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Gameplan

Patriots Gameplan: Super Bowl 52 vs. Philadelphia Eagles

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It’s hard to believe we’re already back in another Super Bowl. So much of the 2017 season was a blur of 28-3 and stupid storylines, few of which had much of anything to do with actual football. There were usually catastrophic injuries that somehow this Pats team overcame to get here and yes, a couple exciting wins, but mostly I remember noise.

Well, all those are out the window now. It’s all about one game and and another chance for Bill Belichick and Tom Brady to raise the bar even further on what has been a run unlike any other in sports history. But as we all know, these games are never easy. They’re stressful and the highest of drama.

The Eagles are a very tough opponent for the Patriots. Maybe they don’t have the flash of the 2001 Rams’ offense or the 2016 Falcons offense or the 2014 Seahawks defense, but they’re a good football team that has overcome a ton that would’ve torpedoed most teams. They’re balanced and have all the right pieces to challenge the Patriots’ weaknesses.Their resiliency is remarkable and the sign of a team that won’t wilt in the face of the Patriots’ dynasty.

The Patriots will certainly have to earn their sixth title just like they earned the five before it, with a 60-minute effort that will take every last second and maybe even a miracle catch or two. I’m not even sure my heart is ready for another one of these games, but here we go.

This is the gameplan to get it done and hang another banner.

 

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Patriots Gameplan: AFC Championship vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

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The New England Patriots host the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday in the AFC Championship, for the right to represent the conference in Super Bowl 52. It’s New England’s seventh-straight conference championship game, trying to win three-of-four Super Bowls for the second time with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. Crazy.

This was a weird year in the NFL as the power structure, aside from the Patriots, has mostly been turned over. After years of being a punchline, the Jaguars introduced their fully-healthy defense to the league behind sporadic but effective Blake Bortles, who has played two playoff games of turnover-free football. For all the talk of the Jags’s defense being the only threat, their offense was 5th in points and 6th in yards.

Pats-Jags doesn’t have the same feel as AFC Championships against the Colts, Ravens and Broncos , but the Jaguars have earned the right to become the latest contender to try and knock off Tom Brady and Bill Belichick at home in the AFCCG, something only the 2012 Ravens did.

Tom Brady’s apparent thumb injury adds a new level of intrigue, with the Patriots being noticeably feeding the flames. Ryan Hannable summed it up nicely here.

What do the Patriots need to do to beat the Jaguars and get back to the ‘ship? Here’s the gameplan.

 

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Patriots Gameplan: AFC Divisional Playoff vs. Tennessee Titans

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You might not realize it after spending the week listening to the Boston sports media, but the Patriots open their 2017 playoff run against the Tennessee Titans on Saturday night.

We’ve spent the past week hearing every possible theory about the lukewarm Seth Wickersham ESPN article that was being billed as a bombshell. It was really just the jumping off point for a week spent airing grievances toward the Patriots, and especially Tom Brady. Gross.

Even when they were talking football it was the same old thing we’ve been hearing for the past decade: yeah, the Pats were 13-3 but are they really that good? I kept flashing back to 14 years ago when it was the same thing. Remember? Yeah the Pats were 13-3 but Peyton Manning and the Colts are the best offense ever and they’re going to expose the pretending Patriots.

Again, it just illustrates why this dynasty has been so special, dominating despite the doubters, proving over and over that it’s about the team. Well, it’s still about the team and this Patriots team was ignoring the noise all week and will be ready to face a Tennessee team that had four 4th-quarter comebacks this season and five game-winning drives, and just knocked off a team that smoked the Pats at home in the season opener.

What do the Pats need to do to advance to their record seventh-straight conference championship game? Here’s the gameplan…

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Patriots Gameplan: Week 17 vs. New York Jets

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Ah, the final gameplan of the season. These are always my favorite pieces of the week to write, and now as I sit here in California on my final day of vacation, preparing myself to return to the arctic cold of Boston, I can’t help but feel a bit relieved that the regular season prologue is nearly behind us.

Let’s be honest, at this point it’s hard to move the needle for Patriots fans. Looking back on 2017 it’s hard to recount much more than the Steeler game and the injuries. Wins are relief. Losses are catastrophic. Then we get to this point, where the Patriots will hopefully wrap up the first seed, and none of it really matters.

So here we are, staring down the barrel of another 13-3 season. A meltdown loss to the Jets at this point would be beyond surprising. Our 5-10 pals from New York adjacent are closing out a disappointing season, but they still gave the Pats trouble back in October, with the Pats getting a 4th down stop at their own 49 yard line to preserve the 24-17 win.

Considering the circumstances now, with the Pats needing a win to assure themselves of homefield advantage and the Jets ready to mail it in to the offseason, not to mention the bone chilling cold which this game will be played in, all signs point to the Pats rolling.

Here’s the gameplan…

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Patriots Gameplan: Week 16 vs Buffalo Bills

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The Patriots host the Bills Sunday (1pm EST), their second time in four weeks against Buffalo. The Pats suffocated the Bills last month with a 23-3 win that saw Rex Burkhead and Dion Lewis run wild and the defense allow just two sustained drives. Since then the Bills have pulled out two wins to stay in the playoff race.

Now this seems like the last real test of the season, and the Patriots should aim for a finish like 2016, when the closed out the last games with authority as opposed to 2015 when injuries caught up to them and they lost the top seed to Denver. The Bills are fighting for their playoff lives and will throw everything they have at the Pats, especially with some added motivation seeing Rob Gronkowski again so soon.

Is this a hammer-down, Super Bowl-bound Patriots team? Or will the Bills put together the clean game needed to do the rare feat of beating the Patriots in Foxborough? That kind of regression coming off a big win in Pittsburgh would be exactly what the Pats don’t need.

Here’s the gameplan to move one step closer to locking down homefield.

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Patriots Gameplan: Week 15 at Pittsburgh Steelers

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The Patriots’ 2017 season is finally here. Yes, there’s been plenty of ups and downs already, as there often are during the summer and fall, but really, for the Patriots the regular season doesn’t truly start until December and here it is.

So now things get real. Had the Patriots won Monday against Miami this game in Pittsburgh would’ve had a little less flair. But now, it’s everything. The Pats are still very much in the driver’s seat of their own destiny, but a loss would set a nuclear bomb off with just two weeks to go, possibly sending them all the way down to the third seed below, gasp, Jacksonville.

In a season that largely felt like going through the motions suddenly things could take a drastic left turn into unfamiliar territory. The good news? The Patriots have beaten the Pittsburgh Steelers in every meaningful game during the Belichick/Brady dynasty. Brady has feasted on the Steeler defense, going 3-2 in the Steel City and 4-0 at home.

There’s no question where we’d all prefer the AFC Championship to be should there be a rematch, although the Pats have beaten the Steelers in two AFC Championships in Pittsburgh. I’d prefer not to have to try and make it three.

What the Patriots have to do to define their season with a back-against-the-wall win this weekend in then gameplan!

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Patriots Gameplan: Week 14 at Dolphins

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Just two weeks ago the Patriots convincingly beat the Dolphins 35-17 and now they’ll travel to Miami for the rematch this weekend where the Monday Night Football betting odds are looking pretty favorable.

As someone who is primarily just rooting against injuries, things are always scary facing a team that has that DGAF attitude. And with the wounds from two weeks ago still fresh, there’s some added anxiety about this one. ‘Keep Suh away from Brady’s knees’ might be my only point of emphasis.

The 2017 Patriots are clicking on all cylinders and if they get through the next four games fully intact from where they are now, including getting Trey Flowers and Kyle Van Noy back to 100 percent, they’re very likely playing in another last-play Super Bowl. Do they have a fatal flaw? Every team does if they don’t play well. This isn’t the most talented front seven the Pats have ever had, but as always, they just make it work.

These final divisional games feel obligatory. Maybe the Pats have a sloppy game and blow it. They’ll lose one of these last four, but everyone expects it would be in Pittsburgh, (if at all).

Here’s the gameplan to get out of Miami with a win, and most hopefully, injury-free.

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