PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

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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Pats Posits: The Cold, Dead Offseason

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We’re now two weeks removed from the Patriots’ Super Bowl 51 victory and the reality of the offseason is starting to sink in. The other thing that is sinking in? How much that Super Bowl 51 victory meant and its place in Patriots history.

From here on out with Belichick and Brady, it’s all icing on the cake. You know that they’ll take at least a couple more major swings at number six, and maybe the team will stay healthy enough to get it. But they got number five, in uber dramatic fashion, and there’s simply no denying the greatness of this run, no matter how hard anyone wants to bang the ‘Gates drum.

As we slip into offseason mode there’s a certain calm that comes after winning a legacy-cementing Super Bowl. Yeah there are a bunch of free agents and a bunch of cap space, but at this point, it’s like whatever, BB’s got this.

All we know for sure is that it will be interesting, maybe more so than usual.

More on the coming offseason and the rest of the Super Bowl fallout in the Posits.

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10 New Belichick Hoodie Facts

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By now you’re probably getting sick of the Bill Belichick Hoodie Database. I know I am, but with the help of a great Patriots fan twitter user @fearthe_beard11 I’ve been able to fill in all but ONE hole in the database going all the way back to 2003. (If anyone has the 2003 at Eagles game handy let me know!!)

Just when I think I can take a Hoodie vacation, they suck me back in!

Thanks to his great work, rounding up more than 10 missing games, it means we finally have the complete record of Bill Belichick and his hoodies, especially the one he’s most known for, shown above, the 2003 Gray Reebok Hoodie.

I even went back and re-tallied all the records to make sure it’s all accurate. In all, Belichick wore a variation of the 2003 Reebok Sweatshirt, both hoodie and mock versions, gray and blue, 97 times, going 74-22 (.762 win percentage).

All this new information uncovered even more interesting tidbits about Bill Belichick and the hobo-esque attire he made famous.

Here are 10 new Hoodie Facts I’ve uncovered.

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5 Potential Free Agent Splashes for Patriots

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Free agency can be overwhelming when you’re just a simple one-team blogger like me. There are just so many names, so many salaries, so many performances to take account of, that it’s hard to find great external fits.

And let’s face it, the Patriots don’t rely on early free agency for the core of their team.

Instead, they fill out the periphery, usually with depth players on short term deals like they did with Chris Hogan, Chris Long and Shea McClellin last season, or Jabaal Sheard in 2015. But really, they’re just as likely to find contributors during training camp or in season like Rob Ninkovich, Kyle Van Noy, Akeem Ayers, etc. as they are at this time of year.

Still, the Pats have a ton of cap space this season, and while the priorities remain signing their own players like Dont’a Hightower, Malcolm Butler and others first, the opportunity is definitely there in 2017 to make a splash in free agency and really improve the team.

Here are five players that I think are good fits and could be viable candidates to fill some of the holes the Patriots have.

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