PatsPropaganda

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Shuffling secondary: Patriots seek continuity along back end

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Shuffling secondary: Patriots seek continuity along back end

Good stuff here from Chris Price breaking down the Patriots secondary. Perhaps the biggest question from a personnel standpoint is how the secondary will look this weekend prior to adding Aqib Talib to the mix next week.

It looks like Arrington, Chung and Gregory could all be back on the field, and with Marquice Cole and Alfonzo Dennard having looked solid in replacement it’s hard to say who will go where. Add in Devin McCourty’s solid job at safety and it brings up even more questions.

The non-surprise version would be: Chung and Gregory at safety, Arrington and McCourty at corner, with Dennard taking over the outside and Arrington moving to star in the nickel.

But the bold version that we would advocate would be Dennard over Arrington in the base, while keeping Arrington solely as star.

Once Talib enters the mix you have even more options. Defending the middle of the field has been a problem, so let go with a dime look of:

Talib-Chung-Arrington-Dennard

McCourty-Gregory

Chung’s presence as the dimeback in the slot might be a prime place for him. Or perhaps Tavon Wilson would be a better fit.

No matter what the Pats will have options. It will be fascinating to see what BB thinks is the best fit.

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Myron Pryor, Jake Ballard not practicing – time to look to 2013. Belichick confirmed that the clock has not started on either player on their physically unable to perform list – defensive tackle Myron Pryor and tight end Jake Ballard. According to the NFL, “if a player did not start to practice by the Tuesday following Week 9 (yesterday), he remains on reserve/PUP and is ineligible to return this season. If they are in the last year of [a] contract, it tolls.” Both Pryor and Ballard are in the final year of their contracts and thus can be projected into the 2013 mix. With Pryor, this is somewhat of a surprise

New England Patriots Blog – ESPN Boston

Welp there goes the “Myron Pryor could really help this defense” story line for this year. The Pats will have to get creative to generate some interior rush. Cunningham must continue to develop, and perhaps Justin Francis can continue to make strides after seeing a season-high 19 snaps against the Rams in an all-DE sub-package.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/patriots-myron-pryor/

Bill Belichick second in NFL players who do want to play for him, second in NFL players who don’t want to play for him

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The Sporting News player polls continued today and wouldn’t you know Belichick places second in both players who do and don’t want to play for him. Here are a couple quotes from those who don’t:

“Bill Belichick. I don’t think I’d like him. He’s so old school. I’ve never been with him, so I don’t know. I don’t have a problem with coaching, but I don’t know if he’d be a coach that I’d be excited to play for.” — NFC defensive player

“Belichick just doesn’t see like a guy I’d want to play for. He’s been successful, which is good, obviously, but from what I’ve heard from guys who have played for him, I don’t think I’d enjoy playing for him.” — NFC offensive player

I can understand why some guys wouldn’t want to play for such a demanding coach. The kind who would give you a pop quiz on the tendencies of a random player they’ll be facing in the upcoming weekend.

Hey, it’s not for everyone and that why, as my college hockey coach used to say, “they have to find guys who can put up with his shit”.

But clearly those guys who love football and want to win, and aren’t afraid of a demanding program that requires full commitment would like to play for BB.

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Thus far in 2012, Spikes has 50 tackles and has forced three fumbles. He has effectively established himself as a tone-setter for the Patriots’ defense, and teams with Jerod Mayo and Dont’a Hightower to form one of the more stout starting linebacker trios in the league. In his past two games alone, Spikes has accounted for 19 tackles and a sack.

Spikes makes ‘most underrated’ list – New England Patriots Blog – ESPN Boston

https://www.patspropaganda.com/patriots-brandon-spikes-4/