The circle of life in the NFL. Every team beat the team to the clockwise direction.
Via reddit
https://www.patspropaganda.com/bleacherreport-the-circle-of-life-in-the-nfl/
Patriots step on the gas – BostonHerald.com
Patriots step on the gas – BostonHerald.com
Good analysis from Jeff Howe on Jermaine Cunningham and the use of him as an interior rusher.
There’s a logic to getting Cunningham on the field in the untraditional fashion. He’s a speed rusher with a decent amount of power, but his quickness can throw off interior offensive linemen who are used to blocking much bigger and slower but stronger players.
Considering Brandon Spikes’ place among the great young linebackers of the NFL – WEEI | Christopher Price
Great stuff on Spikes…
While the highlight-reel hits and animosity with opponents (either real or perceived) makes for great theater, if Spikes wants to be considered a truly elite linebacker, some believe he needs to start stringing together more consistent performances, particularly when it comes to pass defense. Over the course of the 2012 season, there have been several occasions where opposing quarterbacks have been able to locate Spikes in man coverage and pick up passing yards. To that end, Aaron Schatz of Football Outsiders says there’s a lot to like about Spikes’ game, but at this stage of his career, he’s not quite among the most feared linebackers in the game.
“If Spikes is one of the most feared linebackers in the game, it’s because he hits hard,” Schatz said. “But he frequently seems to get lost in pass coverage. He’s good against runners and is better than most players when it comes to jarring the ball loose. I would say he’s probably an average NFL starter. That still makes him one of the 25 best middle linebackers in the world, but he’s not ‘elite.’
“I think you can talk about the pass defense, but at the same time, you need to also talk about the pass rush,” Parcells said. “I know Bill addressed that this past season with the addition of a few guys like Chandler Jones, but I think they could use another guy coming off that edge. They could use another pressure player off the corner.”
“Bill knows what the problems are, and he’s better than just about anyone when it comes to identifying the problems and going about trying to fix it and adjust it,” Parcells said. “With the wide-open offenses, the problems with pass defense are everywhere. It’s just a matter of making the adjustments and seeing who can play best late in the season, and I’m confident that Bill will have them headed in the right direction.”
Rob Gronkowski with a life-size model cake of himself, courtesy of Dunkin Donuts.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/the-destroia-rob-gronkowski-with-a-life-size/
I remember his first game against – we played Buffalo at home. I think it was the third game of the season. He had a similar-type run play for a touchdown. We kind of joked on the sideline, (former offensive coordinator) Billy (O’Brien) and I, we kind of said, ‘The legend is born.’ We saw him that week in practice, what he was capable of doing, and said, ‘Why did the Jets release that guy?’ They had him playing receiver and he was a running back in college.
Patriots defense was indeed bad, but will likely rebound – Patriots – Boston.com
Patriots defense was indeed bad, but will likely rebound – Patriots – Boston.com
As always the final word of the week on last weekend’s debacle comes from Greg Bedard and his thorough breakdown confirms much of what I thought I saw. No one is going to ever say the 2012 Patriots defense is elite but usually they’re okay, but against the Bills they just had a horrible game. That happens to every defense, even the elite ones. It’s just when you’re average to begin with your bad games look like football blasphemy as it did with the Pats.
So let’s put this one behind us and try to get back on the train of improvement.
Give a good portion of the blame to the players, who failed to perform the fundamental duties of the defense, things they had no problem doing before Sunday. They were the ones who missed a season-high 15 tackles (on 10 plays), which gave the Bills another 70 yards of offense. They were the ones who at times totally disregarded their gap and edge responsibilities against the run, and in pass coverage were often more concerned with what was happening in the backfield instead of on the routes developing in the acreage behind them. They alone are responsible for the undisciplined penalties that gave the Bills free yardage and moved the chains. But the coaches must also share in the blame. The coverage players looked lost trying to sort out some of the bunch concepts the Bills used through the air. The Bills did absolutely nothing new. The Patriots obviously weren’t drilled properly. There was a plethora of communication mistakes that showed a lack of preparation. And the Patriots coaches apparently didn’t have much up their sleeve, either, because there were hardly any adjustments made. No extra pressures dialed up (five blitzes total, or 10.2 percent), and the same vanilla coverages (mostly Cover 3 with a safety and two cornerbacks playing over the top) for much of the game. However, if recent history is any judge, there is reason to believe the Patriots will right the ship.