PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

I love your blog, first of all, long time follower. And in this time of celebration and happiness I think it’s appropriate to tease you a bit. I’ll never forget how you used to be anti-Ninkovich, calling him Ninkopoop. Funny how things work out eh?

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Thank you, but I was never ANTI-Ninkopoop, that was just my affectionate name for him. I will use this post from 4 years ago as proof of that. This piece I wrote, The Adventure of Nink, is pretty cool to look back at now.

I will however fully admit to being anti Matthew Slater, at least as a returner, and now that certainly looks dumb. But that’s only because I thought he was going to kill himself running right into oncoming tacklers. 

But if you really want to bust my chops, my love of Shawn “Crazy Legs” Crable is probably the best way to go.

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New England, Devin McCourty, $9.5M: The Patriots made only a limited foray into extending the playmaker in the offseason knowing that they could stomach the franchise tag here if nothing else. Eventually, I see these sides entering into a five-year deal, though that might not come until much later in the spring. Regardless, he isn’t getting away and keeping McCourty and corner Darrelle Revis in that secondary is a top priority for the Super Bowl champs.

Franchise tag an increasingly expensive proposition in the NFL – CBSSports.com

https://www.patspropaganda.com/devin-mccourty-patriots-franchise-tag/

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Wow, this has a new meaning to it now, eh? Not just the punt return story…

https://www.patspropaganda.com/wow-this-has-a-new-meaning-to-it-now-eh-not/

Julian Edelman bring such an element of swagger to this team. The guy just never stops fighting – looking at the videos and replays, he was just getting into it with Seahawks players after each. On Brady’s first INT, he is blocked to the ground, gets up, catches up with Lane, makes the tackle and by the way forces Lane’s injury. On offense, he just makes play, takes a big hit but wakes up and make it back to the huddle no Matter what. Edelman is the heart and soul of the Patriots

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As I wrote earlier today, hearing him miked up the entire game took him to a new level as a player for me. It’s amazing what we’ve seen this guy grow into, the only other example I can think of is Brady – a low round pick who works his way into being a key player making huge plays in a Super Bowl. It seems like yesterday that he was filling in for Welker in week 2 of 2009 and had 8 catches for 89 yards. Now look at him.

And now, I totally agree, he’s the heart and soul of this passing attack.

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I’ll tell this story until the day I die. The final drive we had, we were just getting into the huddle, and you always hear about these moments when you watch ‘NFL Films’ and you watch all these big Super Bowl stories. I’ll never forget, I’m in the huddle and Tom comes in to the huddle and he goes, ‘OK, fellas, we need a championship drive.’ I remember it so clearly, so vividly, and we went ahead and put that drive together. In that moment, he was really relaxed, very calm, very collected, focused. There was an intense amount of focus in his eyes.

Shane Vereen

New England Patriots Blog – ESPN Boston

https://www.patspropaganda.com/tom-brady-championship-quote/

Hey Mike; I haven’t heard anyone talk about what drew Seattle into the neutral area in the waning minutes of the SuperBowl. Before the snap, Stork’s head is bobbing like he’s got a barrel full of apples under his chin. No one including the refs saw that ??? What gives ?

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It’s funny how this last play has been just skipped over on all the review shows. That was a really hairy situation and I think the only play they could’ve run was a sneak. The guy’s a legend now, but the best play for Butler would’ve been to not try to take the interception out of the end zone. 

I have to take another look, it was really hard to focus on that last play and there looked like a lot of movement. But it does seem like Brady got them with the hard count. Such an under-appreciated moment that actually sealed the game and showed how smart the Patriots are.

Since the Pats play their nickel defense more than their ‘base’, what do you see happening with Mayo next season? He’s due a good sum of money but is surely behind Hightower/Collins now. Is he worth the large-ish deal considering he might only be on the field for half the snaps next season? Or will the Pats play less nickel now that we have our best linebacking core since Vrabel, McGinest, Bruschi?

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It’s going to be really interesting to see how it plays out. The Patriots are going to want Mayo back, but I think they’ll try to get him to restructure. The Pats have the leverage now that they could let Mayo walk and still be okay. But you get the feeling that Mayo is beloved inside the walls of Foxboro and that’s why I think he’ll be back. He understands what is coming and coming off two season-ending injuries, it would be hard for him to walk and get a great deal somewhere.

I’ve always had my issues with Mayo. Love his speed, don’t think he has the best awareness in space nor does he have a knack for the ball like Bruschi had. Still, he’s a major leader on this team so I think they’ll want to keep him.

How it plays out from an Xs-and-Os standpoint will remain to be seen, but it would be hard to take Hightower and Collins off the field given the job they’ve done in Mayo’s absence. Perhaps it would allow Hightower to go back to more of an edge role, so that could be a beneficial trickle-down to Ninkovich and Chandler.