Felger & Mazz On: Patriots Second Half Woes
The Patriots success has depended on smart football with interchangeable players and the ability to perform in clutch situations. Felger came across some stats that say quite the contrary about the past couple of years. Felger and Mazz weighed in on a disturbing trend in the Patriots play during the second half.
Felger: "These numbers will literally shake your foundation. They're going to make you question things you never would question. From 2002-2008, there were 371 NFL games in which a team led at halftime but went on to lose the game. The Patriots in that stretch from 2002-2008, lost one of those games...One. It was a throwaway game, where the seeding was pretty much pre-determined, and they had nothing to play for in those last two weeks. They were 66-1 with a lead at intermission, and I would contend that game should get an asterisk, because if it meant anything they would have won it. Since the start of 2009, they led at the intermission 14 times, but they are just 9-5 in those games. Only the St. Louis Rams have the lost number of games that the have Patriots after leading at half time. Leading up to Superbowl XLII Tom Brady was 76-3 with a halftime lead, and including that Super Bowl loss, Brady is now 9-6 when holding a lead at halftime."
Mazz: "It's really unbelievable that since the start of last season, they have lost 5 times as many games in those situations then they did in a seven year period. That was through 2008, which includes the year of Matt Cassel at quarterback. Which means that with Cassel was quarterback, they did not blow a lead in the second half. If that only loss came in 2004, then with Cassel at QB they did not lose a single game that they lead at halftime. This team was built on situational football and executing in key situations. Sorry...I was to busy gagging about this teams choke job. Tom Brady is half the quarterback- in those situations- that he was back then."
