Official "Prognostications of Doom" thread

[IcyPatriot]

I thoroughly enjoy every Patriot's season ... how far they go in the playoffs is icing on the cake. if one is to a pessimist before or during the season why even bother ... they are like hemorrhoids amongst the faithful. As for the so called experts ... they get proven wrong more than the average fan ... they suck.

 

[Se7eN]

I do not recommend helping these "writers" by viewing their articles. I am just putting this in one place to help a certain writer who thinks it does not exist.

Whitlock blaming Kraft and Belichick
Ashley Fox blathers about Belichick and Kraft being guilty of murder

That is the low hanging fruit.

How could anyone not know that Hernandez was a murderer from meeting him?

SMH stupid reporters

 

[Rob0729]

BTW, Albert Breer is being a bit of a douche on Twitter about this whole Hernandez thing.

... And good on the Patriots for having Borges in there, knowing he would take a very critical eye into the media session.

Good to have Borges in there?!? Really?!?

I don't understand people who are killing Meyer/UF for Hernandez, then throw their arms up w/Pats and say, "How were they supposed to know?"

Who are these people?

It's one thing to be blindly loyal to your team. It's another to be that way when there's a murder investigation going on.

Huh?!? Exactly what have the Pats done to aid in the murder of Odin Lloyd or cover up Hernandez's involvement. Breer is making it sound like the Patriots were an accomplice.

https://twitter.com/AlbertBreer

 

[Uncle Rico]

Keeping the focus on on-field prognostications:

Are New England Patriots still the team to beat in the AFC East? | Audibles - SI.com

A fairly balanced take:

On paper, they’re still the team to beat this year, too. Hernandez may be behind bars and Gronkowski could sit out the first several weeks, but talent remains. There’s the veteran offensive line, a dangerous backfield, that quarterback from the UGG commercials, a defensive backfield buoyed by Aqib Talib’s arrival last season, a dangerous pass rush and so on. Plus, the Patriots still have that Belichick guy, who certainly deserves the edge over Rex Ryan, rookie Doug Marrone or second-year coach Joe Philbin.

though ...

the perception is that the Patriots are wounded, while their division rivals are ready to pounce.

What's interesting to me in seeing this play out (and again, I mean the Pats' onfield outlook) is how deep fascination with this team is. Most writers who are putting out the "will the Pats fall?"type of column are still couching it in respect for the coach, the QB and many of the other" players. Makes me think Patriots mystique is still strong.

 

[Joker]

Pounce??...what the hell is Cryan gonna pounce on, the Pats spikes with his friggin' tongue?...and Miami already pounced in the draft two years ago, drafting Mike Pouncey. Buffalo couldn't pounce on a chicken wing in a blizzard of red hot sauce...gimme a break.

 

[sb1]

Whitlock: "crediting him for winning the Patriots Way, with the right kind of high-character players. "


This was never the Patriot Way. When did the media start believing that myth?

The Patriot Way was always the idea of TEAM over the individual. How the media turned it into the idea that the Way means Patriots only hire goody-two-shoes....I have no idea.

 

[DarrylS]

Whitlock: "crediting him for winning the Patriots Way, with the right kind of high-character players. "


This was never the Patriot Way. When did the media start believing that myth?

The Patriot Way was always the idea of TEAM over the individual. How the media turned it into the idea that the Way means Patriots only hire goody-two-shoes....I have no idea.

That is the crux of it, The Patriot Way is/was a media invention...

Never heard BB, Mr. Kraft or anyone from the Patriots organization using that term..

When they immediately cut AH after he was arrested, that was the "Patriot Way" compare to the "Raven's Way"...

The media invented the term, consistently misuse it and then criticize the way this team does business...

Back to the topic of this thread, the O may not be as prolific.. but this is a very deep team, improved D with a good combination of veterans, emerging veterans and new guys.. not all that worried, this team will win between 11-13 games.

 

[sb1]

That is the crux of it, The Patriot Way is/was a media invention...

Never heard BB, Mr. Kraft or anyone from the Patriots organization using that term..

When they immediately cut AH after he was arrested, that was the "Patriot Way" compare to the "Raven's Way"...

The media invented the term, consistently misuse it and then criticize the way this team does business...

Exactly.

I'd love to know where the myth that the Patriots are a team of Boy Scouts started...or on what basis it started.

Back to the topic of this thread, the O may not be as prolific.. but this is a very deep team, improved D with a good combination of veterans, emerging veterans and new guys.. not all that worried, this team will win between 11-13 games.

It's all about the defense IMO.

This schedule will be a real meat grinder for the D. The Pats are facing a lot of really good QBs and offensive tandems this year, the kinds of matchups that haven't favored us in the last few years.

If the D is up to the task the Pats can easily sustain a step backwards for the offense.

 

[IllegalContact]

here's another way of looking at it.....

with the pick prior to the pats drafting gronkowski, the bills drafted torrell troup.....look him up if you can find him

with the 8th pick in that draft, the raiders picked Rolando mcclain

the jets? kyle Wilson, Vladimir ducasse, joe McKnight, and john conner

this year, the bills drafted EJ Manuel.......what are we talking here, 2, maybe 3 wins?

the pats still have tom brady........here's the rest of the field in the AFC east: sanchez, smith, manuel, kolb, tannehill, moore........mallet may well be the 2nd best QB in the division

 

[Kontradiction]

Love that the bulk of these prognostications people act like Brady and Belichick really have no say in this matter. Nope one of the best QB ever and one of the best HC ever and it's because they let Welker leave, Gronk may or may not be ready for the start of the season, Hernandez is locked up, Mr. Catch and Fall Down is gone.

But it's because of those guys being gone the Patriots are probably doomed. Nope there is just no chance Brady finds a rapport with Amendola, Dobson, Ballard, Boyce or anyone else during training camp.

Stevan Ridley, only the second RB in the Brady-Belichick era to go for 1200+ and 12 TD but that's because of the passing game and not because he actually maybe good. And Vereen is certainly no threat to make plays it's not like he had a 7 Rec 105 yards 2 TD playoff game, oh wait that's right he did. He also chipped in, in the running game that game with 11 rush 52 yards and a TD

But I actually prefer the overall opinion to be this way, it makes it much sweeter when they shut everyone up

With regard to the bolded, we still don't know how quickly, how many, or if any, of those guys (particularly the rookies) will pick up the most difficult offense in the NFL to learn. If one of the two rookies is the real deal and can explode onto the scene this year, the aerial attack will be fine (assuming/hoping Amendola's offseason work with Brady pays off and Gronk remains healthy).

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Putting aside the Hernandez noise, fans can be at least concerned that the Offense will certainly be without Hernandez and Welker from Day One and possibly without Gronkowski as well, or with a Gronk who is rehabbing from offseason surgery.

This team has adapted before and it still has one of the greatest QB's ever to play the game, coming off an MVP season.

So, "Doom?" Certainly not. "Concern?" Yeah, of course. Our heads would have to be in the sand for us not to be concerned.

 

[olschool]

That is the crux of it, The Patriot Way is/was a media invention...

Never heard BB, Mr. Kraft or anyone from the Patriots organization using that term..

When they immediately cut AH after he was arrested, that was the "Patriot Way" compare to the "Raven's Way"...

The media invented the term, consistently misuse it and then criticize the way this team does business...

Back to the topic of this thread, the O may not be as prolific.. but this is a very deep team, improved D with a good combination of veterans, emerging veterans and new guys.. not all that worried, this team will win between 11-13 games.

Kraft started the choirboy thing when the Pats cut Christian Peter at the request of Myra Kraft, because they were uncomfortable with his violence toward women record. It's probably too long ago to pursue now, but I believe that's when the media started with the image thing.

I also remember Kraft touting Dan Klecko as the Patriots kind of " All American Boy" type of player. There are probably some other examples, like the controversy surrounding the signing of Corey Dillon, but I don't want to type a three page history.

So I think the " Patriot Way " comes from the top, and the media just ran with it.

 

[Oswlek]

Whitlock: "crediting him for winning the Patriots Way, with the right kind of high-character players. "


This was never the Patriot Way. When did the media start believing that myth?

The Patriot Way was always the idea of TEAM over the individual. How the media turned it into the idea that the Way means Patriots only hire goody-two-shoes....I have no idea.

It is actually in the middle. NE absolutely has less tolerance for disruptions than many - or even most - other teams. As bad as the Hernandez situation is, NE is actually demonstrating "The Patriot Way" by how swiftly they acted in response. Lots of teams waive troubled benchwarmers. Cutting a pro-bowl caliber player before the arraignment is a different story.

At the same time, I too get riled up when I hear about all the risks that NE is making and how it contradicts their earlier behavior. Don't these people remember who made that huge hit on Pathon that got the 2001 squad moving? How about PK Sam and Cedric Cobbs?

NE was taking risks all along. They just weren't as much of a story for an assortment of reasons.

To get back on track with the idea of this thread and the concern over the offense. On numerous occasions, I've made a $50 charitable bet that NE will score at least 26ppg and win at least 12 games. No matter how vocal any detractor is, I've yet to find one who is willing to take me up on that.

 

[DarrylS]

Kraft started the choirboy thing when the Pats cut Christian Peter at the request of Myra Kraft, because they were uncomfortable with his violence toward women record. It's probably too long ago to pursue now, but I believe that's when the media started with the image thing.

I also remember Kraft touting Dan Klecko as the Patriots kind of " All American Boy" type of player. There are probably some other examples, like the controversy surrounding the signing of Corey Dillon, but I don't want to type a three page history.

So I think the " Patriot Way " comes from the top, and the media just ran with it.

You can probably find a lot of quotes attributed to Mr. Kraft on specific players, but never heard him utter "The Patriot Way" as that was coined by the media. Some of the players bought into it and used it, but hard pressed to ever remember BB or Mr. Kraft ever using that terminology..

The Peters was 17 years ago, never heard the "Patriot Way" until the last decade..

The Peters thing is overblown, and this organization changed significantly since that time..