Starting Slow

[Dagg]

Wouldnt it be nice just once for another team to come out and lay and 80s suberbowl size egg in the big game. You know just crap there pants, fumble kickoffs throw pick 6s etc vs the nailbiters we get every time. Just ONCE thats all I ask!

 

[jimnance]

Wouldnt it be nice just once for another team to come out and lay and 80s suberbowl size egg in the big game. You know just crap there pants, fumble kickoffs throw pick 6s etc vs the nailbiters we get every time. Just ONCE thats all I ask!

Would be easier on my nervous system fo' sho'.

 

[richie021501]

I think you're not giving enough credit to the other teams.
These are the BIGGEST of games. These are the BEST teams in the NFL Patriots are playing in these games.
The other guys can coach too.
They can also play or they wouldn't be in a SB or afccg.
All of these teams are bringin' the house to open the games. They know getting down to the Pats is a death sentence.
I don't see it as Patriots coming out flat.
I see it as the Patriots playing very tough elite competition.
Which makes their comebacks even more remarkable.

You might be right but bottom line, if the opposing teams are bringing their best, the pats have to do even better. We'll probably get the same from the Eagles, they're hungry and they seem to be loving the underdog role. I can see them coming out with an electric start. Patriots have to be able to top it. The competition is tough in the post season, especially in the super bowl, but we know how good the pats can be if they play at their best for 4 quarters.

 

[Pats1989]

So looking for potential explanations I can think of the following:

1. They are better at making adaptations than other teams. But then why does it take until Q4 instead of Q3 or even Q2?

2. They are better conditioned than other teams and/or they rotate players more.



3. They think they are better and so can get away with being cautious on both offense and defense. Only when their backs are to the wall do they break out the full playbook.

4. It's too small a sample size and so it's just random.

Likely # 4. Plus, they were moving the ball very well in the 1st quarter of the Atlanta SB. A Blount fumble and pick six led to the huge deficit.

Off topic note: Patriots are 3-0 in the last three even year SB's... 2004, 2014, and 2016. They'v lost the last two odd # super bowl years....2007 and 2011. Furthermore, The last time a team wearing dark jerseys won an even year SB? 03 Patriots.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Playing low risk not to give the game away and saving the special stuff for the 2nd half so the other coaches won't have LONG halftime to adjust to the new & unexpected makes Pats SB slow starters.
That said, BB has been on Tommy's ass to score TDs in the first quarter of a SB.

 

[Username]

Yeah, a blowout Superbowl win would be awesome. And after making this fanbase truly suffer through every other Superbowl appearance, taking years off our lives, we surely deserve an easy Superbowl win...

#patsfansproblems

 

[richie021501]

Hey as long as we win against the Eagles, I'm not gonna complain about how we get it done lol I just don't think the odds are in our favor if we go down by 2 scores towards the end of the game for a 3rd straight super bowl.

 

[farn]

I hear your premise. But, it’s very hard to fault them as they’ll keep bringing titles to town.

Playing VS B.B., I wonder if teams would be better off having two game plans that differ greatly. And then, in the second half, show something BB doesn’t expect.

Stamina is also a key, as mentioned.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

I think you're not giving enough credit to the other teams.
These are the BIGGEST of games. These are the BEST teams in the NFL Patriots are playing in these games.
The other guys can coach too.
They can also play or they wouldn't be in a SB or afccg.
All of these teams are bringin' the house to open the games. They know getting down to the Pats is a death sentence.
I don't see it as Patriots coming out flat.
I see it as the Patriots playing very tough elite competition.
Which makes their comebacks even more remarkable.

I think you hit the nail on the head here.

By this point in time, most likely the Super Bowl opponent has more physical talent than the Patriots. This isn't a knock on the Patriots, it's a reality -- 1) Belichick has openly said in the past that he prefers someone who is selfless, knows and follows the system than someone slightly more talented who doesn't do that, and 2) the Patriots have not had "their own" 1st round draft pick better than pick 28 since the 2009 draft, and the Patriots do not normally chase after the marquee big-money free agent talent.

Their opponent is psyched to be in the Super Bowl, has spent 2 weeks game planning, and comes out guns ablazing. Scheming doesn't fully help in situations like this - especially when despite all that planning, you're finally learning what your opponent is actually going to do.

As the game goes on, that's when the Patriots' advantage starts to seep in. By then, they truly know what the opponent is trying to do so can adjust better, the opponent shot their load early and is now getting a bit tired while the well-conditioned Patriots keep bringing it to them, and sooner or later their coaches or players will mess up on what we consider fundamentals here -- clock management, penalty discipline, scheme discipline - that generally isn't tolerated here.

Factor all that in, and you get the Patriots slow starts, roaring finishes.

 

[mosslost]

Always ignore fans that complain to themselves and among themselves that we win all the time due to "refs", "cheating", scandal., etc

I read on one of their boards one fan telling another "I love to accuse them of cheating because it makes them crazy." Let them eat silence and just enjoy the dynasty. The know we own their azzes and that we are just far and away superior to them.

 

[Deus Irae]

I agree with some of what the OP wrote, and I addressed that in another thread earlier today. I will say that one of the reasons the Patriots have started off with more conservative defensive game plans this year is that we've got a bit of a 2011 situation going on, where the defense is nowhere near as good (skill wise) as its scoring ranking would indicate.

• The fall of Branch
• The lost season for Rivers
• The waste that was Ealy
• The injuries to Hightower and, to a lesser extent, McClellin

That, along with some other issues, has led to a front 7 that really isn't very good, and we saw a defensive game plan for yesterday that really seemed to be risk averse in response.

 

[SlowGettingUp]

Lombardi (who is usually very pro-Pats) thinks Eagles are a very difficult match-up for the Pats and he has picked them to win.

 

[Chris Stevenson]

Ok so I know I'm risking getting run off the board with this but oh well lol I just feel like I need to get this off my chest.

The last 2 super bowls the Patriots played spotty for 3 or so quarters but came back with unbelievable 4th quarters. I feel like, as great as belichick and Brady are, if they keep putting themselves in this position (the same position they found themselves in against the Jags as well) at some point it's going to catch up with them. I feel like a win against the Eagles is going to take a solid 4 quarters of football to get the W. If the Pats are down double digits late, I think, chances are, they are not coming back this time. Especially if they are down like they were against Atlanta, what happened in that game was a once in a lifetime occurrence. Here's to hoping the pats come out strong and play a complete game against Philly.

Sorry if it seems like I'm being negative, I know no one here probably cares what I think but I just had to get this off my chest and I felt better putting it out there publicly. Feel free to flame me if you want, it's all good.

Honestly, the one good thing about this is BB can be all over them for 2 weeks about how they haven't played an A game yet.

I was shocked at Patricia and BB's scheme early in the game, especially in qtr 2.

Also, the offense has never scored a TD in the 1st qtr of a SB, It would be really nice, if they did that in 2 weeks.

The slow starts on offense have killed them and it may bite them for once in a SB.

 

[slam]

Wouldnt it be nice just once for another team to come out and lay and 80s suberbowl size egg in the big game. You know just crap there pants, fumble kickoffs throw pick 6s etc vs the nailbiters we get every time. Just ONCE thats all I ask!

We could petition the league to have all the good teams in the same conference so as to replicate the 80's.

Then again, I'd miss the twice a season get togethers with the Jets.

 

[TinhWoodhead]

Nah, that would be too easy!

this years Pats sb path is supposed to be the easiest!

 

[Dr Pain]

Lombardi (who is usually very pro-Pats) thinks Eagles are a very difficult match-up for the Pats and he has picked them to win.

I don't find this unreasonable. This game is wide open

 

[IcyPatriot]

Why not just have 3 plans and burn one if it gets adjusted to before the half? I would love nothing better than having a 2-3 score lead (as long as it doesn't lead to too much bend but don't break scenarios by the D)

They do not really have plans ... they work off a play sheet.
They assemble the play sheet early in the week ... it's like 120 or so plays I could be wrong ...
it starts larger and grows smaller in the meetings - they work off the play sheet - they do not have rigid plans.
They also shift players around within those same plans as adjustments.

I made a thread on this some years ago ... it's pretty interesting how it develops over the course of the week.

 

[TomPatriot]

Lombardi (who is usually very pro-Pats) thinks Eagles are a very difficult match-up for the Pats and he has picked them to win.

That doesn't surprise me at all.

 

[Chris Stevenson]

They are hesitant to open the playbook too early ...

It works ... but it is tough on my nerves - I age at least a month for every game they play.

I do agree with this partially, as it ties into their red zone D where they really scheme up there and not in between the 20s.

But, it was the second qtr when all of this went down. I think Patricia is really good, but he's sometimes really slow to adjust.

Where was Flowers on the spy on Bortles or the backs out of the backfield?

Flowers is better than Elandon Roberts. I get they think Roberts plays better downhill vs the run, but that wasn't the issue.

 

[RIpats88]

against the seahawks they drove down the field and brady threw an interception in the endzone.

against atlanta, pats were driving then blount fumbled. and if I remember they were in scoring position when brady threw the pick six.

I hope we finally can get a stress free superbowl(and by stress free I mean not playing from behind each game.)

Josh has been too tentative early in the game. It seems once they get behind they decide "ok we will spread them out and let brady read the defense" never understand why they dont start with that.