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MTZehvor said:
Shaunodon said:

"Ah, how I missed you and your lovely penchant for dismissing anyone who disagrees with you as delusional or in denial." If you think I'm just randomly dismissing you as delusional or in denial, how about you start with every case where you actually came out on the right side? Maybe my memory's getting bad, but I'm pretty sure I was the one coming here pretty early in the season, saying that the Patriots were glaringly short on weapons (after they'd cut them all) and it wasn't going to bode well. This was before they had played the Ravens or even lost a game. Even though they'd spank teams like the Browns, the Browns were still running all over them, but would end up shooting themselves in the foot with careless ball control. Once the cracks started to show, it only got worse as the season wore on. But you, Mr. Head In The Sand, just kept waffling on about how everything would just work out through the magic of Belichick & Brady.

"Given your status as a...what are you now, a Tampa fan since Tom's moved there? A guy with a weird desire to only cheer for a single player?" Since when is it weird to be a fan of one player? Do you think everyone that started watching the NBA for Michael Jordan is a Bulls fan to this day? It's not like I desire to only be a fan of one player, but I'm not gonna feign allegiance to some team I have no affinity for. I don't live in America, so I can't be a fan of a home state team or even a close neighboring state team.
I started watching the NFL because of Tom Brady, and I just happened to discover that I also love watching the sport. But I was never gonna claim to be a fan of the Patriots if I hadn't followed them for long enough or felt enough reason to, just like I'm not a fan of the Bucs now. I'll obviously be following them though, and while Brady is their QB I'll root for them to win, but that's really it.

I didn't realise getting embarrassed at home on Wild Card Weekend is considered ok in New England now, as long as you can win 12 games. Seeing how hard that might be in the near future, maybe it's not bad that you're starting to lower expectations. Though based on the fact you still seem to believe the status quo is intact and the Patriots can still run the AFC East, maybe it's more that you're trying really hard to look at the glass half full, when everyone else can see there's nothing left in it.

But you, Mr. Head In The Sand, just kept waffling on about how everything would just work out through the magic of Belichick & Brady.

Ah, and now we've moved onto personal insults. Again, lovely.

If you want to play the "who's more delusional about football" game, then we can, although given that you blamed the Patriots management for not spending money on Trent Brown, despite the fact that he had been offered $66 million to play for Oakland at the time and New England literally didn't even have the cap space to match, or that you stated one post ago that Pittsburgh's defense looked better than New England's on paper, I'm not sure that's a contest you want to have.

Since when is it weird to be a fan of one player?

It's very abnormal/uncanny to be a fan of a singular player versus a team. Not unheard of, obviously, but certainly not common. If you don't believe me, then take a poll from any large group of NFL fans, and see how many people are fans of a team versus fans of a player. That should tell you all you need to know.

I didn't realise getting embarrassed at home on Wild Card Weekend is considered ok in New England now, as long as you can win 12 games.

There's a difference between saying it's "ok" versus saying "the sky is falling and everything has gone to shit."

Take 2009 for instance, when the Patriots actually did get embarrassed on Wild Card weekend rather than losing by one possession. Obviously that's a result that no one wants to repeat. But that doesn't mean you immediately write the team off as hopeless. Similarly, losing at home in the wild card last year isn't ideal by any stretch of the imagination. But losing before the AFC Championship for the first time in a decade doesn't mean you just give up on the team as it stands. There's an incredibly strong defense, quality special teams, and with David Andrews returning and Isaiah Wynn healthy, a very talented offensive line.

That isn't a team composition that you immediately press reboot on without at least trying to see if you can develop something with. At least give Stidham a shot, especially given the amount of confidence New England seems to have in him. See if Sanu, Meyers, etc. can fit into the team given an offseason to heal and become more familiar with the playbook. There's a middle ground between being fine with something and also throwing all your toys out of the pram.

https://www.patspulpit.com/2019/2/16/18227266/pats-off-season-making-the-case-for-the-franchise-tagging-of-trent

https://larrybrownsports.com/football/patriots-trent-williams-trade-using-money-saved-on-brady/507655

"They chose not to use the franchise tag on Trent Brown this offseason, and he signed a massive contract with the Oakland Raiders. Brown was New England’s left tackle last season, but the Patriots did not prioritize keeping him since they will be getting 2018 first-round pick Isaiah Wynn back after he missed his rookie season with a torn Achilles. Wynn has not been able to participate in full at training camp this year, and he has never appeared in an NFL game."

Are we gonna keep playing this game? I'm already 1-for-1. I wouldn't be against you making a poll to ask people who they believe will have the better defense this season, and then seeing how the teams actually pan out. I mean you're pretty confident in your team, right? They kept '"vrtually the entire starting roster on that side of the ball", and if they're that good, there's nothing to worry about right?