PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

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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How the 2016 Gronk-less Pats Stack Up to 2012 & 2013

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The news of Rob Gronkowski’s third trip to season-ending Injured Reserve has caused quite a stir within Patriot Nation, and to a lesser extent the entire league. While the news has elicited some experts to declare the AFC suddenly wide open, other analysts have gone the opposite direction, choosing to not sound the alarm quite yet, keeping faith in the greatest quarterback-coach tandem in the NFL’s history to overcome the loss of arguable their most important player (save for TB12).

The Patriots win-loss record without Gronkowski is not great; they are just 14-5 without him in the regular season, and 1-2 in the postseason, which certainly supports the belief that the Patriots cannot win the Super Bowl without Gronkowski. Adding to this narrative is Brady’s statistics with and without the prolific tight end. With a healthy Gronkowski, Brady’s completion percentage is 65.3%, with a 7.9 yards per attempt average and a 103.5 passer rating. However, with Gronkowski sidelined, Brady’s completion percentage dips to 57.3%, while averaging just 6.5 yards per attempt.

The most alarming measure is his passer rating; it dips over twenty points to just 82.4, which would rank 34th in the NFL this season, behind fellow Patriot quarterback Jacoby Brissett (83.9) and only one spot above Geno Smith. Effectively, Tom Brady turns into a third-string quarterback when Gronkowski is unable to play.

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Patriots Tuesday 10 Pack

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One of my favorite things in life is ending up in a conversation with another Patriots fan who has no idea that I have been faithfully blogging about the team for nine years. That was the case on Monday when I jumped into a conversation with a couple unknowing people at my real job and listened their deeply held beliefs about this Patriots team.

One of them wasn’t feeling the magic this year, the other thought the offense looked terrible against the Rams and that the only hard game left was Miami. The conversation ended before I could interject any of my own analysis, and really they didn’t seem to care, even though I could at least give them some perspective that they both badly needed.

So my frustration from that conversation has spilled over here into the Tuesday 10 Pack, where I vent about the Monday over-reactors as the dust settles from win number 10.

Here we go…

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Pats Posits: Tom Brady, Legend

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The Patriots dominated the Rams 26-10 Sunday, nabbing Tom Brady his NFL-record 201st win and closing out the third quarter of the 2016 season at 10-2.

Of course there’s plenty of #YBITR (yeah but it’s the Rams) disclaimers, but still, the Patriots handled an inferior team at home as we expect them to and looked very much like a balanced contender.

Unfortunately, Gronk wasn’t the last injury buzz kill of the last week, with Danny Amendola (seen leaving on crutches in a walking boot) headlining those who left and didn’t return.

Now, the Patriots face a 7-5 Ravens team that has won four-of-five and always plays them tough, even in Foxborough.

More on that, win #201 and the AFC home field playoff chase with the Raiders in the Posits…

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Best/Worst in Weekly Patriots Links-12/3

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rob gronkowski spike gif

What began as a great week for Pats Nation featuring a massive win at the Meadowlands obviously took a spin for the worst with the news #87 needs back surgery. Let’s get to that a little later and kick off with some good news first. I genuinely don’t care what their record is, who their quarterback is, or how they played the week before. The New York Jets cannot be underestimated and far more times than not, the matches between the Pats and their bitter rivals turn out to be a single possession grind it out bar fight. Although ugly at times, and not without its cons (Gronk, Gostkowski missing yet another field goal, Brady limping all over the field…), it was a well earned win and one the team, coaching staff, and fan base can collectively feel good about. The defense turned the ball over in huge spots, Brady was his surgical self when it mattered most, and Revis was put on not one, but two posters (game winner below).

NFL: New England Patriots at New York Jets

Let’s stay on #24, who must have known this time around, it’d be no fun because the rabbit had the gun. Bill Speros (All 22), fondly known as “The Obnoxious Boston Fan” by his loyal twitter following, wrote on the Patriots/Revis fallout following his departure from the team and how Sunday turned into closure of some sort:

That’s the sort of thing you might hear at someone’s retirement ceremony. Or their wake. And one wouldn’t blame Brady for thinking Revis’ best days are buried in You Tube. A former All-Pro and future Hall of Fame selection, Revis has been bludgeoned by just about every receiver he’s lined up against this season. Two weeks ago, Revis explained his woes this season by saying, “I’m old.” Revis is 31. Brady turns 40 in August.

Speros pulls no punches, and you just have to love it. Looking forward to seeing Revis again in a couple weeks. The way this year has gone for the former all-pro corner, it could be the last time #12 and #24 square off.

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Patriots Gameplan: Week 13 vs. Los Angeles Rams

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ty law SB36

The Patriots welcome the Rams on Sunday, in the midst of a 15-year celebration of Super Bowl 36 with plenty of former players returning to Foxboro. Oh how times have changed since 2001, when the upstart Patriots took on what some thought was a burgeoning dynasty in St. Louis. Instead it was the start of the New England dynasty and now the Rams are in Los Angeles, mired in mediocrity under Jeff Fisher, despite having some of the most talented players in the NFL.

These games are hard to get up for, especially with the Patriots looking at the top two ranked defenses in DVOA coming up the next two weeks. Luckily with Aaron Donald, the best defender in the NFL right now, along with Todd Gurley, the Rams’ talent second-year running back who’s mired in an ineffective second season but still entirely capable of running roughshod, Bill Belichick should have enough ammo to keep the Pats focused on getting a win.

The Patriots are neck and neck with the Raiders battling for homefield advantage and the next three weeks will determine how things end up. The last thing the Pats can afford is a brainfart against a team coached by someone who doesn’t even know who their running backs are.

How the Pats can lock up win number ten on the season in the gameplan…

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Report: Gronk Needs Third Back Surgery, Out Indefinitely

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And here I was just thinking my post about whether or not the Pats should worry about their injury situations was dumb because Edelman only missed practice for the birth of his kid and Brady was suiting up for practice, when one of those tweets that instantly makes you sick came across my timeline…

First things first. You have to feel terrible for Gronk. We can get into what it means for the Patriots Super Bowl chances, but this is a guy who’s had at least three back surgeries, multiple forearm surgeries, an ACL reconstruction and high ankle surgery all before he turns 30. This is too much for any human body to take, and yes, we all hope he comes back and plays football for the team we love, but let’s remember Gronk’s gotta live with this body well past his football playing days.

So yes, I’m sick for Gronk and can only hope that he somehow bounces back from this and is okay and isn’t, you know, in a wheelchair before he’s 40.

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