Examining the Patriots’ Base Nickel Defense
New column is up on B/R, taking a look at the simple nickel defenses the Pats played against the Bills. Things will get more complicated, you can count on that.
Don’t worry. He’ll be back.
$15 shirt at The Prop Shop.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/dont-worry-hell-be-back-15-shirt-at-the-prop/
Our pals at lolpats posted this and called it a “Game of Thrones”-esque Patriots banner so I’m going to use this opportunity to drop a little GOT here on the blog.
“Winter is Coming”
That is the most important quote from GOT, and while all the different factions are fighting it out to control Westeros, the real problem is coming with winter from a bunch of undead white walkers coming to unleash hell from the north.
Likewise for the Patriots, the real problem is winter, or as we call it, the playoffs.
So while all the different factions of media and fans are fighting it out over whether or not the Broncos will trade Welker back to us, or when Gronk and Vereen will back, or why a rookie receiver didn’t look like Randy Moss in the first game of his career, I’ll be worrying about winter.
That’s the real problem.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/our-pals-at-lolpats-posted-this-and-called-it-a/
The fact that Brady targeted Thompkins so much bodes well, right? Obviously only 4/14 connected, but Kenbrell must be doing something right to get so many passes from a QB who is notorious for taking whatever defenses give him.
Well, he did target Joey Galloway 12 times in their 2009 Week 2 loss to the Jets as well (5 catches, 53 yards) and we know what happened there. But you have to like that Brady kept going to him, even when it was clear they weren’t on the same page in this one. The thing to watch is how many targets he has this week and going forward especially once Amendola is back. That will be the true test.
The Patriots have placed Shane Vereen on the injured reserve/designated to return list, meaning the running back will miss at least the next eight games.
Patriots place Shane Vereen on IR, will miss at least 8 games – Extra Points – Boston.com
Get ready for a lot of “when Vereen and Gronk get back….”
https://www.patspropaganda.com/the-patriots-have-placed-shane-vereen-on-the/
Since the patriots seem to be slow starters early in the season and get better as the season goes on, when do u expect them to really start clicking
It usually take 4-6 games to really know what you have. At that point your strengths and weaknesses are pretty apparent, not only internally but to the rest of the NFL as well. Then it becomes about trying to fix those problems.
Ideally, I’d like to see how they respond to a lot of different game situations – being down late in the 4th quarter (like they were vs. the Bills), being up late in the 4th quarter and needing a stop to seal the win, going down or up early, etc. Adversity helps forge a team and prepare them for the playoffs, where all the teams are good, all the games are usually back and forth and come down to the very end.
So I’d say by the time the Pats see the Jets again on 10/20 they’ll have a pretty good idea of how good they are. Then they’ll have two big divisional games that could potentially really set them up to put a stranglehold on the AFCE crown.
I will say that this season, with all the rookie weapons, I’m not expecting consistency or dominance out of the offense until after the bye. Everyone just need to accept that this isn’t the well-oiled Welker/Gronk/Hernandez machine of the last few seasons.
There will be times where it does look like that machine and there will be others where it looks disjointed, like it did Sunday.
As for the defense, I have high expectations, and they really start this week against a rookie QB, when the offense needs them to really deliver a solid performance to help offset some injuries.
I don’t know if I would classify Tom Brady as struggling,” Ryan said. “I’d have to see that to believe it; I don’t think he’s ever struggled. To me, what I saw was a team that could really run the football. In the past, they’ve run the ball, but not with the conviction that I saw in that first week, against a pretty darn good front. That’s something that obviously looks like New England is going to run the ball more than they’ve done in the past. If Tom had such a bad game, they had two receivers over 100 yards. Oh my goodness,” Ryan said, laughing. “You have a couple Wes Welker clones there in [Julian] Edelman and [Danny] Amendola, so it’s difficult, no question.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/i-dont-know-if-i-would-classify-tom-brady-as/
