The Patriot way.
Found myself looking out at the Patriots’ dismantling of Denver thinking:1. No one uses two tight ends like the Patriots. Gronkowski blocks and catches, and the uber-athletic Hernandez has the moves of a wide receiver. Two tight ends, 261 total yards, four touchdowns. In one game.
2. No one moves a struggling first-round corner to deep safety in the middle of the season, but that’s what the Patriots did. That’s where Devin McCourty played most of Saturday night.
3. No one plays with a fired Oakland practice-squad safety, Sterling Moore, at cornerback in the playoffs, or backup wideout Julian Edelman, at nickel back, in the playoffs. The Patriots do. Every time I looked up Saturday night, Moore was on an island with Demaryius Thomas or Eddie Royal. A safety in Oakland, not good enough to stay on their practice squad last September, on the street in October. Now Moore’s playing 36 snaps at corner (according to the charting of ESPNBoston’s Mike Reiss) in a divisional playoff game.
Bill Belichick’s a mad scientist. He knew his defense had to change when it was getting strafed so badly in midseason, and he changed it, drastically. Who knows if it works another eight quarters. But 10 seasons after he used a bunch of middle-class free agents to help New England win its first Super Bowl, Belichick is scotch-taping another run together with Tom Brady playing at his peak, and a bunch of complimentary pieces on the chess board. Should be fun to watch.
Archives for January 16, 2012
The Patriots are better-suited to win the Super Bowl right now, at 14-3, than they were exactly four years ago, at 17-0. After New England’s 45-10 beat down of the Tebows in Foxboro, Vince Wilfork agreed with me that the Patriots were in better shape at this stage of the playoffs than they were after their undefeated season. “Four years ago, we peaked too early,” he said.
Four years ago, New England scored 34 or more 11 times in the regular season, then won by 11 and nine in the playoffs before losing to the Giants in the Super Bowl. They had Randy Moss in his prime then, and he was great. I’d rather have Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.
This is going to be close. It’s going to be hard-hitting. And for those who appreciate the top-level, hard-core competition the NFL has to offer, it should be a treat, the type of contest that could come down to one play. When the margin for error is that thin, the focus must be razor sharp and every little detail in preparation takes on added importance. Here is what it comes down to if you’re a Patriots follower: Given the toughness the team has shown in various situations over the course of the 2011 season, with the defining moment coming Nov. 13 in the Meadowlands against the New York Jets to snap a two-game losing streak with a short-handed roster, what’s not to like about your team in that kind of high-stakes game? There are no givens in the NFL, but one thing that has been close to a certainty this year is that the Patriots are going to give you their best shot and display a championship level of mental toughness. It’s one of their most admirable characteristics.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/this-is-going-to-be-close-its-going-to-be/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EAXSDgKnbw
Don’t Throw It To Ed Reed (by lindsaylohan82)
(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
https://www.patspropaganda.com/dont-throw-it-to-ed-reed-by-lindsaylohan82/
As an X’s-and-O’s junkie, the best part of Part 1 was watching Belichick and Brady talk about the upcoming game with the Baltimore Ravens in Belichick’s office. They go over the full offensive game plan and then drill down to one of the main issues faced by any team opposing the Ravens — how to deal with Ed Reed. “I think we know about Ed,” Belichick says. “Ed Reed is Ed Reed,” Brady responds. “He covers up a lot of stuff.” Belichick concurs. “Everything he does, he does at an exceptional level. He looks like he’s guessing more than he ever has. But boy, does he have a burst — he’s crouching down low back there, and playing really low. But he changes it up — you can’t …I mean, it’s just so obvious when he’s reading the quarterback. Those receivers will run right past him, and he never flinches. He doesn’t even acknowledge them. He’s just reading the quarterback.” “He’s always moving,” Brady responds. “Playing against Ed, you’re always so aware of where he is. It’s not like he sneaks up on you — We played him in the rain here five years ago, and every time they break the huddle, he’s what you’re looking at. You’re not saying, ‘OK, let’s just snap the ball and go,’ it’s more like, ‘Where’s he at?’” Brady and Belichick then watch an All-22 cut of San Diego Chargers receiver Vincent Jackson running right by Reed, and Reed refusing to be fooled.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/as-an-xs-and-os-junkie-the-best-part-of-part-1/
