A lifetime ago..
The Patriots’ rushing attack will determine whether or not they can knock off the unbeaten Saints at Gillette Stadium this weekend. New Orleans uses almost all nickel and dime defensively—with rookie safety Kenny Vaccaro playing as a pseudo linebacker. If the Patriots can’t force the Saints to commit to stopping the run, it will be a very long day for Tom Brady in the pocket.
Nodding head…
Rob Gronkowski and Rex Ryan in Greg Bedard’s Week 6 notebook | The MMQB with Peter King
https://www.patspropaganda.com/the-patriots-rushing-attack-will-determine/
Goodness gracious what the hell is going on with gronkowski
Stomach-churning. I don’t know how else to put it. I’ve had a pit in my guy all day from it. I don’t really fault anyone with opting for the surgery route, but the fact that he’s still got problems with the arm is so disconcerting.
What’s next? Will his arm ever be back to normal and not at risk to easily break again? And how hard will it be to overcome the mental hurdle of not worrying about re-breaking it again?
I feel good that it is out of the Patriots and Gronk’s hands. Let the best doctors in the world make that decision. But what a horrible turn for his career after such a historic start. Hopefully we’ll get our Gronk back at some point, I just don’t know when.
And I can’t believe that it was Sergio Frickin’ Brown who did this to him….
But what I’m most interested in is that Andrews was even consulted at all. I think it is a brilliant idea to have an independent party determine what medical steps are in a player’s best interest; it should be done more often and earlier in the process. Every procedure should be done this way. Every player on every team—this example just happens to be the Patriots—should know there’s at least one doctor in the equation who is unquestionably looking out for his best interest.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/but-what-im-most-interested-in-is-that-andrews/
With reports saying that Gronk is expected not to suit up now on sunday, what should we take away from this? Are there riffs between him and the Pats? I know people have said they didn’t waste a roster spot for him because he’s been able to practice, but now that after this week the 6 game PUP wait is up, did they in fact waste a roster spot on him if he sits out more?
Takeaway is that his arm is not ready yet, and it’s not Gronk and his family or the Pats’ decision anymore. I don’t want to speculate on a rift between the Pats and Gronk, but even if the Pats expected him back sooner it’s hard to argue if a third-party doctor says the arm is not stable yet.
I’m sure there might’ve been some back-and-forth, but ultimately the long-term health of the player is paramount and both the Pats and Gronks know that.
There is no argument to be made that he should’ve been PUPd. He’s been out there practicing and that’s the best thing for him to get back up to speed. Maybe if he got re-injured in practice you could say it was a bad decision, but is there really so much talent on the team right now that they can’t afford his roster spot?
Maybe you could’ve kept Sudfeld but it’s not like he showed much of anything during the regular season, and otherwise nobody is rushing to steal Marquice Cole or Kanorris Davis.
Fair enough that you don’t want to make any predictions on this game, but what do you think the gameplan for the Pats is going to be and what do they NEED to do? Clearly, both coaches are going to try to keep the other offense off the field. Running the ball (maybe with ~60 percent of the playcalls as run) is going to be critical. If Gronk can play, I’d expect him in red zone and third down situations. It’s funny, in past years this would be a shootout! Now, the final score could be 10-7.
Was just reading a new piece by Greg Bedard and he put it all on the Pats running game since the Saints play mostly sub on defense. I agree with this, and for me it comes down to Ridley.
Bolden and Blount are okay, but not game changers (even if I’d like to think Bolden could be). They need a 100+ rushing day out of Ridley. If that happens it makes things in the passing game a lot easier.
And I don’t think the Saints will be overly concerned with Ridley coming into the game. They might have a plan in case he gets going, but otherwise they’ll play the pass and make the Pats prove they can move the ball on the ground.
Then it just comes down to being better on third down and red zone and like you said, that’s where they would use Gronk, though now it doesn’t seem like he’s going to play.
Defensively I don’t think you get too complex with the Saints. Doesn’t mean you don’t blitz, I like Spikes playing a lot and sending him up the middle after Brees. Otherwise I think the Pats do what they usually do – play sound coverage, tackle well and hope that Brees throws some INTs or the force some fumbles.
That’s the three keys for me…
- Ridley
- Red Zone/Third Down Improvement for Offense
- Force at least 2 turnovers
You are the Saints DC. What is your plan on beating the Patriots this week?
Take away Amendola and/or Edelman depending on who’s out there, especially on third down. Jam the rookie WRs and don’t let them off the line. Be physical with them.
Ridley might be a little concerning but he’s coming off a knee injury and missed the game last week, so let’s make him prove he can gash us before we give him much attention.
On third down disguise our coverage with our LBs and DL doing the “walk about”. Most importantly take away Brady’s first target and the rest should all fall into place. I’d focus the pass rush pressure at the middle of the Pats’ line – Wendell and Connolly.
That’s about it, nothing too complicated, which is kind of the bummer.
