PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

Archives for February 4, 2011

Some Patriots nuggets from The BS Report with Dilfer

by

Couple interesting things to pass along after listening to yesterday’s BS Report with guest Trent Dilfer. Of course talk turned to the Patriots playoff loss to the Jets, and Dilfer was pretty harsh on Brady’s performance. Dilfer said that in grading Brady for the game he had him with 14 minuses, the most he had ever given Brady before that was 4.

He said at times Branch and Welker were wide open but that Brady just couldn’t find them. They speculated that maybe Brady’s foot was really bothering him, or maybe he was sick, or maybe he was just spooked from how the game started, but Dilfer thought it was a shockingly bad performance from Brady. I’d argue for or against it but I haven’t seen a single lowlight of the game since it ended. Maybe someday this spring I’ll finally be able to check it out and confirm or deny these reports.

Another interesting thing was that it seems like everyone who watched the game are still completely divided as to whether or not Chung would’ve gotten the first down had he not botched the snap. Dilfer seemed assured that he would’ve gotten the first down and a “huge gain”. Merrill “Factorback” Hoge thought Eric Smith would’ve stopped him. They even called in a bunch of PAs to see what they thought and they were divided too. I guess it will remain one of the great mysteries of Patriots lore.

by

When you think about it, right now, I believe we have 13 players from our last Super Bowl team in ’04. I think that puts us third in the league for veteran players. But last year, we had half of our play time from first- and second-year players. And 40 percent of our roster are first- and second-year players. We’re privileged this year to have five of the first 75 picks, which has not happened in 20 years. If you take ’09, ’10 and this coming year, we’ll have had 12 picks in the first and second round, so if we choose wisely this year, we have a chance to really build a balanced team that could allow us to have some fun for a number of years in the future.

Robert Kraft

https://www.patspropaganda.com/when-you-think-about-it-right-now-i-believe-we/

PatsPropaganda nominated for Best Patriots Blog

by

We’d like to thank all those who nominated us for Best Patriots Blog presented by TruFan and Comcast Sports New England, and ask if you like what we do here to please throw us a vote here (sign-up is required). You can vote once daily.

The other Patriots blogs that were nominated are all really good, they can cover the Patriots, analyze the Patriots personnel and games, and provide good insight into all things Patriots. They do everything well. We’ll have to be at our blogging best if we’re going to win and that starts with preparation this week… i.e. asking people to vote for us.

Top draft defensive end options for Patriots

by

As we slowly get up to speed on the draft it looks like there are quite a few defensive end prospects that (in theory) fit the Patriots system.

Ideally what BB is going to want out of a idedefensive end if he’s going to take him at 17th overall is a big dude (6’ 4" +, 300+) who has long arms, can hold up at the point of attack, while also shifting inside on third down where he can push the pocket and cause chaos. A “three down player” is a buzz word if they’re going to take them in the first round.

Let’s start with the guy who tore up the Senior Bowl, Cameron Jordan. As you’ll see below Jordan is certainly active and provides a definite up-the-field presence. That will serve him better on passing downs that running downs, and he could definitely add some weight to his 288 pound frame. But he does have the height and length add the weight. It will be interesting to see what his strength is like at the combine.

Now let’s take a look at Cameron Heyward out of Ohio State. Heyward’s a little taller than Jordan and looks like he relies more on power than quickness. To me it looks like Heyward might be a little more stout (though he does need to add some weight) while also providing some bull rush. He’s definitely more in the Seymour mold than Jordan, but he is coming off elbow surgery so that must be taken into consideration as well.

Next up we have Muhammad Wilkerson. Wilkerson has been showing up in the Pats 28 slot in a lot of mock drafts. He’s also a favorite of Pats draft guru NEPatriotsDraft.com. Wilkerson seems a little more raw, and from the limited sample size of the footage above I wouldn’t exactly call him dominant. In my non-expert opinion he seems a tier below the Camerons.

Lastly we have JJ Watt out of Wisconsin. I just read one opinion today that Watt might be a little better fit for a 1-gap 3-4 defense like the Steelers, but he definitely has the size.

Although there’s far too much made out of combine performances it will certainly be interesting to see these guys’ numbers on a level playing field. Right now I’d have to say the Cameron’s are candidates for 17th overall, Watt and Wilkerson would be more likely at 28 or 33.

I’m of the opinion right now that the Pats need impact players, and if one of the Camerons is viewed as a three-down player I think it would be a slam dunk to take them at 17.