Tom Brady tries on a new helmet!
https://www.patspropaganda.com/tom-brady-tries-on-a-new-helmet/
Patriots Depth Chart
This is far from set even when the Pats do get to 53 guys. I’ll be updating it as the moves come in.
1:30pm EST update: So far, surprised the Beauharnais and Worthy were cut, otherwise most were pretty expected. Linebacker and defensive end depth are pretty thin right now. More moves sure to come…
4:30pm EST update – Danny Aiken is the last cut and it looks like they’ll find a long snapper sometime in the next couple of days. Things remain fluid, but for now the Pats are down to 53 guys. Lean and mean.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/patriots-depth-chart-this-is-far-from-set-even/
The Best of the Week in PatsPropaganda
Here it is, cutdown Saturday, the start of a crazy Labor Day weekend sure to have a number of moves that shock the assumptions of even the most astute Patriots followers.
It’s also the last weekend before football is back and time to put another offseason in the rearview mirror to enjoy the best time of year – the start of football season.
Lots of great stuff coming this week including the return of the PatsProapaganda & Frenz Podcast (yay), the announcement of the weekly schedule this year along with some other special announcements that will have me giving away a TON of Pats-related goodies this year.
The first part of our weekly schedule is Saturday’s Best Of post, featuring anything of interest you might’ve missed. I’ll be checking in throughout the day as the final cuts come down.
Here’s the best of the last week of the offseason.
MMQB/Andy Benoit – Patriots Preview
PatsPropaganda – 2014 Training Camp Awards
PatsPropaganda – Final 53-Man Roster Prediction: Sure to be completely wrong in a matter of minutes.
SarahFit.com – Patriots Premiere Review: My sisters had a chance to check out the Patriots Premiere in my place and got to meet a lot of Pats!
ESPNBoston.com – Patriots Preview
MMQB/Greg A. Bedard – Mankins-Wright Trade Analysis
PatsPropaganda – My Mankins Trade Analysis
PatsPropaganda – Future Should Start Now With Garoppolo
2014 New England Patriots Preview: Bill Belichick gets more talent | The MMQB with Peter King
2014 New England Patriots Preview: Bill Belichick gets more talent | The MMQB with Peter King
Must-read stuff from Andy Benoit.
What do you think will be our biggest weakness this year? Receiving court, pass rush, pass protection, secondary…?
Great question.
1. Interior OL – This was a concern for me when Mankins was still on the team so it’s still a significant one. I think that my predicted OL of Solder-Kline-Wendell-Connolly-Vollmer will be fine. 4/5ths of them have played together the last two seasons and while they had their struggles at times, they were a very good group, especially in run blocking last year. Even without Mankins I don’t see that falling off a whole lot.
The question will be can the interior OL pass block the tough DLs on the big stages? The Jets for one will present a big challenge in that area. Hopefully Stork and Halapio progress in season, I think Stork especially could singlehandedly upgrade this area.
2. Depth on the Edge – If Ninkovich and Chandler stay healthy the edges of the defense will be a strength. If one or both gets dinged, things will get very dicey. This is a critical area and one where I am genuinely concerned, but let’s just not think about injuries until we’re forced to.
Those are really it. I think they have the best array of pass rushers that they’ve had in a long time, especially on the interior, an area I’ve been harping about since this blog started. They also have perhaps their most promising group of weapons since 2007. Depth is as solid as you could hope everywhere except DE and LB.
If they can stay healthy and stop the pressure up the middle in the big games, the sky is the limit.
I’d like to propose a theory: In addition to the slipping play and salary cap ramifications of Logan Mankins, another possible motivation for the trade may be it’s effect on the rest of the team. Tedy Bruschi often talks about the effects of the Lawyer Malloy cut as something that helped motivate him. Perhaps our coach was aware of this, and is attempting to get his team to dislike him a bit, so they play with an edge. Thoughts?
As much as I love a good BB coaching conspiracy I’m not sure I’d bite on this one. There were a number of factors that led to Mankins’ release and certainly some negative ones that inherently came with it, but the message to the team is the same as it is every time the reality that this is a business is reaffirmed. That’s the cold, hard reality of the Not For Long league. Doesn’t have to be intentional from BB though, more like a dose of reality byproduct.
Do you see stork becoming the starting center sometime during the season if at all
Maybe. I think there’s no question he’s the future starter there at some point and I’d certainly prefer it’s sooner than later. With so much uncertainty and concern with the middle of the offensive line, adding a talented and tough player like Stork to anchor them would really be ideal.
I need to take a closer look at him this weekend on the re-watch.