Teams New England Patriots - The Pats

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ausbacker

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Bengals D was good but 1st and goal at the 1 and we get stopped isn't the Pats we know....

A fair bit below the top tier teams at this stage ...
01. The play of the OL has been decidedly average this season.
02. The WRs are dropping catchable balls and killing drives.
03. The Patriots continue to run plodders in Boldin and Blount ignoring their best back in Ridley (not much you could do about that today).
04. There is a serious route disconnect between Brady and the skill position players.
05. Josh McDaniels is a cute little fairy play caller who isn't grasping situation and/or the obvious play.

On the flip side the D has improved tremendously through week 5. They are a legitimate unit.
 

Scorpio

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Just finished watching it on GamePass. Another frustrating one to watch...

Offense took a step backwards out there today. Disappointing as I thought the last 2 games had shown some promise. Amendola was rusty. Run game didn't get much going. But Bengals D was very good so credit where its due.

Simple fact is today showed how badly we need Gronk out there. I don't know if he's going to be as good as he once was, but we at least need him to take some heat off the other receivers.

Also it's a shame the touchdown streak had to end one game before Brady would've tied it. I doubt he cares all that much but records are always nice to have.
 

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Just finished watching it on GamePass. Another frustrating one to watch...

Offense took a step backwards out there today. Disappointing as I thought the last 2 games had shown some promise. Amendola was rusty. Run game didn't get much going. But Bengals D was very good so credit where its due.

Simple fact is today showed how badly we need Gronk out there. I don't know if he's going to be as good as he once was, but we at least need him to take some heat off the other receivers.

Also it's a shame the touchdown streak had to end one game before Brady would've tied it. I doubt he cares all that much but records are always nice to have.
HOF / SB rings >>> records. Records will be broken anyway.. I picked the Pats today thinking that the Pats underated D can control the Bengals and they did but shush, only two FG's.. o_O
 

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The New England Patriots are optimistic doctors will clear Rob Gronkowski to play this week and that the tight end will make his season debut Sunday against the New Orleans Saints, according to league sources.

Gronkowski has missed the Patriots' first five games following a series of surgeries on his fractured forearm and ailing back.
ProFootballTalk.com had earlier reported that Gronkowski was expected to return this week.
Dr. James Andrews is serving as an independent physician and is charged with determining whether Gronkowski is cleared to play, a source told ESPN. Andrews is considered the most accomplished orthopedic surgeon in the world, but he didn't operate on Gronkowski.
If Gronkowski plays, it will validate the team's decision to keep him on the 53-man roster rather than placing him on the physically unable to perform list. If not, the Patriots will have wasted a roster spot because Gronkowski would have been eligible to return after missing six games if he had been placed on the PUP list.
Quarterback Tom Brady depends heavily on Gronkowski, especially in the red zone. The Patriots (4-1) have gone from leading the NFL in touchdowns last season to ranking ahead of only the winless Jacksonville Jaguars this season.

The Patriots are coming off their worst offensive performance of the Brady era, a 13-6 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in which they failed to score a touchdown, ending Brady's streak of games with at least one touchdown pass at 52.

http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story...and-patriots-optimistic-rob-gronkowski-return
 

Galactic

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Been having trouble with bf on my phone of late, no idea why,anyway expecting a loss this week even with Gronk back. Cant say I'm used to feeling like that about a game at this point of the season. Our O just wont be able to keep up with NO. Last week I felt they'd win last week and lose this week, don't want to lose two strait but don't see us scoring enough with a rusty gronk and wr cast.
 

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ausbacker

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Been having trouble with bf on my phone of late, no idea why,anyway expecting a loss this week even with Gronk back. Cant say I'm used to feeling like that about a game at this point of the season. Our O just wont be able to keep up with NO. Last week I felt they'd win last week and lose this week, don't want to lose two strait but don't see us scoring enough with a rusty gronk and wr cast.
The D is playing well enough to give the O a fighting chance. Who in the hell thought we'd be seeing that in 2013? The difference may be the Saints D. They've had a hell of a start to the season. That all goes out the window if Gronk plays. He dramatically improves the Patriots chances of victory.
 

ausbacker

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First week back I'm not expecting much out of Gronk other than the Aints to target him.
There will come a time where the young receivers and Brady will get on the same page RE: routes and they'll stop dropping catches. If that happens sooner than later, the Patriots O will reinvent itself as monster. The question really is when?
 

ausbacker

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Short term pain, long term gain as I see it.
Given the general precision of the Patriots O since 2007 Beetlebum, it has been a helluva lot of short term pain watching this disjointed passing attack coupled with Bolden and Blount. Hell, we haven't been able to rest our laurels on Ridley and Vereen. Grrrrrrr.
 

Galactic

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I'm all for surprises!

Yeah we shouldn't be pissing and moaning about the WR,s which heaps of patriots fans are. They are going to be fine, they just need time. Jebus, they shouldn't even be starting in reality, its just they've been forced to.They are doing better than Chad Johnson with zero years experience. They are responsible for some their drops and there is way too many of late, but most of it is to do with timing and knowing where TB is going to go with it. I hope that corrects sooner rather than later, with time/reps/when the pressure is taken off them a little with Gronk back and Amendola (when healthy) in form. Brady is not himself either. Half because the O line is acting like cardboard cutouts and partly because the chemistry isn't there and he's throwing it too fast or behind the WR's at times. I remember BB once saying "It's like trying to hammer a nail and everything is wobbling around and you just need to hold it still and just crack it." Perfect analogy for this situation. As for our Defense,they are believe it or not....."Our only hope"
 

ausbacker

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That's a disappointing loss. Not much more to be said other than Josh McDaniels can't leave Foxboro fast enough and Bill Belichick - General Manager needs to be thoroughly questioned.
 
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