***OFFICIAL NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS SEASON THREAD*** (13-4) - Patriots @ Broncos - Sun 3:05PM EST - Bra

[DeadsetAce]

getting my Bedard on a bit while i try and sober up a bit before bed. from the first half:

- solder probably the worst player on the field (for us)? two flags and a couple blown blocks. not re-watching the 2nd half tonight, but from what i recall, he was much better in the 2nd half
- brady quick snapping the steelers...masterful. feel like no one does it better, man
- dion lewis...i like. outside of the goal line, i almost would rather seem him than blount. all depends on the time of the defense we're playing, i guess. if you're playing the colts, blount can just run it down their throats. but a heavier front like pitt's...lewis is the guy
- edelman yards after contact is just unreal. dude fights for every extra inch

 

[DeadsetAce]

Patrick McMahon ‏@pattmcginger 7m7 minutes ago
@Marc_Bertrand I work with the orchestra behind t Payne tonight. We had headset interference too.Not a competitive advantage against us

 

[cash money 1999]

part of me is encouraged it wasn't his knee. but a hip is rarely good...at best it's going to linger all year. at worst...well let's not talk about that

I tweeted out how explosive he looks just moments before him hobbling out smh

 

[rolaholic]

BB seemed pretty heated about the newest "controversy", if it even deserves that tag, this morning .

Apparently, Mike Tomlin's complaints and insinuations about the malfunctioning Pittsburgh Steelers headsets were the tipping point for Bill Belichick.

On a conference call Friday morning, the New England Patriots coach was not simply "On to Buffalo." He was aggravated with how his franchise has been perceived, and took several minutes to address it when asked about the headsets.

Here's his full answer, beginning with the headset clarification:

"It's pretty common -- there's a lot of stuff down there, there's the coach-quarterback stuff, offense and defense; there's the headsets to the press box; there's a lot of stuff going on there and, you know, we had some problems. Just as an example: We had some problems in the first half and then it seemed to be OK, and then we got to the end of the game and the most problems we had were on our last two possessions on offense and defense. So sometimes it goes along and it's fine, and then for some reason something happens and then you go to the guys on the sidelines -- the blue hats or the purple hats, whatever they're called -- and you tell them about it and they fix it. I don't really know enough about technology to know how any of that works, but that's how it goes. We ended up hard-wiring a couple of our headsets to eliminate the wireless part of it. It's not an uncommon problem. We ended up having to signal some of our plays offensively. We couldn't get them in. We look at it as something you have to be ready for every week, and we practice it -- home, away, I don't think there's really any common denominator on that."

And here's where Belichick decides to take it a step further, launching into a defense of his teams from the early 2000s and, really, a defense of his program. Between the ESPN OTL and SI Spygate stories that came out last week and Tomlin's headset complaints, Belichick had clearly had enough.

"I'll just say, kind of tying this in with a couple of things from last week or earlier in the week, I just think overall, it's kind of sad, really, to see some stories written that obviously have an agenda to them with misinformation and anonymous type comments. Writing about warm drinks and trash cans and stuff like that, it's just a sad commentary and it's gone to a pretty low level. It's sunk pretty deep."

"First of all, I would say that I think our program here is built on competition and trying to improve every day and trying to work hard, and it's not built on excuses. And we just try to go to work and improve and find a way to get better. This organization has won a lot of games, but particularly in reference to the great teams from 01, 03, 04 and all the great players that played on those teams -- Ty Law, Malloy, Otis Smith, Rodney Harrison, Bruschi, Izzo, McGinest, Vrabel, (inaudible), Seymour, Matt Light, Andruzzi, Steve Neal, Branch, Troy Brown, Brady, Antowain Smith, Kevin Faulk, Corey Dillon, Lonnie Paxton, Vinatieri -- to take away from what those guys accomplished, what those teams accomplished, how good they were, how many great players we had, how well they played in big games, how they consistently showed up an made big plays and game-winning plays, it's just not right. Those guys were great players. And many more. Those were a few of them -- and great teams. So I'm not going to get into a back-and-forth on it, but that's the way I feel about it."

Can't say I blame him for starting to get sick of this,nice to see him going to bat for and publicly defending his teams honor for a change . I'm starting to feel that this type of thing is gonna be a new trend this season with opposing coaches having a ready to made excuse for their shortcomings

 

[7th Chamber]

I'm fully expecting to hear something about every game the Patriots play this season.

And Mike Silver is going extra hard against the Patriots after the whole headset thing.

 

[DeadsetAce]

this is seriously getting sad

teams need to just lose with some dignity. this mickey mouse cry baby **** is pathetic

it just shows how bad we're in everyone's head right now. every little thing that goes wrong will blow up into a conspiracy or -gate issue. sucks for all of them, i guess

 

[7th Chamber]

Ninety sources in this story: http://t.co/rgdEFHZeGk Now Tomlin angrily piling on. The NFL community is not that big. This is a thing.
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) September 11, 2015

If you know when headsets will go in and out, you can prepare. Come on, man. Duh. Talk to Tomlin. He is mad. https://t.co/3HVCC6XGwj
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) September 11, 2015

More to come. The NFL community is fed up. https://t.co/lflbh65NLE
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) September 11, 2015

 

[rolaholic]

This isn't an issue specific to Gillette 

 

http://thebiglead.com/2015/09/11/br...zza-delivery-guy-in-his-headset-in-baltimore/

 

[DeadsetAce]

This isn't an issue specific to Gillette   

http://thebiglead.com/2015/09/11/br...zza-delivery-guy-in-his-headset-in-baltimore/

nah bro. it's only in NE. headsets work fine everywhere else

 

[DeadsetAce]

Mike Thomas ‏@mikethomasmt8 19m19 minutes ago Boston, MA
Pittsburgh coaches listen. You should too! @scottzolak @Marc_Bertrand @BobSocci @985TheSportsHub

 

[7th Chamber]

Talking on field stuff, I'll just echo what most of you already said in that I liked what I saw out of Dion Lewis. It looks like he can fill that Vereen role pretty well despite the fumble.

The offensive line looked good, even with Andrews at C. Having Stork out was a big blow, but I'm confident in that unit moving forward based on what I saw.

I didn't like the gaping holes that Williams was running through and I didn't see too much of a consistent pass rush. Sheard did have some nice plays though. Butler did the best that he could vs. Brown. Overall, while the defense did worry me some, it's early and these guys will hopefully gel as the season progresses.

The offense looked good and on point

 

[brianoc41]

Roethlisberger is more of an idiot than i thought... Making excuses about the line shifting...

 

[mr marcus]

Lost all respect for the steelers...sore losers

 

[rolaholic]

Roethlisberger is more of an idiot than i thought... Making excuses about the line shifting...

So that's why Ben had 12 incompletions...good to know

This whining seems to be an AFCN thing minus Indy

The teams been doing this for a while btw

 

[dmxfury]

Lost all respect for the steelers...sore losers

You never had any, don't lie

 

[mr marcus]

Lost all respect for the steelers...sore losers

You never had any, don't lie

Swear I did...always seemed classy but this is a cheap move by them IMO

 

[dmxfury]

Apparently the NFL is looking into it even without a formal complaint filed. Probably for the better, needs to be addressed and fixed

 

[nooera]

Not surprised the guy who would risk the health/career of an opponent by trying to trip him while he's running full speed up the sideline had an excuse for his teams piss poor performance last night.

Good W. On to Buffalo

 

[7th Chamber]

#NFL cleared the #Patriots of any responsibility in Thursday's headset issues. League found it was a power issue compounded by poor weather.
— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) September 11, 2015

NFL releases statement attributing headset communication issues from Thurs to an electrical issues made worse by storms. No foul play
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) September 11, 2015

 

[nooera]

The only 'foul play' last night was the Steelers secondary trying to cover Gronkowski, and Todd Haley running a double pass on the first drive of the season. But as a coach who clearly isn't covering all his bases, it's easier to blame the headsets.

 

[cash money 1999]

I enjoy the allegations at this point , I am done wasting my breathe on trolls that have their minds made up . It's alot more fun when you embrace the heel element ..... Atleast after a performance like that one

 

[dmxfury]

Not surprised the guy who would risk the health/career of an opponent by trying to trip him while he's running full speed up the sideline had an excuse for his teams piss poor performance last night.

Good W. On to Buffalo

I'd love to hear the connection between what happened in Balt and him being upset with bad communication equipment. Humor me

No surprise the team is cleared, pretty low chance it was the team itself messing with it

 

[nooera]

No surprise the team is cleared? You just said it would be "for the better" if the entire Patriots organization and communications department was probed by the NFL, despite the Steelers choosing to not make a formal complaint. So how exactly is it "no surprise" that the team was cleared It's actually a HUGE surprise the team has been cleared, considering the abuse the team has taken from the media.

Also, there doesnt have to be a connection between the two incidents. If Tomlin wants to blame his team's loss on headsets, let it be known that he is an absolute dirtbag, who was willing to risk a guys livelihood just to save six points on the scoreboard.

 

[nooera]

What a scumbag.

 

[dmxfury]

Correlation isn't a strong concept . Bringing up one to downplay the other is simy

Mike can't ever speak out on an issue ever again because of that play . Sound thinking

Good win though, for reals




And I do think the NFL has to get to the bottom of the issues but I said it was an equipment and stadium issue, not the Pats. So they should be cleared