PatsPropaganda

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Sunday Pats Posits: Preseason Week 3

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We’re a mere three weeks away from the start of the Patriots 2018 regular season and with most of training camp done and two games under their belt the team has very much started to take shape.

Two significant injuries have befallen the two first-round picks, but since neither were really needed to immediately step in and start, the impact of both isn’t all that significant. Unfortunate yes, but neither constitutes a critical blow like losing Julian Edelman was last year.

What else have we learned about this version of the Pats? How much can we take away from their two preseason games? How might the team evolve this season? Let’s dive in on this Sunday morning with a bunch of Posits.

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Film Review: Patriots vs Eagles Preseason Week 2

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As always, I never feel like I’ve actually watched the game until I can sit and study it with easy pause and rewind abilities. Once again that was the case with this preseason game, where the 2018 Patriots continue to come into clearer view. Rookies and young guys continue to get auditions with the top defense, but who is actually making the most of those opportunities?

Here are my film review notes from the first half of the Pats-Eagles.

— Opened in 3-CB nickel with Gilmore, Rowe, Crossen. Van Noy, Bentley. Davis, Shelton, Brown, Clayborn. Third down – Harmon, Rivers, Butler in, Shelton, Brown, Bentley out. Clayborn stood out with disruptive pressure on third down.

— The offense opened in a spread with James White who was clearly the centerpiece of the attack. This was the offense they opened with many times last year and if often sputtered out of the gate. Jacob Hollister got a full audition as the primary “Y” tight end. He struggled blocking defensive ends which isn’t all that surprising.

— The Hogan, Edelman, Dorsett trio looks like the go-to guys at this point. Dorsett continues to not impress me. Brady’s pocket movement on Hogan’s touchdown was impressive and as good as it’s always been.

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Can We Be Excited About 2018 Patriots Now?

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The Patriots’ preseason win over the Eagles was a different viewing experience for me as I got tied up down the cape on a beautiful and perfect day and had to listen to the first half in the car on the way home. I actually kind of enjoyed it. Obviously, Dan Roche and Matt Chatham know their stuff and are fun to listen to but it was also a bit of a throwback to the old days when catching a Patriots game didn’t always trump everything else. You’d tune into Gino and Gil as you ran your Sunday errands and the Pats *most likely* got toasted.

There was also no way to consume any kind of social media or worry about blogs, it’s was just old school football consumption and from the sounds of it, it was a bit of an old school win. Of course, I started re-watching the game as soon as I got home, eager to see how many of the impressive plays I’d heard actually looked, and it was every bit as delightful as it sounded.

Yes, I’m excited the defense was so disruptive, but let’s also remember that this was a far cry from that fearless gameplan offense we saw from the Eagles the last time these two teams met in Minnesota. The good news is that we can still feel good, and you can bet your five Super Bowl rings that Eagles fans definitely feel pretty miserable about being 0-2 in the preseason.

It feels like it will be hard for even the most negative Patriots fans to piss and moan about this one, which could possibly mean that the local narrative will become one that is excited about this Patriots team, instead of gleefully awaiting an internal soap opera to destroy the entire franchise from within.

But I’m sure they’ll do their best to keep fans angry and calling in about their trash takes.

Here are my rapid-fire notes on a preseason game that felt like it announced the 2018 Patriots’ presence.

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Patriots Gameplan: Preseason Week 2 vs Eagles

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Another Patriots preseason game is upon us, and in Week 2 there’s a chance to build on everything that was revealed in the comeback victory of week 1. The team has since wrapped up practices that are open to the public as we continue to build up toward a regular season that is just a few weeks away.

Are you excited? You should be because the Patriots dynasty is very much alive. The end will suck and likely come suddenly, but until then all is still right with the world, just as it’s been for nearly the last two decades.

Again, this won’t be a usual gameplan because, well, there just aren’t gameplans in the preseason. Only a collection of simple schemes that give the coaching staff a sense of players when they have little other than their own skills to rely on. But what matters most is the fight in the team and there appeared to be no problems against the Redskins. Just the usual sloppy start followed by a stellar finish, done mostly by guys who will be looking for other jobs in a few weeks.

Here are five things to watch against the Eagles.

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Patriots Remain Super Bowl Favorites

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It’s easy here in the New England media bubble to lose sight of the fact that among the various sportsbook sites on this list, the Patriots are still the favorite to win Super Bowl 53. The last 17 years have seen unprecedented success and it’s fascinating to see where we’re at now — a desperate search for why this is when the Patriots begin to finally decline.

The rest of the league’s fans and punditry must shake their heads. If this is what it’s like when Brady and Belichick are still here what will it look like when the next coach-quarterback combination arrives? How do the Jets’ media feel about their receiver group? Yikes.

There are no sports takes without drama and how much real drama is there with the Patriots now? The media have taken their grasping at straws to a new level, peddling narratives that are tired and contrived with the continued desperate hope that they’ll see the crack that sinks the ship first.

The Kraft-Belichick-Brady power struggle. Brady not living at the stadium anymore. Gronk’s contract. Brady’s contract. Belichick not making things fun. The media has seemingly grown more and more desperate, clinging to these stories while failing to see the real football narratives that are actually far more interesting, but require a little bit more of actual thought.

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Tweets of Note: Patriots Monday Camp Practice

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I’m winding things down on vacation in Philadelphia today, eager for a long drive back tomorrow and then full preparations for the rest of preseason and the start of the Patriots regular season.

Quick story, I’m here for a hockey coaching seminar during which the speaker asked the room, filled with Eagles SB52 fans all decked out in swag, to name some good coaches. The first, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan, and of course a Boston native. Next? Someone from the back, sadly not I, shouted out Bill Belichick. The crowd groaned but begrudgingly acknowledged the coaching ability of the hoodie. No mention of any of the bullshit, just a bunch of coaches admitting they know who one of the best ever is.

I had a big grin, and was slightly sad it was not I who called out the name.

Here are the Tweets from today that stood out.

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Tweets of Note: Patriots Sunday Training Camp Practice

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Greetings from Philadelphia, where so far I haven’t been too subjected to too much Super Bowl 52 misery. In fact, you’ll be pleased to know that most Eagles fans seem to have returned to the norm, being totally miserable about their opening preseason loss. We’ll see if my Patriots-plated car is still in one piece when I pick it up from the parking garage on Tuesday morning.

Imagine what’ll happen if they lose to the Pats Thursday? Won’t make up for the Super Bowl that’s for sure, but it’s always nice to see Eagles fans miserable and really, it’s their natural state anyway.

There’s only two more training camp practices open to the public left. That means, unfortunately, I won’t get to see them again and will instead have to rely on the great reporters whose job it is to be there in person.

It looks like it was another interesting day of practice after what has become a standard downpour that has affected numerous practices thus far. Here are the Tweets of Note…

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