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2013 Offensive Line Rankings | ProFootballFocus.com – Part 3

January 15, 2014 by Mike Dussault

2013 Offensive Line Rankings | ProFootballFocus.com – Part 3

Pats O-line in the middle of the pack here and with Connolly due for a big cap hit in the final year of his deal and Wendell being a free agent, the Pats will have some decisions to make.

I think they re-sign Wendell but aim to bring in competition and try to re-work Connolly and move him back to the interior swing guy. Both are good run blockers though, so no crying if the Pats run game struggles next year without them, okay?

16. New England Patriots (2nd) PB: 19th, RB: 21st, PEN: 1st

Stud: The heir to Matt Light might not have entered the top tier of tackles, but Nate Solder ( 25.6) is knocking on the door. Too many sacks allowed (10), but you have to be happy when you’re tackle pass blocks 647 times and gives up just 35 quarterback disruptions.

Dud: Last year Ryan Wendell (-14.0) got something of a pass from us because of his tremendous run blocking. Well, when he’s not producing that you can’t ignore his woeful pass protection. Centers should never allow more quarterback disruptions (37) than the team’s starting left tackle no matter how good the LT is.

Analysis: A dropoff for a normally solid unit. It really didn’t help that they lost the league’s (at that point) top-rated right tackle in Sebastian Vollmer, but with Logan Mankins far from elite and Dan Connolly struggling, the real problem comes in the interior where the team might look to bring in some competition in the offseason.

if theres anything ive learned from watching the pats my whole life, its that the second half is all that matters. no matter how many problems or how well the other team is doing the first half, coaching always figures out how to compensate, fix, and win. thats why we’re so good at comebacks. thats why we thrive in the play offs. im not worried at all

January 14, 2014 by Mike Dussault

There’s a lot of truth to this. How many times have we seen great or shitty first halves totally rendered meaningless by an opposite performance in the second half?

Pats are 4-4 away from Home. Is that something we should put some stake in?

January 14, 2014 by Mike Dussault

The Ravens win took a lot of the stink off of this team that was woefully inconsistent on the road this year. Think about the games at the Jets, at the Panthers, at Texans, and at the Bengals. They were inept in large portions of all four of those games.

Still, I think this Patriots team has evolved to a point where they’re turning in close to 60 minute games every weekend. Really the last five games they’ve been pretty consistent. They’ll sputter on a drive or two every game, but bounce back on both sides of the ball.

Still, playing in Denver in the AFC Championship will be a challenge for a variety of reasons, but I have confidence the Pats will bring one of their best games.

The Broncos signed Cole. Should we be worried he gives then intel on us and the D? He did actually play for us this year. (Unlike Branch)

January 14, 2014 by Mike Dussault

I’m going to agree with Belichick here and say that any advantage is overrated. Everything is on film if they’re looking to see how the Pats play and how they played the Broncos the first time. Was Cole sitting with Belichick in recent weeks discussing what kind of twists they might throw at Peyton a second time around? Uh, no.

Think about it from Cole’s perspective, he’s at the bottom end of the information train and likely only really has any perspective from the secondary and special teams perspective.

Could he tell the Broncos what the Pats think Manning struggles against? What kind of concepts they wanted to run against him the first time around? Sure, but again, they could likely determine that from watching film. And honestly, I could tell them that at this point. (No I won’t sign with you, Broncos)

Cole, nor any other player, is that privy to any information that could legitimately swing the course of the game. He might have some little nuggets here or there, but at the end of the day this game will be determined between the lines.

I don’t blame the Broncos for signing him though. They needed a cornerback and the fact that Cole was on the Patriots roster, might have some added incentive going against them, and could possibly have a little info makes him a good signing.

But is the inside info inside Marquice Cole’s head going to be some huge revelation? Nope.

January 14, 2014 by Mike Dussault

Brady and Belichick are 18-7 in the playoffs together entering Sunday’s game, which is their 11th trip to the postseason in the past 13 years. The other three head coaches who will be working in the final four this weekend – Denver’s John Fox, Seattle’s Pete Carroll and San Francisco’s Jim Harbaugh – are a combined 16-11 in the NFL postseason, with 14 playoff berths.

New England Patriots back in AFC title game thanks to Bill Belichick, Tom Brady – NFL – Don Banks – SI.com

https://www.patspropaganda.com/brady-and-belichick-are-18-7-in-the-playoffs/

January 14, 2014 by Mike Dussault