Just wanted to remind everyone...

[Ring 6]

Not to be a ****, but it doesn't matter if you pretend we're 10-0 or not. It doesn't matter if we discuss and understand what needs to happen for them to win. We're not the coaches. It doesn't matter who's pessimistic or optimistic on here. The game needs to be played by the guys on the field, where anything can happen. So, you're free to disagree all day, all 2 weeks, and think we don't stand a chance. Keep the mindset. Have fun with it. Whatever.

So we should just shut down the board?

 

[Ring 6]

This really is way over the top. It's one thing to say that the offense has been less effective during the last six weeks or they have played more conservatively the last two weeks, but you seriously think this team is not trying to score?

I'm saying that BB has made decisions that indicate he feels it is better to not try to score.
He sat on the ball at least twice with 2 minutes in the half good field position and timeouts. That is saying we would rather run the clock out because it is more likely the other teams scores than we do if we try to score.
He kicked off in OT.
He took the ball out of Bradys hands yesterday.

Personally I think the OL is so bad he is afraid that if we throw we will turn it over, so he may be right to adopt a Woody Hayes offense, but it also means we are in big trouble.

 

[Whitt25]

So we should just shut down the board?

Gonna refrain from being sarcastic here. Just answer this question. Has a poster's opinion on a forum changed the outcome of a game?

 

[JarOfMayo51]

I don't disagree, but more than playing one bad game, or even 2 I am concerned with what this team has become. We are playing scared. We are playing like football is too dangerous. We are playing like having the ball is a disease. I would be fine if we were undermanned, went out and played and just came up short, but the idea that we cannot be competitive on offense has become the identity of this team.
First we stopped trying to throw the ball with 2 minutes in the half and timeouts on the board, as if our offense trying to score is futile so we should just give up. Then our offense is so bad we would rather kick off to start OT. Then our offense is so bad, we afraid to even throw the ball, or try to score points, passing 5 times in a half against a bad pass defense with HFA on the line.
This team has decided its offense is a liability. How do you change that? Edelman doesn't turn an offense from afraid of its own shadow to dominant.

Yea I agree, I haven't had such a lack of confidence in the offense since 2006. I think it's just been a perfect storm of injuries.. our offensive line was decimated which by itself would create huge problems, then we lose all of our top skill position guys for various parts of the year, along with our 2 best running backs...

Brady has been looking rattled in the pocket and who can blame him. .. he just has to count to 2 and he's being violently assaulted and taking huge hits on a regular basis

I still think they can pull it off, anything is possible, but I don't believe they're the best team in the league right now, not even in the AFC. Getting injured guys back will be nice, but that many guys out for so long, all coming back for a single elimination playoff game... we better pray they can knock the rust off real fast!

I'll be cheering for them all the way, I'm proud to be a fan of this team.. no one else could come off a long SB campaign and sustain the number of injuries that we have and still have 12 wins and the #2 seed going into the playoffs

 

[patsfanincleveland]

Past successes have nothing to do with this year. You are saying we should be happy with this year because we are spoiled and ungrateful. I want to win this year. I would want that whether we had 12 SBs in a row or were 0-16 last year. I don't think being concerned that the team is limping into the playoffs is wrong because they won in other years. Maybe that's just me.

As far as your other comments, why would they run the offense they ran for 6 weeks if they know they have to run a real one in the playoffs?
They did what they did, because they actually were afraid to have the football. I don't know what changes that. BB decided that letting the clock run out was better for his team than trying to score. BB decided that throwing 5 times in the first half of a critical game was best for his team. Your argument seems to be he knew it was wrong, but didn't care because it wasn't the playoffs, and now he will take his job seriously. I don't buy that.

Andy

Why exactly are you talking about the characteristics of a BB team in one post and then talking that past success has nothing to do with this year?

What is it then? Seems that BB has decided on a different path this year because what's in the past has nothing to do with this year.

Posting in circles is a telltale sign someone just wants to complain.

 

[Ring 6]

Gonna refrain from being sarcastic here. Just answer this question. Has a poster's opinion on a forum changed the outcome of a game?

Posters don't discuss football to affect the outcome. If that were the standard there would be no board.

 

[ivanvamp]

I'd love it.
But I haven't seen anything in a long time that tells me if could happen.

As currently constituted, the Patriots are likely to get bounced in their first playoff game.

But the Patriots two weeks from now are not likely to be constituted like they are now. They'll be getting back Edelman, Vollmer, Hightower, and Chandler Jones - guys who didn't play this past week (and a number of those guys have missed many games now). They'll also have their banged up guys get much needed rest and healing: Brady, LaFell, Amendola, McCourty, Chung, Ninkovich, Chandler, Slater.

You do understand that the coach of the team has spend a month instructing his offense that trying to score is more likely to hurt the team that help it.

I don't understand what you're trying to say here. Of course scoring helps them win games. But you're not really arguing that if they played yesterday's game again, even with the exact same players, but it was the AFCCG, that the Patriots would adopt the same game plan. Are you?

 

[Ring 6]

Andy

Why exactly are you talking about the characteristics of a BB team in one post and then talking that past success has nothing to do with this year?

What is it then? Seems that BB has decided on a different path this year because what's in the past has nothing to do with this year.

Posting in circles is a telltale sign someone just wants to complain.

No circles.
I am saying OTHERS are saying 'its a BB team, it has all of these great characteristics' and I'm saying this one seems not to.
Past success doesn't have anything to do with future success, other than a system, a history and continuity of players.
My point is that the Patriots of the last 6 weeks look nothing like the teams that produced that success in the past.

 

[Ring 6]

As currently constituted, the Patriots are likely to get bounced in their first playoff game.

But the Patriots two weeks from now are not likely to be constituted like they are now. They'll be getting back Edelman, Vollmer, Hightower, and Chandler Jones - guys who didn't play this past week (and a number of those guys have missed many games now). They'll also have their banged up guys get much needed rest and healing: Brady, LaFell, Amendola, McCourty, Chung, Ninkovich, Chandler, Slater.



I don't understand what you're trying to say here. Of course scoring helps them win games. But you're not really arguing that if they played yesterday's game again, even with the exact same players, but it was the AFCCG, that the Patriots would adopt the same game plan. Are you?

I don't know. Why was that the gameplan if they wouldn't have used it if it was the AFCCG?
I feel like BB thinks the O and particularly OL is so bad that getting a first down or 2 and punting is a good thing and the best chance to win is not turn the ball over and hope the D dominates.
That's what it looks like to me.

Put another way. 1st and 10 on our own 30.
Choice A play it safe get a few first downs and punt unless we get a lucky play.

Choice B attack the defense and score points


BB is overwhelming choosing A.

 

[Whitt25]

Posters don't discuss football to affect the outcome. If that were the standard there would be no board.

I didn't say posters discuss football to affect the outcome, though. You're dancing around my question. I asked you do you think our opinions (whether positive or negative) have anything to do with how the team plays? Does Tom Brady ever come on facebook and take a screenshot of a post on any Patriots forum that fires him up to win? No. Opinions are welcomed everywhere. But you're fooling yourself if you think our attitudes have any effect on the game. The crowds at actual games might, but us guys on the internet watching at home? Nope.

But, hey, if you think me stating a fact implies I'm actually saying, "We should shut down all forums. No one should have an opinion about anything if they're not on the team." You can do that, too. Just like you can, again, think we're going to lose in the playoffs. It's your life.

 

[Ring 6]

I didn't say posters discuss football to affect the outcome, though. You're dancing around my question. I asked you do you think our opinions (whether positive or negative) have anything to do with how the team plays? Does Tom Brady ever come on facebook and take a screenshot of a post on any Patriots forum that fires him up to win? No. Opinions are welcomed everywhere. But you're fooling yourself if you think our attitudes have any effect on the game. The crowds at actual games might, but us guys on the internet watching at home? Nope.

But, hey, if you think me stating a fact implies I'm actually saying, "We should shut down all forums. No one should have an opinion about anything if they're not on the team." You can do that, too. Just like you can, again, think we're going to lose in the playoffs. It's your life.

I simply do not understand your point.

You are saying there is no value in discussing because it has no impact on a game.
Only a moron would think it would affect a game.
The point of this board is for fans to discuss the team.

You seem to be thinking the point of the board is to NOT discuss the team.

I don't think anyone, ever has disputed that posts on a message board do not affect the outcome of a game, so I am at a loss to understand why you bring that up.

 

[Joey007]

Not to be a ****, but it doesn't matter if you pretend we're 10-0 or not. It doesn't matter if we discuss and understand what needs to happen for them to win. We're not the coaches. It doesn't matter who's pessimistic or optimistic on here. The game needs to be played by the guys on the field, where anything can happen. So, you're free to disagree all day, all 2 weeks, and think we don't stand a chance. Keep the mindset. Have fun with it. Whatever.

Kinda seems to take the fun and point out of the playoffs when all we can seem to talk about is the gloom and doom of the Pats and how the NFL will make sure their favorites win it all.

If you feel so miserable about it all, then why even watch?

 

[Joey007]

I simply do not understand your point.

You are saying there is no value in discussing because it has no impact on a game.
Only a moron would think it would affect a game.
The point of this board is for fans to discuss the team.

You seem to be thinking the point of the board is to NOT discuss the team.

I don't think anyone, ever has disputed that posts on a message board do not affect the outcome of a game, so I am at a loss to understand why you bring that up.

I think his point is simply like he said, have fun with it and enjoy it. It isn't something to be taken personal about or make it turn into a headache of a debate that's not even very enjoyable.

 

[Whitt25]

I simply do not understand your point.

You are saying there is no value in discussing because it has no impact on a game.
Only a moron would think it would affect a game.
The point of this board is for fans to discuss the team.

You seem to be thinking the point of the board is to NOT discuss the team.

I don't think anyone, ever has disputed that posts on a message board do not affect the outcome of a game, so I am at a loss to understand why you bring that up.

So me saying opinions are welcomed = the point of the board is not to discuss the team? Really? That's what you got out of my post? lol. You jumped to an extreme when I said your (and my own) opinion doesn't matter. They really don't. We can discuss strategies all day, talk routes to run, what trick plays to use, what defensive formations they should go with. In the end, it won't matter, because we're not the ones playing.

 

[ivanvamp]

I don't know. Why was that the gameplan if they wouldn't have used it if it was the AFCCG?
I feel like BB thinks the O and particularly OL is so bad that getting a first down or 2 and punting is a good thing and the best chance to win is not turn the ball over and hope the D dominates.
That's what it looks like to me.

Put another way. 1st and 10 on our own 30.
Choice A play it safe get a few first downs and punt unless we get a lucky play.

Choice B attack the defense and score points


BB is overwhelming choosing A.

I've explained this in other threads, but I'll say it again. Clearly, BB was trying to accomplish two things at once: (1) win, and (2) limit the risk of injury to key players. Sitting Brady and Gronk and Amendola virtually guarantees that (1) doesn't happen. But he wasn't going to go all out for (1) if it meant exposing Gronk and Amendola to unnecessary punishment. So he tried an ultra conservative approach, figuring that it would be enough to win while *at the same time* reducing the risk of injury to key players.

If it was the AFCCG, no chance - NONE - that they play the game the same way.

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

let's go back to August...

What if...

I promised you a #2 seed,
I promised you a 12-4 record,
I promised you that the Colts, Jets, and Ravens would all fail miserably to even sniff the playoffs

Wouldn't you have jumped at that??

Of course!

Life is good.

 

[vyrago]

I don't think anyone other than the habitual chicken littles are saying the team is pathetic or doesn't care.
I also don't think 'we've won before so who cares about this year' is a reasonable approach.

The way I see it this is a very bad football team now, and we have a fan base trying to convince themselves they just look that way because for some reason they decided that winning doesn't matter. They also think that guys sitting on the sidelines for months will just walk on the field and make us the best team in the NFL.

If we could look like the best team in the NFL that easily yesterday would not have happen. We got DOMINATE by a terrible team with nothing to play for.

Its not good right now. I don't understand why we need to pretend it is. Doesn't mean they can't win out, just that they are very, very far away.

I don't remember you being such a Donnie downer, Andy. I don't think the majority on this board is pretending anything . They just know how incredible this team is and what it's capable of.

 

[Ring 6]

I don't remember you being such a Donnie downer, Andy. I don't think the majority on this board is pretending anything . They just know how incredible this team is and what it's capable of.

I've been considered a homer for years. Why? Because I call it as I see it, and for years we have been the best franchise in the NFL so it is reasonable to accentuate the positive and not harp on the negative. I had confidence that we were doing it a better way.
Today, we look nothing like the organization I have had so much confidence in. And I do not understand why it has changed so drastically.
When we suck (consistently) I will be considered a chicken little.

 

[Nikolai]

let's go back to August...

What if...

I promised you a #2 seed,
I promised you a 12-4 record,
I promised you that the Colts, Jets, and Ravens would all fail miserably to even sniff the playoffs

Wouldn't you have jumped at that??

Of course!

Life is good.

I predicted 13-3 and a bye, but yeah, I'd have taken it.

As always, I'm in wait and see mode. I enjoy the ride.

 

[brdmaverick]

The one thing that is for certain is that there has never been as much uncertainty heading into the playoffs. These two weeks can't come fast enough b/c I can't wait to see what they come up with. I'm nervous, but that actually has me more excited for this game. I hope beyond all hope that we look like the '14 team playing the Bengals after losing to the Chiefs. Sure enough, the Bengals may be our opponent.