Pats fans reactions

[Mr. Scot]

Scott Pioli may well have deserved more credit than Belichick.

He hasn't built KC into a winner yet though.

[rayzor]

Someone else said - and I agree - that getting back again won't be so easy.

Granted their division is still weak, but you've got the Steelers, Ravens, now the Texans and (maybe) the Bengals, along with other AFC teams that could well look a lot better in year to come.

It is possible this could have been their last hurrah.

i'm looking at the bengals, bills, texans, and chiefs as being the ones to lead their respective divisions going down the road. depending on what miami does for QB and how the colts rebuild w/ luck will definitely factor into things. if cleveland gets RG3 i can see them being solid contenders down the road as well.

i think the pats, ravens, steelers, and chargers as being well on the downside of things. their windows of opportunity is closing quickly. the jets got as good as they are going to get as well.

[Mr. Scot]

i'm looking at the bengals, bills, texans, and chiefs as being the ones to lead their respective divisions going down the road. depending on what miami does for QB and how the colts rebuild w/ luck will definitely factor into things. if cleveland gets RG3 i can see them being solid contenders down the road as well.

i think the pats, ravens, steelers, and chargers as being well on the downside of things. their windows of opportunity is closing quickly. the jets got as good as they are going to get as well.

Looks like Rex was indeed his father's son, a great DC but not so great as a head coach.

His bluster has worn out it's welcome in New York. Coughlin, on the other hand, now has the key to the city.

I kinda wonder if Mike Tomlin won't start falling out of favor some in Pittsburgh too.

[DaCityKats]

Giants defensive line didn't make the Pats drop the ball.

so you missed the safety, sacks, getting pushed off your spots in the pocket, not getting feet set, rushed throws and inaccurate passes all night than?

[DaCityKats]

Looks like Rex was indeed his father's son, a great DC but not so great as a head coach.

His bluster has worn out it's welcome in New York. Coughlin, on the other hand, now has the key to the city.

I kinda wonder if Mike Tomlin won't start falling out of favor some in Pittsburgh too.

Tomlin has been to 2 super bowls and won 1. he should be fine..............................................

for now.

[Mr. Scot]

Tomlin has been to 2 super bowls and won 1. he should be fine..............................................

for now.

Steeler fans are a demanding bunch.

Cowher had them in the playoffs on an annual basis, but half of them were still calling for his head on a platter because he wasn't getting to the Super Bowl.

Same thing could easily happen to Tomlin.

[X-Clown]

A look at some of the Patriots draft picks over the last several years:

2006 1st - Laurence Maroney RB (ahead of Deangelo Williams, Santonio Holmes, Johnathan Joseph and Nick Mangold)

2006 2nd - Chad Jackson WR (ahead of Greg Jennings and Devin Hester)

2006 3rd - Dave Thomas TE (ahead of James Anderson and Owen Daniels)

2006 4th - Garrett Mills, FB (Jahri Evans was selected 2 picks later)

2006 4th - Stephen Gostkowski, K (good at what he does, but Brandon Marshall was selected one pick later, later selections that round include Elvis Dumervil, Ray Edwards, Domata Peko, and Barry Cofield)

2007 1st - Brandon Merriweather, FS who is no longer on the team (Jon Beason was picked one pick later, Ben Grubbs , Robert Meachem and Greg Olsen were taken a few picks later, Lamarr Woodley and Ryan Kalil went in round 2)

2008 1st - Jerrod Mayo ILB - you could argue that there were better players on the board but he's a Pro Bowl LB, so a solid pick.

2008 2nd - Terrence Wheatley CB - huge bust, only played in 11 games for NE (Terrell Thomas was taken one pick later, Jamaal Charles a few picks later)

2008 3rd - Shawn Crable OLB - another bust who only played in 6 games (Cliff Avril and Jermichael Finley were drafted later that round)

2008 3rd - Kevin O'Connell QB - completed a whopping 4 passes so far in the NFL (meanwhile the guy who made the play of the game in yesterday's Super Bowl, Mario Manningham was drafted with the next pick)

2009 2nd - Patrick Chung, SS - solid pick

2009 2nd - Ron Brace, DE - has played in just over half of his games, 0 career sacks, managed to have 4 tackles this season (Connor Barwin was taken 6 picks later)

2009 2nd - Darius Butler, CB - bad enough that he got cut from the worst secondary in the league, and that he wasn't even an upgrade over Captain Munnerlyn (Jairus Byrd went one pick later)

2009 2nd - Sebastian Vollmer, RT - solid pick

2009 3rd - Brandon Tate, WR - as much as UNC alums love him, he was cut this year (and Mike Wallace went with the next pick)

2009 3rd - Tyrone Mackenzie, LB - To be fair he tore his ACL in training camp his rookie season. But to be realistic, players can come back from ACL tears to at least record 1 career tackle in the NFL and this guy didn't

Obviously they hit home runs in 2010 with Gronkowski and Hernandez, Devin McCourty is probably the best player in a bad secondary, and it's probably too soon to tell if some of their other picks will pan out.

[La Pantera]

When Dick LeBeau retires, Steelers will fall off.

[rayzor]

Scott Pioli may well have deserved more credit than Belichick.

He hasn't built KC into a winner yet though.

i think it's only a matter of time. they've got the right coach now. if they could somehow get weiss back it would help, imo.

i like the competition between cassel and orton for them as well. they've got a good bit of young talent on that team.

[X-Clown]

As for the OP, you can find that for just about every fanbase after a season ending loss....case in point, you can find threads on the Giants boards the day they lost in the playoffs to the Eagles in 09' (a year after they won had the SuperBowl against the Pats, and had gotten the #1 seed in the NFC) that were calling for the Giants to start David Carr because he was a better passer than Eli.

[Mr. Scot]

A look at some of the Patriots draft picks over the last several years:

2006 1st - Laurence Maroney RB (ahead of Deangelo Williams, Santonio Holmes, Johnathan Joseph and Nick Mangold)

2006 2nd - Chad Jackson WR (ahead of Greg Jennings and Devin Hester)

2006 3rd - Dave Thomas TE (ahead of James Anderson and Owen Daniels)

2006 4th - Garrett Mills, FB (Jahri Evans was selected 2 picks later)

2006 4th - Stephen Gostkowski, K (good at what he does, but Brandon Marshall was selected one pick later, later selections that round include Elvis Dumervil, Ray Edwards, Domata Peko, and Barry Cofield)

2007 1st - Brandon Merriweather, FS who is no longer on the team (Jon Beason was picked one pick later, Ben Grubbs , Robert Meachem and Greg Olsen were taken a few picks later, Lamarr Woodley and Ryan Kalil went in round 2)

2008 1st - Jerrod Mayo ILB - you could argue that there were better players on the board but he's a Pro Bowl LB, so a solid pick.

2008 2nd - Terrence Wheatley CB - huge bust, only played in 11 games for NE (Terrell Thomas was taken one pick later, Jamaal Charles a few picks later)

2008 3rd - Shawn Crable OLB - another bust who only played in 6 games (Cliff Avril and Jermichael Finley were drafted later that round)

2008 3rd - Kevin O'Connell QB - completed a whopping 4 passes so far in the NFL (meanwhile the guy who made the play of the game in yesterday's Super Bowl, Mario Manningham was drafted with the next pick)

2009 2nd - Patrick Chung, SS - solid pick

2009 2nd - Ron Brace, DE - has played in just over half of his games, 0 career sacks, managed to have 4 tackles this season (Connor Barwin was taken 6 picks later)

2009 2nd - Darius Butler, CB - bad enough that he got cut from the worst secondary in the league, and that he wasn't even an upgrade over Captain Munnerlyn (Jairus Byrd went one pick later)

2009 2nd - Sebastian Vollmer, RT - solid pick

2009 3rd - Brandon Tate, WR - as much as UNC alums love him, he was cut this year (and Mike Wallace went with the next pick)

2009 3rd - Tyrone Mackenzie, LB - To be fair he tore his ACL in training camp his rookie season. But to be realistic, players can come back from ACL tears to at least record 1 career tackle in the NFL and this guy didn't

Obviously they hit home runs in 2010 with Gronkowski and Hernandez, Devin McCourty is probably the best player in a bad secondary, and it's probably too soon to tell if some of their other picks will pan out.

Good list.

People talk about the Pats as drafting geniuses largely because of Brady, but realistically he was just the next name on their draft board. If they'd have had any inkling he was going to be that good, they wouldn't have sat him behind Bledsoe.

When I hear all the "genius" talk, the trade up to get Maroney over Williams always comes to mind and gives me a chuckle.

[thefuzz]

i'm looking at the bengals, bills, texans, and chiefs as being the ones to lead their respective divisions going down the road. depending on what miami does for QB and how the colts rebuild w/ luck will definitely factor into things. if cleveland gets RG3 i can see them being solid contenders down the road as well.

i think the pats, ravens, steelers, and chargers as being well on the downside of things. their windows of opportunity is closing quickly. the jets got as good as they are going to get as well.

Somewhat disagree on the Chargers, as they have a top 5 QB that is only 30 years old. The Steelers D is what scares me about them...not Big Ben.

[Mr. Scot]

Somewhat disagree on the Chargers, as they have a top 5 QB that is only 30 years old. The Steelers D is what scares me about them...not Big Ben.

The guy they had pegged as Dick LeBeau's heir apparent (Keith Butler) is now elsewhere.

[The_Mango55]

The Texans and Bengals (if they can keep their players out of prison for a while) might be going places, but the Chiefs are inconsistent and honestly not that talented aside from Bowe, Charles, and Berry. As for the bills, we'll just have to see if Fitzpatrick is more than just a 1/2 season wonder.