PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

Archives for August 26, 2016

Pats Posits: Good Luck Once Brady Comes Back

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Hip hip hooray the Patriots made it through the third preseason game without any injuries!

Oh and they beat the Panthers 19-17 too.

Jimmy Garoppolo played the first three series, Tom Brady played the next four, then Garoppolo returned for three more. Jacoby Brissett came in to finish things off late in the third quarter. I’m sure the radio airwaves in Boston will find a way to complain about Brady playing too much or too little or too early or too late, but I sure enjoyed seeing #12 out there.

At this point, any game with Brady is a gift so I just try to enjoy it and hope he doesn’t get hurt.

Brady had a vintage, pinpoint 33-yard touchdown to Chris Hogan. It’s a very good start for an important new piece of the offense, and a nice reminder that Brady isn’t suddenly throwing Peyton Manning ducks.

Jimmy Garoppolo was 9 of 15 for 57 yards. No TDs. No picks. This performance will be under the microscope the next two weeks leading up to Arizona so get ready to hear it analyzed into the dirt. PFF won’t be kind. The Pats are dead meat.

But all the “analysis” about Brady’s playing time or Garoppolo’s competence loses the forest for the trees. The forest is that the big bad New England Patriots football machine that we’ll see from October on looks more ready than ever to tear shit up.

That’s what I prefer to think about.

Here are the Posits.

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Review/Preview: 5 Things We Watched & 5 Things to Watch

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Before I begin my “What we watched, what to watch piece”, I just want to ask a question, I know we’re all hopped up on outrage about the latest whatever, but seriously, can everyone chill the f— out?

In the last week, there’s been plenty of unnecessary spikes in blood pressure for Patriots fans.

First, it was the Dion and Vollmer news. Driving to work, I received texts that read simply: “Dion.” Then right after. “Vollmer.” I jumped on Twitter, nearly crashing my car, assuming both players had murder/suicided each other.

For perspective, read Mike’s piece. My take: Vollmer has been injured a lot in his professional career, so the team has prepared for this eventuality and likely think Cannon (under Scar) can fill in capably. And Dion Lewis was coming back from an ACL that he tore November 8th last year. While we’ve been spoiled by quicker returns (see Alien Gronk), it can take up to a year to return from ACL surgery and with a setback Lewis will be back within a calendar year.

Then there’s the absurd press conference hubbub to explain Brady’s absence over the last few days. Obviously there’s nothing to see here, but that doesn’t stop the Hucksters from hucking. The hucksters of Boston are numerous, but just as numerous are the smart objective and analytical takes that you can find on any number of sites, and certainly at Pats Propaganda with Mike and the rest of our crew. Just because we’re addicted, doesn’t mean we need to go buy the cheap stuff under the bridge.

Just a reminder, the Patriots made it to the AFCCG game last year (and nearly won) without either Lewis or Vollmer. Let’s all take our beta-blockers, a hit on the hookah and remember that Brady and Belichick nearly won a Super Bowl with Reche Caldwell as the primary weapon. Reche Caldwell!

Thanks for indulging: On to what we watched and what to watch…

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6.5 Patriots Things to Watch vs. Panthers

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Yes, most football writers only do five things to watch for each game, but for this preseason contest I’m taking my blogging game to the next level. That’s right, you not only get an extra thing to watch, you get a half of one too!

The third game of the preseason is always the highwater mark of the summer before the real bullets start flying. We should see Jimmy Garoppolo into the third quarter, along with the starting defense. Though there won’t be any gameplanning (thanks coach), it’s still a chance to see (most of) our best versus (most of) someone else’s best, so it’s an intriguing game.

Just one reminder, even for this kinda-important third preseason game, all that really matters tonight is that no one gets a season-ending injury. I’ll take Garoppolo looking terrible and the defense getting lit up over anyone (on either team) going down with a major boo boo. That’s really the only thing that can stand between the Patriots and another deep playoff run — a key injury.

So let’s get through this one, stay healthy, wrap things up with a meaningless game next Thursday against the Giants and get the train rolling for the regular season.

Here are the 6.5 things I’ll be watching closely.

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