New England Patriots Links 2/08/12 - Patriots Already Looking To 2012
by Marima on Feb 8, 2012 8:53 AM EST
in New England Patriots Links
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PrintBill Belichick is asked about how proud he is of his team.
Real proud of them. I thought they worked hard all year, they competed well all season. We won a lot of games and even the ones we didn't win, we fought right to the end and played very competitively. We did that last night, just came up a little bit short. I have all the respect in the world for the team and all the players and what they've done for over six months. It's not about one game or one play or anything, it's the whole body of work. I really, really enjoyed coaching this team and have a lot of respect for them.
Michael Rosenberg (SI) Brady's performance in Super Bowl adds a lot to his legacy. Really.
But overall, these facts should not be in dispute: Brady took an otherwise nondescript Patriots team to the brink of a championship, and he played well Sunday. At the end of the first half, he completed 10 of 10 passes and drove the Pats 98 yards for a touchdown. He broke the Super Bowl record for consecutive completions. ...
Did Eli Manning outplay Brady Sunday? Well, Manning was great, and his numbers (30 of 40 completions, 296 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, no intentional grounding penalties that led to a safety) were better. But Manning also had an easier task than Brady in almost every way. ...
True, Brady only led his team to 17 points. But New England had the worst field position I can ever remember for a Super Bowl team. The Pats started on their own 6, their 29, their 20, their 2, their 21, their 17, their 20, their 8 and their 20. The Patriots played the entire game uphill. ...
Did Brady complete a bunch of passes downfield? No, he did not. But have you seen his roster? His leading receiver is 5-foot-9 Welker, a possession receiver. His second-leading receiver is a tight end. His third-leading receiver is another tight end. His fourth-leading receiver is another 5-9 guy, Branch, who is 32 years old.
Good players, all of them. But who in that group seems like a deep threat to you? Bill Belichick answered this question last summer: Nobody. That is why he acquired Chad Ochocinco -- he was supposed to be that deep threat. Unfortunately Ochocinco is neither deep nor a threat.
I'm not saying Brady was better than Manning or that this was the greatest performance of his life. But he played very well in a Super Bowl, for a team that, top to bottom, is not as talented as the Giants. Yes, I know the Pats won 13 regular-season games and the Giants won nine. But that was largely a function of schedule (New England didn't beat a team with a winning record until the playoffs) and the greatness of Brady and Belichick.
TEAM TALK
- Howard Ulman (AP) Patriots eager for another Super Bowl shot.
- Erik Scalavino Ask PFW: Super Bowl post-mortem.
- Patriots 2012 opponents announced.
- Press Conference: Bill Belichick (6.35 min. video).
LOCAL LINKS
- Shalise Manza Young gives us a quick rundown of the current roster to see who's under contract for the current season.
- Karen Guregian focuses on the positive and gives us five reasons to believe the Patriots could be back in the big game next February.
- Ian Rapoport thinks the key holes in the Patriots lineup may be too big to fill.
- Christopher Price reports as the Patriots put the wraps on the season with a farewell in Foxboro.
- Jackie MacMullan tells Pats fans to "pull yourselves together." Sometimes the other guys are better.
- Bill Reynolds reminds us that sometimes there's no villain, it's just sports.
- Tom E. Curran reports that the Patriots are already working on returning to the Super Bowl.
- Christopher Price notes the Patriots could lose TE coach Brian Ferentz to Iowa, where he may join his father's staff as an assistant.
- Mike Reiss offers some quick-hit thoughts on each of the Patriots players scheduled for unrestricted FA and gauges who might return.
- Mark Daniels thinks the young Patriots defense may turn to gold.
- Phil Perry reports Deion Branch wants to retire as a member of the Patriots when he's ready.
- Danny Picard notes Robert Kraft said this season is one he 'won't forget for a long time.'
- Greg A. Bedard examines Brady's back-shoulder pass to Welker.
- DJ Bean profiles ten players the Patriots should look at drafting.
- Tony Massarotti says the Patriots are getting better, but they still have some work to do to make the most of the Belichick-Brady era.
- Mike Reiss answers his weekly reader mailbag: What we learned from the Pats' defeat, with an eye on 2012.
NATIONAL NEWS
- M.F. Hurley (CBS Boston) Brady's legacy very much intact, despite Super Bowl loss.
- Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Rodney Harrison says criticism of Brady isn't fair.
- Elliot Harrison (NFL.com) Exit Interview: Patriots must shore up hemorrhaging defense.
- James Walker (ESPN) Poll: Patriots' biggest offseason need.
- Jeff Diamond (SI) Offseason road maps for all teams.
- Pete Prisco (CBS Sports) Power Rankings: Giants are champs, but every team has big questions.
- Matt Bowen (Nat'l Football Post) Time to copy the Giants' blueprint for winning.
- Simon Samano (NFL.com) Warner doesn't buy that Eli is already Hall of Famer.
- Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) League not commenting on possible changes to 12 men penalty.
- Bill Simmons (Grantland) Searching for silver linings in Indianapolis.
- Kristian R. Dyer (Yahoo! Sports) Was physics the reason Wes Welker dropped Brady's pass?
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Comments
thank you, Rosenberg
anyone knocking on brady is a hater or a fairweather fan. brady played great. he made one big mistake (the safety, i’m still not sure what happened there. i still don’t buy the INT as a mistake, it was underthrown but you should be able to trust your receiver to make a play on the ball), and made several fantastic throws (16 completions in a row anyone?). he was also the victim of several drops (at least 4), and only had 22 minutes of possession compared to 37 for the giants, and that awful, awful field position. what brady did with this overachieving team was remarkable.
Those drops at the end were killer, as were three non-recovered fumbles
I know the Pats had some luck on their SB run but the luck the Giants had on this one is the stuff of legends. In 2001 we got lucky against the Raiders but we dominated the Steelers and Rams (well, relatively).
In the Green Bay game they completed a hail mary, and the best offense in the league came down with the most serious case of the dropsies I’ve ever seen.
In San Fran, the ball took a fortunate bounce and just barely grazed the punt returner. Eli threw balls that should have been INTs that the Niners didn’t convert. And as a bonus, he knocked out one of their CBs on one of those.
Against the Pats they fumbled three time—THREE!—and recovered all of them through either lucky bounces or a dumb penalty by the Pats. The Pats receivers also came down with the same case of the dropsies that afflicted Green Bay at the worst possible time.
I know that luck plays a part in the game, but the luck the Giants had in this playoff run was downright ridiculous.
I guess that I’m bitter because from the way the Giants are talking you would think they won all their games by blowouts.
i think if you look at history
most superbowl champions are huge beneficiaries of luck. i have a dying love for football and the pats, so sometimes it’s hard to accept, but the truth is that most champs win because of some lady luck. that’s just the bottom line. yes, the giants got plenty of it. but if the pats make one less mistake or one more play, none of it matters and they win the game. we got pretty lucky against the ravens i would say. hopefully, we’re luckier next year.
by jamiesinnott on Feb 8, 2012 10:20 AM EST up reply actions
Agreed, football is affected by luck far more than the other big team sports.
The facts are that its just one game and that the ball isn’t round.
If one team has such a dominating advantage in talent and coaching, then the ‘luck’ factor can be suppressed. But any close game is always at the mercy of fortune. Indeed, whole seasons can turn on just a handful of plays.
This is probably more so the case in the salary cap / parity era since teams are less and less likely to have dominant talent advantages.
All this makes the consistent, decade long success of Bellichik more amazing.
Unfortunately, for this year, we lost just 4 of our 19 games by a total of …. 19 points. That’s less than 5 points each. Definitely in the ‘luck’ noise there.
NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.
Actually baseball is more luck than anything else. When a ball is play in baseball whether it’s a hit or out is heavily dependent on luck. But just my opinion lol
It might take a bad bounce in baseball, but most of the time you can be in the right place to field it.
In football, lame duck passes are hard to reel in, and the ball hitting the ground can bounce in pretty much any direction. Add in collisions and it’s pretty much controlled chaos.
The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.
Some people can learn from the mistakes of others, while some people need to pee on the electric fence themselves.
by SlotMachinePlayer on Feb 8, 2012 1:11 PM EST up reply actions
'barely' controlled chaos!
NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.
Baseball and the other 'major' team pro sports ameliorate the luck factor
by playing more games. The NHL, NBA & MLB all use a 7 game series for the title.
They also play a lot more games in their regular seasons. They don’t completely remove luck as a factor -clearly it is a big part of every sport. But it is no where near the capricious demon that it is in the NFL.
Obviously playing a multiple-game title series is not workable for football. So it is what it is. Luck will always be a big factor in football.
NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.
Yep, and that's the way the ball bounces....
The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.
Some people can learn from the mistakes of others, while some people need to pee on the electric fence themselves.
by SlotMachinePlayer on Feb 8, 2012 4:45 PM EST up reply actions
Jacobs told Giselle to "be cute and shut up"
what a sexist tool. I hope if Brady ever see him again (probably not with the giants though since he’s going get cut i bet), he kicks that useless piece of shit in the balls for disrespecting his wife.
Ditto
I hope bradys teamates read this and kick Jacobs ass. I dont know why idiots like Jacobs always have to say something stupid. Even Giants fans cant like this guy can they ? Any Giants fan post and let us know.
C;mon, Gisele can look after herself.
She’s already sent her bodyguards over to shoot him in the kneecaps.
The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.
Some people can learn from the mistakes of others, while some people need to pee on the electric fence themselves.
by SlotMachinePlayer on Feb 8, 2012 1:11 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
Best post-SB comment of the year!
Come on, folks – rec this.
NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.
Giants fan here
Personally, I recognize what he can do on the field and I’m very aware of his performance limitations. Mostly, on the field, he’s unexceptional to me and easily replaced. He’s overpaid so I’;m hoping and expecting he’s gone this off season.
He has an asshole, bully, personality, though he’s insanely loyal to his teammates. So, his fire can sometimes fire them up a bit. From that clubhouse perspective, he can be a plus. But he can also be a sulking distraction when he’s feeling under appreciated so that can be a bit of a negative. Still, his teammates pretty much tune that out, they understand his act.
So, in short, as a guy I don’t like him. As a player, I’d rather replace him. And while there are always some more loudmouth type fans who like his testosterone bluster, there are at least just as many who will happily see him go for a RB with more upside and consistency of performance.
Now everyone will say Eli is in Bradys class. F*ck me
by PatNation85 on Nov 6, 2011 4:31 PM PST
Thanks for your take.
The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.
Some people can learn from the mistakes of others, while some people need to pee on the electric fence themselves.
by SlotMachinePlayer on Feb 8, 2012 3:14 PM EST up reply actions
As a Patriots fan, I feel like you're spot on.
The guy’s not that good, but he runs his mouth like a guy with significantly more production.
he's like one of those insecure macho guys who needs. . .
to be told how tough he is all the time or else he wilts and sulks. His ego is weak and he tries to force it with all this bluster.
I used to say on BBV that he probably needs his wife to tell him over and over what a stud he is to be able to perform, er, off the field.
Now everyone will say Eli is in Bradys class. F*ck me
by PatNation85 on Nov 6, 2011 4:31 PM PST
Classless idiot
I’m really starting to hate the Giants. Its the arrogance that bothers me, and theirs is approaching Rex Ryan levels. First Eli saying he was in Brady’s class, the guarantees of victory, and now this. Any of those by themselves is only slightly annoying, but all combined it makes me dislike as much or more then the Colts/Jets. And its odd, because I always assume the Jets get it from their coach. The Giant’s coach doesn’t seem like that.
So, I guess I hope you cut Jacobs and he goes to some team like the Browns where he’ll be shut up by their constantly losing record. Or follow in Plax’s footsteps, and let us kick his ass twice a year.
Oh my god a floor zombie! Oh wait, thats you
- Toby Turner
by New Century Silver on Feb 8, 2012 5:56 PM EST up reply actions
Oh and
Jacobs is a classless idiot, not you, sorry.
Oh my god a floor zombie! Oh wait, thats you
- Toby Turner
by New Century Silver on Feb 8, 2012 5:56 PM EST up reply actions
no problem
and I really don’t want to get into the whole Eli interview thing at the beginning of the season, but the short deal is, it didn’t go down like you are saying it did.
He was asked on a radio show if he thought of himself as on par with any of the best QB’s in the league, and he said yes. He was not bumping his chest, just expressing confidence in himself. But the media blew it up into a huge thing.
Eli is all about talking up the team, not himself.
Now everyone will say Eli is in Bradys class. F*ck me
by PatNation85 on Nov 6, 2011 4:31 PM PST
I know how it went
and that was what I meant when I said any of them alone and its not a big deal. That alone doesn’t bother me, but when it seems like every player on the team is getting into the action… little more questionable IMO.
And while it is a bit of a trap question, I think most people could have wiggled their way out of any controversy. “Well I try my best, I’m sure Brady tries his best” or “We’re two different QBs, its hard to compare” or " We’ll see how I am when I’m Brady’s age" are all safe answers that are bound to offend nobody. Media did kind of overhype it, but I’m not basing my opinion off the hype.
Oh my god a floor zombie! Oh wait, thats you
- Toby Turner
by New Century Silver on Feb 9, 2012 1:26 AM EST up reply actions
yes, he now says he would say
“I don’t get into ranking QB’s. I leave that to the media and other people. I just focus on being the best QB I can be to help my team win.”
But c’mon, man. He’s been handling the NY media for years with nary any slip. This is an indictable offense for not having a boring cliche ready for that one?
As for the chirping from the Giants, it definitely came up more late this season after they got baited into defending themselves prior to the Jets game, at least for some players. Then they just kept expressing their confidence during the late season run. But I actually thought what Plax did before SB 42 was worse and, well, in a nastier spirit, and a lot of us are very glad he’s long gone from Giant blue.
Now everyone will say Eli is in Bradys class. F*ck me
by PatNation85 on Nov 6, 2011 4:31 PM PST
Nice sig lol
Though unfortunately true :-(
In GOD I TRUST>In BB i trust......faith where it belongs!!
Life is about who makes it, not who makes it the fastest! Drive slow homie.
yeah, I jumped in to this conversation forgetting I had that
I even thought about changing it lately but the guys at BBV told me not to. I had left it for a while just out of habit and then superstition.
Thanks for being a good sport about it all.
Now everyone will say Eli is in Bradys class. F*ck me
by PatNation85 on Nov 6, 2011 4:31 PM PST
Patriots should get Juron Criner
He is IMO a perfect fit and he played with Gronk
Tedy Bruschi- "How do we feel about being AFC Champs?"
Team- "Aww Yeah!!!"
If the Pats lose Ferentz to Iowa...
I say we bring back Alge Crumpler to be the TE coach.
"Fight on, my men!" Sir Andrew said, "A little I'm hurt, but not yet slain. I'll just lay down and bleed awhile... and then I'll rise, and fight again!"
Could definitely happen.
The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.
Some people can learn from the mistakes of others, while some people need to pee on the electric fence themselves.
by SlotMachinePlayer on Feb 8, 2012 3:14 PM EST up reply actions
Brian Ferentz
imo has OC potential down road so I hope we don’t lose him. He also deserves some credit for the development of our tight ends
by iso1512 on Feb 8, 2012 3:30 PM EST via mobile reply actions
How old was elway when he won his last super bowl
by alweezy61 on Feb 8, 2012 4:06 PM EST via Android app reply actions
Favre was over 40, but played at least 1 year too long.
The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.
Some people can learn from the mistakes of others, while some people need to pee on the electric fence themselves.
by SlotMachinePlayer on Feb 8, 2012 4:52 PM EST up reply actions
Thanks for the links again, good lady.
I’m a creature of routine.
The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.
Some people can learn from the mistakes of others, while some people need to pee on the electric fence themselves.
by SlotMachinePlayer on Feb 8, 2012 4:51 PM EST reply actions
You're very welcome my friend
I just needed a couple of days to regroup before I could dip my toe into the media waters again. : )
Keep the faith!
I spent my time troll hunting.
The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.
Some people can learn from the mistakes of others, while some people need to pee on the electric fence themselves.
by SlotMachinePlayer on Feb 8, 2012 5:42 PM EST up reply actions
Giants more talented then the Pats?
I dunno, maybe I’m crazy, but I was surprised by this. They have good receivers, but if you count our TEs as receivers (which is how they play) I’d say we’re at least as good, probably better. The only thing I’d say they really beat us in is pass-rush.
Ian Rapoport is wrong. Brady may not be getting any younger, but he sure is getting better. No reason to think this will stop. The defense played good considering all the problems they had – if it weren’t for the injuries and constant cutting and picking up of players, I believe we’d be a top 10, or top 5, defense. As for receivers, I’d say that is perhaps the easiest position to fill, especially this year. History is the only real concern.
Oh my god a floor zombie! Oh wait, thats you
- Toby Turner
by New Century Silver on Feb 8, 2012 5:48 PM EST reply actions
And about Gisele
once again, she is just a fan. If a Giant said what they said, I’d probably say something similar back at them. I’m a fan. Whats the difference?
Now, I know you may not want to look mad – I know alot of people delight in the misery of other teams. There are tons of Pats fans, including myself, that head over to the Jets blog whenever they lose. I’ve seen the Jets do it to us. Thats partly why I wasn’t too mad at Gronk, because it was like taunting the taunters. So while I see why you might not want to do it, theres certainly nothing wrong with doing it.
Oh my god a floor zombie! Oh wait, thats you
- Toby Turner
by New Century Silver on Feb 8, 2012 6:03 PM EST reply actions
Good teams deal with injuries
we could have and should have. I do think if we had Gronk we score at least 10 more points, but its not as though we weren’t good enough to win without him. That game could’ve gone either way. One good sign is that the offensive line did its job, which it hasn’t during the last few playoff games.
UNRELATED:
Do you all think Kirkpatrick, Blackmon, Luck, and Kalil will be the top 4 picks, not necessarily in that order?
Oh my god a floor zombie! Oh wait, thats you
- Toby Turner
by New Century Silver on Feb 9, 2012 1:36 AM EST up reply actions
no
claiborne will go before kirkpatrick in all likelihoods
Tedy Bruschi- "How do we feel about being AFC Champs?"
Team- "Aww Yeah!!!"
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