PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

Are you saying that this year you think instead of bringing in another corner they will keep the three LB on the field and shift say Collins out to that third corner spot and play zone

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In spots, yes. And it doesn’t have to be Collins, I think more significantly it’s Mayo because there wasn’t another linebacker who could run like him after he went down. Assuming full health this year, I’d predict the sub/regular numbers will shift down closer to what they were the last few years – regular 60-65% of the time.

It’s not a coincidence that the last two seasons when Mayo went down they’ve gone to their sub defense the most.

Still, when it comes down to an obvious passing situation I think they’ll probably pull Hightower most often for the extra DB, though he could have an additional role as a sub-rusher in some spots.

With essential 4 good LBs, how do you see them rotating

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Assuming we hit a point where everyone is healthy and ready to go by somewhere in October, I think you’ll see more of a dip back toward the regular defense. Last year they were in sub over 70 percent of the time. I think that related a lot to Mayo being out and no reliable third linebacker.

Really they can rotate however they need to. Spikes could play in more 34 looks, while you can rotate Ninkovich/Sheard/Chandler/Hightower/Collins at the edge spots as necessary, whether they’re standing up or have a hand down.

The defense I think we’ll see vs. passing teams will be more of the double nose 43 we’ve seen in recent years looking like this: Ninkovich/Sheard -Brown/Siliga/Branch – Easley/Siliga/Jones – Chandler/Sheard, then at LB Hightower – Mayo – Collins. 

Might be a sprinkling of Flowers at DE or Grissom at LB, but I’m not convinced either will play much on defense this year.

Robert Kraft says New England Patriots won’t appeal Deflategate punishment

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Robert Kraft says New England Patriots won’t appeal Deflategate punishment

Well that’s that then. Hard to feel good about it when all the Patriots haters will simply use this as an admission of guilt. What most are speculating is that this boils down to “fine, here’s $1 million, a first- and fourth-round pick even though you can’t prove we did anything wrong, just knock the Tom Brady suspension down”.

I get that Mr. Kraft is one of the most influential owners in the game, and no matter how Pats fans or haters feel about it, this decision was made for the good of the game. It’s leadership and I’m sure that the other owners appreciate Mr. Kraft falling on his sword to finally put a major piece of this to bed.

Now Brady’s appeal remains and really that is the heart of the entire case. Does Goodell simply reduce the suspension to 2-games or could he even wipe the entire thing out? Either way it’s going to look strange because the NFL will essentially be admitting the Wells Report wasn’t the slam dunk the original punishment made it out to be. And if that’s the case then Mr. Kraft really bit the bullet when he didn’t necessarily have to.

The fact is that the Patriots were implicit in blowing this up the way it has since the Wells Report was released. Had they not released a full website designed to counter each and every point, or talked to Peter King or leaked how furious Mr. Kraft was, then they might’ve pursued an appeal with a little more grace.

Once they started escalating there was no other way to put the fire out than either publicly relenting (like they did) or taking it to the highest court necessary to get a fair ruling which would unquestionably be terrible for the entire NFL.

Now all focus turns to Brady’s appeal and just how Roger Goodell plays it. If there is a secret agreement that the Pats would relent if Goodell reduces Brady’s sentence, the end might just be in sight. If not, the fight will get ugly and the Patriots could come out looking even worse for not pursuing an appeal when a higher court finds no evidence they did anything wrong.

This is just the latest unexpected turn in a saga that has dragged on far too long. As Mr. Kraft said, that is the only thing we can all agree on.

Would you like a scenario where the team trades for Evan Mathis to start at LG allowing the team to develop a future replacement while also having Jackson start at RG

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I’m getting a lot of questions about trades lately and at this point I feel like it’s throwing darts in a dark room. How many teams out there are really looking to unload someone/some salary at this point? And where do the Patriots have an excess of talent where they can ship someone off without weakening themselves?

I think the best course of action is just to bring back Dan Connolly. Lot to like about Mathis but he’s also the older guard in the league. Is he that much of an upgrade of what Connolly would bring to the party?