Miami at Patriots - Sunday, Sept 12 at 4:25 (CBS)

Let me preface this by saying I am not comparing Mac Jones to TB by any means. But......

TB did not start his rookie year. TB became the starter in year 2 because Drew Bledsoe suffered a very serious injury. TB led the Pats to a SB win in year 2 because he had a great team around him. He did not carry that team by any means. The one thing I will say is that the offense responded to him much better than they did to Bledsoe.....and let me be clear, I was and still am a big Bledsoe fan. But Brady was clearly the guy to lead that team and when that line became so clearly divided of pro-Brady, pro-Bledsoe before the SB, I was one of those in the pro-Brady corner.

Now Mac Jones is a first round pick who led his college team to a national championship. While that doesn't mean a heckuva lot once you enter the NFL (see Vince Young), all signs point to this guy being on the rise. I am convinced Brady became Brady partly because of the coaching he got in Foxborough. And I see Mac as a guy that has and will continue to take to great coaching, becoming better and better. I am not Nostradumas but I have high expectations for Mac Jones and this Patriots team.

It sucks they lost today but what I saw from Mac in his first game today (aside from the weird backwards ball spike which absolutely was not a smart play), has me pretty excited about where the future of this team is heading.

And who was the jackass.....was it Bart Scott this week that said Mac's ceiling was not very high? Just when I thought Bart Scott couldn't be any more of a Patriot hater. What a tool that guy is.

Let's lick our wounds from this one and move on. I believe this team is only going to get better as the season goes on.
 
It was really nice seeing Mac for the first time today, but expectations for this season are out of control.
I agree. We are still rebuilding. Getting the Qb is the foundation. I am thrilled with Mac after one game.
 
TJ was one of my favorite players. He blames BB for his concussions and his problems that he went through when he retired.
I hope that he now has his life back together, but you can still tell that he has problems with BB.
Oh, absolutely. He claims that Bill forced him to play when he was concussed. Whatever the truth is there, his constant criticism of Belichick's every move rings hollow and seems clearly based upon his perceived grievances.Maybe they're warranted and maybe they aren't, but his credibility seems questionable.
 
I hate losing but I'm not overly concerned. If they continue to commit dumb penalties and fumbles deep into the season, then I'll worry.

I'm much more relaxed in my Patriots fandom. We've seen the greatest there is and it's kind of like after the Red Sox finally won it all in 2004: it was all gravy after that and that incredible PRESSURE was off. :patslogo26::redsox32:😌
 
Disappointing loss for sure, but I know 2 things for sure after this game: 1) I'm not giving up on Damien Harris, and 2) we have a real, f###### QB...
Harris was awesome today for 3+ quarters. Notice Stevenson disappeared after the early fumble. If your coach Belichick, you can't afford to be benching both of these stud RB's after a couple of lost fumbles. And I am still not sure Stevenson fumbled but it was very close.

I expect the running backs and those specific plays are going to get a lot of attention in video review and practices this week. But these guys will be back out there next week as they are far too valuable to an offense trying to take pressure off a rookie QB.
 
Because it's automatically reviewed by the booth.
Yes. Thx. I forgot all TOs are reviewed. Someone else mentioned that. I can't believe it was reviewed and not over turned.
 
disappoited in this order:

penalties
turnovers
front 7 was not good enough against a weak dolphins oline
the oline was not good enough this includes all of them not just herron
horrible horrible coaching allowing mia the 2nd-3rd Q wraparound scores
red zone O is still not there

excited in this order

mac - was good on the pressure plays, 3rd down, late drive execution very solid debut...long ways to go.
te that could make plays
wr did ok
db mostly played ok without gilmore
special teams were good

outlook

cautiously optimistic, tough loss, but there is potential to possibly be a playoff team. Also got to keep in mind the Pats always seem to treat the first month as extended pre-season.
Considering all the new parts involved today, between rookies and free agents, I expected it to be kinda choppy at times.
Mac Jones is insane under pressure. He senses it and just goes to where it needs to go.

Losing 2 right tackles during the game hurt.

Penalties were ridiculous. The Harris fumble was inexcusable.

This can all be fixed. I'm really optimistic. That defense played a lot better in the 2nd half. A lot better, and Tua didn't have any gigantic runs either.

Tight Ends were a huge, huge difference over last year.

This team on both sides of the ball is just going to get smoother and sharper. I mean, the difference between Mac Jones 1st half and 2nd half was eye-popping, If that's his learning curve? We're going to be ok.

Something to watch that's going to get lost. Agholor had a horrific 3rd down drop after Jones put it between the numbers. I can live without that ever again.
 
Harris was awesome today for 3+ quarters. Notice Stevenson disappeared after the early fumble. If your coach Belichick, you can't afford to be benching both of these stud RB's after a couple of lost fumbles. And I am still not sure Stevenson fumbled but it was very close.
Are you new?

(You're not)

That's what happens. And that's why we end up seeing Brandon fucking Bolden taking meaningful 4th quarter carries.
Especially with rookie runners. Every running back who's been through here has to deal with being benched if they fumble. He can't trust them to secure the football, and I don't blame him.

The fumbles (one actual and one bullshit) did actually cost the team the game, after all. It's not like Harris fumbled and they won by 30. Harris fumbled and it lost them the game.
 
Are you new?

(You're not)

That's what happens. And that's why we end up seeing Brandon fucking Bolden taking meaningful 4th quarter carries.
Especially with rookie runners. Every running back who's been through here has to deal with being benched if they fumble. He can't trust them to secure the football, and I don't blame him.

The fumbles (one actual and one bullshit) did actually cost the team the game, after all. It's not like Harris fumbled and they won by 30. Harris fumbled and it lost them the game.
No, you are right. I am not new....been a Pats fan since probably 1978 when I was about 7 years old.

Note that I did say, Belichick can't afford to bench these guys. Yes, I know he did to some degree tonight and yes, we have seen it before. But who do you think is going to be carrying the rock next week? Bolden? JJ Taylor? Part of my point was these are what Bill would call teaching moments. And that will be happening this week. If it continues, then yes, one or both guys could find their playing time severely limited. And Stevenson has two strikes against him already if you include preseason.

But no, I am not new. Thanks much for asking though.
 
No, you are right. I am not new....been a Pats fan since probably 1978 when I was about 7 years old.

Note that I did say, Belichick can't afford to bench these guys. Yes, I know he did to some degree tonight and yes, we have seen it before. But who do you think is going to be carrying the rock next week? Bolden? JJ Taylor? Part of my point was these are what Bill would call teaching moments. And that will be happening this week. If it continues, then yes, one or both guys could find their playing time severely limited. And Stevenson has two strikes against him already if you include preseason.

But no, I am not new. Thanks much for asking though.
The guy who doesn't fumble and lose the team the game is fine with me.

Harris had a really good game right up until he lost the team the game because he fumbled. If those two guys fumble every week, they deserve to sit. But they'll both play next week, probably, unless the issues continue in practice.

I know you're not new. That's why I'm surprised to see you advocating for young players who make game-losing plays, to play for some reason. When the precedent has been set here for 21 years. 🤷
 
Winovich sucks. That’s guy doesn’t belong on an NFL roster.
 
The guy who doesn't fumble and lose the team the game is fine with me.

Harris had a really good game right up until he lost the team the game because he fumbled. If those two guys fumble every week, they deserve to sit. But they'll both play next week, probably, unless the issues continue in practice.

I know you're not new. That's why I'm surprised to see you advocating for young players who make game-losing plays, to play for some reason. When the precedent has been set here for 21 years. 🤷
So is the answer to bench these guys next week? Do you think the Pats win with Bolden and Taylor as the primary ball carriers?

I get that people may be pissed off that the fumble cost the team the game but mistakes happen. It's up to the coaching staff to try and fix it.

Bolden is primarily a special teams player. I love what Taylor brings to the mix but he is a change up back in my mind and not someone I want to see running between the tackles with any regularity.

I am not advocating for game losing plays. I am advocating for the coaching staff to work on getting it fixed. The Pats are going to win a lot more games with Harris and Stevenson in the mix than with them riding the pine.
 
Harris was awesome today for 3+ quarters. Notice Stevenson disappeared after the early fumble. If your coach Belichick, you can't afford to be benching both of these stud RB's after a couple of lost fumbles. And I am still not sure Stevenson fumbled but it was very close.

I expect the running backs and those specific plays are going to get a lot of attention in video review and practices this week. But these guys will be back out there next week as they are far too valuable to an offense trying to take pressure off a rookie QB.
Rhambo never fumbled it...
 
The Pats WRs could not get open. Time and again Big Mac made a perfect pass, but it was knocked away because the WR could not get separation. It did contribute to the loss.

The Pats got 133 total yards between Agholor, Bourne, and Meyers. The Dolphins got 144 total yards from Parker and Waddle. The production was roughly equivalent. The Patriots' WRs looked capable, in my eyes ... and with a lot of room to still improve.
 
So is the answer to bench these guys next week? Do you think the Pats win with Bolden and Taylor as the primary ball carriers?

I get that people may be pissed off that the fumble cost the team the game but mistakes happen. It's up to the coaching staff to try and fix it.

Bolden is primarily a special teams player. I love what Taylor brings to the mix but he is a change up back in my mind and not someone I want to see running between the tackles with any regularity.

I am not advocating for game losing plays. I am advocating for the coaching staff to work on getting it fixed. The Pats are going to win a lot more games with Harris and Stevenson in the mix than with them riding the pine.
They're not going to be benched next week.
If they fumble again, they'll sit the rest of that game.
That's how it's always gone.

Also: Harris is a 3rd year player. If he can't figure out how to hang onto the ball with 3 minutes to go inside the 10, without a coach saying 'hold onto the ball', then I don't know how much of that is on the coaching staff.
 
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