Even the players can hardly believe football is so close! #Patriots
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The Influencer « Chris Brown/Grantland
The Influencer « Chris Brown/Grantland
The NFL previews are starting to roll in and this is from the great writer Chris Brown (formerly of SmartFootball.com, which I highly suggest you check out). I’m sure Belichick was very interested to get a closer look at how the Eagles ran things this week and it will be fascinating to see how the Patriots defense adjust to what the Eagles do tomorrow night.
New England Patriots Training Camp Report: Darrelle Revis, Gronkowski | The MMQB with Peter King
New England Patriots Training Camp Report: Darrelle Revis, Gronkowski | The MMQB with Peter King
Always great when we get Greg Bedard back with some Patriots perspectives. One point he makes that I think I’ve mentioned is that Browner is far from a lock to be the every down RCB when he returns in Week 5. With the new rules that cornerbacks can barely even breathe on receivers, I agree that Browner is likely a matchup piece far more than an entrenched starter.
Patriots 53-Man Roster Projection (Preseason Week 2 Edition)
Here’s my latest stab at the 53-man roster. Lots of questions remain and this is far from a finished product. My biggest areas of question are at linebacker, where it’s hard to say how the special teams and back-up spots will play out and tight end, where depth is a joke there right now.
QB (3) Brady, Mallett, Garoppolo – High confidence rate here that all three will stick.
RB (4) Ridley, Vereen, White, Develin – Dropped Bolden this time around, think White is good enough to backup both base and 3rd down duties, while Develin will be an FB/H-back/TE.
WR (6) Edelman, Dobson, Amendola, LaFell, Thompkins, Slater – Haven’t seen enough out of Boyce while the starting spot seems wide open between Dobson/LaFell/Thompkins.
TE (2) Gronkowski, Hoomanawanui – Things are light here with injuries, will have to take a closer look at Maneri. Could be an addition here after the final cutdown.
C (2) Connolly, Stork – Connolly seems to have been the main guy at center, while Stork is on the road to recovery. Wendell’s lack of versatility spells his end.
G (3) Mankins, Halapio, Kline – Kline has been a standout in practices, can he lock down a starting role?
T (4) Solder, Vollmer, Cannon, Fleming – Cannon can play any spot but center, that’s a huge help. They won’t carry more than 9 OL.
DE (4) Jones, Ninkovich, Smith, Buchanan – Moore goes to the practice squad while Bequette’s time is up. Not much depth here.
DT (6) Wilfork, Kelly, Easley, Siliga, Jones, Worthy – Big injury questions here, but once everyone is healthy and in game shape look out.
ILB(2) Mayo, Beauharnais – Would like to see more out of Beauharnais than we did in the first preseason game. He could very well be one injury away from playing time on defense.
OLB(4) Hightower, Collins, Anderson, White – Good group that should make a lot of plays.
CB (5) Revis, Dennard, Ryan, Arrington, Butler – Browner doesn’t count against the initial 53 so he’s off. Butler has been the surprise standout of camp.
SS (3) Chung, Wilson, Ebner – Forget traditional safety spots, Chung should see a lot of time in the box. I think he could revitalize his career this season.
FS (2) McCourty, Harmon – Two solid back end guys who can come up to the line of scrimmage as well.
ST (3) Gostkowski, Allen, Aiken – Same as it ever was.
Total players: 53
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Gronk Flex!
I’m back from vacation and slowly getting back into the blogging saddle. Hard to believe the season is fast approaching….
(via Patriots joint practice with the Eagles – August 14, 2014)
https://www.patspropaganda.com/gronk-flex-im-back-from-vacation-and-slowly/
The rise of nickel defenses in the NFL: Bradley Roby, Jimmy Ward mark new wave of slot cornerbacks – NFL – SI.com
Not really a Pats read but one of those schematic writeups that I just can’t keep my posting finger off of. Look, I’ve been saying nickel is the new base for almost two years. For the Pats, it has been.
Once again there’s all this talk that the Pats are “going back to the 3-4”. It really doesn’t matter. Why? Because first of all, the 3-4 is Belichick’s teaching defense. The exception was 2011 when, due to the lock out, he just taught the nickel front to expedite matters.
How much will the Pats actually be in a 3-4 defense this season? Not much. Maybe just on early downs against teams that rely heavily on the run. So really, there’s not a whole lot of substance to the “what will the Pats run-stopping front be?”
It’s like all of a sudden Ninkovich goes from having his hand in the dirt to standing up and a great deal of fans think it’s something monumental. And by the way, the 3-4 the Pats teach early on is not the 3-4 they’d play in a game. That’s more of the 2-5, but that’s a post for another time. Just compare the size of Richard Seymour to the current defensive ends when they’re in the 3-4 and you’ll have a lot of your answer.
The better, and more interesting question is what their subpackages look like, these are the packages they’ll be in 60-70 percent of the snaps. How does Logan Ryan and the safeties fit in? Who will be the pure pass rush package?
That’s why this article is really good.
Pats fans can’t wait to take a (hopefully) 5 month vacation here this fall! @deroydesigns @patriots
https://www.patspropaganda.com/lolpats-pats-fans-cant-wait-to-take-a/