PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

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Woot Woot! Check out the SI Issue hitting newstands Thursday! An excerpt regarding Welker:

“Welker’s score—the first of his two on the day—was significant in a broader context. Seven months and 10 days earlier he had undergone reconstructive surgery after tearing two major ligaments, including the ACL, in his left knee on a gruesome noncontact injury during the regular-season finale at Houston. His recovery and return were not only uncommonly swift but also distinctly understated. Welker did not provide rehab updates on Twitter, because he does not tweet. He did not reveal his improving fitness on his reality television show, because he does not have one. Pressed for perspective in a postgame press conference, Welker—wearing a rumpled T-shirt, Chuck Taylors and a slightly goofy golf cap—called his momentous comeback ‘a cool thing,’ but then quickly downgraded it to ‘just another game.’ ”

https://www.patspropaganda.com/woot-woot-check-out-the-si-issue-hitting/

Don’t Get Cocky, Patriots Fans!

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Patriots Nation is probably feeling pretty good about itself today, perhaps even bordering on overconfident. The Jetslooked horrid and lost Kris Jenkins for the season (not saying I am glad he’s injured, but it is a major blow to their defense), while the Patriots are being collectively praised again as a Super Bowl contender, even by the likes of Rex Ryan! It also helps that the Colts and Chargers, perennial AFC power houses, both lost as well.

But the Jets are not a team, or even an offense, to be taken lightly.

Why the Pats and their fans still need to take this weekend’s game very seriously after the jump…

Thoughts on a Young, Fast Patriots Defense

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Despite prognostications of doom, the young Patriots defense looked fast and hungry against the Bengals and all of a sudden everyone loves them again. The offense was what we thought it would be, explosive with more threats than last year. Some quick thoughts on the defense.

– The Pats matched their corners to the Bengals receivers throughout the game. This is a switch from the past when generally players stayed on their sides. McCourty did a great job on Owens, Wilhite was solid against rookie Shipley, Sanders had just one bad play against Gresham that resulted in a TD while Butler was up and down against the Bengals best receiver Ochocinco.

– The Patriots primarily used dime packages with big defensive lineman. Being able to shut down the Bengals run game made them one-dimensional. You can’t look at the passing yards given up in the second half and not still feel good about this defense. They remained in soft coverage after getting the lead, playing bend but don’t break. 

– The tackling on defense looked like it did in the first two weeks of preseason… outstanding. That’s a key to the Belichick defense.

– Holy Crap, the Patriots have a fast defense now.

– Jermaine Cunningham didn’t do much despite getting some considerable reps. He gets a pass as he had zero game experience. Clearly he showed enough to beat out Derrick Burgess in the 10 days or so before the Saints game.

– Ron Brace got considerable time at LDE and looked solid. He should continue to develop as he gets more experience. But he looks stout.

– Brandon Spikes is a force in the run game. Watch how many times he flies into a hole and an offensive lineman gets knocked into the backfield.  This is the player we’ve been missing since Ted Johnson left.

– Pat Chung lived up to every last expectation we’ve been building all offseason. Now he just needs to be consistent.

– Meriweather was only missing from the base 3-4, which is interesting, but ultimately he still probably played 75% of the snaps at least.

– Who’d have thought James Sanders would be such an integral part of the game plan? Most had him as trade bait (myself included). Gresham had a TD but was generally ineffective otherwise with just 6 catches for 25 yards.

– Communication was excellent as well. On every play you could see everyone talking, getting on the same page. It payed off. Even when the Pats gave up plays the ball carrier was tackled immediately.

– Mike Wright made the Benson fumble happen.

– Gary Guyton is back in the role he was meant for, a pass coverage LB and we all saw the results. The addition of Spikes will allow Guyton to flourish.

– Wilfork was all over the defensive line and was in for passing situations to give some protection against the run.

– First/Second Year Players who played a role in this game:

  • Brandon Spikes
  • Rob Gronkowski
  • Aaron Hernandez
  • Pat Chung
  • Devin McCourty
  • Darius Butler
  • Sebastian Vollmer
  • Brandon Tate
  • Ron Brace
  • Jermaine Cunningham
  • Zoltan Mesko

That’s 11 guys right there. Things are looking good for the Patriots future.

Finally in closing it’s important not to get too excited about this win. It’s the first game of the year and this defense remains extremely young. There will be down moments for them. But ultimately if the continue to improve as they get more experience this could be a dominant defense for another five years at least.

Related Links:

Patriots Defensive Formations