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Sliding Patriots look for turnaround
Posted: Tuesday November 23, 1999 03:59 PM
FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) - Another midseason swoon has put late-season pressure on the New England Patriots. With six games left, the Patriots are in danger of sliding out of playoff contention if they don't make a speedy turnaround. "It would be a lot to ask of any team in our division to win all the games in the division from this point on," coach Pete Carroll said Monday, "but that's what we're faced with." After going 6-2 in the first half of the season, the Patriots lost division games to the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins to fall to 6-4 overall and 2-3 in the tough AFC East. On Sunday, they visit Buffalo, the first of three games remaining against division opponents. They follow that with a home game against Dallas, then visit Indianapolis (8-2), which shares the AFC East lead with Miami. And with six AFC teams sporting records of 7-4 or better, Carroll is in a familiar position. For the third straight season, he must snap his team out of a midseason slump. The Patriots managed to reach the playoffs the last two years. But this time, he can't blame the problems on injuries. "The last two years, I would have attributed our problems in the middle of the year to changing personnel," Carroll said. "But that's not the case right now." Sunday's 27-17 loss in Miami highlighted the major problem: a passing game that has lost its timing despite having outstanding players like Drew Bledsoe, Terry Glenn and Ben Coates. In 1997, Carroll's first year as coach, the Patriots were 5-1 before a loss to the Jets started a three-game slide. Last year, they were 4-1, then lost to the Jets to begin a 1-4 slump. Making the playoffs might not be as easy this year since the Patriots have the seventh-best record in the AFC. Only six teams from each conference go to the playoffs. "We were playing good and, all of a sudden, it seems like we're not playing good," wide receiver Tony Simmons said. "You get frustrated." Against Miami, Bledsoe threw five interceptions, tying his career high. In the last two games, he's thrown eight interceptions after having just four in the first eight. "In the passing game, I wasn't precise enough and we weren't precise enough as a team ... to win the game," Bledsoe said. The Patriots have five turnovers in their six victories and 14 in their four losses. "You give them [the Dolphins] the ball five times, I don't know how you overcome that," Carroll said. A bye before the two-game losing streak obviously didn't help, "We've got to get the timing of our passing game back in order," Carroll said. "The last two games we lost it. Up until then, that has not been anything but a strength of ours. So it's not a mystery."
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