PatsPropaganda

I don’t think there really needs to be a set plan, though obviously Vereen will handle more of the passing downs and pass-heavy gameplans.

Otherwise, I think you work it somewhat like they did last year with Ridley and Blount. Give both Gray and Blount some carries, see who’s popping and then ride them for that game. Having two big backs, especially one with Blount’s experience, is certainly a good thing heading down the stretch.

It’s about having options and different things to try, something they didn’t have when it was just Gray and Vereen. Not to mention now there’s a level of injury protection as well.

I haven’t really paid much attention to ELO rankings on 538. I’ve always been a big fan of DVOA and use it almost exclusively here. After digging a bit on ELO it just seems a little broader to me, while DVOA digs into the minutiae of football situations, while accounting the opponent.

Overall rankings, whether statistical or some pundits “Power Ranking”, don’t mean much to me. I like how specific DVOA can get, but it’s more about what teams have done, rather than what they will do.

So I find that useful for breaking down strengths and weaknesses and understanding how to hide/overcome your own problems, while attacking opponent’s.

I think it’s pretty simple really… he’s not as good in the slot as Arrington or Ryan and probably even Butler, and he’s not as good as Browner on the outside. We never really saw him in the slot prior to this year, and I think they started working him there because they knew Browner would take his outside snaps. 

The thing is, I think Dennard is the best cornerback the Pats have not dressed in a game since Bill Belichick started here. And Hoodie forbid, but if anything were to happen to Browner or Revis, Dennard would immediately be back in the starting lineup. 

He just isn’t as good in the slot as he is on the outside and until his skills inside match his skills outside, he’s probably going to continue to sit behind Ryan even if he’s probably the more overall skilled player.