Mike Dussault

Patriots Super Bowl Film Review: Defense Edition

February 10, 2017 by Mike Dussault

Five days later I’m starting to know this game like the back of my hand. Early on it was still a blur, which shouldn’t be surprising considering my first re-watch came in the early morning hours on Monday. The touchdowns and two-pointers, coming so rapidly on top of each other slowly melded together, leaving me unsure of what came when.

So I was excited to take an emotionless look at the All 22. Well, emotionless is the wrong word. I’m still riding the high that came with Super Bowl 51’s triumphant ending and each successive highlight film has only made it better.

Still, there’s nothing better than getting the bird’s eye view of everything to truly grasp how the two teams attacked each other.

Let’s take a look!

Why Did Belichick De-Elvis the Hot Jacket?

February 9, 2017 by Mike Dussault

It was quite the banner weekend for PatsPropaganda, even before James White scored the touchdown in overtime to win Super Bowl 51. It all started when old friend Kyle Brandt mentioned my Belichick Hoodie Database on Good Morning Football. Soon after I was being interviewed by USA Today about it, and the day after that I was contacted by ABC News to be interviewed for a national news feature on Belichick’s hoodie.

ABC Breaking News | Latest News Videos

What everyone of course wanted to know? What Belichick should wear in the Super Bowl. My choice was the 2016 Blue Hoodie, as ABC mentions at the end of their segment. He was 3-0 in it on the season, including the win in Denver and both playoff victories.

All signs pointed to that direction.

‘Sound FX’: Best of Super Bowl LI Is Awesome!

February 9, 2017 by Mike Dussault

Listen as the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons are mic’d up for the best sounds from Super Bowl LI.

Source: ‘Sound FX’: Best of Super Bowl LI | New England Patriots

One of the best parts of winning the Super Bowl is that you get to watch all the end-of-year videos like Sound FX and Turning Point without getting sick because that your team is the one featured! I’ve been savoring the week, just letting what occurred in Super Bowl 51 sink in. I’m still in shock and after watching Sound FX, reality is finally setting in.

Miked up during the Super Bowl for the Pats were Julian Edelman, LeGarrette Blount and Dont’a Hightower and it was full of great moments. Edelman’s intensity is pretty legendary, with my favorite part being at the end when the confetti is falling and everyone is storming the field yet Edelman is yelling at everyone that there’s still time on the clock. It finally takes Belichick to convince him, which is one of the rarest of occurrences — Bill Belichick telling someone to “chill bro”.

Breaking Down Trey Flowers’ Clutch Super Bowl Dominance

February 8, 2017 by Mike Dussault

Everyone’s favorite storyline involving the New England Patriots’ defense headed into the Super Bowl was that they hadn’t played anyone and would be exposed by Matt Ryan and the potent Falcons offense. Ryan certainly made his share of plays, but after giving up a third quarter touchdown that made it 28-3, the Patriots defense went into shutdown mode, cementing their place alongside the four other Super Bowl-winning Patriots’ defenses that came through in the clutch.

2016 breakout star Trey Flowers had a lot to do with it.

Most surprising was that a defense that had just 34 sacks in 16 games this season, just a little over two per game, the Pats defense had five sacks and 12 QB hits on just 23 pass dropbacks by Ryan. Trey Flowers led the way with 2.5 sacks and a staggering five quarterback hits.

Where was this kind of pass rush all season? Let’s take a closer look at how Flowers’ performance in Super Bowl 51.

Breaking Down the Clutch Play from Patriots’ Pass Catchers

February 7, 2017 by Mike Dussault

There’s been plenty of attention on James White, the Julian Edelman impossible shoe catch and the Dont’a Hightower strip sack that quickly opened the door for an impossible Patriots comeback in Super Bowl 51.

But what stands out to me most aside from these headliners, was how each and every Patriots weapon came through with a huge clutch play, without which, the comeback likely would’ve fallen short.

Here’s a rundown of the key receiving stats:

Passing, Rushing, & Receiving Table

Player	Tgt	Rec	Yds	TD	Lng
Julian Edelman	13	5	87	0	27
James White	16	14	110	1	28
Danny Amendola	11	8	78	1	20
Malcolm Mitchell	7	6	70	0	18
Martellus Bennett	6	5	62	0	25
Chris Hogan	7	4	57	0	18

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/7/2017.

Pats Posits: Saving Their Best for Probably-Not-Their Last

February 6, 2017 by Mike Dussault

In their most thrilling Super Bowl yet, the New England Patriots came back from 25 points to beat the Atlanta Falcons in overtime, 34-28, cementing Tom Brady and Bill Belichick’s place as the greatest Coach-QB duo in history.

A ton of new records were set or tied, including Most Super Bowls Won by a Head Coach (Bill Belichick, 5) Most Super Bowl Games (Tom Brady/Belichick, 7), most receptions (James White, 14), and Largest Deficit Overcome (25 points).

It’s taken me hours to wrap my head around this incredible victory and who knows how long it will take to fully grasp what unfolded. I never would’ve thought Brady’s performance in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl 49 could be topped, but topped it was. But not before I had just about thrown in the towel.

At 28-3 in the middle of the third quarter, I dug into what I had hoped would be my Super Bowl victory cake. I was resigned that the Pats just met up with a red hot Falcons team and played their worst game of the season. Maybe they were bound to get blown out in one?

But like they always do, the Patriots never flinched. Once they cleaned up the mistakes — drops, ill-timed penalties and worst of all, turnovers — and figured out the Falcons’ coverage, Brady moved the ball at will.

Most impressive was that the legendary comeback was such a group effort. So many guys came through with clutch plays — White, Edelman, Hightower and Flowers are just three that jump out to me right away, but it was a team comeback, as much as it was Brady’s brilliance.

I can and will write thousands of words about this game, so let’s get a jump on all the analysis to come with the Posits.

50 Bold/Stupid Predictions for Super Bowl 51

February 3, 2017 by Mike Dussault

These final days leading up to Super Bowl 51 are really starting to drag now. To help pass the time here are 50 Bold/Stupid predictions for the game. I’ll leave it to you to decide which are actually bold and which are just dumb.