Mike Dussault

I just haven’t seen enough progress out of Mallett to think he’s the guy and this is the final year of this contract. If someone wants to trade for him, please do. 

In my opinion I think BB will stay with the Pats past Brady and will relish the challenge of keeping it going after Brady. I’ve heard him mention how much respect he had for the 49ers to do it with two QBs.

Brady has three years left on his deal and I saw nothing this season that signaled any reason he can’t be the man for those three more seasons, but often decline happens quickly, especially if he were to sustain a significant injury.

This offseason is the time to start really looking to develop someone behind him I believe. Three seasons would be the perfect developmental time, especially if a rookie is in on a four-year deal.

I’d draft, I’d sign free agents, I’d take a look at any and every quarterback possible starting now (not that they don’t already do this). 

What I am most curious about is to see what kind of a quarterback they take. Belichick is a forward-thinking coach, and he’s seen the threat a quarterback who can run is. Do they stick with traditional pocket passers? Or do they believe that the evolution at the position is inevitable?

Thanks, and I hear you, it’s frustrating to keep getting so close and keep falling short. Sometimes I wonder what is worse, having low enough expectations that you’re thrilled to play in a conference championship, or being so used to it that anything less than a Super Bowl win is devastating.

Remember when the Jets thought they were on top of the world because they lost in back-to-back AFC Championships? Like that was a sign that they were on the cusp of winning it all?

Doesn’t feel the same for Pats fans right now and we’ve been to THREE straight AFC Championships and even won one.

I actually feel better than I have with the way the season ended this year since I was when the won Super Bowl 39. Why? Expectations were kind of reduced to begin with and injuries lowered them even more.

It was just cemented this season how well the Patriots are coached and how hard they compete. Say what you will about Belichick’s personnel misfires, but he has quite a solid core that play how he wants them to play.

With those guys in place I’m more convinced than ever that this team will be in contention for a Super Bowl every season BB is there, and likely even after Brady retires.

Hang in there, let’s just put 2013 behind us and focus on taking that next step this year. 

It’s possible, but hard to know if the Broncos want to sign him to a big contract when they have Demaryius entering the last year of his deal as well. How many more years to they have with Manning? How do they want to handle the transition?

And let’s not forget their defense will also need some free agency help as well, if not more so.

I liked Decker coming out and wasn’t surprised McDaniels grabbed him for the Broncos. I think he’d be a good compliment to the New England receiving corps.

I’m sure he’ll have plenty of interest around the league.

It’s a valid question, but I think they really moved away from it when they had their full secondary healthy. I think “bend-don’t-break” is really more in reference to playing zone and as we saw against the Broncos, you just can’t play zone against the better quarterbacks in the NFL.

Belichick is a conservative defensive coach and I don’t think that’s going to change. He’s not going to sell out and send a ton of guys blitzing. They pick their spots, but for the most part, he’d prefer to play sound coverage and force the offense to execute without mistakes. 

More often that not offenses cannot do that without throwing picks or coughing up the ball.

But it’s interesting to note that the Patriots were effectively dominated by the Broncos’ offense, yet they only lost by 10 points and were within a two-point conversion of it being just eight points and a chance to tie if they got the onside kick.

In the majority of their losses it’s been like that. The Steelers in 2011 killed the Pats, yet only won by 8. 

And there wasn’t a single loss this season that they didn’t have a chance at winning going into the fourth quarter or overtime.

So I do think there is something to be said for playing this style. It’s certainly frustrating to watch at times but I think their struggles on third down and against the deep ball (as I wrote about today) are the specific things holding them back, not the conservative defensive philosophy.

Bring back Talib and keep playing more man defense and we should see progress next season, especially with a more healthy front seven.