PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

Is this year amendola and lafell last year with the team

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I think it’s almost definitely Amendola’s last year. His salary balloons to almost $7 million this year. They restructured him this offseason to make his hit more manageable this year and he certainly proved he can be a valuable weapon both receiving and returning, but they’re not going to pay their third receiver (and 4th/5th most dangerous target) that much money next year.

As for LaFell I think we have him for two more years and then he walks for much more money. This bums me out because I think he’s a perfect fit for the offense, but he just hired Revis’ agent this offseason so you can take a guess where things are headed for his next contract.

Both guys were clutch in the Super Bowl run last year, but it shows the Pats need to keep the receiver pipeline fresh.

Care to elaborate on the X’s and O’s of Belichick’s new defense with the revamped secondary? Would it be more like the 2010 version or something new?

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For everyone who is worried that the defense is going to be as ugly as it was in 2010-2012 because of the cornerback turnover, you have to remember that this front seven is light years better than what they were in those couple seasons.

Now, I certainly do wish they’d be able to stick to the primarily man coverage schemes they played the last couple seasons, starting with the acquisition of Aqib Talib in 2012 via trade.

I thought that signified the Patriots realization that playing man was necessary in the modern NFL with some many good quarterbacks and so many rules favoring the offense. And let’s face it, a physical man-to-man secondary is far more fun to watch than zone.

Still, even with last year’s man-heavy defense, they were still in the bottom half of the league in plays-per-drive which tells you that philosophically the bend-don’t-break was still very much in effect.

The defense will not be an all zone team, but their man-to-man coverages will likely skew more off-man than the press coverage we saw last year. But with smart corners who tackle well, this can be an effective defense.

However the key to it becomes the front seven disrupting the play consistently and as quickly as possible. If the front guys stay healthy there are a number of excellent ways to make this happen, but Jerod Mayo might just be one of the biggest keys because he will free up Hightower and Collins to be more involved behind the line of scrimmage.

If you’re stressed about the defense going back to the bottom of the league in yards allowed (a fairly meaningless stat anyways), just line up the DL/DE/LB group with the 2010/2011 groups and you’ll see how different things are now.

Doesn’t mean they’ll be the consistent disruptive force we’d like them to be, but the potential is certainly there and if they live up to it, the cornerbacks won’t make or break this team.

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Dan Connolly exemplified everything our program requires of players. He was tough and dependable, smart and team oriented and his work ethic ensured he improved on an annual basis to reach his potential. From where his career began as a developmental player to where it finished as a team leader and champion, Dan Connolly was a player I was proud to coach.

Statement from Bill Belichick on Dan Connolly | New England Patriots

https://www.patspropaganda.com/dan-connolly-exemplified-everything-our-program/

The pats have some key people needing new contracts in the next three years, how would you rank them from most to least important

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I’ll break them down by the year their contracts are up and by priority.

2016

Nate Solder is really the only guy of everyone in their final years that I’d put as a priority. Sealver Siliga and Ryan Allen are two that should probably be retained as well but the rest are basically depth guys who will have to prove something this year.

2017

This is where things get crazy and it would probably be in the Pats’ best interest to lock one or two of these guys up a year early. Here’s my rankings for this group:

  1. Jamie Collins
  2. Dont’a Hightower
  3. Chandler Jones
  4. Jabaal Sheard

Really I’d want to keep all four of those guys, but the ones who I’d have to unfortunately let walk are, in order of how much it would hurt:

  1. Rob Ninkovich – he’ll be 33.
  2. Brandon LaFell – someone will overpay him and he’ll be 30.
  3. Sebastian Vollmer – could be cut before this I think, but he’ll be 33.
  4. Matthew Slater – they can probably work something out with him, but he’ll be 30 and how long can you be a special teams demon?

Then there’s the group of guys under 30 who could elevate themselves into priority status from the 2017 group like:

  1. Logan Ryan
  2. Malcolm Butler
  3. Duron Harmon
  4. Travaris Cadet
  5. Marcus Cannon
  6. Aaron Dobson

So as you can see next offseason might be somewhat uneventful, but a huge core dynamic of the team, especially on defense could really shift in 2017. Locking down those top four guys, and I’m assuming that Sheard eventually takes over at LDE for Ninkovich, is a big priority and the sooner they get those guys new contracts the better.

This guy is my biggest priority though:

Submit a Question!

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Submit a Question!

Just as it’s always darkest just before dawn, so is the real football news the quietest just before the start of training camp. The good news? Another offseason is just about behind us and personally, I’ve never wanted a Super Bowl championship offseason to be over more. Most of this is of course related to Deflategate, which we could have a ruling on as soon as today or as late as the start of training camp. So yes, it’s a little sad we couldn’t enjoy this offseason, but the silver lining is there should be some leftover motivation heading into the new season.

So fire away with any questions you have and if you haven’t picked one up yet my 30+ page Patriots season preview book is available for just $4 here.

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Connolly’s Retirement Puts Focus on Patriots’ Interior Offensive Line by Mybookie.ag

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With the retirement of starting left guard and captain Dan Connolly, the Patriots will have to replace a significant player who played a key role. You can discover the NFL odds for this season and it’s unlikely that this new garners much national attention as it relates to the Pats’ hopes of repeating as Super Bowl champions, but if there has been a consistent theme when the Patriots bow out of the playoffs, it has been sub-par protection for Tom Brady. 

In their last two Super Bowl losses, the Giants’ vaunted defensive line terrorized Brady by winning the battle in the trenches. The Patriots never found a rhythm and lost both contests in the final moments.

However, last season the Patriots held off the Seahawks’ defensive line, especially in the fourth quarter and low and behold, the Pats finally secured their fourth title.

Connolly has played all three interior positions for the Pats. After much turmoil in early 2014, the Patriots settled in with an interior trio of Connolly, rookie Bryan Stork at center and Ryan Wendell at right guard. This wasn’t exactly the best interior trio of the past 15 years for New England, but it was one that got the job done when it was all on the line.

So now, without Connolly, their most versatile and experienced interior offensive linemen, the Pats will once again have some big questions along their interior.

Wendell wasn’t thought to be anything more than a center before last season, but he proved he could do a solid job at right guard and that calmed the entire line last season.

The Patriots drafted two potential guards – Tre Jackson and Shaq Mason. Jackson was a career right guard, while the undersized Mason saw time at center and right guard. So you’ll notice, neither have experience at left guard.

Some players can make that transition to the other side, while some cannot. The Pats will certainly take a look at Jackson and Mason at left guard this summer, as perhaps the easiest answer is to keep Wendell at right guard.

But Wendell won’t be handed the job, while former tackles like Caylin Hauptmann and Cameron Fleming will also get a long look.

Then there’s veteran Josh Kline who has done an admirable job filling in at various points in the last two years. This is similar to how Connolly progressed in New England, so he could be in for a jump as well.

The Patriots did plenty of experimentation well into the regular season last year before Stork got healthy and Wendell stepped into the right guard spot. Can they afford that kind of juggling this year, especially if Jimmy Garoppolo is needed to start a couple games?

One thing is for certain – the Patriots are one of the most well-coached teams in the league and despite often having some bumps early in training camp and into the early part of the regular season, they always manage to find a way to make it work. 

This year, even without Connolly, will be no different.