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Patriots Gameplan: Week 10 at Denver Broncos

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After nearly two weeks off the Patriots are finally back in action this Sunday night on national television against the Denver Broncos. The weather has turned cold, the clocks have turned back and all of a sudden it feels like the 2017 NFL season has gotten real.

The Patriots have had one of those years where injuries strike early and often, but Thursday’s addition of Martellus Bennett was just the kind of spark they needed coming off the bye. It was a bit surprising to see the Pats inactive at the trade the deadline, so the Bennett move seems like the perfect one, both on the field and off it. Now the Pats play back-to-back AFC West games, and will remain in Colorado before traveling to Mexico City to face the Raiders.

These will be two really good challenges that tell us a lot about the 2017 Patriots. They’ve had the bye week to focus in on maximizing their strengths and hiding their weaknesses, and it was also a chance to get healthy. Stephon Gilmore should be back, while Eric Rowe is making progress. Unfortunately the bye week was not enough time for Malcom Brown, Chris Hogan and Marcus Cannon, as all missed practice this week and are unlikely to play. Those are three significant absences against the Broncos, and given the travel schedule, very likely the Raiders as well.

Playing in Denver has always seemed to give the Pats trouble. Even when they win, it’s never pretty. Still, winning there last season was the kind of win that got the monkey of 2015 off their back and sparked the team on to a Super Bowl win. Even though the Broncos aren’t atop the AFC, they’re still going to give the Pats hell, and pulling out a win there is always something to build off of.

Here’s the gameplan to get win number seven and start the second half of the season out right.

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Patriots Bring Back Martellus Bennett

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnl6t27YJHg

I didn’t want to get my hopes up about the Patriots re-acquiring Marty Bennett after he was released by Green Bay. It seemed like another team higher in the waiver priority would make a claim on him, if not just to make sure he didn’t go to the Patriots.

But alas, Adam Schefter reported that the Patriots did in fact claim Bennett, bringing him back to where he won a Super Bowl last season.

It’s a much needed jolt of reinforcement that the Patriots really needed. Were they still doing okay without Julian Edelman? Sure, but recent injuries to Chris Hogan and an unknown timetable if Malcolm Mitchell could return have left them extra thin. The additional struggles to finish off drive with touchdowns only made bringing back Bennett that much more of a slam dunk.

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Pats’ Personnel Dance Continues

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The Patriots’ roster is never really set. We spend all offseason planning which free agents and draftees would make an impact, then football starts, guys start getting hurt and underperforming and all those best laid plans are out the window. This leaves the Patriots to scramble,

It seems like almost every year the Patriots are picking up some castoff in the middle of the season who ends up becoming a contributor despite missing all of training camp and being a part of no one’s big plans for the season.

The roster juggling has continued this week for the Pats, with Shea McClelin suffering a setback, Ricky Jean Francois joining the team and Martellus Bennett suddenly becoming available after he was cut last night by the Packers.

Let’s take a quick look at those three and how they could impact the rest of the Patriots season.

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5 Most Interesting Pending Patriots Free Agents

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I like to blog like Bill Belichick would, by focusing only on the immediate obstacle in front of the Patriots, but since we’re coming off a bye week I’m going to break with Bill a bit here and take a look at some pending free agents.

The offseason is always a fascinating slow burn, and like most years, the Patriots have a number of key players who are scheduled to hit free agency. Their departures could open significant holes on the roster. Or re-signing them could signal the direction the team plans to take in 2018 and beyond.

It’s also worth pointing out these players now because a strong second half of the season would significantly upgrade the contracts they can receive this spring.

Here are the five more interesting players/positions to me…

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Scouting Report: Denver Broncos

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The second half of the Patriots’ 2017 starts at the closest thing Tom Brady has to a house of horrors — Mile High Stadium (or whatever it’s called now). Brady has had three playoff runs end in Denver (2005, 2013, 2015), which ties the number of playoff losses he’s had at home (2009, 2010, 2012).

The three recent losses, two in the playoffs and the overtime bummer against the quarterback they’ll face Sunday, make it seem like the Broncos rivalry is a big deal. But after their Super Bowl win, the Broncos have been on a slow-to-medium descent, which has them at 3-5, losers of four straight. Their once-feared defense just gave up 51 points to the Eagles, and despite a poor performance, they’ll start Brock Osweiler for a second week in a row.

Still, it’s hard to take much solace in how the Broncos have stumbled recently. Their three wins were all over three pretty good teams — Chargers, Cowboys and Raiders, and if there’s one team Denver will be up for, it’s New England.

Here’s a look at the Broncos and why I think this one will be closer than many of us expect or hope.

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Patriots Mid-Season Awards

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The Patriots play five of their next six games on the road before finishing the season with back-to-back home games. It will be a difficult stretch that defines the 2017 Patriots and either reinforces or changes everything we think we’ve come to know about this team.

There’s no question, the 2017 Pats were hit hard by injuries and departures and got off to one of their slowest starts in years. Of course, we’re all well aware by now that it’s not the start that matters but the finish.

But by now the half season has played out in a way slightly different than we’ve come to expect. All teams are unique, but the 2017 Pats version is in many ways a new variation. The deep passing game is suddenly a viable weapon. There are four running backs who can do it all. And then there’s the defense, with many new faces up front leading the way, while the expensive veteran secondary looked lost and uncoordinated through much of the first eight games.

Let’s break the first half of the season down in everyone’s favorite way — handing out awards!

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Pats Posits: Let the Real Football Begin

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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.

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