PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

Mike Dussault

Pats Camp Position Battles to Watch

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Originally I was going to take all the position battles and do a post on each, but upon further review that would be an exercise in tedium. How many of you would get excited about a full post about the thrilling battle for who the backup guard is going to be? Nobody? I thought so.

So instead of dragging this out I’m just going to lay them all out here in one handy dandy Friday post. This is peak #PatsFanProblems because there really isn’t a whole heck of a lot of uncertainty heading into training camp as to who will be on the field the most.

For the most part, then offense and defenses return intact, with a few notable exceptions. Offensively, Martellus Bennett and LeGarrette Blount departed and their roles were not insignificant, but the Patriots targeted their replacements with Dwayne Allen and Mike Gillislee (and maybe Rex Burkhead, BATTLE TIME!).

Defensively, Chris Long and Jabaal Sheard‘s departures left some uncertainty as far as the pass rushers go, and we know how everyone loves to talk pass rushers, while Logan Ryan‘s move to the Titans opened up a starting corner spot. But again, they brought in Kony Ealy, while drafting two other defensive ends, and gave cornerback Stephon Gilmore a mega deal to take Ryan’s spot.

So yes, all the turnover was pretty neatly handled, leaving the biggest questions at the bottom of the roster. But if you’re an obsessive Patriots fan (and if you’re reading this blog post there’s a pretty good chance you are) you care even about the minutiae like who the backup swing tackle will be.

Let’s breakdown the camp position battles!

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20 Questions about the 2017 Pats

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Patriots training camp opens one week from today! Finally we can put the superficial rankings and arguments about superficial rankings behind us and focus on real football.

There’s no secret that the 2017 Pats look stacked and could be an efficiency nightmare for their opposition, but there are still plenty of questions that I have about the team. Luckily we’re not the Jets so the questions are not — will we win five games? No, our questions are much more specific and often focus on back up jobs and role players, but they’re interesting questions to us nonetheless.

Let’s list them off, quick hit style.

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Will Belichick’s Hot Jacket Surpass His Famous Hoodie in 2017?

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We’re just 50 days from the opening game of the 2017 season, when the Patriots will raise their fifth banner and take on the Chiefs, as their fans unload two-and-a-half years worth of built up boos and jeers at the commissioner whose avoided all things New England like the plague since butchering the whole Deflategate saga.

With the positional previews out of the way it’s time to focus on training camp here on the blog, but first a look at the site’s very, very important signature stat — Bill Belichick’s hoodie tracker.

2017 provided one of the biggest plot twists ever for a site dedicated to tracking and analyzing what the head coach wears on game day. After much speculation what Belichick should and would wear in Super Bowl 51 he threw a giant curve ball.


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Yes, he wore the Hot Jacket, which he had gone 9-2 in during the regular season, but with one strange alteration —  the Flying Elvis had been ripped off the jacket. And no, it was not simply inside out as many have wondered. It was torn off.

Why? This is something we’ll ponder for generations. Was it a message to the NFL? Or was it simply a frustrated Belichick, having no sleeves to cut off, turning his shears on something else? We might never know.

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Patriots Positional Preview: Quarterbacks

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<a rel=I’ve saved the best for last here with the positional preview excerpts from the season preview guide (available here in its entirety for just $5) — the quarterbacks.

The Patriots have the luxury of having three quarterbacks that they love on the roster. Yes, it all starts with Tom Brady, who, in his 17th season as the starter, has a chance to keep setting the bar for quarterback greatness even higher. It’s hard not to feel spoiled wondering about the implications of another Super Bowl season for number 12. Brady has delivered one of the most special NFL careers in history and shows no signs of slowing down.

But we all know the end of NFL careers can come abruptly so it’s important to enjoy every moment that we get to see the legend continue. The Patriots are well protected with Jimmy Garoppolo, who was the subject of much debate all offseason.

All along I believed they should keep Garoppolo. Having a quarterback you can win with is the absolute most valuable asset a team can have and it would be foolish to move him for anything less than a blockbuster deal that would give the Patriots multiple high-round assets over the next few seasons.

Now the team has a reliable backup quarterback who would still keep the Pats very much in the Super Bowl contender conversation should the unthinkable happen atop the depth chart. They can use the Cassel method next offseason, franchise tag and trade, to still get something for Garoppolo. It might not be as much as they might’ve gotten this past offseason, but that’s the price of insurance. At this stage of Belichick and Brady’s career, I’m fine paying a little extra for insurance.

Brissett is the true x-factor in all of this. If he continues to build on a rookie season where he was thrown into the fire immediately, he just might be the heir apparent everyone assumed Garoppolo would be. Brissett’s development will be a major thing to watch this summer through the preseason, and could tell us a lot about Garoppolo’s future.

Here’s a closer look at the trio of signal callers.

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Patriots Positional Preview: Defensive Tackles

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The countdown to camp with positional excerpts from my season preview book continues today with the defensive tackles.

One of the most underrated groups on the roster, Alan Branch, Malcom Brown and Vincent Valentine did a fantastic job controlling the heart of the offensive line and winning the battles in the trenches in 2016. The result was the best-ranked run defense (4th in Football Outsiders DVOA) ever under Belichick.

This is even more of an accomplishment when you consider the Patriots now use two defensive linemen to do what three used to do.

Branch might’ve been the defensive MVP for a large chunk of the season. The huge veteran often lined up at nose tackle and was near unmoveable. While Brown doesn’t have much flash to his game, but he’s an athletic technician who always seems to be in the right spot. He should start to get even more notice in his third year.

Together, Brown and Branch gave the Patriots everything they could expect from two stout tackles tasked with occupying multiple blockers and controlling the line of scrimmage.

Valentine did an outstanding job filling in at times for Branch and Brown and should take more strides in his second season. His goal line stop in the AFC Championship (see GIF) was the highlight of his season and a play to build on.

While the starting trio returns intact, free agent signee Lawrence Guy is one of then most intriguing new players who is below many radars. Guy’s interior pass rush skills should be a huge asset while his role on early downs is something to watch.

Let’s take a closer look at all the defensive tackles!

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Patriots Positional Preview: Tight Ends

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Training camp is less than two weeks away and we’re starting to wrap up our positional preview excerpts from this year’s season preview book. With just a few position groups to go, today we’re taking a look at the tight ends.

This is one of the few areas where there will be a significant personnel change from 2016, with Dwayne Allen being swapped in for Martellus Bennett. Bennett’s ability to ably fill in for Rob Gronkowski was one of the big factors in getting the Pats their fifth Super Bowl.

Many pundits tried to sell us that without Gronk the Pats just weren’t dynamic enough to win the big one, but Bennett helped prove that theory wrong.

If Gronk plays the entire season it won’t really matter all that much how well Allen assimilates, but Belichick has had high praise for the former Colt so it will be interesting to see his role in the offense, which I expect to be a versatile one.

There could also be a roster spot to be had by a third tight end, a job that would have to be won in training camp. Draft weekend trade acquisition James O’Shaughnessy could be a favorite along with Matt Lengel, who was acquired and played some snaps after Gronk was lost in 2016.

Let’s take a closer look at the tight ends.

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Patriots Position Preview: Safeties

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Today we’re taking a closer look at the last line of defense — the safeties.

It was somewhat surprising to see the Pats bring back Duron Harmon on a four-year, $20 million deal, but it’s hard to complain about keeping a trio of veteran safeties together who have been amongst the best in the league since 2014.

The rotation is clear now. Devin McCourty plays on the back end on early downs but has been used more and more in coverage closer to the line of scrimmage on passing downs. Patrick Chung rarely comes off the field now as well and spends his time mostly in the box or in man-to-man coverage on tight ends.

It’s Harmon’s back end ability that allows the defense to move McCourty around and that kind of flexibility is invaluable.

We know what we’re getting with McCourty, Chung and Harmon, but it’s then bottom of the roster that might be the most intriguing for training camp. The team brought in a trio of rookie safeties who should push third-year player Jordan Richards, who fell off the radar in 2016.

An injury to one of the top three would immediately change the dynamic of the defense on the back end that we’ve gotten comfortable with for the last three seasons. So while it’s easy to just assume everything will be great at safety the complexion can change quickly and suddenly, and the lower end players could end up getting called upon to contribute.

Let’s take a closer look at the safeties and how rookies David Jones and Damarius Travis could be the undrafted rookie(s) to make the team this year.

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