PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

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Excited for another tailgate playing Santa Claus in San Diego today. If you’re there, swing by G4/H4 and if you can find me, you might just get some free stuff thanks to nrgenergy. I’ve also thrown in some of my own PatsProp tees. Will be another fun day of tailgating with Pats fans from around the country and some old friends, and (hopefully) a Pats season-defining win.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/excited-for-another-tailgate-playing-santa-claus/

You have to make an Ocean’s 11 crew out of Patriot team members, staff, and media who cover the team, who’s your crew and why?

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Love it, here’s Patriots 11 crew:

Belichick – obviously, the brains for the plan. We just need to figure out how to Clooney-fy his hoodie.

Brady – obviously, he’s the Brady Pitt of the team who can seduce his way into any situation with his good looks and clutchness.

Giselle – Our Femme Fatale in the Julia Roberts-esque role and probably the most realistic choice here because, you know, she doesn’t even have to act, we can just look at her and it will be nice.

Tom E. Curran – comic relief is essential for any crew. Hopefully he makes it through to the end, but the comic relief guy usually gets it. He can bring Kay Adams too with their quick slants. Hilarity ensues.

Ben Volin – the one we discover is a mole for the bad guy, who’s been secretly trying to screw our plan the whole time from the inside. He dies a traitor’s death just before the third act, screaming “Dolphins for life!!!!” Gunshot.

Erik Frenz – the young buck in the Matt Damon role, he’s got promise but can he escape his troubled past? (Frenz doesn’t actually have a troubled past, but you know this character needs a troubled past so yeah. He is from Maine though, so there’s that…)

Vince Wilfork – I need a 325-pounder on my squad for a variety of things, just have to keep him away from the Vegas buffets. And Bianca has to make an appearance. Like she thought he was done with this life but he needs this one last score and then they’ll move to a tropical island. This guy usually gets it too, but nothing could stop Big Vince so he lives.

Ernie Adams – technology and demolitions expert, the one really pulling the strings behind the scenes. Shhh. Nothing to see here, but when your computers start acting weird, you know who did it.

Mr. Kraft – somebody’s gotta fund the start-up costs of the heist, right? The money man. Just don’t try to get involved with the plan, okay? Rikki can make an appearance as well. Like a slo-mo getting out of the pool deal?

Bryan Stork – we need a big, mean dude with a beard who will do whatever needs to be done. Questionable grooming habits a plus. He’s the one who puts Volin down without hesitation.

Darrelle Revis – he used to work for the bad guy but has switched sides and is now our secret weapon. He knows how to get us into wherever we need to go.

Do you think the Patriots have to win out and get the first seed or do you think they could go 12-4 and still have a great chance?

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Depends on how you feel about the Broncos losing in San Diego and/or Cincinnati. In a weird way, it’s like the top seed with be determined in San Diego. If the Patriots don’t win there and the Broncos do, there it is. If the Pats win there this weekend I think their chances at the top seed are very good.

I don’t feel particularly great about hoping for a Broncos loss in either situation. Maybe if the weather is bad in Cinci, that would help matters.

Ideally, the Pats win this weekend and then have three divisional games against teams they obviously know very well standing between them and the top seed. That’s the preferred path.

New England Patriots Game Plan: Week 14 at San Diego Chargers

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When the Patriots play teams like the Broncos or the Packers, it’s all hype, while games like these against the Chargers are usually a little under-the-radar. There’s no question, the Chargers are a dangerous team, and every time Tom Brady has played in San Diego it’s come down to a (missed) field goal at the end.

I feel like this game will define the 2014 Patriots in many ways.

A win and the team will be back on track after fighting valiantly in the loss to the Packers. They can turn the page to closing their season out with three-straight divisional games, two of which are at home. No more elite quarterbacks. No more unknown foes. Just the three teams they’re most familiar with standing between them and the top seed in the AFC.

But with a loss to the Chargers and the AFC East is in play with the Dolphins coming to town and additionally, there’s a very good chance that Denver will re-take the top overall seed for the playoffs in the AFC.

Not to say that I don’t think this Patriots team could win the AFC Championship in Denver – they have the makeup and talent to win anywhere, but everyone knows how hard the Patriots are to beat at home.

This is a defining game for the 2014 Patriots. Here’s my game plan…

Offensive Gameplan

The Chargers’ defense is similar to the Patriots in that their pressure tends to come from scheme rather than talent. As always, what matters most is making sure Tom Brady is protected. The main focus there is with Dan Connolly, who has been battling an ankle injury and has been terrible the last two weeks (and pretty much the whole season) as you can see from Pro Football Focus’ rankings:

If Connolly’s problems continue, the Patriots are in trouble. Interior pass rush has always been Brady’s Kryptonite and play like that which is graded out above is like inviting Lex Luthor into the Fortress of Solitude with an open door.

Otherwise, the Pats have to realize who they are and what they’re good at. Against the Packers there were too many shots downfield that were way off the target. We’re a dink-and-dunk team, and an unstoppable one at that. Let’s own it.

Involve everyone. Edelman is banged up. Gronk is going to be a major game plan target for the Chargers. It’s time to get the Tim Wrights and Danny Amendolas and Shane Vereens more involved. Brandon LaFell continues to shine, but rounding out the attack around him will take this offense to the next level while giving those gameplanning for the Patriots offense a nightmare of choices.

Defensive Gameplan

The match ups in the secondary seem obvious: Revis on Keenan Allen, Browner on Malcolm Floyd, Arrington/Ryan on Eddie Royal, with Chungs/Collins on Antonio Gates. It’s becoming obvious that the fate of the Patriots this season might just hinge on those doing the covering who are not named Darrelle or Brandon.

This is a copycat league, so you can expect the Chargers to be planning a heavy dose of Royal and Gates no matter who is covering them. Perhaps that means it’s time to shift the man coverage more frequently, to not let Rivers get into a rhythm with any single receiver.

But Brandon Oliver is also the kind of running back who has given the Pats fits in the past. They’ll have to keep an eye on him.

But the coverage won’t really matter if the Pats can exploit the Chargers’ offensive line, the weak link of the team. The Pats pass rush has been average to non-existent in recent weeks and they must start winning the one-on-one matchups if they’re going to keep Rivers from having success.

It seems like Chandler Jones could possibly return, that would be a huge boost. If not, it comes down to four players – Ninkovich, Ayers, Chris Jones and Easley. Those guys must start causing havoc or else the Pats won’t be going very far.

5 Points of Emphasis

1. Pass Rush Re-emergence: After a quarterback, there’s no more important element to a successful NFL team than its pass rush. The challenges of recent weeks have had the Patriots’ pass rush up and down, but the time has come for them to make a statement and the Chargers offensive line is ripe for the taking. Rivers isn’t going to beat anyone with his feet like Luck or Rodgers, so there’s no reason for hesitation. Pin back the ears and go get him.

2. Chung/Arrington/Ryan: These guys better be used to having targets on their backs because it’s going to continue this week. How they do in coverage against Eddie Royal, Brandon Oliver and Antonio Gates might just determine the game. The Chargers know and the Patriots should know it as well.

3. Throw to Score, Run To Win: It’s time for the offense to get back to what they do best –  attacking the short zones and picking up yards-after-catch in the first half to get a lead, then giving the rock to Blount/Gray to bleed the clock and seal the game. Of course it begins up front with the offensive line – who aren’t coming off their best game. They should have something to prove and the offense will flourish if they play like they do.

4. 60 Minutes: After a full week together in San Diego without any distractions, the Patriots should be a focused group. But against the never-dead Chargers, they’ll need a full game effort. Coming off a loss, you never expect a team to get over-confident, but they can’t warm up the plane and be too eager to get home even if they have a lead late in the fourth quarter. They must finish.

5. Win: This win would position the Patriots to get to the Super Bowl. It’s just that simple. They know the three teams left to face after this and all three are winnable games. The first step to hosting the AFC Championship is to beat the Chargers. The Patriots must know that is on the line Sunday and play like they know it.