Content Post Idle thoughts: a new beginning

[One-If-By-Sea]

Um. So what’s the point of TC? It’s learning the new system, work as a team, and gain that needful continuity. Can’t you see that Belichick would engage in PR? He was the one playing Reiff in the third preseason game. Like a dope.

Every team has a hole, or two or three. The holes increase over the season with injuries. You are nit picking and trying to make a mountain out of a molehill. It was not prefect? Agreed - Reiff and McDermott are injured. Is it OK? Yup.

 

[Wozzy]

True with the defense and ST. But offense?

OL is a mystery. What happens if Trent Brown goes down?

They have Anderson who can play either side, along with two big athletic dancing bear types in Sow and Wheatley.

They're a lot better off now than a month ago with Reiff and McDermott. No offense to those guys but Reiff is toast and McDermott returned to being the practice squad call up player he really was. They have a deep talented OLine room now.... all the preseason panic was for nothing if they stay healthy and the talented young guys play well.

TEs aren’t deep. Backup QB?

Most teams don't have one superior TE, we have two... that's deep.

We have Mac, Zappe and Corral... three of the best QB prospects from the last three drafts. It's a good room, it's young like most other units.

Offense is still a mixed bag.

Execution, Mac's true self and development by all the youngsters, health... there are some questions. But they've given themselves as many bites from the apple as possible.

I do agree our WRs will produce. They’ve been slighted.

There is no perfect team, even the Eagles and other top contenders have holes or question marks. The Patriots are one of the deeper young talented teams in the league... they just have the bad luck of the worst schedule in the NFL. If they play well and execute, it won't matter... they can win some games.

 

[Water Boy]

Curran nailed it. The penalties, lack of focus and breakdowns on special teams are the primary reasons BB is on the hot seat.

Unexcusable for a coach who invests so much into STs and who prioritizes Defense over Offense. The Defense over Offense approach is in arguable.

BB drafted three shiny new toys at the top of the draft on Defense and shopped at the FA bargain bin to address the all important OT positions, despite having plenty of cap to sign a proven quality starter.

Under those circumstances it's imperative that a team has discipline and doesn't beat itself.

 

[FCB02062]

Bill the Coach's strategy of play conservative offense, keep the game close, make the other team drive 12 plays for a TD, win on special teams, blah, blah, blah....is complete bullschitt in today's NFL (and especially with the lack of top end game breaking talent on offense). Since Brady left, Bill the Coach has "kept it close" (one score game, and no, i didn't go back and see if someone got a garbage time td to make it a one score game) a total of TWENTY times since Bill the GM decided he did not need Tom Brady (remember, his staffer said they can win with "any top 15 quarterback). Bill the Coach's record in those TWENTY games? Well, it's just like his overall record since Brady was let go, the Coach is 9-11 in one score games. How's that "keeping it close, running the ball, eating clock, etc" working over the last 3 games Bill the Coach bobos? Is a sub .500 record in close games acceptable? Going backward from last year, Bill the Coach is 4-4, 3-3, and 2-4 in those season-making one score games. In each of those seasons the offense has been average or worse (don't try to sell me on 2021 - the offense sucked vs good teams and struggled to score 3 tds vs anyone any good)
For comparison, in the three year's prior to Cam Newton's seasons at the helm, Bill the Coach led his team to a respectable 14-10 in one score games. From 2019 backward, Bill the Coach was 4-5, 4-2, and 6-3. What do the 4-5 record in 2019 and the bad one score game records post-Brady have in common? Of course, in 2019 the top "weapon" was a broken down Edelman and a freaking running back....that's your 2019 top offensive producers, a slot receiver and running back - just how conservative Bill the Coach drew it up. Brady's other options that season? Phillip Dorsett (a 3/4 receiver) and Burkhead. Since when is having running backs 2 of your top 4 receivers a winning combination? Again, lack of talent on offense did in the 2019 Patriots, just like it's done them in the 3 years since Belichick ousted Brady.
Contract 2019 (a season in which Bill the GM completely left the offensive cupboard bare), with 2017, their best record in one score games in the last five seasons. The 2017 Patriots had a carnival of offensive weapons - Gronkowski, Cooks, Amendola, Burkhead, White, Hogan, Dion Lewis. That team was able to withstand the pre-season loss of Edelman and make it all the way to the SB.
Bill the Coach better hope that Messrs. Schuster, Bourne, Henry, Gesicki, Parker, et al., can provide enough firepower to get this team over the disgusting one score record these last 3 sesasons.
To summarize, you can't win in the NFL in 2023 without offense. The #s prove it, the records prove it. When the Patriots have some top end talent on offense - they win; when they are bereft of top end talent, they don't win. The caveat to this is the quarterback....Bill the GM saw fit to let the top end talent of all top end talent take his talent to Tampa....and replaced him with Cam Newton.

 

[TommyD4207]

Bill the Coach's strategy of play conservative offense, keep the game close, make the other team drive 12 plays for a TD, win on special teams, blah, blah, blah....is complete bullschitt in today's NFL (and especially with the lack of top end game breaking talent on offense). Since Brady left, Bill the Coach has "kept it close" (one score game, and no, i didn't go back and see if someone got a garbage time td to make it a one score game) a total of TWENTY times since Bill the GM decided he did not need Tom Brady (remember, his staffer said they can win with "any top 15 quarterback). Bill the Coach's record in those TWENTY games? Well, it's just like his overall record since Brady was let go, the Coach is 9-11 in one score games. How's that "keeping it close, running the ball, eating clock, etc" working over the last 3 games Bill the Coach bobos? Is a sub .500 record in close games acceptable? Going backward from last year, Bill the Coach is 4-4, 3-3, and 2-4 in those season-making one score games. In each of those seasons the offense has been average or worse (don't try to sell me on 2021 - the offense sucked vs good teams and struggled to score 3 tds vs anyone any good)
For comparison, in the three year's prior to Cam Newton's seasons at the helm, Bill the Coach led his team to a respectable 14-10 in one score games. From 2019 backward, Bill the Coach was 4-5, 4-2, and 6-3. What do the 4-5 record in 2019 and the bad one score game records post-Brady have in common? Of course, in 2019 the top "weapon" was a broken down Edelman and a freaking running back....that's your 2019 top offensive producers, a slot receiver and running back - just how conservative Bill the Coach drew it up. Brady's other options that season? Phillip Dorsett (a 3/4 receiver) and Burkhead. Since when is having running backs 2 of your top 4 receivers a winning combination? Again, lack of talent on offense did in the 2019 Patriots, just like it's done them in the 3 years since Belichick ousted Brady.
Contract 2019 (a season in which Bill the GM completely left the offensive cupboard bare), with 2017, their best record in one score games in the last five seasons. The 2017 Patriots had a carnival of offensive weapons - Gronkowski, Cooks, Amendola, Burkhead, White, Hogan, Dion Lewis. That team was able to withstand the pre-season loss of Edelman and make it all the way to the SB.
Bill the Coach better hope that Messrs. Schuster, Bourne, Henry, Gesicki, Parker, et al., can provide enough firepower to get this team over the disgusting one score record these last 3 sesasons.
To summarize, you can't win in the NFL in 2023 without offense. The #s prove it, the records prove it. When the Patriots have some top end talent on offense - they win; when they are bereft of top end talent, they don't win. The caveat to this is the quarterback....Bill the GM saw fit to let the top end talent of all top end talent take his talent to Tampa....and replaced him with Cam Newton.

Happy for you, or sorry that happened.

 

[long distance]

Like I have stated before this season is ALL about building the core group of talent and depth that will compete rabidly for championships starting next year.

Thanks for the start of new iT series.

unfortunately i agree that this looks to be another “dress rehearsal“ season. unnecessary and self-inflicted but thats not my problem.

after BBs cluster**** experiments last season i guess he's still not close to having the answer to the key question - QB of the future.

Without firm belief in QB tons of cap in the future will not mean much. So hopefully this season gives him an answer and OL cluster**** doesnt hinder the process too much.

Second big question remaining is stopping Josh Allen (and smart mobile QBs in general). It will be interesting to see how closer they came this yr.

If the answers to these two questions are positive then the contenders story from next yr on is ON, i agree.