PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

Countdown to Patriots-Ravens MNF

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I kinda enjoyed having a stress-free Sunday yesterday, especially with all the holiday stuff that has to get done this time of year. But now, staring down the barrel of a full busy work day that will be capped off with a major Patriots-Ravens game on Monday Night Football and I’m starting to feel the stress.

Right now, it’s all in the Patriots hands. Win the next two and they could very well lock up the top seed in the AFC. And after yesterday is there really anyone who truly believes the Patriots don’t have an excellent shot at not only getting to the Super Bowl but beating any NFC team once they get there?

But there’s still four games to go, a quarter of the season, and there could be plenty of twists and turns awaiting us, especially against our two biggest rivals…the two teams that stood between us and the Super Bowl four of the last five years in the AFC Championship.

Yes, the Patriots have three games in the next 13 days. In that time the expectations for their playoff run will be set, and I just can’t wait to see tonight how they come out. Is this a peaking Patriots team that we’ve seen for many of the last 15 seasons? Or is it a fading one like injuries dictated last season?

Few thoughts from the Sunday action and Deflategate Part Deux…

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Best/Worst in Weekly Patriots Links-12/10

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201. 2-0-1. There’s only one place to start this week and that’s giving credit where credit is due. Tom Brady is the winningest quarterback of all time and he damn well deserves it. He surpasses Brett Favre, who reached out and congratulated him via video, and greasy fingered Peyton Manning, who also managed to wrestle out a text right before karaoke night with Papa John. You know who hasn’t reached out to Brady? The commissioner of the National Football League. Yup, the lying, gutless Roger Goodell. Don’t take it from me though, let’s get Jerry Thornton’s (Barstool Sports) two cents on RG:

What’s the oldest cliche in the world about bullies? It’s that deep down, they’re all just self-loathing cowards who fear nothing like they do the idea of anyone standing up to them. From Biff Tannen to Scut Farkas to Nelson Muntz, the second any one of their victims treats them to the bitter taste of clenched-fisted revenge across the jaw, they lose all their fight and become the chickenshit invertebrate they always were. Their spirit broken for good, washing and waxing George McFly’s car in the driveway.

With every game that passes and every record Brady shatters to add to his already unparalleled resume, Roger Goodell looks more and more incompetent, unqualified, inept, floundering, maladroit…should I go on? Even the most destitute of vision Patriot and Brady haters see this guy for the buffoon he is. “First they came…”

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The Brave New(ish) World of the Patriots Offense

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Earlier this week on PatsProp, both Sam and Adam set the table for the “real” season. Go read their articles if you’ve missed them, they’re great. With the table set, let’s pass some hors d’oeuvres:

We’ve been here before. It’s week 13. The Patriots are 10-2, and in the drivers seat for homefield advantage throughout the playoffs as long as they take care of their own business (ICYMI: The Chiefs beat the Raiders Thursday night). Tom Brady is putting up MVP calibur numbers. Bill Belichick made a trade several weeks before that made everyone’s head spin. and the Patriots offense is loaded with guys that have played together for years, make the same reads, think the same thoughts, and answer questions ambiguously.

Wait a minute…who is on the offense?

Or, more accurately, who played a major role in this offense exactly one year ago, and what has changed?

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Patriots Gameplan: Week 14 vs. Baltimore Ravens

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There are certain games that define a team’s regular season and this one against the Ravens sure has the makings of a pivotal contest for the 2016 Patriots. There are plenty of reasons one could argue the Ravens are an inferior team, like their 27th-ranked offense or their 3-4 start to the season and struggles on the road.

But here’s the fact, the Ravens know how to play the Patriots. They won’t be intimidated coming to New England, where the Patriots have already lost two games this season. We all thought the 2014 Divisional Playoff game would be a cakewalk, instead the Pats had to dig themselves out of two 14-point holes as Joe Flacco consistently tore them apart until his final game-sealing interception.

Add in the atmosphere of a December Monday Night Football game, the lingering bad blood from the Ravens starting Deflategate and this one should be a classic that will tell us a lot about the 2016 Patriots.

Strap on your helmets for my gameplan…

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Malcolm Mitchell and the myth of Mean Old Tom (Brady)

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It seems the Patriots draft a new wide receiver or two every year.

Every year, it seems Tom Brady and new receiver of the year cannot get on the same page, Brady loses confidence in that receiver, that receiver ends up in everyone’s dog house, and is then cut, traded, or otherwise run out of town.

Early in this season, we saw Malcolm Mitchell look like he and Jimmy Garoppolo were on the same page, with Mitchell being targeted 7 times in 6 quarters, with 3 catches. Mitchell had two more targets from Jacoby Brissett in week 3, with one catch for 27 yards. He showed flashes of potential in his first preseason game before dislocating his elbow.

Based on evidence from the past with rookies AND veterans across several seasons (brief list: Chad Jackson, Brandon Tate, Aaron Dobson, Josh Boyce, Taylor Price, Chad Ochocinco, Joey Galloway) flaming out with Tom Brady, I was cautious with my hope in the Patriots developing a new, young weapon in their outside receiving corp. Sure, all those other guys went on to do nothing else in the league after their Patriots careers, but I wasn’t alone in this fear of yet another flame out. This other guy I know had something to say about it in his own cautiously sarcastic fashion:

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The Beginning of The Season: Week 14 Scouting Report of the Baltimore Ravens

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This season so far has been a typical Pats year for the second half of the BB/TB12 era. A September Stinker, ups and downs with how talented the offense/defense is, hot takes galore on Brady and BB, a clear lead in the AFC East, and an important injury. Now that we’re through all of that muck, the season sort of really begins. The Patriots now have a clear mind of the playoff picture and not that the games before didn’t matter, but we know exactly what is at stake for these games now. The games matter, the teams are better, and the end of the season is closer. Here’s where the season really begins.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Baltimore Ravens, aka, “John Harbaugh and The Rule Changers”

Week 14 vs Baltimore Ravens

Monday December 12

8:30 EST, ESPN

High 30’s, 80% chance, 12 mph winds

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Patriots vs. Rams Film Review: Defense Edition

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This was one of the quickest film reviews I’ve ever done, as the Patriots defense was on the field for just 52 plays, forcing eight Rams punts and coming up with two takeaways. As I mentioned in the Posits this week, the defense has been settling into their personnel and it seems to be helping keep everyone on the same page.

Specifically I wanted to take a look at the third downs where the Patriots had remarkable success, allowing just one conversion on 12 third downs. And yes, it’s also worth taking a look at the 66-yard pass they gave up at the end of the game that ruined any potential records they might’ve broken.

By going through each one we get a better picture for the kinds of coverage the Pats played — Rush three, drop eight in third and longs — and what their pass rush packages looked like.

Here’s how the third downs broke down, along with that one long ugly pass…

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