SI.com: Are you aware that someone this week made a video of you singing Call Me Maybe?
Brady: Someone sent it to me this morning.
SI.com: What did you think?
Brady: I’ve had a lot of ridiculous haircuts. That’s what I realized.
The biggest question in Foxboro will always be what if Tom Brady goes down with an injury? It happened once before and Matt Cassel answered the bell. Teams around the league tell me Brian Hoyer and backup Ryan Mallet could keep this team running for a month. As for the other nine criteria, the Patriots did a masterful job in the offseason. Backups on this team include: WRs Deon Branch, Donte Stallworth, Jabar Gaffney, OLs Robert Gallery, Marcus Cannon, RB Joseph Addai, TE Daniel Fells, DLs Jonathan Fanane, Ron Brace, Gerard Warren, LBs Chandler Jones, Donta Hightower, DBs Raz I Dowling and Will Allen, and core special teamers Julian Edelman, Tony Fiametta, Spencer Larson, and Danny Woodhead who can all play a position well.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/the-biggest-question-in-foxboro-will-always-be/
Building a better sub defense
Yet another example from Reiss of why nickel is the new base. As you can see from the percentages below the Pats had extra DBs on the field for more than 50% of the snaps against all AFC East rivals, including almost 92% of the time against the Bills.
- Bills – 126 of 137 (91.9 percent)
- Dolphins – 95 of 144 (65.9 percent)
- Jets – 71 of 126 (56.3 percent)
The biggest difference from building a 3-4 base defense and building a nickel is in the front seven, obviously. You can see from the Pats draft approach this year especially that they are getting away from filling the nose tackle/ five technique traditional defensive line positions. Now it’s about getting versatile defensive ends who can stand up against the run, but get after the passer on every down.
The true strength of the Pats defense is of course Vince Wilfork and his ability to dominate inside. I believe the Pats defensive fortunes this year heavily depend on their ability to not only hold up inside against the run but moreso get after the passer, especially on obvious passing down situations.
The Pats struggled at times the last couple years stopping runs against their sub defense, but really the bigger problem was generating that push up the middle. There are quite a few players on the roster now who could fill that role like Jonathan Fanene and Myron Pryor (if healthy), both of whom would be the top choices. But keep an eye out for rookie Justin Francis, who by all beat reporter accounts has looked good in multiple spots.
The Pats cannot afford to have another year of no push up the middle.
When you walk onto this field and it’s lined, and you see the end zones and the numbers, you feel it,” Bruschi said. “You still feel it, like the way you felt walking onto it for game day, just for those first couple steps. Whenever you walked onto it, you always had a mind shift. Mine shifts, but then I shift it back off really quickly because it’s just not that time for me anymore.
Miss you, Tedy…
https://www.patspropaganda.com/when-you-walk-onto-this-field-and-its-lined-and/
After unleashing a prolific two-tight passing game, what do the Patriots do after losing offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien? Go back to the coordinator who helped orchestrate their record passing game in 2007. Along with Josh McDaniels come two of his favorite receivers, Lloyd and Gaffney. On defense, starting with rookies Jones and Hightower, Bill Belichick now has plenty of versatile cogs at his disposal.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/after-unleashing-a-prolific-two-tight-passing/
Does Patrick Chung deserve a long term deal?
I was one of the first people to be on the Patchung bandwagon but I’m having mixed feelings about him these days and all the talk of him potentially deserving of a long term lucrative deal has left me scratching my head. There’s no question he has the leadership and work ethic that is vital to the Patriots but his injury history and average-at-best play makes me think this has to be a huge year for Chung.
What I see is a player who is a jack of all trades but a master of none. He’s had to fill in at times in the slot and that’s definitely not his strength, but even when he’s playing safety his performance has been nothing outstanding. I love his demeanor and aggressiveness but his numbers from Pro Football Focus show his performance is lacking in all areas, especially pass coverage.
In 2010, his first year as a starter, he missed two regular season games, and had positive ratings in just three games and negative ratings in four. The rest hovered around the average mark. His pass coverage for the year ended up at -4.3, while his run defense was a solid 5.2.
In 2011, he played in just eight regular season games but all three playoff games. He had two games that rated out positively, and three that rated out negatively including a dreadful -3.7 in the AFCCG. For the season he finished with a -3.6 in pass coverage and a -1.7 in run defense.
Now I don’t want to put too much weight in PFF’s metrics but still these numbers don’t jump off the page as a player who is vital to the future of the franchise. Again, I love what Chung brings to the locker room so that has to count for something, but I still think he has a ton to prove on the field this year and it just begins with staying healthy.
Even if he turns in 16 games he needs to first be put in a position to be successful. His stats point to that being in the box more than he’s in coverage, but with Chung’s size it’s hard to think he’ll ever be a dominant force close to the line of scrimmage. That has also played a role in the injuries he’s suffered the past two seasons.
Despite his numbers Chung is the kind of player you want to go to war with. He has all the intangibles you look for, but ultimately the proof is in the playing. I wouldn’t go so far as to say this is a make or break year for him, but I think that if he wants a rich long term deal he’s going to have to elevate his play this season to a level that we have not seen yet out of him.
NFL’s best tight end: Rob Gronkowski or Jimmy Graham? – NFL.com
NFL’s best tight end: Rob Gronkowski or Jimmy Graham? – NFL.com
It’s a good thing “Off-Field Domination” wasn’t a category or Gronk would’ve won walking away. I know everyone will be up in arms that Graham will be ranked above Gronk in the NFL Top 100 but I really don’t care much about arbitrary lists like that. There is not a football guy out there who wouldn’t take Gronk over Graham. Period.
