PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

Chris Long Announces He Won’t Return to Pats

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Chris Long posted this to Instagram today, letting Pats fans know he won’t be returning.

Thank you Pats Nation. As a player you’ve given so much support to, I owe you an explanation as to why I’ll be moving on in FA… even if it isn’t a big deal. This year and this opportunity gave me a ton. I made lifelong friends in a great locker room and became a champion. I’m so thankful that Coach B (the GOAT) took a chance on me and allowed me the opportunity to play a small part in this wonderful year. This has zero to do with money, etc. It’s the right move in my heart because I want to get back to being the player I was before. I’m thankful for my role this year, but as a competitor, I’m itching to do what I do best. It was important to say thank you personally. You may not remember me much, but I’ll always remember y’all!! #driveforfive #missionaccomplished

A post shared by Chris Long ?⚡️ (@laflamablanca95) on

Wish it could always be this easy, with players reaching out to the fans to tell them exactly what is going on. Usually free agency happens under a shroud of secrecy, but Long goes out just like he spent this year with the Pats, showing great appreciation for everything that happens in New England from the coach (GOAT) all the way down to the fans like us.

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Report: Pats Not “Expected” To Trade Garoppolo

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Patriots Cardinals Gameplan

Adam Schefter tweeted this morning that the Patriots are “not expected” to trade Jimmy Garoppolo. Does that mean they’re not taking offers? Of course not. Remember the next two months leading up to the draft, and especially during free agency, are all about misinformation.

Remember that when free agency opens next week and you hear that the Patriots are interested in just about every high profile player to hit the open market. That’s the agents doing their part to put a little Patriots shine on their player in hopes of driving up interest and ultimately the price tag.

Well, that works both ways. If the rest of the league believes the Patriots are in no rush to unload Garoppolo they might just try to make an offer the Pats can’t refuse. Let’s face it, there aren’t many quarterback options out there, certainly none of which have half the hype that Garoppolo has after showing incredible poise in the game and a half he played this season.

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Pats Posits: The Calm Before the Explosion

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Have you enjoyed your 23 days of Super Bowl championship bliss? Are you ready to put it down and feel terrible about the decisions the Patriots are going to make over the next month, wasting the rest of Tom Brady’s window, not addressing the pass rush or the deep threats or whatever else the pundits tell you is the Patriots biggest weakness? Well, here it comes.

I kid of course. If you’re reading this blog you probably know that by now. Unlike many Boston outlets, I don’t try to tell you how wrong the Patriots are about everything, I just sit back and enjoy the craziness. And make no mistake, there is craziness coming. It wouldn’t be a Patriots offseason without craziness, and this spring will be no different.

I’ve dipped a toe into free agency (here and here), and barely even cracked the books on the draft yet. The real reason? Well, it’s a major one, possibly the biggest development in the history of the blog.

So strap up for more on that and everything else as the start of the 2017 league year is rapidly approaching.

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2016: PatsPropaganda Year in Review

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Slightly non-football, self-indulgent post today as I take my yearly look back at the blog and all the fun that was had.

It’s hard to believe that this coming December will make it a full decade since I started writing internet blogs about the Patriots, and this April will make it seven years since I started focusing my efforts on PatsPropaganda. I’m still not entirely sure where this is all going, but what I do know is I enjoy it way too much to stop and each year it grows a little bit more.

The first major order of business in 2016 was to migrate the entire site from Tumblr over to a hosted WordPress site. That process was a crash course in all kinds of computer stuff I never thought I’d get into, but it all went smoothly and I learned a ton. In hindsight, I wish I had done it far sooner. The disadvantage was that I could no longer just make a simple video or GIF post and count that as content, but it pushed me to create better and more consistent posts and I think that improved the “brand” while I still could use Tumblr as a media outlet.

I’ve already made some 2017 tweaks to the design and will continue to streamline things while staying true to making PatsPropaganda the very definition of an independent sports blog.

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Patriots 2017 Draft Picks Set

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The NFL released the full order of the 2017 draft today and the Patriots are sitting pretty with four selections in the first three rounds.

Here’s the full list of Patriots picks:

  • 1st Round, Pick 32, 32nd overall
  • 2nd Round, Pick 32, 64th overall
  • 3rd Round, Pick 32, 96th overall
  • 3rd Round, Pick 39, 103rd overall (via Cleveland for Jamie Collins)
  • 4th Round, Pick 31, 137th overall
  • 5th Round, Pick 19, 163rd overall (via Denver for AJ Derby)
  • 5th Round, Pick 40, 183rd overall (compensatory, lost Hicks/Wilson, added McClellin)
  • 7th Round, Pick 21, 239th overall

The Patriots forfeited a 4th rounder, pick 25 as the final pound of flesh for Deflategate. Yes, it’s not quite over just yet.

Analysis

The top four picks coming in the first three rounds are certainly useful. With so many free agents there’s no question the Patriots are going to have to add some young talent in a number of spots, including, but not confined to, linebacker, defensive end, tight end, and running back.

It might sound crazy but I believe they’ll have at least a couple trade downs to round out their selections at the bottom of the draft. Usually they love taking swings on seventh rounders and having just one pick in the last two rounds isn’t going to fly.

Still, this is a good balance set of picks, far better than last year when they had to cash in a second rounder just to buy their preferred flexibility.

A Brief History of Patriots Free Agents Who Left

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It’s going to be a fascinating March for the Patriots. With a number of significant free agents, the 2017 Patriots will likely look significantly different from the Super Bowl 51-winning version, especially on defense.

Each free agency period with the Patriots is a roller coaster. Guys we love often walk a year too soon, but the Patriots know how to make moves that also keep the fan base satisfied while also keeping the team from getting stale.

Over the years there haven’t been a ton of mistakes made by Bill Belichick when it comes to letting players walk. Plenty lamented the departures of Wes Welker, Vince Wilfork and Darrelle Revis in recent years, but all turned out to be the correct moves, even if those players might’ve been useful the year after they left.

Let’s take a look at some of the players that Belichick got rid of or didn’t re-sign and what kind of success they went on to outside of New England.

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10 Free Agents in Patriots Wheelhouse

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The Patriots are never interested in winning the offseason. During free agency they’re interested in rounding out their team so that they have no glaring needs heading into the draft. Not to say there won’t be needs still, but by mid-April the Patriots should have a 53-man roster that they could roll out there and make the playoffs. Hey, times are good.

Searching for external free agents when there are so many internal free agents to deal with can be futile. Still, there’s only a set number of players who really fit what the Patriots do, so identifying those players is a little easier.

I already took a look at five splashy signings the Pats could make. But let’s face it, splashy free agent signings are rarely their thing, unless you count signing your own players. I’m sure re-signing Dont’a Hightower, Malcolm Butler and a couple of the other significant free agent Patriots would be plenty splashy for all of us.

There are two types of external the Patriots primarily target. First, the talented but misused. You hope that some Brady and Belichick magic rubs off and all of sudden you’ve got a Rob Ninkovich, Mike Vrabel or Wes Welker or any of the other hundred or so of these guys who have helped build the dynasty, going from castoff to star.

Second, the talented vet looking for one last shot at a ring. Think Chris Long, Andre Carter, Brian Waters, even Junior Seau. Those are the guys who fly under the radar, because you just can’t know who’s willing to, as Long put it, “play for five dollars” to be in New England.

Here’s a list of 10 more free agents who jumped out at me.

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