PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

As it stands, Hightower, Collins and Chandler Jones’ contracts are all up at the end of the 2016 season (correct me if I’m wrong.) The Pats probably can’t keep all three so who’s the priority and what other players would you be willing to let go in order to keep as many of the three as possible (e.g. Mayo?)

by

Got a couple about the vaunted 95/91/54 trio in the inbox this morning so let’s tackle that one first. You are correct, but the good news is that the free agent class this year has no real high-price guys. Here are some of the top free agents this offseason the Pats would need to re-sign.

1. Josh Kline – arguably the most improved player on the roster this season, he’s followed a familiar path of developing with the team for a few seasons before settling in as a starter. Still, with rookies Mason and Jackson, Kline isn’t a critical priority, but he’d round out a nice young trio with those two.

2. LeGarrette Blount – again, not a MUST RE-SIGN, but the Pats know how to maximize him. He would be replaceable if he walked.

3. Sealver Siliga – had his best game of the season last week, needs to keep building on that game. Either way, he’s affordable.

4. Nate Ebner – standout special teamer, affordable.

5. James Develin – again, affordable and after an IR season will be motivated to stay in NE.

6. Justin Coleman – just might be my biggest priority here. He’s been very solid as a rookie CB and fits the mold.

Other notables – Tarrell Brown, Tavon Wilson, Bryan Tyms, Rufus Johnson, Dae Fletcher.

Okay, you get the point. None of these guys is an “oh no what happens if we can’t keep that guy” type player. So for that reason I do think it’s possible that at least one of the 95/91/54 group gets extended before the 2016 season.

For me Collins and Hightower are the priorities. They’re two of the best linebackers in the game and we know how BB loves linebackers and what they mean to his defense. They fit perfectly in today’s NFL. 

If Chandler were to walk, and remember he has another entire season, the Pats drafted a potential replacement already in Tre Flowers. And they still have two more drafts to add another edge guy. RDE is a very hard position to find, so I still think they know they have Chandler in house, it makes sense to keep him.

The most interesting thing is that I’ve been writing this week that I feel like Chandler is the key to winning another Super Bowl. A dominant RDE has that kind of impact. But if Chandler does find consistent dominance and does help deliver another Super Bowl does that put him out of the Pats’ price range? Possibly.

Still, I think they have the cap space to retain all three and really, what else is there to spend your money on than the front seven? Lock up those three guys with McCourty/Brown/Easley and this defense has the right talent at all the right spots for at least another five years.

Submit a Question!

by

Submit a Question!

It was a slow week for questions last week so let’s fix that today! Send me anything that’s Pats related and on your mind.

Some things I’m kicking around: What’s going on with Jabaal Sheard and Marcus Cannon’s “minor” injuries they suffered almost a month ago now?

Can Chandler Jones lead the Pats to another Super Bowl before his contract ends in 2017 and how it’s kind of a catch-22 because that would likely mean he outprices himself from New England?

How would the Pats match up with the Bengals? Ideally you really want that one seed to let Denver/Cinci fight it out in the divisional round while we take the Jets/Raiders/Colts.

New England Patriots Gameplan: Week 9 vs. Washington Redskins

by

These are the weeks that the Patriots’ “one game at a time” and “everyone is good and capable of beating us” mantra must really be put to the test. Look, it’s nothing against the Redskins, they’re not that terrible and I’m sure if the game unfolds in a specific way they very well could hand the Patriots their first meaningful home loss since 2012, but it’s just so hard to see that happening and thus hard to get fired up for this game.

I do try to cherish every regular season game, because in two short months we’ll be hitting the playoffs and before you know it the offseason will be upon us. There are just so many storylines with just about every other team in the NFL that give you something to get at least a little bit excited about, but with the Redskins I got zippo.

Still it’s a chance to get better and see some of our weak spots challenged a bit. But really all I care about is getting a win without losing anyone to injury for the season. 

With that in mind, here’s the gameplan!

image

Offensive Gameplan

These offensive gameplans get easier to write every week. I could just write, “Do what we do, see if they can stop it or we have an off day” and then that’s it. But schematically the Patriots don’t really need to adjust their gameplan each week because it simply boils down to getting the ball in Gronk/Edelman/Lewis’ hands as much as possible and then finishing teams off with the power rushing of Blount.

Maybe a defense can force the Patriots to go to Amendola or Chandler in some key moments, but when those guys come through in those moments there’s really not much else an opponent can do.

What I think is important to focus on are the areas that I’m not quite sold are rock solid yet. The offensive line would be the place to start, although they’re really just a Marcus Cannon return away from still having their most experienced line possible. It’s likely Jackson and Mason are out, and we know we’re getting Fleming at RT again, but an interior line of Kline-Andrews-Wendell is solid, and I’m curious to see how they deal with the size of Terrence Knighton who did give them some problems in the past.

The big question is what happens when Stork comes back. Can you work a center rotation in-game, or is that undesirable? It’s hard to yank Andrews, even for the biggest Stork supporter like myself, but if the Pats get a comfortable lead this week, it could be the right time to give Stork some snaps. It’s still pretty strange to have no depth at tackle or guard, but too many good centers.

Hopefully Cannon gets back soon, Vollmer can go back to right tackle and then they can figure out how everything in the middle will work.

The Redskins are 10th in passing yards allowed-per-game (that’s certainly going up after this one) so I’d like to see more of Brandon LaFell getting involved in the offense. Lewis has been the biggest addition this year, but if/when LaFell gets back to his 2014 level I shudder to think about how potent this offense will be.

Ryan Kerrigan’s availability is a big storyline in this one because without him I’m mainly thinking about targeting the Redskins’ run defense, ranked 30th in yards-per-game. It would be nice to protect Gronk, Edelman et al with just a good old fashioned ground-and-pound with Blount, who has been somewhat quiet in recent weeks.

Defensive Gameplan

DeSean Jackson (most likely back from injury) and tight end Jordan Reed are the headliners for the Redskins offense and I think they present some interesting challenges for the Patriots’ defense, while Pierre Garcon is their reliable chain mover.

Covering tight ends has been markedly improved this season, as the Pats have gone from 30th last year to 5th this year in Football Outsiders’ DVOA rankings. Credit has to go to Patrick Chung, who’s been remarkable in his second stint with the Pats now that they’re not asking him to be a Cover-2 deep safety anymore, nor are they asking him to cover slot receivers. McCourty also gets some credit as he’ll come down and cover TEs on clear passing downs as well, so expect some combination of them on Reed.

As for Jackson, this will be another pure speed test for the defense after not really seeing someone like him since Antonio Brown in the opener. But I’d think given the rest of the threats around him that the Pats might use Ryan at the line on Jackson with Harmon over the top. Butler might be better served taking Pierre Garcon one-on-one.

Otherwise, we have a good bead on the Patriots defense now. Malcom Brown and Alan Branch are the top two tackles, with Easley coming on in passing situations, often with Geneo Grissom, who has settled into an interior sub rusher role after we thought he was more of a defensive end. 

I am also curious to see if there is more of the 4 safety/3 corner look that we saw last week a few times. This features Harmon as the deep centerfield safety, Chung and Richards covering the seams in zone, McCourty manning up a tight end and the corners manning up the rest of the receivers. I like this package because it can take away a lot of easy passes and brings an element of physicality multiple DB packages often lack.

But ultimately if the Pats set the edge, tackle well and win their one-on-one pass rush opportunities they should be fine limiting Cousins et al.

Five Points of Emphasis

1. Take Away Reed: I like to start by taking away any safety blanket an inexperienced quarterback has and Reed is that for Cousins. Those are the easy throws and jamming Reed at the line is a no-brainer. Eliminating the first read and easiest throw will put pressure on Cousins that should result in turnovers.

2. Butler on Garcon: Garcon is Cousin’s most targeted receiver overall and especially on third down. The veteran should be a good challenge for Butler, but I think making Cousins beat us with DeSean Jackson is the way to go. It will also test our deep threat defense, an area the Pats have struggled the last five seasons. No better time to see where we’re at with it than in this one.

3. Let Them Pick Their Poison: Double Gronk? Double Edelman? Play Dime? Or Nickel? Whatever the Redskins choose to do the Patriots have the pieces to counter and counter hard. As I touched on earlier, Lewis and LaFell are the trickle down problems, while Amendola and Scott Chandler are ready to come through when needed. Whoever is needed will be ready and the Redskins’ in-game adjustments won’t be enough to stop everyone.

4. Chandler Jones vs. Trent Williams: As I wrote yesterday, I think Chandler Jones is the key to the Patriots’ Super Bowl hopes this year, and he gets a great challenge in Trent Williams this week. I don’t see a world where Chandler Jones has a great game and the Patriots lose. If he’s on and getting pressure, the Patriots will be nearly unbeatable. He just has to find the consistency that has somewhat evaded him so far.

5. Win: It might be hard for the fans to excited about this one, but it’s a chance for the team to get better in some areas that still have question marks and finish off half the season undefeated, no easy task that we somewhat take for granted. The page will be turned quickly to the New York Giants, who present good challenges both now and historically. But some games just feel like a no win unless they’re a stress-free blowout and hopefully that’s what this one turns into.

Prediction: Patriots 35, Redskins 13

by

Friday!!

https://www.patspropaganda.com/friday/

A Few Patriots Bend Don’t Break Notes

by

Hoping to get to a second All-22 breakdown today, this time of the offense, but in my stat review this week it seems like the Patriots defense is settling in as we hit the halfway point of the season.

I think the remarkable thing is how Belichick’s defenses always tend to exhibit similar characteristics and this one seemed to have “get it” pretty quick. Last year was somewhat the exception because of the quality of CB1. Nothing against the very solid job Malcolm Butler has done this year, but when you can have Revis eliminate a top threat it really has a major effect across the defense.

But this year the Patriots are playing some very good football, but it’s characterized as always by “bend don’t break”, which is considered a negative by a lot of Patriots fans, but I’m here to tell you, more teams should subscribe to it because it works.

The big key is the tackling by the Patriots secondary. You might beat them for a play but you’re not going to run and make it an even bigger play. They’ll tackle you where you catch it and then force you to keep executing to get into the end zone.

You might even break a run through their defensive line, but again, the secondary won’t let you get much further than that.

But what stands out most to me (and it’s related to tackling) is the yards-per-drive which is lower than it’s been since 2007.

Now all you “yeah but they haven’t played anybody good” people can settle down. You can only play who’s on your schedule and just because you aren’t playing Aaron Rodgers and Derek Carr (?) every week doesn’t minimize what your defense has done well.

All I’m saying is the trends are pointing in the right direction. And as I continue to say, this team will go as far as Chandler Jones takes it. I hate to oversimplify it but it’s just about that simple. Hightower and Collins are great players, but stopping the good quarterbacks in the playoffs will be about Chandler winning his one-on-one matchups.

by

robgronkwowski:

Gronk and Jules celebrating Gronk’s 47 yard TD

https://www.patspropaganda.com/robgronkwowski-gronk-and-jules-celebrating/