Damien Harris speaks out about the dysfunction on the Patriots offense in 2022

[signbabybrady]

Do you think a team that gives up for any reason down the stretch or in a playoff game is well coached? I don’t.

That is…if what you’re saying is true that they “gave up” and the defense that couldn’t stop any good offense and got clown stomped 47-17 in the playoffs was really a championship level defense and it was all the QB’s fault they didn’t win it all.

I'm confused why are you celebrating that our defense got beat 3 years ago?

 

[sb1]

I'm confused why are you celebrating that our defense got beat 3 years ago?

@Wozzy thinks that the 21 Pats were a championship team with a different QB and scoffed at my point that the defense wasn’t good enough for that to happen. They weren’t. Case in point 47-17. And not just that game

 

[Brotherblues]

I routinely read this forum and have for more than a decade. I have been a big Pats fan for fifty years and follow the team closely. This forum and how people argue, in my opinion, reflects the dialogue across the country; people fitting the facts into their own narrative.

I think BB is the best coach in team sports history. I think football is more challenging to coach than any other professional sport. There are more players, really three separate "teams" on each team, and more stoppage of play, so that the opportunity for coaches to intervene is more pronounced. Given this, I think BB, as the greatest pro football couch of all time, is the greatest team sport coach of all time. However, if you watched the Pats for the last 3-4 years of his tenure and you felt that they looked like a well-coached team, then you were watching a different outfit than I was watching.

The Pats were a dominant team on special teams for twenty years. In BBs last four years they were awful. Missed field goals, penalties, returns for touchdowns. Did Mac play special teams? The Pats defense, despite being above average, routinely made mental errors whereas top defenses rarely do. Jumping offside of fourth and one, too many men of the field, etc.. These were the kinds of mistakes that other teams made for twenty years and we used to chuckle about. Now it was us making the mistakes. And despite being statistically in the top half of the league, they clearly had difficulty stopping good offences when they needed to. And the offence. Not just bad; inexplicably so. Fans, reporters during training camp, our own players as well as other teams players all commented on it regularly, but given our history it was hard to believe our own "lyin' eyes). The teams was poorly coached. Did Mac step up? Did he lose his confidence and fall apart? You bet. He was awful by the end. But to suggest that somehow that explains all that we witnessed is hard to justify.

I think the Pats should put two statues out front in Foxboro; one of Brady and one for BB. As Tommy said, it was the both of them that allowed us fans the opportunity to witness a dynasty unlike any before and possibly never to be seen again. But Jesus, the notion that this team was well coached the last four years or so and that it was all Mac's fault is bizarre and just reflects people fitting the facts to their narrative. We do it in politics, race relations, etc.. And it's everywhere on this board.

Some people hardly post but when they do it's worth a thousand posts.

 

[signbabybrady]

@Wozzy thinks that the 21 Pats were a championship team with a different QB and scoffed at my point that the defense wasn’t good enough for that to happen. They weren’t. Case in point 47-17. And not just that game

But why do you seem happy about it?

 

[sb1]

But why do you seem happy about it?

Wasn’t my intention to come across that way.

Shows that you can’t really analyze anything in football properly by reading box scores and rankings and nothing else.

 

[Wozzy]

Do you think a team that gives up for any reason down the stretch or in a playoff game is well coached? I don’t.

That is…if what you’re saying is true that they “gave up” and the defense that couldn’t stop any good offense and got clown stomped 47-17 in the playoffs was really a championship level defense and it was all the QB’s fault they didn’t win it all.

Tom Brady at QB creates time consuming drives that end in touchdowns and more importantly doesn’t turn the ball over.

Mac at QB creates hopelessness by giving the ball back to Buffalo, giving them more opportunities/drives and because he couldn’t score and turned it over.

You saying Mac is Tom is laughable…

 

[sb1]

Tom Brady at QB creates time consuming drives that end in touchdowns and more importantly doesn’t turn the ball over.

Mac at QB creates hopelessness by giving the ball back to Buffalo, giving them more opportunities/drives and because he couldn’t score and turned it over.

You saying Mac is Tom is laughable…

Good defenses don’t go 0 for 7 stopping the other team from scoring a TD.

 

[Wozzy]

Good defenses don’t go 0 for 7 stopping the other team from scoring a TD.

Faith is a powerful thing, so is a lack of it.

You telling us Mac is just as good as Tom is a laugh riot.

 

[sb1]

Faith is a powerful thing, so is a lack of it.

You telling us Mac is just as good as Tom is a laugh riot.

It would be if I said that.

And that’s only slightly less amusing than reading that the Patriots had a championship defense in 21. When they showed no signs of being one all year. Certainly not in that wild card game. TD, TD, TD, TD, TD, TD, TD, victory formation. That’s a championship caliber defense baby. I guess Bill’s defensive genius was napping that evening.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Tom Brady at QB creates time consuming drives that end in touchdowns and more importantly doesn’t turn the ball over.

Mac at QB creates hopelessness by giving the ball back to Buffalo, giving them more opportunities/drives and because he couldn’t score and turned it over.

You saying Mac is Tom is laughable…

Buffalo won the time of possession battle by a whopping 3 minutes. Mac threw 2 INT’s. If that’s the excuse for the no punt game, then clearly the defense wasn’t good.

Brady has had his fair share of playoff struggles, but squeaked out victories because the defense didn’t collapse. If the defense didn’t play well while he struggled, they lost.

 

[Wozzy]

Buffalo won the time of possession battle by a whopping 3 minutes. Mac threw 2 INT’s. If that’s the excuse for the no punt game, then clearly the defense wasn’t good.

Brady has had his fair share of playoff struggles, but squeaked out victories because the defense didn’t collapse. If the defense didn’t play well while he struggled, they lost.

The defense also knew they had to get the ball back to their QB, in the words of Vince Wilfork at Brady's Patriots HOF induction the other night, “if he gets the ball back, we win.”

Over the course of Brady's run there were numerous times the Patriot's top ranked defense encountered opponents and got into shootouts... that's just how football works sometimes. Sometimes the offenses are just hot and the defenses can't stop anyone. The 2003 Super Bowl with the Panthers is a good example, both of those were top ranked defenses... it doesn't mean the defense was a "bad" defense, it means that sometimes you just get into a shootout.

There are also times where the defense shuts down the opponent and the offenses don't do diddly, both Ram's Super Bowls come to mind... does that mean both of those offenses sucked? No, it just means you got into a defensive battle.

Suggesting Mac provided the supreme confidence or competency that Brady provided is smooth brain thinking.

 

[sb1]

The defense also knew they had to get the ball back to their QB, in the words of Vince Wilfork at Brady's Patriots HOF induction the other night, “if he gets the ball back, we win.”

Over the course of Brady's run there were numerous times the Patriot's top ranked defense encountered opponents and got into shootouts... that's just how football works sometimes. Sometimes the offenses are just hot and the defenses can't stop anyone. The 2003 Super Bowl with the Panthers is a good example, both of those were top ranked defenses... it doesn't mean the defense was a "bad" defense, it means that sometimes you just get into a shootout.

It wasn't just that wild card game. The 2021 Pats defense was lousy against the Colts, Texans, Chargers, both the Bills and Cowboys in Foxboro and the regular season finale against the Dolphins. They weren't all that against a Bucs offense missing Gronk either, that game was a couple of AB drops away from being a decisive loss. In other words they couldn't stop any team with a functional or better offense.

The 03 Pats defense was excellent even with that Super Bowl in a shootout. The 2021 Pats defense wasn't. That's why points rankings mean squat... no other team got to play offensive pansies like the Jets twice, Falcons Panthers and Browns and the Bills in a windstorm.

Don't gimme that noise that they were a great defense and the QB was singlehandedly holding them back from a championship. The defense wasn't good enough for a championship even with a different QB. Not even close. Not even in the neighborhood of close.

 

[Wozzy]

It wasn't just that wild card game. The 2021 Pats defense was lousy against the Colts, Texans, Chargers, both the Bills and Cowboys in Foxboro and the regular season finale against the Dolphins. They weren't all that against a Bucs offense missing Gronk either, that game was a couple of AB drops away from being a decisive loss. In other words they couldn't stop any team with a functional or better offense.

The 03 Pats defense was excellent even with that Super Bowl in a shootout. The 2021 Pats defense wasn't. That's why points rankings mean squat... no other team got to play offensive pansies like the Jets twice, Falcons Panthers and Browns and the Bills in a windstorm.

Don't gimme that noise that they were a great defense and the QB was singlehandedly holding them back from a championship. The defense wasn't good enough for a championship even with a different QB. Not even close. Not even in the neighborhood of close.

The offense was lousy, especially Tom, against the Texans in the 2016 playoffs. The offense was lousy in 2018, wasn’t very explosive against the Rams back in 2001… but the rest of the team did the heavy lifting. That’s how football works. that’s how team works.

Stop telling us the defense ranked 2nd in points allowed in the entire NFL was “the problem,” not Mac leading the NFL in turnovers and completing 59% of his passes for the last month… stop telling us Mac is the same as Brady… it’s embarrassing.

 

[sb1]

The offense was lousy, especially Tom, against the Texans in the 2016 playoffs. The offense was lousy in 2018, wasn’t very explosive against the Rams back in 2001… but the rest of the team did the heavy lifting. That’s how football works. that’s how team works.

Cool so you should have no problem admitting 2021 was a team failure and not a QB failure.

Stop telling us the defense ranked 2nd in points allowed in the entire NFL was “the problem,” not Mac leading the NFL in turnovers and completing 59% of his passes for the last month… stop telling us Mac is the same as Brady… it’s embarrassing.

Stop fabricating... I never said any of those things at all. I said they were not good enough to be a championship level defense. Which they weren't.

"2nd in points" lol. They weren't that good and proved it on the field. Q.E.D. There's nothing further to debate here.

 

[Wozzy]

Cool so you should have no problem admitting 2021 was a team failure and not a QB failure.

After the bye week (week 13) Mac completed 59% of his passes at 6 yards per clip and turned the ball over 8 times in five games.

He threw two interceptions in that final Buffalo game.

I’m beginning to see your problem… you don’t understand football.

Stop fabricating... I never said any of those things at all. I said they were not good enough to be a championship level defense. Which they weren't.

You’ve suggested a Mac outcome is the same as a Brady outcome… you’re clearly delusional.

 

[sb1]

After the bye week (week 13) Mac completed 59% of his passes at 6 yards per clip and turned the ball over 8 times in five games.

He threw two interceptions in that final Buffalo game.

I’m beginning to see your problem… you don’t understand football.

So you said it's both a team sport and it's all the QB. Which is it?

You’ve suggested a Mac outcome is the same as a Brady outcome… you’re clearly delusional.

I'm suggesting the team was not winning a ring if the QB was different. The defense simply wasn't good enough...and proved they weren't good enough. Nothing else to debate.

 

[Wozzy]

So you said it's both a team sport and it's all the QB. Which is it?

QB is a part of team, not apart from team.

I'm suggesting the team was not winning a ring if the QB was different. The defense simply wasn't good enough...and proved they weren't good enough. Nothing else to debate.

Mac and Brady the same, even though Mac was a bust from week 13 on his rookie season and Brady was the GOAT.

Got it… I think we all understand.

 

[sb1]

QB is a part of team, not apart from team.

Great so why they lost in 2021 isn't all on the QB, it was the team as a whole...notably a defense that couldn't stop any functional offense very well, got worse in December and got their tails kicked in the playoffs in a way no other defense had in NFL history. So we're on the same page.

It was weird to watch though... a defensive genius as HC and THAT happens? Huh.

Mac and Brady the same, even though Mac was a bust from week 13 on his rookie season and Brady was the GOAT.

Got it… I think we all understand.

Yes Bill is not perfect and that defense wasn't even close to good enough to win a ring. Facts matter.

 

[Wozzy]

Great so why they lost in 2021 isn't all on the QB, it was the team as a whole...notably a defense that couldn't stop any functional offense very well, got worse in December and got their tails kicked in the playoffs in a way no other defense had in NFL history. So we're on the same page.

It was weird to watch though... a defensive genius as HC and THAT happens? Huh.

Yes Bill is not perfect and that defense wasn't even close to good enough to win a ring. Facts matter.

You could have the greatest team in history, if the QB sucks you'll lose a large majority of the time.

After points turnovers are the most important stat in football.. because they most correlate to points.

Learn the game.

 

[sb1]

You could have the greatest team in history, if the QB sucks you'll lose a large majority of the time.

If your QB sucks then you literally can't possibly have the greatest team in history.

After points turnovers are the most important stat in football..

Actually it's wins that are the most important stat in football.

because they most correlate to points.

Learn the game.

Bottom line is like I said the 21 Patriots didn't have a good enough defense to win a championship whether Jones was the QB or not...and they proved my assertion correct on the field. Gimme a bunch of crap teams on my schedule and I could finish up there in the rankings. And if the team's offensive struggles last season were all the QB then the change to Zappe would have made a huge difference. Instead they got worse.