Official Pregame Thread: Pats @ Panthers

[Rob0729]

That argument goes both ways, though. One or two more plays and they would have beaten the Patriots convincingly

Sure, but look at the Cowboys game. The Cowboys had a 3rd and 25 well out of field goal range with 31 seconds left in the game. If the Pats only give up 5-10 yards, they likely win the game (obviously the Cowboys would have gone for it on fourth down). And the defense they call is a cover 0 blitz. Probably one of the worst play calls to call in that situation. That was a case of the Patriots beating themselves.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

You can go down that rabbit hole all you want. People are saying this team isn't good enough to beat other good teams. The fact is, they've hung with other good teams, taking them down to the wire with a Rookie QB. They just beat a good team as well, and blew out a bad team. My point is that they have the ability to beat good teams, they just needed to get over a hump. They apparently have done that, the next 4 games are all winnable and the Patriots should go on a run.

The division title could be in grasp of the Pats if we can beat Buffalo at least once. The Bills have to play the Saints (in New Orleans), Pats x 2, Indy, and Tampa. They could potentially lose 3-4 more games.

 

[patsinthesnow]

Be careful what you wish for
Easier fighting the known.
Would not mind another Darnold ghosting.

Fun fact:



135 QBs have thrown atleast 50 passes since 2012. Philip Walker is 133rd in passer rating.

 

[Brotherblues]

Question: if Gilmore's issue here was a reluctance to play without a new contract, why is he playing for the Panthers without a new contract?

Sorry if it's been answered already. The issue bugs me.

 

[Rob0729]

It's not really a rabbit hole. Cowboys shot themselves in the foot as much as we did otherwise they would have beaten us in our house by 3 or more scores. Bucs had receivers drop balls for TDs, and Brady had an off day from the emotion of that game. I wouldn't expect either to happen again in a rematch.

Most losing teams in the league could probably point to a play or two per game that if it went the other way they'd be a winning team. Pats have a lot of work to do to before they can say they're real contenders.

People talk about Brady's off day, but we do not know if it was caused by the moment or the fact that the Patriots did things to speed up the game on him. A lot of people are just writing it off that he was just overly emotional from the moment. If it is because the Patriots gave him fits, that isn't an excuse to explain why the Bucs nearly lost but could have blown the Patriots out.

 

[Patsgofor4]

It's not really a rabbit hole. Cowboys shot themselves in the foot as much as we did otherwise they would have beaten us in our house by 3 or more scores. Bucs had receivers drop balls for TDs, and Brady had an off day from the emotion of that game. I wouldn't expect either to happen again in a rematch.

Most losing teams in the league could probably point to a play or two per game that if it went the other way they'd be a winning team. Pats have a lot of work to do to before they can say they're real contenders.

And the Pats made a lot of mistakes in both games as well. You continue to speak about the Cowboy and Tampa mistakes and missed opportunities in a hyperbolic manner while pretending that the Pats played error-free football.

 

[sb1]

And the Pats made a lot of mistakes in both games as well. You continue to speak about the Cowboy and Tampa mistakes and missed opportunities in a hyperbolic manner while pretending that the Pats played error-free football.

I'm saying the "what ifs" and missed opportunities work both ways.

 

[jah]

People talk about Brady's off day, but we do not know if it was caused by the moment or the fact that the Patriots did things to speed up the game on him. A lot of people are just writing it off that he was just overly emotional from the moment.

Even here, people were writing it off because of the ****ing rain, as if no QB (especially not Brady) has had a good game in the rain before.

 

[sb1]

People talk about Brady's off day, but we do not know if it was caused by the moment or the fact that the Patriots did things to speed up the game on him. A lot of people are just writing it off that he was just overly emotional from the moment.

After the game Brady said that he now understands why visiting teams find it so hard to win in NE. He also said for him his least favorite team to beat is NE. That tells me the emotion was a huge factor and it got to him a bit.

Pats did well enough but I don't think we solved him or anything. He picked up right where he left off against Miami the next week.

 

[Rob0729]

Even here, people were writing it off because of the ****ing rain, as if no QB (especially not Brady) has had a good game in the rain before.

We have seen Brady throw for over 300 yards and four TDs in a blizzard in Chicago. I thought it was odd that anyone would ever excuse Brady's performance based on the weather. He has shown through his career he is weather proof. He can perform at a high level through wind, rain, snow, blizzards.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

Why is Gilly saying it means, "a lot extra" to be facing NE?

Is he angry? If so, why?

Does he feel disrespected/devalued because they didn't meet his new money expectations/demands?

Does he feel he needs to prove something to Belichick because he has some kind if insecurity thing going? Really?

He's still an elite CB1 and the Pats wouldn't fork over another 4m. I'm with Gilmore on this one. You don't mess around with elite corners. After Bill's mediocre staff messes things up with JC Jackson this offseason, get ready for a crappy smurf-CB soft-zone era again, deja vu the last time 2 John Carroll roommates were here.

 

[Rob0729]

After the game Brady said that he now understands why visiting teams find it so hard to win in NE. He also said for him his least favorite team to beat is NE. That tells me the emotion was a huge factor and it got to him a bit.

Pats did well enough but I don't think we solved him or anything. He picked up right where he left off against Miami the next week.

Never said the Pats "solved him" or gave the blue print to stop him. But they did pressure him up the middle and did do things that he doesn't typically see out of this defense. I think people are doing a disservice to the Pats' defense by making excuses for Brady.

And I never take what Brady says publicly seriously. He knows how to say the right things, but by his own admission, most of what he says in public is ********.

 

[RobertWeathers]

He's still an elite CB1 and the Pats wouldn't fork over another 4m. I'm with Gilmore on this one. You don't mess around with elite corners. After Bill's mediocre staff messes things up with JC Jackson this offseason, get ready for a crappy smurf-CB soft-zone era again, deja vu the last time 2 John Carroll roommates were here.

FYI- You are wasting your time commenting on my posts.

I've tried to have decent dialogue with you but you keep saying the same thing over and over again and I don't agree with any of it.

Moving on.

 

[Kontradiction]

You can go down that rabbit hole all you want. People are saying this team isn't good enough to beat other good teams. The fact is, they've hung with other good teams, taking them down to the wire with a Rookie QB. They just beat a good team as well, and blew out a bad team. My point is that they have the ability to beat good teams, they just needed to get over a hump. They apparently have done that, the next 4 games are all winnable and the Patriots should go on a run.

I’m not going to argue that the next four games are winnable (I think we go 3-1 at worst), but I don’t think they’re ready for a deep postseason run. The defense is a bit long in the tooth, short at the CB position, and still struggles to stop the run. Offensively, the OL has been shaky at best (though better in the last two games than the first quarter of the season), the WRs scare nobody, and the TEs can be defended by Cover-1 and Cover-3 without fear of getting beaten over the top. They’re playing well, though, and I’d expect to make the playoffs this year, but I don’t see a deep run.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

You can go down that rabbit hole all you want. People are saying this team isn't good enough to beat other good teams. The fact is, they've hung with other good teams, taking them down to the wire with a Rookie QB. They just beat a good team as well, and blew out a bad team. My point is that they have the ability to beat good teams, they just needed to get over a hump. They apparently have done that, the next 4 games are all winnable and the Patriots should go on a run.

The team in my mind actually could have made the playoffs with this roster at the start of the season. Keeping Gilmore would have helped a lot. But the mediocre staff lost too many games the first 6 weeks trotting out the worst OLine in the league. So, given no faith in the staff around BB, this team will continue to do nothing until they fix the staff quality. And I'm not talking about Steve, I'm fine w Steve; every position group he's ever coached has been high performing.

.

 

[Ring 6]

Gilmore already had a pick in his first game back. I really hope he doesn't go off against us. He might be a bit rusty, but Mac better not throw those dangerous 50/50 balls toward him.

He played 17 snaps last week.

 

[Ring 6]

I’m not going to argue that the next four games are winnable (I think we go 3-1 at worst), but I don’t think they’re ready for a deep postseason run. The defense is a bit long in the tooth, short at the CB position, and still struggles to stop the run. Offensively, the OL has been shaky at best (though better in the last two games than the first quarter of the season), the WRs scare nobody, and the TEs can be defended by Cover-1 and Cover-3 without fear of getting beaten over the top. They’re playing well, though, and I’d expect to make the playoffs this year, but I don’t see a deep run.

History tells us how they are playing now isn’t as important to what kind of playoff run they can make as what they evolve to by the end of the season.
I think this team has growth potential it’s just a matter of how much growth is needed.
The 2 late Bills games will be a good indicator of playoff readiness.

 

[Ring 6]

The team in my mind actually could have made the playoffs with this roster at the start of the season. Keeping Gilmore would have helped a lot. But the mediocre staff lost too many games the first 6 weeks trotting out the worst OLine in the league. So, given no faith in the staff around BB, this team will continue to do nothing until they fix the staff quality. And I'm not talking about Steve, I'm fine w Steve; every position group he's ever coached has been high performing.

.

 

[zimmy]

luckily we don't have a number one receiver so there's no one for Gilmore to lock down. I would probably just run Agholor deep on him every other play to open the underneath stuff.

I think this will be another scrappy low scoring affair, where we need to get the run going and Mac needs to get the ball out quickly. Hope he can calm himself down this week. Pats win 23-20.

 

[jimnance]

I’m not going to argue that the next four games are winnable (I think we go 3-1 at worst), but I don’t think they’re ready for a deep postseason run. The defense is a bit long in the tooth, short at the CB position, and still struggles to stop the run. Offensively, the OL has been shaky at best (though better in the last two games than the first quarter of the season), the WRs scare nobody, and the TEs can be defended by Cover-1 and Cover-3 without fear of getting beaten over the top. They’re playing well, though, and I’d expect to make the playoffs this year, but I don’t see a deep run.

Thats a realistic take. Agree 100% where Pats weaknesses lie. The one qualifier I would add is that everyone in the afc is beatable. So you never know.