Right Off Russell

Our thanks to Bruce Allen at Patriots Daily for giving us insight into the Patriots and the issues surrounding the Ravens next opponent  You can also check out the Q&A we did for them here:  

1. After 3 games, what is you take on why the Patriots offense has not taken flight like previous versions with Tom Brady at the helm?

At this point, it’s sort of a perfect storm of reasons why. Let’s list them out: 1) Brady’s recovery from his knee surgery. He’s still getting comfortable with moving in the pocket and stepping into his throws. The results have been un-Brady-like accuracy problems. 2) Getting squashed by Albert Haynesworth in the preseason, tweaking his shoulder. 3) Getting used to new receivers in Joey Galloway and Julian Edelman. 4) Not having Wes Welker for two of the first three games, he is Brady’s safety valve, and 5) Though the offense is the same, Josh McDaniels, who had been Brady’s QB coach as well as the OC is gone, and Brady has a new position coach in Bill O’Brien, who is also calling plays in the NFL for the first time.

I’d say it’s a combination of all those reasons.

2. How easily do you think some of their issues can be corrected?  Have your expectations for the season changed in light of the early struggles and the success of the Jets?

The Jets game was discouraging, no doubt. We’re really not used to seeing Brady look so…human…out there. I’m confident though that things are going to get better. The more Brady plays, the more comfortable he is going to be with the knee, the receivers will come around, and things will come back to form. We look at what Peyton Manning went through last season, struggling early as he recovered from his knee surgery, and it took 6 weeks or so for him to really get back to being Peyton Manning. Two huge keys to the offense going forward are going to be whether the offensive line can keep Brady protected from the all-out blitz that he’ll see from teams like the Jets and Ravens, and whether Welker can stay healthy and remain on the field.

3. What areas in the Pats defense do you expect the Ravens offense to try and attack on Sunday?  How big of a loss would Vince Wilfork be?

I expect the Ravens to try and run the ball. The Patriots secondary, which was such a weakness last season, has been much improved this year, thanks to Shawn Springs and Leigh Bodden. The Patriots traded Richard Seymour in the preseason, and now with Wilfork hobbling with the ankle, I expect Baltimore to try and run it down the Patriots throats. That being said, I’m not sure that’s going to be as easy as it sounds. The Patriots know that the Ravens will try to run, and if there is a hallmark of the Belichick defense, it is to take away what the opponent likes to do best and make them beat you another way. In game one, they shut down Terrell Owens and Lee Evans and made the Bills run the ball, in game two, they shut down the running game, and dared Mark Sanchez to beat them in the air, in game three, they focused on Tony Gonzalez, and limited him to one catch on the day. Wilfork will be a loss, but not a catastrophic one.

4. Mike Freeman of cbssports.com wrote a recent piece questioning whether or not Randy Moss is giving full effort this year.  Is this Moss reverting to his old ways, or a non-story?

Wow. Incredible non-story. Freeman just made stuff up. I wrote an entire column on it for a Boston newspaper: http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/09/30/20/4958-72/index.xml

What was clear from Freeman’s piece was that he had no clue how the Patriots operated, what Moss was being asked to do, and initially he didn’t even know Moss was hurt for that game. Belichick awarded Moss the game ball following the game for his effort in the win. Tom Brady and Moss are inseparable on the sidelines…you watch this Sunday, every time Brady comes off the field and they show him on the sideline, Moss will be attached to his hip, and they’ll be looking over snapshots and talking about the offense. Freeman is a total hack who was fired in the past for lying on his resume. You can look it up. What a piece of garbage that column was.

5. A lot is made of bill Belichick’s chilly demeanor.  In your opinion is that the real Belichick or is he just a guarded, all business guy in front of the camera?  Is it to early in the year for us to see the hoodie on Sunday?

Here’s another can of worms. The national perception, again shaped by the media, is that Belichick is this sour, humorless ghoul who is just unpleasant to be around. The persona he puts in front of the media is all done for a purpose. He’s not going to give anything away that could be of possible use to an opponent. If there is an injury question, he’s not going to talk about. Let the opponent guess how hurt someone is, that can have an effect on the opponent’s preparations. He’s not going to give bulletin board material to the opponent. He’s not going to say negative things about specific players. He’s not going to give away anything. As a Patriots fan, I respect and appreciate that. If the media complains, so what. It’s not his job to fill their notebooks with colorful quotes. He’s here to win football games. He’s done a pretty good job of that this decade.

All that said, it is not his real persona. The real Belichick is generous, he gives of himself to his causes, during the season, on Fridays, he’s been known to hold private film sessions with local reporters to educate them about some aspect of the history of the game. He’ll tell stories from his 35+ years in the NFL. The national media sees and reports none of that. The weather is getting a little chilly…good chance you’ll see the hoodie, or a version of it, on Sunday.