PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

For the most part are all the injured players returning on pace to play in the season opener

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Overall I think the Pats have been pretty lucky this summer in that it doesn’t seem like any major pieces have been lost for the season.

The buzz kill injuries were Siliga and Chris Jones. It’s kind of ironic given that neither would’ve likely been on the team last year if Wilfork and Kelly hadn’t gotten hurt and now I’m bummed they’re both out.

Siliga was spotted today doing conditioning work with a cast on his left hand/arm (reports vary how big it was). I have to imagine he’ll be back before too long, just cast it up. He was having a great start to camp too and was really a guy I though could (and still should) break out this season.

Jones had an ankle injury and while initial reports were that he “dodged a bullet” and he was spotted in the locker room yesterday without a cast/limp/walking boot. However I worry (and this is pure Mike D. speculation) that it’s a high ankle sprain. Those can tend to linger. 

Hopefully both those guys are back soon.

Otherwise the guys who were injured last season have all been on remarkable recovery tracks. Gronk, Wilfork, Kelly, Smith and Mayo all should likely be ready for the opener. That’s huge news, and ironically, very important for Wilfork/Kelly to be back with Siliga/Jones out.

Vollmer has missed the last few practices, that’s a big question mark but I think we all feel pretty comfortable with Cannon filling in for him for however long. 

Lastly, Hoomanawanui has been back at practice, that’s huge to help manage Gronk early in the season. As everyone is aware, tight end depth is scary right now, though I think there will be additions there before the opener.

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NFL Films: 2013 New England Patriots Yearbook

Always a yearly must-watch. You know, if the NFL really wanted to make money, which of course is about all they want to do, they should package these yearbooks in DVD sets.

They’ve gotten it down to science – they can make a 1-15 team seem like they had one of the best years in the NFL, or maybe I’ve just been watching Patriots yearbooks for too long.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/nfl-films-2013-new-england-patriots-yearbook/

What are the chances Boyce and tymes make the roster

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I think Tyms is a lock because they can keep him for the first four weeks of the season and it won’t cost them a roster spot due to his suspension. It’s funny how a punishment for a player can be a big advantage for the team.

The only way he gets cut is if they just don’t like him and see no long-term potential which is a possibility no matter how much he’s torn it up this preseason. Given the injury histories of Dobson/Amendola and even Edelman, it makes sense to keep a free receiver on the team and see how things play out early in the season.

As for Boyce, I’ve never really seen it and had him on the bubble heading into camp. His inconsistent performances in the preseason has slid him off of my roster projections. 

With kickoff returns becoming less impactful it’s hard to make the team as just a returner and I’m not even sure Boyce has shown enough there to even really merit consideration.

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The NFL wants to score, score, score, eschewing defensive responsibilities in the name of weekly shootouts. Embarrass Peyton Manning in the Super Bowl, will you? Well, the NFL will just threaten to enforce the rules it put in place a decade ago when Manning was rendered useless in the playoffs by the New England Patriots. Make no mistake, this preseason flag-fest is partly aimed at making guys like Manning, Tom Brady, and Aaron Rodgers become record-setting monsters. The NFL insists it’s a safety issue. Please. What’s good for the fantasy roster is good for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. That’s just pathetic.

RIP, NFL – Eric Wilbur’s Sports Blog – Boston.com

This is really getting bad and Wilbur makes a great point, ever since 2004 the NFL has slowly been making it harder and harder to actually play defense. So I guess the Pats are partially to blame?

I still have hope that things will calm down during the regular season and if a DB brushes his hand accidentally on a wide receiver downfield it won’t get a flag. But the NFL is really trying their best to kill the game. This is a football blog, and I love defense, and I don’t care one bit about fantasy, so if things continue down this path I might have to find a new line of blogging.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/the-nfl-wants-to-score-score-score-eschewing/

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kickoffcoverage:

-KICKOFF COVERAGE’S: HISTORY OF THE 32 IN 32-

-NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS-

1976

PATRIOTS GO 11-3 & EARN WILD CARD BERTH,LOSE TO THE RAIDERS IN THE WILD CARD ROUND BY A CONTROVERSIAL CALL THAT GAVE MOMENTUM BACK TO THE RAIDERS:

Following the 1975 season, Plunkett was traded to the San Francisco 49ers, and eventually would win two Super Bowls with the Oakland Raiders.

The draft picks acquired in the Plunkett trade were used to select defensive backs Mike Haynes and Tim Fox and set the stage for the team’s first winning seasons in the NFL. Second-year player Steve Grogan – who had played much of the 1975 season with Plunkett injured – became New England’s top quarterback in 1976. The Patriots finished 11-3, their best record in team history to that point, and advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 1963.

Their opponent in the first round would be the Oakland Raiders, whose only regular season loss had come at the hands of New England, 48-17. By late in the game, the Patriots were leading the Raiders, 21–17. On a critical 3rd-down play late in the 4th quarter, Patriots defensive tackle Ray “Sugar Bear” Hamilton appeared to get a critical sack on Oakland quarterbackKen Stabler, which would have forced the Raiders into a 4th-down situation and the possible end to their season. However, referee Ben Dreith called a roughing the passer penalty on Hamilton, nullifying the sack and giving the Raiders an automatic 1st down deep in New England territory. Replays would show that there was no illegal contact – a point that Stabler himself would all but concede in interviews years later. The call would ultimately prove fatal to the Patriots, as Stabler would score on a short touchdown run with less than a minute left, and the Raiders held on for a 24–21 win. Partially because of the controversy, the league never assigned Dreith to officiate Patriots games again.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/kickoffcoverage-kickoff-coverages-history-of-3/