PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

Mike Dussault

Pregame Meal: Divisional Weekend

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Playoff gameday!! This is why we write all them blogs!! Yes, the excitement is palpable here as I write this, just five short miles from Gillette Stadium with the wind and rain pouring down. Temperatures are scheduled to drop tonight and I’m really hoping that it doesn’t turn into one of those games where the field is leveled due to the conditions. Obviously that makes it a far more favorable game for the Titans, especially with their strengths up front and Derrick Henry‘s running.

Even more exciting for me this morning is that we’re taking Patshow on the road tonight! Nick and I will be joined by some local legends like Jerry Thornton (Barstool, From Darkness to Dynasty author), Matty Blake (WAAF) and George Kippenhan who does the Shit Pats Fans Say videos with Nick at TKO Shea’s in Rockland. We’ll be broadcasting live pregame and giving away a ton of tees and swag to those who join us. And even if you can’t join us you can tune in at Facebook.com/Patshow6 and see all the shenanigans from the comfort of your own living room.

Here are some notes as we count down the long hours until tonight…

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Belichick Hoodie Prediction vs. Titans

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As I do for every playoff game it’s time to figure out what attire Bill Belichick could and should wear against the Titans on Saturday night. By now you know all about the Hoodie Database and all of the advanced stat metrics, like blue or gray, cut sleeves or intact, and hot jacket or hoodie. I’m not sure if you can get an NFL betting line on it, but if you can you’ve come to the right place for the ultimate insider info!

First, a quick look back at the season as it broke down like so:

  • Hot Jacket — 8 games, 6-2
  • 2017 Gray Cut Hoodie — 5 games, 4-1
  • Winter Gear — 2 games, 2-0
  • 2017 Blue Windbreaker — 1 game, 1-0

The Hot Jacket just isn’t realistic with rain and cold weather in the forecast, which likely means we’ll be seeing some of kind of winter or rain jacket. That leaves some detective work because more often than not Belichick will have a hoodie underneath. So keep an eye out for the 2017 Cut Gray Hoodie, the one with the neck slashed out too.

Historically, here’s how Belichick’s dressed in the last seven divisional rounds:

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Patriots Gameplan: AFC Divisional Playoff vs. Tennessee Titans

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You might not realize it after spending the week listening to the Boston sports media, but the Patriots open their 2017 playoff run against the Tennessee Titans on Saturday night.

We’ve spent the past week hearing every possible theory about the lukewarm Seth Wickersham ESPN article that was being billed as a bombshell. It was really just the jumping off point for a week spent airing grievances toward the Patriots, and especially Tom Brady. Gross.

Even when they were talking football it was the same old thing we’ve been hearing for the past decade: yeah, the Pats were 13-3 but are they really that good? I kept flashing back to 14 years ago when it was the same thing. Remember? Yeah the Pats were 13-3 but Peyton Manning and the Colts are the best offense ever and they’re going to expose the pretending Patriots.

Again, it just illustrates why this dynasty has been so special, dominating despite the doubters, proving over and over that it’s about the team. Well, it’s still about the team and this Patriots team was ignoring the noise all week and will be ready to face a Tennessee team that had four 4th-quarter comebacks this season and five game-winning drives, and just knocked off a team that smoked the Pats at home in the season opener.

What do the Pats need to do to advance to their record seventh-straight conference championship game? Here’s the gameplan…

PROP SHOP SALE THROUGH SATURDAY, 15% OFF WITH CODE “PLAYOFFS”!!

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Injury-Riddled Pats Still Crushing Tomato Cans

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By now you know the Patriots injured reserve list in 2017 is long and distinguished. Here’s a reminder of what it looks like via Patriots.com and it’s not a pretty picture. 

According to ManGamesLost.com (subscription required) the Patriots ranked second overall in the league in lost 2016 performance. Add in that the Pats were particularly hit hard by free agency departures on defense, compounded by the retirement of Rob Ninkovich and it’s understated how different the 2017 team is from the one that won the last Super Bowl.

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Five Key Patriots For a Super Bowl Run

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As I’ve written a couple times the past week, I’m having a tough time getting an exact bead on this Patriots team. Of course, this is a 13-3 team with homefield and the greatest quarterback of all time coming off an MVP season. So maybe I’m a little silly for thinking this season is anything different than what we’ve seen over the last 17 seasons.

Still, each team is unique and if there’s anything about this team that stands out it’s that major injuries barely registered with them. In past years losing players the caliber of Julian Edelman and Dont’a Hightower would’ve at cost the team another loss or two, and they would’ve have locked up the top seed. But this team did, and that counts for a lot because we know how tough the Pats are at home in January.

Outside of the obvious Tom Brady, here are five Patriots that I think are key to the Pats’ Super Bowl hopes.

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Pats Posits: Off-Field Noise Will Dominate Titans Week

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The Patriots’ first playoff opponent is set, but there won’t be much discussion of the Titans this week. Instead the ESPN article from last week will continue to be rehashed, the Pats will be faulted for not having better opponents and everyone will sit and wonder whether Robert Kraft will sell the team, Bill Belichick will jump ship and start over somewhere else or Tom Brady will demand a trade.

Of course none of those last three are going to happen, but that’s what we get to listen to and read this week, unless you’ve developed the superhuman power to avoid the loudmouths and idiots who cover Boston sports as I have. Just this morning I had Kirk and Callahan on for a brief moment by accident and was amazed to hear their entire developed narrative from the ESPN story.

There’s plenty of that going on out there. That the Pats should’ve gotten more for Garoppolo. That they could’ve managed to keep both Garoppolo and Brady under the salary cap. That Belichick is going to go work for Dave Gettlemen and the Giants because this entire episode just infuriated him and made him have a “tantrum” as Kirk and Callahan were putting it.

The perceived lack of drama on the field, especially facing a team like the Titans, has left a vacuum. Now those who get paid to talk about football, and can barely do it when the Pats are playing a team with the league MVP on it, much less a lackluster one like Tennessee, are all in on the ESPN story and are spinning into something far bigger than the article itself even was.

So whatever. If you enjoy having your buttons pushed like they’ll do all week, more power to you. Everyone is allowed to be entertained however they choose. I started this blog so I could write about football. Well, football and Bill Belichick’s hoodies. But the battle between the lines is what is most fascinating to me and that’s what I’ll stick to.

Here are this week’s Posits on Wild Card weekend, the Titans and nothing more to do with the Kraft-Belichick-Brady love triangle.

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