The players know Brady was not in the game when it mattered. He was not only out in the final drive, he was taken out for a stretch earlier in the game as well. And again, even if you disregard the Pats playing for nothing, it was a single game.
I know he was taken out earlier in the game, but that doesn't matter. Brady was in while the Texans were coming back from down 14 (IIRC). And it might only take one game, you never know. The way the crowd was responding, it was almost like "alright guys, enough of not closing out games, do it now", and the team responded. We'll see this season.
They were playing to win. Maybe not on the last possession but they were into it for sure. Also, Brady was taken out of the game earlier due to an injury. Brady returning to the game is proof that they were trying to win.
Thank you. If they really didn't want to win, Brady would not have came back. Once the game was out of reach, Brady was gone.
I believe they finally pulled Brady late, because IIRC...Mario got real close to hitting him when he threw that INT to Pollard. They already lost 1 player, didn't want to get Brady hurt right before the playoffs.
Out of reach? they were down by 7, with the ball with 2 minutes left. How was it out of reach? And when was Brady injured, they took him out because the game meant nothing to them, their spot in the playoffs was secured. If I remember correctly, Vince Wilfork and a couple other defenders were also not playing
Bellichek got really cautious with his play calling and pulled Brady shortly after Welker tore his ACL. It was a noticeable blow to the psyche of the team.
Very briefly, yes, but in general, no. Welker tore his ACL in the first quarter. Brady was removed for the last half of the second quarter and the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, but he played at least 80% of that game, including the vast majority after Welker's injury. I wouldn't say he was particularly cautious with his playcalling, either - Brady took the same deep drops he always did. That's how Mario ended up with the big sack on one Q4 drive, and pressure led to the Pollard INT on the next one.
Was it really the 1st Q? I could've sworn it was almost like 5 minutes later that Brady got yanked the 1st time. Hmm. Football time I guess. It was a weird game. Seems like the Pats would go balls to the wall one minute, and then shift back into 1st gear the next.
Yeah, happened on Pats' first drive of the game. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3Qg_Qb4JsY Overall I agree, though - that was one of the strangest games I've ever seen. I had never heard of a team pulling its starters in the first half, only to reinsert them and go balls to the wall in the second half. Really bizarre. But that's Belichick, I suppose.
I got that impression as well, the Pats did not give a full effort in that game. Anyway, the whole point of this was that someone said after winning that game, they now know how to close out a game and will be fine in that aspect next season. My point was 1) the pats did not play their hardest and 2) if they did, it is still only one game, learning something means it can be repeated, that has not bee seen yet.
Also, Tom Brady crying like a little shemale over getting hit (cleanly) by Barwin is proof they wanted to win. Brady threw the pick and I laughed.
Yeah so of course Houston would have lost had they played their players. Typical Houston fans who can't give their team credit.
Yeah I just about lost my whataburger for lunch when Jacoby Jones caught that ball in the back of the endzone (with both feet down) for a touchdown.
You're right. I have better things to do like scratch my balls rather than read all of your posts in the entire thread. Just commenting on what I'm seeing. Sorry
i'm talking about the play calling and player substitutions. not their effort. the players on the field don't go half-ass, if they do, they risk not only their job, but getting the head knocked off out there. belichek was going from aggressive to conservative in his play calling quite frequently, and pulling tom and putting him back in was just weird.
