Curran: Brady has "got a lot of peers this year"

[Kontradiction]

So you said 9-7 back in Aug?

This team has been an 11-12 win team all year.

The problem is a 11-5 team is not as good as a 14-2 13-3 team and this fan base has forgotten what that looks like

No, I said 12-4. The problem is that this squad looks like an 8-8 team. And that isn’t just a “last couple of weeks” problem. That’s been a problem all season.

 

[RobertWeathers]

No, I said 12-4. The problem is that this squad looks like an 8-8 team. And that isn’t just a “last couple of weeks” problem. That’s been a problem all season.

If we really want to be objective they look like a 6-10 team. ****ty teams come up short or get throttled on the road. They play dumb and make a ton of mental errors. They have obvious, significant talent gaps and their QB is making poor decisions.

 

[PatsDeb]

Maybe Curran missed the three drops all of which killed drives and were right in receivers hands or maybe he missed the offensive line taking penalty after penalty and giving him less than two second to throw all night. Maybe he missed McDaniels awful game plan and lack of adjustments thereafter. Maybe he missed every time CBS showed the receivers down field and nobody was open.

Early in the game the WRs missed throws that were right on their hands. Later in the game Brady sailed practically every throw over someone's head. For whatever reason, things aren't clicking this year. I found it hard to watch yesterday. I felt going in that we were going to lose. I know I am incredibly spoiled with what's gone on with this team since 2001, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. This is one of those years we are going to limp into the playoffs and be one-and-done or maybe two-and-done because the Pats play exponentially better at home this year. Sigh...

 

[TomPatriot]

No, I said 12-4. The problem is that this squad looks like an 8-8 team. And that isn’t just a “last couple of weeks” problem. That’s been a problem all season.

They never seem to be in sync. They haven’t played a complete game all year, even when they’ve played well. Sometimes it looks like they’re just going through the motions, with a few exceptions (Patterson, Gilmore, Burkhead, etc.). Maybe the talent just isn’t there.

 

[IllegalContact]

So you said 9-7 back in Aug?

This team has been an 11-12 win team all year.

The problem is a 11-5 team is not as good as a 14-2 13-3 team and this fan base has forgotten what that looks like

the old hat will remember soon enough........that said, the team has been in the super bowl each of the last 4 decades

 

[JayNM]

Even if Gronk isn't at 100%, Brady has a very good arsenal at his disposal. Edelman is playing fine, albeit not as clutch as we're used to... Gordon is also at least a good WR in this league and Hogan should be at least a good #3. And then we have White, who is one of the best at catching out of the backfield and complimentary pieces that would be close to starters around the league, with Patterson and Dorsett.

And his O-line is just as fine as ever, with bad games coming out of individuals (who rarely repeat bad games) or out of a great gamplan from the adversary (for example: Titans)

I remember seeing in the beginning of the year a post talking about how Brady has changed his mechanics out of nowhere, relying a lot less on his front foot.... I don't know if it's JUST that, but I have been feeling, throught out the year, that his throws are simply lacking strenght, and now, i think he having way more troube with the pass-rush than he used to.

Let me get ahead of all of you and say that our team's problems ARENT all on Brady. Absolutely some players/coaches have dropped the ball along the year, but it is undeniable that Brady has a part in a lot of our big miscues/worries this season...

With all that said, I still think we are a top 5 team in the league and I trust our players and our coaches want to win as badly as we want and they also know they've been lacking.... I am not ready to give up on the season yet.

 

[mosslost]

I think Brady has slipped a bit, but I think a lot of it has to do with the talent around hiM.

Gronk is the best TE ever, but sadly it looks like he’s a shell of what he was.

Edelman is good, but no longer great. He’s dropping a key pass every game.

Gordon has done ok. He’s a big body receiver who doesn’t get much separation.

Hogan, Patterson, Dorsett are nothing special.

On top of that we have no one to blow the top off the D. What Cooks brought last year was the opposing team having to honour his big play ability and give him safety help. We line up 3 or 4 wide the D crowds the middle. We were number 2 in the league last year in passes over 20 yds. This year we are 20th. We need an upgrade in play making talent.

Brady is GOAT. But all this talk about how he has no one around him this year, even if true, really speaks to the “counter GOAT” talk and it is s “team game” we always hear.

It is all very true. The Pats TEAM has been GOAT franchise and team going on two decades.

Brady has only slipped a little bit but he has slipped. The TEAM is down some but heck 2002 2005 2009 all happened in the BB Brady years too.

Where is Ernie Adams? His game is way off this year too!

 

[PittPatriot]

Very few teams of had the same quarterback, same coaches and almost the same core group on offense the way the patriots have. JE11, Gronk, Hogan, White, Devlin, and Burkhead Have played a lot of downs and participated in a lot of practices with each other and Brady.
That’s why I don’t understand the “in sync” rationale.
This team was built to score on offense and to bend without breaking on defense. The defense has held up for pretty much the whole year. The offense is putrid.

 

[everlong]

Early in the game the WRs missed throws that were right on their hands. Later in the game Brady sailed practically every throw over someone's head. For whatever reason, things aren't clicking this year. I found it hard to watch yesterday. I felt going in that we were going to lose. I know I am incredibly spoiled with what's gone on with this team since 2001, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. This is one of those years we are going to limp into the playoffs and be one-and-done or maybe two-and-done because the Pats play exponentially better at home this year. Sigh...

He was throwing the ball high on those EZ throws because nobody was open and he was hoping Gronk would make a 2015 Denver grab or nobody would catch them. At this stage of his career Gronk is closer to Daniel Graham than the old Gronk so that wasn't happening.

I do agree we've all been spoiled and going back to the pack will be rough. I think Bill is going to treat this off season like 2009 and reload and get younger. I don't believe Brady has declined. Look at Brees. The one game anybody got to him he looked awful. Look at Rodgers who has similar talent on offense to that of the Pats and how bad he has been. You give Brady 2014/16 weapons you'll get 2014/16 results still. The problem is the rebuild will probably take two years so who's to say what he'll be like at that point.

 

[mosslost]

No, I said 12-4. The problem is that this squad looks like an 8-8 team. And that isn’t just a “last couple of weeks” problem. That’s been a problem all season.

I agree they are off this year but you really see them as 8 and 8 level?

I think 11-5 is just about right for them. I mean do they have any fluky wins this year? (Sincerely asking I am trying to remember)

They are 9-5 with at least one fluky loss. Probably will win last 2.

It’s a down year fir the Pats but it is not the first one in this era 2005 2009 2002 etc

 

[luuked]

So you said 9-7 back in Aug?

This team has been an 11-12 win team all year.

The problem is a 11-5 team is not as good as a 14-2 13-3 team and this fan base has forgotten what that looks like

The team is a more competent redzone offense away from being a 14-2 team in the 2018 NFL though. Everyone points to the D being the reason we wont have a chance but look at the Chiefs, Rams, Steelers or Saints. They have their own flawed defenses. You could almost make an argument for the Chargers being the most balanced team right now.

The run defense is a big issue. But to me the fatal flaw that will make or break the next 4-7 weeks will be if we can get back on track on offense in the redzone somehow.

Hell if you compare Bradys raw numbers since Edelman is back to his MVP season last year then you wont see a big difference. Except for the redzone and getting more punished on the slightly more frequent brainfart.

 

[Kontradiction]

If we really want to be objective they look like a 6-10 team. ****ty teams come up short or get throttled on the road. They play dumb and make a ton of mental errors. They have obvious, significant talent gaps and their QB is making poor decisions.

That’s not anything that many of us weren’t saying at the beginning of the year. The team is extremely lacking in young talent. They’ve found some guys later on in the draft but they haven’t hit on their top overall pick in 5 years. They missed on every single defensive selection from 2014-2017 and their top overall pick this year missed the season with an Achilles. Should be a very interesting offseason since the team is long in the tooth and looks almost as if they’re tuning Belichick out.

 

[mosslost]

Maybe Curran missed the three drops all of which killed drives and were right in receivers hands or maybe he missed the offensive line taking penalty after penalty and giving him less than two second to throw all night. Maybe he missed McDaniels awful game plan and lack of adjustments thereafter. Maybe he missed every time CBS showed the receivers down field and nobody was open.

The drops this week were at particularly unfortunate moments of the game too.

 

[Kontradiction]

I agree they are off this year but you really see them as 8 and 8 level?

I think 11-5 is just about right for them. I mean do they have any fluky wins this year? (Sincerely asking I am trying to remember)

They are 9-5 with at least one fluky loss. Probably will win last 2.

It’s a down year fir the Pats but it is not the first one in this era 2005 2009 2002 etc

They’ve played like an 8-8 squad through significant portions of the season. This team has yet to play a complete, 60 minute game in all 3 phases this entire year. That’s a marker of a .500 squad more than it is a playoff contender.

 

[mosslost]

They’ve played like an 8-8 squad through significant portions of the season. This team has yet to play a complete, 60 minute game in all 3 phases this entire year. That’s a marker of a .500 squad more than it is a playoff contender.

Ok.

Every 11-5 season is not created equal either. In 2002 it gets you an AFC one seed.

In 2008 you get shown the door.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

The team around him pretty much sucks on both sides of the ball as well. How they’ve even gotten to 9 wins this season is beyond me. But they’ll beat the Bills and the Jets and give everyone around here false hope. Then they may even scrape by the WC team at Gillette before they get blasted in the divisional round.

If the Titans make it, I don’t see them backing down from NE, even if the game is at Gillette. They will be a tough out so the Pats may even get blasted in the WC.

 

[RobertWeathers]

The team is a more competent redzone offense away from being a 14-2 team in the 2018 NFL though. Everyone points to the D being the reason we wont have a chance but look at the Chiefs, Rams, Steelers or Saints. They have their own flawed defenses. You could almost make an argument for the Chargers being the most balanced team right now.

The run defense is a big issue. But to me the fatal flaw that will make or break the next 4-7 weeks will be if we can get back on track on offense in the redzone somehow.

Agree but the problems this team has go much deeper.

Teams lose on the road for two reasons. 1) they aren't talented enough or 2) they aren't mentally tough/focused enough.

You can make a case the 2018 NEP are a bunch of front-runners.

 

[Triumph]

This is a really bad take. Did you read the recent article about Josh Gordon’s success being so tied to Brady taking him under his wing and following Brady’s ultra dedicated schedule?

If Gronkowski doesn’t play safety against Miami, the team is still 10-,4 about to be 12-4 and everyone is praising yet another fine season from Brady by pulling it all together.

Yes, Gordon. Good example, for me.

He was targeted 2 times yesterday and hauled 1 pass for 19 yards.

That's fantasy football type numbers right there.Of course Brady has to be patient with Gordon because he has not exhumed trust in Brady's eyes.

That's the whole point. The 14th game of the season is no time for school. The Pat's O should be rolling by now.

Fact of the matter is that Hogan's TD was a gift on broken coverage. Pitt basically held the NE offense to 3 points.

 

[TomPatriot]

the old hat will remember soon enough........that said, the team has been in the super bowl each of the last 4 decades

And they've been to the Super Bowl three of the last four years, which is really remarkable in this era.

 

[RobertWeathers]

looks almost as if they’re tuning Belichick out.

I've been thinking the same thing.

I think it's highly plausible because the team has missed on so many picks and needed to acquire talent via FA or Wal-Mart, Bill needed to overlook some of the cultural standards of the organization. Thinking he had a strong enough locker room to absorb the new talent, he was OK with it but it's clear Brady, Gronk and perhaps others aren't at bought-in to the program as he hoped.

If you are familiar with the final two seasons of Tom Landry's career, its starting to look like this.