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Yep sounds like a patriots team. Difference is, those were brought in with 160 mil. In prior years, money was spent elsewhere and they went and got receivers off the trash heap toward the end of free agency. Its funny that these TE's were very good on their prior team, did they forget how to play?
Exactly. I have seen way less players here with Brady that did way more. This is not a knock on Mac. Mac is a 6 game starter who has no idea about anything. Brady is a 20 year vet who has been through wars and seen everything under the sun. This isnt madden, there are things you cannot replicate that easy.
if we leave aside the QB conversation for a minute for this yr. Also leave aside all the supposedly conservative calls this yr. if we just took care of not fumbling the ball, avoiding strip sacks or fear of it on each play , avoid blocked punts, we could improve dramtically. and these are tangibles not intangibles. Regardless of who is on the team. That IMO has been the big difference. Playcalling and QB are just add ons. We can say we dont have a team to overcome these mistakes. But neither did we in early 2000. We just didnt play like this making so many silly mistakes.
I'm 100% with you. All you had to do is look at QBs in the playoffs last year and you could see the difference a guy who "has been there" makes. Brady's a special player and my feeling when everything went down was they should have ridden it out until he finally couldn't do it, since he was the one constant you never needed to worry about. He always takes care of himself, he's always prepared, etc. And he always made guys better. There was no reason to lose faith in that.
That's not how it works. And, before you jump in with the "but..." response, remember that Belichick proved that for about 20 years prior to his sudden burst of excuse making.
Ahh I see, the players on this team are either good or bad depending on which argument you're trying to win.
Perfectly said. A lot of this is what we as patriots fans have become used to. For years, the patriots to me was a fun team that I rooted for and I never really expected much, and to be honest, it was easier to be a fan. Nobody really argued and we all had thoughts of "some day" and that was fine. Wins were a parade and losses were just a learning experience. Pats fans didnt fight, everyone knew the deal. Then everything changed. We started winning, our team got hated and we as pats fans became very defensive, and this lasted two decades. But here is what changed. Wins were no longer a parade, they were just a relief. It started becomming a job almost. Wins were, welp see you next week, losses were death arguments for a week about what is wrong, who do I point the finger at. It tore people apart. Superbowls were not a celebration as it was, oh good, I can not be upset for the offseason, it was a relief. The bar was too high, everything was expectations. Then, it all stopped. The bar fell, the expectations fell, and it hit people hard. I was not over here when we were winning much, but in the place I was in. Wins caused arguments if we didnt win by enough. Losses were a bomb. I think at some point we will relax a bit. I have no expectations, not because I dont think they can do anything in the future, but because I do not expect it anymore. Bill will not coach forever, we might just become one of those pretty good teams that make up about half the NFL, and with that will calm people into that mode, and then, when the right combo of players and coaching comes, it will be that parade again that we remember. There is nothing better than winning when its not expected.
No, they are either playing good or bad becuase they are. I do not have an argument. An argument is when you have an opinion. I am not giving an opinion, I am stating what is. Again, the pats didnt just all of the sudden fall because coaches forgot how to coach and Bill did not know what players to bring in. A lot was lost when a player left. Again its more than being a good QB. Jules said it best, this does not even seem like the patriots anymore. It takes time to get that back. Jones playing well is not even enough, it takes players or a player that can will things a long. Leadership took a major hit. I will never make a statement based on something that cannot be shown. I do not call things lucky and I do not label a player as some made up word by the media. If I say it, its because this is what is happening.
Not without a long-term deal to push the money out, which they refused to do. He pushed for year-to-year and it came to a head when Brady had enough and left. However, you're right, if they wanted to keep him, they definitely could have. It just would have eventually caught up with them when he did finally call it a career, and they would have simply had another year like last year where they had a ton of dead money. But telling people they wouldn't have been able to make it work is absolutely not true. Not when they were the ones who actually created the blueprint and followed it all the way to six titles.
"I am not giving an opinion." *proceeds to give an opinion. "If I say it, its because this is what is happening." Seeing your posts previously, I thought you were a little full of yourself. Glad to get confirmation and learn to not take you seriously.
I am saying what I see. and others see. Its not an opinion to say the team is different now and I do not mean how good they are or what their record is. Players and former players see this as well. What I mean by what I said is. I am not going to say something that cannot be shown. I am not going to use an argument that is without having both sides. You can say that everything is the same and that is fine and I will show you why I do not agree. You seem you would rather attack than show anything that would dispute anything. I welcome you to dispute things if you feel different, but show why. If you want to call names and make other comments then I really have nothing else to say to you.
You said, among many other things, that we would be a super bowl contender with Brady here. I provided plenty of reasons of why I feel different but you live in a world where your thoughts are reality, and your opinions facts. We were both having a perfectly civil discussion before this became too big of an obstacle to continue.
Initially when they signed Newton, I thought we might get lucky and they'd keep going and maybe make some noise in the playoffs, although I had been looking forward to a Matt Cassel-esque year with Stidham where every weekend would be interesting and we might get to see him develop.
I think whatever lead to Brady leaving started earlier. I am not sure they could have all of the sudden at the last second say oh ok, we will give you a multi deal. I think it was already past all that. I will start by saying I do not blame either side. I get both points. I get that Bill has to oversee the entire team and had no way of knowing how long Brady could play, and was afraid of giving a long term deal, and I also know how Brady feeels that he feel he can still play and thinks he has proven that and wanted they security and might even feel like he earned that. I do not think it was as bitter as the media and some wanted to make it. It came to a point where both wanted different things. You have to do what you think is right at the time you do it and then whatever happens happens. I do think Brady felt a bit betrayed when there was talk that Bill wanted to trade him if that was true. I think he felt he earned the right to not deal with that, but Bill is not exactly a feel good kinda coach, he is straight forward and always thinking ahead, and he has to make decision good or bad that he thinks wilk work at that moment. Maybe Brady didnt want to deal with that anymore or hell maybe he just wanted a different challange. I think both have great respect and love for each other, and I knew regardless of what happened after Brady left, that it would turn into this Bill vs Tom BS media drive crap and whichever one had struggles would get the massive dump on them. It was not fair to either and no matter what happened, it should not take away from either.
I've mentioned this to him and as I've said, I get there's disappointment in Brady being gone, I'm among that crowd. But what's done is done. I'm on the Mac Jones train and I'm at least glad we have that to look forward to. It's a little odd when you're 2-4 yet the QB position is currently the least of their problems. Definitely a strange year so far.
I have 20 years of evidence that lead to my thinking. I have seen worse teams that Brady was on, that were contenders. Where is the fingers pointed to right now? Coaching. All of the sudden bill lost it, all of the sudden players bIll brings in suck, all of the sudden Mcdaniels cannot call an offense. Sorry does not work that way. There is evidence that says with Brady this team is winning, 20 years of it. There however is no evidence that everything is just like it is now if Brady is here. There is no example.
Don't overanalyze it. We already know a rift was started prior to that, but it's already been discussed here ad nauseam. Like I said, we can discuss every angle, but it doesn't change the fact he's in Tampa. "It is what it is".
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