Belichick feels good about Pats’ chances down the stretch
London calling
The league announced yesterday the Patriots would play Tampa Bay on Oct. 25, 2009 at
England’s Wembley Stadium. “We are
proud to be selected by the NFL to be featured in next year’s international
game,” said Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft in a statement issued by the league.
“We have had a lot of memorable moments in recent years. I am sure our
trip to the United Kingdom next year will prove to be an unforgettable
experience for our players and coaches, as well as the many fans that will
travel to the game. I think it is fitting that New England’s first game
to be played outside of North America will be in England. I know that the
UK is home to some of our most passionate Patriots fans and we look forward to
the experience.”
Metro
Consider it an early Christmas gift from the schedule-makers.
Likely facing a scenario where they would have to win at least three of their four remaining games — and quite possibly all four — to make the playoffs, the Patriots (7-5) have to like their chances down the stretch thanks to a relatively easy schedule. New England’s next four opponents (Seattle, Oakland, Arizona and Buffalo) have a combined winning percentage of .375 (18-30), and the 7-5 Cardinals are the only team with an above-.500 record.
Good news for a team that is feeling a sense of urgency after Sunday’s 33-10 loss to Pittsburgh.
“I would say that at this point of the season they are all must-win,” said running back Sammy Morris of the Patriots, who open the final quarter of their season Sunday against the 2-10 Seahawks in Seattle.
“Obviously with a loss this late in the season, it’s going to put a little more emphasis on this next game, on [it] being a bigger game for us.”
But a relatively light schedule isn’t the only reason why Bill Belichick is confident in his teams’ chances down the stretch. The New England coach said yesterday he’s been impressed by the bounce back ability and intestinal fortitude of the 2008 Patriots.
“We have had our highs and lows, and we bounce back from those,” Belichick said of his team, which is a game back in the AFC wild card chase. “We try to work hard and continue to work hard and get better every week, whether we have won or lost, played well or haven’t played well, practiced well or haven’t practiced well.
“There has been a good effort and good attentiveness to try to correct things, improve and get them right. I don’t see any reason why that would change.”
They’ll need that this week. New England was beaten badly on Sunday by Pittsburgh: On offense, the Patriots posted just 267 total yards, and were 1-for-13 on third-down conversion attempts. Quarterback Matt Cassel, coming off back-to-back games where he passed for at least 400 yards, was picked off twice and sacked five times. On defense, New England yielded 161 rushing yards, and allowed 30 unanswered points for the first time in more than five years.
But if history is any indication, they should have little trouble reverting to form. Since 2003, the Patriots have lost only two December games — interestingly, both of them came in Miami against the Dolphins. Overall, they’re 20-2 in their last 22 games in December.
But Belichick knows history — and keeping an eye on the scoreboard — only goes so far.
“The best thing we can do is go out there and win,” Belichick said. “We are not worried about anybody else but Seattle. I know there are other games on our schedule, but there is nothing we can do about any of those games.
“We are not going to concern ourselves with them, just like we normally wouldn’t. We will focus on this game, one game at a time, and get ready for Seattle.”
