An Independent Patriots Blog
In case you missed it live earlier today, here’s episode three of Patshow! Plenty of Julian Edelman discussion, a visit from our first guest (a puppet Fitzy) and a 53-man roster projection.
Next show will be Wednesday but in the meantime if you’ll be tailgating for Patriot-Giants this Thursday be on the lookout for yours truly shooting some fan interviews for next week’s show. Thanks to all for tuning in and be sure to follow/fave/share all things @Patshow6!
When the Patriots acquired Kony Ealy this offseason by moving down eight spots in the draft, it was a low risk move that made a lot of sense.
With the departures of Chris Long and Jabaal Sheard, New England had a need at defensive end, no matter how nebulous that position name is within their defense. The retirement of Rob Ninkovich only furthered that need, which made Ealy’s slow start to camp, when he was missing in action the first day, even more troubling.
Ealy was remarkably unspectacular in the training camp practices I witnessed. In early preseason game action he looked just as bad. Yes, he started to make some plays here and there but it just wasn’t enough and Ealy was released after the Patriots third preseason game.
He was slow off the ball, unable to defeat blocks and was just generally ineffective and not impactful.
What happened? How can an experienced pro who was a standout in Super Bowl 50 get completely untracked in New England? When Bill Belichick says it just didn’t work out, no hard feelings, what’s at the root of why it didn’t work out?
Most of it fits into New England’s defensive scheme, which is unique. It’s not the first time a promising veteran defender hasn’t been able to do what the scheme requires, with Terrence Knighton being the latest example last season.
Let’s look a little deeper at what the Patriots ask their defensive ends/outside linebackers/edge players to do, and why it can be difficult for some players to grasp.
Another stab at a 53-man roster here and I feel like there’s almost too kept Patriots in this one. I could easily see a couple of these guys ending up cut to make room for the random external free agent (or trade) that none of us can see coming right now.
QB (3) T.Brady, J.Garoppolo, J.Brissett — I toyed with cutting Brissett but I refused to do a below-53 projection. Just haven’t seen the progress out of him this season that makes me think he’s anything special. Still would like to continue developing him, but with no Brady suspension this year, going with two would be fine.
RB (6) J.White, D.Lewis, R.Burkhead, M.Gillislee, J.Develin, B.Bolden — I really consider Bolden a special teamer. He’s another one who I could easily see cut and replaced by Burkhead. You can just never rule out the special teams love from BB.
WR (5) B.Cooks, C.Hogan, D.Amendola, M.Mitchell, M.Slater — Slater’s a special teamer too obviously. The other four are all capable but it’s strange to see three outside guys and just one inside guy (Amendola). Will be interesting to see how they adjust schematically.
TE (2) R.Gronkowski, D.Allen — Just don’t see anything special from O’Shaughnessy or Hollister or Lengel. All could be cut and brought back if necessary I believe.
C (1) D.Andrews
G (3) S.Mason, J.Thuney, T.Karras
T (5) N.Solder, M.Cannon, C.Fleming, L.Waddle, T.Garcia – Toyed with putting Garcia on IR to open another spot. He’s been out most of camp and even when he was in he didn’t look ready for the NFL yet. Might be best to let him work behind the scenes to get bigger and healthy. Can’t see him cut of course. Kept Fleming and Waddle both because I had the space, but again, one of them is likely gone.
With the retirement of Rob Ninkovich and the injury to Julian Edelman, the 2017 Patriots must replace two players who came through in some of the biggest moments over the last few season. Whether it was Ninkovich’s timely takeaways or Edelman’s clutch catches, the team would not have two more Super Bowls if not for those two players.
Even Chris Long and Jabaal Sheard had their moments, as did Martellus Bennett. Taken altogether and it’s clear the 2017 will have a different flavor to them, and nowhere will it be more apparent than in the biggest moments. Because as we learned the difference between 42/46 and 49/51 were whether or not our players made the plays with the season on the line.
Will a new crop of players be able to step up and into then spotlight? Let’s take a look at some Patriots who need to find their “clutch”.
Injuries. For the 2017 Patriots, they’re all that stand between them and another Super Bowl run, and in Friday’s preseason win over the Detroit Lions, their championship hopes might’ve taken a significant a hit.
Julian Edelman went down in a play eerily reminiscent of Wes Welker‘s non-contact fall in Houston 2009. Now, we wait for official word with an estimate of how long he’ll be out.
There’s plenty to unravel if Edelman’s lost for long. But at least on the surface, with Chris Hogan and Brandin Cooks leading the way, the passing attack is somewhat prepared to absorb this.
Otherwise it was the tale of two halves. Both the Patriots starting offense and defense played a complementary and often dominant first half. Then the back ups and roster hanger-ons stunk the place out in the second half.
It’s hard to talk about the good and the bad without a depressing undertone from seeing the engine of the offense go down in a non-contact heap. But let’s do our best to figure out what it all means in the Posits.
Brady to @ChrisHogan_15, Part II. pic.twitter.com/eBXRiwvwpI
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) August 25, 2017
The Patriots take on the Lions tonight in their third preseason game of the summer. While there are plenty of players to keep an eye on, it’s important not to get too worked up about what happens tonight (outside of major injuries). Because let’s face it, you’re more likely to hear a Patriots fan praise the work of Roger Goodell than you are to see the Patriots miss the playoffs this season.
Still, the stage is set for plenty of individual players to show what they’ve got and there are still expectations of what we’d like to see from the team before things get real.
Here are five things to watch tonight as the Pats can hopefully get through one final preseason game without a significant injury before turning the page to what is surely shaping up to be a scrubfest next week against the Giants.
We’re just two weeks away from the kickoff of the 2017 regular season, but those two weeks are going to be jam packed with two more preseason games and plenty of roster moves, at least a couple of which should make our collective heads spin.
The immediate focus though is on week three of the preseason, the most hyped game of the summer where we can expect to see the starters play into the second half. Disclaimer — don’t get carried away with the results. The Patriots have had good week threes and bad week threes and neither result ever really told us anything about how the team would be in the regular season.
However, for individual players, there’s a lot on the line in Detroit.
Let’s take a look at five Patriots who are very much on the bubble and could solidify their position on the roster (or depth chart) based on their showing in this game.
Patriots release another highly drafted Wide Receiver Remember this preseason when Taylor Price had 5 receptions for 105 yards and a TD and we all thought he’d finally be the first Belichick drafted wide out to actually stick? Well not so much. The Pats released Taylor Price today, and given their struggles to stretch the […]
