Think Belichick had a realization -- much like after 2006/'07 AFCCG.

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vertigho

vertigho

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I think something clicked in his head again -- he seemed utterly disgusted after this loss. Very proud of his team, but beyond pissed at the situation: that Peyton had just dropped 400+ yards on his defense, and that his team was darn-near embarrassed on primetime TV.

I get that this team was a bunch of overachievers, who really had no business playing in this game, but nonetheless, losing is frustrating.

After '06, Belichick revamped the offense. They acquired Moss, Welker, and Brady led the most incredible air-assault in NFL history.

This time, though, I think Belichick is going to sell-out on the defensive side of the ball. He's going to go after athletic, long-armed defensive lineman, an explosive edge-rusher, and a strong safety to play next to McCourty. Easier said than done, I get it. But if they can recoup the money going to Hernandez, which I believe they are going to (due to a technicality), I believe Bill will spend it on defensive guys.

We shall see.
 
We will be a better team just by getting everybody back healthy but Idk how much you can depend on some of these guys. Talib for example hurt for the second straight year when needed most. One things for sure we need to get brady all the help he can get because he is not showing he can play well in 3 straight playoff games lately. When he has a bad game we need a defense to lean on and keep us in the game. We can't afford to NEED brady to play well to win IMO.
 
I agree on the help needed on the defensive side of the ball, but we also have to have some reliable WR's for Brady to throw too. Can't help injuries but other then Edleman, who does Brady have any chemistry with that played in the AFCCG ?
 
Did anyone even touch Manning yesterday? It's not all on the secondary. The bottom line to me is that Denver's roster on game day was better than ours (offense & defense).

None of that changes the fact that I'm proud of this Patriots team and how hard they fought this year.
 
dchester said:
Did anyone even touch Manning yesterday? It's not all on the secondary. The bottom line to me is that Denver's roster on game day was better than ours (offense & defense).

None of that changes the fact that I'm proud of this Patriots team and how hard they fought this year.
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In the NFL, with the salary cap, it is not a good situation when an opponent has obvious better talent. That bothers me, and should not be. Injuries are a part of it, I know, but Denver was playing with their third team center and second team left tackle, and their secondary was in shambles. We should have been able to attack that secondary with what we had. Bottom line.
 
LeJaric Blount said:
Not really, no. According to mike and Mike he was "hurried" 3 times all game and never once hit the ground.
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This is going to make your secondary look a lot worse than it is. Losing Talib did not help either, anytime he is not on the field the secondary is toast for some reason. Soon as he went down I told my Husband this will be like the Ravens game last year.
 
Dominated said:
This is going to make your secondary look a lot worse than it is. Losing Talib did not help either, anytime he is not on the field the secondary is toast for some reason. Soon as he went down I told my Husband this will be like the Ravens game last year.
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Yeah, zero pass rush is a recipe for disaster against mediocre QBs, let alone Peyton Manning.
 
fjdad said:
In the NFL, with the salary cap, it is not a good situation when an opponent has obvious better talent. That bothers me, and should not be. Injuries are a part of it, I know, but Denver was playing with their third team center and second team left tackle, and their secondary was in shambles. We should have been able to attack that secondary with what we had. Bottom line.
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For better or worse, the Patriots lost that game as much as any place, by poor line play on both sides of the ball. When the Broncos really needed to pressure Brady, they got it done, while Manning had all the time he needed.
 
LeJaric Blount said:
Not really, no. According to mike and Mike he was "hurried" 3 times all game and never once hit the ground.
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Tough to hit Manning if he's getting the ball out quickly and you get no pressure up the middle. Fault falls probably on coverage and pass rush. Manning's receivers were getting open quickly all game long and the defensive line never collapsed the pocket quickly AFAIR.
 
dchester said:
Did anyone even touch Manning yesterday? It's not all on the secondary. The bottom line to me is that Denver's roster on game day was better than ours (offense & defense).

None of that changes the fact that I'm proud of this Patriots team and how hard they fought this year.
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Jones touched Manning at least once. We don't need anymore fatties on our D line, we need mean, lean fighting machines that are built like Jones & Collins
 
HarpoonIPA said:
Jones touched Manning at least once. We don't need anymore fatties on our D line, we need mean, lean fighting machines that are built like Jones & Collins
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We need someone who can push the pocket from the interior line. That's our weak spot on the defensive line right now IMO.
 
HarpoonIPA said:
Jones touched Manning at least once. We don't need anymore fatties on our D line, we need mean, lean fighting machines that are built like Jones & Collins
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I guess I missed all the hits and sacks they got on Manning yesterday.

I'll take a healthy Big Vince in the middle of that line any day of the week.
 
Yeah, I remember someone getting one hand on Mankind's (left) shoulder as he was throwing the ball. That's the closest I remember. And it didn't affect the throw.
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I think if we just get a total badass at SS and our guys back from IR (minus Spikes) it would transform the D. A Rodney Harrison type guy at SS I think would change the whole attitude on D. A WR who hears footsteps and gets alligator arms is as good as a pass break up or QB hurry. Steve Gregory scares or inspires no-one. We're too soft. The draft can be pretty hit-and-miss so I hope someone good is available in FA.

Plus, I love Nink, but he could be upgraded.

Then,in addition to a another one or two WRs (Amendola should be at the bottom of the depth chart, Dobson's a #2 at best, maybe a #3) and a pass catching TE. BB needs to do a little behavior modification on Josh McD. Every time he calls for a bomb from the shotgun/spread formation on 3rd and short BB needs to poke him in the ass with a cattle prod. I'm not adverse to occasionally throwing a bomb on 3rd and short. It can catch a D flat-footed and flip momentum. But McD raises a neon sign with our plans on it when we go shotgun in that situation. Unless you have a tall WR with world class speed (i.e. Randy Moss) most teams can stop a bomb if they know it's coming. Third and short should be from under center, always.

And please stop with the RB draws from shotgun! It didn't work before we had Woody, it sucks now that we don't have him. It rarely works that well, and usually looks like a total fustercluck. Vereen has the top end speed of Woody but few people on earth have the reflexes, agility and acceleration from a total stop that Woody had. And those are the most important traits for that play.
 
Denver beat us in all two phases yesterday since the kicking game is virtually nonexistent in Denver, unless you like touchbacks in which case it was a spectacular showcase.

We need players on both sides of the ball. Gregory's position needs to be upgraded whether by Harmon or somebody new. I think that much is clear, but it was frustrating watching the lack of a pass rush.

I didn't focus on Chandler Jones yesterday, but he didn't provide much fire especially given that he was lined up against a backup LT. They just stuffed us up front and that was depressing to see. We need to improve the pass rush and that means nothing has changed. Collins will help but we need more.

On offense we need a stud WR, a stud TE and to upgrade Wendel. I'll be curious to see the free agent list this offseason because we need a couple of premium talents.

I think we're stuck with Mankins or get him knee surgery of whatever can help him make one step to his right. How many times this year did we see that move where a fattie beat him clean to his inside at a critical juncture?

Knighton destroyed us yesterday. Nobody could block him.
 
fjdad said:
In the NFL, with the salary cap, it is not a good situation when an opponent has obvious better talent. That bothers me, and should not be. Injuries are a part of it, I know, but Denver was playing with their third team center and second team left tackle, and their secondary was in shambles. We should have been able to attack that secondary with what we had. Bottom line.
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Well when you have 5 weapons that can all get open and catch it makes that easier, Manning had that, we did not, we also had no pressure either, we might as well have been playing 7 on 7. Most Qb's would have tore us up with that lineup around them. Basically their offense did two things, it kept our offense off the field and it scored points by taking large chunks off the clock, hard to beat that.
 
Ask, and ye shall receive Hawg:

(From NFL.com)
Without further ado, here are Around The League's top 25 NFL free agents for 2014:

1. Jimmy Graham, New Orleans Saints tight end
2. Greg Hardy, Carolina Panthers defensive end
3. Brian Orakpo, Washington Redskins linebacker
4. Jairus Byrd, Buffalo Bills safety
5. T.J. Ward, Cleveland Browns safety
6. Alterraun Verner, Tennessee Titans cornerback
7. Branden Albert, Kansas City Chiefs left tackle
8. Michael Johnson, Cincinnati Bengals defensive end
9. Lamarr Houston, Oakland Raiders defensive end
10. Brent Grimes, Miami Dolphins cornerback
11. Eugene Monroe, Baltimore Ravens left tackle
12. Vontae Davis, Indianapolis Colts cornerback
13. Linval Joseph, New York Giants defensive tackle
14. Jason Hatcher, Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle
15. Jared Veldheer, Oakland Raiders left tackle
16. Aqib Talib, New England Patriots cornerback
17. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Denver Broncos cornerback
18. Alex Mack, Cleveland Browns center
19. Eric Decker, Denver Broncos wide receiver
20. Michael Bennett, Seattle Seahawks defensive end
21. B.J. Raji, Green Bay Packers defensive tackle
22. Sam Shields, Green Bay Packers cornerback
23. Walter Thurmond, Seattle Seahawks cornerback
24. Donald Butler, San Diego Chargers linebacker
25. Randy Starks, Miami Dolphins defensive tackle
 
Hawg73 said:
Denver beat us in all two phases yesterday since the kicking game is virtually nonexistent in Denver, unless you like touchbacks in which case it was a spectacular showcase.

We need players on both sides of the ball. Gregory's position needs to be upgraded whether by Harmon or somebody new. I think that much is clear, but it was frustrating watching the lack of a pass rush.

I didn't focus on Chandler Jones yesterday, but he didn't provide much fire especially given that he was lined up against a backup LT. They just stuffed us up front and that was depressing to see. We need to improve the pass rush and that means nothing has changed. Collins will help but we need more.

On offense we need a stud WR, a stud TE and to upgrade Wendel. I'll be curious to see the free agent list this offseason because we need a couple of premium talents.

I think we're stuck with Mankins or get him knee surgery of whatever can help him make one step to his right. How many times this year did we see that move where a fattie beat him clean to his inside at a critical juncture?

Knighton destroyed us yesterday. Nobody could block him.
Click to expand...
Didn't they sign another Safety last year (I think Adrian Wilson) who also got hurt.


:donkeys:
 
We need to get MUCH better up the gut .... inside on the DL and inside on the OL. These are woeful spots on this team at the moment and serious cause for concern.

The health of Vince, Vollmer, Gronk and Amendola is also very alarming as I'm not sure any can be counted on moving forward.

I would love to see Talib re-signed but his health is a concern. Can he be relied upon at such an important position on this team?

I am starting to question whether Brady can be counted on to carry this team anymore. If not then load-up on defense, re-sign Blount and get some interior road graders on the OL and pound the snot out of the ball and allow Brady to play action his way into retirement. In this case, the kids - Dobson, KT and Boyce, along with Amendola, are probably adequate enough. Grab another run blocking TE and hope and pray Gronk can stay healthy.

If loading up on defense .... we need a pass rusher who is a consistent game changer. A guy who can dominate week in and week out. Though I believe C Jones is a very good player I don't think he's the dominating pass rush stud type. Maybe using Collins more in a pass rush mode might help things here? Otherwise, look for help.

Do whatever is needed to ensure that Gregory and Arrington are nothing but seldom used backups.
 
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