Bye Week Thoughts
The Patriots get a much needed week off to rest and relax, and they will resume practice on Thursday. With a 5-3 record, The Patriots are in the same position record-wise as they were last year. In 2011, The Patriots ripped off 8 straight wins against easy opponents to clinch the AFC's top seed. In 2012, they will have to face both Houston and San Francisco in consecutive weeks, and they'll have to contend with four division games.
The Patriots have earned their 5-3 record with inconsistent play, and although they have shown the potential for much bigger things they are still 5-3. Every team in the NFL is only a couple plays away from being undefeated, but a loss is a loss. The Patriots will be hard pressed to finish the year on a 10 game winning streak considering the opponents they will face.
Belichick's first and foremost goal in every season is to win the division because it is the surest route to making the playoffs. Nevertheless, Brady and The Patriots hope to have chance at homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. Even with a win against Houston, The Patriots could still be a game behind The Texans, who currently sit at 6-1. Like Belichick, I think its important not to focus on earning homefield advantage just yet. We have games against New York, Buffalo, and Miami before we can even think about Houston. Let's take it one step at a time.
As far as things that we need to work on as a team, its just all the obvious issues: improve pass defense, be more consistent in 4th quarter, and get healthy. There's no rocket science to figuring out what this team needs to improve. For those inside the organization, everything can be improved. That's The Patriot Way. So, let's just take this week to focus on ourselves. With no game plan to work on, it's time to address the lingering issues.
On the injury front, I think that these injuries will actually end up helping us in the long run. Here's why: many young players gained valuable experience on the game field. Tavon Wilson clearly had his struggles as the every down Safety, but I think that his improvement has been visible from game to game. Likewise, The Patriots were forced to use Alfonzo Dennard as an every down CB, but he had some success and gained lots of confidence moving forward. Also, The Aaron Hernandez injury force The Patriots to adjust their personnel packages, and after some early struggles, I think The Patriots Offense is more versatile. I think that eventually they will benefit from these injuries because the reserves like Daniel Fells, Michael Hoomanawanui, Dennard, Wilson, and even Nate Ebner got a chance to get acclimated to their roles with real live game-reps.
Overall, I think The Pats are in a good place entering this bye week. They survived their rash of injuries while maintaining the lead in the AFC East. Despite some heartbreaking losses, The Patriots still have the inside track for at least one home playoff game. Likewise, The Patriots are not out of the race for the #1 seed by any means. The fans and media have been very critical of this team as of late, and even this latest blowout win did little to squelch the criticism. Fans weren't satisfied with a close win to The Jets, and they felt the team wasn't tested in London.
Sometimes, there's just no pleasing people. If people want to think the sky is falling, then so be it, but I am feeling a lot more confident this week. This team has responded to the criticism in each of the last two weeks. They showed they could win in the 4th quarter with grit and balls in The Jets game, and they showed they could play 60 minutes of complimentary football in London. What more can they do? I guess the cynics would say, "beat an elite Defense with a decent QB." Well, we may have to wait until December to see that play out.
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| Brady is having an MVP type of year so far On pace for 4,800 yards, 32 TDs, and only 6 INTs |
Belichick's first and foremost goal in every season is to win the division because it is the surest route to making the playoffs. Nevertheless, Brady and The Patriots hope to have chance at homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. Even with a win against Houston, The Patriots could still be a game behind The Texans, who currently sit at 6-1. Like Belichick, I think its important not to focus on earning homefield advantage just yet. We have games against New York, Buffalo, and Miami before we can even think about Houston. Let's take it one step at a time.
As far as things that we need to work on as a team, its just all the obvious issues: improve pass defense, be more consistent in 4th quarter, and get healthy. There's no rocket science to figuring out what this team needs to improve. For those inside the organization, everything can be improved. That's The Patriot Way. So, let's just take this week to focus on ourselves. With no game plan to work on, it's time to address the lingering issues.
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| The Pats remaining schedule has less travel, but lots of tough games |
Overall, I think The Pats are in a good place entering this bye week. They survived their rash of injuries while maintaining the lead in the AFC East. Despite some heartbreaking losses, The Patriots still have the inside track for at least one home playoff game. Likewise, The Patriots are not out of the race for the #1 seed by any means. The fans and media have been very critical of this team as of late, and even this latest blowout win did little to squelch the criticism. Fans weren't satisfied with a close win to The Jets, and they felt the team wasn't tested in London.
Sometimes, there's just no pleasing people. If people want to think the sky is falling, then so be it, but I am feeling a lot more confident this week. This team has responded to the criticism in each of the last two weeks. They showed they could win in the 4th quarter with grit and balls in The Jets game, and they showed they could play 60 minutes of complimentary football in London. What more can they do? I guess the cynics would say, "beat an elite Defense with a decent QB." Well, we may have to wait until December to see that play out.
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