Bill's Decisions, Good & Bad

[1960Pats]

Excluding Butler, not kicking the field goal on 4th and 13 in Super Bowl 42 is the worst decision Belichick ever made. Going for it on 4th and 13 instead of attempting a 49 yard field goal in a dome is mind boggling. If Gostkowski hits that field goal, I think the last drive that began with 35 seconds and two timeouts is played a lot differently than it was if it’s 17-17 instead of 17-14.

The 2007 offense was so dominant that Gostkowski rarely needed to kick it from long range. His long was 45 yards that season. But in the two surrounding seasons, 2006 and 2008, his long was 52 and 50.

He was 22/26 in 2007 including the playoffs. His 4 misses were:
32 yards (outdoors, 30ish degrees)
35 yards (outdoors, 30ish degrees)
41 yards (outdoors, 50ish degrees)
48 yards (outdoors, 30ish degrees)

He was 3/3 in a dome that season. His 3 field goals were 22, 34, and 45 yards.

Honorable mention for the second worst decision(s) is passing up a 32 AND 34 yard field goal attempt on 4th down in the 4th quarter of the 2015 AFC Championship Game. A game they lost by 2 points.

Gostkowski hit it more accurately and longer than AV.

 

[signbabybrady]

Best decision ever: Turning Tom Brady into Tom Brady.

Bad: I can't think of anything. He was perfect.

 

[sb1]

Good: Recognizing that his team didn't have the right defensive personnel to run his defense in 2002, getting big Ted and switching to a 3-4. Pats went from one of the worst defenses in the league to arguably the best in franchise history.

Bad: The Mac Jones/Bailey Zappe clusterf

 

[signbabybrady]

 

[sb1]

Good: His presser deflecting the Defamegate noise away from his team was as good as a coach presser can possibly get in this league.

Bad: Forgetting he had the GOAT QB and went all conservative at the end of halfs. This happened a lot in 2019.

 

[signbabybrady]

Good: Benching Malcontents
Bad: nope still can't think of any

 

[sb1]

Good: Keeping the team focused in 08 losing Brady and injuries on defense. Yes the loss of Brady showed bigtime and it was apparent and was almost impossible to overcome but they did keep focus and didn't crater like they probably should have. Played some great football in December. Now imagine Mayo was the coach in this spot. Yep.

Bad: Could be wrong but it feels like the team didn't take the 2010 Jets as seriously as they should have. When that happens that's on the coaching.

 

[signbabybrady]

Lol

You've made fun of the 08 team for winning 5 less games.

Bill took the Jets seriously. Our best receiver didn't and got punished for it.

 

[NFL Mystique]

Great: Super Bowl 36 gameplan/execution

Bad: OT Kick off to the Jets in 2015. One of several poor decisions that season which led to Denver hosting the AFCCG. How differently does that game play out in Foxborough?

 

[1960Pats]

Good: Keeping the team focused in 08 losing Brady and injuries on defense. Yes the loss of Brady showed bigtime and it was apparent and was almost impossible to overcome but they did keep focus and didn't crater like they probably should have. Played some great football in December. Now imagine Mayo was the coach in this spot. Yep.

Bad: Could be wrong but it feels like the team didn't take the 2010 Jets as seriously as they should have. When that happens that's on the coaching.

What I think happened in 2010 was the players lost their edge when Bill surprised them by keeping Welker out for the first series for his foot jokes. They never seemed to get their mojo back after that.

 

[1960Pats]

Good: Putting extra time in for Seattle's favorite pass play down at the goal line, which allowed Butler to make the greatest defensive play in SB history.

Bad: Benching Butler for the entire SB in 17.

 

[Tunescribe]

Good: Putting extra time in for Seattle's favorite pass play down at the goal line, which allowed Butler to make the greatest defensive play in SB history.

Bad: Benching Butler for the entire SB in 17.

People still overrate Butler's benching as a sure difference maker. Patricia's game plan was a zone designed to slow down, not stop the Eagles because New England lacked an effective pass rush. BB figured the Pats' best chance was to win on offense and it almost worked.

 

[sb1]

People still overrate Butler's benching as a sure difference maker. Patricia's game plan was a zone designed to slow down, not stop the Eagles because New England lacked an effective pass rush. BB figured the Pats' best chance was to win on offense and it almost worked.

Butler was a full participant in practice for most of that week and he also played 97% of the defensive snaps that season. It absolutely was a difference maker how could it not be.

 

[sb1]

Good: Putting extra time in for Seattle's favorite pass play down at the goal line, which allowed Butler to make the greatest defensive play in SB history.

Bad: Benching Butler for the entire SB in 17.

That deserves its own category like "Catastrophic". Not just allowing 530 yards to a Nick Foles offense and losing the game but I think that was the beginning of the end for Brady wanting to stay in NE coached by Belichick. Gronk also musing about retirement right after the game. Amendola resents Bill to this day for that cause it might have gotten him his (edit) third ring.

 

[sb1]

Great: Super Bowl 36 gameplan/execution

Imo THAT'S the gameplan that should have gone in the HOF instead of the Bills-Giants SB one which IMO is kinda overrated.

Bad: OT Kick off to the Jets in 2015. One of several poor decisions that season which led to Denver hosting the AFCCG. How differently does that game play out in Foxborough?

Followed by the Steven Jackson game. Bizzaro Patriots.

 

[Tunescribe]

Butler was a full participant in practice for most of that week and he also played 97% of the defensive snaps that season. It absolutely was a difference maker how could it not be.

Perhaps because he (A) committed an egregious violation of team policy and (B) BB/Patricia figured he wasn't essential to that specific game plan. It's a plausible scenario but like you, I'm just guessing. My guess is based chiefly on how the defense was strategized for that game and the fact Butler was no world-beater that season.

 

[signbabybrady]

Lol I guess the haters ran out of bad really quick.

They run out so quick they are Blaming Bill for the things Welker and Butler did.

 

[NFL Mystique]

That deserves its own category like "Catastrophic". Not just allowing 530 yards to a Nick Foles offense and losing the game but I think that was the beginning of the end for Brady wanting to stay in NE coached by Belichick. Gronk also musing about retirement right after the game. Amendola resents Bill to this day for that cause it might have gotten him his one and only ring.

Amendola won in 2014 & 2016

 

[sb1]

?

Yep my bad. His third. Changed it. Don't know why I forgot about him especially after LI.

He sure talks like Bill denied him his only shot at a ring....

 

[NFL Mystique]

Butler has seemed to own up to the fact he made a mistake. At least later on. And he signed a few years later. Why would he do that if he felt he got benched without a valid reason? There is no way Bill would have kept him benched if it was a late meeting or terrible practices. Not after Bademosi, Richards, and Rowe were getting shredded like crazy. Two years earlier Bill benched Arrington for Butler. And it helped save the game.

I just remembered that Tom Brady never took the field in that game with a lead. Everything was played on the Eagles terms. A ten point lead may very well have forced Foles to crumble.