Thoughts about 1-0

[PatsFanSince74]

Week One thoughts from someone who's been following this team, up and down, for a long time.

1) We won. I recall a season that started with an L to the Bills a few years back that didn't turn out so bad.

2) The O Line is a lot better than it played yesterday.

3) TB's going to be just fine.

4) The Dillon-Maroney combo is going to kill.

5) We need a downfield threat fast (sending tight ends long isn't going to stretch or fool many defenses). Message to Pioli: sign Branch this week even if you have to swallow your pride.

6) Our defensive line is as good as any in the league. But, we're sketchy at LB and downfield, and haven't been tested by a top QB. This might not be too pleasant when it happens and I'm afraid that Chad Doofington looked pretty good yesterday, especially with the game on the line.

7) Anyone who knows anything about football would have told you BEFORE Sunday's game that we won't be dominating too many teams this year. We focused on the future this offseason and let go a few key players who had one or maybe two good years left in them rather than pay them the big bucks past their "Sell-by" date. This means we're going to be scrambling to fill a few holes for a while.

8) We're going to field a competititive team, should win the division and anything can happen in the Post-season, but there are very few games you can pencil in as "W's."

9) As a Patriots fan, you're backing a team that's committed to being competitive over the long run. We have a management that makes decisions looking not just at the "next" season, but one or two years down the road. This means that we'll let go of a few players we'd all rather have playing with us, but it also means that we won't be waiting 26 years, like the Steelers, to win another SB.

10) So, my message to those who are hitting the panic button: Take a deep breath. Relax. It's a long season and we're going to be on the winning or losing side of more than one game like yesterday's.

 

[Prufrock]

1-0 is great... but when we start playing the "well, when players start returning to the lineup..." game, before the 2nd game of the season. It makes me very nervous.

You can't look at this team right now, and pretend like it's going to be the one playing in December. So much of football (and sports) is how teams rebound from injuries. We will know more about this team when faulk, gay, colvin, vrabel, or whoever, starts missing games.

 

[GoWesleyan]

Positives:
Running Game. Damn, I LOVE watching Dillon punish tacklers, and, damn, Maroney looks explosive. This is HUGE. This O will look awesome on days when Brady is sharp.

Brady. I don't think he was sharp, but he showed- once again - that he's a gamer. He got pounded all day... and walked tall.

Gostkowski. That was a big kick. Right down the middle. That will keep the media vultures off his back a bit...

Harrison and Seau - I've worried that both would look slower and older. They looked solid to me.

No injuries. Knock wood.


Negatives:
Pass protection. It stunk... but of all the things to be bad, this is the least worrisome to me. Dante has shown that he's one hell of a coach. This line has talent, and Dante WILL make them fly.

It has been a pattern for the Pat's to start a bit slow, and then do better and better. That is a huge testiment to the team's coaches. I look forward to seeing this team as it gains momentum.

No Chad Jackson. I'm really curious to know what we have in this guy. Apparently, it's not a case that Jackson at 85% is as good as many players at 100% (which was my unrealistic hope)... Many people had Jackson ahead of Maroney for the draft... I'm still hopeful that he will look like just as good a pickup, i.e. 500 yd rookie year... maybe he's just too far behind, but I inferred his inactiveness to be a bad sign.


One other thing: Graham's "drop" in the endzone was no drop. Catchable, yes. But not a "dropsie" play at all.

 

[Oswlek]

Week One thoughts from someone who's been following this team, up and down, for a long time.

1) We won. I recall a season that started with an L to the Bills a few years back that didn't turn out so bad.

2) The O Line is a lot better than it played yesterday.

3) TB's going to be just fine.

4) The Dillon-Maroney combo is going to kill.

5) We need a downfield threat fast (sending tight ends long isn't going to stretch or fool many defenses). Message to Pioli: sign Branch this week even if you have to swallow your pride.

6) Our defensive line is as good as any in the league. But, we're sketchy at LB and downfield, and haven't been tested by a top QB. This might not be too pleasant when it happens and I'm afraid that Chad Doofington looked pretty good yesterday, especially with the game on the line.

7) Anyone who knows anything about football would have told you BEFORE Sunday's game that we won't be dominating too many teams this year. We focused on the future this offseason and let go a few key players who had one or maybe two good years left in them rather than pay them the big bucks past their "Sell-by" date. This means we're going to be scrambling to fill a few holes for a while.

8) We're going to field a competititive team, should win the division and anything can happen in the Post-season, but there are very few games you can pencil in as "W's."

9) As a Patriots fan, you're backing a team that's committed to being competitive over the long run. We have a management that makes decisions looking not just at the "next" season, but one or two years down the road. This means that we'll let go of a few players we'd all rather have playing with us, but it also means that we won't be waiting 26 years, like the Steelers, to win another SB.

10) So, my message to those who are hitting the panic button: Take a deep breath. Relax. It's a long season and we're going to be on the winning or losing side of more than one game like yesterday's.

I totally disagree with the underlying tone of the this post. I bolded the ones that I want to touch upon:

5) Branch has never been a "down-field threat." He is a shifty WR with great cuts and excellent hands. I have said this before, but it bears repeating: How many long pass plays (not short and lots of yac) besides the two in Pitt and one in SB 38 do you remember Branch being involved in? Branch's value is that he forces the D to use two guys on him and stretches the D horizontally. I do agree with you that they need someone to come in and be a better option than anyone yesterday. Brown can't be a full-time player and nobody wants Caldwell and Chldress to be the primary WRs. I am still holding out hope that Gabrielle or Jackson (or both :rocker: ) prove to be this better option.

6) By "sketchy" do you mean "one of the better units in the league?" Once NE got a handle on what Buffalo was running, they stopped them cold. And it wasn't just the D-line and pass rush, most of the sacks were done after Losman held the ball for 4-5 seconds, so the secondary must have done something right. Plus, most teams LBs would look a little worse if you took one of the better ILBs out of there. Again, once game film on opposition is readily available, this D will prove to be a top unit.

7) B.S. Let me throw a few names at you:

a) David Patten, Ted Johnson, Joe Andruzzi
b) Ted Washington, Damien Woody, Antowain Smith, Bobby Hamilton
c) Lawyer Milloy, Tebucky Jones, O-T-I-S

NE loses 3-4 starters every year! They have been doing this since BB/SP came in; the only difference is that this year the names are bigger. Yes, they are maiking a conscious decision to get younger, but if they really were not looking to maximize this year as well, Seau would never have been signed.

8) You might want to check that schedule again. Just because Buffalo came in here with more energy than NE and pushed 'em around for a half, does not mean that the team is pegged. I find it funny that you have minimal concern for the OL, DL and Brady, who were the primary reasons this game was close, yet feel the team isn't much better than they looked yesterday. So, those three areas are going to improve, but the team won't get much better? Huh?

You are right. We need to relax. All of us, including you. What we learned yesterday is that this team can play a very bad game and still win. What we will learn over the next few weeks is whether "bad" is Standard Operating Procedure for this team. I personally am betting against it.

 

[PatsFaninAZ]

Well, put me in the camp that is "pumped" with this win. With the Bills driving to open the second half, I though the game was pretty much gone. Of much bigger concern was the fact that our defense seemed way way out of synch.

One big defensive play and it turned around. We're 1-0 in the division and our defense appeared to find its mojo when it needed to. Everything else seems like just noise to me.

The reality is that as much as everyone loves to talk about offens and defense and occasionally about special teams, football is frequently about turnovers. I don't know what the stats are for teams that win despite a -2 in turnovers, but I assume they are very bad -- probably south of 20 percent. Sometimes turnovers are not that bad -- you throw an interception at the end of a half or 40 yards down field in a 3d and 20 that's the same as a punt anyway. Yesterday both were huge, and we couldn't come up with a take away going the other way. Bottom line, you need to win the turnover game in the NFL, and if you go -2 and win, almost by definition it's always going to be ugly.

Also put me in the camp that thinks Buffalo looks improved over last year.

 

[captain stone]

Well, put me in the camp that is "pumped" with this win. With the Bills driving to open the second half, I though the game was pretty much gone. Of much bigger concern was the fact that our defense seemed way way out of synch.

One big defensive play and it turned around. We're 1-0 in the division and our defense appeared to find its mojo when it needed to. Everything else seems like just noise to me.

The reality is that as much as everyone loves to talk about offens and defense and occasionally about special teams, football is frequently about turnovers. I don't know what the stats are for teams that win despite a -2 in turnovers, but I assume they are very bad -- probably south of 20 percent. Sometimes turnovers are not that bad -- you throw an interception at the end of a half or 40 yards down field in a 3d and 20 that's the same as a punt anyway. Yesterday both were huge, and we couldn't come up with a take away going the other way. Bottom line, you need to win the turnover game in the NFL, and if you go -2 and win, almost by definition it's always going to be ugly.

Also put me in the camp that thinks Buffalo looks improved over last year.

The safety and the stop on 4th/1 can be considered unofficial turnovers; otherwise, I agree that INTs and fumble recoveries would make our lives easier, esp. on the road. I am more looking forward to the jest game now, to see if, after one week and one game film in the can, the OL can give TB more time; if the WRs, with more time, can be more consistently open; if the pass rush can force NoodleArm to throw off-balance; and if the DBs can keep Coles, Cotchery and McCareins in check long enough.

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

Belichick builds these Pats for December & January. They combine excellent late-season conditioning with excellent preparation borne of a season's worth of opponents' game film to make their post-season runs. This is why the '04 Pats can have the ball run down their throats on Halloween in Pittsburgh, only to stuff the Steelers a few months later. This is why the '05 Pats can be manhandled in Denver in September, then stuff Denver's offense in January.

But what that means is that there are going to be some nailbiters in the early goings. The Pats are not better conditioned than opposing teams early on and will look bad on D at times. There is not enough useful game film to dissect, further providing opponents with an equalizer. This has been true during all 3 super bowl runs. By now it shouldn't be shocking that the Pats have some ugly wins in September and October (think 27-24 over Colts in '04, 13-7 over Jets in '04, 9-3 over Cleveland in '03, 38-31 over Titans in '03, 19-13 over Miami in '03) and even some dissapointing losses (think 41-17 to San Diego last year, the loss to Washington in '03). The Pats are not built for a ten-game season (think the fast-starting Dolphins of the '90s), but a 19- or 20-game season.

Keeping this in mind, I'm happy with the ugly win over Buffalo. The Pats clearly weren't sharp early on and even when they got better in the 2nd half, benefited greatly from some bonehead plays by the Bills (that safety was inexcusable and the block-in-the-back on the INT return was moronic). This kind of win is no different than many other early season victories in the BB era so take it and move on, hoping for as many wins as possible early on before the team really hits its stride in December.

Regards,
Chris

 

[mgteich]

A left tackle who makes three bad plays out of 50 and almost gets his quarterback killed should not be starting. Maybe I'm way too spoiled, but I remember Armstrong. A LT's responsibility is not to make 47 acceptable plays out of 50, The LT's is to protect his quarterback any way he can, including taking penalties if he needs to.

Light may be still hurt. We likely don't have another alternative until Kaczur is healthy. But make no mistake, this situation will not continue for long.

Hey, you know what? That stuff gets old really fast. A left tackle makes three bad plays out of 50, he has to listen to some 108-lb. dweeb on the internet call him the "Whiffinator"?

And by the way Aaron Schoebel is a DE, not a linebacker.

 

[brady2brown]

A left tackle who makes three bad plays out of 50 and almost gets his quarterback killed should not be starting.

The guys on the other team earn thier paychecks, too. Sometimes it isn't about us, but about them.

 

[AzPatsFan]

That won't be BB's attitude in the locker room.

He'll go to great lenghts (not that I think he needs to - this team knows) that they were just 2 points better than a bad Buffalo team.

No doubt there are a bunch of positives to take from this game - but I tend not to want to get too high after a win or too low after a loss

BB's rubbed off on me after all these years.

No they proved that they were 5-9 points better on the field. BB never runs it up unlike Peyton and Dungy. They could ahve kicked a chippie FG anytime for the last 3.5 minutes from inside the 26. If they were the Colts, TB would have been chucking it into the endzone to pad his stats, instead of safely, prudently, (and winningly) taking a knee...:rocker:

 

[14thDragon]

That won't be BB's attitude in the locker room.

He'll go to great lenghts (not that I think he needs to - this team knows) that they were just 2 points better than a bad Buffalo team.

No doubt there are a bunch of positives to take from this game - but I tend not to want to get too high after a win or too low after a loss

BB's rubbed off on me after all these years.

Well, that is one way to go.

I could very well become very even keeled. Emphasise the negative and look for improvement. Could be very distant and analytical about it all. That is an absolutly fantastic way to coach a team and prepare as coaches and players.

But since I am neither a coach, nor a player, it is much less a physical and mental investment into the season requiring a steady rational approach. It is primarily an emotional investment. If I go through a roller coaster of emotions and do my best to look on the bright side when I can, what harm comes to the team, myself or the rest of the planet?

I certainly respect the position of taking it one game at a time and staying even keeled. But I figure it is better suited to those on the feild then those in the stands.

 

[BJ_McWild]

That won't be BB's attitude in the locker room.

He'll go to great lenghts (not that I think he needs to - this team knows) that they were just 2 points better than a bad Buffalo team.

No doubt there are a bunch of positives to take from this game - but I tend not to want to get too high after a win or too low after a loss

BB's rubbed off on me after all these years.

Actually I disagree with this. I think Bill will give a lot of credit to Buffalo for being a very good team, and to the Pats players for coming back and overcoming adversity to get the W.

I think he'll have to pleased to break a franchise record for rushing yardage.

Obviously there's a lot to do better. But the guys played well and made the plays to win the game.

Now it's time to get ready for NYJ...