PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

Sports Illustrated: Fan poll on the lockout

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In this week’s Sports Illustrated they polled NFL fans to find their opinions on the current labor dispute. Here are some interesting numbers:

Nearly half of fans (44%) say they would have less future interest in the NFL after a delayed or canceled season.

In my opinion the NFL is highly underrating the effect that any missed games would have for their fan base. They just assume that the fans will come back in full force as soon as the game comes back.

But let me use the NHL lockout of 2004 as an example. I was as big of a hockey fan as anyone prior to that lockout, but afterwards I totally lost track of the sport. And it wasn’t even on purpose really. I just lost interest, found other things to do, and developed an insane obsession for football.

The owners and players should really be aware that they’re going to lose fans. They probably already have.

With a disrupted NFL season, NCAA football would gain prominence getting more attention from 57.3 percent of NFL fans.

Go Cal Bears! Yeah I have done like zero Bears research since declaring my fanship for them last week. I’m trying people, but it’s not easy to force yourself into being a fan of a random team that you have no true connection to…

Fans would also spend more time surfing the internet (56.1%), with significant others (45.1%), doing yard work chores (43.6%), playing video games (33.5%) and at church (13%). 

So it looks like God would have to be on the lockout’s side? Family members too, especially wives who want to see the front yard get mulched.

What would fans miss most if the season is disrupted? 41.8 percent of fans said watching with friends and family and 40.7 percent said following a team. Only 5.2 percent of fans said fantasy football is what they’ll most miss and only 1.3 percent said betting on games.

I found this kind of interesting because I’ve often said that the pregame/buildup to watching football is the best part. Especially when your team loses. But it looks like most fans tend to be on that side of the fence, just a little more than the actual following of the team. If you asked me I’d probably break about 51% for the experience that goes with watching games, 49% for actually following the team. I don’t give a crap about fantasy football or gambling.

PatriotsFootballPlace.com: Historical Support Showing Difficulty in Projecting DE to 34 OLB

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PatriotsFootballPlace.com: Historical Support Showing Difficulty in Projecting DE to 34 OLB

Good stuff here, shows why trading up for an OLB conversion project is dicey at best. I think Robert Quinn is the only one to even consider, and even then I’m skeptical. If someone reported that Quinn’s FBI is off the charts like Jerod Mayo it might make it a little more palatable for me, but I have yet to see any kind of report that even hints at that.

ESPN debuts new Tom Brady doc April 12th

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Holy Hoodie! The Brady Six looks epic! Not that I really care what the other six guys are doing now. My biggest question is will they be able to mention Chad Pennington tearing his ACL last week playing baseball.

You know whenever they bust out these Brady films you’re guaranteed to get these clips:

  • Mr. Kraft telling the story of Brady telling him “I’m the best decision the organization has ever made”. Side note, Kraft had actually called him “Kyle” moments before. They leave that out now.
  • Brady’s quote on the sidelines “are we gonna lie down or are we gonna fight?!” which bugs the shit out of me because it came against the loss to the Colts in 2006 at Foxboro. So they uh… laid down there.
  • Pretty sure they’ll throw the story TFB tells about the Michigan equipment manager saying his favorite ring is the next one. This story has somehow evolved to be Brady’s quote, but technically it’s not.
  • We might even get the “rise up, take it to another level” which is another NFL Films favorite sound bite.

At least there’s definitely a shot of long haired Brady getting interviewed so it won’t just be all the old popular clips recycled yet again.

Either way my eyeballs will be pinned to the TV. April 12th. ESPN. Mark it down.

Three-round Patriots mock draft picks from Kiper & McShay

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The longer the mock draft the more and more ridiculous it becomes, but that doesn’t stop ESPN’s resident draft gurus Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay from doing three rounders. At least they don’t attempt the ultimate exercise in futility, aka the seven round mock draft.

Here’s who they have the Pats taking:

Kiper

  • Cameron Jordan
  • Justin Houston
  • Danny Watkins
  • Jonathan Baldwin
  • Daniel Thomas
  • Marcus Gilchrist

McShay

  • JJ Watt
  • Mark Ingram
  • Clint Boling
  • Daniel Thomas
  • Jabaal Sheard
  • Marcus Gilchrist

Instead of criticizing these picks (and I definitely don’t see all these guys as great fits) let’s just imagine that these are the actual results of who the Patriots drafted. Either way you get a sense of just how much talent the Pats are poised to add yet again this spring.

But clearly there are some divisive prospects on here. McShay’s draft alone would be great fodder for the podcast since Frenz would be psyched to get Watt, but scratching his head over Ingram.

Interesting that both mocks had Daniel Thomas and Marcus Gilchrist as selections, and along with Jonathan Baldwin make up the only three that aren’t on my big board.

Baldwin had some character flags that caused me to drop him. I believe there are better backs available than Thomas, though he’s big and seems like he would add a new element to the Green-Ellis/Woodhead backfield.

Gilchrist projects to safety but his lack of physicality is a big of a flag to me as well. There is definitely a need for a developmental free safety so perhaps Gilchrist could be a good fit, especially if he could play a little nickel corner as Wes Bunting believes he could day one.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8Eash_dA38

Kinda feels like off-season Danny Woodhead day, so why not a little highlight package of him. Excited to see what he can do after a full year to digest the playbook and come in ready to contribute.

One of the biggest reasons I enjoy being a Patriots fan so much are special players like Wes Welker and Woodhead who might get overlooked by other teams, but BB finds a spot for them and allows their talent to shine. So much fun to watch…

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)

https://www.patspropaganda.com/kinda-feels-like-off-season-danny-woodhead-day-so/