An Independent Patriots Blog
Despite the Patriots being on a bye week their DVOA ratings did change as their previous opponents were in action. Here’s the latest:
OVERALL: 5th
Offense: 1st (slim lead over GB)
Defense: 28th
Special Teams: 15th
Marcus Cannon does a flip off a barge. He’s 6-05, 350. Whaaaat?
Belichick on Cannon:
“He’s a good athlete. He’s definitely been able to do some things here in between some of his treatments and things that he’s done. His strength level, his conditioning, his overall movement skills and all that have been impressive for his size. We’ll see how all that translates to the football field and experience and plays and so forth, if and when that happens. It’s definitely encouraging.
"Most importantly, I hope it happens for him. He’s worked hard. I know it’s important to him. I hope things clear up so he gets that opportunity. We’ll just take it day by day and see how it goes.”
https://www.patspropaganda.com/marcus-cannon-does-a-flip-off-a-barge-hes-6-05/
Marcus Cannon was on the practice field for the Patriots today! It’s an exciting development not only for the obvious reason of Cannon having overcome non-Hodgkins lymphoma, but also for our selfish reasons of adding a young, talented interior offensive lineman to the mix for the Pats.
Who knows how long it will take for Cannon to get into football shape or if he’ll even be able to contribute this year. But he’s a monster of a man and adds depth at a spot where the Pats badly need it. Brian Waters has been an excellent addition at RG, but Cannon could be the long term replacement there and it’s good to know that he’s healthy and on the road to living out a dream of playing in the NFL.
Boston Globe/Bedard: Patriots bye week stat re-group
Yes, I changed the title to more appropriately reflect what this article is and not just use negative headlines to get clicks. But there is a lot of interesting stats in this article that make it worth the read.
Look, there’s no question this Patriots team is without areas of poor play over the first six games of the season. But there’s also no question that they’ve been downright dominant in other areas. As always the question is can the put together 3-4 great games in January/February.
Super Bowl champions always have flaws, it’s just a question of masking them or overcoming them when everything is on the line. Hopefully the Patriots continue to progress towards that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz4Dagcw98s
Patriots vs. Steelers 2001 AFCCG
Here’s the final 11 minutes of the TV broadcast where the Drew Bledsoe-led Pats sealed the franchises third AFC Championship.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/patriots-vs-steelers-2001-afccg-heres-the-final/
Patriots vs. Steelers 2007: Brady to Moss to Brady to Gaffney
This is possibly the single greatest offensive play of the historic 2007 season and I’m proud to say I was there to see it, in the very last row of Gillette Stadium. The Steelers are so aggressive on defense they leave themselves open to stuff like this with over pursuit. That’s why we’ll see a ton of screens and trickeration from the Pats this Sunday.
