Do the Pats have a second half problem?

[farn]

I am concerned with the second halves. No points vs Jets & (especially) Broncos is worrisome. I dunno... on the road, in the second half, weird stuff happens.

 

[NYCPatsFan]

I do. Do you really expect a team thats up 49-0 at the half to score just as many points in the 2nd half? How about 24-7? Theres no need to go out and beat teams by 60 points. You score enough to put the game away, and then you kill the clock.

After seeing the last two Colts game and the infamous SB, it is going to take me a few more games against tough teams to determine if I can be confident about us being ahead by 13 pts in the 4q and killing the clock to get a W.

 

[kkpat]

PATS have problem in second half. They lost to first JETS, DENVER, COLTS after second half while leading in the first half. Funny thing is they moved the ball pretty good in Denver and Colts games even in second half but could not score in THird Quarter. The same things happened in yesterday. They could not score somehow as the offense soem how unable to adjust. Good offenses can take advantage of our defense if we keep giving the ball back again and again. Same thing happened in Dolphins game.

The second half problems gets magnified in road games. We are 1-3 on road and all those games, we were leading and lost. The opponents "D" and "O" are adjusting and we are unable to adjust. May be Bill should have one plan for first half and another plan for second half for our "O" and "D".

 

[Kontradiction]

May be Bill should have one plan for first half and another plan for second half for our "O" and "D".

What a novel concept!

 

[brady et al fan]

Zolak revealed on his radio show last week that not much is done at half time. It's a total of 12 mins long, 4-5 of those minutes are spent getting into the locker room and back out, and then 3-4 minutes of stretching before 3rd quarter kickoff. The coaches basically say a short speech with very high level points, and then it's time to get back into the game.

The 1st half dominance stats show how well we scout and game plan, but once teams adjust to what we are doing, it is pretty much an even game from the 3rd quarter onwards. My bet would be that the Pats coordinators aren't changing the play calls that worked for them, thinking the original game plan will still work.

I would hope the coaches are doing more than this. This is fine for players (like Zolak) but coaches have a bit of time to discuss what they are seeing together that they don't get on the sidelines when they're a lot more occupied. Its a checkpoint. They came up with a gameplan and after 30 minutes of football they have a good sample to evaluate. Actually, I would think someone like BB would have a gameplan for both halves. Something like, here's how we approach the first half and here's how we approach the second half. But at halftime I'd still like to think they are evaluating what they saw in the first half.

 

[aluminum seats]

I would hope the coaches are doing more than this. This is fine for players (like Zolak) but coaches have a bit of time to discuss what they are seeing together that they don't get on the sidelines when they're a lot more occupied. Its a checkpoint. They came up with a gameplan and after 30 minutes of football they have a good sample to evaluate. Actually, I would think someone like BB would have a gameplan for both halves. Something like, here's how we approach the first half and here's how we approach the second half. But at halftime I'd still like to think they are evaluating what they saw in the first half.

Agreed. Naturally adjustments can and should be ongoing, but a 12 minute break during a game is, really, kind of a lot. I don't think Belichick is doing much stretching in the locker room at half time.

 

[The Dynasty]

I would hope the coaches are doing more than this. This is fine for players (like Zolak) but coaches have a bit of time to discuss what they are seeing together that they don't get on the sidelines when they're a lot more occupied. Its a checkpoint. They came up with a gameplan and after 30 minutes of football they have a good sample to evaluate. Actually, I would think someone like BB would have a gameplan for both halves. Something like, here's how we approach the first half and here's how we approach the second half. But at halftime I'd still like to think they are evaluating what they saw in the first half.

The coaches are gathering together and talking about what they saw in the 1st half and what worked and what didnt work. The coaches tell the players the things they see and what to change/improve on. Coaches cant have a set plan for the 2nd half before they see what happened in the 1st half.

 

[maverick4]

Agreed. Naturally adjustments can and should be ongoing, but a 12 minute break during a game is, really, kind of a lot. I don't think Belichick is doing much stretching in the locker room at half time.

It is 12 minutes from the end of the 2nd quarter to the start of the 3rd quarter. That is not a lot of time.


The coaches have more time to talk amongst themselves, but obviously from the stats posted on the 1st post, they aren't doing very well in the 2nd half of games.

 

[Satchboogie3]

I do. Do you really expect a team thats up 49-0 at the half to score just as many points in the 2nd half? How about 24-7? Theres no need to go out and beat teams by 60 points. You score enough to put the game away, and then you kill the clock.

NO NO NO NO NO, and NO. You do not just "score enough to put the game away". You should be trying to score EVERY possession. The only time you don't is if you can kneel on the ball to end the game.

When you get a lead, you should think about building it bigger. The first priority on offense is to call the plays that give you the best chance to SCORE. The SECOND priority is then to try to take as much time as possible.

Some people tend to forget this, but if we are calling plays that aren't very successful "in the name of killing the clock", we won't be "killing" the clock because we will end up 3 and out. It's far better to stick to a balanced attack and settling for 7 points in 2 minutes rather than spend 5 minutes getting 0 points, or worse, not burning any time AND not getting any points.

I'm just getting sick of people saying "just kill the clock". No, you keep playing until there is no clock. The Indy game is a great example of "running the clock" backfiring.

 

[The Dynasty]

NO NO NO NO NO, and NO. You do not just "score enough to put the game away". You should be trying to score EVERY possession. The only time you don't is if you can kneel on the ball to end the game.

When you get a lead, you should think about building it bigger. The first priority on offense is to call the plays that give you the best chance to SCORE. The SECOND priority is then to try to take as much time as possible.

Some people tend to forget this, but if we are calling plays that aren't very successful "in the name of killing the clock", we won't be "killing" the clock because we will end up 3 and out. It's far better to stick to a balanced attack and settling for 7 points in 2 minutes rather than spend 5 minutes getting 0 points, or worse, not burning any time AND not getting any points.

I'm just getting sick of people saying "just kill the clock". No, you keep playing until there is no clock. The Indy game is a great example of "running the clock" backfiring.

Yes, and the Patriots dont have the personell to "kill clock" right now. We dont have that running back that can keep grinding out first downs. Also, thats tough to do when you are missing 2 of your starting offensive linemen. I think that we could do this when Taylor and Morris come back and Neal and Light. It would be nice to see a 80 yard, 8+ minute drive, ending with a TD.

I would have liked to see the Pats be a little more aggressive yesterday. We didnt take any chances down the field in the 2nd half yesterday, even with Revis on Moss still take a chance and throw the ball down the field to keep the safties honest. This will help the running game. Our WR's seemed like they werent running any routes more than 10 yards in the 2nd half.

 

[BionicPatriot]

It almost seems like Bill's worst coaching job yet IMO.

This is such a talented team, there's no reason this team shouldn't be unbeaten right now. They've been ahead in every game and coughed it up 3 times. This team just needs to get its swagger back. It's like once they establish a big lead both the offense and defense fall asleep.

the defense goes soft, the OL forgets how to pass/run block. It never fails. Every loss, it's the same **** hurting the team. It seems like opponents just figure the Pats out come halftime. It's not a defensive problem, it's a team problem. They need to do better at coaching. They're blowing leads bby calling conservative defenses, repetitive offense, etc.

I hate to sound like just another complainer but enough is enough. W's like yesterday don't excite me after a loss like that at the Colts for what ever reason. I want to see this team monday night either handle a defensive battle or protect the goddamn lead for once.

The Patriots just seem to have the making of a finesse team. Very fast, quick to take the lead, and easy to give it up. The defense needs to be more aggressive and the OL needs to know how to hog down and move the chains in the final minutes.

This team used to do that, they just don't now. It's that simple. I love this team, but we have become the Oklahoma Sooners of the NFL, the early 2000's Colts. Until they win a big game in a tough situation, that's just what it is. No body said this team sucks, they just need a set of nuts.

 

[BionicPatriot]

Yes, and the Patriots dont have the personell to "kill clock" right now. We dont have that running back that can keep grinding out first downs. Also, thats tough to do when you are missing 2 of your starting offensive linemen. I think that we could do this when Taylor and Morris come back and Neal and Light. It would be nice to see a 80 yard, 8+ minute drive, ending with a TD.

I would have liked to see the Pats be a little more aggressive yesterday. We didnt take any chances down the field in the 2nd half yesterday, even with Revis on Moss still take a chance and throw the ball down the field to keep the safties honest. This will help the running game. Our WR's seemed like they werent running any routes more than 10 yards in the 2nd half.

I really really miss Taylor. We need him and Morris ready to go for December.

 

[Satchboogie3]

It almost seems like Bill's worst coaching job yet IMO.

This is such a talented team, there's no reason this team shouldn't be unbeaten right now. They've been ahead in every game and coughed it up 3 times. This team just needs to get its swagger back. It's like once they establish a big lead both the offense and defense fall asleep.

the defense goes soft, the OL forgets how to pass/run block. It never fails. Every loss, it's the same **** hurting the team. It seems like opponents just figure the Pats out come halftime. It's not a defensive problem, it's a team problem. They need to do better at coaching. They're blowing leads bby calling conservative defenses, repetitive offense, etc.

I hate to sound like just another complainer but enough is enough. W's like yesterday don't excite me after a loss like that at the Colts for what ever reason. I want to see this team monday night either handle a defensive battle or protect the goddamn lead for once.

The Patriots just seem to have the making of a finesse team. Very fast, quick to take the lead, and easy to give it up. The defense needs to be more aggressive and the OL needs to know how to hog down and move the chains in the final minutes.

This team used to do that, they just don't now. It's that simple. I love this team, but we have become the Oklahoma Sooners of the NFL, the early 2000's Colts. Until they win a big game in a tough situation, that's just what it is. No body said this team sucks, they just need a set of nuts.

To be fair, the Pats defense is young and new. They needed (and still do) time to "gel", gain experience, and become leaders. It would have been foolish to expect this defense to be dominant from game 1. However, they have exceeded expectations thus far (baring a bad game).

As for the offense, Brady was coming back from a serious knee injury. it would have been foolish to expect him and the offense to click right out of the gates. It took Brady 4 or 5 weeks to get back to 100% and the offense itself still isn't at full strength. The first 5 weeks were troubling for the WR position, Welker missed 2 games, Moss was battling a back injury (still is), and Galloway failed as our 3-rd Receiver. It has still been a bit of a challenge finding a 3rd WR, Edelman looked good but then missed a few games because of his injury, Aiken has looked good, but inconsistent, etc. The running game is even worse as we have lost our best 2 backs for a while now. It's hard to "running the clock" and sustain a good ground attack when your best 2 backs are on the sidelines.

If this offense can get healthy (and the defense as well) down the stretch, we could see an extremely dominant team. Our defense will get better, our passing attack will continue to improve, and our running game will get immensely better with Morris and Taylor back.

Remember, the Pats teams faced TONS of adversity during the Championship runs, between major injuries, personnel changes, and philosophic/strategic changes.

 

[TennesseePatriot]

Yes. I don't believe the team is very well conditioned.

 

[RhodyPatriot]

Btw, where have the TE's gone in this pass game?? The O line has done a nice job this year. Why are the TE's not being included in this O as legit threats in the pass game?? It's Moss and Welker and Welker and Moss with an all too infrequent screen thrown in.
TOO PREDICTABLE!!!!
Might be why this offense is stalling in the 2nd half of games. It's ridiculous how vanilla this offense has become with all the weapons and plays they have .......but don't use.

 

[stcjones]

It's a concern when the team that has done it to us twice now in the past 3 seasons is the one we'll most likely have to beat in the playoffs. Winning that game would have been huge, we'd be one game out of the first seed with a tie breaker. Instead we lose and we have these lingering questions. I don't think it's complaining but it is a cause for some concern going forward. Hopefully we stomp the crap out of NO this Monday and remove any lingering doubts about our teams ability to close out a good team.

good post ...it is obviously a major concern.....if we take our foot off the gas against the Saints.....it is all over......they are the best team in football right now......we are playing them in a very loud and tough environment....I am not sure how this one will turn out....but I hope the Pats play balls to the wall for 4 quarters......if Pees pulls out the continued soft, prevent crap......Brees will torch us.......

 

[Belichicknumber1]

I really really miss Taylor. We need him and Morris ready to go for December.

Agreed. Maroney makes me nervous when he touches the ball now.

 

[The Dynasty]

Agreed. Maroney makes me nervous when he touches the ball now.

I thought Maroney has been very effective of late. He is running hard and with a purpose, something he didnt do at the beginning of the year. He had 6 TDs in the last 5 games. He had 1 fumble, why are you nervous? It happens to every good running back

 

[Kid~Brady]

maroney fumbles too much too. he's still a decent back

 

[aluminum seats]

Btw, where have the TE's gone in this pass game?? The O line has done a nice job this year. Why are the TE's not being included in this O as legit threats in the pass game?? It's Moss and Welker and Welker and Moss with an all too infrequent screen thrown in.
TOO PREDICTABLE!!!!
Might be why this offense is stalling in the 2nd half of games. It's ridiculous how vanilla this offense has become with all the weapons and plays they have .......but don't use.

Fair point. Sort of makes me wish Weis will get fired and come back. The running game isn't dominant, so it becomes more important to utilize tight ends, creative game calling, etc. The pass pass pass spread offense is really designed to score or not without regard to the clock, and if there's a couple of incompletions that's all she wrote.