An Independent Patriots Blog
James White Tuesday!!
11 games. That’s what the Patriots need to get out of James White, and while there are free agents out there, I feel like giving him a chance to get comfortable and show what he’s got is the best choice at this juncture.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/james-white-tuesday-11-games-thats-what-the/
The Boston Globe’s Jim McBride reports that Dion Lewis did tear his ACL and is done for the 2015 season. Lewis was like the new awesome toy you get on Christmas morning, only to have it break before the end of the day.
First, you have to feel horrible for Lewis, who’s been battling injuries constantly in the NFL. He finally just got healthy enough to show what a thrilling player he was and down he goes again with the dreaded ACL tear.
Lewis truly made the Patriots offense almost unfair and his absence leaves a huge hole. The Pats were leaning on him more than any running back they’ve had in a long time and now the passing down role once again needs to be filled.
Unfortunately I kept worrying we were on borrowed time with Lewis considering how much he was getting the ball and how many tackles he was taking. The biggest bummer is just how much excitement Lewis brought to an offense that already had it’s fair share of playmakers.
At least once a game Lewis made something out of nothing or made a play that made you stand up out of your seat. Players that can do those things are rare and that element of the Patriots offense is now gone.
The page turns to James White now who has seven catches this season. He’s got quickness and talent, but just not the kind of special quickness and talent that Lewis had.
White didn’t get the ball much against the Jets but made me feel better about him in those limited touches than I had before.
The Pats could also explore bringing back Travaris Cadet, who did have over 70 catches last season with the Saints yet remains a free agent despite taking a number of visits around the league since being cut by the Pats.
The likely solution will be more of a combination of White and someone like Cadet to replace what Lewis did so well. But there’s no question it’s vital that the Patriots find a way to get production out of this role in the offense because it’s a big piece.
Neither White nor Cadet are going to step in and do what Lewis was doing right out of the gate, but White certainly has the potential to shore things up well enough to keep this offense functioning at a high level. Sometimes players just need an extended chance to show what they can do, and now will be James White’s chance to put together 11 games to help get the Pats a Super Bowl title.
Lewis is looking at a significant recovery but all things considered, he should likely be back and ready to go for training camp. It will truly be tragic if he can’t regain the magic he flashed this season in his first real opportunity to showcase his talent, but with a new deal that keeps him in New England through 2017, he’ll definitely get the chance and will be one of the great unknowns in the Pats’ offense.
Deals on NFL tickets are almost impossible to find these days, but if you’re looking for two tickets to the Patriots-Giants game this weekend, Virgin Mega has an opportunity for a great deal!
The #GMenVSPats tickets will be available to purchase for 30 minutes next Wednesday at noon (11/11) exclusively through the Virgin Mega app. After 30 minutes, the top 4 fans will be able to purchase these pairs of tickets for just $200─ a killer deal.
Here’s how to get the tickets:
– Download the Virgin Mega app to reserve your spot in line (iTunes / Google Play).
– On November 11th at Noon EST, fans have 30 minutes to open the app to get a better spot in line.
– Earn line jumps by answering football trivia, connecting to Twitter and hanging with the line DJ, @DJVirginMega.
– After 30 minutes, the top 4 fans will be able to purchase these pairs of tickets for just $200.
I will send out a reminder on Wednesday. Good luck Pats fans! Let beat those Giants for the first time since 2007!
The Patriots pretty easily handled the Redskins as expected on Sunday, but once again were dealt more problems in the injury department.
Still, the Pats rolled, the defense played well even without Jamie Collins, and they’re headed to another date with Eli sitting at 8-0.
But 2015 has quickly become a war of attrition since the Pats early bye week, when offensive linemen started dropping like Redskins receivers. We’re down to one healthy tackle and we’re only halfway to the playoffs.
Here are the somber Posits…
Where else to start but Dion Lewis
and Sebastian Vollmer
?
We’ll all be holding our breath on both early this week, hoping that somehow Lewis only has an MCL sprain and Vollmer is at practice Wednesday. Lewis had an almost “too good to be true” feel to him and unfortunately I think the odds are against us seeing him again this year.
You have to feel for a guy who was finally just coming out of the woods on the injuries that hurt him early in his career. He was electric and putting him into an offense that won the Super Bowl last year was almost unfair.
Regardless of this season, hopefully Lewis can get back to the level he played at. He seems like a truly special playmaker. If there’s just a chance to get him for the playoffs it’d be a win at this point.
As for replacing him, I think James White is next in line despite Bolden’s appearance on Sunday. White isn’t as elusive as Lewis, but he’s shown some flash here and there in limited spots this season.
Some are already speculating Travaris Cadet could make a return and that makes a lot of sense. The Pats aren’t dead in the water without Lewis, but there will be a bit of dropoff that’s for sure.
– Yes, it’s the year of the Tackle Apocalypse with Sebastian Vollmer being the latest victim to go down with what is likely a concussion. But in comes Bryan Stork to save the day, playing tackle for the first time in his career and doing a pretty good job.
I don’t know how things can get much worse at the tackle spot. Praying the Cannon re-appears this week, Vollmer’s okay and then we’ll okay if we can just keep them healthy til the end. I’m definitely not convinced we can.
– Gotta love the balls of the onside kick early in the game. That’s the kind of “take control” performance you want against an inferior team at home and I thought it sent a strong message.
– We were all worried about losing the legend Vince Wilfork, but what a job Alan Branch and Malcom Brown are doing inside. Branch forced a fumble and blew up a couple runs by himself. Brown gets better each week and plays with excellent pad level and strength. Along with solid edge play from Ninkovich (who did lose the edge a couple times on the Redskins only drive) and Chandler Jones, the Pats run defense has been as good as it’s been since 2012, when they were the 6th best run defense by Football Outsider’s DVOA metric.
– I think I’ve finally figured LeGarrette Blount out. If it’s a tough front that likes to stop the run, he’s not very good. But against a run defense that’s middle of the pack or worse, or especially poor tacklers? He gonna eat.
– The Pats put Ryan on Garcon and Butler on Jackson. He was just coming back from injury, but Jackson was eliminated by Butler. Might be an area to examine in A22 Review, but Jackson had six targets, three catches, 15 yards with a long of nine yards. After getting torched in training camp last summer as a rookie, Butler showed some progress against the speedy deeeeeep threat.
– Predictable breakout game for LaFell as he looks to be back in sync with Brady. Nine targets, five catches for 102 yards for the physical receiver. It sucks to probably lose Lewis but it’s nice to have LaFell back to bring his outside presence.
– You the sign of a good pass defense? When they play action then check back down to the running back they didn’t hand off to. Seeing it more and more the last couple years and it’s a nice sign no one is open.
– The defense still really needs Sheard back. Chandler and Ninkovich are going to wear out playing every snap again. Initial reports were Sheard’s ankle was minor, but here we are a month later and he still hasn’t been seen on the field. Off it he looks fine, no limp, cast or otherwise. So the wait continues…
– Duron Harmon went down too but walked off and seemed okay after the game. Losing him would really limit what McCourty could be used for, so hopefully he just took one in the jewels or something. But after Sheard/Cannon’s “minor” injuries who knows.
– I can’t even get through an entire Posits and not mention those we sometimes take for granted like Edelman and Gronk, but both were clutch per usual. Getting to the playoffs with them healthy matters above all else. I’m not sure there’s a tougher receiver in the NFL than Julian Edelman. Fierce, quick, he’s a nightmare to cover and play against no matter what you want to label him.
– And then, there’s Tom Brady who finally threw his first shitty interception of the year. I’m glad that’s out of the way!
– Always nice to see the Broncos lose, even if it was to the Colts. That’s a good tie breaker, the Pats could be a win in Denver away from a solid two-game lead for homefield advantage.
– Guess what? The Patriots haven’t beat Eli Manning since the 2007 16-0 game! This includes SB42, 2011′s regular season matchup, and SB46, all of which featured Eli making a late drive to pull out the win. I’d love to put a couple demons to rest this Sunday!
