PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

Mike Dussault

Pats’ Personnel Dance Continues

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The Patriots’ roster is never really set. We spend all offseason planning which free agents and draftees would make an impact, then football starts, guys start getting hurt and underperforming and all those best laid plans are out the window. This leaves the Patriots to scramble,

It seems like almost every year the Patriots are picking up some castoff in the middle of the season who ends up becoming a contributor despite missing all of training camp and being a part of no one’s big plans for the season.

The roster juggling has continued this week for the Pats, with Shea McClelin suffering a setback, Ricky Jean Francois joining the team and Martellus Bennett suddenly becoming available after he was cut last night by the Packers.

Let’s take a quick look at those three and how they could impact the rest of the Patriots season.

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5 Most Interesting Pending Patriots Free Agents

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I like to blog like Bill Belichick would, by focusing only on the immediate obstacle in front of the Patriots, but since we’re coming off a bye week I’m going to break with Bill a bit here and take a look at some pending free agents.

The offseason is always a fascinating slow burn, and like most years, the Patriots have a number of key players who are scheduled to hit free agency. Their departures could open significant holes on the roster. Or re-signing them could signal the direction the team plans to take in 2018 and beyond.

It’s also worth pointing out these players now because a strong second half of the season would significantly upgrade the contracts they can receive this spring.

Here are the five more interesting players/positions to me…

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Scouting Report: Denver Broncos

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The second half of the Patriots’ 2017 starts at the closest thing Tom Brady has to a house of horrors — Mile High Stadium (or whatever it’s called now). Brady has had three playoff runs end in Denver (2005, 2013, 2015), which ties the number of playoff losses he’s had at home (2009, 2010, 2012).

The three recent losses, two in the playoffs and the overtime bummer against the quarterback they’ll face Sunday, make it seem like the Broncos rivalry is a big deal. But after their Super Bowl win, the Broncos have been on a slow-to-medium descent, which has them at 3-5, losers of four straight. Their once-feared defense just gave up 51 points to the Eagles, and despite a poor performance, they’ll start Brock Osweiler for a second week in a row.

Still, it’s hard to take much solace in how the Broncos have stumbled recently. Their three wins were all over three pretty good teams — Chargers, Cowboys and Raiders, and if there’s one team Denver will be up for, it’s New England.

Here’s a look at the Broncos and why I think this one will be closer than many of us expect or hope.

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Patriots Mid-Season Awards

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The Patriots play five of their next six games on the road before finishing the season with back-to-back home games. It will be a difficult stretch that defines the 2017 Patriots and either reinforces or changes everything we think we’ve come to know about this team.

There’s no question, the 2017 Pats were hit hard by injuries and departures and got off to one of their slowest starts in years. Of course, we’re all well aware by now that it’s not the start that matters but the finish.

But by now the half season has played out in a way slightly different than we’ve come to expect. All teams are unique, but the 2017 Pats version is in many ways a new variation. The deep passing game is suddenly a viable weapon. There are four running backs who can do it all. And then there’s the defense, with many new faces up front leading the way, while the expensive veteran secondary looked lost and uncoordinated through much of the first eight games.

Let’s break the first half of the season down in everyone’s favorite way — handing out awards!

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Pats Posits: Let the Real Football Begin

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With Daylight Savings falling on the exact halfway point of the Patriots season, which also just happens to be their bye week, we’ve suddenly turned the page to real football. Weather becomes a factor. Each game is more important. And the cream of the NFL crop should be rising to the top.

I don’t know what it says about me or the NFL but I didn’t really care to tune in Sunday and see any non-Patriots teams play. It’s amazing what a year without any really dominant teams can do to viewing enthusiasm. There’s been so many major injuries, watering down the product on the field and taking away a lot of the excitement.

All I know is I’m ready for the Patriots to get back to work and as it seems right now, their chances to get to the Super Bowl are as good as ever.

The bye week was a good time to reflect a bit on the 2017 journey so far and reset our focus on the next three months of football, which will end on February 4th in Minnesota.

Here are my Posits on what it will take for the Patriots to get there.

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A Look Back: The Journey of Hoy-Dog

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkxDKWOAKrI

Brian Hoyer was my second-favorite Tom Brady back up of all time. Yes, Jimmy Garoppolo was just so talented and handsome, he topped the list, but I always thought Hoyer fit the Patriots Tom Brady backup role as well as anybody.

An undrafted rookie in 2009, Hoyer stepped in for Matt Cassel and gave the Pats a solid but thankfully unneeded backup through the 2011 season. In that time, he saw snaps in some famous games despite never getting a start.

Hoyer played in three of the 2009 Patriots most (in)famous games — the snow blowout of the Titans, the “I can’t get this team to play the way they need to play” game in New Orleans, and the Wes Welker torn ACL game in Houston.

In his first Patriot stint, Hoyer appeared in 13 games, threw one TD and one pick for 286 yards and even picked up a rushing touchdown. Even in limited duty, he showed toughness and made some great throws (see videos below). After he left New England he started a fascinating journey around the NFL, with stops in five cities and nearly 40 starts. Despite playing for some terrible teams, Hoyer often did enough to help his team win.

Let’s take a look back at Hoyer’s journey around the NFL and the experience that should make him an even more valuable backup for his second tour of duty in New England.

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Patriots Gameplan: Who Are the 2017 Pats?

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Ahhh, the bye week. A time to relax and reflect without a football game to worry about.

The 2017 campaign so far has been interesting to say the least. Let’s face it, they’re always interesting in unexpected ways. But the headline, as always, are injuries. Injuries define NFL seasons now, and the Patriots are not immune and this year they’ve been hit as hard as ever.

Usually injuries are the only thing that stands between the Patriots and a last-possession game in the Super Bowl that could go either way. In 15 seasons together, Brady and Belichick have played in AFC title game 11 times.

2005 was one of the years they bowed out in Denver. That team had critical injuries (Matt Light, Rodney Harrison) and was one of Belichick’s worst Patriots defenses. But even then the problem in 2005 was not getting a bye. If that Bronco game was in New England it probably would’ve had a different outcome. In 2009, there was the backbreaker injury to Wes Welker in the last meaningless game. In 2010, it was the Jets bouncing back from a 45-3 beatdown to execute the perfect game that exposed a flawed defense that had survived on turnovers.

That was the last time the Pats weren’t playing in the conference championship game, seven long years ago.

My point is this — Does this Pats team have some of the injury issues those teams had? Yup. Will their (currently improving) defense be exposed at home by the right team? We’ll see.

Losing Rob Ninkovich, Julian Edelman and Dont’a Hightower says it all. Those guys were the playmakers of the last four seasons. The guys who made big plays in big moments, and that isn’t easy to replace.

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