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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.

 

Patriots 2016 Preseason Opponents Announced

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The offseason continues to slowly drip by, with the Patriots 2016 preseason opponents being announced. The Pats will play:

  • Aug 11-15: vs NO
  • Aug 18-22: vs CHI
  • Aug 25-28: at CAR
  • Sept 1-2: at NYG

It’s a good bet the Pats will take advantage of the Belichick-Sean Payton connection once again and set up some joint practices early in training camp, and could possibly do the same with the Bears. Those are always a good chance to get some quality work in against another scheme and style.

What I like about this preseason schedule is that it gives the Pats a nice cross section of pretty good teams to prepare them for the regular season. They’ll get to see practice time and a drive or two of a great passer in Drew Brees, a half of an okay passer in Jay Cutler, and one of the best mobile quarterbacks in the game in Cam Newton in the all-important third preseason game.

And yes, the Pats scrubs and hanger-ons will get to see Eli and the Giants for the first time sans Tom Coughlin in the final preseason week.

The full schedule should be released in the next month and that should be fascinating to see how the 2016 campaign lays out. It’s not the cake walk the 2015 schedule was, and is far closer to the hard road 2014 was. Of course as we saw, playing some great teams prepared that 2014 team well for the playoffs, though remaining healthy was the bigger key.

Patriots 2016 Opponents

Best Patriots Game of 2015?

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTbUrySDe5s

Looking back on the 2015 season now that we have some separation, I have to go with the thrilling last-second victory over the Giants as my best Patriots game of 2015. After this game there wasn’t much else to get excited about. Yes, the playoff win over the Chiefs was a solid victory, especially after the ass-pounding they handed us in 2014, but nothing tops finally beating Eli and the Giants for the first time since 2007’s 16-0 game.

The 4th-and-10 conversion to Danny Amendola on the final drive was a Tom Brady masterpiece. Such focus and poise in the pocket on a must-get play. Amendola also had a huge 82-yard punt return that sparked the comeback. It felt good to tear the Giants’ hearts out with a last second win for a change. This time around Eli just left too much time on the clock, as the Pats have done for him the last three matchups, including both Super Bowls.

Unfortunately the game was not without it’s significant injury hits, as Julian Edelman would miss the rest of the regular season after this one, seven games, in which the Pats went 3-4. So in many ways this win was the high water point of the season.

This was also the first game without Dion Lewis and the ground game struggles that would haunt the Pats the rest of the season started to show. They’d finish with 23 carries for 77 yards, a 3.3 yards-per-rush average.

Other 2015 contenders include the opening Thursday win over the Steelers, an tougher-than-expected battle with the Colts (who can forget their punt play?), and pounding an upstart Dolphins team. Not a lot of unforgettable games last year, but 2016 should change that with a beast of schedule.

Best Patriots Game of 2015

 

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Film Room: Martellus Bennett

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Source: FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Film Room: Martellus Bennett

A great X-and-O read that breaks down what I’ve been writing about since the Pats added Bennett. In short, his blocking ability is what sets him apart from the tight end combos of years past. Now, with Gronk on one end Bennett on the other, there’s nothing the Patriots can’t seamlessly do without changing any personnel. Power run game? Check. Spread offense? Check. Your move, defenses.

Which New England Patriots newcomer will have the biggest impact? | masslive.com

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Patriots free agent impact

The New England Patriots acquired Martellus Bennett, Chris Long, Shea McClellin, Jonathan Cooper, Chris Hogan and Donald Brown. Who makes the biggest impact?

Source: Which New England Patriots newcomer will have the biggest impact? | masslive.com

Fun read from Kevin Duffy weighing who will make the biggest impact this season of the newly-added free agents. For me, I think Chris Hogan and Martellus Bennett have the best chance to play the most of the group.

Chris Long should slide into the third defensive end role and should get plenty of action as well. An injury to Jabaal Sheard or Rob Ninkovich would elevate him into starter’s status and I’m betting he’d be ready for that challenge.

Shea McClellin should be the base middle linebacker, which is a one-to-two down role, but as we’ve seen Dont’a Hightower and Jamie Collins both miss significant time last year, he’s also on a paper-thin verge of an almost every-down role.

Finally Jonathan Cooper will be fascinating to watch this year. He might be the most talented guard on the roster, but that’s no guarantee he beats out the promising second-year guards. Still, if he is able to finally put it all together he could have a huge impact in transforming the Pats’ offensive line from the disaster we saw at various times last year. Pair him with Shaq Mason and the athleticism at the guard position will be through the roof.

I expect Hogan to step into the role Brandon LaFell had in 2014, playing nearly every snap as the primary X/outside receiver. Hard to predict if he’ll earn Brady’s trust the way LaFell did in 2014, if not he’ll look like LaFell in 2015. But he checks every box the Pats look for and if he can get the nickname 7-11 for always being open with shitty QBs, we can only imagine how much Brady should like him.

Bennett should pair with Gronk to form the most unstoppable tight end duo in the league. Again, there’s an element of unknown with any free agent, but on paper that duo can and should play almost every snap. The Pats have never had two tight ends quite like this, with the equal ability to block or catch passes.

If everything clicks there might not be a bigger free agent impact signing in the NFL.

Patriots Extend Patrick Chung Through 2018

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Patriots extend Patrick ChungI’m not sure there’s been a more interesting player path than Patrick Chung’s with the Patriots. His latest extension, the second since he returned to the Pats after a one-year stint in 2013 with the Eagles, is just another marker that Chung has lived up to his second-round draft status in 2009.

Chung was an early favorite of the blog. You can scan through all the archived posts about him here. What excited me most about him was his fiery play that would hopefully bring back the enforcer presence Rodney Harrison left behind the year before Chung arrived. Nick Caserio famously said it only took an interview at the combine to sell the Pats on Chung:

One story of note came when he recapped the team’s 15-minute interview with second-round draft choice Patrick Chung at the combine. “That made an impression,” Caserio told the crowd of about 50. “After 15 minutes, we were ready to run through a wall. It was like ‘sign me up.’ … This is one of these guys, the more you’re around him, you like what you see.”

Belichick Chews Out Chung After Blown Fake Punt 2010 AFCDG

Belichick Chews Out Chung After Blown Fake Punt 2010 AFCDG

But his first three years were marred with injuries and forgettable plays. There was the fake punt he called without BB’s approval in the 2010 AFC Divisional round that backfired. Instead of going into the locker room down just 7-3, the Jets put up another touchdown to go up 14-3.

Then there was the millimeter Chung was late for Mario Manningham’s game-winning-drive-sparking catch in Super Bowl 46.

Chung was a special teams player as a rookie, but stepped into a starter’s role in 2010, aka the Patriots worst year of pass defense of the Belichick era. In 2011 he’d play just eight games, and in 2012 he began to fall down the depth chart:

Of Patrick Chung’s 16 snaps, 14 come on the final three drives when the outcome was well in hand. He has really fallen out of favor when all players are healthy, as rookie Tavon Wilson is playing over him in the dime. Chung is essentially a special teamer and depth option at this point, which is a hard fall for the 2009 second-round draft choice who opened the year as a starter.

The defense was playing more Cover-2 in those days and Chung was moved around between two spots he didn’t excel in — free safety and slot corner. Part of that was due to injuries and Chung did his best filling in, but his game was physicality, not coverage.

Now the Patriots keep Chung mostly in the box or covering tight ends, and last year he took his game to a new level. The game is slowing down for the veteran now and he’s playing more under control which is keeping him healthy. Chung is still just 28 years old and in his prime and it seems clear the Patriots feel he’s now a player to build around. The biggest key for him will be to stay on the field and not let the injuries that plagued his early career.