A missed FG

A FG that was 'good'

1-6 in the red zone

Loss, loss, loss

I would figure the Pats would only lose 1 game ONE of those ways for a season. To lose 3 games out of the first 6 in those manners is gut-wrenching.

On the plus side, I figure it can only get better. And truth be told, it hasn't been that bad.

Just goes too shows how important good coaching is and unfortunately we haven't had much of it this year.

Sadly that's true.

Situation football, which they used to be FLAWLESS at, has been bad.

Playcalling has been all over the place.

Puzzling. With a 60+ year old relative, you'd honestly start to question mental capacity, it's just a fact of life. People get older, their minds are not as sharp. That said, I still don't want anyone other than BB running this team right now. How's his son coming along? Hahaha

A bad bump in the road. Many other teams fans are going through the same process of losing more than predicted in 6 games. One week/game at a time ... we'll be alright.

That 4 points could be the difference to an undefeated season, huh? The thing is that you don't know if I'm kidding or serious. Thats what makes it all interesting. Enjoy it Dragon!

A bad bump in the road. Many other teams fans are going through the same process of losing more than predicted in 6 games. One week/game at a time ... we'll be alright.

That 4 points could be the difference to an undefeated season, huh? The thing is that you don't know if I'm kidding or serious. Thats what makes it all interesting. Romeo Crennel, Charlie Weis, Bill O'Brien, Andy Reed, Mike Shanahan. Peyton Manning, Tom Coughlin etc or not laughing at the Pats, they KNOW!!!!!

Enjoy it Dragon!

Do you want to be a New Orleans Saints fan?

In response to ma6dragon9's comment:

Situations have changed.  Has BB and the other coaches updated the Situational Football Bible?

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My late Dad used to tell me "stealing a dollar versus stealing a million dollars is the same thing, stealing is stealing"

A loss by one point or 10 is still a loss. Useless stat to me. We are 3-3, it's go time. 

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I mentioned this is another thread, but the Patriots during the 2001-2004 run (including the 9-7 team in '02) actually had a higher winning percentage in close games (7 points or less) than in games with a margin of 8 points or higher.

Starting with Brady's return in 2009, the Pats are below .500 in games decided by 7 points or less. Essentially, the either beat teams by two scores or are .500 teams. When teams say if you can hang around with them at the start you can beat, it is totally true. 

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In response to ma6dragon9's comment:

Would you prefer 3 losses by 57 points like the Jets?

In response to agcsbill's comment:

I hate this argument. For thing, the Saints are bad choice they have actually won championship in the last five years. Not to mention teams like the Steelers (three SBs two championships) the Giants (two championships) the Colts (two SBs, one championship) and the Packers who also have a championship.

Are the Patriots the best regular season team over that stretch. Yes, and by a lot. Has that translated to a championship. Nope! 

The fans on here that question, Brady, Belichick or both, are trying to figure out why being the best regular season team for such a long stretch stop leading to Super Bowl victories. Clearly, there is some flaw in how the team is either put together or is performing on the field. 

For me being does not mean blindly accepting that and just assuming that the team will "figure it out" based on things they did 10 years ago with an almost entirely different roster.

In response to FrnkBnhm's comment:

Respectfully, so the alternative to the team figuring it out is exactly what?  Not figuring it out?  Fan boycott?  Sending hate mail to Kraft, BB, Brady, whoever?

This forum is all about fan commentary regardless if it's negative or positive.  I get that.  But I guess I'm wondering, seriously, your alternative to having faith in a class franchise, owned by a class organization, managed and coached by a superior talent with one of the best quarterbacks in the game is what?

In response to ATJ's comment:

My point is that I used to have faith in this coach and quarterback and starting with the first Super Bowl loss it has been eroding. I (and I think a lot of other fans) are trying to figure what has changed that has caused one of the best coaches of all time with one of the best QBs of all time to come up short one way or another for along stretch.

Looking at this team objectively, they clearly changed from balance to a slightly defensive first team to an offense first team in the 2007 season. Just look at the stats. From 2001-2006, this team averaged being the number 8 offense in the NFL (without every being higher than 4) and the number 7 defense (including two years where they were the number 2 defense and one where they were the top).

From 2007-2012, they are the number 3 offense (being the top offense three times) and the number 9 defense (with the defense declining in that period 4, 8, 5, 8, 15, 15). 

I guess some of this comes down to what being a fan means to you. To me it means cheering for the team, wanting them to win, being upset when they lose, but not necessarily thinking everything they do is correct, that they are always getting screwed by the refs, or that they will magically figure out what is wrong with the team based on things that happened ten years ago.

So I come on places like this and vent about my opinions of what is wrong, or I argue about it with my friends over a beer. I like to hear what other think even if I disagree with them. To me the people that drive me crazy are those that just say, Belichick with fix it because he is a genius, we will win because we have Brady, the Patriot way is the only way, etc. For me being a fan of a team does not mean blind faith.

I sometimes love a good conspiracy theory.  In the case of the replacement refs, I feel that they only really blew plays at the ends of games, and always to throw the game violently over to the other team.  The culprit might well have been the refs union, who may have cut a secret deal with a few of the scabs to make the NFL Commish lose lunch every single week.  Nothing specifically against the Patriots, just the labor business, as any Green Bay fan will tell you.

The Patriots had just scored the winning touchdown against Arizona, with 1 minute to go, when it was called back because of a phantom holding call against Gronkowski, plus the call pushed the Pats out of field goal range at the time.   Then the refs couldn't call the next game's crucial field goal even though the two of them were standing right behind each goal post.  That handles two of the losses.  Seattle went out and won in part because they have one of the best homefield advantages in the NFL, especially against an East Coast team on the early side of Eastern Standard Time.  Both Patriot coaches and players took one look at Pacific coastal waters on their descent into Seattle and immediately conked out like Sleeping Beauty eating a poisoned apple. 

I see it differently. I have followed this team passionately for 40+ years. The last 12 of those have been the BEST years to be a Pats fan in the history of the franchise. This coincides with the hiring of BB, the drafting of TB, the great defense of the early to mid 2000s and the prolific offense of the past half dozen or so seasons. I have heard over and over again how the Pats have lost it, that they are on the way down, that BB has lost the team, that the game has passed him by, that they can't win because of injuries, that their LBs or RBs or WRs or Safeties stink and dont belong in this league, or that the Jets or the Bills or the Dolphins will overtake them in the East. And yet at the end of the year, there they are at the top of the division, almost every year going deep into the playoffs, making it to the Super Bowl 5 times in 11 years. I think there are so many Johnny-come-lately fans now that they don't know or don't remember what having a BAD football team is really like. I do. It sucks. I actually read one poster on here who said the fans are 'entitled' to more from the team. Really? After 6 games you are deciding that you somehow deserve more? I think they give their best every week. Do the losses hurt? You bet they do. Do you think BB is not doing absolutely everything he can to get things straightened out and corrected? The guy is by far the most dedicated individual to ever run this (and possibly any) team in their history. He has got the job done consistently, year after year. Do I have blind faith? No. I have questioned BB and TB about decisions they made and passes they threw and gotten beaten up on this board for doing it. But I believe in long term results, and not the 'what have you done for me lately' mentality that this board has become.

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In response to NoMorePensionLooting's comment:

To be more precise with that analogy..losing these games was like getting caught stealing as opposed to getting away with it.

There were mistakes and isssues to work on in every game. If they won those games they would be 6-0...but not really a better team but have much bigger heads and have less motivation to improve just like a theif that gets away with it has less motivation to reform. They are human after all...can't be helped.

Lots of rookies on this team and some veterans who might take winning and moving on to the playoff for granted. Anyone can forget how hard it is to win in the NFL after a good stretch of wins.

Hopefully the losses go to good use in making this team better for the long haul.

 

In response to BostonSportsFan111's comment:

I too have been following this team for about 35 years myself. I remember getting beer spilled on my at Schaefer Stadium. I think that from 2001-2007 was the most incredible run of any sports team I was ever a fan of (for me it was more fun the the Celtics of the 1980s - maybe because they won all three SBs in that span - maybe because I was old and could enjoy it more).

I disagree about the the last six years though. I still feel like in 2007 they changed their fundamental philosophy. They went for flash over substance. They became the teams we had mocked previously, "The Greatest Show on Turf" and the Colts high-powered offense with average at best defenses.

Addressing the part that I bolded. Is he trying to straighten it out? I am sure he is, is it really so wrong to question his solutions. The defensive backfield has basically turned over twice in the past 6 years. The defense has gotten worse (I am just looking at league ranks) over that time. Whatever he is trying is not working. 

Meantime, the coaching staff is full of people who have only ever worked for him, everything is Bill's way. Last weekend, Pete Carroll figure out how to slow down the Patriots offense in the second half and the Patriots defense got worse as the game went along. 

I totally agree about judging on long-term results, but how long do the Super Bowl teams from 8-10 years ago count as valid evidence of how good BB and Brady are in today's NFL? When do they Tom Landry's or Don Shula's championships? Mike Shanahan won back-to-back Super Bowls 15 years ago, but I do not think that gives the people in Washington comfort today.

Personally, I still think that the Brady/Belichick combo has enough in the tank for one or too more runs, but we need to realistic... The two Super Bowl losses were missed opportunities. They were the better team in both of those games. Two years ago when the got knocked by the Jets when the had the best record in the NFL was a missed opportunity. There are not going to be that many more of those... I want to see them take advantage of them when the come up. The way they have been playing a coaching over the past several seasons makes me wonder if they still have that in them.

Don't forget SB loss in Feb . That makes 4 out of last 7.  And lets go back further to 2004.  Sh!tty playoff record.

here's my theory .  The coaches are choking .  Since Weis and crennel have left  we have lacked big game play calling ability.  we went from top level experienced in charge coaching to AMATEUR HOUR.

No cohesive  strategy  on either side of the ball during the decisive moments of the game.

I call it "BB  assistant syndrome " , the main symptom being vanilla predictable playcalling resulting from the pressure of working under the "genius "...

look at that last series against Seattle . 4 And out when all we needed was a field goal.  USE WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED DURING THE GAME AND CALL PLAYS THAT WILL WORK.

The talent s on this team .  These close game losses are on the coaches ... OC,DC,  AND BB.

 

In response to tcal2-'s comment:

wow...lol. I really don't remember you being so cynical... :)

Far too many fans have the "Super Bowl or bust" mentality. They see the last 8 years as failure even though the Pats have had the best record in football over that time and have had an undefeated regular season and have been to the Super Bowl twice.

14 teams,

Minnesota Vikings (0-4)
Buffalo Bills (0-4)
Cincinnati Bengals (0-2)
Philadelphia Eagles (0-2)
Tennessee Titans (0-1)
San Diego Chargers (0-1)
Atlanta Falcons (0-1)
Carolina Panthers (0-1)
Arizona Cardinals (0-1)
Seattle Seahawks (0-1)
Cleveland Browns
Houston Texans
Jacksonville Jaguars
Detroit Lions

have never won a Super Bowl. The Browns, Texans, Jaguars and Lions have never even played in one. The Pats have won three and were two defensive stops from a fourth and a fifth. I'm happy even if they never win another. Wanting more is just being greedy.

In response to tcal2-'s comment:

This is great point. I think the coaching staff is weak. BB insists on these young, inexperienced guys who have come up through his system. All any of them know is how BB does things. There are literally no defensive coaches who have coached for anyone else in the NFL. The only guy with NFL playing experience (Pepper Johnson) played almost his entire career for BB (with the Giants, Browns and Jets). 

The offense has more experience with Fears, McDaniels, O'Shea and Scarnecchia, but on "his" side of the ball no one knows anything about the NFL, but what Bill has taught them. So if Boyer and Flores cannot coach the DBs that is Belichick's failure not their own.