PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

Pats Posits

Pats Posits: Grind It Out Like We Always Do

by

The Patriots systematically strangled the Bills on Sunday, once again leaning on Dion Lewis and Rex Burkhead on the ground to take the heat off of Tom Brady. It wasn’t a great 60 minutes, the penalties and sloppiness marred any positive vibes we might’ve had coming off a divisional win.

Now we get to weigh and debate Gronk’s punishment instead of the 10-2 Patriots team that will now play for the division title in Miami on Monday Night Football. Or maybe, if the Bills lose, they’ll already have it. Regardless, the Patriots’ juggernaut roars on and if Gronk has to sit a game (that keeps him away from a certain coach who won’t take his starters out of blowouts ;)) so be it.

As the Patriots’ regular season becomes less consequential with each passing week I’m always amazed how the conversation turns to a pile of bullshit. It becomes less about breaking down the game and more about things like when to take starters out and strength of schedule. Those are the kind of things the pundits will discuss and debate, meanwhile the fact that the Patriots are rolling again despite a bunch of injuries and turnover is just brushed under the rug. Everyone just expects it now, just like I expect to hear talk focusing on questionable minutiae like how good is Bill Belichick really at drafting in the second round. Sigh…

More on all that and the Pats’ 10th win of the season in the Posits.

[Read more…] about Pats Posits: Grind It Out Like We Always Do

Pats Posits: Injury Attrition and Wins Continue

by

The Patriots rolled over the Miami Dolphins as most expected, but it wasn’t quite as enjoyable as it should’ve been with some sloppy play and worse, injuries marring the contest. It’s a constant refrain here on the blog — all that really matter at this point are injuries and Sunday’s game against Miami had a significant number of casualties. Nate Ebner, Trey Flowers, LaAdrian Waddle and Kyle Van Noy were among those to leave and not return.

So yes, a win is a win, but at this point the injury scoreboard is almost more important and there the Pats got beat pretty good.

Still, the beat rolls on as Dion Lewis and Brandin Cooks continue their sensational seasons sparking the new-look Patriots offense despite the litany of injuries. The defense continued their hot streak of not giving up many points, giving up just 10 themselves while the botched snap by Ted Karras gave the Dolphins their other touchdown. The defense has now moved into 11th place allowing 20 points-per-game, just a shade above the 18.6 that the Patriots have averaged under Bill Belichick.

With the Steelers needing a last-second field goal to knock off the struggling Packers, the Patriots remain atop the AFC favorites. While initial reports on Trey Flowers and Kyle Van Noy sound like these weren’t season-enders, the bumps and bruises continue to add up. Will they be enough to alter the destiny of this Pats team? We’ll see a pretty good test next weekend in Buffalo as the Bills look like they’ve gotten back on track with a win over the fading Chiefs.

Here are all the Posits on the Dolphins win.

[Read more…] about Pats Posits: Injury Attrition and Wins Continue

Pats Posits: Pats Make It Look Easy in Mexico

by

The Patriots rolled to an “all-too-easy” 33-8 win over the Oakland Raiders in Mexico City on Sunday afternoon, cementing their place as Super Bowl favorites. Even without Marcus Cannon, David Andrews and Chris Hogan (to go on top of all the other significant injury losses this year), the New England football machine rolls on!

This one wasn’t all that interesting to be honest as the Pats controlled things pretty much from the outset. While I always enjoy a stress-free victory there’s still something unsatisfying about an easy win. But at this point obviously we’ll take it. The offense put some of their red zone troubles behind, Stephen Gostkowski kicked a career-long field goal (62 yards) to go with four others and the defense didn’t surrender a point until the game was already decided.

There’s really not much to complain about at this point of the Patriots season, which is prime spoiled fan area. So much of the rest of the league has fallen back to earth after promising starts, with the Bills leading the way, the Patriots just keep on rolling.

Still plenty to unpack from the win, here are my initial thoughts without a film review in the Posits!

[Read more…] about Pats Posits: Pats Make It Look Easy in Mexico

Pats Posits: Beating the Dead Horses

by

Given the Patriots long history of weird games in Denver I fully expected Sunday night to be a close, weird game despite the Broncos stinking. Thankfully I was dead wrong as the Pats blasted Denver 41-16 in the kind of feel good explosion they seemed to be missing this season. To this point last night’s game has to be the signature win of the 2017 season, with the Pats breaking 40 points for the first time.

The Pats are 7-2 and once again, everything appears on track for another Belichick-Brady Super Bowl run.

Make no mistake, special teams led the way in this one. A blocked punt, a recovered muff, a kick off return for touchdown and a perfect Stephen Gostkowski (2/2 FG, 5/5 XP) gave the Pats the early advantage and they never looked back. After two weeks of talking red zone problems, the offense scored four touchdowns on six trips inside the 20.

Overall the balance of the offense was on full display, with the versatility of Dion Lewis and Rex Burkhead giving Denver’s defense problems all night long. This has been what we’ve been waiting for. The Pats were successful on early downs and never had to rely on the deep passing game until they had Denver on their heels. Then, in the second half, Brady took to the air to knock Denver out for good.

Defensively, it was Bend-Don’t-Break at it’s finest, led by what I thought was the biggest key to the game — stopping the run. The Pats didn’t have a sack, but got off the field when they needed to, only allowing one touchdown in three Bronco red zone trips. They executed the gameplan in a quiet, unspectacular fashion and that’s just what you need to do to beat a team like the Broncos in Denver.

This is the kind of team win that should leave us feeling pretty good about this Patriots team despite the litany of injuries that have befell them this season. They aren’t without weakness, but when games unfold like Sunday night’s did they look near unbeatable.

More on all of it in this Posits…

[Read more…] about Pats Posits: Beating the Dead Horses

Pats Posits: Let the Real Football Begin

by

With Daylight Savings falling on the exact halfway point of the Patriots season, which also just happens to be their bye week, we’ve suddenly turned the page to real football. Weather becomes a factor. Each game is more important. And the cream of the NFL crop should be rising to the top.

I don’t know what it says about me or the NFL but I didn’t really care to tune in Sunday and see any non-Patriots teams play. It’s amazing what a year without any really dominant teams can do to viewing enthusiasm. There’s been so many major injuries, watering down the product on the field and taking away a lot of the excitement.

All I know is I’m ready for the Patriots to get back to work and as it seems right now, their chances to get to the Super Bowl are as good as ever.

The bye week was a good time to reflect a bit on the 2017 journey so far and reset our focus on the next three months of football, which will end on February 4th in Minnesota.

Here are my Posits on what it will take for the Patriots to get there.

[Read more…] about Pats Posits: Let the Real Football Begin

Pats Posits: 6-2 at the halfway break

by

The Patriots had a strong team win over the Chargers on Sunday. It wasn’t perfect but it was enough to get them to 6-2 as they hit the halfway bye week. The glaring problems and untimely struggles are slowly being eliminated. There’s still work to be done, but the stage for a strong second half is set, if the Pats can just stop losing key players to injury.

The offense moved the ball but stumbled in the red zone, making the game closer than it seemed. The Pats held the ball for 37 minutes on seven drives that lasted seven or more plays but had just one touchdown in four trips inside the Chargers’ 20. They make it look easy sometimes, especially when Dion Lewis is twisting and surging through would-be tacklers, but they’ve needed to rely too much on Stephen Gostkowski who hit four of six field goal attempts. Yes, those misses hurt and it will be a long two weeks for Gost, but SIX FG attempts shouldn’t happen! The offense needs to find their finish.

Aside from a huge blown run defense that allowed an 87-yard touchdown run by Melvin Gordon and a three-play touchdown drive aided by a 30-yard Johnson Bademosi PI penalty, the overall defense was mostly solid.  They forced three punts and grabbed the game-sealing interception in the second half, preserving what was at one point just a five-point game. This is definitely a far cry from the worst defense in football. They’re solidified the last few weeks and should get a few players back who can help make them even better.

The quietest storyline will be how, aside from Gostkowski’s misses, the special teams units were a huge part of the victory. These kinds of hidden points and yardage really add up to a lot in a close game against a good opponent. Belichick is almost too obsessed with special teams players, but there are games like this one every year where they play a huge role in a needed win.

More on it all in the Posits.

[Read more…] about Pats Posits: 6-2 at the halfway break

Pats Posits: The New England Football Machine Rolls On

by

After showing brief glimpses that they were a good team through the first six games of the season, the 2017 New England Patriots finally turned in their first consistent performance in a 23-7 win over the Atlanta Falcons. Yes, rumors of the Patriots demise have once again been exaggerated.

Simply put, it all worked against the Falcons. The four-headed running back monster finally showed how well it could power the offense, and most importantly, close games out. The much-maligned defense turned in one of their most impressive performances in recent memory, and they did it without Stephon Gilmore. It was a total team, total game win, the first of its kind this season and it was incredibly refreshing.

I’ve been saying there was a good defense inside there somewhere, and against the Falcons we saw what they were capable of. This is where the bar is, and it’s now set pretty high. Way above the worst defense in the league, but maybe not quite the all out domination we saw on Sunday night through the fog.

It looks like the 2017 Pats finally realized the season had started and that’s bad news for an NFL loaded with parity.

Here’s what I think in the Posits.

[Read more…] about Pats Posits: The New England Football Machine Rolls On