Two things can be true:

[rochrist]

Hard to believe that was nine years ago. You have to think a lot of the CLs around might not know who/what that was.

Indeed. That's why it needs to keep being memorialized.

 

[rochrist]

Happens every season.

KC, Cincy and whoever loses tonight will be in the playoffs at the end of the season.

Ok Mr. Wright.

 

[mgteich]

Mac Jones is 0-12 when the other team scores 25.

This is a situation that must change if we are ever to go far into the playoffs.

 

[rochrist]

We're just lacking a guy that defenders have to account for on every snap, someone who can make something happen from nothing.

We really have to work hard to score. We have to put long drives together and Mac has to be damn near perfect. The days of dumping a 5 yard pass to Gronk and watch him run 40 yards upfield through defenders is sadly long distant

Nope. Instead you dump off a five yard pass to Stevenson and watch HIM run 40 yards upfield through defenders. Which is what happened yesterday.

 

[Ivan]

Laughable is the negative nancy contingent here assuming the Pats would get their hat’s handed to them against the powerful Eagles prior to the game, get slaughtered… now here arguing “there’s no such thing as moral victories” after a 5 point loss where the team played well outside of some fixable mistakes.

If we had won by a point, they’d be here complaining how we should have won by twenty if not for all the mistakes.

Right on the money. The FOTM ( Fellowship of the Miserable) all believed they were going to get throttled, and now they are choking back their bile crying about “ the one that got away. They played tough, but made too many mistakes to get a win against a really good team. They showed that they can become a good team if they grow from this, but not unless that happens. They aren’t more talented so they have to play tougher and execute better if they want to win consistently. Fortunately I think that left a bitter taste in their mouths, and they have the leadership to draw upon this loss and use it to turn into a better team. It certainly won’t get any easier any time soon, so they will have to play at a high level against the fish if they want to be in that game as well.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

I note that the Corky Club is even more strident than usual tonight -- Mac's obvious improvement from last year has them running a little scared methinks.

The offense scored 13 net points

 

[Ivan]

This is a situation that must change if we are ever to go far into the playoffs.

Yep, scoring ability is going to have to improve significantly. But on the bright side Jones demonstrated a key ability that I have ragged on all off season. He was able to extend plays yesterday, and that’s something he had to do if he’s ever going to become a really good QB. Last season we saw none of that, and you can’t succeed in the NFL if you can’t at least do that.

 

[mike_usagisan]

Great question. I expected it, given the o-line injuries. So I like I said, I will praise the o-line and defense for playing well. But seeing them come that close and fail again hurts a lot, maybe even more. I got teased personally

That's interesting. If they're going to lose, I'd rather see them lose fighting and still in it with a chance. The games last year where the offense came on and I knew they weren't going to do anything were the most I've hated watching in a long time.

 

[rochrist]

The offense scored 13 net points

How did you turn 20 points into 13 points? BY subtracting the one TD Philly scored from the 3 TDs the Pats scored? Then what about the 4 FGs they had? Net what?

 

[HSanders]

That's interesting. If they're going to lose, I'd rather see them lose fighting and still in it with a chance. The games last year where the offense came on and I knew they weren't going to do anything were the most I've hated watching in a long time.

for real...i was waiting for the d to take

the field so THEY could score...

 

[fightingirish595]

We have a ton of positives to take out of today. Mac looks much more like 2021 Mac. The offensive play calling was still spotty, but much much improved from last year. The defense held a top 5 offense in check most of the game and looked stout as ever for the most part. And it was a game we easily could have won against a team that may be one of the best 2-3 teams in the league.

Also:

The moral victories are getting really old. Too many games have ended like this the last 2-3 years. This team has to get better in clutch situations if it wants to go anywhere this year. The competition in this division is just too strong to afford to not be sharp in these moments.

They have failed in these situations time and time again and it has to change.

Right. Yesterday would have been easier to deal with if it hadn’t already been a trend for the last 3 seasons

 

[mike_usagisan]

for real...i was waiting for the d to take

the field so THEY could score...

Or Marcus Jones.

 

[mike_usagisan]

Right. Yesterday would have been easier to deal with if it hadn’t already been a trend for the last 3 seasons

Which trend are you talking about? The one where we made the playoffs with a rookie QB or the one where we were fighting for the playoffs despite our offense being unable to score more points than our own special teams and defense?

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

How did you turn 20 points into 13 points? BY subtracting the one TD Philly scored from the 3 TDs the Pats scored? Then what about the 4 FGs they had? Net what?

The offense scored 20 points and gave back 7 on a pick 6. 13 net points. This is not some benchmark game suggesting that Mac has leveled up.

 

[mike_usagisan]

The offense scored 20 points and gave back 7 on a pick 6. 13 net points. This is not some benchmark game suggesting that Mac has leveled up.

One of the complaints last year was that Mac's TD/Int ratio was terrible. Mac's TD/Int ratio leveled up to 3/1 for yesterday's game. I have no idea if he's leveled up, but at least that part looked a lot better. He has to up the rest of his game, but I'll take that as a start.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

One of the complaints last year was that Mac's TD/Int ratio was terrible. Mac's TD/Int ratio leveled up to 3/1 for yesterday's game. I have no idea if he's leveled up, but at least that part looked a lot better. He has to up the rest of his game, but I'll take that as a start.

It's just statistical noise. The Patriots bad 3 touchdown drives. Usually that's split between rushing and passing TDs. 3 scoring drives for 20 (call it 21) points and a pick 6 for -7. I don't see how by any reasonable measure Mac played at a high level...or call it what you want but the bottom line is +14 for the offense is a recipe for a loss almost every week.

 

[mike_usagisan]

It's just statistical noise. The Patriots bad 3 touchdown drives. Usually that's split between rushing and passing TDs. 3 scoring drives for 20 (call it 21) points and a pick 6 for -7. I don't see how by any reasonable measure Mac played at a high level...or call it what you want but the bottom line is +14 for the offense is a recipe for a loss almost every week.

I think you're twisting the numbers a little. Last year, if the running game had been stuffed, Mac couldn't have thrown three TDs. You're right, though, that those numbers don't matter nearly as much as the wins and losses numbers. But I see it as a sign of improvement on Mac's part and the whole offense. whether that'll translate into success, I don't know, but I'm already more hopeful about this offense than I was last year.

 

[RIpats88]

How many games last season has Mac thrown 3 TD passes and over 300 yards?

If he had 120 and a pick im sure the narrative wouldn't be that it's just "statistical noise"

Just admit it looks better than last season. Because it does. I don't think we could've had those 3 TD drives last season

 

[Triumph]

Ok Mr. Wright.

So, KC and Cinci wont turn it around?

Why not?

 

[Triumph]

How many games last season has Mac thrown 3 TD passes and over 300 yards?

If he had 120 and a pick im sure the narrative wouldn't be that it's just "statistical noise"

Just admit it looks better than last season. Because it does. I don't think we could've had those 3 TD drives last season

No he does not.

Same story with too many risky passes that will be INTs and turnovers lose games. Jones does not have an arm powerful enough to throw into tight windows consistently. The checkdown is his life preserver. Pats had 13 drives and 10 of those drives ended in either a punt, turnover or on downs.

The Pats defense needs to pitch shutouts for this QB to win.