What's Slater really saying?

[BTTA]

Is there something going on with the Patriots? Matthew Slater hints at a potential ‘splinter’

The Patriots Pro Bowler intimated that there might be some disconnect between players and coaches and that "tough decisions" lie ahead.

theathletic.com

Buckley's take:

He also said this: “You want to make sure there’s no splinter in what you’re doing. No splinter in the locker room, no splinter between the players and the coaches. You want to keep your head down and stay as positive as you can and just fight through it.”

But what really jumped out was this: “I mean, we have some choices here. I think one of the choices is to let this just spiral out of control. And the other choice is to put our feet on the ground and make a stand and fight. And I believe in the character of the men in this locker room. I believe they will fight no matter the circumstances, even though we’re being faced with some adversity right now. I believe that’s the choice that we’re going to make, but it’s not going to be an easy choice. It’s not something that we’re just going to show up and things are going to happen. And we’ve experienced this early on in the season. It’s going to require a lot of tough decisions and a lot of tough football, and it’s going to be hard.”

Making sure everyone sticks together?

Making sure there’s no splinter between the players and the coaches?

Tough decisions?

...Given his experience as a player, given his experience as a speaker and, especially, given his nearly a decade-and-a-half commitment to his craft, it’s clear he was sending a message Monday. Perhaps it’s not so much that members of the Patriots aren’t buying in, but that they don’t recognize that “buying in” extends beyond the employees’ entrance at Gillette Stadium.

Know this: Slater was speaking directly to some people Monday, and none of them work in the media.

 

[Ring 6]

This is a non story. Saying we need to stick together through adversity doesn’t mean they arent sticking together.
You fell for click bait.

 

[Boston Boxer]

what this tells me is the Patriots have no leadership in the locker room. You think this is the first time players and coaches are at each others throats? In previous years (watch Tom Brady's Man in the Arena) there has always been a group of leaders on the roster and they self regulated. It has been mentioned before that some of us think there is a lack of leadership on this team.

 

[Triumph]

There is a problem with Winovich.

Could there be a divide with some players wanting Matt Patricia and others with Steve Belichick?

 

[Triumph]

This is a non story. Saying we need to stick together through adversity doesn’t mean they arent sticking together.
You fell for click bait.

 

[venecol]

The nepotism is finally rearing its ugly head.

 

[jah]

He's just talking about wins and losses, really. The whole splinter thing is a hypothetical consequence for more losses, not a description of what's currently happening.

It's funny how quickly the Patsfans hivemind switches from "this is the most tight-knit team I've ever seen" to "the chemistry is completely shot and we have no leadership".

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

just Slater reminding the team not to buy into the hype of 2 weeks ago, when the Pats were at the top of the conference.

 

[Triumph]

After all Bills losses they hate their coach.

 

[50-yard-line]

After all Bills losses they hate their coach.

Beat me to it, but

I CAN'T STAND IT ANYMORE!

 

[VectorPrime]

Slater doesn’t say stuff accidentally .

 

[fnordcircle]

Tough choices meaning he's going to convert to Islam. Inshallah.

 

[venecol]

Slater is just voicing player frustration about the snack bar being empty all the time because Fat Matt cleans it out.

 

[Kontradiction]

Slater is just voicing player frustration about the snack bar being empty all the time because Fat Matt cleans it out.

He prefers taking a dump in the handicap stall as well, but Patricia always beats him to it.

 

[n6249c]

I saw something back around the time of the Colts game about somebody (DMac?) voicing resentment that they lost two days from the bye week, playing on Monday night before the bye and Saturday after the bye. When they laid a clinker against the Colts I wondered if it had been a distraction affecting locker room focus. Now with the second clinker in a row this weekend plus Slater’s comments it seems something is amiss in the locker room. I hope the veterans aren’t part of the problem.

 

[slash83]

They’ve lost that 2-4 mentality, hopefully back to back losses have humbled the team.

 

[RobertWeathers]

************ I swear 3/4 of the fan base is looking for a problem.

...and people honestly think Steve Buckley is still a viable reporter?

 

[masterbouncer]

clearly BB lost the locker, they hate their coach


I am a bit scared now that they actually win a SB by Mac hitting N'Keal str8 in the facemask where the ball get stuck on the last play of the game for the winning TD

 

[venecol]

I'm hearing that the defense isn't taking well being blamed for the loss, especially after Mac threw the team under the bus last week with his poor practices comments. They see how Mac had his worse game of the season and aren't happy about being blamed for the loss. Everything will be fixed when the Pats hang a 50burger on the jags.

 

[masterbouncer]

I'm hearing that the defense isn't taking well being blamed for the loss, especially after Mac threw the team under the bus last week with his poor practices comments. They see how Mac had his worse game of the season and aren't happy about being blamed for the loss. Everything will be fixed when the Pats hang a 50burger on the jags.

lol, how about focusing to force one ****ing punt in the game rather than *****ing around, yeah the rookie should hang 50 points on the Bills D# with WR1 N'klost Harry, give me a break

who are those thin skinned girls in the locker?