PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

Pats Posits: SB51 Here We Come

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Bill Belichick Super Bowl 36

Here it is folks, the week we all live for, it’s Super Bowl week.

I spent the weekend getting sucked into more Patriots historical pieces than I expected. First came the fourth quarter of Super Bowl 49. For the first time I was able to watch the Kearse Katch happen again. That moment always brought quick-onset Pats pit in the stomach, until now. Now I’m pretty confident Butler will in fact intercept the ball every time afterwards.

Malcolm Butler flashed not just on the interception, but on multiple plays before that. It was a nice reminder of how well he played that entire season, with plenty of glimpses toward what he would become.

Then came Do Your Job, and I still fast forwarded through the Deflategate bullshit.

Bill Belichick’s A Football Life came next, part one followed immediately by part two. I was amazed how much I’d forgotten, and truly what a disaster the 2009 season was. Every Kraft and Belichick interaction was awkward as ever, while the CaserioBot was still on version 3.1.

I even watched about 38 seconds combined of the Super Bowl 42 and 46 recap shows. Progress.

Combined, it put the Belichick/Brady run in new perspective now as they head toward their seventh together. It was a good week of prep on the Falcons, it will be a big circus this week.

Let’s enjoy every moment of it!
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Coffin Corner: (TB)12 Terrible Super Bowl Media Narratives

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Before we get to the awful early Super Bowl coverage, I have one game-related thing to discuss. Ugh, I know, it’s not about Deflategate. I’m sorry.

If you’ve listened to anyone in the NFL media discuss the actual game, which is really a needle in a haystack at this point. Each of them cites Julio Jones as Atlanta’s chess piece that Belichick and the Patriots defense must take away. But let me throw a stat at you that doesn’t fit that narrative: The Atlanta Falcons are 4-4 when Julio Jones has 100 to (gulp) 300 yards. Their only loss when Julio failed to reach the 100 yard plateau was the first game of the season. To put it another way, the Falcons have won 10 straight games when Julio stays under 100 yards. I’m surprised someone at Elias hasn’t alerted the ESPN talking mouths.

Far more important than Julio for the Falcons has been balance. If they get their other receivers and their backfield going, that is really the gasoline for their offensive engine. That’s why I would focus far more of my energy on taking away Gabriel, Sanu and the dynamic backfield of Freeman and Coleman.

My initial feeling is the Patriots will use the blueprint from the Steelers game from week 1 in 2015. When the Pats put Butler on an island with Antonio Brown and let him get his, but didn’t commit extra resources to stopping him. (Mike D. note – me likey)

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Best/Worst in Weekly Patriots Links-1/28 (Super Bowl Bye Week Edition)

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tom brady meme

And we’re onto Houston. What a win, what a week. Let’s get right to it and kick off with Bill Speros (Boston Herald) AKA “Obnoxious Boston Fan” on Twitter, who says a simple win means more than any revenge talk for Tom Brady:

Brady just wants to win. That is enough. He was angry long before Deflategate. He grew up in a home with three older sisters and probably needed an Airbnb reservation just to use the bathroom. He was the seventh-string quarterback when he enrolled at Michigan. He was taken with the 199th pick in the 2000 NFL draft. John Madden told him to take a knee. He only wins because he cheats. You get the point.

You’d be hard to find a better story than Tom Brady’s. Straight out of a movie script. Underdog. Cinderella. You name it. His entire career. From his very first moment as a Patriot when he told Robert Kraft, “I’m the best decision you’ve ever made,” to last Sunday when you could tell by the look in his eye he was going to eviscerate every last Steeler from the Rooneys to the idiot waving his terrible towel in the stands. He’s always had that “it” factor. This time around though, OBF, it does seem to have a little extra spice to it. I wonder why…

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Patriots Gameplan: Super Bowl Bye Week vs. The Haters

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No game this weekend so instead of a gameplan for the Pats I’m writing a gameplan for us, the Patriots fans.

It’s hard work being a Patriots fan when the games aren’t on, when we’re not kicking ass up and down the gridiron. Because we’ve been doing it for so long the countless blowhard pundits who need people talking about them often have our team in their crosshairs.

All you have to do these days is have a dumb opinion about Tom Brady and it’s going to spread like wildfire. Just ask Chris Simms.

The Pats’ merits are debated both at macro (Deflators! Videotapers!) and micro (Tom Brady can’t throw deep!, the defense hasn’t played anybody!) levels, because that’s what “sports media” is now and it’s annoying as hell to have to deal with for Patriots fans.

What can you do, New Englanders are passionate about their sports and that passion only seeps into all the other Patriots fans around the globe. I know because I hear from them. From places like Brazil and Germany and Hungary to name a few.

The support of this team runs deep everywhere by those who can appreciate excellent, once-in-a-lifetime quality football.

But this weekend let’s take a moment to appreciate what we have in this football team. How lucky we are that in this crazy world we have a diversion that has brought us all so much  joy over the last decade-and-a-half.

Let’s take a short trip down memory lane for some perspective.

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One Stat to Define Super Bowl 51 Matchup

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We’re still over a week away from Super Bowl 51 and the analysis of the matchup between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons has been pouring in. This is what I live for — one opponent to focus on for an extended period of time.

In all my research into how the teams match up there’s one stat that really stick out like a Brian Baldinger Finger and that is Yards After Catch. It’s quite simple really:

  • Falcons Offense: 2nd in YAC (148.9 yards-per-game) vs. Patriots Defense: 1st in Preventing YAC (91.4 yards-per-game)
  • Pariots Offense: 3rd in YAC (145.9 yards-per-game) vs. Falcons Defense: 32nd in Preventing YAC (132.9 yards-per-game)

Usually, stats don’t really tell the whole story when presented without context. Things like yardage and sacks, stats that many use as a crutch to support their arguments are incredibly dependent on how particular games unfold. Nobody knows this better than Patriots fans, who’ve seen plenty of mush rush discipline and soft zones when they have a big lead. Those kind of situational stats don’t really tell us a lot about how good a team really is.

But Yards-After-Catch are pretty good indicators of two things — how much an offense leans on their receivers to make plays on short throws and how well defenses get into position and tackle. Those are strong tells of how the game will be fought and in the case of YAC, the stats firmly favor the Patriots.

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Making the Case for a Long-Term Logan Ryan Contract

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Patriots Cornerbacks

I’m trying to keep a focus on the Atlanta Falcons and the Super Bowl the next two weeks, but it’s hard to ignore the offseason that will start immediately after the Patriots win or lose in Houston. Most of all, I’m wondering about the defense, where there are multiple starters that are due to hit free agency, in no particular order:

Things were even more complicated at the end of last season, when we thought Chandler Jones and Jamie Collins would be in that group as well. Just because the numbers have been thinned doesn’t make it any less complicated. In fact, the last month or so of the season has really turned my priority list upside down, wondering where the Patriots can and should find the best deals.

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A Look Back at How Pats Defended Falcons in 2013

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The Pats haven’t seen the Falcons since Sunday Night Football in Week Four of 2013. Here were my post-game takeaways back when I was writing for Bleacher Report.

Schematically, at least for the Falcons’ defense, there’s isn’t a ton to take away. This is even more true when you consider the Pats leading receiver was Kenbrell Thompkins with six catches, 127 yards and a touchdown. Julian Edelman wasn’t far behind seven catches for 118 yards.

The Pats rolled Stevan Ridley, LeGarrette Blount and Brandon Bolden as their running backs, none of whom are anywhere close to the receiving threats Dion Lewis and James White are. The Falcons’ defensive coordinator was Mike Nolan back then, so the Seattle-esque defensive scheme had not been installed.

However, Matt Ryan and Julio Jones were still the straws stirring the drink back then so it’s worth taking a look at how the Pats defended them.

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