PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

Mike Dussault

Countdown to Patriots-Ravens MNF

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I kinda enjoyed having a stress-free Sunday yesterday, especially with all the holiday stuff that has to get done this time of year. But now, staring down the barrel of a full busy work day that will be capped off with a major Patriots-Ravens game on Monday Night Football and I’m starting to feel the stress.

Right now, it’s all in the Patriots hands. Win the next two and they could very well lock up the top seed in the AFC. And after yesterday is there really anyone who truly believes the Patriots don’t have an excellent shot at not only getting to the Super Bowl but beating any NFC team once they get there?

But there’s still four games to go, a quarter of the season, and there could be plenty of twists and turns awaiting us, especially against our two biggest rivals…the two teams that stood between us and the Super Bowl four of the last five years in the AFC Championship.

Yes, the Patriots have three games in the next 13 days. In that time the expectations for their playoff run will be set, and I just can’t wait to see tonight how they come out. Is this a peaking Patriots team that we’ve seen for many of the last 15 seasons? Or is it a fading one like injuries dictated last season?

Few thoughts from the Sunday action and Deflategate Part Deux…

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Patriots Gameplan: Week 14 vs. Baltimore Ravens

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There are certain games that define a team’s regular season and this one against the Ravens sure has the makings of a pivotal contest for the 2016 Patriots. There are plenty of reasons one could argue the Ravens are an inferior team, like their 27th-ranked offense or their 3-4 start to the season and struggles on the road.

But here’s the fact, the Ravens know how to play the Patriots. They won’t be intimidated coming to New England, where the Patriots have already lost two games this season. We all thought the 2014 Divisional Playoff game would be a cakewalk, instead the Pats had to dig themselves out of two 14-point holes as Joe Flacco consistently tore them apart until his final game-sealing interception.

Add in the atmosphere of a December Monday Night Football game, the lingering bad blood from the Ravens starting Deflategate and this one should be a classic that will tell us a lot about the 2016 Patriots.

Strap on your helmets for my gameplan…

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Patriots vs. Rams Film Review: Defense Edition

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This was one of the quickest film reviews I’ve ever done, as the Patriots defense was on the field for just 52 plays, forcing eight Rams punts and coming up with two takeaways. As I mentioned in the Posits this week, the defense has been settling into their personnel and it seems to be helping keep everyone on the same page.

Specifically I wanted to take a look at the third downs where the Patriots had remarkable success, allowing just one conversion on 12 third downs. And yes, it’s also worth taking a look at the 66-yard pass they gave up at the end of the game that ruined any potential records they might’ve broken.

By going through each one we get a better picture for the kinds of coverage the Pats played — Rush three, drop eight in third and longs — and what their pass rush packages looked like.

Here’s how the third downs broke down, along with that one long ugly pass…

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Patriots Tuesday 10 Pack

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One of my favorite things in life is ending up in a conversation with another Patriots fan who has no idea that I have been faithfully blogging about the team for nine years. That was the case on Monday when I jumped into a conversation with a couple unknowing people at my real job and listened their deeply held beliefs about this Patriots team.

One of them wasn’t feeling the magic this year, the other thought the offense looked terrible against the Rams and that the only hard game left was Miami. The conversation ended before I could interject any of my own analysis, and really they didn’t seem to care, even though I could at least give them some perspective that they both badly needed.

So my frustration from that conversation has spilled over here into the Tuesday 10 Pack, where I vent about the Monday over-reactors as the dust settles from win number 10.

Here we go…

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Pats Posits: Tom Brady, Legend

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The Patriots dominated the Rams 26-10 Sunday, nabbing Tom Brady his NFL-record 201st win and closing out the third quarter of the 2016 season at 10-2.

Of course there’s plenty of #YBITR (yeah but it’s the Rams) disclaimers, but still, the Patriots handled an inferior team at home as we expect them to and looked very much like a balanced contender.

Unfortunately, Gronk wasn’t the last injury buzz kill of the last week, with Danny Amendola (seen leaving on crutches in a walking boot) headlining those who left and didn’t return.

Now, the Patriots face a 7-5 Ravens team that has won four-of-five and always plays them tough, even in Foxborough.

More on that, win #201 and the AFC home field playoff chase with the Raiders in the Posits…

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Patriots Gameplan: Week 13 vs. Los Angeles Rams

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The Patriots welcome the Rams on Sunday, in the midst of a 15-year celebration of Super Bowl 36 with plenty of former players returning to Foxboro. Oh how times have changed since 2001, when the upstart Patriots took on what some thought was a burgeoning dynasty in St. Louis. Instead it was the start of the New England dynasty and now the Rams are in Los Angeles, mired in mediocrity under Jeff Fisher, despite having some of the most talented players in the NFL.

These games are hard to get up for, especially with the Patriots looking at the top two ranked defenses in DVOA coming up the next two weeks. Luckily with Aaron Donald, the best defender in the NFL right now, along with Todd Gurley, the Rams’ talent second-year running back who’s mired in an ineffective second season but still entirely capable of running roughshod, Bill Belichick should have enough ammo to keep the Pats focused on getting a win.

The Patriots are neck and neck with the Raiders battling for homefield advantage and the next three weeks will determine how things end up. The last thing the Pats can afford is a brainfart against a team coached by someone who doesn’t even know who their running backs are.

How the Pats can lock up win number ten on the season in the gameplan…

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Report: Gronk Needs Third Back Surgery, Out Indefinitely

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And here I was just thinking my post about whether or not the Pats should worry about their injury situations was dumb because Edelman only missed practice for the birth of his kid and Brady was suiting up for practice, when one of those tweets that instantly makes you sick came across my timeline…

First things first. You have to feel terrible for Gronk. We can get into what it means for the Patriots Super Bowl chances, but this is a guy who’s had at least three back surgeries, multiple forearm surgeries, an ACL reconstruction and high ankle surgery all before he turns 30. This is too much for any human body to take, and yes, we all hope he comes back and plays football for the team we love, but let’s remember Gronk’s gotta live with this body well past his football playing days.

So yes, I’m sick for Gronk and can only hope that he somehow bounces back from this and is okay and isn’t, you know, in a wheelchair before he’s 40.

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