When looking at the Patriots 33-20 loss in Miami on Sunday, it's easy to think, 'Tom Brady's age is finally catching up to him' or that 'the Patriots don't have what it takes to win another Super Bowl.' But Sean Leahy says that everyone needs to just relax. He believes it's okay to still be optimistic about the Patriots because of a variety of reasons that he lays out in his most recent article in the Boston Globe.
"While the Patriots deserve your scorn and criticism for being embarrassed, 33-20, in the season opener, don't write off the high expectations for this team just because they're 0-1," writes Leahy.
One reason to stay positive is because the Patriot don't often lose two games in a row. Michael Whitmer of the Boston Globe points out that the Patriots have only had 10 losing streaks under Bill Belichick and only two of those streaks included consecutive losses on the road.
"One thing is clear, though: Not only do the Patriots almost always avoid two straight losses to start the season, they limit the number of times they lose consecutive games, period," explains Whitmer. "Since Bill Belichick took over as head coach before the 2000 season, the Patriots have lost at least two consecutive games in just seven of his 14 seasons."
As the Patriots and Vikings prepare to face off in Minnesota, Christopher Gates of SB Nation decided to take a look at the history between the two teams. The Patriots have a 7-4 all-time record against the Vikings and the last time they lost in Minnesota was in 1997. Adrian Peterson has faced New England once in his career and finished the game with 142 total yards on 5 receptions and 25 carries.
"Even though the Vikings have a three-game deficit in head-to-head wins and losses, they've scored more total points than the Patriots in their head-to-head match-ups," writes Gates. "The 2006 game shown above is the only time the Patriots have beaten the Vikings by more than ten points."
Tom Brady had one of his worst week one performances of his career last Sunday, completing less than 52% of his passes. Chris Gasper and Dan Shaughnessy joined Gary Tanguay on Comcast SportsNet's "Early Edition" to discuss whether Brady's skills are eroding or whether it was just one bad game. Both Gasper and Tanguay said that it had nothing to do with TB12's age or his diminishing skillset.
"It doesn't matter how old you are," said Tanguay. "When you are under pressure the way you were against Miami, you're going to have problems."
Tanguay further elaborated on his opinion in an article he wrote for CSNNE.com. He believes that Brady deserves the benefit of the doubt that he'll find a way to fix any issues.
"This guy has done too much for the New England sports scene to be crushed this soon," wrote Tanguay. "When I hear things like, 'Hey, Manning keeps his routes simple for his receivers. Why can't Brady?', I want to throw up. Get a grip!"
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Doug Kyed](http://nesn.com/2014/09/patriots-film-review-3-4-defense-didnt-work-against-dolphins/) of NESN.com provided his weekly 'film review' article this morning. He broke down all the stories from the game and identified which players played well and which players played poorly. One of his biggest takeaways is that the Patriots' switch to a 3-4 defensive alignment.
"I thought stout play by the Patriots' linebackers could bail out Chandler Jones' lack of ideal size at defensive end. I thought the combination of two 320-plus pound defenders would be enough to eat up space to clog rushing lanes," writes Kyed. "I was wrong, and so were the Patriots."
Erik Frenz of Boston.com did a similar film review in which he focused on who created and allowed pressure against the Dolphins. He believes the issues aren't as bad as it initially looked on Sunday.
I thought stout play by the Patriots' linebackers could bail out Chandler Jones' lack of ideal size at defensive end. I thought the combination of two 320-plus pound defenders — Vince Wilfork and Sealver Siliga — would be enough to eat up space to clog rushing lanes.
Read more at: http://nesn.com/2014/09/patriots-film-review-3-4-defense-didnt-work-against-dolphins/
I thought stout play by the Patriots' linebackers could bail out Chandler Jones' lack of ideal size at defensive end. I thought the combination of two 320-plus pound defenders — Vince Wilfork and Sealver Siliga — would be enough to eat up space to clog rushing lanes.
Read more at: http://nesn.com/2014/09/patriots-film-review-3-4-defense-didnt-work-against-dolphins/
I thought stout play by the Patriots' linebackers could bail out Chandler Jones' lack of ideal size at defensive end. I thought the combination of two 320-plus pound defenders — Vince Wilfork and Sealver Siliga — would be enough to eat up space to clog rushing lanes.
Read more at: http://nesn.com/2014/09/patriots-film-review-3-4-defense-didnt-work-against-dolphins/
I thought stout play by the Patriots' linebackers could bail out Chandler Jones' lack of ideal size at defensive end. I thought the combination of two 320-plus pound defenders — Vince Wilfork and Sealver Siliga — would be enough to eat up space to clog rushing lanes.
Read more at: http://nesn.com/2014/09/patriots-film-review-3-4-defense-didnt-work-against-dolphins/
I thought stout play by the Patriots' linebackers could bail out Chandler Jones' lack of ideal size at defensive end. I thought the combination of two 320-plus pound defenders — Vince Wilfork and Sealver Siliga — would be enough to eat up space to clog rushing lanes.
Read more at: http://nesn.com/2014/09/patriots-film-review-3-4-defense-didnt-work-against-dolphins/
I thought stout play by the Patriots' linebackers could bail out Chandler Jones' lack of ideal size at defensive end. I thought the combination of two 320-plus pound defenders — Vince Wilfork and Sealver Siliga — would be enough to eat up space to clog rushing lanes.
Read more at: http://nesn.com/2014/09/patriots-film-review-3-4-defense-didnt-work-against-dolphins/
I thought stout play by the Patriots' linebackers could bail out Chandler Jones' lack of ideal size at defensive end. I thought the combination of two 320-plus pound defenders
