An Independent Patriots Blog
Football Outsiders: Patriots #3 Overall DVOA
The Pats are pretty much holding their ground in the DVOA rankings which is great if you’re talking offense (1st) or special teams (5th), not so great if you’re talking defense (27th).
This weeks opponent Cleveland Browns are a respectable 16th.
I’ve been surprised to see how much buzz “Moss Back To Pats” is generating. Of course it’s all speculation, especially since Moss seemed to miss New England so much during his post game press conference.
But why did New England get rid of Moss in the first place? Was it just so they could get a 3rd round pick instead of nothing if we walked as a free agent? Or was it to eliminate a growing distraction from their locker room?
I think both of these factors played into the decision to trade Moss but possibly the biggest factor was the fact that the Patriots offense is evolving into a team that no longer wanted or needed Moss.
Yes Moss is a deep threat who pulls coverage, but as we’ve seen a lot of times that’s just about all he does. The Patriots won quite a few games with Moss doing just that, sometimes without Moss making a significant or meaningful catch.
But the time had come to evolve on offense, and as we’ve seen over the last three games the Patriots haven’t exactly missed Moss as much as he misses them.
Everyone loves a coming home story like the one we had with Deion Branch, but the option of brining back Randy Moss makes zero sense at this point.
What message would that send to the Patriots organization? It would make it seem as if they only traded him so they could get some kind of compensation for him. While that might’ve been a factor, it was probably the smallest factor of them all.
Or do they suddenly think that all the Randy Moss distractions are behind him? I doubt it. I loved watching Moss, but he was high maintenance both on and off the field, and the Patriots team now feels more cohesive without him.
The Randy Moss era with the New England Patriots is over. We can appreciate all the great things he did, but we’re never going back. Even if no one else wants him.
Bruschi’s Breakdown: Pats vs. Vikings
Tedy knows what to look for, and I’ve found him far more enjoyable as an analyst this year.
http://www.hulu.com/embed/GZnBDOAwdyB4tVP1TAk3BA
Patriots History Tuesday: 1994 Cleveland Browns
This Tuesday’s history lesson is more of a Bill Belichick one than a Patriots one. Today we give you the 1994 Cleveland Browns, Belichick’s second to last season in Cleveland (as well as the Browns) and also the last time the Browns saw the post season.
Many of us might remember this Browns team also beat the Patriots on New Years Day 1995. I know I remember it, also partly because it was the first time I had guacamole. Seriously.
Some other things to note, Nick Saban was the Defensive Coordinator for this team, while current Patriots Special Teams Coach Scott O’Brien was the Special Teams coach. Ernie Adams was of course also part of Belichick’s staff.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/patriots-history-tuesday-1994-cleveland-browns/
Sometimes it’s really amazing how much you miss when you’re watching the game and you’re all caught up in the emotion of it. That’s why I always enjoy watching the DirecTV shortcut to really see where the game was won and lost.
The Defensive Packages page will be updated later today, but for now here are some things that I didn’t notice while watching the game live.
There are two players who really stood out to me the second time through. The first is Brandon Spikes. He’s still a little rough around the edges at times, but most of the time he is making a huge impact in the run game.
Let’s not forget how badly our run defense was gashed against the the Ravens in the playoffs. Now we have a defense that no team has run for a hundred yards on. Spikes has been a huge part of that. He comes downhill hard and often blows offensive lineman backwards. He’s always right in the middle of the plays and that’s exactly what you want from a Mike linebacker in the 34. It has also allowed Jerod Mayo to become a tackling machine.
The second guy I want to point out is Brandon Deaderick. We’ve seen Deaderick’s play time slowly spike over the last few weeks and after having a chance to really focus on him against the Vikings I can see why.
Deaderick is explosive and can play both end positions. He’s used as a pass rusher at times, but he looks like he’s really growing as a two-gapper. Opposing lineman always have their hands full with him and most times he’s tossing them into the backfield.
At a position where the Patriots had major question marks even before Ty Warren was lost, the ascension of Deaderick has been a much-needed boost. It has allowed the Patriots to have a healthy rotation of solid defensive lineman. Gerard Warren barely saw the field until the second half against the Vikings, but when he did he was fresh and ready to keep Adrian Peterson shut down.
Ron Brace has also been showing up well as of late, with the biggest play of his young career coming on the 4th down goalline stand. Seeing a defensive front of Brace-Wilfork-Deaderick for a good chunk of the first half should give Patriots fans optimism heading into the future.
Football Outsiders Week 8: Brady 6th, BJGE 3rd Best
6.Tom BradyNE 16/27 240 1 0 Moss, schmoss. In Weeks 1-4, when Randy Moss was on the Patriots, Brady completed five-of-16 deep passes for 110 yards. Since then, he’s completed 7-of-13 for 220 yards, and also drawn a 29-yard pass interference call on another throw.
3.BenJarvus Green-Ellis NE The Williams Wall has, apparently, fallen. Or at least we know they can get tired. Nine of Green-Ellis’ carries came with a lead in the fourth quarter. He gained 71 yards, and seven of those carries were successful.F
Wow we almost forgot about our little Pro Bowl left guard, didn’t we? It is good to have my Mankins back and from the sound of it, the players are excited too.
The Pats shot at gaining homefield advantage will be put to serious test over the next three weeks. Wins over Indy and Pittsburgh would really put the Pats in the driver’s seat for one of the top two seeds in the AFC, and getting Mankins back now could be just the boost they need. Not to mention that Cleveland won’t be a walk in the park but I don’t expect to see much if any of Logan this weekend.
Everyone thought Mankins would be back at the end of November but Adam Shefter dropped yet another Patriots news nugget at halftime of the Monday Night Game that he’d be back today. So why’s he back early?
My guess is that he saw the Patriots doing really well without him and realized why wait? If he reports now he gets in shape quicker and will be better able to help the Pats push to the playoffs.
Ultimately Mankins playing well for a dominant Patriots team is what will be best for him if he’s going to secure the big free agent deal he so covets.
I’m glad the wait is over, and I expect to see him start against the Steelers.
Your 2011 New England Patriots
