PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

Patriots 2016 Hall of Fame Finalists announced

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A 20-person nomination committee selects Raymond Clayborn, Kevin Faulk and Mike Vrabel as the 2016 Patriots Hall of Fame finalists. Patriots fans now have until May 14 to vote for the nominee most deserving of hall of fame honors.

Source: Patriots 2016 Hall of Fame Finalists announced | New England Patriots

Tough, tough choice here. Raymond Clayborn’s number’s don’t lie but most of us are guilty of recency bias and seeing two legends like Kevin Faulk and Mike Vrabel up there really pulls the attention away. Clayborn’s been nominated for his third-straight time, so it’s kind of now or never for him. He should probably be the guy right now, but is likely to once again be overshadowed by guys who helped the Pats win multiple Super Bowls.

But if we ignore Clayborn for a moment, as most new-ish Patriots fans are doing, how do you choose between Faulk and Vrabel? Both had so many huge plays in huge games that easily and immediately come to mind. Can you really say which was more valuable to the dynasty? I’d argue for Faulk that his value really spiked later in his career, like 2006-2009, though he broke 1000 yards from scrimmage in 2000 and 2003. 2008 he was vital to helping Matt Cassel with the third-most yards-from-scrimmage of his career.

As for Vrabel, I can’t lie. He’s one of my all-time favorite Pats and as we all know now, maybe the smartest player to ever play for Belichick. And the way he came to the team, as a Steeler castoff, only makes him really embody a huge part of what has made the Belichick Pats so good. The clutch Super Bowl touchdowns, the big sacks, playing any position on defense just about, Vrabel did it all and did it all at a high level.

In some ways I feel like Vrabel and Faulk are the flip side of the same coin. Somewhat unsung and under-appreciated but unquestionably the kind of players that the dominance of the 2000s was built on. While I think Vrabel probably wins the vote and gets into the HOF, Faulk shouldn’t have to wait long.

NFL’s Best GMs 2016: Belichick #1 – Rotoworld.com

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The reputation of “Bill Belichick, coach” has typically outpaced that of “Bill Belichick, GM,” but just look at what he’s done this offseason. The Patriots needed a receiver. Badly. What they didn’t need to do was give Mohamed Sanu or Marvin Jones $35 million. So instead of overpaying mid-range talents who were available for a reason, Belichick looked for help where others rarely tread: The restricted free agent market. Chris Hogan is now a Patriot for the next three years at the bargain price of $12 million. As Belichick was bringing Hogan aboard he was shipping star Chandler Jones out. The master of “one year too early instead of one year too late,” Belichick knew he wouldn’t be re-signing Jones next offseason. In lieu of letting Jones walk for a compensatory pick, Belichick turned him into a second-rounder and first-round reclamation project, OG Jonathan Cooper. Hogan and Jones represent what Belichick has always been. A zigger in a group of zaggers, and a futurist who doesn’t look at this trophy case. Belichick is the greatest of all time because of the games he’s won in the fall and winter, but it’s the work he does in the spring and summer that sets the table.

Source: NFL’s Best GMs 2016 – Goal Line Stand – Rotoworld.com

Love that this comes out the day after Belichick makes one of the most notable moves of his personnel career, cutting a first-round pick just two seasons into his career. Yes, it’s easy to say Dominique Easley was the biggest disappointment of Belichick’s tenure with the Pats, but guess what? Belichick doesn’t care. At all.

My favorite are those who love to say “Belichick can’t draft”. To that I always say compared to who? Let’s talk about all the coach/GMs that have had 16 drafts with the same team and sustained this level of success. Oh right, there aren’t any others. Not to mention the Pats have rarely had any top-15 picks, where the truly elite talent in the draft is selected each year. Belichick has built and re-built this team on both sides of the ball, with complete turnover outside the quarterback position, and had literally no drop off.

The draft is a crapshoot and no one who matters is keeping score. Sometimes you hit on guys, sometimes you miss. There’s no exact science. But I can tell you we’re far better off drafting for value and fit over need — selecting multiple players in the middle rounds over one player in the early rounds. Belichick gets what a crapshoot the draft is and that’s why quantity always trumps the perceived quality of early round picks.

 

Patriots Release Dominique Easley

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Patriots release Dominique Easley

Well this is a bummer, the Patriots released Dominque Easley today, their first round pick from 2014 who I was all over in the draft process. Of course this is a shocking move. Easley had injury concerns in college and those carried over into the pros, with both of his first two seasons ending on IR, but the current speculation is that it was more about his off-the-field behavior that precipitated him being cut.

When the Pats selected Easley it signaled somewhat of a departure for them. In the past, the Pats were more often a two-gapping defensive tackle team and Easley was not a two-gapper. He was a pure one-gapper with a superlative get off. That’s what you need on defense now, especially when you’re playing three-quarters of your snaps with more than four defensive backs on the field.

I saw some speculation that the release could signal another shift in scheme, but I don’t buy that anymore than I bought Revis and Browner walking meant the Pats were going to more zone coverage. Again, if we’re talking about the old “base” defense, it’s maybe 20% of the snaps. That’s not where games are won or lost. They’re won or lost against the pass, and that’s why you can’t have a bunch of two-gappers at defensive tackle now. You need variation, especially with your third-and-long personnel. You’re not cutting a first round pick because you don’t think you need pass rushers anymore.

So this all confirms that this is indeed about off the field issues. Here are a smattering of tweets that have come in, giving us an idea of what the Pats were no longer willing to put up with.

With the great rookie season of Malcom Brown and the retention of Alan Branch with the signing of Terrence Knighton, the Pats are still okay depth-wise at defensive tackle, but I’d still love to see them add an upfield element for their pass rush packages. Chris Jones could be in for an interesting re-birth after missing all of 2015. He’s the on-roster player I see most impacted by this release.

The good news is that this is an excellent defensive tackle class, with great fits for the Pats schematically, but this opens up a new line of thinking in the draft with a specific need.

Still, it will be interesting to see what Easley does whenever he’s picked up by a new team. It’s hard not to immediate label him the biggest disappointment of Bill Belichick’s draft career with the Patriots. That’s partially because my own expectations and excitement were so high when they selected him. But that’s what the draft is, a crap shoot that you have to take some big swings on, the same way they did with Rob Gronkowski.

This was a big swing, and unfortunately, a big miss.

Patriots Re-Sign LeGarrette Blount

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Patriots re-sign LeGarrette Blount

Blount back for another season with the Pats.

In a somewhat expected move, the Patriots re-signed LeGarrette Blount today to a one-year deal. Blount had been sending out pics last week from the Pats’ facility which indicated he’d likely be back with the team for his fourth season with the team.

I could’ve gone either way with bringing Blount back. He’s certainly had some great games for the Pats, usually against the Colts, but last year, when asked to take more of a lead back role, Blount wasn’t able to find much consistency. He failed to break 70 yards rushing after the Pats lost Dion Lewis to injury, and had his season end on IR with a hip injury sustained in Week 13.

As a complimentary piece, Blount is outstanding, especially as a closer once the defense is worn down a bit, but as the depth chart currently sits, the Patriots need to reinforce the position in the draft. Ideally they should add an early-down back who can make something out of nothing, or at the very least, grind out the tough yards early in the game.

Then with Lewis and Blount, the Pats should have the pieces necessary to rebuild their ground game that was decimated by injuries in 2015, and non-existent by the playoffs. Earlier this offseason I wrote how making over the running back position should be a priority this offseason, and though they only added Donald Brown in free agency before this, and exciting addition or two in the draft should give this offense just what they need.

Princesses, Pirates & Patriots: A Charity Tea with Lil’ Mayo

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVGhOpYkB60

If you missed any of the super cute videos the Patriots put together with Jerod Mayo’s daughter Chya the last couple seasons, they were totes adorbs. And though Jerod retired this year, Lil’ Chya is just starting her career and it looks like she’s got a bright road ahead of her.

Lil' Mayo is back!

Lil’ Mayo is back!

This Sunday, April 24th, Chya will be hosting Princesses, Pirates & Patriots: A Charity Tea with Lil’ Mayo at Mirbeau Inn & Spa in Plymouth from 11am – 2pm. Kids can dress up as their favorite princess, pirate or Patriot and are encouraged to bring an activity, arts & crafts kit or creative toy to donate. All proceeds will benefit the Boston Medical Center.

It will be a memorable family event including balloon artistry, face and nail painting, child-friendly games, and more, as well as a great way to show kids how to give back to the community!

Pricing for this afternoon is $55.00 per adult and $35.00 per child 12 years of age and under, exclusive of tax and gratuity.

To schedule your reservation, please call 877-MIRBEAU (877-647-2328).

Patriots release Tyler Gaffney

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The Patriots released Tyler Gaffney on Monday, jettisoning one of the players I was most intrigued about heading into training camp this summer. Running back was already a need, and though it seems like LeGarrette Blount should return after posting on social media from the Patriots facility last week, the Pats should take at least one running back in the draft, if not a couple.

I am curious to see what kind of additions the Pats do make in a couple weeks, because after the way they kicked the tires on so many receiving backs early in free agency, I wonder if this is a position that is evolving. We already know the Pats are one of the running-back-by-committee teams and there’s no sign  of that changing, but there seems to be a concerted effort to reinforce the passing game out of the backfield.

Of course, if Dion Lewis returns to the form he showed last year, it will be hard to take him off the field. James White seems like an able back up to Lewis, and one who can hold the fort until Lewis is fully ready to go. I’d assume the Pats will ease Lewis into things as he returns from an ACL tear.

With Blount back in the mix, the Pats would have a closer, but what they still lack is that early down grinder who can get the tough yards and soften up the defense. In a perfect world, I’d love to see a rookie burst on the scene and make for an eventual two-back rotation for the majority of the game with Lewis, with a dash of Blount to finish certain teams (cough Colts) off.

It should be a fun draft despite the Pats not having a first round pick because it’s easy to see them targeting multiple offensive weapons at both running back and wide receiver. Fans (and Tom Brady) love to have exciting new toys to play with and there should be a few on the way in a couple weeks.

 

Chuck Fairbanks for Patriots Hall of Fame

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Chuck Fairbanks for Patriots Hall of Fame

This time of year the Patriots Hall of Fame committee meets to decide who will be the newest inductees. Each of the past couple years a heated debate has been centered around Bill Parcells, but I think there’s an equal and less-discussed case to be made for Chuck Fairbanks for the Patriots Hall of Fame.

Last year I wrote a long piece why I don’t think Parcells should be in, but I understand the arguments of those who think he should be. No one was more excited when Parcells was hired than me. He instantly gave the team credibility, “drafted” a number of Patriots legends, introduced Bill Belichick to Robert Kraft and led the team to a Super Bowl loss. But generally, Parcells put the Pats back on the map and they haven’t really left the spotlight since he came to town.

Those are not insignificant accomplishments, but let’s also remember that the Pats were coming off just four losing seasons prior to Parcells. They had been to the Super Bowl in 1985. It’s not like this was the forever-worst team in the NFL. They were down for sure, but the Pats had been good before.

And a big part of being good before, something lost on many fans unaware of the team’s history, was Chuck Fairbanks whose career with the Patriots from 1973-1978 was incredibly similar, for both good and bad reasons, to Parcells’ tenure.

Let’s compare.

The Patriots had six-straight losing seasons prior to Fairbanks’ arrival, and hadn’t been to the playoffs in ten years. By 1976 the Patriots had their best team ever, handing the eventual Super Bowl champion Oakland Raiders their only loss of the season. Oakland would win the re-match in the playoffs in a hard fought game that featured a marginal roughing the passer penalty on Sugar Bear Hamilton on a third-and-18 incomplete pass that would set Oakland up for the 24-21 win.

But to this day, many believe the ’76 Pats teams was one of their best ever, even if they didn’t even make it to the Super Bowl. Before that, the Patriots truly were nobodies in the NFL landscape. If we really want to talk about a coach who put the Patriots on the map, Fairbanks would have to be the original choice.

Fairbanks vs. ParcellsFairbanks also drafted six of the 22 players currently in the Patriots Hall of Fame — Steve Grogan, John Hannah, Sam Cunningham, Steve Nelson, Mike Haynes (also an NFL Hall of Famer) and Stanley Morgan. Parcells has five — Drew Bledsoe, Willie McGinest, Tedy Bruschi, Troy Brown and Ty Law.

A big feather in Parcells’ cap is bringing Bill Belichick into the Patriots organization in 1996, which sparked a friendship between the defensive coordinator and owner Robert Kraft that would lay the groundwork for Belichick’s hiring in 2000. But Fairbanks also had significant contributions that paid off down the line.

The first was his 3-4 defense, called the Fairbanks-Bullough, that Belichick would later use as his defensive foundation. And Fairbanks’ offensive system, the Erhardt-Perkins offense, named for Patriots offensive coaches Ron Erhardt and Ray Perkins, and was also the foundation for the Patriots’ offense when Belichick took over with Charlie Weis as his offensive coordinator.

If you want to say that Parcells set the table for the Patriots dynasty, you should also include Fairbanks, as both systems he and his coaching staff were formulating and refining in the 70s are still having an impact even today, 40 years later.

Finally comes the exits of both coaches, which were both filled with controversy. Parcells was negotiating to jump ship to the Jets the entire two weeks leading up to the Patriots’ Super Bowl appearance. Many fans find this unforgivable, to not only undermine the team as they head to the biggest game of their lives, but to also go to a hated rival, while also bringing along the Pats’ best player, Curtis Martin. It understandable why this has left a lingering bad taste in fans’ mouths.

Fairbanks had a controversial exit as well in similar fashion, having been caught negotiating with the the University of Colorado during the Patriots’ 1978 season, breaking his contract. He was suspended for the last game of the season, only to be brought back for New England’s first-ever home playoff game, but the second-seeded Pats were upset 31–14 by superstar running back Earl Campbell and his fifth-seeded Houston Oilers.

Both coaches are significant figures in Patriots history and had major impacts not only on Patriots teams long after they left, but on the NFL and the game of football itself. What Parcells has going for him is his personality and how enjoyable he was to cover for those who decide who goes into the Patriots Hall of Fame. Fairbanks came up in a different era, and didn’t have the entertaining quotes and razor-sharp personality that made Parcells legendary.

But for what they actually accomplished on the field and with the team, Chuck Fairbanks deserves as much consideration as Bill Parcells.