PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

Patriots Pregame Meal: Kickoff Sunday

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Yes, the day is finally here! Football is back and we can spend all day watching the appetizer games until the Pats kickoff against the Cardinals tonight.

Some notes and thoughts to pass along as we start pregaming for our pregame.

— Had been wondering about whatever uniforms the Patriots will be wearing for their Thursday night “color rush” game against the Texans next week. The Patriots were one of the only teams to resist the “fly collar” when the league switched to Nike uniforms in 2012, and I expect they’re probably resistant to anything too silly or fancy for this latest NFL marketing ploy. But still, as someone who loves uniforms/helmets/facemasks I can’t help but be a little excited to see a new Pats jersey. They haven’t worn their Pat Patriot red throwbacks since 2012 due to some stupid helmet issue. Apparently they can’t afford a second set of helmets? But hopefully these expected red uniforms that Mike Reiss wrote will be announced on Tuesday will satiate our need for some throwback Patriots.

— Lotta miserable Pats fans already chalking up a loss tonight. I’m not convinced simply because of the Patriots’ defense. The Cardinals aren’t unbeatable at home and if you happened to see the Amazon special All or Nothingabout their season, they were extremely hot and cold at times last year. They lost to the Rams at home early last season. The Patriots have the pass rushers to get after Carson Palmer. That is the key. If Hightower, Sheard, Long, Johnson and maybe Mingo are unleashed tonight, things are going to be interesting no matter how Garoppolo moves the offense.

— This is Belichick with a defense in its prime, with a ton of moveable parts, going against a quarterback who’s been known to struggle against good teams, and could perhaps be fast approaching the end of the line. The Cardinals offense did NOTHING this preseason.

— The Patriots are almost never blown out, but that’s been with Brady and often Gronk. So I get that we’re in new territory here, but the fact remains that New England is one of the best-coached and most disciplined teams in NFL history. The coaches will have a gameplan working around the guys who are out and one that should give the team a chance to win.

— Season openers are always fluky games. Both teams have surprises waiting. Tackling and ball security is often sloppy. That means the better team doesn’t always win early in the season. And let’s not forget the total meltdown the Cardinals had in Carolina in last year’s NFC Championship. Not saying they turn in a stinker like that again, but this Cardinals team has to prove that their aging stars haven’t fully fallen off the cliff.

— Pats continue to make small contract moves, locking up Ninkovich for another season. Good signing. Crazy how many deals Ninkovich has made with the Pats.

— But if we don’t re-sign Hightower and Collins I’m going to be sick.

— What will give me real concern is if LeGarrette Blount is picking up little-to-negative yardage on first down carries. That is a recipe for disaster. Keep Jimmy out of third-and-longs at all costs.

— This was a different defense without Tyrann Mathieu last season. Yes he’s back, but we’ve seen how guys coming off ACLs aren’t the same player immediately. His job is easier without Gronk in the mix, but let’s see how effective he is right out of the gate.

— Games that I’ll be keeping an eye on today: Bengals at Jets, Bills @ Ravens, Packers @ Jaguars.

— The Broncos magical run has apparently spilled over into 2016. Who needs a quarterback? Not the Broncos apparently. They certainly have a talented defense but I don’t get how games just always seem to spin into their favor in the fourth quarter in close games. Every call, every bounce, everything seems to suddenly go their way almost like it used to for the Patriots during their 21-game win streak from 2003-2004. I am trying to embrace them in the role of my NFL villain, but I just don’t understand how they continue to have a horseshoe up their ass.

— Even without Gronk I’d expect plenty of heavy offensive sets tonight. All three tackles, Bennett and Harbor/Derby and a large dose of James Develin as well. There’s certainly a path to victory with the ground and pound if we can get it going (which we couldn’t last year).

— This game feels a lot like 2008 Week 2, when the Pats had to march into New York to face Brett Favre and the Jets with Matt Cassel in his first start. It seemed like now or never for the Jets then, but the Pats still came up with a 19-10 win. They key that day was of course, no turnovers by the offense.

— No matter what happens tonight, it’s one game and the season opener at that. You can never judge a season outlook from this one game. The Pats have had plenty of close battles in the season-opener with teams that went on to be terrible. The Pats have also looked nearly-terrible in many of those games themselves. So take all the hot taeks that are surely coming this week with a grain of salt. Good or bad. It’s a long road and that’s what makes it interesting.

The Best/Worst of the Week in Patriots Posts – 9/10

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Cut scene.

Chalk up another wacky week in Foxborough: 53 man roster finalized, Josh Kline traded, not traded, cut, Eric Rowe officially brought on board as the 12th cornerback, and the addition of a fresh banner draping over he home lighthouse:

brady-stadiumbrady-stadium-2

On that note, in case you didn’t hear, Brady’s suspension has officially kicked off under Pontius Pilate. Yup, every time Tommy wants to brush his teeth or cuddle with his wife, he has to get permission from Dictator Goodell.

goodell

Some people spend hundreds of dollars a year on pre-workout, I just google image that fuckin’ guy. But I digress…

Julian Edelman gave his opinion on the suspension here.  There are guys that say they’ll run through a brick wall for TB12, and then there’s Julian Edelman, who would run through the brick wall, absorb a head shot from Kam Chancellor, and take it 12 more yards for a first down for TB12.

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Rob Gronkowski and Nate Solder are OUT vs. Cardinals

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Deep breaths. Deeeeeeep breaths. That’s what I’m taking since this tweet came across my timeline…

Gronk pulled up in a mid-August training camp practice, tweaking his hamstring and wasn’t seen again until this week’s practice. Meanwhile, Solder, possibly forced to play because Tom Brady needed fourth-preseason-game-snaps, pulled up lame himself against the Giants. Now both will miss the season opener. Yikes.

First, perspective. These are two vital players. There is no need to trot them out there in the first game of the season against an NFC opponent. This is a game that is as close as you can get to meaningless in the regular season.

That doesn’t make it any less scary though. Especially for, you know, a young quarterback making his first career start.

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New England Patriots Gameplan: Week 1 at Arizona Cardinals

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Patriots Cardinals GameplanThe long cold offseason is finally over. Patriots football is back this Sunday as the Pats travel to Arizona and face a stiff test from a Cardinals team that was one of the best in the NFC last season.

Of course the center of the media coverage is Jimmy Garoppolo, embarking on the first of his four game 2016 tour. Garoppolo was just okay this preseason, but didn’t have a turnover, and that might be the most important key to success for him over this first quarter of the season.

While everyone’s talking about Garoppolo — how he really feels about Tom Brady, how he feels about Tom Brady having an enormous banner hanging over the home stadium, how he feels about Tom Brady not being around to give him advice — what I’m most interested in this weekend is the Patriots defense.

Simply put, they are stacked. And if Jimmy gives them the chance, they can win every one of these four games.

Here’s the gameplan for the Cardinals…

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Patriots Season Kickoff Contributor Roundtable

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With the season opener in Arizona quickly coming upon us, we took a moment with a few of the PatsPropaganda contributors to reflect upon training camp and get some generally feelings about the Patriots heading into the 2016 campaign.

Here’s what everyone had to say.

What was your biggest surprise of training camp?

Niko Davos: Cruel surprise? The extent of Sebastian Vollmer’s hip injury, which is expected to end his 2016-2017 campaign before it started. On a related note, however, the most pleasant surprise was the play of his replacement, Marcus Cannon. Cannon looked good throughout camp and preseason, and it would be a major factor if he could continue to play at this level into the regular season and beyond.

Adam Magnacca: I’m thrilled that all of the surprises this camp were good ones but I definitely wasn’t expecting Joe Thuney come in from Day 1 and lock down the LG position. I thought he was gonna come in and be a good to great backup on the interior of the line but boy did he prove me wrong. The more I learn about him the more I wanna grab a beer with him. But more importantly, I want him to play out of his mind this year and I have a good feeling about that position for the next 10 years.  *Honorable Mention: I loved watching Jacoby Brissett playing. I think if he keeps improving he could turn into a great Roethlisberger type player. I’m excited about his development. 

Rick Starke: I had Bryan Stork as a starter at guard in my preseason offensive line projection, so to go from “penciled in starter” to “total free agent, picked up by nobody” is kind of a big surprise, especially considering the calming influence he had on the line in 2014, and that he started at center, guard, and tackle last year.

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Coffin Corner: (TB) 12 Reasons I love this Sunday.

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Chapter 1 (of 22): “The Suspension Begins”

1. The NFL loves “The’s”. We’re relentlessly reminded of The Catch, The Comeback, The Fumble, The Drive, The Commissioner and now, they have added another “The” to their pantheon of the absurd and miraculous: The Suspension. (That link courtesy of the great, Fitzy).

It’s been hanging over our heads like the ‘light’ that popped up on the dashboard a month ago, only if the future of humanity was at stake not a new transmission. As the tacky, trolling ESPN clock counts down to the moment when TB12 races out of the tunnel with two baby lambs in his hands and revs the engine of the New England Patriots suped-up offense. So let’s pull into the service station, get rid of the “glowing wrench” and move on to football.

Speaking of wrenches, when Brady’s story is told, starring Matt Damon, they can just insert this footage to tell the story of his suspension negotiations:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sCWkBPML4E

‘He put three punishments on the table: the 4-game suspension, a game, or a public confession.’

As George Herbert brilliantly said: “The best revenge is living well.” So let’s live well. Also let’s take some Goddamn revenge! Here’s how we start:

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Can Jimmy Garoppolo Defy the Odds and Lead the Pats in his Four Games as a Starter?

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As we all know by now, New England Patriots starting quarterback Tom Brady will sit out the first four games of the NFL regular season. On the heels of that controversial ‘Deflategate’ saga, backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo now steps into the spotlight left by his future Hall of Fame teammate. Some diehard Pats fans are questioning Garoppolo ability, and are worried that he will choke in the spotlight.

Every NFL fan understands how the first handful of regular season games are essential to a team’s success. For the Pats, these four games could easily make or break their playoff chances, which is why there will be a significant amount of pressure on Jimmy Garoppolo. This is a new scenario for both the team’s backup QB and the fans, as New England hasn’t opened a season without Brady as the starter since 2001, when Drew Bledsoe was still at the helm.

Apart from being a quick-releasing, good-looking quarterback out of Eastern Illinois – who generally played well during his brief stints as backup QB in his rookie year – what else do we need to know about Jimmy G? First off, if Garoppolo plays like he did in the preseason against the New Orleans Saints, then we could see the Patriots go at least 3-1 in the first four games. Ultimately, for number 10, there are a lot of factors to consider, and head coach Bill Belichick might play a major role.

The Boston Globe reported how Bill Belichick got Jimmy Garoppolo up to speed way before the finality of the now-infamous ‘Deflategate’. What’s important, for now, is to focus on the task at hand and what lies ahead, as well as deflecting all the outside interruptions. “Distractions that demand our attention appear more numerous than ever before in human history,” according to an infographic entitled ‘Improving Concentration and Focus’ which explores several studies on the subject. In other words, the battle starts way before the Pats hit the gridiron, as the challenge lie with how Jimmy G handles the pressure and negates the odds stacked against him.

The prop odds for the New England Patriots’ record for the first four games of the 2016 NFL season are at: 4-0 (+1150), 3-1 (+180), 2-2 (+145), 1-3 (+335), and 0-4 (+1500). With three of the first four games played at home versus the Miami Dolphins, the Houston Texans, and the Buffalo Bills (the lone away game against the Cardinals in Arizona), it’s more likely the Jimmy Garoppolo and Pats will start 2-2. If history suggests something significant with the aforementioned record, then maybe – just maybe – we can repeat what happened in Super Bowls XXXVIII and XLIX.

For now, let’s just wait and see how Jimmy G fares amidst the attention, the distraction, and the pressure.