New England Patriots thread (MOD WARNING - #4503)

TO.

J. Football

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

Ah shure isn't that great now. You know I had a suspicion it was him when I read this http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=82604678&postcount=1103

I haven't been hiding it!

I'm struggling big time to get my proper account password reset. Forget the password, the e-mail I'd registered with, and struggling to remember any PM's I had at the time I left, though I think I remember a few so hopefully that's accepted as verification. Could be back in business soon!

Welcome back T.O. Convenient timing with an apparent Brady-Manning AFC Championship on the horizon. I see right through you!! :pac:

TO.

J. Football wrote: »

I haven't been hiding it!

I didn't see that post. So there :P No tinternet last week for the most part.

Welcome back T.O. Convenient timing with an apparent Brady-Manning AFC Championship. I see right through you!! :pac:

:eek:

Son Of A Vidic

J. Football wrote: »

I haven't been hiding it!

Totally missed that post, but then I'm not a frequent flyer over in the college thread tbh.

Son Of A Vidic

Will miss all the fun today, working now and won't be free to catch the game until the Monday night highlights show :mad:. Hopefully they won't take anything for granted. Any kind of win will do, as long as there are no injuries.

Gweedling

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

Will miss all the fun today, working now and won't be free to catch the game until the Monday night highlights show :mad:. Hopefully they won't take anything for granted. Any kind of win will do, as long as there are no injuries.

Corvus, is this a thinly veiled "If I see a spoiler on this thread I'll cut you" post?

davyjose

Lads, I think I'm broken.

I think there's something severely wrong with me.

I think... I... I... I think I want the Pats to win the Super Bowl. :eek::eek::o:eek

TO.

davyjose wrote: »

Lads, I think I'm broken.

I think there's something severely wrong with me.

I think... I... I... I think I want the Pats to win the Super Bowl. :eek::eek::o:eek

Wtf dude. Has hell frozen over?

frostie500

davyjose wrote: »

Lads, I think I'm broken.

I think there's something severely wrong with me.

I think... I... I... I think I want the Pats to win the Super Bowl. :eek::eek::o:eek

Lads I simply wont tolerate it if people log in as Davy's account and write something like this. When he logs in again later and sees something like this he'll be raging!

J. Football

That's it davy, come to the darkside. Together, we would be unstoppable.

davyjose

I just think of all the teams left, you guys are the best to watch, and deserve it more than anyone left in it. And, well, the rivalry has simmered somewhat. So... go Pats

J. Football

I've screen-grabbed that for when you sober up.

Oh, by the way, if Brady orchestrates a win tonight, he'll have more playoff wins than any QB in NFL history. Currently tied on 16 with Joe Montana.

Hazys

As we saw, nothing is guaranteed in football, Pats will have to play one of their best games of the season to win.

I'll be a nervous wreck watching this game, i'm supposed to meet a couple of lads in a bar to watch this game, i think for the safety of others i may just watch the game at home and have all throwable objects out of arms reach.

eagle eye

Something to warm you guys up before the game tonight.

Its amazing what happens to players who have questionable character when they come to Foxboro. In the midst of a playoff week this got lost on a lot of people. Talib is not helping his bargaining position with these comments but it looks pretty clear that he wants to stay with the Patriots which is great news.

FOXBORO — In this multi-billion dollar professional football industry, $694,500 for six weeks work is akin to a bag of potato chips for a middle class family.
A pittance.
But those “chips” may have changed the course of the 2012 season and possibly several seasons going forward for the dynasty-driven New England Patriots.
It was the amount the Patriots had to pay for Aqib Talib — along with a fourth round pick in the 2013 draft to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In retrospect, it if was 10 times that amount it would still have been a bargain.
It is ironic that Talib, the master of tumult for his first four and half seasons in the National Football League, has brought a yoga-like influence to the Patriots laugh-a-minute pass defense since the November trade.
The Patriots defense now is — I cringe when I am about to say it — pretty darn good. And the correlation with Talib is unavoidable.
Heck, he not only picked off an errant pass from Andrew Luck in his first game as a Patriot on Nov. 18, but he brought it back to “the house” inducing the rout.
“I don’t think people realize how good of a football player Aqib is,” said Patriots backup wide receiver and special teams wizard, Matthew Slater. “He’s got size. He’s got athleticism. He added a dimension to our defense that we didn’t have. He’s not only brought a lot to our defense, but he’s brought a lot to our team.”
The question with Talib hasn’t ever been talent.
He was a first-team All-American at the University of Kansas in his final season as a junior, and capped his career off with an MVP performance at the Orange Bowl (a 60-yard TD interception return keyed win over Virginia Tech, 24-21). Not to mention size (6-foot-1, 205 pounds) and speed (4.38 in the 40 yard dash). While he was ranked a top 10 prospect, he was chosen 20th overall in the 2008 NFL Draft (Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo was selected 10th).
As to why Talib was dealt while Tampa Bay was in the midst of a Wild Card run, for pennies on the dollar, has nothing to do with his ability on the field — four-plus interceptions average over his first four seasons despite missing an average of 2.5 games over that stretch.
It has literally followed Talib his entire National Football League career.
Trouble.
In fact, at an NFL rookie symposium, before he signed his first contract with the Buccaneers, Talib got into a rock ‘em, sock ‘em fistfight with another Tampa Bay rookie (Cory Boyd).
Since then, sandwiched around some impressive football — the NFL Alumni Associated voted Talib the Defensive Back of the Year after the 2010 season (six interceptions, 1 TD) despite him not receiving a Pro Bowl berth — many of Talib’s news flashes have been related to his poor performance off the field.
His punching a taxi driver (in 2009) and his pointing a gun at his sister’s boyfriend (in 2011) were incidents that got him jail time. He was indicted for the gun issue, but the charges were later dropped.
The final straw for Tampa Bay came earlier this season when Talib was suspended by the NFL for four games for using a performance enhancing drug. He apologized, saying he mistakenly took an “adderall” pill without a prescription.
“Nothing against you, but I don’t want to talk about those things,” said Talib. “That’s old news.”
Ironically, the “old news” and ensuing four-game suspension earlier this season, said Talib, ended up being the “best thing” that ever happened to his football career.
Three weeks into the suspension, he became a Patriot.
Recalling the day, he smiled from ear to ear.
“I had heard about the Patriots and the way they do things, all that stuff,” said Talib. “You know what? It’s true. This is heaven. This is football heaven.”
Talib was not here the first 12 weeks when the Patriots pass defense looked more Bad New Bears reruns than paradise. ]
The Patriots led the NFL in allowing 42 completions over 20 yards, more than any they’ve allowed an entire season under Bill Belichick.
He was not there when the pass defense allowed identical long touchdown passes to Seattle (a 46-yarder to Sidney Rice, which beat the Patriots with 1:18 remaining, and to St. Louis, which scored (a 50-yarder to Chris Givens) on its first possession on the same exact play two weeks later.
While the Patriots won the game over the Rams, 45-7, he apparently had seen enough. Five days later, Belichick and the Patriots announced the deal for Talib.
Over the last five games, the Patriots have played better on defense, particularly against the pass. Through 11 games, the Patriots allowed 293 yard passing per game. With Talib in place and understanding the defense, over the last five games the team allowed only 221 yards per game, and that includes a misleading 343-yard day from Jacksonville’s Chad Henne, who also threw three interceptions.
Over that same span, the Patriots run defense allowed only 93 yards per game, and that includes a 180-yard whopper against the 49ers, which would rank the Patriots fourth overall.
Which brings us back to Talib.
To call his addition a stabilizing force would be an understatement.
”I love him. Everybody here loves him,” said Patriots safety Patrick Chung. “He has fit in really well. He has a lot of confidence. He can cover. He can tackle. I couldn’t say enough good things about Aqib. He’s the real deal.”
Apparently, the feelings are more than mutual.
”As soon as you walk in the building you notice it,” said Talib. “It’s all about team here. Everybody is a professional. I have never experienced anything like this. I see the owner, Mr. (Robert) Kraft every day. That’s amazing, man. Coach Belichick treats everybody like a man, with respect. He’s a cool guy.”
Talib could go on. And he did.
”I am a Patriot,” said Talib. “It feels like I was meant to be here ... The coaches here are so good, too. It’s all about football. It’s one day at a time. It’s the perfect place to play football. I don’t know what else to say.”
Even coach Bill Belichick, a man of few words, sings Talib’s praises.
“There’s no doubt that Aqib has helped our secondary,” he said.
“He’s a very smart and confident player who works hard. He has a good attitude and he fits in well. I’ve enjoyed coaching him.”
While it’s only been short of two months, the “trouble” that followed Talib around since he became a pro football player has been nowhere to be seen.
Like other big-name trade acquisitions before him, with similar reputations, including Corey Dillon (2004) and Randy Moss (2007), the Patriots may have gotten another steal for their Super Bowl run.
“I don’t want to talk about the future,” said Talib. “I’m only focused on today. And when I come here tomorrow, I’ll be focused on tomorrow ... But if you ask me if this is where I want to be? Of course, I do. Every player should play here.”

http://www.gloucestertimes.com/sports/x1746075246/New-Patriots-cornerback-Aqib-Talib-may-have-saved-a-great-Patriots-team-from-an-early-dismissal

davyjose

J. Football wrote: »

I've screen-grabbed that for when you sober up.

Oh, by the way, if Brady orchestrates a win tonight, he'll have more playoff wins than any QB in NFL history. Currently tied on 16 with Joe Montana.

Ha ha, sober as a judge. I just want to see some amazing football. Would be a shame to get stuck with an Atlanta-Houston Super Bowl.

Don't worry, if ye don't win, I won't be losing too much sleep :pac:

Paully D

We meet again

BaronVon

Paully D wrote: »

We meet again

It'll be a cracker!

Paully D

infacteh wrote: »

It'll be a cracker!

BaronVon

Paully D wrote: »

Let's hope it's not decided by a missed field goal this time around......

mikemac1

May the memories of Lee Evans & Billy Cundiff be forgotton forever with a Baltimore victory

kryogen

The Ray Ray good feeling retirement tour will hopefully be put to an end

I like Baltimore, I love Ray, and though I hope its a great match, I hope its the last time I see Ray on the field

Son Of A Vidic

Just off nights now, missed all the fun . Gonna get some kip, get some beers in and then watch the highlights with an ample supply of food thrown in.

Hazys

Can't wait for next Sunday. I think we win as we are a better team than the team that lost to the Ravens earlier in the season and the Ravens are a worse team than the team that beat us.

I think the Pats' offense will be able to tear apart the aging Ravens defense (no bye and a long OT game wont help their freshness either).

On defense, i think we can contain Ray Rice like we did Foster but its the deep ball I'm worried about and we need more pass rush to make it difficult for Flacco (although to be fair we didn't blitz that much against the Texans, probably wasn't in the gameplan). At least this time round we have Talib to match up against Torrey Smith and he did a fantastic job on Andre Johnson so hopefully he can take Smith out of the game (although Smith seems to a lot faster than Johnson tho). Also having McCourty back at safety this time should be a huge improvement on Pass Defense. On the other side Bolden is a serious threat but I think Dennard matches up pretty well with him. Both are big and physical and not too quick so it'll be an interesting battle.

Also it'll be nice to have some revenge for the game we lost earlier in the season which left a bad taste in the mouth's of the Pats' fans...i know i was fuming after that game

TO.

Pats re-hired Brian Daboll to the coaching staff. Unclear what roll he will take but an interesting signing. Doubt he will jump in as OC as Josh Mc holds that role. Be interesting to see will he come in as the QB coach or WR coach or maybe a defensive role as he was previous with the Pats.

eagle eye

All I have to say about Daboll is that any guy who worked with Peyton Hillis in 2010, Reggie Bush in 2011 and Jamaal Charles in 2012 is a nice addition to the team.

TO.

eagle eye wrote: »

All I have to say about Daboll is that any guy who worked with Peyton Hillis in 2010, Reggie Bush in 2011 and Jamaal Charles in 2012 is a nice addition to the team.

Someone else said something similar to me today and what I said back to them in what capacity would he have worked with all 3 of those guys. He wasn't RB coach so he wouldn't have any direct work with those players in the sense of molding them as backs.

When it came to running the offensive systems though yeah he would have guided them. Its hard to say if Daboll can take any credit for all 3 of those backs work but if he took anything away from those guys all of our backs will gain from it.

Son Of A Vidic

Finally got to see the game earlier and I reckon we'll never have a fit Gronk for the play-offs . So much to love about last night's performance, our young RB's Vereen and Ridley were excellent. But Vereen was the star of the show and 'that' catch he made for the TD, was just wow. The fabulous pass from Brady helped of course and another big game performance from him leading the way. The O line did some excellent blocking for the run game and the athleticism Solder displays while switching sides to block is impressive. For me Ninkovich is my defensive player of the season. A lot of players stepped up on both sides of the ball last night. Work still to do and some things to improve on, but if they can keep bringing it to another level then I'll be happy

eagle eye

Its wasn't just Gronk that was missing though, we were also missing Woodhead and Edelman who have both been great for us this season.

It just shows how great Brady is that he can get in tune with receivers so fast. What happened with Vereen last night was just incredible.

Son Of A Vidic

Yes of course Edelman and particularly Woodhead are a big loss, but Gronk breaking his arm again really took the biscuit for me. The Patriot Way was in full view last night, no man is bigger than the team and every man must step up and deliver when his number is called. Ridley and Vereen just have a dynamism and an ability to really hurt teams that Lawfirm didn't have. Vereen was just incredible last night alright, feck maybe we should just put him at wideout . Brady was masterful as usual and surpassing Montana for the most play-off wins is another amazing feather in his cap.

Last season Gronk was in beast mode and I think maybe, going to Gronk almost became a habit. So when we lost him for the Superbowl, we hadn't anticipated that or adapted to it in time. This season we have racked some big numbers up without Gronk, we almost even beat our own NFL scoring record playing without him. Who knows, maybe we'll look back on the season and losing Gronk may have been a blessing in disguise.

BizzyC

Hazys wrote: »

Can't wait for next Sunday. I think we win as we are a better team than the team that lost to the Ravens earlier in the season and the Ravens are a worse team than the team that beat us.

Have you been watching the Ravens?
In the past few weeks the defense has been energised by Ray's pending retirement and the addition of Jim Caldwell has greatly improved their offensive play calling.

They're a much better team than they were when they beat us.

I do agree though, it's the deep ball that should be a concern.
We've got a big, physical front 7 that's proven itself against every back it's come up against this year.

Offensively we need to establish the run to keep the backers honest and the deep ball to keep the safeties at home. Doing this will open up the intermediate routes that welker and hernandez love so much.