PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

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?

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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.

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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…

  1. Ridley
  2. Red Zone/Third Down Improvement for Offense
  3. Force at least 2 turnovers

You are the Saints DC. What is your plan on beating the Patriots this week?

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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.

Where did you learn your X’s and O’s from? And have you ever played organized football? If so where and what position?

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Ah, what a perfect time for a little sharing…

I played two years of organized football (I was too “husky” for Pop Warner). First was my freshman year of high school, and second was my junior year after transferring to a new school. I was actually a better hockey player and played that all the way through college, but was always drawn to the atmosphere and analysis of football. 

My freshman year experience was a lot of fun. I played middle linebacker and a little fullback. We only had four games for the season, but I remember every one of them. Now I had average size and wasn’t very fast or strong, I think that’s what killed my football career more than anything, but I loved studying my playbook and always knew what was going on so I think that’s why I got to play at that point and be the linebacker that made the play calls in the huddle.

But perhaps the best thing that came out of my freshman year football season was when I taught myself how to edit on my parents camcorder and put together a highlight film to “Eye of the Tiger” and “Bust a Move” of our four freshman games. That was probably the very first step towards becoming a football blogger down the road.

I transferred to a prep school two years later (mostly to play better hockey) and the football team barely had enough guys to make a team. The coach/Dean of Students pulled me into his office the first week of school and asked me to play football. I didn’t need much convincing thinking I’d pick right up at middle linebacker and fullback again.

Unfortunately that wasn’t in the cards, because what the team lacked most were linemen.

After missing all of double sessions I started both ways at tackle and on all special teams in the first game, about 8 days after I started. I literally did not leave the field, but don’t think I’m saying that to impress anyone. Now I was about 6’ 195 pounds in high school, and was what scouts might now call a “high cut, waist bender”.

I was a horrible tackle, and was thoroughly destroyed every game. I remember in the game that’s pictured below at halftime just wishing the game was over we were getting beaten up so badly. Luckily the other team put their backups in and the second half wasn’t quite so miserable.

Probably not a surprise that we lost every game but one, and the only game we won was because somehow we played a team that was actually worse than us.

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That’s me at left defensive tackle, about to get run over no doubt.

Back then I didn’t know much about Xs and Os, but it always fascinated me. In 2006 I found PatsFans.com and their messageboard really sparked me to learn more about football. That lead to discovering SmartFootball.com among other sites that helped me learn more about the game. Since then I’ve devoured anything I can get my hands on and I feel that my understanding of the game has improved immensely.

But if there was one seminal moment to this blog, it was when I was in high school and taking a class at our town’s cable access channel. I grew up a few towns over from Foxboro and a guy who had a talk show on the channel (yes, our very own Wayne’s World) was going to shoot am episode for his show at a Patriots game. They needed a handheld camera operator and I had made a name for myself doing the handheld cam for the broadcasts of our high schools football team.

So we went to what was then Sullivan Stadium, shooting segments with tailgaters and down at the old practice bubble before the game, then we got onto the field and into the press box during the game, and into the locker room after the game. We interviewed Fred Smerlas (asked him where he got such a colorful sweater) and the Patriots cheerleaders. It was one of the coolest days of my life.

Ironically this was 1992 and the game was against the Saints, and man were the Pats brutal back then.

So yeah, I had a little bit of playing experience, but really it was more my love of watching and trying to understand the game, along with NFL Films productions, that really instilled the love of the game in me and were the early seeds for this blog.

I’ve been reading up on how the Pats can beat the Saints. Yet, I don’t think the Pats can actually pull it off. Idk if that makes me a bad fan, but I just see too much uncertainty on both sides of the ball due to injuries. What is your prediction on the game?

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You might find that I don’t really do predictions here on the Prop, nor do I link to power rankings or any one else’s predictions because, in the words of screenwriter William Goldman, “nobody knows anything”.

What’s the point of getting fired up about one random person’s arbitrary thoughts on how the game might unfold?

So, I don’t know. It’s possible the Patriots just happen to be clicking better than the Saints on Sunday. It’s also possible that the Pats struggles continue and the Saints beat them pretty bad.

Doesn’t make you a bad fan that you look at what the two teams have done up to this point, especially last weekend, and think that it probably equals a Saints win. But as the saying goes, upsets are what make sports great.

This is what I know… the Pats will come out swinging and will have to be beaten, they won’t hand the game to the Saints. Which team makes the bigger mistakes will likely be the one that loses the game.

Personally, I’m just looking forward to seeing how the Pats match up against a very good team. There are only so many good teams with good quarterbacks in the NFL. Usually when the Pats win it comes with a “yeah, but they didn’t have an elite QB”.

Well, let’s see how we do against an elite QB this week, and if the offense can show some progress, progress they didn’t show last week. The result will take care of itself.

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The Patriots signed him this off-season and the 6’5, 305 is thought to be more of a pass rush specialist than run-stuffer with his tall frame. Armstead has the body of a 3-4 DE playing the 5-technique but could kick inside and help out at tackle. If he is able to play he could provide a versatile role on the Patriots defense.

Armstead Could Help Patriots Issues At Tackle Soon :Pats Pub

Really hope we see Armstead next week…

https://www.patspropaganda.com/the-patriots-signed-him-this-off-season-and-the/