2013 Patriots Football

[Roy H.]

That call against Miami for batting the fumble was one of the worst calls I can remember seeing.

[Bahku]

That call against Miami for batting the fumble was one of the worst calls I can remember seeing.

Yeah, the Dolphins got caught making some silly mistakes penalty-wise, but that and a couple other calls looked like clear homerism on the part of the officials.

That one was horrendous, but I'm not complaining.

[Eja117]

Hey I missed the game. What happened? Did someone get penalized for yelling too loud or taking off their shoe before they got to the bench? Maybe wearing the wrong brand tailbone pad or something?

[Donoghus]

It's amazing this team is 6-2. Outside the Falcons & Saints games, they played like crap much of the season.  Offense is stuttering time & again and they've been decimated by injuries.

[Bahku]

It's amazing this team is 6-2. Outside the Falcons & Saints games, they played like crap much of the season.  Offense is stuttering time & again and they've been decimated by injuries.

Yeah, if I was Bill I'd be very happy with the record right now, but also very apprehensive of the immediate future ... the injuries just keep piling up. They sure have grit, though.

[thirstyboots18]

It was a good ending...but I am wondering if this is Brady's lowest QB rating and total passing yards game?

Tom's been struggling, for a variety of reasons, but thankfully the defense came up big today, Ridley ran well, Gronk with some nice catches, and Maimi with some stupid penalties.

I've got Tom's rating today at 69.508 ... not at ALL what he's used to.

Good thing? He's one of the most competitive athletes in the world, and will bounce back soon.

I m not blaming Brady...the injuries and lack of playing time together is a major part of it...just wondering,is all.  Brady usually figures out a way to win...I don't think he worries about stats.

[birdwatcher]

Brady can have the lowest QBR in the league as long as we win. Bottom line is 6-2, one more week till the bye--let's take it one game at a time.

[Cman]

It's amazing this team is 6-2. Outside the Falcons & Saints games, they played like crap much of the season.  Offense is stuttering time & again and they've been decimated by injuries.

Yeah. Other teams are dealing w injuries as well though. Pats will have Talib, Kelly and Vereen back soon (likely after the bye for the first two, I'd guess).

Some bright spots as well. Logan Ryan. A Dobson getting better. Punter. Kicker. Gronk and Amendola are back.

[kozlodoev]

That call against Miami for batting the fumble was one of the worst calls I can remember seeing.

Yeah, the Dolphins got caught making some silly mistakes penalty-wise, but that and a couple other calls looked like clear homerism on the part of the officials.

That one was horrendous, but I'm not complaining.

I don't see any homerism there -- you're not allowed to bat a ball you can't hold on to towards the opponent's goal line. That was a pretty easy call.

http://www.nfl.com/rulebook/useofhands

Also, Brady may have a pretty good excuse for this one -- have you seen what his throwing hand looked like today?

[Roy H.]

That call against Miami for batting the fumble was one of the worst calls I can remember seeing.

Yeah, the Dolphins got caught making some silly mistakes penalty-wise, but that and a couple other calls looked like clear homerism on the part of the officials.

That one was horrendous, but I'm not complaining.

I don't see any homerism there -- you're not allowed to bat a ball you can't hold on to towards the opponent's goal line. That was a pretty easy call.

http://www.nfl.com/rulebook/useofhands

Also, Brady may have a pretty good excuse for this one -- have you seen what his throwing hand looked like today?

There's absolutely no evidence that he was intentionally batting that ball.  He appeared to be extending, trying to gather the ball, and he ended up hitting it.

[kozlodoev]

There's absolutely no evidence that he was intentionally batting that ball.  He appeared to be extending, trying to gather the ball, and he ended up hitting it.

I don't see anything about intent in the rulebook. He batted the ball backwards -- he didn't drop it, fumble it, or mishandle it in any form in that direction.

Second, he was clearly not in a position to gather that ball, and he just slapped it as far away from Connolly as he could. Connolly was likely going to recover at the 20 as he was falling on top of the ball.

edit: Also, this whole "intent" argument is quite slippery. There's absolutely no evidence that anyone who's roughing the passer isn't simply trying to get a sack.

[kozlodoev]

And just in case you thought this season couldn't get any worse:

Vollmer broke his (lower) leg, likely out for the rest of season.

[fairweatherfan]

And just in case you thought this season couldn't get any worse:

Vollmer broke his (lower) leg, likely out for the rest of season.

I'm pretty sure a 6-2 season could always get quite a bit worse.  Dang you guys are spoiled.

[PhoSita]

And just in case you thought this season couldn't get any worse:

Vollmer broke his (lower) leg, likely out for the rest of season.

I'm pretty sure a 6-2 season could always get quite a bit worse.  Dang you guys are spoiled.

It is a bit unreal that the Pats are 6-2 despite how badly the season seems to have gone.

Brady is playing like a run of the mill quarterback and the team has been devastated by injuries.

I guess the thing is that around here we've come to measure the success of a Patriots season based on their ability to compete in the playoffs.  Perhaps that makes us Patriots fans spoiled, but I don't think it's unreasonable considering the run of success recently.

What makes this season so disappointing is that it really feels like the team is never going to get a chance to actually compete for anything because of the nightmarish off-season and then the injury plagued regular season.  Feels like this will end up being a lost year even though the team is sitting at 6-2. 

I mean, what would the record be if you switched the Patriots' second half schedule with their first half schedule?  I think there's a good chance they'd be sitting at 4-4, perhaps even 3-5.  So I think 6-2 is a bit misleading.


Don't get me wrong, I know seasons like this afflict nearly every team in the league from time to time.  Part of the parity in the NFL is the propensity for teams to get devastated by injuries like this.  That doesn't mean it isn't a major bummer when you have to go through that as a fan, even if your team has had a lot of good seasons before that.

A major element of it, too, is that the clock is very obviously ticking on Brady's career.  He'll probably try to play until he's 40+, but how many years does he have left really playing at a high level?  How many years will we be stuck with a revolving door of mediocrity at the QB position once Brady finally does retire? 

In that light, seeing a year of Brady's career get wasted like this because of injuries and a lack of offensive talent around him aggravates an already frustrating situation given everything that happened with Welker and Hernandez over the summer.

[Eja117]

And just in case you thought this season couldn't get any worse:

Vollmer broke his (lower) leg, likely out for the rest of season.

If you're a Patriot, other than Brady, it's pretty much assumed that at some point in a two year period you will either miss at least 8 games or go to jail.