PatsPropaganda

Along with the cornerbacks, this is the most interesting roster spot right now. I’m still holding a spot for Dan Connolly because really, if he was going to sign somewhere else he probably would’ve already so he could start getting assimilated. So I expect he’s on the veteran plan and will sign sometime between now and the start of training camp.

So in a perfect world I think we’ll be looking at Solder-Connolly-Stork-Jackson-Vollmer, perhaps with Wendell rotating in at RG depending on how quickly Jackson picks it up. Cannon/Fleming should work in as well in third tackle, tight end roles, while Shaq Mason is my wild card.

If/when Garoppolo has to start the first however many games, that’s where things get interesting because historically, the Pats offensive line hasn’t been exactly at their best in September. Brady can usually pull those games out, but he definitely has gotten plenty of punishment in the first month of the season the last few years overall.

Some of that certainly had to do with all the experimentation that happened last season after they had to adjust without Logan Mankins, so they just can’t afford to do that this year if Garoppolo is in there.

Especially against pressure defenses like the Steelers and Bills, they need some consistency. Garoppolo can get the ball out quick, but not if there’s immediate disruption, especially in the middle of the line.

So, look for them to try to find a starting five and stick with it in August. It’s imperative they have it down by opening day.

The good news is that once Brady returns the table should be set for him and the line should be in tune. If Brady’s suspension is reduced or eliminated, I’d still hope to see a definitive starting five on the line.

The biggest position battle to watch will be at right guard where Jackson, Wendell and Mason should all get some looks. If Connolly were to not re-sign, I’m not sure how it all comes together. That would be scary.

Bradley Fletcher at the defensive LCB, Malcolm Butler at RCB and Robert McClain in the slot (Hoodie have mercy on our souls). Chekwa and Logan Ryan are the wild cards on the outside and Swanson is in the slot. Or who knows, maybe one of the unknowns grabs the open opportunity by the balls.

Obviously it depends on the matchups but I think the base coverage will probably be Cover-3 Zone Robber, especially against the AFC East. That’s what they played mostly when Rodney Harrison was playing. 

Against Peyton, Romo, Luck and maybe Eli we’ll probably see more Cover 2, mixing man and zone, with Harmon and McCourty over the top. However it will be off-man, not “we’re going to punish your receiver at the line” press man.

This directly relates to how the Chung/Harmon/Richards of it all plays out. I’ll be curious to see how their snap counts play out over the season.

What we won’t see much of is Cover-1 Press Man which was the coverage of choice last year. This is unfortunate because I enjoyed watching it so much.

@PatsPropaganda what would *really* be a reasonable punishment for what amounts to questionable at best evidence?

— Rick Starke (@rickstarke) May 15, 2015

It’s a very good question. The Wells Report Context site makes a pretty good argument about the Pats being cooperative and more importantly, that there’s the very strong possibility that there’s no real evidence the balls were even deflated. So if you have a unbiased scientist testify the balls were not tampered with, what is the NFL left with? Under this scenario is it out of line that the NFL should pay reparations to the Patriots for dragging the entire organization and one of the faces of the game through the mud?

Unfortunately not even I can imagine that scenario realistically happening. At this point I think the best we can hope for is a 1-2 game suspension for Brady (though I wouldn’t totally rule out him not missing a game), and a reduced fine. The draft picks kill me almost more than anything, especially the first-rounder. Those seem more related to Spygate than anything else. So get the picks back, make it a $500K fine, Brady misses a game for whatever reason and then we move on? That’s probably the conservative guess of what a federal court might rule. Goodell isnt’ knocking it down to that on his own unless this was all a plot for him to make himself look like the good guy.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/patspropaganda-what-would-really-be-a/

I’ve followed the Patriots defense as closely as anyone since 2007 and honestly I don’t have an easy answer. However, I can go back to what I think Belichick’s core defensive philosophies are and try to make some sense of it that way.

First, is that Belichick is a conservative defensive coach. Even with Revis/Browner/Arrington playing press man last year, they were still largely a bend-don’t break defense. They were 23rd and 21st respectively in yards-per-drive and plays-per-drive. So I do think we’ll see some schematic shift back to more zone and pattern reading. I’ll also note that I am not a fan of this however there’s one big difference between now and what we saw in 2010/2011 and that is…

The front seven. I continue to believe that if your front seven is good enough and brings enough consistent pressure, you can make just about any secondary work. So I think this year’s defense rests a lot on the key players in their prime – Hightower, Collins, Mayo, Chandler, Ninkovich, Sheard and emerging guys like Easley, Siliga, Chris Jones and rookie Malcom Brown winning up front.

I also feel a lot better about having McCourty on the back end keeping everyone on the same page.

There’s no easy answer at this point, we don’t know who will even be starting at corner. What if Malcolm Butler continues to develop from what we saw in the Super Bowl? A big if, but he could be have a huge role if he takes those next steps.

At the end of the day this defense might give up a lot of yards but if they can bring the heat on third down they’ll be fine. They’re far more talented top-to-bottom than 2010/2011 and we saw how many games those teams won. We just have to let training camp play out and hope they peak at the end of the year and make that one final play in February once again.

@PatsPropaganda How do you think that offense will evolve next season? More 2TE sets? More/less tempo/no-huddle? More/less pressure on qb?

— Magnus Nordman (@Mango_00) May 15, 2015

I think it’s hard to really predict at the moment, other than to say the Pats have set themselves up to really have some great competition at the skill position spots. I especially look at guys like Amendola and Dobson at the receiver spots, maybe Tyms too, and Tim Wright, Scott Chandler and Fred Davis at the tight end position. How those six perform in the preseason, and perhaps most importantly who stays healthy, will determine exactly what we’ll see from the Patriots offense this season

Last year the Pats didn’t run a snap with four receivers on the field at one time, and while that could be an indication of how they felt about their depth, I still think their preference is multiple tight ends over multiple receivers. It’s just a more physical brand of football and one that is easier to dictate the matchups from. So in a perfect world I think you’d see more sets with Wright/Chandler on the field to compliment the base guys of Edelman, LaFell and Gronk.

As for tempo I think they’ll be better set up to put the hammer down with guys like Wright and Chandler than they were last year when Wright joined the offense late and had to catch up. Now they have a bunch of guys with experience in the system and they’ll have a full offseason with the new guys to catch them up to speed. I continue to think that the up-tempo offense is a tool for specific spots and not a permanent way of running things. The biggest question in that regard just might be which running back is able to pick it up, especially who’s replacing Vereen, whether it’s Cadet or White.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/patspropaganda-how-do-you-think-that-offense-will/