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Reiss/ESPNBoston: Patriots PUP List

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One of the last gut punches of the offseason is usually the announcement of the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, which quickly tells you who isn’t quite fully recovered from offseason injury/surgeries. Often this list comes with surprises, but this year everything looks pretty straightforward.

Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola both recently underwent surgery after injury-plagued seasons. Dion Lewis and Shaq Mason made appearances at the final day of mini-camp but aren’t quite ready to jump into the action this week. Sebastian Vollmer’s status has been under-the-radar this offseason, but he went through plenty of small injury issues last season as well.

All had lingering issues that will need to managed early on.

The good news is that left tackle Nate Solder, who played just three full games in 2015, is not on the list. Also that zero members of the defense will start out on the sideline. That’s a great start for them, especially with so many physical players who had their fair share of injury issues last season.

The offensive pieces that are out will be vital in the long haul, especially Edelman and Lewis. Their absences will give more reps to younger players and hopefully spur their development. Chris Hogan and Malcolm Mitchell would do well to take advantage of the extra time with Brady.

Players can come off the PUP list at any time. If they aren’t removed from the PUP list by the start of the regular season, they can be kept on it through the first six weeks of the season. At this point, it wouldn’t appear any of those opening camp on the list would be likely candidates to remain on the list into the season, but there can be a roster advantage to stashing someone away.

Pre-Training Camp Patriots 53-Man Roster Roundup

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The PatsPropaganda staff all projected their pre-Training Camp 53-man rosters, giving us a general picture of how we see things shaking out. The biggest unknowns are, of course, injuries. Nothing unravels the best laid plans of the offseason faster. But there are plenty of big questions as we get ready to kick off camp next week.

Who will start of the PUP list in camp, and in season? Who can’t pass the conditioning test? Or worse, who gets hurt in camp and leaves a hole for someone new to fill?

Generally the Pats Prop team seemed mostly on the same page as to the locks and the bubble guys. Here’s how things shook out, and where the areas of most intrigue are.

The locks (41):

  • QB: Garoppolo, Brissett
  • RB: Blount, Bolden, Develin
  • WR: Edelman, Amendola, Hogan, Mitchell, Slater (ST)
  • TE: Gronk, Bennett, Harbor
  • OL: Thuney, Mason, Solder, Vollmer, Cannon, Waddle
  • DE: Ninkovich, Sheard, Long, Grissom
  • DT: Brown, Branch, Knighton, Valentine
  • LB: Hightower, Collins, McClellin, Freeny, Grugier-Hill
  • CB: Butler, Ryan, Coleman, Jones
  • S: McCourty, Chung, Harmon, Richards, King
  • Roster Exempt: Brady, Ebner

This leaves 12 roster spots that were up for debate. Let’s take a closer look at the areas where the projections differed most and what position battles to focus on.

RBs, Dion Lewis and the PUP

The only ones who left Dion Lewis off had him on the PUP list, meaning the Pats would sit him for the first six weeks of the regular season. That would appear to leave things a little thin. White, Gaffney, Brown and Foster all made some of the rosters. No one seems quite sure what to make of them at this point.

Niko: I gave White the nod because of his explosiveness as a receiver out of the backfield, but ask me again in a couple of weeks and I could go another way. I expect James to be pushed by the other backs I mentioned, who both may be more effective running between the tackles.

Rick: Going youth + proven commodities at RB: Foster over James White, and due to various roster exemptions, keeping both Gaffney and Brown active to start the year, Gaffney probably not making the gameday 46. This is where I see the largest likelihood of being incorrect, as 6 deep at RB is a lot.

Jamie: I think Pats have a lot to choose from and I was pretty afraid to make those choices: I forced myself to trim so Develin could make the team. I think upside of someone like Foster is exciting, but if it’s possible I think he begins the year on the practice squad. Probably dangerous, but maybe.

Interior Offensive Line

Everyone was in sync on the tackles with Waddle beating out Fleming, but there was a lot of differing opinions on Stork, Andrews, Jackson and Kline.

Jamie:  I think Stork and Andrews are redundant and neither are great or bad, if one could move to other spots effectively that’d be great, but we haven’t seen that. I’d imagine Stork has a better trade value so maybe that’s the route if there’s a center hungry team. I do think the Pats probably will try to stash some of their young OL talent on the practice squad, but as of now, I think they roll the dice and keep 10 O lineman, sans Stork and try to find a guard who can swing to center in a pinch.

Niko:  Offensive line is clearly an area of focus, and may be the most unpredictable and intense competition on the roster. I left David Andrews off because of Thuney’s ability to play anywhere up front, and Tre Jackson off because of his uneven health. That being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if Jackson was stashed on the “PUP” list at the beginning of the season as a way to buy time for last year’s 4th round pick.

Cornerback

Half of the projections had Darryl Roberts as the fifth cornerback, the other half had undrafted rookie Jonathan Jones. This matchup and Stork vs. Andrews are the most clear-cut head-to-head position battles in camp.

Niko: There should be a solid clash for the final cornerback spot(s) behind the top 3 locks (Butler, Ryan, Jones). I currently have Coleman and Jones edging out Biggers, Roberts, Bentley, and LeBlanc. Out of the cuts, Roberts has the best chance to stick.

Other Notes:

LB/DE

Niko: Two tough cuts on the defensive line: Trey Flowers and Markus Kuhn. Grissom edges out Flowers because of (you guessed it) special teams contributions, and there’s simply no room for Kuhn with Branch, Brown, “Pot Roast”, and Valentine presumably being locks.  My thinking is that McClellin could and will be used on the defensive line, and a few of the safeties are chiefly special teams studs.

Rick: I can see both Grissom and Nink playing standing up, which increases linebacker depth.

Jamie: I projected that the Pats keep all of their DE on the 90 man because that’s just how they roll, they like the versatility on the edge and they have plenty to choose from. There’s a possibility they move on from one and keep an extra man in LB core.

WR

Niko: Keyshawn Martin over Nate Washington and Aaron Dobson.  I went with Martin mainly because of his contributions on special teams.

Jamie: Devin Lucien on the roster: he could probably be snuck onto the practice squad and have Nate Washington or Keyshawn Martin on the roster, but, did you ever actually watch his college highlights? He runs the exact route tree that Troy Brown/Deion Branch/Tim Dwight/Wes Welker/Edelman/Amendola have made their bones with in New England and absolutely crushes it. HELLO. Fits like a glove. Probably a gameday inactive, but if not, spells either one to keep them fresh down the stretch. Nate Washington reeks of “veteran callback in week 11 roster emergency” if anything to me, though.

Adam: I really wanted to keep Tyler Gaffney but I just could not bring myself to do it. Excited about the return of James Develin. I think he’ll be a key to keeping Garoppolo in good shape for the first quarter of the season.

Silver Linings Playbook: Task list to withstand the first four with Gabagool.

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Jimmy Garoppolo PatriotsFor the first four games, the New England Patriots offense will be helmed by Jimmy Garoppolo and then presumably the rest of the season by Brady (sorry, ESPN trolls I’m not linking to your dumb hot takes). Meaning that the Patriots offense will undergo the largest adjustment of the NFL season simply by obligation (barring Aaron Rodgers being suspended for four games for openly admitting he required his staff to overinflate balls).

Luckily for them, the Pats have the “Adjuster in Chief” in William Stephen Belichick and his “Secretary of Offense” in Joshua Thomas McDaniels. This inane lynching of Brady will be no different than his ’08 injury, they will adjust. Sure, not having 12 will hurt a buttload more than it helps, but there are few silver linings.

Does the Brady suspension make the Pats Offense MORE unpredictable? Yes.

Smarter (and lazier) men than I came up with a more nuanced way to approach analysis of the NFL, which is to evaluate it in four-game chunks that form trends. Football at the highest level is just stacks on stacks on stacks of adjustments, like a Mahjongg tile game. When you look at a 16 game season or multiple seasons, the nuances are indecipherable, but if you cut three-quarters of the tiles away, you can register the ways offenses and defenses are adjusting, which makes the areas of strength and weakness much easier to identify.

With four games a piece from two different QBs, this will make this type of evaluation more difficult for opposing defenses. Because after week 8 is the bye week, where the Pats self-evaluate and make adjustments in anticipation of teams exploiting their found weaknesses (Good timing).  It’s worth noting that the Pats offense last year was the best in the league, by far over the first nine weeks of the season. To some extent, that calendar is extended this year (barring injury) through more than three-quarters of the regular season.

But not having the best player on the team, also makes the team much much much worse. Here are ways to blunt the most damage and the ways they could backfire.

Task 1: Build a variation of the offense that suits Garopollo’s strengths.

Phil Simms could have pulled this out of whatever’s left between his ears, but it’s worth mentioning that Josh McDaniels is pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good at tailoring an offense to individual players’ skills. It definitely won’t be Cassell ‘08 redux, (always link to the boss’ bomb post) which was like a Tesla being driven by my great grandmother. But McDaniels made Kyle Orton an effective QB (’10-’11 RTG: 87.1), so he will be chomping at the bit to highlight the areas that JG’s effective.

Complication: Jimmy G’s basically Brady but 6’2″ and unproven: he has a quick release, reads defenses well and works quickly, intense, hardworker, strong leader. So the offense probably won’t be that much different.

Task 2: Use wrinkles that you wouldn’t use with Brady under center.

When Brady’s running the offense, the Patriots rarely use gadget plays because the offense doesn’t need to gamble.  But they’re certainly not opposed to it. (SIDENOTE: This is all anecdotal because no one has real statistics in the NFL, somehow the NBA can tell us within an inch where Bill Russell shot from on a Tuesday in 1964, and baseball has a pitch locator that identifies speed, spin, location in less than a second, but no one has ever charted plays in the NFL, despite it’s popularity and lack of a large sample size, good lord, anyway).

With Brady, all they have to do is execute or “do their job” (the most tired but still relevant phrase) at their various positions and they will be fine playing it straight. (INSERT: STAT for gadget plays, oh, right, there aren’t any) As someone who thinks the gadget play design and execution that the Patriots used in ’14 Ravens AFC Divisional round game were some of the most inspired and balls-out plays in NFL history, I am pro-gadget play. And as a football fan, I love things like this video:

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(My favorite is the bounce pass from Presbyterian, note for Indy turf, prepare). In order to win against tough defenses (ari, MIA, HOU, BUF) they may need to take a few chances with the young guy.

Complication: When a new QB takes over, typically you want to simplify not overcomplicate. Also gadget plays can blow up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrtzpdH_uPM

Seriously go over to Youtube and watch it, I’ll wait.  Okay now watch it one more time. S000000o good. Collinsworth: What the… heck?

Task 3: Create mismatches that are easier to exploit.

I wrote about this last weekend, but the elite two TE packages will make things easier on Jimmy G. Identifying how many DBs vs. LBs on the field is far simpler than individual player match-ups.

Complication: You’re asking a person who hasn’t played a meaningful football game in 3 years to quickly identify personnel and adjust protections. Lot to ask.

Task 4: Create a nickname for this dude, a starting QB needs a solid handle.

Brees, Brady, Rodgers… nowhere does Garoppolo fit into that list. If he’s going to gain trade value or *gulp* be a long-term option for the Pats, this has to happen. Also, it’s exhausting typing Garoppolo, it’s like Belichick, it never looks right however you spell it. JG’s Italian, so my pick is Jimmy Gabagool.

Complication: Gabagool is harder to type.

Task 5: Protect the dude.

With no Brady and Ebner, I think Belichick and Caserio keep an extra O-lineman on the active roster, which should at least give them ample bodies at each position on the front line.

Complication: O-line will improve, but Solder’s coming off major surgery and Vollmer ain’t exactly a healthy doggy. Depth at Tackle isn’t optimal.

Task 6: Stop talking about how handsome he is until he wins a game.

This one is for media members and fawning “hilarious” tweeters, losers aren’t handsome, they’re “pretty boys”. Pretty boys suck.

All that being said, I’m decently optimistic, but first four weeks are gonna suck a little. Maybe he wins ugly, maybe he loses a few, maybe he loses em all, who knows. We know that Brady will be back and ready to go in October, that’s all that matters. Until then, keep the expectations low and keep Brady ’01 in mind. Godspeed.

Patriots Cornerbacks by the Numbers: 10 Observations

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Patriots CornerbacksQuestion to Patriots fans everywhere – 2014 aside, when was the last time you went into a season feeling overwhelmingly confident about your team’s depth at corner? In my recollection there was a dark time between 2009 and 2014 where the back half of the roster could’ve been described as a land of misfit toys.

I apologize for my lack of faith. If this team has taught me anything it is that Nick Caserio, BB & Staff have the best personnel department in the league, but guys like Derrick Martin, Malcolm Williams, and Justin Green never really had me nodding my head in confidence. Especially given the Patriots heavy usage of DB-heavy sub packages, and the fact that we’ve used 3CB schemes with increasing regularity for the past half-decade, depth at corner is crucial to almost any team in the NFL’s success.

I’m happy to say that this year our corners have me as excited as Edelman at a Tom Brady autograph signing. As a disclaimer, I tend to fall in love with the back half of the roster pretty much every year (e.g. was convinced Dax Swanson was the second coming, and may or may not have compared James Morris to Bruschi) but this is a new year. I pledge to at least try to be a little more careful…

That said, let’s bust out the brown paper bags from under the bed and take a look at some naughty, naughty numbers:

Pats CBs

There truly is something compelling athletically about all of these athletes. I’m gonna go out on a limb and assume that the Patriots will carry five CBs this year, and that Butler, Ryan & C. Jones are all locks. That leaves a 6 man competition for two spots between–E.J. Biggers, Justin Coleman, Darryl Richards, Jonathan Jones, Cre’Von LeBlanc, and V’Angelo Bentley. All of whom are compelling players in their own rights and I will be breaking down individually in order to predict who will make the roster.
A couple quick observations in looking at this group strictly on paper:

  1. Obviously a young group experience-wise. Biggers is the old veteran & Logan Ryan is one of the old men at this position. That’s certainly a positive looking at the group moving forward.
  2. Seems like ~7.2 is the cutoff for 3-cone time, and ~4.2 is the cutoff for the 20-yard short shuttle. BB likes to play to his position group’s strength’s, and while there’s no one trend among all the players, all of them are excellent in one column or another.
  3. With regards to 3-cone & 20-yd times, these skills are more important for the slot corners who need elite short-area quickness to stay with receivers on quick, short routes. This is why guys like Justin Coleman, Cyrus Jones & you would assume E.J. Biggers (though I couldn’t find his stats) have good numbers there.
  4. Straight line speed is more important for boundary corners like Butler, Ryan & Roberts who need to flip their hips in man coverage and run with receivers down the field. Straight line speed is also crucial for special teams players like jammers and returners, something Jonathan Jones and Cyrus Jones might project to in their first years respectively.
  5. Newcomer Jonathan Jones on paper is the fastest player at the position. Interestingly, Jones was a 110m hurdler in Ga. in high school, 110, and apparently he was pretty damn good. He won the national title, as in fastest in the country at the event, with a time of (13.72), the world record is 12.80. Keep in mind Jones is only 5’8! Here’s a look at him hurdling:
  6. Justin Coleman, also from Ga., was a 110m hurdler among other track events, his best time (that I could find on the interwebs) of 14.61 is nearly a second slower than Jones. Hurdling is not football, but it’s an interesting competition that I’m sure the personnel department is aware of.
  7. I’ve read that ~4.4. time is what scouts would prefer in an NFL corner. This is why Malcolm Butler was overlooked by many because of his 4.6 time. As Belichick detailed to weirdly enough, Coach K, the Patriots timed Butler at 4.4 in pre-draft private workouts. All hail Caserio.
  8. On paper, Justin Coleman really stands out with the best Bench, 3-Cone, & 20-yd dash times in the group. All good skill for a guy who needs to play a slot corner  who needs to jam and then run with receivers underneath,
  9. Darryl Roberts broad jump and vert are nice compliments to his height and make him unique to this group as one the longest players. Leaping ability is nice, but the Patriots have been lacking CBs with size desperately. Roberts by all accounts was having a great spring last year before landing on IR at the end of camp, so it will be interesting to see if he can stay healthy this year and maybe steal a roster spot for himself.
  10. At least on paper Logan Ryan had a better year than Malcolm Butler last year. That to me was somewhat noteworthy, but this also reflects that Ryan was thrown at much more than Butler.

Pats fans should be excited about this group of players. They are a unique group of talents at a crucial position in a pass-heavy league.I will be taking a look at the bubble players, aka not Butler, Ryan or C. Jones, in upcoming pieces. All of them have great stories of their own that I’ll try to explore more in depth before the season starts. Here’s to training camp!

 

PatsPropaganda Contributor Roundtable: Part II

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Our round table continues…

What does your opening day offensive line look like?

Pete Smith: Solder – Kline – Stork – Cooper – Vollmer

Rick Starke: Solder, Mason, Andrews, Stork, Vollmer.

Niko Davos: Nate Solder, Shaq Mason, Brian Stork, Jonathan Cooper, and Sebastian Vollmer.

Jamie Conway : I’ll go Solder-Kline-Andrews-Mason-Vollmer. Really just the fact that Scar’s back and hopefully that rotation garbage is vanquished should improve any line.

Adam Magnacca:  I think opening day line is Solder-Cooper-Stork-Shaq-Vollmer

Which running back gets the most touches week one?

Pete Smith: LeGarette Blount. The Patriots need to ease Dion Lewis back into the game plan.

Rick Starke: Whichever running back not named Brandon Bolden is on the least fantasy rosters.

Niko Davos: Lewis will probably be brought back slowly, I’ll go with LeGarrette Blount. I think McDaniels will try to establish the run against a stiff Cardinals’ pass defense, putting the young gunslinger in the best situations to succeed.

Jamie Conway: Will do a longer piece about this the week of the game, but this RB positional group will be more match-up oriented than any other on the roster. I’d say whoever our big back will be used up the middle and off tackle (hi, Chandler) against the Cardinals, just to keep them honest. 9-10 touches – Blount.

Adam Magnacca: In an ideal world, Dion Lewis gets the most touches for a back. However, they might be gentle with him coming off of injury and I’m fine with that.

What team in the AFC scares you the most?

Pete Smith: Kansas City. While it may seem like a distant memory now, this is the team that dismantled us in week 4 of 2014. Granted this loss also gave us the greatest montage intro content ever (thanks Trent Dilfer!), but it should serve as a reminder that the Patriots, especially on the road, are still capable of losing big on occasion.

Rick Starke: The New England Patriots IR squad. Maybe Pittsburgh.

Niko Davos: Has to be Pittsburgh. That offense is silly talented. Luckily the defense is a sieve and Brady consistently shreds them.

Jamie Conway: It’s only a half-team really, but Denver’s D.

Adam Magnacca: In the AFC I’m the most afraid of the Bengals. Their Defense is no joke with a formidable pass defense and Andy Dalton has only gotten better. Let’s not forget the Bengals were competitive in the post season with AJ McCarron at the helm.

Favorite Non-Super Bowl Pats Win?

Pete Smith: 2014 AFC Division Game vs Baltimore. Down 14-0 then 28-14. BB’s “do your job” speech. Terrell Suggs as the perfect villain. Ineligible, eligible receiver play. Double pass. The dime to LaFell. Harmon’s clinching interception. One of the most satisfying and electric games I’ve ever watched.

Rick Starke: 2004 AFCCG vs Steelers…or divisional round that year vs the Colts. Both just thorough thrashings that really encapsulated everything about the “Patriot Way”. Let your play do the talking.

Niko Davos: The 2013 comeback from down 24-0 at half against the Broncos. Why? Can’t stand the Broncos, can’t stand Peyton Manning. That one felt good, real good.

Jamie Conway: Ravens Divisional Round ’14, cuz @#$% them.

Favorite Current Player? Favorite All-Time Player?

Pete Smith: LeGarette Blount. LeGarette Blount.

Rick Starke: For non-Brady current favorites, either Ninkovich or James Develin. All-time: Tedy Bruschi.

Niko Davos: Other than the obvious (Brady), I have to go with Big Vince Wilfork for all-time, and Dont’a Hightower for current. You’ve got to love those lunch pail blue-collar type defensive studs.

Jamie Conway:  A. Edelman, he’s top 3 WR in the NFL but gets treated like a system guy.  B. C’mon. I mean I like Ben Coates, but there’s only one true love.

Adam Magnacca: My favorite current player has to be Gronk. He’s just impossible not to root for and he plays like a champion while having fun. Watching him against the Broncos the last three times they’ve faced off he’s played ferociously. It feels like Brady’s clutch gene is starting to rub off.

Which loss still haunts you the most?

Pete Smith: Super Bowl XLII. 

Rick Starke: After working on my first article: 2006 AFC Championship game vs the Colts. HOW did they lose that game after that start?!

Niko Davos: 18-1. And it’s not close. I’ll stop there while I still have my hair and fingernails.

Jamie Conway: ’08 Season. Would have been 19-0, for real.

Adam Magnacca:  I’ll never forget “The Super Bowl That Shall Not Be Named” and I think that’s all I will say about that

 Favorite Tom Brady moment of all-time?

 

Pete Smith & Niko Davos:

Rick Starke: Every time he rushes for a first down/touchdown and is incredibly fired up. I don’t think I’ve seen that in a loss, ever.

Jamie Conway: SNL Sexual Harassment sketch. 

Adam Magnacca: My favorite Tom Brady moment of all time might be watching him juke Brian Urlacher on a scramble. A Brady run for more than 1 yard is exciting on its own and to see him fake out an all time linebacker was A.) Hilarious B.) Awesome.

Favorite Deflategate character?

 Pete Smith: Jeffrey Kessler. “Your honor is spot on.”

Rick Starke: Whoever finally ends it, hopefully with a pro-Brady conclusion.

Niko Davos: The GOAT Judge, Mr. Richard M. Berman, the one guy who didn’t see Brady through a villainous lens, and was able to make his ruling with practicality and common sense. Sounds crazy, huh? Let’s hope the rest of the gentlemen at the Second Circuit Court of Appeals take a page out of his book…

Jamie Conway: Kirk Minihane: DID YOU READ THE WELLS REPORT!!!

Adam Magnacca: I’m just so sick of Deflategate. I don’t care about the suspension, I’m fine with seeing what Jimmy can do and letting Brady stay fresh. I just hate that people are still convinced that Brady HAD to have orchestrated some evil plot to reduce the PSI by roughly 0.01. People…

 Favorite piece of Patriots swag to wear on gamedays?

Pete Smith: #88 Terry Glenn Home Blue ‘90s Jersey. The 90’s Pats “Futbol” jerseys with double flying Elvis shoulders were atrocious and beautiful at the same time. In the market for an Otis Smith jersey if anyone has any leads.

Rick Starke: I actually am against wearing gameday swag with logos on it. Seems like teams I cheer for lose when I wear their logos on gameday.

Niko Davos: This exact look, every weekend: Pats’ winter hat, Blue Wilfork jersey as a scarf, Brady red…

Jamie Conway: Portnoy’s The North Remembers hoodie.

Adam Magnacca: When it’s a big game I go to my original Reebok TB12 jersey. Can’t go wrong

Best live game experience (if applicable)?

Pete Smith: 2015 Week 10 Pats @ NYG  (27 – 26)

Rick Starke: My first attended Patriots game was the first ever Brady comeback…against the Chargers in the rain, down 10 with 3 minutes to go. I’ve only been to five games ever.

Niko Davos: November 22, 2012 at the Meadowlands, also known as the “Buttfumble” game. At that point in the season, the Jets fans were so livid with their team that by the second half they were high fiving the New England faithful every time the Pats punched one in. It was electric. A 35 point second quarter…will that ever be done again?

Jamie Conway: Every live game experience I’ve had was in the old stadium where you could walk down. So none.

Adam Magnacca: My favorite live Patriots game experience was seeing Peyton’s last game versus NE as a Colt. I was sitting in the 6th row (through a small miracle) and was on the side closest to James Sander’s game clinching interception. So much celebratory beer flew in the air. It. Was. Amazing.

PatsPropaganda Contributor Roundtable: Part I

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As you might’ve noticed in the past week, it’s not just me Mike D posting content here on PatsPropaganda anymore. I’ve added a handful of contributors to help this season. All are passionate and knowledgeable Patriots fans and I’m excited that there will be more great content than ever on the site thanks to them. You can check out more on each of them here.

While some of their pieces have already been posted, I thought a good way to introduce everyone to some of the contributors would be a round table discussion with everyone, with topics ranging from their Patriots fandom to their opinions on the upcoming season.

Here’s part one:

What are you most excited for with the 2016 Patriots as we get ready to open camp? 

Pete Smith: The running game benefiting from a healthy Blount & Lewis, and an improved offensive line. It won’t matter who starts at QB if these two play to the best of their abilities. An improved offensive line, aided by the return of Dante Scarnecchia, should pave the way for what I see as a top-5 RB combo in the NFL.

Rick Starke: Some football. The offseason seems longer every year, especially when certain particular “scandals” can’t seem to disappear. 3 out of the past 4 offseasons have been littered with ugliness, some manufactured, some really, really unfortunate.

Niko Davos: Oh come on. This one’s easy. Gronk and Bennett. Bennett and Gronk. On paper, the towering tight end duo is as difficult to defend as any pair Brady’s had to work with, including Moss and Welker. If the O-line can just be average this season, good freakin’ luck keeping the good guys out of the end zone.

Jamie Conway: Seeing how wide-open at least two of the stable of quick release receivers (Edelman, Amendola, Hogan, D. Lewis) and loping giants (Bennett and Gronk) will be on nearly every play.

Adam Magnacca: I’m most excited to get an inkling of how the team uses the new pieces they’ve gained this offseason. Are they going to use Bennett as another Y TE or will they see if they can use him as a move guy or maybe some weird combination of both? Will Shea McClellin be an edge guy or will be in the middle of the linebackers? There are so many interesting twists these and other new additions could create for the team this season

What are you most concerned about?

Pete Smith: Depth at Offensive Tackle. When Solder went down last year the Offensive Line never really seemed to be able to identify a reliable replacement at left tackle. This led to a constant shuffling and rotating of personnel upfront, and the line never seemed to really gel like previous lines. The Patriots did little to address these concerns with the addition of two primarily interior linemen in Thuney and Karas. This leaves the beguiled Marcus Cannon (a potential cap casualty), LaAdrian Waddle & Keavon Milton as the primary backup tackles. All things considered, this is a great problem to have, but one that I would have preferred seen addressed with a FA signing or trade.

Rick Starke: Depth at runningback has to be the biggest concern for all Patriots fans. I can’t see anywhere else on the roster that hasn’t been addressed. Perhaps the return of Dante Scarnecchia will be all that is needed to push the running game to the next level.

Niko Davos: The offensive line is by far the biggest concern. If you watched the godforsaken AFC Title game and saw Brady get hit 20 (!!!) times, that much is obvious. There is reason for optimism though, with the return of coach Dante Scarnecchia from retirement, tackle Nate Solder from injury, the infusion of new talent (Cooper, Thuney) and the expected in-house development. 

Adam Magnacca: I’m gonna go out on a limb and say I’m a little concerned about the Special Teams. It was not nearly as strong last year as it has been since Belichick took over. I’m hoping they tighten up in that area but we’re not really gonna see if what they’ve been doing will come to fruition until the preseason starts.

Under-the-radar player you think could breakout in camp?

Pete Smith: Jonathan Jones. Fits the mold of a typical Patriots corner. Has great speed (4.33 40), and great ball skills. Played in the SEC with Auburn. I was surprised he went undrafted, and with $35K guaranteed as a signing bonus for an UDFA, it reflects the value the Patriots saw in his skill set. According to multiple reports he’s looked good in camp so far, so I guess this is a bit of a safe pick.

Rick Starke: I’d love to see Kamu Grugier-Hill turn into more than just a bubble player. Freakish athlete Swiss army knife type players are certainly more bust than boom, but one more piece like that for the Patriots defense could push them into top-3 in the league realm.

Niko Davos: Tight end/fullback Clay Harbor was an interesting offseason acquisition that flew under the radar. He’s had a somewhat underwhelming career up until this point with Philadelphia/Jacksonville (26 catches in 2014 is his career high) but he’s a 6’3 250 pounder that can run a 4.6 40–yard dash, so the attractiveness from the Patriots’ perspective is clear. He has a Swiss-army knife skillset; one Josh McDaniels is drooling over as we speak.

Jamie Conway: Keshawn Martin or Nate Washington.

Adam Magnacca: I don’t know if it will happen but I want nothing more than for TE AJ Derby to explode on the scene. I want him to add another weapon to the TE room and scare the bejeezus out of the opposing D-Coordinators. If he turns into the Swiss army at TE who can line up anywhere and match up with anyone I would jump and down with joy.

Veteran player you could see as a surprise cut?

Pete Smith: Marcus Cannon. He has a big contract and I don’t think anyone on the OL outside of Solder and Vollmer has job safety right now. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Patriots roll the dice on Waddle or Milton in place of Cannon.

Rick Starke: Somebody in the trenches, most likely. There are a LOT of defensive ends on the roster, and a LOT of offensive linemen on the roster. Maybe Blount.

Niko Davos: Would Aaron Dobson be a surprise cut? No? OK, I’ll do better than that… Obviously something is going to have to give with the offensive line so my attention is there. Although they probably don’t qualify as “veterans”, 2015 rookies and occasional starters David Andrews and Tre Jackson need to perform in camp to stick around. That goes for Josh Kline as well. Jackson has had injury issues throughout his short career, so I could also see him beginning the year stashed on the “PUP” list.

Adam Magnacca: Bill always has a surprise camp cut and while some might not be shocked I could see them not keeping Clay Harbor. Even though he had a signing bonus, the team doesn’t care about that at final cuts. I think the offensive positions are pretty full and I don’t know that he’s different enough from James Develin, who the team loves.

What position battle intrigues you most?

Pete Smith: Last two defensive back spots. The battle between veteran E.J. Biggers, Justin Coleman, Darryl Roberts & Jonathan Jones should be intense for what I think will be ultimately 2 spots. I’m high on Jones and hope Roberts can oust Coleman. I’m not sure Biggers is anything more than a veteran camp presence.

Rick Starke: The interior of the offensive line. Stork has lined up everywhere, so he’s not a lock at center, but definitely a lock as a starter. Between three years of trades, draft, and free agent finds, there is a logjam of players there.

Niko Davos: Running back. After not drafting a back (which I was admittedly upset by), it’s clear the Hoodie trusts what he has in-house. With Blount the only power back (Bolden is primarily special teams), Dion presumably being handled with caution coming off the ACL, who steps up in the early going? I’m a fan of James White, but he’s not a great runner between the tackles. We know exactly what Donald Brown is, and I’m not sure that’s a good thing. Can the shifty undrafted rookie DJ Foster make the two aforementioned backs sweat their respective roster spots?

Jamie Conway: D Tackle: Branch, PotRoast, Malcolm Brown and Vincent Valentine show how a free agent depth acquisition can turn a vulnerable group into a real strength. 

Adam Magnacca: I’m most interested in how the offensive line shakes out. I think it’s an incredibly young and competitive group and nothing but good can come from that competition. Worst case scenario, the depth on the team is A+ and those young guys not starting are hungry for snaps.

Part II comes tomorrow!

Deflategate is Over, Tom Brady will Sit Four Games

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Tom Brady posted the below message on Facebook today, putting an end to Deflategate once and for all.

Tom Brady Deflategate

It’s hard to believe this thing dragged on for as long as it did, and you can revisit all the choice Deflategate posts from PatsPropaganda here. The 2014 AFC Championship seems like a lifetime ago now.

While it will suck not to have Brady for the first four games of the season, and my disgust for the NFL’s handling of the entire affair burns brighter than ever, I’m glad to get away from labor law. This blog has always been a football-first blog. Now we can go back to that. In fact, it really already started yesterday, taking a look at how Garoppolo is better prepared than Matt Cassel was in 2008, but faces a far more daunting slate of games.

Brady will sit those four games, one more lost draft pick will go by in April of 2017 and then Deflategate can fade into a footnote of Brady’s career. But it certainly sets the stage for one more necessary championship run. That fifth Super Bowl means everything now. Not only would it put Brady in a class by himself as a quarterback, it forces Roger Goodell to hand over the Lombardi trophy to Tom’s awaiting hands one more time.

That might be a hollow victory, watching Goodell Bot act like it’s no big deal. Like it was all business. That Brady doesn’t want to murder him. But it would mean something to all the Patriots fans who have passionately defended Brady from the start to get one more moment like that.

Now we can move on. Kind of. There will always be the idiots who make air pressure jokes. Who think this was about the Patriots and Brady cheating and not a corrupt NFL office. But when the NFL punishment circus comes their team’s way all we can say is “told ya”. I think more and more fans are aware of this now. John Cena’s joke at the ESPY’s confirmed that for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00sRBDl1J2I

This is really nothing new for Patriots fans. We got through it with Spygate and we’ll get through it with Deflategate. Because we have the best coach, quarterback and team in the NFL and their run is not yet over.

I leave you with the first ever piece I wrote that got any internet attention. I wrote it over eight years ago and it’s just as true as ever.

Embrace the hate. We’re Darth Vader. And the rest of the NFL is living on Alderaan.