What could the Patriots have done differently last season?

[FredFromDartmouth]

Hindsight is always 20/20 but even at the time I think that the following was pretty obvious (but costly):

Sign Julius Peppers

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Show up for the playoff game lol

I would've tried a way to move up into the first and grab Pouncey. But with the draft we had and with how McCourty turned out it's hard to change anything about that. Maybe trade next year's Raiders pick to the middle of this first round, when everyone thought that was going to be a top 5-10 pick. I'd love to see this offense with Pouncey and Mankins manhandling people on the interior.

Other than that probably nothing, we made major strides without spending much.

 

[A.C Vegas]

Hindsight is always 20/20 but even at the time I think that the following was pretty obvious (but costly):

Sign Julius Peppers

so he would magicly have made brady have a good game against the Jets. I didn't know he had magic powers

The pass rush was below average yes but they still went 14-2 with it got the 1 seed. He would NOT have been the diffrence maker in the Jets game

 

[PatriotsInGA]

Simple answer to the question is:

WIN

We had a great team, we just didn't win when it mattered.

 

[PatsSox363804]

Kidnap the Ryan brothers before the season started.

 

[Willie55]

Win the Super Bowl

 

[DarrylStingley]

Hire coordinators who could make half time adjustments.

The lack of same didn't show up until the Jets game but half time adjustments on offense were not made and I have to believe that a Charlie Weis lead offense would have done that and the Pats would be in Dallas today if he or someone else with gravitas had been there.

 

[dhamz]

There is plenty of "could have dones" but I think in hindsight the Jets exposed the Pats in the playoffs as a team not as good as their record. This was not the diverse, deeply talented roster typical of a 14-2 team. It is a roster in transition. The defense is very young and opportunistic but far from elite at this point in its development. The running game can compliment a dominant passing game but it can't win games if Brady struggles.

They won 14 because Tom Brady played at a level the league has seen no more than a few times in its history. With Brady at his normal, great, Hall of Fame level they probably are a 10 or 11 win team with this roster which is still pretty impressive for the Pats as the rebuild on the fly.

 

[Bring Back Antowain!]

Hire coordinators who could make half time adjustments.

The lack of same didn't show up until the Jets game but half time adjustments on offense were not made and I have to believe that a Charlie Weis lead offense would have done that and the Pats would be in Dallas today if he or someone else with gravitas had been there.

I completely disagree. I thought the Patriots were excellent at making half-time adjustments this season. And the offense did look better in the second half against the Jets. It was the defense that suffered, making gut-wrenching mistakes at the absolute most in-opportune times.

Yes, the offense struggled. Yes, the defense kept the offense in the game for three quarters. But when it mattered most and it looked like the offense was finally getting going, the defense couldn't come up with a stop.

 

[DarrylStingley]

I completely disagree. I thought the Patriots were excellent at making half-time adjustments this season. And the offense did look better in the second half against the Jets. It was the defense that suffered, making gut-wrenching mistakes at the absolute most in-opportune times.

Yes, the offense struggled. Yes, the defense kept the offense in the game for three quarters. But when it mattered most and it looked like the offense was finally getting going, the defense couldn't come up with a stop.

How did the offense look better in the second half against the Jets? The offense sucked ass in the second half. One good drive.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Offensive output by the NEP in playoff games 2001-2004

16
17
13
17
24
32
20
34
24

Average: 21.8
Points scored vs NYJ 3 weeks ago: 21

The 2010 NEP defense played pretty well in the last month but the 4 issues that plagued the team all year resurfaced in the playoff game:

1. Pass rush
2. 3rd down defense
3. Red Zone defense
4. Stout run defense

All 4 qualities the 01-04 defenses had.

Simplistic conclusion #1: A high-powered offense can't be high-powered all the time.

Simplistic conclusion #2: Their defense is not good enough to bail out the offense on a bad day.

 

[DarrylStingley]

Offensive output by the NEP in playoff games 2001-2004

16
17
13
17
24
32
20
34
24

Average: 21.8
Points scored vs NYJ 3 weeks ago: 21

The 2010 NEP defense played pretty well in the last month but the 4 issues that plagued the team all year resurfaced in the playoff game:

1. Pass rush
2. 3rd down defense
3. Red Zone defense
4. Stout run defense

All 4 qualities the 01-04 defenses had.

Simplistic conclusion #1: A high-powered offense can't be high-powered all the time.

Simplistic conclusion #2: Their defense is not good enough to bail out the offense on a bad day.

And they failed to hold the Jets to a 3 and out after they scored and the Jets converted that hideous 58 yard play.

But great post.

 

[PATSNUTme]

14-2 in the regulars season. Pretty damn good, way more than expected.

Playoff game:1.not throw an int when they were going down for a TD. 2.Not drop a TD pass in the end zone 3. Not drop the snap on the fake punt. 4. Not take 7:45 off the clock being behind by 2 scores.5. tackle and don't let a 4 yard reception become a 58 yarder.

My rear view mirror is awesome.

 

[seven]

Three things I think, any one of which the Pats beat the Jets:
Crumpler makes the catch.
No fake punt.
No Int.

Now some may say I am going OT here, perhaps. The question is about personnel.
My answer is the personnel was good enough. they needed one more play, one bounce, that is all.

The team was good enough, and in the end it was a tremendous job by BB and his people. I recall many folks predicting 10 wins, a tough rebuilding year.
Well, somewhere along the way it became like 2004 again?

The most enjoyable season in a long time.

The ballsy move of dealing Moss, reworking the O, while building a young D, and then finishing with the best record in the NFL. So I really can't point to anything and say, that was an error.


Little things, individual plays, bounce of the ball, a call,
a roll of the dice all add up.

They won 3 SB's by a FG. Adam misses, they might have none.
Samuel makes that INT, they have 4.


Colts after 21-3 halftime?
Potential 5.

Crumpler makes that catch, they could be facing the
cheezits today for number six. Small issue of Pitt in the way,
but my point is I can't find anything to criticize here.

They have been ultra competitive in a remarkable way.
I remember the feeling after the '85 Bears fiasco, that it would
never happen, to wonder what it would be like to have a dominant
team, like the Old Steelers, etc.

A few bounces, they are going for number 6 today.

The difference between 3 and 6 in personnel?
honestly, I have no idea. I think it is more based on events, a bit of luck, the bounce of the ball, at this level, at the level they have maintained, for ten years now.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Three things I think, any one of which the Pats beat the Jets:
Crumpler makes the catch.
No fake punt.
No Int.

Now some may say I am going OT here, perhaps. The question is about personnel.
My answer is the personnel was good enough. they needed one more play, one bounce, that is all.

The team was good enough, and in the end it was a tremendous job by BB and his people. I recall many folks predicting 10 wins, a tough rebuilding year.
Well, somewhere along the way it became like 2004 again?

The most enjoyable season in a long time.

The ballsy move of dealing Moss, reworking the O, while building a young D, and then finishing with the best record in the NFL. So I really can't point to anything and say, that was an error.


Little things, individual plays, bounce of the ball, a call,
a roll of the dice all add up.

They won 3 SB's by a FG. Adam misses, they might have none.
Samuel makes that INT, they have 4.


Colts after 21-3 halftime?
Potential 5.

Crumpler makes that catch, they could be facing the
cheezits today for number six. Small issue of Pitt in the way,
but my point is I can't find anything to criticize here.

They have been ultra competitive in a remarkable way.
I remember the feeling after the '85 Bears fiasco, that it would
never happen, to wonder what it would be like to have a dominant
team, like the Old Steelers, etc.

A few bounces, they are going for number 6 today.

The difference between 3 and 6 in personnel?
honestly, I have no idea. I think it is more based on events, a bit of luck, the bounce of the ball, at this level, at the level they have maintained, for ten years now.

Thats why the loss hurts. So many things seemed to indicate that the Pats were going to stop in Dallas. Offense was rolling. D was coming around and seemed to be good enough. Heck, I CONVINCED myself that this was the 2006 Colts, 2009 Saints & Colts, 2007 Pats and to a lesser extent the 2008 Cards all over again. I said to myself that this team was just like the 1994 49ers for goodness sakes. It was a new way of winning. High-powered offense and a defense that was good enough to get there and win. There were plenty of precedents to draw from.

In the end, this year was about defense as all 4 teams finished in the top 6 in total defense.

Because of the true history of NE playoff football, I refuse to throw the lion's share of the blame on the offense. No question that they didn't play well and deserve to be criticized but defense does win championships. It could be a dominant defense or a defense that knows when it needs to make plays. The 2010 Pats proved that they had the ingredients to be the latter but in the final analysis, were neither.

 

[mgteich]

We were 14-2 and did much better in almost all phases of the game than anyone had any right to expect. We were the best team in the nfl going into the playoffs. We need to continue to move forward where we can, but there is little that would have improved on our record for the season. Obviously, someone like Peppers might have improved our defensive stats.
====================================

We needed to prepare better for the jets game. Yes, we could ahve won if we had executed better, but our 14-2 should have been able to win even if we didn't play our best.

That being said, we need a running back that will help in crunch time. And obviously, we need wide receivers who cannot be covered one on one, they need to be able to get open.
This board greatly undrrates our great OL who agave Brady an enormous amount of time to throw.
==========

Our wide receivers are the most overrated part of our game.

 

[Michigan Dave]

Hire coordinators who could make half time adjustments.

The lack of same didn't show up until the Jets game but half time adjustments on offense were not made and I have to believe that a Charlie Weis lead offense would have done that and the Pats would be in Dallas today if he or someone else with gravitas had been there.

The notion of halftime adjustments is completely overblown, IMO. You need to continuously be making adjustments as the game progresses. If you wait until halftime, it's too late.

Halftime gives you a chance if behind to stall momentum, regain focus and have a more calm environment to coach for the second half, but really you won't see anything at halftime that you can't pick up on in the half.

 

[Ron Sellers]

Hindsight is always 20/20 but even at the time I think that the following was pretty obvious (but costly):

This was a team that was supposed to go about 9-7. Other than the well documented miscues in the playoff loss to the Jets (see PatsNutMe's comment above), there's not really much else the Patriots realistically could have done better.

Hardly anybody seems to acknowledge it, but the Pats overachieved in 2010.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Hard to imagine what they could have done during the regular season that would have improved their standing at the end of the year. Pretty clearly, the same team that went 14--2 needed to show up for the Playoffs and didn't.

There are really no "excuses" available here. The Jets beat us and the game was nowhere near as close as the final score.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Three things I think, any one of which the Pats beat the Jets:
Crumpler makes the catch.
No fake punt.
No Int.

Now some may say I am going OT here, perhaps. The question is about personnel.
My answer is the personnel was good enough. they needed one more play, one bounce, that is all.

The team was good enough, and in the end it was a tremendous job by BB and his people. I recall many folks predicting 10 wins, a tough rebuilding year.
Well, somewhere along the way it became like 2004 again?

The most enjoyable season in a long time.

The ballsy move of dealing Moss, reworking the O, while building a young D, and then finishing with the best record in the NFL. So I really can't point to anything and say, that was an error.


Little things, individual plays, bounce of the ball, a call,
a roll of the dice all add up.

They won 3 SB's by a FG. Adam misses, they might have none.
Samuel makes that INT, they have 4.


Colts after 21-3 halftime?
Potential 5.

Crumpler makes that catch, they could be facing the
cheezits today for number six. Small issue of Pitt in the way,
but my point is I can't find anything to criticize here.

They have been ultra competitive in a remarkable way.
I remember the feeling after the '85 Bears fiasco, that it would
never happen, to wonder what it would be like to have a dominant
team, like the Old Steelers, etc.

A few bounces, they are going for number 6 today.

The difference between 3 and 6 in personnel?
honestly, I have no idea. I think it is more based on events, a bit of luck, the bounce of the ball, at this level, at the level they have maintained, for ten years now.

Well said. I wouldn't change a word.