Pats backroom let down Brady AGAIN

[primetime]

That's true, and if we had drafted Joel Bitonio, Xavier Su'a-Filo, Marcus Martin, or another top OL prospect I would have been extremely pleased with the draft. We didn't however we drafted Stork and Halapio who were both graded out as 7th round - UDFA.

I wonder if the way teams grade offensive linemen (particularly interior linemen) is very different than the way pundits do. With other positions, the level of talent in college is often obvious and you have statistics to help you. But there's a ton of late round and undrafted guys starting on NFL teams at those positions and a lot of stiffs who were top picks. Which is true of a lot of positions, but may be most true on the interior line. I don't have the data to back that up, though, so just consider this musing.

 

[Texxx]

He's not right at all. Denver had the best offense in NFL history last year and scored only 8 points in the SB. The reason they beat us was because they dominated in the trenches. The reason they lost in the SB was because they got dominated in the trenches by Seattle. Notice a theme?

You are not right either. What about that theme happened the week before when the Patriots dominated the Colts in the trenches? There didn't seem to be a problem then. Everyone talked and talked about how dominant their Oline and running game had been. NO ONE talked about the trenches being a problem. One of the biggest problems this team has had is not having a quality wideout that could stretch the field and take the safeties out of the picture. That hurt them like hell agains the Giants and the Ravens in those playoff and last SB loss. The Broncos also had all of those play makers at receiver that no one could stop really. They just have to many. Hell, they had like 4 elite weapons with not only an elite QB, but a top 5 all time QB. You can't expect Brady to beat a team like that in their own town. They got lucky to beat them in the season in OT. The Broncos simply were a better team and they were the favorites to win for a reason.

The Patriots needed to improve the trenches. Definitely. You are right about that, but they also need to find a damn wideout that can stretch the field and make defenses respect that.

 

[Brady6]

Seriously. If Belichick thought Bolden was a better player than White he wouldn't have picked White in the 4th round.

I just don't really get the love for Bolden. He had one good game in 2012 against a very poor Bills run defense. His 4.9 avg is so misleading. He's carried the ball more than 8 times only 3 times in 2 seasons

Completely different draft class. Bolden also had off field concerns that led to him being an UDFA.

 

[Brady6]

I wonder if the way teams grade offensive linemen (particularly interior linemen) is very different than the way pundits do. With other positions, the level of talent in college is often obvious and you have statistics to help you. But there's a ton of late round and undrafted guys starting on NFL teams at those positions and a lot of stiffs who were top picks. Which is true of a lot of positions, but may be most true on the interior line. I don't have the data to back that up, though, so just consider this musing.

It is not even that I think Stork and Halapio are bad players I just don't see them fitting our OL scheme and therefore I view them as bad picks for our team. They aren't athletic enough to do what we expect our players to do. Maybe Belichick can trim them down and improve their speed and agility like they odd with Cannon.

 

[JMC00]

Just absolutely hilarious that after last season people think that that a rookie WR or TE was going to be the thing that put them over the top on offense. There have been no rookie WR or TE in at least the last 15 years that was the player that put a team over the top.

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results

Odds are Brandon LaFell will give the Pats more than any rookie WR or TE would have.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Finally someone in here who doesn't have Bellicheck's thump up their ass.

Preaching to the choir brother. Don't worry about the homers bashing you in here. They bash me relentlessly, but always end up with pie in their face at the end of the season when those problems I mention end up surfacing. It's the internet and most people rep everything their franchise does as the correct thing for some reason and when things go wrong, they end up knee jerking on the players who weren't fit to carry the load any way.

Yes this was a horrible draft. It's not like they needed a ton on offense, but Brady definitely needs help. People who actually think that Lefell is the answer have no clue about the NFL, so don't even respond to those comments. I really don't understand why they didn't bring in Jackson when he was a free agent. This team could discipline him I think, but that's over. No point in discussing that. I think at this point we have to hope that Gronk can stay healthy which is very doubtful and that Dobson can learn how to catch a football more than twice in one game. But I don't understand at all why they aren't doing everything possible to build a SB winner right now when you see what the Broncos are doing. It's mind boggling actually.

Another thing to mention is that people seem to have amnesia as to how injury prone Edelman is. Sure, he lasted last season but his history says he might be an injury waiting to happen. Hopefully not, but I'd be a fool to expect Amendola to stagy healthy for more than 4 games at a time. Brittles simply can't be counted on to play Welker. It's amazing at how under appreciated Welker was in this place.

Mind boggling what the pats are doing compared to denver? How many Super Bowls has denver won? How many TDs did they score in the Super Bowl? I hate to tell you this, but the patriots tried that formula before in 2007 with the then greatest offense ever and it didn't work. Why? Because we lost in the trenches.

It's not the same team as last year. We are getting a boatload of players back and we added revis and browner. You and EnglishPatriot have zero clue how to win a Super Bowl.

No, the pats are not following denver. They are following the seattle model, who you know actually won a Super Bowl.

 

[Texxx]

he has a point. we're banking on the receivers making the second year jump. i think dobson will be better for sure. also thinking amendola will be healthy. my real concern is the TE position, we have nothing there besides gronk and he's always injured. hooman isn't a threat, dj williams stinks..was hoping we'd trade up and get niklas/ASJ...

Why assume all of these things will happen? Dobson was leading the league in drops before he got hurt. Him and Thompkins were 1 and 2 for god sakes. Amendola has never stayed healthy in any season. Hell, tons of people brought that up before the season started and people ignored that for some reason which was pretty silly. There are tons of receivers that don't ever amount to anything in the NFL and a lot have played with Brady. Jackson and Tate were two of them in recent years. I have no idea why some of you think Dobson has this potential to break out and be dependable after what I saw last season. He almost gave Brady an aneurism or a heart attack. The only thing that will boost this offense a lot is Gronk's health, but that has about as much probability as Rex Ryan not cursing for a day.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Some of you who wanted a wide receivers in the draft, where did rookie wide receivers get us last year? What do you want, more dropped passes?

 

[JMC00]

Completely different draft class. Bolden also had off field concerns that led to him being an UDFA.

What does draft class have to do with it? My point is if Belichick thought Bolden was anything more than a ST/Back-up player he wouldn't have drafted any RB in the 4th round.

 

[Texxx]

Mind boggling what the pats are doing compared to denver? How many Super Bowls has denver won? How many TDs did they score in the Super Bowl? I hate to tell you this, but the patriots tried that formula before in 2007 with the then greatest offense ever and it didn't work. Why? Because we lost in the trenches.

It's not the same team as last year. We are getting a boatload of players back and we added revis and browner. You and EnglishPatriot have zero clue how to win a Super Bowl.

No, the pats are not following denver. They are following the seattle model, who you know actually won a Super Bowl.

Dude, they were one miracle Eli Manning hail marry play away from having the best team of all time in NFL history. To say that it didn't work is the dumbest thing I've seen anyone say in here. They destroyed the entire league and had that game in the bag. They also dropped an easy INT that should have closed the game on the final drive. You are way out of bounds to bring up that team and make such an irrational suggestion about a team that beat the piss out of everyone and lost due to a guy making a catch off of his helmet. Lol!

 

[Snake Eyes]

Thanks for proving my point.
Your post was ignorant. No team imposes their will on every opponent.
Using one game is a ridiculous standard.

Teams that can consistently impose their will can still be effective against better opponents, the Pats running game was not even slightly effective, they vanished.

 

[Brady6]

Just absolutely hilarious that after last season people think that that a rookie WR or TE was going to be the thing that put them over the top on offense. They have been none rookier WR or TE in at least the last 15 years that was the player that put a team over the top.

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results

Odds are Brandon LaFell will give the Pats more than any rookie WR or TE would have.

It is more hilarious that the Patriots lost a player that they valued at $40M and have not replaced him and you do not have any concerns and keep coming back to Brandon LaFell who is not going to fill that role, he is a 6'3" 210lb WR I'm not sure where this idea came from that he could play tight end, LaFell put up 11 reps at the combine in 2010 so unless he has been hitting the juice he does not have the strength to play TE.

 

[Texxx]

Some of you who wanted a wide receivers in the draft, where did rookie wide receivers get us last year? What do you want, more dropped passes?

I didn't want one in the draft. I wanted them to get a real quality wideout the last two off seasons in free agency. Desean Jackson would have been perfect along with Wallace or Jennings as well.

 

[Snake Eyes]

Randomness and luck are the same thing.

You can stack the odds in your favor, but in the end you're still just playing roulette. 2007 might be the most glaring example of this.

Of course, the idea that how a season (and particularly the playoffs) plays out is largely affected by randomness doesn't lend itself well to bickering among armchair GMs on a message board, so we get a bunch of nonsense about "building a team for the regular season versus the playoffs."

Better coaching/talent is not the same thing as random.

 

[Deus Irae]

And, I think, to a large extent pure dumb luck. It isn't like they haven't had dud offensive games in the regular season - they do, every four or five games, so the playoff dud isn't really an anomaly, it's actually pretty consistent. Unfortunately, the defense hasn't been good enough to pick up the slack (or was good enough in 2007 and maybe 2011, but got beat in freakish ways) against the best competition in the playoffs. This year might be different. It might not be. But, barring another rash of injuries (and even then), the team is again good enough to challenge for the #1 seed in the AFC, which is the important part.

Outside of the injuries, I don't think it's luck. It's pretty clear that there's a specific way to beat the Patriots.

Have a D-line that's either very powerful or very quick in attacking the Patriots IOL
Get up on the receivers and force Brady to hold the ball longer than usual
Take out, or at least significantly limit, Welker/Moss/Gronk through scheme or injury
Play possession football on offense, in the sense of going on long drives with a lot of plays, as keeping Brady on the sidelines throws the Patriots offense out of sync and limits the number of Patriots possessions.

With the exception of the 2010 brainlock game, that's how the Patriots have been beaten in every single playoff loss from 2007 to 2013.

 

[MassPats38]

If you seriously think it's luck I have a bridge to sell you.

Seattle is not lucky, they're damned good.

Good, even damned good. gets you to the playoffs. They are neither flawless nor unbeatable.

Before the Broncos beatdown (a case of a team picking a really bad time to come out flat), the Hawks could easily have lost the prior home playoff game against the Niners (damned good and sitting for the big game) and let the Saints crawl back into the game again at home with the ball in the 4th quarter and a chance to tie the game (damned good and one and done). Maybe you forgot the playoff track for this unstoppable juggernaut.

If you believe the best team wins the title every year, then I have a bridge I would like to sell you. Luck ("Immaculate Reception", "Helmet catch", etc.) plays a significant role in the playoffs.

 

[Brady6]

What does draft class have to do with it? My point is if Belichick thought Bolden was anything more than a ST/Back-up player he wouldn't have drafted any RB in the 4th round.

White has never taken a snap in the NFL and you have already determined he is better than a player with solid seasons at the NFL level. That is foolish.

 

[Big-T]

Unless we are changing are OL scheme I cannot see how Stork and Halapio fit.

Of course the style is changing! Look at every OL DeGuglielmo has put out - they're big, physical maulers - just like the guys drafted yesterday. Gone are the days of light weights who get man handled by the likes of "Pot Roast". Mankins fits in still because he's a real mauler too, he's going to love playing in that style.

Stork was also voted the best Center on College Football last year for a reason.

 

[Snake Eyes]

Good, even damned good. gets you to the playoffs. They are neither flawless nor unbeatable.

Before the Broncos beatdown (a case of a team picking a really bad time to come out flat), the Hawks could easily have lost the prior home playoff game against the Niners (damned good and sitting for the big game) and let the Saints crawl back into the game again at home with the ball in the 4th quarter and a chance to tie the game (damned good and one and done). Maybe you forgot the playoff track for this unstoppable juggernaut.

If you believe the best team wins the title every year, then I have a bridge I would like to sell you. Luck ("Immaculate Reception", "Helmet catch", etc.) plays a significant role in the playoffs.

I think you're focusing too much on highlights and ignoring the grit of the game.

How much pressure did the Giants D-line get on Brady?

Could Maroney break arm tackles, making the run game a threat?

Could the Pats D-line get pressure on Manning?

Who dominated the trenches?

 

[Brady6]

I love the people who troll around here clicking "dislike" and "disagree" but don't even have the fortitude to write post.