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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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Time to Worry About the Patriots Injuries?

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Rob Gronkowski Julian Edelman

By now you’re probably sick of reading it here on the blog because I’ve been beating it like a drum all season — all that really matters for the Patriots are injuries. We can do countless hours of film study or discuss why Belichick decided to trade most of his defense away or search for a weakness on offense, but at the end of the season if the Pats are healthy, they’re probably going to the Super Bowl.

Of course, some Pats matter more than others, no offense to anyone, and the top of that list is Tom Brady, Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski which is why Wednesday’s injury report made me barf a little bit. Add in Martellus Bennett and their two best special teamers, and I’m wondering if we should just roll out the JV offense against the Rams and give those key guys a week of rest before the upcoming AFC showdowns with Baltimore and Denver.

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Now Brady, obviously the most important, isn’t that concerning. His radio appearance on Monday was re-assuring. And I’m pretty sure you’d have to remove a limb to keep him out of a game.

But Edelman’s been dealing with that foot injury for well over a year now, not to mention multiple surgeries. Then you add in this…

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Week 13 Scouting Report: Los Angeles Rams

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willie mcginest sb36

The Patriots have defeated the Jets, got three turnovers, and made a clutch defensive play to end the game. All is right in the world and it is time to turn the page. This upcoming week, the team will be celebrating their 15 year anniversary victory over the (formerly known as) St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. There will be plenty of pageantry, but the team will be sure not to lose focus on the game in front of them. The only player on the roster from that victory is the GOAT himself, TB12. Talk about a throwback for the 39 year old who was only in his second year when he watched Adam Vinatieri kick the game winning field goal. Those teams now are both long gone and this is a new game, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be nice to watch highlights from the Super Bowl while Tom Terrific and BB thrash the Rams of today.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Los Angeles Rams, aka, “Jeff Fisher’s 7-9ers”

Week 13 at Los Angeles Rams

Sunday December 4

1 pm EST, FOX

Low 40’s, 5% chance of rain, 10 mph winds

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Patriots vs. Jets Film Review: Defense Edition

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The Patriots defense made three big plays against the Jets and it was enough to set the stage for another Tom Brady comeback and then close it out. Overall the Patriots leaned heavily on their zone coverage in this one, especially in the second half, with a focus on putting six defenders in the Jets primary target areas.

It worked because of the brilliant play against the run that made the Jets one-dimensional and heavily reliant on check downs. They had their breakdowns but it worked well enough to win and sparked the team out of their takeaway funk.

Here’s what stood out on the film review of the defense…

— Right off the bat it was apparent that Brown and Branch came to play. Both had maybe their best games in this one, especially against the run, where they were unmovable. Brown has really good low center of gravity and he’s a problem for any two blockers to move off the spot. Meanwhile, when left one-on-one Branch manhandles fools.

— Closely monitoring zone vs. man for this review, and on the first drive they played zone just once, one the first third down which was converted. On the second third down they went to man and good coverage, including a pretty good interior rush by Flowers that drew a hold, didn’t leave Fitz much to work with.

— Elandon Roberts has had his playing time reduced recently, but showed more great anticipation on the first play of the second drive, making the tackle for loss. He’d been quiet the last couple games but it was good to see that kind of play out of him.

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Coffin Corner: Eureka! Oh… damn.

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bill belichick

Last night, I had a tragic Eureka moment. Something popped into my head, right before it hit the pillow, quickly shared it with my wife, thought okay, I will write about this tomorrow and hit the sack. But then I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t get rid of it. It just hung there, a terrible thought, a stressful idea. So here we are. This is how I write at 4 o’clock in the morning. Not great so far, I have to admit.

At the beginning of this season, I wrote about LaGarrette Blount being a 1,000-yard rusher because of the offensive design and Marty Bennett and I thought that was a hot take. At the time, it seemed to be. The truth is, it was just right. And I worry that what you’re about to read, might be just right as well, which terrifies me. That is why I’m up writing this as my mutt Beagle, Wally, snores by my side. This idea, this ear worm, this feeling is so powerful that it is literally keeping me up at night.

I haven’t heard any real mention of it. Nothing on Twitter. No recent articles. Somehow even Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless haven’t stumbled upon it in their daily word jumble. Forget idea, ear worm, feeling or take, what you’re about to read is a theory, a theory so mind-erasingly simple you will wonder how Tomato Can Shaughnessy hasn’t made it into an annual column. You will wish you’d never heard this simple theory (no real conspiracy to it, sorry, Roger), but it will stalk you like the STD in “It Follows” and you will feel obligated for your own sanity to make nice with the next person you see, in order to pass it along and keep this awful, terrible theory at bay. But it’s coming.

WARNING: This theory may cause chest pain, migraines, anxiety. In rare cases, this theory may lead you to question everything you hold dear. 100% of recipients report unexplained loss of vision, hearing, and speech due to the alcohol consumed as a result of this theory. “No, you’re an alchawlic, you ever think about that?! Huh? You crazy rabbit,” will become your goto phrase to wife and children alike after every Patriots game as a result of this theory.

All right, enough of the build-up, here it is: I think we’re more than halfway through the last season of the Hoodie. There I’ve said it. I think 2016-2017 season will be Belichick’s last.

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Taking a Look at the Patriots Most Improved Player

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marcus cannonThe Patriots eked out another nail-biting victory Sunday in East Rutherford, improving to 9-2 on the year and keeping pace with the Oakland Raiders for the top spot in the AFC. While Brady and the Patriots offense struggled at times to get going, the offensive line did a nice job against the formidable front seven of the Jets, headlined by elite talents Sheldon Richardson and Muhammad Wilkerson, complemented by the 2015 7th-overall pick Leonard Williams.

Tackles Nate Solder and Marcus Cannon led the way to the unit’s second clean sheet of the year, as they allowed no sacks and only surrendered four QB hits. Cannon’s play thus far in 2016 has been a revelation when compared to how abysmally he played last season. Cannon was one of the main culprits in the complete and utter failure by the offensive line against the Broncos in the AFC Championship Game in January, and in my mind, cost the Patriots a chance at a Super Bowl. After that game, I hoped to never see Cannon don a Patriots uniform again, but to his credit, he has enjoyed an incredible renaissance in his sixth season in the NFL.

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