PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

Do you think fletcher might get more playing time over hightower

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Dont’a Hightower is certainly catching a lot of flack this week after getting yanked against the Broncos. Some have even gone so far as to call him a bust, but I think it’s a little early to give up on Hightower.

First, he’s really playing out of position as a weak-side or nickel linebacker. Ideally he’s a strong-side or middle linebacker. 

He certainly looked flat against the Broncos and I’m excited about Dane Fletcher (more on that on Friday) and think that there’s even a world where Hightower goes back to Strongside linebacker and Fletcher slips into the Will spot. 

That might bring Hightower back around. His biggest strength is his strength playing close to the line of scrimmage, using his size and quickness to defeat offensive lineman. 

Running in space trying to cover the deep middle of the field in Tampa 2 coverage? Not his thing.

The bigger question is whether or not the Pats would feel confident letting Spikes go and moving Hightower to MLB full time next year. I wouldn’t feel great about it. Spikes is an impact player in the run game and those are rare. And is Hightower really much better than Spikes in coverage?

Spikes might never be an every-down player, but he can be and do fine if needed to. He is an elite run-stopper and when you have elite players on your roster you should keep them.

As for Fletcher, I have a big article for B/R on Fletcher coming Friday. I’ve long been a fan of his and every time he gets a chance he seems to make plays. I think he deserves a shot at a role in the base defense. 

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https://www.patspropaganda.com/chandler-jones-named-afc-defensive-player-of-the/

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Dont’a Hightower was brutal in the first half — he way overran the Broncos’ 21-yard screen pass on third and 20, and didn’t make much effort on Jacob Tamme’s touchdown — and was replaced by Dane Fletcher in the second half, who was much more disciplined and had a crucial forced fumble in the third quarter. Rookie Jamie Collins had by far his most active game as a pro, finishing with 10 tackles and saving the day by knocking the ball out of Wes Welker’s hands in overtime. And Brandon Spikes had another great tackling day in the run game, finishing with nine and a fumble recovery.

Bill Belichick stuck to his guns and it paid off for Patriots – Sports – The Boston Globe

https://www.patspropaganda.com/donta-hightower-was-brutal-in-the-first-half-he/

Grading the Patriots vs. Broncos: New England goes nickel to stop Peyton Manning | masslive.com

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Grading the Patriots vs. Broncos: New England goes nickel to stop Peyton Manning | masslive.com

Must-read as Nick Underhill grades the film…

All the stuff about Tom Brady struggling earlier in the year? Throw it out. The Pats QB has put together three consecutive solid performances now, and what he did against the Broncos may be his best showing of the year. With temperatures low enough to make you swear, which is likely what Manning did after several of his throws, Brady whipped the ball around the field like it was nothing. His performance in the third quarter was nothing short of stunning. After struggling to move the ball in the first half, he came out and completed 12-of-14 passes, throwing into the wind, for 163 yards and two touchdowns. Most of Brady’s damage was done over the short area over the middle of the field, though he did complete 12 passes outside the numbers. Brady was blitzed on nine attempts and completed eight of his passes.

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Week 12 DVOA Ratings

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FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Week 12 DVOA Ratings

Let’s kick of everybody’s favorite half-day Wednesday of the year with the updated DVOA rankings. 

Overall: 5th

Offense: 9th

  • Run 9th
  • Pass 12th

Defense: 13th

  • vs. Run 28th
  • vs. Pass 8th
  • vs #1 WR: 4th
  • vs. #2 WR: 32nd
  • vs. other WR: 14th
  • vs. TE: 9th
  • vs. RB: 9th

Special Teams: 2nd

It’s not hard to see that this is the best Patriots team we’ve seen on DVOA in a while. Or better yet, it’s the most complete team. Yes they have problems against the run, that’s kind of to be expected without Wilfork and Kelly in there.

And yes they seem to have problems with #2 wide receivers, although that is a bit subjective.

Otherwise they are in the top half, and very likely in the top 10, in every other ranking. And given how the NFL is, I’ll take those rankings every season, especially over the recent years of struggles against the pass while the run defense was stellar.

Simply put, these rankings matchup with the kind of team you need to win the Super Bowl.