is, should be pure blasphemy. 100 % disrespectful and childish BS.

 

[MassPats38]

Re: CHFF:Open letter to BB

This line of thinking drives me nuts.

Agreed. The article seems to forget the fact that after the "receiver contact" emphasis, a "beat up the receiver" approach that was a big part of the Patriots' game plan from 2001 to 2003 was prohibited, the team had to change. The Pats didn't suddenly forget defense, the rules of the game changed and the team had to adapt. 2003 the team added Colvin, a coveted free agent, and released Milloy, a hard-hitting safety, but Colvin immediately suffered a hip injury that left him at a lower level than he was playing at in Chicago. In 2004 the Pats otherwise had a great corps of relatively young linebackers and linemen, but a weird thing happens - players age and injuries happen.

2005 saw Bruschi's stroke, Wilfork having growing pains in the middle in his first full season and Law left because he wanted Champ Bailey money but was not Champ Bailey.

In 2006, the Pats added Tebucky Jones, a veteran with a good track record for physical play.

In 2007 the team adds Thomas, Welker and Moss. Thomas was considered a great free agent pick-up, so it was not some offense only push.

What seems to be overlooked is the Steelers were not juggernauts in 2005. They found a streak in the second half of the season. 2006 the Pats fell a drive short against the eventual champions with no name receivers. The Giants did the same in the second half but needed a series of miracles to win the championship against the most prolific offense in the history of the NFL.

The whole notion that Belichick somehow aspires to be the Colts is ridiculous. Defensive veterans and draft picks have routinely been added, but the veterans who work on different teams don't necessarily work with the Patriots. Take a look at the free agent tracker over the years and prove to yourself that the Patriots haven't been inactive on defense.

The simple fact, despite those reveling in the 4 year title absence, is teams do not win Lombardi's every year, and there is no exception in the Super Bowl era to that rule. If you are delusional and believe the team simply signs the All Pro roster for defense in the offseason, you may want to consider the price for doing so under the salary cap. High round picks are routinely spent on defense. Solid veterans are added. And the Patriots are always high on the list of picks to win the championship. People seem to take for granted it is one thing to compete every year, it is another to avoid the "any given Sunday" rule in a free agent system and win it all.