Remember LB Matt Chatham? Here is an interesting analysis from him. Makes a point I've been suspecting, that talent is overrated and execution details underrated. The difference between first round talent and Mr Irrelevant is usually not as big as we'd like to think. Otoh the difference between diligent preparation and sloppy play is really significant. How was this Pats team so un talented just a few weeks ago, and now talented enough to be winning big against good opponents with few personnel changes, mostly downgrades due to injury? Chatham's analysis may give some insights...
http://www.footballbyfootball.com/column/brady-company-little-things-pay-off-big
That's not a new point at all - some of us have made it for years.
The way the NFL is set up promotes parity. The salary cap, free agency, the draft, injuries and attrition, all prevent any team from assembling dominant talent and putting it on the field week after week. There are no dominant teams like the old Steelers of the '70s that can field one HOFer after another. There's probably only about a 5-10% difference in talent between the top teams and the bottom, and that can easily be shaded by injuries on any given day. The difference between a 12-4 team and a 4-12 team isn't that great - which is one reason that there's so much turnover in the playoffs from year to year. Effort, toughness, mental focus, coaching, and ability to handle adversity and attrition separate the good teams from the bad. So many teams can look great one week and terrible the next; very few can master consistency, and the art of winning when they aren't on top of their game. Those are the teams that get into the playoffs. From that point on, it's a question of who is healthy and who gets hot. The result is a total crapshoot in terms of predictability, with a lot of games coming down to the wire, keeping fans coming back for more and revenue flowing in. A truly dominant team would be the goose that kills the golden egg.
Which is where the Pats come in. They have been the closest thing to upsetting this applecart since the salary cap came into being. BB is masterful at finding talent that fits within his vision - something that is overlooked in all the criticism of "BB the GM" - and masterful at turning it into a team that is greater than the sum of its parts. We've seen this over and over again, and particularly in 2001, 2003, 2008, 2011 and 2013. And apparently this year.
There's plenty of talent. We don't need Julio Jones at WR. Gronk, Edelman, Lafell, Wright, and Vereen have plenty of talent. If Dobson and/or Amendola can get on the page, so much the better. Our OL won't be Dallas, but good coaching and cohesive line play is enough to give Brady a clean pocket against even a fairly strong defensive front 7, and that's all he needs.
There's plenty of talent, on both sides of the ball. It's all about mental focus, toughness, overcoming adversity, and situation execution. Based on the last 2 games, this team could turn out to be one of the better ones in an unprecedented string. Too early to say for sure, but so far things look encouraging.
