PostGame Thread 2024 OFFICIAL POST GAME Thread - Patriots fall to Miami 34-15

[Hammer of Thor]

Maybe part of the problem is that they didn't clean out the entire scouting department. Why is Matt Groh still here? He was part of Belichick's scouting department and contributed his recent dismal drafting record. And now he's head of college scouting. How'd the '24 draft turn out other than the Maye choice that wasn't really a choice?

Kraft got convinced that everything was Belichick’s fault, the same way some posters did here, and similarly some posters felt everything was Mac’s fault. Both of those guys are gone, and here we are 3-9 with a team whose fundamentals are getting worse as the season progresses, not better, and with less talent than in prior years, not more.

 

[Ross12]

Just lmao

They’ve quit

But don’t worry, Mayo will fix it.

Oh that’s right, he says there’s “nothing he can do”

 

[UrbanCowboy]

This was an ugly one, no doubt. It's good to see, however, that the Board has stayed calm, kept its composure, and not over-reacted.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

What the hell was that?

Belichick benched and then cut Albert Haynesworth after a rep like that in 2011.

 

[The Gr8est]

He's LARPing something he thinks sounds like a pro coach might say - with a subtext of it's not my fault.

BB would never say that, and I think earlier in the season Mayo said the coaches need to coach better.

I don’t remember BB ever throwing the players under the bus.

 

[dliverey44]

I didn’t care for BB’s say nothing act every single week but this was a great time to use it.

I didn't have a problem with the BB silence. I think he knew just how much words could be twisted and if something changed that media and fans would go on about "he said this but did that".

 

[PScottman]

Let's be real, there's like 4 or 5 guys I feel like they should keep.

Real? Really not how you build a team. You dont just build with the stars (or potential stars). You have to build the rest too - and not all of them will be all-pro.

The current iteration unfortunately are indeed all mostly middle to lower third guys. You can compete for a championship if those middle and bottom third are not playing major roles, are specialists, and have a solid top tier core of 8-10 stars (4-5 across both offense and defense) on their team.

On this team they're all in first team roles. Lowe is probably fine as a swing tackle on a good team (probably not a championship one, but a good one) with good coaching (example - I bet he does give a crap about lining up wrong if he knew he'd be cut the next day on a good team versus here where he knows there's no other options). Make him the every day guy with the majority of the line as bad or worse as he is = big trouble.

Matt Light was never a star, but he was a dependable middle tier player (better pass blocker than run blocker) of the type a team needs to be successful. Guy was the same on the DL - never a star - very good against the run, just so-so vs the pass.

Roles are critical in the NFL because not every player is a star. If players are forced into roles they are ill suited for - they will fail. I'll point back to Jonnu Smith - he looks like a really good tight end now (after years where we said the EXACT same things about his skill level as you place the current Patriots players in today), but he's surrounded now by a couple of other solid to great players and a coach that emphasizes his strengths and minimizes his weaknesses so he doesn't have to be "the guy", there's no pressure, and he can just play.

It's just more hyperbole. Burn it all down.

 

[The Gr8est]

Hopefully TONIGHT!!!!

I am actually starting to look for a headline that says someone is fired.

 

[sb1]

Hey at least there are bikes and basketball hoops in the locker room now!

 

[dliverey44]

BB would never say that, and I think earlier in the season Mayo said the coaches need to coach better.

I don’t remember BB ever throwing the players under the bus.

Not directly, but implied by coaches coach and players play. The same goes for credit, he never took credit but always deferred to players play and coaches coach. I always took that as if they win its the players and conversely if they lose its the players.

 

[TomPatriot]

Fun fact: Mayo will not be a good HC draw for FA's. Teams will prefer the alternatives.

Yeah, including the CFL.

 

[The Gr8est]

Why go further down the rabbit hole ? with Mayo?…..I think Thunder screwed up majorly by hiring Mayo who had no HC experience and no real DC experience either….and his decision making and management style is horrible. So Krafty is going to have to spend money to make money here in this case ….if he keeps trotting out this clown show…people will eventually stop coming to the stadium. Pats merch is already down at the bottom of the league

Maybe Kraft was hoping lightning would strike twice and Mayo would be successful like Demeco Ryans in Houston.

 

[lancerman]

Yeah, including the CFL.

You guys are overselling it. Players come to play with players. The coaches rarely matter. Barely anybody came here for Bill Belichick when Brady left. But we saw a bunch of people who didn't mind coming to a team with Bruce Arians or Todd Bowles to play with Brady. In fact, you had guys like Gilmore trying to get the hell away when all that happened.

Players care about
1. Money
2. If they think there are stars who can help them win.

 

[PScottman]

Dugger really seems like the type of guy that a good coaching staff knows how to use and a bad one doesn’t, and it shows in his play.

Exactly. There's plenty of systems and rosters he'd be a great fit in. BTW he's being forced into more free safety than strong safety or even nickel/dime LB roles which is not even close to his best skillset. Back to the coaching again.

Poor overall rosters and poor coaching have a cascading effect across the entire organization. Players that have a resume are even often affected. There's definitive middle class talent, but that's the extent currently - and they're the 8-10 of this Patriots that should be star players instead. They cut Rham tomorrow - he's picked up immediately (by a playoff team if he makes it that far on waivers). On a team with even a middle of the road OL and the threat of a passing game, he's a 1000+ yard rusher.

 

[TomPatriot]

I didn't have a problem with the BB silence. I think he knew just how much words could be twisted and if something changed that media and fans would go on about "he said this but did that".

Yeah, it goes back to his long, speech explaining his resignation from the Jets. The NY press poured through his explanation word for word and excoriated him. He never forgot that and so he elected to say little after that episode.

 

[dliverey44]

Part of me feels bad for Mayo. I think he's in over his head. How many head coaches have there been, or been successful, without having first been a coordinator? Mayo wasn't even the DC, definitely not the defensive play caller under Bill, and you can be sure Bill, with his background, had his hand in the defense. So Mayo never had the experience of running his own operation. And if he gets fired, what's his future in football? I don't see anything more that a linebackers coaching position and then start climbing up again. Kraft did him wrong by handing him the keys with the limited experience he had. Of course, if he banks his money, he can lead a comfortable middle class lifestyle.

I get what you are saying, but I do not because Mayo had to know he was not ready but he took the job anyway. I know most people would not turn down the promotion but most people also do not have enough self awareness to keep them selves out of no win situations. Mayo set himself up for failure, much the same as Kraft did.

Honestly Mayo should have been real and said I am not ready for this

 

[TomPatriot]

The Panthers I'd argue are a better team right now and that's not saying much. We are an undisciplined, untalented team with the 3rd overall pick. I can guarantee you a good portion of the players you see now won't be here next season.

Idk. Right now, this is one of the worst organizations in all of football.

 

[dliverey44]

What happened to her ?

I don't know who it is, so no idea

 

[lancerman]

It shouldn’t be a 3-5 year rebuild, not with a competent coaching staff and with $130m in cap space. Belichick won a SB in year 2 of the rebuild.

Belichick lucked out with a QB in Brady, had a good base that was partially built up with Carroll, and had a solid draft after 2000. He also didn't inherit a 4 win team. He inherited an 8-8 team. His first year he dropped to 5-11. Mayo inherited a 4 win team with far less talent that also has huge injuries on defense and the offensive line.

We don't need to revise history. Mayo is not coming on a team that already had a well established franchise QB in Bledsoe (he currently has a rookie who only started a few games), Ty Law, Troy Brown, Damian Woody, Willie McGinest, Tedy Bruschi, Lawyer Milloy, Kevin Faulk and Adam Vinatieiri as a baseline to build off of. We aren't a rookie Tom Brady coming into his own, Matt Light and Richard Seymour away from really taking off. There's a lot.

Right now we have Maye who is a rookie and trying to become a longterm franchise QB and Gonzalez are the two players you could theoretically have as part of a longterm build. The next two best players are Keion White who is a longterm guy and Hunter Henry who is going to be 30 in a couple of weeks and can't be looked at as a guy who will be here for the next 3-4 years. Literally everybody else is expendable and could be replaced.

This is a longer rebuild whether you like it or not. Maybe we can be more competitive in two years instead of 3-5. But it's not a quick fix. There's just far too many holes. And yes Mayo has had problems, but guess what, Andy Reid isn't going to come and take this team to the playoffs. We saw what Bill Belichick did last year with the team. We need to stop pretending there are any quick fixes. We spent way too long avoiding this and trying to patchwork a team because we had Bill and it just got worse and worse. They needed a rebuild for awhile. Now's the time to rip the bandaid off while you have a QB who should be here for 15 years.

 

[Jim Beankie]

I had been strongly considering flying to AZ Sun morning and then flying back on a redeye that night, but it's not nearly as strong anymore.