PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

The Ravens swoop in with a win against the Patriots at Gillette

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Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

The Patriots go 1 – 2 with an at home loss to the Ravens. 

Let’s just tear the band aid off quickly here shall we? So it wasn’t the greatest of games, it wasn’t the worst of games either… so that’s something!

When I say that, I know many will disagree, but the Patriots did manage to put up 26 points, but as I mentioned, we are pulling the band aid off, so let’s be brutal first. 

Whilst the defence had positives, and I shall get to those in a moment, they performed well in the first two games, but there were small cracks in the system this week. Namely, once Lawrence Guy was out with possible shoulder injury. 

Myles Bryant seems to be in a twilight zone at the moment. He started the pre season quite strong with that great punt return against the Giants, but since then, fumbles and bumbles… oof. He’s had all sorts of mistakes, and this game was no different with his early first quarter muff, ball security is job security sweetie. 

And to that end, what the frick were they doing putting Bryant on the possible 2022 punt return God, Devin Duvernay?!!?

Isaiah Wynn continues to be an eager beaver, which normally I would applaud. However, it is costing the Patriots expensive penalties, game after game now. He isn’t a rookie player, this is definitely something he should have buttoned up by game three.

Another guy who’s ball security is in question is Nelson Agholor. I was so ready to put him on my good list with his great, great fourth quarter deep pass from Mac Jones that became… a punched out fumble. Insert face palm emoji of your choice. Again, ball security is job security dude!

Whilst there was even more to be concerned about in this game than I have mentioned, turnovers, please no one talk about four turnovers…There were some positives and that’s what they keep me around here for at Pats Propaganda! (Just ask Tom Shaw-Mellors!)

But in all seriousness, it’s a Monday after a bad loss. I get that. And Mac Jones has a left leg injury, that’s enough to make any Patriots fan sob into their morning coffee. So I am here to try and lift your spirits a little you lovely lot!

Deatrich Wise continues to own up and show up, making darn sure he is worthy of his captainship, with some glorious sack play and QB pressure. Did anyone else see fear in the eyes of Lamar Jackson early in the second quarter as he witnessed Wise barrelling towards him?

The amount of times I’ve used Matthew Judon’s name in my positive game takes is really mounting up this season, and whilst he perhaps ran out of a little steam towards the end of the game he was the one guy who could match Jackson’s movement and really get to him. 

We continue to see positivity from the likes of Marcus Jones and Jack Jones, proving they were worthy of their draft picks, Damien Harris and his fabulousness at blocking, not to mention Rhamondre Stevenson with his beastliness!

DeVante Parker may still have a little bit of a spotty record in a Patriots jersey, but Mac Jones targeted him 10 times, for 5 receptions and 156 yards. He had a glorious third quarter catch against Stephens of the Ravens, even when he had the guy hanging on his aforementioned Patriots jersey!

Nick Folk continues his reign as MVP of kickers (in my humble opinion) and he now holds the NFL record for 57 consecutive field goals made from under 50 yards. 

So, there you have it, week three is in the bag. And yeah, the bag doesn’t fill us all with a huge amount of optimism at the moment, the Patriots have plenty of bad and ugly. However! They still have a few good lumps too! 

Until next time you lovely lot! Go Pats!

PatsProp Preview – Ravens Flock To New England

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AP Photo/Steven Senne

Week 3 is here and the Patriots are back at Gillette Stadium for the first time since January 2. Here’s a look at some players we should be keeping an eye on tomorrow against the Ravens!

Patriots To Watch

Mac Jones

This could be a game for the offense to kick into gear and find some rythym. The Ravens could well be still reeling from their late defeat in a points fest last week against the Dolphins and the Pats have to try and take advantage.

Mac has been poor so far this season, but a strong performance at home could well be the ticket to pull his second year as starter back on the right path.

Hunter Henry

Henry has been missing so far this season and that desperately needs to change. Aside from Jakobi Meyers, Mac really doesn’t a second player to find consistently, whereas Henry was that player last season. One to watch tomorrow, especially in the red area.

Kyle Dugger

At the minute Dugger in questionable to play tomorrow with a knee injury. From my recollection, Dugger played a big role against Mark Andrews in 2020, the last time these franchises met, so it would be a big loss for the secondary if he can’t play.

If he does miss out, look for Jabrill Peppers to step up in his absence.

DeVante Parker

It’s been a less than inspiring start to Parker’s Patriots career so far, on the 4 targets he’s had through 2 games, Parker has caught only 1 of them for 9 yards.

I think he does have a skillset which will be of use for the Pats, but will we see it tomorrow?

Ravens Flock

Lamar Jackson

Jackson has hit the ground running this season in a quest for his second league MVP award, whilst also in a contract year no less. We all know what threat he poses on the ground, but he’s been particularly impressive throwing the ball this season.

The Patriots will need to stifle him on the ground and force him into making poor decisions throwing the ball, I just don’t think they have the defensive talent to compete with their offensive weapons 1on1.

Mark Andrews

The Ravens’ top threat was in fine form last time out, securing 9 catches for 103 yards and a TD. If the Patriots are going to win, limiting Andrews’ production will be key. He’s for sure one to watch on the Ravens side.

Rashod Bateman

Electric burner is how I would describe Bateman. He had pretty much the same statline as Andrews last week, with the exception of his TD catch being a big 75-yard play. The Patriots did a good job of limiting Tyreek Hill from making any big plays in Week 1, can they stop Bateman from doing the same tomorrow?

Marcus Williams

Williams has had an electric start to his time in Baltimore, securing 3 picks in the opening weeks of the season. With Mac making questionable decisions last week throwing the ball, Williams will be on patrol to add to his tally of interceptions. Expect him to cover Agholor on the outside.

Patriots Ups & Downs: Week 2 vs Pittsburgh

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Joe Sargent/Getty Images

A massive win in Pittsburgh brought the Patriots’ record on the season to .500 at 1-1. Let’s take a look at the ups & downs from week 2!

Ups ⬆️

Nelson Agholor

A much better week for Agholor who was on the down list following his late-game fumble against Miami last Sunday. He finished with 6 catches for 110 yards and a touchdown, of which was a brilliant grab high up above the Steelers defender, before running it in.

Something which most of us thought Parker would be doing, Agholor decided to do instead, a great contest catch and score which was a huge point in the game.

Jakobi Meyers

Safety blanket Jakobi Meyers was at it again this week, hauling in 9 catches for 95 yards. For me, he’s been the most important cog in the offense so far this season, without him out there, I worry how the team will move the chains, another good week for #16.

Matthew Judon

Judon had a solid time out there on Sunday, he recorded a sack and also made a big play in coverage, breaking up a pass that was intended for Najee Harris. Judon’s performances tapered off last year down the stretch, but if he can keep a consistent level going this season, it will be huge for the Pats.

Brenden Schooler

The UDFA special teamer made a play against former-Patriots All-Pro Gunner Olszewski muffed a punt, allowing Schooler to recover for an important takeaway.

The Offensive Line

A much better week from the line, who seemed more on the same page, allowing the offense to get some drives together. More noticeably, Cole Strange was making so big blocks against Cam Hayward which stuck out to me, I wanna see more of that! Not the finished article by any stretch, but a note of improvement for the unit.

Downs ⬇️

Mac Jones

It was better, but still not good enough for our starting QB. Mac looked at times indecisive and then too decisive to the point of choosing a player to throw to prior to snapping the ball it seemed. The pre-snap penalties were killers, for which he must shoulder some blame.

The interception was a poorly thrown ball and right now he just doesn’t look as comfortable as he did last year. I have faith that he’ll turn things around and I think he has the ability to do so, but not good enough again.

Myles Bryant

A very weird scenario on his punt return, nearly costing the Patriots a possession. What an ugly play. I think we’ll see someone else fielding punts next week, perhaps rookie Marcus Jones?

Big game coming up this weekend against Baltimore, LFG!

The Patriots celebrate RKK’s 500th game with a win in Pittsburgh!

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Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

One and a half minutes into the game, a Myles Bryant bounce and bumble, following a 69 yard Steelers punt… oof!

However! The Patriots didn’t exactly start as they meant to go on.

Don’t misunderstand me here folks, it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows just yet. The offensive line, whilst much, much better, still has room for improvement, and Mac Jones still seems a little off. 

Isaiah Wynn continued to be an eager beaver, and the Patriots were handed a couple of false start penalties, as well as a couple of holding ones too, not exactly great. 

But let’s just sugar coat it a little shall we?

So, okay, DeVante Parker seems to be struggling a little getting going, but double coverage will do that to a guy!

Rhamondre Stevenson showed off his strength with some great blocking, Cole Strange stepped up and received credit for playing well, and we saw a few different wide receivers names on the board!

Jakobi Meyers chiselled out his place in peoples hearts a little more, as he became airborne for a terrific catch/snatch from a great throw by Mac, and Nelson Agholor had one of his more statistically productive games, as well as a glorious stiff arm with five guys attempting to pull him down, and you all know how I love those kind of plays!

Mack Wilson proves that he was worth the switch with Chase Winovich, following the interception late in the first quarter. He rolled head over heels, and was back on his feet lightening fast… exactly what you want to see!

Lawrence Guy may be a veteran, but he knows how to show up to the party, with his nu-uh immediate catch of the Steelers running back early in the second quarter. 

So people cried for speed on this team, and it may be being found in all sorts-a places!

Adrian Phillips covered Pat Freiermuth like a blanket (Phillips is so lucky!), and Kyle Dugger showed solid technique, using his hands to obscure vision of the ball, even if he didn’t get his hands actually on it, this forced the Steelers to punt. 

The third quarter saw some Jabrill Peppers time, boy can that guy sniff out a play! He made a beeline for Johnson and followed that by a to-the-floor-dump of the guy! 

And as usual, Matthew Judon was… Matthew Judon, with his deliciousness in coverage.

Oh, and by the way! How beautiful was it when Brandon Schooler “schooled” Gunner Olszewski?! Okay to be fair, it was just a muffed punt but I don’t know about you, that’s the exact thing I had been worried about for years! 

But like I said, it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, the Patriots have plenty to work on, it wasn’t an easy win. But a win is a win, and many are saying how big a difference there is with 1-3 to 0-4. But hey, it’s still early! Right now the Patriots are 1-1 just with some stuff to work on. 

Catch you next time you lovely lot! Go Pats. 

PatsProp Preview – A Must Win In Pittsburgh?

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Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Patriots head in to Pittsburgh needing a victory this week to kick-star their season against a Steelers team who won last time out. Pittsburgh will be without their franchise defensive star TJ Watt, who got injured in Week 1, but they still have an intimidating defense, helped along by former Pats DC, Brian Flores.

Patriots To Watch

Mac Jones

Mac was injured in last weeks loss to the Dolphins, but fortunately, post-game tests showed there was no serious damage. He also missed practice on Wednesday with a stomach bug, but was back on Thursday and is all good to go for tomorrow’s game.

I think Mac will have somewhat of a bounce-back against a tricky Steelers secondary, as always, he’s the main one to watch in a Pats uniform.

Kendrick Bourne

I don’t know what the whole situation is with Bourne, but he’s been in the dog house for something. I think it’s about time he’s given some more reps on the field and I have a feeling that he’ll be back to his normal level of involvement tomorrow.

Damien Harris + Rhamondre Stevenson

Harris and Stevenson had a nice start against Miami last week, but their success slowly fizzled out as the game progressed. There is a chance for the Pats run attack to flourish tomorrow, Pittsburgh allowed 133 yards on the ground last week, so both Harris and Stevenson should be fired up for a chance to shine.

These will be a must watch tomorrow, I expect them to share out the carries and targets, especially with Montgomery on IR.

Offensive Line

The line, like Mac Jones, needs to bounce back this week. Along the entire unit they’ve looked less than average through preseason and in Week 1. Trent Brown will be key on the blindside, where Jones got hit a few times last week, I also want to see a more solid game from Cole Strange on the interior.

When this unit works well, the offense performs, when it doesn’t, well, you know.

Matt Judon

Judon can be a real difference maker for the Pats, and against a Steelers team who probably won’t give the offense many opportunities to score, Judon’s performance on the edge will be crucial in forcing mistakes and helping Mac Jones get the ball back.

Pittsburgh Problems?

Mitchell Trubisky

It’s certainly a different era for the Steelers following the retirement of Big Ben, Trubisky doesn’t provide a long-term solution at QB for them and has the nagging trait of being able to lose his team the game all by himself.

If the Pats can make things uncomfortable for him, the offense could unravel quickly.

Najee Harris

Harris is the biggest threat Pittsburgh has on offense for me, yes, they have some decent wideouts, but Harris showed last season as a rookie that he belongs among the top backs in the entire league. He’s dealing with an injury, but is expected to play and could prove the difference for the Steelers.

Minkah Fitzpatrick

The Week 1 AFC Defensive POTW provides a huge turnover threat for the Steelers and will be looking for his next interceptions on the season. Fitzpatrick doesn’t just bring a big presence on defense, he’s an ace special teamer, showing as much last week as he tipped a would-be game winning field goal in the closing seconds of the game.

Patriots Ups & Downs: Week 1 vs Miami

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AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

Whilst I was really excited for the season, I can’t hide my disappointment of yesterday’s 20-7 loss to the Miami Dolphins. The Patriots fell behind in the first half to a 17-0 deficit and never recovered, plus they encountered some potentially serious injuries. Here are the ups & downs from week 1.

Ups ⬆️

Jakobi Meyers

Meyers turned out to be one of the few bright sparks in an otherwise dull day for the Patriots as he hauled in 4 catches for 55 yards. The stats don’t scream out a special game, but the catches were far from easy.

In a game which saw the offense really struggle, Meyers once again showed why he’s such an important commodity. A good game for him.

Matthew Judon + Deatrich Wise Jr.

Judon had the difficult task of competing against Terron Armstead all day, but, he shone through with a nice play to record his first sack of the season. The defensive rushing attack had some success yesterday which was encouraging to see.

Like Judon, Wise also flashed on a number of occasions and again stood out with his sack on Tua, which caused a fumble that was recovered by the Dolphins.

Downs ⬇️

Mac Jones

Mac had a disappointing game where he never really looked comfortable against a solid Miami defense. He started well on the opening drive of the game, before a deep shot to DeVante Parker was picked off.

Jones took a number of hits, which left us all concerned after the game as he went straight into the X-Ray room for examination on his back. Fortunatley, the tests were negative and he was experiencing back spasms.

I like to stay positive when I can, but, I do fear for this season a little already, with Mac’s availability up in the air for Week 2, it’s going to be a long week.

Offensive Line

I don’t think the line played well at all, Trent Brown didn’t seem all that interested or impactful, and our rookie first-rounder was benched early on after missing a block which led to a sack. The questions will start up again about whether or not the unit are getting clear instructions from Matt Patricia, who is also the defacto OC. If the O-line doesn’t get things in order quick, we might not have a starting QB for the entire season.

Nelson Agholor

I feel a little harsh putting Agholor on here, but ball security is one of the biggest priorities for Bill, and he fumbled what was a promising late drive, after a good catch from Kendrick Bourne. Agholor will come back from this, but it summed up an awful day for the Pats attack.

Miami Vice…? Once again the Patriots can’t pull off a win in the Miami heat

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Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

A bit of bad luck, a few good drives, but a lot of concerns, as the Patriots lose 7 to 20 to the Miami Dolphins.

There is plenty to take away from Sunday’s game, and there wasn’t a tonne of positives, but I promise you I will get to those later.

It would appear that the Patriots have not yet ironed out those offensive line kinks, that we have spent all off-season worrying over, (well since Shaq Mason left maybe) and Cole Strange may have had his first stint on the naughty chair, after there was a sack on Mac. He did however, re-enter the game later on, so maybe that dog house Bill used last year for all those running backs has been dismantled. 

But the two sacks on Mac can’t only be put on the shoulders of the carousel-ing offensive line, Jones’s pocket awareness needs to up it’s a game a little too. 

The Patriots have good players on the offense, Jakobi Meyers, Kendrick Bourne, Ramondre Stevenson, Hunter Henry, Jonnu Smith to just name some… and these are names of really good NFL players, but it just isn’t getting pieced together. Many want to blame the coaching, possibly the actual playbook, and as much as I am really loath to, this morning I’m not feeling greatly confident on how it’s going in that department. 

Myles Bryant did not show his best light this game, and he got the call up over a developing fan favourite, in rookie Marcus Jones. A badly missed tackle that resulted in a first down for the Fins wasn’t good at all, but then interfering with a very possible Devin McCourty interception, sends his name to the top of most peoples bad list. And whilst Jon Jones, Ja’Whaun Bentley and Kyle Dugger played a mostly, good one, that late game coming together of a backfield player sandwich, was not pretty

Okay, you want some positive sparkle dusted all over that possibly *bleep* show? 

I got ya covered you lovely lot!

The Patriots did manage a better job of closing up the run game this time. And whilst he was frustrated at not being put in much, Kendrick Bourne can definitely out run guys, and Mac Jones can in fact air it out!

Now, Duke Riley may have taken credit for a Mac missed throw to Jakobi Meyers, but I’m afraid dear Riley, that’s what it was. Mac threw a not so great, pass to Meyers and it bounced off Riley’s butt. I’m sorry but you can’t take credit for a butt bounce, there really was no technique displayed there.

And whilst we mention the lower posterior, we are all sending good karma to Kyle Dugger for an eye watering… plum hit. 

Speaking of Dugger, whilst he admitted to taking a poor angle on Waddle, he did make some great plays. Especially mid second quarter, where his ball awareness was tightly focused, and he was on the running back almost before the hand off, and taking him down with impressiveness.  

Deatrich Wise showed he is worthy of his captainship with some glorious sack play and pressure on Tua, and Matthew Judon continues to be… well Matthew Judon!

And, as for my favourite topic, tight endage, whilst the Patriots ran plenty of two tight end sets, we didn’t see the full effect just yet, but both Jonnu and Hunter had a flash or two. The third quarter in particular, had Smith on a powerful run from a short pass. And whilst Hunter may have conceded to a false start, he attempted to redeem himself with a great block, giving Nelson Agholor breathing room on a run. At the beginning of the second quarter when Mac threw it his way for the second time, it appeared to take six Dolphins players to finally get Hunter to a stop. 

So, let’s liken it to making pancakes. The first one always comes out a little wonky or overcooked, or both. So in the heat of Miami, maybe the Patriots over cooked it. The batter is good, the pan is solid and has great potential, and with the right temperature beneath, you can make the most perfect and delicious, fluffy goodness… okay maybe I’m just hungry, but I’m staying positive and willing to give the Patriots pancake a chance, and so it’s on to Pittsburg!

Go Pats!