It's NOT Great To Be A Florida Patriot....And Whew, 1 Big W.

609254 It's NOT Great to be a Florida Patriot Here's what this fan learned watching Rex Ryan's Jets beat the Patriots 16-9 in week 2. New York exposed and was able to take advantage of what has been fundamentally wrong with Bill Belichick's team for a few years now. First and foremost, Belichick has to get over his love affair with what Urban Meyer is doing at Florida. The two coaching greats and their staffs get together annually during the off-season but the relationship is costing the Patriots. New England is running a spread offense in a league where even the worst teams have too much defensive speed on the edges to be effective. As a result, when the Patriots need to convert a critical 3rd and 1, they go backwards, unable to move the chains. In addition, this spread takes away what made the Patriots Superbowl teams fun to watch, the ability to stretch the field and go deep. Where are the big pass plays from just two seasons ago during Tom Brady's MVP season? Marginalized by the spread. On the defensive side of the football, several draft picks in recent years NOT panning out have resulted in a secondary akin to a sieve and a pass rush seemingly unable to apply pressure to the quarterback. New England fans were frustrated by going 11-5 and not making the playoffs last season. 11 wins this season, by these Patriots would be a tall order to fill. Whew, 1 big W Mere hours after the University of Washington stunned then 3 ranked USC, my beloved WSU Cougars were desperately trying to avoid becoming this years oh-fer version of the Huskies. At home against SMU, Paul Wulff's defense stiffened and was able to put points on the board and create a key turnover in overtime to secure Wazzu's first win of the season! While I realize Wulff is on the hot seat and wins will be few and far between this season, this fan is happy to see her team with a "W" in the win column. Since the Cougars play 5 of their next 6 against conference foes and ON the road, that lone victory may have to sustain me until early November. Until the next time, may your favorite team give you reason to cheer! true

2009-09-21T12:44:31Z

94887 2 It's NOT Great To Be A Florida Patriot....And Whew, 1 Big W.

2009-09-22T18:16:50Z