PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

Mike Dussault

Patriots Lock Up Shaq Mason

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In case you missed it yesterday morning, I had just gotten off of my weekly radio appearance in Maine having said that I’d bet Shaq Mason would likely walk to a new contract elsewhere in the offseason when the Patriots announced they had signed Mason to a new five-year extension.

It wasn’t that I thought they shouldn’t re-sign Mason, I just thought right guard is one of the easier positions to fill and that the money would likely have to go to Trey Flowers, the other remaining big-name pending free agent now. But this new contract signals a few different things, the biggest of which is that now the Pats offensive line is locked as so:

Throw in Isaiah Wynn, FA 2022, and the strong core will be in place through the inevitable Brady transition. Obviously having a veteran offensive line in place will be hugely helpful to the next QB of the NEP. Yes, there’s still a long-term question at left tackle, but that’s the only problem to worry about along the line for the next two years, and with the possibility of Wynn stepping in for Thuney, it might be even longer.

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Patriots 53-Man Roster 4.0

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With Kenny Britt and Eddie Pleasant both getting cut, there are two open spots on my roster projection since last time. The areas of biggest question are at cornerback where the Pats have a logjam of young promising players, a couple of whom were significant draft picks.

Here’s the rundown of the latest 53-man projection and where I could see some Labor Day additions after other teams cut down.

QB (2) T.Brady, B.Hoyer – No change.

RB (5) R.Burkhead, S.Michel, J.Develin, J.Hill, J.White – No change. Cut/Re-sign Bolden.

WR (4) C.Hogan, P.Dorsett, C.Patterson, M.Slater – I just can’t make a case for McCarron or Berrios at this point. Really the guy who’s impressed me the most of the low end receivers is Devin Lucien, but he has yet to get a big boy audition so I don’t think he’s a factor either. I don’t foresee a big free agent signing but I’d bet they take a flier on someone after cutdowns.

TE (3) R.Gronkowski, D.Allen, J.Hollister – No change. Hope Hollister is healthy, they’ll need him weeks 1-4 to play an inside receiver role.

C (1) D.Andrews
G (3) S.Mason, J.Thuney, T.Karras
T (4) T.Brown, M.Cannon, L.Waddle, U.John – John has emerged as the third tackle with Cannon out, he could sneak on especially after Waddle got benched against the Panthers. Cannon’s return would be a huge boost and likely push John off.

DE (4) T.Flowers, A.Clayborn, D.Wise, D.Rivers – Grissom can be cut and re-signed like last year. Excited about this group’s development, it’s a good mix and we haven’t even seen Flowers out there in weeks.

DT (5) M.Brown, D.Shelton, L.Guy, V.Valentine, A.Butler — I do wonder if Brown is in danger of getting cut or traded. I love Valentine and feel he’s a better schematic fit. Either way, Brown is clearly the 3rd DT now.

ILB(4) D.Hightower, E.Roberts, J.Bentley, N.Grigsby
OLB(3) K.VanNoy, M.Flowers, B.King

CB (7) S.Gilmore, E.Rowe, J.McCourty, C.Jones, D.Dawson, J.Jones, J.Jackson: Hardest spot on the roster right now and I can’t really justify keeping all these guys. Really, the one in the most danger might just be Jason McCourty. I’d predict Gilmore-Rowe-C. Jones might be the top trio out of the gate. I just love JC Jackson so he gets one of the two new roster spots even though there’s just too many players here.

SS (3) P.Chung, J.Richards, N.Ebner
FS (2) D.McCourty, D.Harmon – Thought Pleasant could get on via special teams and they gave him a long look. He’s an early cut out of respect to catch on elsewhere.

ST (3) S.Gostkowski, R.Allen, J.Cardona

SUSP: Julian Edelman

Film Review: It’s All There for Pats

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I know most of us came out of Friday’s preseason game with a bland taste in our mouths but after reviewing the film of the game, I’m feeling pretty good actually. That’s usually the case, especially in games that get overreacted to. My favorite example being the 2014 Chiefs blowout, which showed up in film review as just a game of bad fundamentals, something that is often quickly fixed.

It’s clear who the 2018 Patriots are now. And while there are still some questions toward the bottom of the roster, the top lines of the offense, defense and special teams have taken shape. Yes, even without adding another huge name wide receiver.

It’s impossible to know how the health of the team will hold up. So far so good. If they stay healthy no one can tell me this isn’t a Super Bowl roster. As always things will remain a work in progress but all the elements are there. Now it’s just a matter of bringing them all together under an actual gameplan and executing. There will be steps forward and steps back, but the aim of this team is the same as it’s ever been under Bill Belichick.

Here’s what jumped out in the film review against the Panthers.

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Pats Posits: Sticking With the Posit(ives) in a Flat Preseason Loss

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The Patriots’ 25-14 loss at the hands of the Carolina Panthers in Week Three of the preseason left plenty to feel blah about. The offense sputtered for most of the night. The defense looked far more like the pressureless bend-don’t-break that Patriots fans hoped went with Matt Patricia to Detroit rather than the attacking new defense producing constant pressure that they thought they had after last week under Brian Flores.

Overall, there just wasn’t a whole lot to get excited about but if you’re watching a preseason game to get you excited about the regular season you have been asleep for most of the Augusts of the last two decades. There were encouraging signs though there’s no question this team still has a long way to go, as they always do, even when they look dominant in the preseason.

As much as Week Three as billed as the “dress rehearsal” it’s still preseason and there’s no reason to overreact. Let’s blast off a bunch of Posits before I jump into taking a second look at the game.

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Patriots Gameplan: Preseason Week 3 vs. Carolina Panthers

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I swear to Hoodie, I’m not going to call week three of the preseason a “dress rehearsal” but it’s really the last time we’re going to get anything much of interest before the annual scrubfest against the Giants. This will be the last time we see anyone important before the bullets are real against the Texans, and for that reason, there will be plenty to react to from tonight’s game.

A good place to start would be these five lingering questions, where you can swap in Eric Decker for Kenny Britt. If he remembers how to catch he’s got to be close to a roster lock. If he’s not, you know he fell off a cliff. There’s no question all eyes will be on the receivers, especially Phillip Dorsett. If he busts a big play, things will look on track. Better than a big play, I’d rather a tough catch, but that won’t get the kind of attention a long gain would.

As has been the case in the preseason I’m diverting from the usual gameplan because, well, preseason games are minimally gameplanned. All they want to do is avoid bad plays that have no chance for success. Otherwise, it’s vanilla ice cream on both sides of the ball. However last week showed a bit of an exception with de facto defensive coordinator Brian Flores sending more blitzes than I can recall seeing in the preseason.

This week there will be even more of a focus on the defense because Cam Newton is the kind of quarterback that the Patriots don’t blitz. He’s also the kind that gave them fits last year, so this first half at least should be an excellent test for the new front.

More on that and everything else I’ll be watching in the final dress re… meaningless audition of the summer.

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On Britt, Dez and the Remaining Patriots Receivers

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As you’ve heard by now the Pats released Kenny Britt on Wednesday, just as most of the attention was turning toward him as the x-factor in the receiver battle. I know I was focusing fully on him as recently as yesterday morning and now here we are, a third lost receiver this summer in addition to the departures of Danny Amendola and Brandin Cooks in the offseason.

Early in camp I thought the hot takes about the receiver situation was overblown and to some extent I still do, but it’s still hard to fathom losing five receivers off the roster in seven months, even if the writing was on the wall with Amendola and Cooks was more a luxury than someone to lean upon. So what are the Pats left with? Julian Edelman, who is somehow being very much underappreciated because he’s coming off an injury and will miss the first four games. He’s not dead. He’s still the all-time leading post-season receiver and one of Tom Brady‘s most trusted targets, but for some reason that’s mostly getting swept under the rug these days.

Then there’s Chris Hogan, who led the league in yards-per-catch two seasons ago and still topped his catch total in 2017 despite missing multiple games to injury. Between Edelman and Hogan there’s a very solid base to start from, so if you’re throwing yourself off the bridge now I’m not sure how you lived through 2006 or 2013.

Remember 2013? Wes Welker and Deion Branch left, Aaron Hernandez was released after being arrested and Brady’s weaponz went back to ground zero. The talking points that offseason? Edelman hadn’t done anything since his rookie year four years earlier. Danny Amendola was too fragile. After them it was undrafted Kenbrell Thompkins and second-round pick Aaron Dobson. Josh Boyce and Austin Collie made guest appearances and that was it.

The result? The Pats offense fell from 1st overall in 2012 to… 4th overall. They were third in points and 10th in yards, en route to a 12-4 record. Edelman broke 100 catches/1,000 yards.

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Lingering Questions For Patriots Preseason Week 3

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Clarity comes quickly when training camp opens. We instantly get at least a partial picture of who’s hurt, who’s in the mix for playing significant roles on offense, defense and, most often ignored, special teams. Now we’re closing in on a month of practices with two games already in the bag, but there remain some lingering questions that could have significant implications for the 2018 Pats.

Let’s run them down as we get ready for a week three preseason game in Carolina that should provide even more of that clarity.

  1. Who’s returning punts weeks 1-4? Even after Julian Edelman returns from suspension I don’t think anyone wants to use him full time returning punts when he’s so critical to the offense. They were lucky to get by doing it with Danny Amendola last year. Thus far we’ve seen Riley McCarron as the primary punt returner and he’s done little to prove he’s anything more than a guy who can catch punts and get tackled. The favorite could be Cyrus Jones, but with a logjam at cornerback, he’s got a lot of ground to make up. Could McCarron or Jones win a roster spot solely to return punts? Just one solid return against the Panthers could make the case.
  2. Can Marcus Cannon stay healthy? I hate asking if anyone can stay healthy because this is football and a career can end in one snap due to one weird play. But Cannon missed the last nine games and playoffs last year and has been MIA at camp for a couple weeks now. I do love the idea of what the Brown-Thuney-Andrews-Mason-Cannon line can do, but I’m starting to wonder if and when we’ll actually see that group. LaAdrian Waddle is once again a guy to lean on and Ulrick John, the best of the rest, could be making a roster push.
  3. Dorsett, Britt or Decker? Anyone? We know that when the games get meaningful that a core of Edelman, Chris Hogan, Rob Gronkowski and James White is going to be very hard to stop. Mix in some Cordarrelle Patterson with gimmicky stuff and the Pats have a good core that tops most teams in the NFL. But the true ceiling of the offense, especially in the first month will depend on one of the Dorsett, Britt or Decker trio stepping up and making plays. Thus far all three have been quiet (or injured in the case of Britt) and time is running out. I kn5ow Dorsett’s going to get a ton of snaps, but I remain unconvinced he’s going to be a game-changer. Britt’s the better outside fit for the offense in my view and Decker is much needed in the slot. These last two games will tell us a lot about the direction of the offense.
  4. Roberts vs Bentley? Both Elandon Roberts and Ja’whaun Bentley are going to play this season, but whether Roberts makes a third-year leap or Bentley translates his preseason play to the regular season will determine if the Patriots have solved their middle field athleticism problems. The thinking man’s analysis of how to attack the Pats centers on the middle linebacker spot, a position Mike Lombardi wrote defines the speed of a defense. Last year, they were undermanned and slow and got exposed by the Eagles.
  5. Second-Year Defenders Lead the Way? Last season the pass rush was devastated, losing Rob Ninkovich, Chris Long and Jabaal Sheard. Injuries didn’t help and forced Dietrich Wise and Adam Butler into significant roles. Now, with Derek Rivers back and looking like the top pick he was, these second-year players must ignite the pass rush. Potentially aided by a more aggressive attack under Brian Flores, along with the disruptive Adrian Clayborn and contract-year Trey Flowers, this is the group that must get after opposing quarterbacks. How well they do will have a huge impact on how good this defense is for this year and into the future.