[stupac2]

In general, when things are going bad, in-season Shaw is pretty defensive -- typically refuses even to acknowledge the premise to the question. Out-of-season Shaw is more expansive. So I'm not surprised he went to great lengths to evade the question. Frankly, I don't even really care what he says; I care what he actually thinks and does. And we'll have to see on that point. (For what it's worth, the guy we saw on Saturday -- see "Shaw's mood" -- was almost uniquely, in my memory, pissed-off. I don't know what that means.)

I keep thinking of this every time you point out the thing about Shaw's mood, so I'll finally write it down. I doubt anyone here has seen it, but I remember watching Bill Belichick: A Football Life, which was an NFL Films documentary that followed him around for the 2009 season. That season was a weird one, a lot of change in the front office, coaching staff, and players, plus Brady coming back from the knee injury. The team went 10-6 and ended up losing in the Wild Card round, the only time they've done that. All things considered, not a bad year, right? Even if not up to their standards.

The thing that struck me though, was that several times through the documentary Belichick said something like "I just can't win with these guys," or "I just can't coach these guys." He seemed to think that the team just didn't have it, maybe football observers would call them "soft" or something, but there's a quality a team has where they can find a way to make the play, find a way to win. And I don't think it really comes from the coaches, it has to come from the players. (Yes, I know in the long term over all teams you win half of your close games, but confidence and mental toughness matter, even if you can't measure them.)

And I'm wondering if that's something we had and just lost, and Shaw knows it and is reacting (in his way) like Belichick did. I guess we'll see if we have really lost that, and what this team is made of next week.

[stupac2]

In general, when things are going bad, in-season Shaw is pretty defensive -- typically refuses even to acknowledge the premise to the question. Out-of-season Shaw is more expansive. So I'm not surprised he went to great lengths to evade the question. Frankly, I don't even really care what he says; I care what he actually thinks and does. And we'll have to see on that point. (For what it's worth, the guy we saw on Saturday -- see "Shaw's mood" -- was almost uniquely, in my memory, pissed-off. I don't know what that means.)

I keep thinking of this every time you point out the thing about Shaw's mood, so I'll finally write it down. I doubt anyone here has seen it, but I remember watching Bill Belichick: A Football Life, which was an NFL Films documentary that followed him around for the 2009 season. That season was a weird one, a lot of change in the front office, coaching staff, and players, plus Brady coming back from the knee injury. The team went 10-6 and ended up losing in the Wild Card round, the only time they've done that. All things considered, not a bad year, right? Even if not up to their standards.

The thing that struck me though, was that several times through the documentary Belichick said something like "I just can't win with these guys," or "I just can't coach these guys." He seemed to think that the team just didn't have it, maybe football observers would call them "soft" or something, but there's a quality a team has where they can find a way to make the play, find a way to win. And I don't think it really comes from the coaches, it has to come from the players. (Yes, I know in the long term over all teams you win half of your close games, but confidence and mental toughness matter, even if you can't measure them.)

And I'm wondering if that's something we had and just lost, and Shaw knows it and is reacting (in his way) like Belichick did. I guess we'll see if we have really lost that, and what this team is made of next week.