Special teams captain Matthew Slater made the point that this will be the first road playoff game for the Patriots since 2006, which means everyone but kicker Gostkowski (joined Patriots in ’06), offensive lineman Logan Mankins (’05) and Tom Brady (’00) will be experiencing a road playoff game as a member of the Patriots for the first time.
Quick hits from the New England Patriots locker room – ESPN Boston
The Ravens game at the end of the season certainly showed this is a team that is capable of bringing their A game on the road, but their struggles through most of the year to play a full 60 minutes on the road are undeniable. They especially can’t afford a slow start like the one they had last time against the Broncos.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/special-teams-captain-matthew-slater-made-the/
FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Week 19 DVOA Ratings
FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Week 19 DVOA Ratings
The other item that will stand out is that the Patriots now rank No. 1 in weighted offensive DVOA, despite losing Rob Gronkowski in Week 14. The Patriots have had a consistently good but not dominating offense now for two months, though. The Pats had a season-high 74.8% offensive DVOA against Pittsburgh in Week 9, took Week 10 off, and then put up a fabulous 57.5% offensive DVOA against Carolina in Week 11. The haven’t matched those two games, but they have been between 10% and 40% on offense in all seven games since. Denver, after adjusting for opponent, has actually been below that three times since midseason: Week 12 against the Patriots (-3.2%), Week 15 against the Chargers (5.2%), and then this week against the Chargers (6.2%), although obviously part of that are huge opponent adjustments based on how bad San Diego was on defense in the first three months of the season.
Tom Brady as Underdog Gives Old-School Feel to New-School Peyton Manning Rivalry | Bleacher Report
Do you think dobson has a chance to play this weekend? I think Brady will want to take a shot off play action with the running game and now chris harris jr being injured.
I sure hope so. There’s a laundry list of reasons they need him, aside from the fact that this is the second-biggest possible game an NFL team can play in. Thompkins’ unknown injury status, the lack of any other X-receiver currently healthy, and the Broncos’ pass defense all have me praying Dobson can gut it out.
Just not a good sign that he reinjured the foot though. Someone tweeted to me today that WEEI said he could’ve played vs. Indy if not for the weather. I don’t totally buy that because he missed practice all week and that included at least one inside the dome.
They really need him and this would be the perfect chance to step up like the defensive rookies did last weekend. If we don’t see Dobson it will be a anticlimactic end to a rookie season that looked like it would be promising just before the bye week vs. the Steelers, but was barely seen again.
Yes, it’s a very Jamie Collins Monday here on the blog…
https://www.patspropaganda.com/yes-its-a-very-jamie-collins-monday-here-on-the/
Blount’s latest transformation has been from special teamer and change-of-pace back to game breaker: He followed up his 189-yard, two-touchdown performance in Week 17 with a 166-yard, four-touchdown day against the Colts on Saturday. Blount is a perfect symbol not only of the Patriots’ approach — a sterling example of the kind of afterthought Bill Belichick acquired on the cheap that nevertheless suddenly plays a prime role in playoff crunch time — but of New England’s willingness to evolve. Previously built around the Randy Moss/Wes Welker spread-to-pass attack of the late 2000s and later the multiple–tight end offense of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, this is now a physical, power running team that mixes in play-action.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/blounts-latest-transformation-has-been-from/