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Patriots 2017 Preseason Opponents Announced

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In one of the more anticlimactic moments of the offseason, the NFL announced preseason opponents today, in the first small sign that the 2017 season is approaching faster than we realize. This summer the Patriots will face:


The Patriots will play the Giants like they usually do in the final week of the preseason, but the other opponents leave a little bit to be desired. There’s already reports of the Patriots and Texans planning some joint practice sessions. Perhaps, with some old Patriots execs running things with the Lions now, the Pats will do the same with Detroit.

Usually in the preseason I like to see a variety of good quarterbacks. Facing one who can run is always good for preparation too. Unfortunately the quarterbacks of this preseason won’t give the Pats’ defense the kind of experience they’ve gotten the past couple seasons when they saw QBs like Drew Brees and Cam Newton.

Still there’s plenty of talent on the defensive side of the ball for the Jags and Texans and Matthew Stafford in Detroit should present some challenges.

But ultimately who they play in the preseason doesn’t matter all that much. It’s just a nice reminder in early April that August will soon be here.

Boston Sports Doc: How does Hightower’s injury history affect his contract negotiations?

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Hightower’s injuries are most likely not going to get better. If anything, they could worsen. He has proven that he can play through the injuries, for now, but the Patriots did treat his playing time differently toward the end of the season this season than in years past. Does that signal worsening symptoms, the Patriots’ recent improvements in the realm of injury prevention/management, or a blossoming leadership role for the 26 yo ILB and increased attention to his health?

Source: How does Hightower’s injury history affect his contract negotiations? – BOSTON SPORTS DOC

I’m kicking off the offseason on Monday, but I couldn’t resist sharing this piece from Boston Sports Doc because Hightower is the biggest piece of the offseason puzzle.

This was a really balanced piece that went out of its way to praise Hightower’s toughness. We don’t need to rehash what Hightower has meant to last two Super Bowl teams, the huge clutch plays he made. There wouldn’t be two more Lombardi Trophies in the Patriots Hall if it wasn’t for Hightower. But his injury history is going to be a factor for the Patriots, and that’s even more true when you read how Dr. Flynn breaks down what’s been breaking down in Hightower’s body.

Solely as a football player I want Hightower to be on the Patriots until he retires. It’s not an accident that he’s wearing number 54 and has a respected spot in the locker room. The Patriots seemingly have been actively grooming Hightower to be the defensive captain, but there has seemed to be something missing at times.

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Super Bowl 51: Superstitions and Feels

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I woke up Sunday Morning, February 5 to a suggestion:

“Can we rearrange the living room today?”

I tried to remain calm. In nearly all facets of life, I’m not a superstitious guy, or believer in ghosts, or luck, or anything of the sort…except in football.

“You think I’m rearranging the furniture, where I watch the games, on Super Bowl Sunday? No.”

“Why?”

I blame my dad (he’s alive and healthy. I’m not Futurama Dog Episoding you, here). When I was a kid and he played bar league sports, he always needed to have the same number. The four years that I played youth football, we’d have the same breakfast every gameday until we lost (which was infrequent), and then start a new breakfast plan. It was little things like that all over the place that added up into some lunacy. After the final game of the 18-1 season, one of my dad’s laments was “We forgot to make the venison chili this time!”, which we had made for every previous Brady/Belichick Super Bowl, as if that lack of preparedness was a contributor to the final score. I still bought in, even in my 20s.

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Patriots will wear white jerseys in Super Bowl LI

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Wearing white jerseys could be a good sign for the Patriots and their fans based on past Super Bowls.

Blue: 2-2

XXXVI (20-17 win over Rams)

XXXVIII (32-39 win over Panthers)

XLII (17-14 loss to Giants)

XLVI (21-17 loss to Giants)

Red: 0-1

XX (46-10 loss to Bears)

White: 2-1

XXXI (35-21 loss to Packers)

XXXIX (24-21 win over Eagles)

XLIX (28-24 win over Seahawks)

Source: New England Patriots will wear white jerseys in Super Bowl LI – New England Patriots Blog- ESPN

Yesterday I held a poll to find out what Patriots Nation preferred for jerseys this time around and it wasn’t surprising the majority picked white, and that’s what they’ll get in Super Bowl LI.

The other good news is that the Patriots were undefeated in white this season, going a perfect 8-0 on the road in them, becoming just the seventh team all-time to do so. So really, what else would you want to wear given that this is another away game? Add in that they have their best win percentage in the Super Bowl in white and it only further confirms this was the way to go.

I think we’re all a little gun shy since wearing blue back-t0-back in Super Bowls 42 and 46, so it’s good news they’ll keep the white jersey train rolling to Houston.

Patriots Tuesday 10 Pack

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Plenty to kick around this week as the hardest part of the Patriots’ schedule is over and we have a near-complete picture of who the 2016 team is. Once again they’re playing their best football in December and must survive two games before turning all their attention to the playoffs.

Do the Patriots have a fatal flaw? Only if the early season defense returns and they stop getting takeaways, red zone and third down stops. Offensively, it’s no longer all Gronk and Edelman. You have to stop the run, and while they will stay dedicated to pounding it up the middle, their stable of backs are just as capable in the passing game.

And as I mentioned in the Posits, all their receivers can play each receiver position. Then there’s Bennett, who might not be as dominant as Gronk, but is close to being as dangerous, especially when teams get caught up figuring out where the receivers and backs are lining up.

The fact that their special teams are playing dominant football is only the icing on the unstoppability cake.

Put them all together and there’s no question it’s Super Bowl or bust once again.

Here’s a 10 pack of thoughts…

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Coffin Corner: (TB)12 Thoughts about the Patriots 2nd Half

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tom brady

1.This one is obvious, but how does the defense respond to the loss of Jamie Collins?

This is the biggest question for the rest of the season and hopefully playoffs. Can this defense, minus one of the most athletic players in Patriots history, pull together as 11 parts of a central nervous system?

If I had to pick a favorite between High and Collins, I know this seems silly now, but I’d have said Collins up to the day of the trade. Obviously, I was wrong, but it was like choosing between Cersei and Tyrion Lannister. Every human in the realm would choose Tyrion, he’s flashier and sexier, he’s droll and funny and the best part of Westros, but when the White Walkers come calling, you know Cersei is going to be stained with mud, covered in rags with blood in her mouth because she’s now surviving only on rat carcasses. She’s just a badass, who is constantly challenged, but she continues to roll up her sleeves and go back to work. High’s play in Super Bowl 49 before Malcolm Butler’s interception is perhaps the greatest play of the game, forever overshadowed by Malcolm Go (buy the mug), but one doesn’t happen without the other.

The Collins move was disciplined, smart and callous, everything that makes Belichick a great GM, getting something for a player he was increasingly viewing as a negative to team defense. But this is first time in a long time where I’m openly concerned Belichick, the biggest hater of distraction, has actually become the distraction, himself. I almost always love these types of moves by the Hoodie. Loved the Chung trade, the Moss trade, the Chandler trade, but this one, along with the distraction of the letter to Trump has me openly wondering if Belichick could lose the locker room. Not because it was to Trump just because this election was so divisive that there will surely be players in that locker room who disagree. They need to come together and maybe a road trip to the West Coast can help them get away from the cesspool of Boston sports media.

2. What does the performance of Jamie Collins and the Defense in general say about our resident Rocket Scientist?

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