An Independent Patriots Blog
I’m still in shock that last night many of the Patriots and Rams players and coaches were put into what could only be described as Belichick Fashion Hoodies for opening night.
There’s just no other explanation and it feels like one weird troll job by the NFL where they’re tipping the hat to Belichick. The short sleeves. The gray. The floppy hood up top. Who else has ever worn anything close to this style of
With the coaches film still not out, I couldn’t wait to dive in for a stress-free re-experience of the 2018 AFC Championship. Patriots Super Bowl 2019 betting has already begun, but with two weeks to go I can’t turn the page just quite yet.
As in all big games there are a handful of plays that went the Chiefs’ way, whether it was because they’re good, the Patriots made a mistake, or the refs threw a flag. But despite the circumstances, the Patriots never blinked and made the tough plays when it counted. It was once again masterful to behold.
Here’s a bunch of rapid fire thoughts as I re-watched the game.
[Read more…] about Film Review: Total Team Effort in Patriots AFC Championship WinI jumped back and watched last year’s Patriots defeat of the Chargers and was left thinking that if you’re betting on Super Bowl 53 and the playoffs this one might simply boil down to which stable of running backs has the better game.
While the 2018 Patriots offense is most effective with Sony Michel having early-down success, running him right into the teeth of the Chargers defense isn’t probably the smartest attack. Last year, Dion Lewis and Mike Gillislee combined for 78 yards on the ground. But it was Rex Burkhead and James White‘s combined 12 catches for 153 yards that gave the Chargers the most problems.
Here’s some more great info from Kevin Duffy of the Boston Herald:
The Chargers backfield trio of Melvin Gordon, Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson combined for 138 targets this season, or 27.2 percent of Rivers’ throws. Oddly enough, Brady looked for James White, Rex Burkhead and Sony Michel on 27.7 percent of his passes, too. That’s a higher target share than Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram received in New Orleans.
What makes the dynamic especially intriguing: As prolific as Gordon and Ekeler can be in the passing game, the Chargers defense is abysmal at containing pass-catchers out of the backfield. They allowed a league-worst 973 receiving yards to running backs. According to Pro Football Reference, it’s the second-highest total allowed by a defense in the past decade. Only the 2015 Rams surrendered more receiving yards to running backs.
For the Patriots’
As I updated everything on the big Pats stat page I keep, it occurred to me that most of the important numbers I track supported what I thought I saw with my eyes.
This wasn’t a dominant offensive team, but it is an underrated defensive one. Inconsistencies on special teams also fed into what set this edition of the BB/TB Pats apart.
Let’s dive into five key stats that defined the inconsistent-but-hopefully-peaking 2018 Patriots.
[Read more…] about 5 Patriots Standout Stats
With the Chargers upsetting the Chiefs last night, the Patriots are right back in the hunt for the top overall seed in the AFC. Despite a last-second, depressing loss, at this moment not much has changed in the regular season standings. We’re not dead (in KC) yet.
Regardless of the Chiefs, the Patriots let one slip away on the road last week. This trip to Pittsburgh marks the final chance to put forth on the road the same kind of great team performance that we’ve seen plenty of at Gillette Stadium.
The final two weeks of the season are as easy as they can get in the NFL, so this is really the climax of the regular season. Let’s. Go.
Here’s the gameplan for what the 2018 Patriots need to do to culminate their season appropriately.
[Read more…] about Patriots Gameplan: Week 15 at Steelers
The Patriots’ latest win over the Jets had its share of weird plays and penalties. As I pondered how much angst I had toward then performance, I wasn’t sure how to divvy up the blame. After watching the film, I think there’s quite a few to just chalk up to weird situations, bad bounces and calls.
What was apparent right out of the gate was the Jets were going to mix what has hurt the Patriots defense most over the past few seasons — bunch sets, crossers… anything to get the linebackers in coverage. It’s nothing new, but it was often effective.
The offense had some self-inflicted stumbles but showed some big play ability, which is a necessity in today’s NFL. With the offensive line opening up big running lanes for Sony Michel everything seemed to be clicking. There’s no secret, when their ground game is going the Patriots offense is very hard to stop.
Here’s some more quick-hit thoughts as I banged through the All 22 film.
With two weeks down in the preseason it’s time to take another stab at a 53-man roster projection. Changes from the last projection are noted below.
QB (2) T.Brady, B.Hoyer – No change.
RB (5) J.White, J.Hill, R.Burkhead, S.Michel, J.Develin – No change.
WR (5) C.Hogan, P.Dorsett, C.Patterson, K.Britt, M.Slater – No change. Still believing that Britt emerges and becomes a factor. Well, praying for it.
TE (3) R.Gronkowski, D.Allen, J.Hollister – No change. Solid group, excited to see Hollister get some real game action.
C (1) D.Andrews
G (3) S.Mason, J.Thuney, T.Karras
T (3) T.Brown, M.Cannon, L.Waddle – Wynn is out and I didn’t replace him with Croston as many are doing. He’s still PS eligible and I needed the spot.
Welcome to night one of the PatsPropaganda draft live blogs! I’ll be posting all throughout this evening for all of the drama from the first round. Get involved in the discussion or send me a question to our Twitter @PatsPropaganda! Hosted by Tom Shaw-Mellors (@ShawMellors)Please refresh the page for live updates below. LIVE UPDATES 🠗 […]
