This team isnt that bad

They stood and went 10 rounds with 2 NFC super bowl contenders vs Tampa and Dallas.

I did not forsee either game to be that close. The Pat's were never out of it and I never had the impression that they were outmatched vs 2 teams that are loaded on offense.

The Miami loss was a self inflicted wound.

Obviously you're what the record indicates, but 4 - 2 was a play or 2 from becoming reality.

When you watch them play they aren't bad. Dolphins (That loss to them really looks bad now), Jags, Lions, and Jets are way worse.

Sometimes the record isn't indicative of how good a team is. For instance, Baltimore is 5-1. Do I think they have a good chance of winning the SB? Nope. Buffalo on the other hand, I fear more. They have a great chance of winning the SB.

Patriots are a 9-8 type team. Will they end up like that? Maybe not. But there are alot of positives.

This is one of the "Best" 2-4 teams I've ever seen.

The 2000 Patriots who finished 5-11 lost 9 of their games by a score or less.

Teams that aren't very good will lose the close ones.

Let's revisit in another few games. I think they are exactly what their record indicates. A better team wins the close ones. There are still too many inconsistencies on either side of the ball, not to mention that ST hasn't been quite up to par. They're not a BAD team, but they're still a few pieces away from classifying as a good team.

Defense was solid against Dallas, only 10 points given up by halftime. Then ran out of gas defending 82 total Dallas plays run as the Pats offense had a half dozen straight 3 and outs. Defense could be improved by replacing Bentley and Godchaux. Not sure if Mills is a CB2.

The offense, can't really tell since the OLine is so inconsistent. OLine and oc. I think the offense can be fixed by addressing those 2 issues.

This is true. We shouldn't have even been in either game - Bucs or Cowboys. They're much better than our team/talent/experience.
But, when we get so close, and see that this team isn't ready to make the big-moment plays in the 4th qtr to pull out wins, it's sad.

No matter what people say though, Mac has shown incredible moxy, mental toughness, grit and clutch ability. He's going to help congeal this team. If the stupid coaches can get out of their own way - and play the best guys - accept there will be mistakes - stop coaching scared - get over the doghouse schticks - we can use this to build confidence.

They are closer to being a good team than the record would indicate. That said, they just aren’t there and there’s good reason for it. My main concerns for this year are:

- many of the issues are fundamental and they haven’t been corrected despite biting us in the ass repeatedly.

- the coaching philosophy is one of an inferior team happy to be in games and timid to go out and win them. management of key situations has sh** the bed repeatedly and they aren’t changing there either thus far. They are over reliant on defense which doesn’t make sense because they will wear out at the end, and its been proven in 4 of the 5 close games where our defense failed to make the stop at the end, exception being the inept texans. Anybody who thinks we stop brady if folk made that fg is FOOLING themselves. In todays game You have to take chances offensively !!

My faith in either of these changing is dwindling, but if they do a run is possible. The pieces are there, they’ve been in every game. 1 play in 3 of the losses go diffferently and we are 5-1. Have to coach and play better.

Bill Parcells- "You are what you record says you are"
No truer words were ever spoken.

No one should fool themselves into thinking this teams any better then bottom 12 team in the league
getting close does not make a difference...


I am concerned that Mac Jones is being historically overrated by the fan base before he should be. Does he show promise as an accurate and smart QB...yes. Has he done anything yet to indicate he is likely to become a top 7 QB in this league.....no.
Way too early to assume he is a franchise QB. Rex Ryan is an idiot, but some of his comments intent rings true....he is still more likely to be an average QB in this league than an elite one.

They're not the worst team in the league but we are definitely in the bottom 25%. At least if we had a lot of young guys on both sides of the ball I would like us to be able to turn it around in a year or two. This roster is still old and we have expensive aging veterans clogging up spots where we need to see young guys. At this point Van Noy, Collins, and Hightower are progress stoppers. Get Winovich and Uche out there. Get Perkins some snaps. Does Asiasi ever have any chance of contributing? I just want to see the young guys start getting more looks down the line and see if there is anything we can salvage out of a lot of these recent draft classes.

They could be a good team but they currently are not. They're missing a QB that can elevate the entire team. Maybe in time Mac gets there. Need to give the kid more time to learn and get used to NFL defenses.

venecol said:

They could be a good team but they currently are not. They're missing a QB that can elevate the entire team. Maybe in time Mac gets there. Need to give the kid more time to learn and get used to NFL defenses.

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??????

203Pat said:

They're not the worst team in the league but we are definitely in the bottom 25%. At least if we had a lot of young guys on both sides of the ball I would like us to be able to turn it around in a year or two. This roster is still old and we have expensive aging veterans clogging up spots where we need to see young guys. At this point Van Noy, Collins, and Hightower are progress stoppers. Get Winovich and Uche out there. Get Perkins some snaps. Does Asiasi ever have any chance of contributing? I just want to see the young guys start getting more looks down the line and see if there is anything we can salvage out of a lot of these recent draft classes.

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It was eye opening wasn't it? Looking at Dallas' roster of young, home grown talent. Literally super stars everywhere. Their two biggest plays the pick six and the game winning TD came from two players they drafted in 2020.

If we're going to do this, then you can just pick out almost any Patriot team over the last two decades. Just randomly choosing the 2013 team, they could have easily been 15-1. They also could have easily been 6-10.

As much fun as I poked at the Chiefs late last season, they won all of those one-score games. Good teams win those more often than not.

You are what your record says you are.

amfootball said:

It was eye opening wasn't it? Looking at Dallas' roster of young, home grown talent. Literally super stars everywhere. Their two biggest plays the pick six and the game winning TD came from two players they drafted in 2020.

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Yeah, thats because they sucked for so long they were able to draft at the top or middle of the draft for years. Just like Tampa Bay

It's maddening because you see potential.

What makes it worse is we are used to, in Belichick's run, the team play up to their potential and never beat themselves or make dumb mistakes. Our losses are littered with Jets like mistakes.

It is an irrefutable fact terrible teams lose a lot of games by double digits.

It is an irrefutable fact not very good teams lose a lot of close games.

amfootball said:

It was eye opening wasn't it? Looking at Dallas' roster of young, home grown talent. Literally super stars everywhere. Their two biggest plays the pick six and the game winning TD came from two players they drafted in 2020.

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The talent disparity last night was ridiculous. It was like watching Alabama play UCF.

ctpatsfan77 said:

??????

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Mac is not even close to elevating the guys around him yet and nor should he be. The high priced free agents should be the ones to elevate him and it seems like each week one guy shows up while the others disappear.

The 4 teams with rosters I consider superior to NE's have all beaten NE.

It is mildly encouraging NE was able to hang with/almost beat 3 of the 4.

The only other positive I can squeeze out of this is that I have been on the edge of my couch for 60 minutes in 5 of 6 games being both entertained and tormented.
Crappy results but a compelling 3 hours no less

MahomestoHill said:

This is one of the "Best" 2-4 teams I've ever seen.

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LOL. Best 2-4 team, you've seen? Do you also believe in participation awards? Should the Patriots hang up an AFC East "Runner UP" flag like the Colts?

Let's face reality, we're 2-4 because we deserve that record. A close loss is still a loss. And the sad thing is that conservative, gutless calls is what put us exactly where we are today. Mac Jones was on fire against Tampa Bay, moving the offense at will, but rather than allowing him to go for it on 4th and short, BB opts for a 56 yard field goal in the RAIN. Inexcusable. In a game that went to OT, with 90 seconds remaining in the 1st half against the Cowboys where Mac had to that point completed 100% of his passes, BB instructed his QB to kneel down instead of running the 2 minute drill. That decision also cost us the game.

We're 2-4 in part to decisions like this, in part to the fact that overall this team is less talented than the 2010s Patriots, only BB doesn't seem to get that yet. We are where we are supposed to be, our players play like our coaches tell them to play. And the end result is we're losers. Sub .500 and poised to miss the playoffs in consecutive seasons. The EXCUSES need to STOP and the Coaches and Players need to look in the mirror and ask themselves Honestly, what can we do Better? Until that happens, the Losing is just gonna keep going.

Blindly defending BB isn't going to make this team any better. When he makes mistakes, put his feet to the fire. Humans don't learn nearly as much from success as they do from PAIN. Kissing the emperor's ass when he has no clothes ain't gonna lead to this team winning more, EVER.

condon84 said:

It's maddening because you see potential.

What makes it worse is we are used to, in Belichick's run, the team play up to their potential and never beat themselves or make dumb mistakes. Our losses are littered with Jets like mistakes.

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Lamb was picked in the middle of the draft last year. Diggs was picked in the second round. Both those guys had a major impact last night.