If the players are saying they are not coming out prepared and with a good winners attitude, I’m sorry time for a change of personel, How can you not come out hungry mad and ready to go. After all it is 16 weeks..

Whatever the Patriots say they can do or need to do means nothing. They haven’t had a team like any of their Super Bowl teams in 5 years. And that’s ok, they will get better with more experience. What’s NOT ok is that they have zero heart, zero pride and sadly zero talent on the defensive side of the ball. I think you do bring Weiss back. At the very least you’ll have a coordinator on offense that will know what the defense is trying to accomplish vs your team. This guy now is lost. He clearly panics with play-calling at the first hint of adversity or defensive adjustments. On the defensive side of the ball, the problems are obvious. They are trying. I just see that they are 1) too slow, as evidenced by the fact that they can’t get a pass rush and their line is gassed by the 2nd half every week. 2) Lack a clear leader out there. Mayo is not it. He looks completely lost and befuddled out there. And 3) I just don’t think they are smart enough to absorb, remember and implement everything the coaches throw at them. And the DB’s couldn’t cover ME on a pass route. They are completely out of position and always a step late. And the defense as a whole doesn’t wrap up. If they make the tournament they are going to be one and done.

1) People are taking this loss against the Saints WAY to seriously. Yes, it was a big game, and yes, the Saints were a good test for the Patriots, but it was ONE game. You can’t act as if this game takes precedence over everything the Patriots have accomplished thus far. All in all, the Patriots defense has really only had 2 stinkers, and one of them was a gem until the final quarter of play. They have played above expectations and to say they have no heart nor the intelligence to execute and remember the defensive play calls is just plain foolish. Give the Saints some freakin credit because they are 11-0 and look like the best team in the NFL right now.
Anything can happen in the playoffs. A-n-y-t-h-i-n-g. 95% or more of the NFL fan base did not think the Arizona Cardinals would be able to make the Superbowl, and many said they’d be one and done last year. The year the Colts won the Superbowl, people thought their run defense would be their achilles’ heel. The Steelers won their first Superbowl in this decade as a long shot wild card team, and the Titans went one and done last year after having a great regular season. And not only have the playoffs not begun yet, you still have 5 more games to play. Writing the Patriots off this early is premature, and really, it’s a little stupid and demonstrates ignorance of the unpredictability of what is the NFL and NFL playoff games.

good point. And how can you be a NY Pats from? As in a Pats fan from NY.

Reading and hearing the comments after the game, it floors me that people want to bring back Charlie Weis. Weis was not this superior offensive coordinator that people are wistfully portraying him to be – those Patriots didn’t win with trick plays or because of him, they won by EXECUTING. I keep hearing “Bill O”Brian’s offense is predictable.” People want to rip Bill O’Brian and they are forgetting that in 2005 the offense was called predictable all season – four years later people look at Josh McDaniels as a great coordinator and now a very good head coach.

On the defensive side of the ball the problem is not something that keeping Asante Samuel (BTW to Karen Guregian and Ron Borges, Samuel played against the Saints this season also and DID NOTHING) or Mike Vrabel would have solved – it is a problem that the unit simply needs to ride out the rough stretches and grow together. That this defense is still in the top six in the league in fewest points allowed and fifth in takeaways in what is basically the first year together is a VERY good sign for the future.

Pats for sure can beat any team in the AFC…Hell they out played the Colts most of that game…So they can get into the big game. However, lets not fool ourselves…The Saints are that damn good and the Vikings are not far behind them…