Five Reasons the 2009 New England Patriots are Struggling

The New England Patriots lost on Sunday to the Dolphins in Miami, falling to 7-5, and have now lost three of their last four games. 

This team, while 6-0 at home, has not won a game in an opponents’ stadium all season and has blown second-half leads in four of their five losses.

In the span of a few weeks, the conversation has swung from do the Patriots belong mentioned among the league’s elite to will the Patriots even hold on to win the AFC East.

What makes the loss to the Dophins so troubling is that if the Patriots have become consistent in anything this season it is that the same mistakes are reooccuring on a far to regular basis.

It wasn’t simply a bad day on Sunday, but on the other hand, the loss was due to a number of problems that haven't been addressed and, in some circumstances, have actually become worse. 

This is still a good football team, who at times, even in the losses, have shown flashes of being a very good team. But at the end of the day, as Tom Brady said after the loss, “You get what you deserve. You don’t deserve to win when you” continually make the mistakes the Patriots are making. 

With that in mind, here are five problems, not in any particular order, that are causing the Patriots' struggles—not just on Sunday against the Dolphins, but all season.

1. Lack of a Pass Rush

Defensively, it is clear that this is the primary concern. The Patriots lost to Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, which is understandable. But what stood out was the amount of time each had to complete their throws. 

Ok, that is Manning and Brees.  Any team may look bad against those two.  The Pats' lack of a pass rush, though, is not limited to when they play against the league's elite quarterbacks.  Today against the Dolphins, Chad Henne attempted 52 passes and was sacked just once and was barely even pressured all game.

For the season, New England has only 20 sacks (tied for fourth fewest), while opposing quarterbacks have dropped back to pass 388 times. I found it very telling that today, with the Dolphins backed up in their own end, they did not hesitate on first down to have Henne throw the ball from their own end zone. It was apparent that Miami had no fear of the Patriots' pass rush.

Regardless of how this season turns out, I have to believe player-personnel priority number one in the offseason will be finding someone, or someones, who can put pressure on the quarterback.

2. Pats' Inability to Make Stops on Third Down  

This is an offshoot of problem number one. When teams find themselves in passing situations against the Patriots, it is almost ideal for them. 

I almost would rather see teams have third and short, because against a run, the Patriots have a shot. For the Dolphins on third down, Henne completed 11-of-15 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns. 

This is a problem impacting the entire defense, not just the secondary or the inept pass rush.  All around, it seems that if a play is there to be made the Patriots do not make it. An example from today’s game was a third-and-four when Henne completed a pass short of the first down. Two Patriots, including middle linebacker Jerod Mayo, were there to make the tackle. Both missed, and the Dolphins picked up the first down.

Another example came on the Dolphins game-winning drive—with the home team facing a critical fourth-and-six. New England won three Super Bowls not by blowing teams out, but by making the handful of plays that had to be made. Here, however, with a chance to seal the win they couldn't stop Miami, as the Dolphins picked up the first down and went on to kick the game-winning field goal.

3. No Playmakers on Defense

This is sort of the final reason in this initial category. Who are the playmakers on defense? Who can New England rely on to make a play when it has to be made? 

Vince Wilfork has been great but there is only so much a nose tackle can do.  Where once there was Mike Vrabel, Tedy Bruschi, Rodney Harrison, Willie McGinest, Ty Law and many others, who almost invariably made those crucial few plays that decide each game, now there is no one. For 12 weeks, I’ve been waiting for someone to step up, and no one has. Intercepting Mark Sanchez does not count. 

4. Second Half and Road Woes 

These are problems that have been talked about for a few weeks now, but prior to this week I didn’t pay any attention to it. Yes, the Patriots had a few games where they didn’t score as many points in the second half as they did in the first, and yes, they had lost some road games. But I chalked it up to just a coincidence and was not convinced that there was any real connection.

After today’s loss, though, these problems can no longer be ignored. For whatever reason, the Patriots are 6-0 at home, 1-0 on a neutral field, and 0-5 on the road. Five road losses is too many to think there isn’t some connection. And it is something that has to be addressed because if the Patriots are to be a factor in the playoffs, they will need to do so on the road.

The second-half struggles are equally as perplexing.  In every single game this season, New England has scored at least nine points in the first half. In the second half, they have scored seven or fewer five times and are 1-4 in those games. Twice, they didn’t score at all in the second half. For the season, the Patriots are averaging 18.3 points per game in the first half—and just nine in the second. 

The numbers are even worse in the five losses, where the Patriots have done well in the first half, scoring 14.8 points per game, but they have struggled mightily in the second half, scoring just 4.8 points.

Another area New England used to excel in, holding on to second-half leads, has been a problem this year as the Patriots have blown second-half leads in four of their five losses. 

5. Offensive Play Calling 

The offense has a number of problems, but I am going to address them all under the play-calling umbrella. 

There are times when this New England offense looks to be not that far off from the record-setting offense of 2007. 

They looked great in building a 31-14 lead over Indianapolis, they looked great in their opening drive against the Saints, and they looked great earlier today when they went ahead 14-0 against the Dolphins. But things can change quickly, and suddenly the Patriots offense will become out of sync and be unable to get back on track.

This year, unlike ever before with Brady as quarterback, the Patriots are being forced to burn timeouts on offense and are getting bogged down with false start and delay of game penalties. Prior to this year, would you ever have thought you would see a Patriots offense take the field on first down only to have to burn a timeout immediately?

Brady threw an interception in the end zone today—an interception that was caused because the play clock was nearing zero and Brady had to rush the snap. He then rushed his decision making and his throw, tossing the pick as a result.

The play-design has been off as well. It isn’t terrible, but it is not sharp, and there are little details that are not being properly addressed. 

There are two examples of this from today’s game against the Dolphins. In the second-quarter, on a third-and-two, Brady threw a screen pass to Kevin Faulk who was spread out like a receiver. The key to the play called for Randy Moss to make a block on a cornerback. Moss missed the block.

Now, it wasn’t a difficult block, and maybe Moss should make it. My question is, why would you design a play that you run on third down that relies on Moss to make the crucial block?  Why not have Sam Aiken or Wes Welker be in that situation?  Put players in a situation to succeed.  

The second example was when New England went for it on fourth down from the Miami six-yard line near the end of the first half. 

Miami stuffed the rush attempt by Sammy Morris. Welker and Moss were both on the sideline. I have no problem going for it on fourth down, I have no problem rushing with Morris, but why would this Patriots team run an important play with both Moss and Welker on the sideline? 

Miami was geared up for the run, but with Moss and Welker not out there, they then knew that they did not have to worry at all about a quick pass play. 

In addition, the Patriots have been very predictable offensively. When Brady is under center, especially if Maroney is in the backfield, the Patriots are going to run the ball.  When he is in the shotgun, they are going to pass. It just makes things easy for the defense.

This, then, leads me to my final concern with the offensive play-calling—we aren’t in 2007 anymore. The Patriots are trying to run the same offense as they did in 2007, but in 2009, they do not have the personnel capable of pulling that off on a consistent basis. This insistence on running an offense based on multiple weapons when you really only have two has become like trying to force a square peg into a round hole.  It isn't working and is a prime reason why the offense falls out of sync frequently and quickly.

In 2007, the Patriots could spread the field with not just Moss and Welker, but with Donte' Stallworth and Jabar Gaffney as well.  Gaffney and Stallworth combined for 82 receptions for 1,146 yards and 8 TDs in '07.  If teams took away Moss and Welker, Brady still had the other two receivers, plus Kevin Faulk, to make plays, too.

This year, on the other hand, while Sam Aiken had a big play today and led the team in yards against the Saints, he isn’t someone other teams are too concerned with.

It also makes running the ball difficult.  Only twice all season has a Patriot rushed for over 100 yards.  New England never establishes the run, and no running back can ever get into any rhythm. 

This is also why they can’t hold onto leads, because they can’t just hand the ball over to the running game to work the clock.

In the 2007 AFC Championship against San Diego, the Patriots took possession leading by eight with nine-minutes to play. New England, behind eight carries from Laurence Maroney, was able to run out the clock and never give the Chargers possession again.

Now think back to the Colts game from this year—long before the failed fourth-and-two play: Manning had thrown an interception. A touchdown likely seals the win, but even short of a touchdown, New England could go to work on the clock.  But they were unable to do so, and after an incompletion on third down, had to settle for a field goal, giving the ball back to Indianapolis with just enough time to get two possessions.  

All of these problems have reared their ugly head in every loss, and many of them have surfaced in the wins as well—maybe minus the 59-0 blowout of Tennessee.

At times, New England has learned from their mistakes, such as when they began both the Saints game and the Dolphins game (their second drive of the game) by running a more balanced offense, with Brady mixing up being in the shotgun and under center. 

But just as quickly, everything changes, and this inconsistency, has led to struggles when games have been on the line. 

I still believe in Bill Belichick. I still believe than an offense with Tom Brady, Randy Moss, and Wes Welker, will find a way to win games in the fourth quarter. I want to still believe in the 2009 Patriots.

But as the team continues to be unable to rush the passer, unable to stop teams on third down, and unable of establishing a balanced offense that gets better as the game goes on and not worse, I can no longer be certain that this year’s team will figure everything out. I can only hope.

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