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But just knowing Rex, and just knowing how much he dislikes the Patriots, I think this game will be a lot more competitive than what people think.
I agree, as much as I’d love a blow out. With major rain expected this one’s going to be sloppy and unpredictable.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/but-just-knowing-rex-and-just-knowing-how-much/
All #Patriots fans are hoping for a speedy recovery for Jerod Mayo
https://www.patspropaganda.com/lolpats-all-patriots-fans-are-hoping-for-a/
3 GIFs That Defined Patriots Win Over Bills
There were a lot of great plays to pick from this week, a nice problem I’m not used to having this season, so I just went ahead and picked five because I make the rules here on the Prop.
Players stepped up despite major injuries and made plays at the critical moments to get the Pats the victory. Despite the final score this was a closely-fought football game with the game on the line well into the fourth quarter. The Pats showed a ton of grit and their trademark cold-bloodedness that we’ve come to expect.
Here are the five plays that stood out the most to me…
After going back-and-forth for much of the first half, each scoring touchdowns, this play really got the Pats kick started for the rest of the game. Chandler Jones continued his great season and showed remarkable athleticism to corral the ball. The Pats would get six points just before the half and set them up for the opening drive of the third quarter.
What a play this long touchdown pass was to Brian Tyms for a bunch of reasons. First, it came on the opening drive of the third quarter, a spot the Pats often struggle on the road, and for all the talk that Tom Brady had no more deep accuracy, this one play showed there just might be some hope. This play should serve as a message to any teams who want to load the box and short zones.
The Bills had just put together a touchdown-scoring drive and closed to within six points but the Pats came right back out firing with this play immediately moving them across midfield. Not only is this just one of many examples that I could’ve chosen to illustrate that Gronk is back, but it also shows the kind of steely resolve the Pats had as the Bills continued to stick around.
With a nine-point lead this was the play that effectively put the game away, and the fact that it came on third-and-12 and Brady found Brandon LaFell is just the icing on the cake. This game also proves that the Patriots are a lot more than just the Edelman and Gronk show. The offense didn’t show this kind of development last year until much later. LaFell is developing into the big receiving threat the Pats have lacked for what seems like an eternity.
Still the Bills kept fighting but this was the final dagger, converting a third-and-long and not giving them the ball back with plenty of time and just an eight-point lead. Brady stands strong in a tight pocket and delivers a strike to Gronk.
If the Pats can maintain this kind of execution, they will be very hard to stop.
Previous Three GIFs:
Pats Posits: Gritty but Costly Victory
After letting this win over the Bills marinate for the last 20 hours or so I went back to take a look at the condensed game film as I usually do on Mondays. A lot to be excited about, unfortunately it’s hard to be too happy when it looks like Jerod Mayo and Stevan Ridley are likely done for the season.
There’s no way to find a silver lining in either of these injuries. The Pats never replaced LeGarrette Blount, Brandon Spikes or Dane Fletcher this offseason and now those decisions are going to seriously test the Pats’ depth once again.
For Ridley, the obvious personnel adjustment is using Brandon Bolden as the early-down back, but he certainly doesn’t have the ability to break tackles or power through in short yardage situations. He’ll get what is there and likely not a yard more. Maybe Jonas Grey from the practice squad is the answer, or free agent Benjarvus Green-Ellis (I’d be all for giving him a look). But if we’re riding with Bolden as the guy, I’m a little worried.
Mayo was the quarterback of the defense but luckily Hightower got good experience last year and once healthy, he should be able to fill the communication void. The problem is that Jamie Collins is not stout against the run in the base defense and now he must find a way to fix that. Deontae Skinner looked like a rookie despite picking up a sack against the Bills.
What other options do they have? Promote Darius Fleming from the practice squad, but he still doesn’t give you the kind of coverage Mayo had (obviously). Fleming is more an end of line player. So now Hightower might be headed to Mike and really, he should be named a replacement captain.
With Hightower and Collins in sub-packages the problems are manageable, though the Pats were shredded by Scott Chandler once again and it leaves me wondering how they will deal with Julius Thomas.
They made it work without Mayo last year but they’re an additional experienced cover linebacker short this year. It’s definitely a big question mark how they fill the void this year.
Alright, with the injuries out of the way let’s talk the rest of the team, because this was a performance that showed the 2014 Patriots have the kind of perseverance the 2013 had in spades.
I really believed the Pats would come out of the locker room and lay an egg. We’ve seen it too many times in recent years on the road, especially when getting hit with adversity. I wasn’t sure if this team, with all the injuries adding up, had enough gas in the tank, but the offense was almost unstoppable in the second half.
Credit that to some major developments – the protection was good, Gronk is back and LaFell is developing into a real threat. All good signs that this offense could be ready to take a major step forward. Not to mention the Moss-like deep ball catch by Tyms.
Overall, it feels like this is still the Belichick/Brady Patriots, who fight to the end. It’s the first time this year I’ve felt safe saying that.
If Connolly and Stork are back for Thursday night, it’s hard not to feel really good about the direction of this offense. But they’ll need Gronk to stay healthy, he’s the straw stirring the drink.
He might take some penalties but Alfonzo Dennard is really a key piece of this secondary. He and Arrington are excellent companions to Revis, with McCourty cleaning up the back end. Still very curious how Browner fits in, but I think we’ll be seeing plenty of Dennard even when he’s ready to go.
Not a lot to love about the ground game, but they stuck with it and that kept the linebackers and pass rush somewhat honest. I worry about someone like Bolden being able to create something out of nothing if the OL blocking isn’t better. Though with Connolly/Stork back it should be.
Tyms essentially played the old Matthew Slater WR role of limited snaps where he just runs down the field really fast. Clearly Tyms has a special skillset catching the deep ball. It was just so refreshing to see Brady complete that long pass (among others). Really feels like it’s been since 2010 to Moss that we saw those kind of completions.
Thank Hoodie for Chandler and Nink. We can make it work without Mayo, not sure we could make it work without one of them. Though the sprinkling of Zach Moore in the game is a positive sign. Curious to see if he gets more time.
Wilfork and Chung – two veterans who might get lost in the shuffle of praise this week, but both have been big factors this year. Chris Jones had another solid game while Casey Walker also did well subbing in.
Tavon Wilson and Duron Harmon could be more involved with Mayo out, but I don’t have much confidence in either yet.
Pats just have to tough out this Thursday night against the Jets, who are sure to present plenty of problems, especially for the offensive line. If you think they’re just going to roll over I’ve got bad news for you.
A win on Thursday would be so huge and then give the Pats some badly needed time to get healthy. Get ready, another football game in just three days…
3 GIFs coming later this afternoon.
