In Response to Re: Thoughts on Pats Season Record: : What foolish statistics. What diff does it make how many points you allow if you still lost 7 games? No one ran on them because they passed so well against them. No front 7 pressure, inexperienced DB's equates no need to bother to run. Did BB agree with "285 points allowed" when he went for it against the Colts? When a team did decide to have the mindset to run, unfortunately see last years playoff loss to the Ravens. Why do you think they will have an improved pass rush this year? Where is the increased depth? Last year: Green, Wilfork, TWarren, Wright, Pryor, Burgess This year: GWarren, Wilfork, Wright, Pryor, Brace, Lewis, Deadrick Is this the increased depth and athleticism? Face it, last year the DL stunk! And this year might be more of the same! Last year: Alexander,Banta Cain, Guyton, Mayo, Ninkovich,Seau, Thomas, Woods This year:Alexander, Banta Cain, Guyton, Mayo, Ninkovich,Woods, Spikes, Cunningham, Murrell. Do first year players (rookie or first year in the system) Spikes, Cunningham and Murrell upgrade last years group to passable mediocrity? 11,12,13 wins in this division with this schedule? The easy part of the schedule includes at Bears in December, at Bills in December and at Lions on Thanksgiving. Those are the EASY GAMES! I hate the Jets. I hate Rex Ryan. I hate Bill Parcells. Are you expecting more than 2-2 in these 4 games?   
Posted by ronk1

In Response to Re: Thoughts on Pats Season Record: : May I ask what your education level is? There is no "easy" game in the NFL.  The game @ Det and @ Chicago will be tough. Watch. They SHOULD win those, but you can't sleep on the road. Did you watch the Indy game last year when NE's D dominated Indy to the point they were well contained for 55 minutes until flags came out and some late questionable calls got the Colts back into it?  NE had a 13 point lead until the Butler call and this isn't even counting Maroney's fumble on the goal line. So, really, it was a 20 point lead that wasn't. Why would a 1 point loss on the road with BB rebuilding his D be considered a bad sign?  This is a bad sign?  Sorry to be rude, but when you continue to play borderline troll with negative nelly/sky is falling/worst case scenario logic, ignoring BB's approach in the draft, resiging key free agents, a few quiet fere agent moves, etc, and having what appears to be another strong draft, I question what level of education you have. You either some deductive logic issues or are a bitter individual struggling to think clearly as a Pats fan. You appear to need to see the name on the jersey to feel comfortable with how a team will play, v.s. understanding concepts of the game. I am seeing this more and more with what appears to be a slew of bandwagon Pats fans who don't know the game. Do you have a clue how mediocre the pass rush was in 2008 with Adalius Thomas, Seymour and Vrabel?  Guess what? It wasn't better in 2009, but it wasn't worse than 2008's poor rush.  Both were bad and 3 time SB winners Seymour and Vrabel were on that team.  So was Ty Warren.  Just how good were they when JT O'Sullivan sat back and threw easily into zone coverage like Chad Henne did last year?  Yeah. That's what I thought. When you actually look at facts, they aren't good for irrational people or trolls. Shall I continue? Do you know what the word continuity means?  Do you think it's a good thing to have a brand new secondary every year? I don't. I didn't enjoy 2008's secondary or 2009's, overall. 2009's was improved and showed signs of large upside.  Guess what? It's even more experienced now, far deeper and their 1st rd pick is also added to the mix. As is a guy named Arrington who happens to be a STs Ace.   This is the most stable secondary BB has had since 2007 and this is one is faster, deeper and more athletic than that one. You are asking me why I think the pass rush will be better, and I know for a fact the effort we get out of WHOMEVER plays for Adalius's spot, will be BETTER on that aspect alone.  I know this, because it will not be the same or worse. UPGRADE. Combine that upgrade with stability and continuity allowing BB to scheme, Pees being removed from his role (another major upgrade), and those are two more concepts that tilt towards an improvement. For the last time: The Patriots OFFENSE lost a MINIMUM of 3 games last year, upwards of FIVE GAMES. The OFFENSE. Not the defense. The defense expected to have bumps last year, but not as much as we saw compared to last year here in 2010.  You expect as many bumps because why?? NE is deeper at OLB than any team in this division: TBC outperformed Calvin Pace and any Miami OLB in 2009.  FACT Burgess performed at a higher rate within the snap rate v.s. Bryan Thomas of the Jets.  FACT NE drafted Jermaine Cunniningham in the 2nd rd .  NE has a second year system player in Rob Ninkovich who produced when he played.  TBC outperformed Terrell Suggs in Baltimore last year. Stop acting like this is so far down the line from other teams who run a 3-4 because it isn't.  Basically two teams have stud OLBs who run a 3-4 and this is Dallas and Pitt. That's it. GB has Matthews and Hawk, but are paper thin beyond that.  Look around the league. You are blind as a bat or need to have the familiar names on the jersey to make yourself feel good. Vegas has NE at 12-1, if I am not mistaken.  12-1 to win the SB. The Jest are a mysterious 10-1.    Vegas wants your money. On the D Line, Ty Warren is a loss beacuse it affects depth, yes.  However, I thought Jarvis Green showed why he isn't a 3-4 DE.  He failed.  He's gone. I'll take my chances with a driven Mike Wright in that role and see what happens.  Maybe this is the year Mike Wright channels his knowledge and plays somewhat close to what Ty Warren has done here? Is that really out of the realm of possibility? I don't think so.  Since when is Ty Warren this superstar, anyway? So far, Gerard Warren has shown more burst, pocket push and solid edge setting run D in one preseason game than an injured Ty Warren showed me ALL YEAR limping around and getting pasted off the edge. I admire him playing through his issues, but it hurt the team.  In no way am I convinced the QUALITY is lower. Sorry, not buying it. Many players on this D are AT LEAST 1 year in this system. Some are 2+ years in, including the players down the middle with Pro Bowlers/PB Caliber, like Wilfork, Mayo and Merriweather.  Give me a strong middle any day of the week. They are LOADED at MLB. Loaded.  You act like they have no foundation and no signs towards a progression and you are completely incorrect in that assessement. NE lost like 5 games last year by 7 points or less.  How much did this "stellar" offense help a young D learning on the fly? Not much. I fully expect the offense to not comopletely botch scoring opportunities like they did last year. I also fully expect a TOP NOTCH Special Teams group. Did you see Aiken, Arrington and Chung blocking for McCourty twice last week as he ran back two 50+ yard runs? A lot better than Slater running 10 yards into a pile, wasn't it?  Yeah. You have a serious problem with being rational on this topic. If the weakest part of this team is the D, the strongest parts (offense and STs) and those improvements will HELP a young D, not hurt it.
Posted by russgriswold

Posted by ewhite1065

Still tweaking the numbers, but right now 13.2 victories out of 16.  Just don't ask how the Patriots can win .2 of a victory. 14-2 is just my feeling.  It may take more results for the numbers to catch up with all the new talent, but the first quarter of the New Orleans game gave the Pats a big stride toward 14.  McCourty:  Check.  Edelman blossomed in his second year: check.  Welker, no, not yet.  Spikes, check.  Cunningham, no, not yet.  Tate, Gronk, Hernandez:  maybe New Orleans was concentrating on them.
Posted by Paul_K

In Response to Re: Thoughts on Pats Season Record: : I find it humorous you point out how well the defense played in a game they lost giving up 35 points. Lets just say we agree to disagree. I see things from last year, from this years practice and from the first preseason game this year, that you do not see, and you see things that I do not see. I laugh at the troll comments, while I have been a season ticket holder for the longest of times. I am not hoping that I am correct, just saying it as I am seeing it over the past 18 months of watching the Pats. I appreciate your passion, I just dont understand the prognasticators predicting 11-14 wins because Brady is on the team and BB coaches the team. I think the one thing we can agree on is how experienced the teams of 01-07 were, yet compared to 09 and 10 the roster turn over has been sensational, and needed. My feeling is that this roster turn over will take longer to come together than this year, and to compare this years players and this years very difficult schedule to last years players and moderately easy schedule is short sighted. No need to question my education level, my profession or my devotion and passion to the Pats. I have been watching them for many, many years, and have the lucky opportunity that my job entails that I am at as many practices as possible.  Repeat, I hope I am wrong. Unfortunately I do not think that I am.
Posted by ronk1

In Response to Re: Thoughts on Pats Season Record: : You do realize the last 14 points were due to a horrendous Def PI call on Darius Butler and on a short field on a botched 4th and 2 spot call, correct? So, this means they were up 34-21 with 5 minutes to go. If you hold a Manning team in that Polian dome to 21 points while you rebuild a defense, that's VERY GOOD and I would take that this season AT HOME. If NE's offense can't put up at least 22 at home, then they dont' deserve to beat the Colts. Last year, the offense should have had over 40 points on the road.  That game was not close and Indy in no way deserved that. It was a total bag job. I don't care what the final score said. I saw that D contain and at times dominate them, only watching the zebras come out of the woodwork at the end. I am not getting into this again. I have given you more than enough substance to support why your outlook is irrationally thin and why mine and others provides a lot of positives. Questioning your education level was necessary because you appeared to not understand my reasoning.   Or, you glossed over the link of thinking used to articulate in order for you to be looking at the glass less than half full, and WHY you have little ammunition to do that. You have said little other than "inexperience".   Smells.
Posted by russgriswold

This looks like Brick from the show The Middle.
Posted by underdoggggg

In Response to Re: Thoughts on Pats Season Record: : INEXPERIENCE + STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE =7 TO 9 WINS. SEEMS PRETTY SIMPLE TO ME 
Posted by ronk1

The Patriot's will go 2 - 14 this season.  Tom Brady will break both his knees in the third game of the season. The Raiders will have a record of 11 - 5.
Posted by Phoenix125

Posted by ewhite1065

In Response to Re: Thoughts on Pats Season Record: : ^^This is what I am envisioning you looking like as a real life troll.  Just because you use capital letters and repeat the same word over and  over doesn't mean you have anything that remotely resembles a point here. NE has plenty of experience all over the field.  Their starting D Line's youngest player is Mike Wright. Jerod Mayo is now in his 3rd season. Bodden is 28. Merriweather is entering his 4th season.   Plenty of experience all throughout each portions of the field. FACT
Posted by russgriswold

In Response to Re: Thoughts on Pats Season Record: : Very nice troll by the way. "the chronic" has season tickets, I guess even trolls have jobs.
Posted by gmbill

It's a nice trolling attempt, but the more he tried to point to negatives, the more he gets shot down with facts. This season cannot start soon enough.
Posted by russgriswold

In Response to Re: Thoughts on Pats Season Record: : ^^This is what I am envisioning you looking like as a real life troll.  Just because you use capital letters and repeat the same word over and  over doesn't mean you have anything that remotely resembles a point here. NE has plenty of experience all over the field.  Their starting D Line's youngest player is Mike Wright. Jerod Mayo is now in his 3rd season. Bodden is 28. Merriweather is entering his 4th season.   Plenty of experience all throughout each portions of the field. FACT
Posted by russgriswold

10-6 sounds about right? Thoughts?
Posted by beavis

In Response to Re: Thoughts on Pats Season Record: : As soon as I saw his prediction I knew he wasn't a fan. The Patriots haven't lost 8 games in over a decade and he has them winning no games in the month of October. I'll let you know the next time I find a Pats fan with a prediction that negative.
Posted by ewhite1065

In Response to Re: Thoughts on Pats Season Record: : ewhite, excellant observation!! Pats wont lose 8 games because they havent in a decade!! did you think of that yourself? also, glad to hear you are working! in this economy it is very, very difficult for morons top find work
Posted by ronk1