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Report: Patriots Acquire DT Danny Shelton

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After spending the better part of two days wondering how a large contingent of Patriots Nation thought cornerback was the biggest need for this defense, the Patriots made the kind of splash I wanted them to in the front seven, acquiring monstrous defensive tackle Danny Shelton and a 2018 pick from the Cleveland Browns for a 2019 mid-round pick..

Shelton is entering the last year of his rookie deal at an affordable $2 million, with an option for 2019 that @Patscap estimates would be in the $6-7 million range. Shelton was the 12th overall pick in 2015 and is really the perfect fit for the Patriots’ defense that looks for their two defensive tackles to control the interior of the offensive line while the ends and linebackers make the plays.

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Patriots Special Teams Report – Week 5 @ Cleveland Browns

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Patriots Special Teams 16wk5

What a return it was for the greatest quarterback to ever live. Having to watch Jacoby Brissett for two and a half games really makes one appreciate the greatness of Tom Brady even more, and it seemed to elevate and motivate the entire team as a whole. Special teams had another solid week, with the lone hiccup being Stephen Gostkowski’s third miss on the season.

Gostkowski started the season off on the right foot, nailing all three field goals (at distances of 47, 53, and 32 yards) against Arizona in Week 1, and was named the AFC Specialist of the Week. However, it’s been all downhill from there for the highest-paid kicker in the NFL since: Gostkowski has missed three of his next seven kicks in the past four games (keep in mind, he missed three total last season).

He missed a 39-yarder wide right against Miami, pushed a 48-yarder to the right of the goalposts against Buffalo, and most recently hit one too far to the right on a 50-yarder on Sunday. Notice a trend on his misses? All wide right. All of his misses have had plenty of distance, but each time his kicks have sailed too far to the right. Seeing as Gostkowski is the fourth-most accurate kicker in NFL history, Patriot Nation should be confident that he will correct whatever flaw is ailing him at the moment. Be sure to watch how Gostkowski does in the coming weeks, even on the ones he makes.  

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Patriots-Browns Film Review: Third Down Defense Edition

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In this week’s film review I’m going to take a little more micro look at the third downs that the Patriots failed to get stops on against the Browns. Right now the Patriots are 27th in the NFL in third down defense (44.6 percent, worst since 2010) and 30th in red zone defense (80 percent).

Combine the two and the Patriots are by far the worst third down defense in the red zone in the NFL, giving up a first down 83.3 percent of the time. The second-worst team in the league, Baltimore, is at 70 percent, while the third-worst, Houston, is at 57.1 percent. That shows just how far below the rest of the league the Patriots have been in the critical area of their beloved bend-don’t-break, which depends immensely on third down stops in the red zone.

Now I’m not here to go all doom and gloom on the defense. These stats are certainly concerning, but there’s a long way to go and with Tom Brady back in the mix, we’re just getting our first taste of the real 2016 Patriots. So we can reserve some judgement at this point.

Here’s a look at five third downs against the Browns with what went wrong and how the Pats might fix it.

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Pats Posits: 4-1 and It’s Real Fun

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Tom Brady is back like he never left. Brady tore up the Browns for his 8th career 400-yard game, with three touchdowns to Martellus Bennett, en route to the Pats 33-13 win over the Browns in Cleveland.

All in the Patriots Universe is right.

Now, with Deflategate firmly in the rearview mirror (I pray…) the Patriots are ready to move on in pursuit of their fifth Super Bowl. Their offense looks primed to take them there. Their defense shut down Cleveland’s ground game and gave up just two scoring drives.

All three phases have things to clean up, but make no mistake, the 2016 Patriots are on track now and the season is very much underway.

 

Here da’ Posits…

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How a Bad 2010 Browns Team Beat a Good Patriots Team

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Back in 2010, Rob Gronkowski was a rookie. He wasn’t yet Gronk. BenJarvus Green-Ellis was busy churning out tough yards and never turning the ball over. Danny Woodhead was just starting to be more than a fast little Jets spy. Wes Welker was still piling up receptions on his way to being the Patriots all-time receptions leader. Randy Moss was just recently traded, and Deion Branch had come back to town! Aaron Hernandez was showing himself to be a promising rookie. Nobody had yet grown tired of Brandon Spikes, or Ron Brace, or Jermaine Cunningham. Holy crap, Tully Banta-Cain was back for a second stint. Rob Ninkovich had yet to become a workmanlike folk hero.

The Browns…well, they had fantasy football “Oh crap, MAYBE on my bye week?” guys everywhere. Mohammad Massoquoi. Colt McCoy. Ben Watson. Josh Cribbs. Chansi Stuckey. Brian Robiskie (did you have him? Yeah, I also play dynasty). Peyton Hillis had a great year that year, with 1600+ yards from scrimmage and 13 tds…otherwise…eek. T.J. Ward and Joe Haden were there on defense, but nobody else that was sending shivers up your spine.

The Browns won 34-14.

How. HOW?!

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New England Patriots Gameplan: Week 5 at Cleveland Browns

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65Dze6WLS4s

Yup, Tom Brady’s back and the 2016 season can officially start this Sunday in Cleveland. Seriously, for all the time we wasted debating Jimmy Garoppolo’s future and toughness or the gameplan for one-thumbed Jacoby Brissett, it all matters about as much as the preseason did now.

So yes Patriots fans are giddy, the rest of the NFL is worried and the Browns are preparing for worse damage than Florida right now.

But how easily the “Brady’s back” angle has made us all forget that the last two times the Patriots have faced the Browns it hasn’t quite gone as we all thought it would. There was the brutal 34-14 loss in Cleveland in 2010 and then the miraculous comeback by the Patriots in Foxboro in 2013, which also saw Rob Gronkowski’s knee blown out.

The Pats needed an onside kick recovery to escape Cleveland in that one.

The Browns have been anything but an easy out for the Patriots, no matter how the matchup looked on paper going in. But these Browns are far younger and even less talented than what the Patriots dealt with in 2010 and 2013.

Couple that with the Patriots coming off an embarrassing loss and we might just finally get the Browns blowout we’ve been waiting six years for.

Here’s the gameplan to get the season off to a new start under our favorite quarterback.

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Norv has run his offense pretty much since he was in Dallas, it doesn’t make it easy to stop. Honestly, I’d rather not see Norv, just because he’s been an experienced guy in the league and he definitely knows what he’s doing. He’s dealt with everything, so whatever opportunities he sees, whatever weaknesses you have, he’s going to recognize them, and he’s got his plays to go in there and expose them, and he’s certainly got the personnel to do it with. Yeah, we know what his basic stuff is, so does everybody else, but that doesn’t keep him from doing it, and it doesn’t make it easy to stop at all. So no, I’m not looking forward to seeing Norv, just like I wasn’t looking forward to seeing Dick LeBeau with the Steelers a few weeks ago.

Belichick talks basketball, Bess, replay challenges – Extra Points – Boston.com

https://www.patspropaganda.com/norv-has-run-his-offense-pretty-much-since-he-was/