Analysis

Deep Dive Rewatch: Week 3 vs. Houston Texans

January 11, 2017 by Adam Magnacca

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVq4HxeN8K4

One of the advantages of taking on a playoff opponent in the regular season is that you get a great chance to self scout yourself before going into the matchup again. The good news for us, is we get to take a look at scheme, as well as players. The Patriots in particular are a much different team from the last matchup so lets go through and outline those differences.

Jacoby Brissett was starting at QB for the Patriots
Rob Ninkovich was still suspended and not playing
Dont’a Hightower was inactive
Jamie Collins was still in a starting role
Elandon Roberts was playing considerable snaps at LB
Kyle Van Noy was not yet on the roster
Eric Rowe had yet to play significant snaps
Malcolm Mitchell had yet to emerge
Michael Floyd was not yet on the roster
Cyrus Jones had 1 kick return and 2 punt returns

Clearly, this team is not the same as they were in Week 3, and neither are the Texans after Brock Osweiler starting, being benched, and now starting again, or JJ Watts appearance, ineffectiveness, and disappearance. However, there is a lot to be gleaned from seeing this game, and obviously the Patriots are going to take a look at it also. Here are a few quick notes after looking at the game again:

First, and most importantly, can we wear these uniforms again? Seriously they’re fire. Okay okay, I’m watching.

Which Hoodie Should Bill Belichick Wear vs. Texans?

January 11, 2017 by Mike Dussault

By now you should all know about the signature stat here at PatsPropaganda.com, a metric so advanced it has immeasurable effect on every single game. I am of course talking about the Bill Belichick Hoodie Database and the vital information it contains. Each playoff season I like to take a look back and figure out what BB should wear based on his history against a particular opponent and in that round of the playoffs.

This year, Belichick continued the trend of getting away from hoodies, preferring to stick with the “Hot” Jacket that came out in 2013. This season he raised his all-time record in the Hot jacket to 24-8, just eight games behind the gray Reebok Hoodie that Belichick made famous.

What should Belichick wear against the Texans? Let’s take a look…

Patriots Scouting Report: Houston Texans AFC Divisional Game

January 8, 2017 by Sam Hollister

With Miami losing today to Pittsburgh, we now know that it will be the Houston Texans coming to town to take on the top-seeded New England Patriots on Saturday night. While the Patriots did beat Houston 27-0 back in Week 3, it is hard to look at that game and find much insight into what either team plans to do this time around due to how greatly the Patriots have changed.

As a refresher, Jacoby Brissett was the starting quarterback, Rob Gronkowski had yet to be placed on IR and was making his season debut, Jamie Collins and Jonathan Freeny led the Patriots in tackles, Kyle Van Noy was a Lion, Rob Ninkovich was still suspended, and Dion Lewis and Dont’a Hightower were sidelined with injury. That being said, here is a in-depth overview of the Texans and their roster, position by position, so you can get to know the Patriots first playoff opponent!

PatsPropaganda Wild Card Weekend Rooting Guide

January 7, 2017 by Mike Dussault

This might be my favorite weekend of the football season. The Patriots are sitting at home getting a much-needed bye week (but still keeping their intensity at 10) and we the Pats fans can just sit back and enjoy some great playoff football without the heart palpitations.

Next week our butts will be on the line Saturday night against the lowest remaining AFC seed, but who do we want to win this weekend?

First, a disclaimer — I’m all about history. Wins over teams the Pats don’t have history with mean less to me and when Belichick and Brady are done I’d like it to all wrap up into a nice neat little package. Fortunately for us, there aren’t many teams the Patriots still owe.

Really, I thought 2011 would be an almost too perfect playoff run had they finished things off. They got revenge on the two teams that had ended their seasons in 2005 and 2009 (Denver and Baltimore) and had a chance to avenge the horribleness of Super Bowl 42 only to lose to Eli Manning and the Giants in similar fashion.

Yes, they still owe the Giants, but we’ll get to that. Here’s who I want to win, not necessarily who I think will win.

The Propies: 2016 Patriots Regular Season Awards

January 6, 2017 by Mike Dussault

No gameplan article this week, unless you consider sitting on your couch watching some stress-free playoff football a gameplan. Instead today I’ll be handing out a bunch of “Propies” for the regular season awards, honoring the the superlative performances from the 2016 Patriots.

Yes, the next month will truly determine where the 2016 Patriots place in history will be, but if 2007 taught me anything, it’s that appreciating the regular season is what makes being a football fan the most fun. Let’s face it, the playoffs are stressful. Almost too stressful. And more often than not they’re going to end in bitter disappointment.

But can anyone at this point really feel disappointed? We got the Deflategate suspension over with, lost only Gronk to injury (still significant, but not what we saw in 2013 or 2015), and finished the regular season off in dominant fashion that gives every indication this Patriots team will come out with something to prove the next (hopefully) three games.

The Patriots dynasty continues to roll on with another 14-2 season in books!

Without further ado, we’re on to the Propies!

Putting the Patriots 2016 Defense in Historical Context

January 5, 2017 by Mike Dussault

One of the driving forces behind this blog was my realization in 2008 that Bill Belichick was going to have a chance to construct another whole defense from scratch. Few Coach/GMs have the kind of longevity to attempt this kind of thing, and as old stalwarts like Tedy Bruschi, Rodney Harrison and Mike Vrabel faded from New England, it was up to Belichick to build another defense that could help win Tom Brady another Super Bowl or three in the second half of his career.

2007 was the Dynasty Defense’s last hurrah. In 2008, they were old and slow and by the 2009 offseason Belichick went into full “blow it up” mode. Richard Seymour was traded, Bruschi and Harrison retired, Vrabel was shipped to Kansas City. Surprisingly the 2009 defense was actually still pretty good statistically — 12th on third down, 6th in PPG, 14th overall in DVOA. But with Ray Rice‘s first-play 83-yard touchdown run in the 2009 AFCWC which kickstarted a thorough Raven domination, it was clear the Pats still had a ways to go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_-Ti84l4Ek

Breaking Down Patriots Renewed Offensive Balance

January 4, 2017 by Sam Hollister

The Patriots locked up the top seed in the AFC Sunday with a 35-14 dispatching of the Dolphins, giving New England home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, an essential piece to the Patriots Super Bowl puzzle. The win was the Patriots 14th on the season, and while much of that success has been (rightfully) credited to the incredible resurgence on defense, a large component of this triumphant 2016 campaign has been the renewed balance between running and passing offensively. We know that Tom Brady has the ability to drop back and pass 50 times without much help from the run game and still will the Patriots to a win (see Divisional Round, 2014), but we have also seen just how vulnerable the Patriots become when Brady is asked to win the game by himself (see, 2016 AFC Championship Game). The lack of balance was one of the biggest factor that contributed to New England’s early exit last January, which is why instilling a consistent balance between run and pass will prove to be crucial as we head into the postseason.

Last season, according to Kevin Duffy of MassLive.com, the Patriots had their worst run/pass ratio in recent years, passing the ball 62% of the time and rushing on only 38% of plays. Coincidentally, the Patriots rushing attack ranked 30th in the NFL, which allowed teams like the Broncos to drop numbers off the ball and flood Brady’s passing lanes, without needing to give much thought to the run game. Granted, part of the lack of success running the football can be attributed to losing LeGarrette Blount to a hip injury in Week 14, but even with him, the rushing attack was still on pace to finish near the bottom in rush yards. The Patriots called upon the corpse of Steven Jackson and special-teamer Brandon Bolden to take the bulk of the carries in the AFC Championship Game, and as well as know, it did not go well.