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Pats Posits: Relief, Bewilderment and Frustration After Pats’ SB52 Loss

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The Eagles made one of the only big defensive plays of the game and beat the Patriots in Super Bowl 52 for their first championship last night. Before we get too heavily into the “what the hell happened” of it all, I think it’s important to say the Eagles played the perfect game. So few teams can put together the flawless 60-minutes of effort required to take down Tom Brady and steady strangulation of the Belichick Pats but that’s what Philadelphia did on the biggest stage and for all the bickering about what the Patriots did or didn’t do, Philly deserves full credit for what they did.

It’s also important to remember that despite one of their worst defensive performances in recent memory (which is saying a lot) Tom Brady still got the ball back with plenty of time to win the game. That’s where it felt like this one was heading, until it wasn’t because Brandon Graham made the clutch play that the Patriots defense could not.

So yes, there’s plenty to unpack from this one, and most of it will take an entire offseason, but in this single game the Eagles were the better team and for whatever reason I’m not finding it all that hard to swallow. It’s been a while since I’ve been in my Patriots cave of misery. The last time I was here was January of 2016 after a frustrating  loss to Peyton Manning and the Broncos.

There were some cobwebs in the cave, some dusty pictures of SB42 and SB46 and Peyton Manning as a Bronco, but there’s a strange comfort in the cave of misery. This is where most NFL fans exist full time, and we’ve gotten far more reprieve than all of them. If anything, this eighth Super Bowl trip was just a reminder of how hard it is to do what the Patriots have done. A better team got them this time, but I think there’s at least enough ammo in New England Patriots Football Weapon for another strong run next season.

Of course there are tons of questions as to what that weapon will look like exactly, but we’ll dive into those in the coming days and weeks.

First, let’s just vent about the Super Bowl…

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Patshow #118 – Steelers Wrap and Last Jedi Review Special

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We finally get to breakdown the Pats-Steelers! And yes, we dive into the Belichick-Guerrero-Brady love triangle for the three minutes it deserves. The rest is filled with wonder of what happened on the field in Pittsburgh. We also end the show with a 10-minute mildly-spoiler free review of The Last Jedi. It’s Patshow, Star Wars Christmas Edition!

Please show Patshow some love and click our sponsors below, every one helps!

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Potential Defensive Adjustments vs. Saints

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I try not to look at any kind of stats until Week 4. It’s just too small a sample size and too easy to overreact, and that’s certainly the case this morning as I took a peak at my stats site of choice FootballOutsiders.com.

The Patriots defense? Ranked 32nd in overall defense, 30th against the pass and 32nd against the run. Nowhere to go but up, right!? I like Football Outsiders because it’s not based on one random analysts grades but by efficiency in the context of the situation. It gives us a good sense of how the team executed. And clearly the Patriots didn’t execute well at all.

By historical comparison, and again, this is just for shits and giggles at this point, here’s how those numbers stack up.

Of course things will get better, but it won’t exactly be handed to the Patriots, especially with a tough matchup against a great quarterback at his homefield this weekend. Here’s a few thoughts on some personnel switches that might help improve things and be better suited to handling Drew Brees and the Saints diverse attack.

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Pats Posits: No. Not Edelman.

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Injuries. For the 2017 Patriots, they’re all that stand between them and another Super Bowl run, and in Friday’s preseason win over the Detroit Lions, their championship hopes might’ve taken a significant a hit.

Julian Edelman went down in a play eerily reminiscent of Wes Welker‘s non-contact fall in Houston 2009. Now, we wait for official word with an estimate of how long he’ll be out.

There’s plenty to unravel if Edelman’s lost for long. But at least on the surface, with Chris Hogan and Brandin Cooks leading the way, the passing attack is somewhat prepared to absorb this.

Otherwise it was the tale of two halves. Both the Patriots starting offense and defense played a complementary and often dominant first half. Then the back ups and roster hanger-ons stunk the place out in the second half.

It’s hard to talk about the good and the bad without a depressing undertone from seeing the engine of the offense go down in a non-contact heap. But let’s do our best to figure out what it all means in the Posits.

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5 Do or Die Patriots in Detroit

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We’re just two weeks away from the kickoff of the 2017 regular season, but those two weeks are going to be jam packed with two more preseason games and plenty of roster moves, at least a couple of which should make our collective heads spin.

The immediate focus though is on week three of the preseason, the most hyped game of the summer where we can expect to see the starters play into the second half. Disclaimer — don’t get carried away with the results. The Patriots have had good week threes and bad week threes and neither result ever really told us anything about how the team would be in the regular season.

However, for individual players, there’s a lot on the line in Detroit.

Let’s take a look at five Patriots who are very much on the bubble and could solidify their position on the roster (or depth chart) based on their showing in this game.

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Patriots take closer look at safeties Vinnie Sunseri, William Moore – ESPNBoston

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The Patriots already have a solid group of safeties, but that won’t keep them from kicking the tires on William Moore and Vinnie Sunseri.

Source: Patriots take closer look at safeties Vinnie Sunseri, William Moore – New England Patriots Blog- ESPN

Patriots safetiesNot really that surprised that the Pats are keeping the emergency safeties list up to date. Although Tavon Wilson wasn’t destined for a significant role on defense, his departure this offseason does leave a bit of a void as far as an experienced veteran who could step up if Patrick Chung were to get hurt.

Chung’s had two excellent seasons since returning to the Patriots, primarily playing as a “robber” in the Pats oft-used Cover-1 man scheme. This places Chung in box, usually as a run stopper but sometimes in coverage on tight ends as well. This suits him far better than the Cover-2 deep safety and slot corner roles he was often found playing in his first stint with the Pats.

Chung’s also avoided the biggest deterrent in his first go-round, injuries. If he were to get hurt now, the Pats don’t have an experienced safety who could easily fit into his role. Duron Harmon is a deep free safety, and while Devin McCourty could shift into some of Chung’s duties, it’s not exactly the best use of his talents.

One of the big questions I’ve wondered this offseason is whether Jordan Richards is ready for that kind of role on defense if he was called upon. He showed some promise last year, but I’m still not sure what his best fit is and inserting him into the important role Chung plays could be a bit dicey.

Knowing where veterans like Moore and Sunseri are at gives the Pats some fall back options if they weren’t quite ready for Richards to be playing significant snaps on defense.

 

Under-the-Radar Patriots To Watch This Summer

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With a collection of free agents already solidifying most of the roster, I’ve been focusing on a few under-the-radar Patriots to watch this summer. Obviously there are still plenty of personnel to be added that will affect these guys and how they fit into things, but right now here are some guys who could emerge into significant roles or finally fall off the roster.

Tyler Gaffney – The Pats swooped in and snagged Gaffney during the 2014 preseason after the Panthers tried to sneak him onto IR. He sat out 2014 and then got injured in training camp and missed all of 2015 as well. But one interesting tidbit about Gaffney was his appearance at the top of the Pats’ depth chart if you caught a peek at the wall of one scene as Nick Caserio walked into his office. Maybe it meant nothing. Or maybe it meant the Pats have/had high hopes for the Stanford grad. As of right now there’s still a big need at running back, one that Gaffney could theoretically fill, if he can stay healthy for the first time in three years.

Nick Caserio Patriots Depth Chart

Aaron Dobson – At this point no one is expecting much out of Dobson and for good reason, the last two years he’s ended up on IR and even when he’s on the field his development has stagnated after a promising rookie campaign where he grabbed 37 catches and four touchdowns. But Dobson has some skill and size, and is now entering his final year in New England. This is likely the last chance he has to save his football career, if not in New England, perhaps somewhere else. But he’ll need to put some great tape together during the preseason and should get plenty of chances to show if he can contribute anything at last.

Trey Flowers – With both Rob Ninkovich, Chris Long and Jabaal Sheard entering the last year’s of their deal, the Patriots are going to need Tre Flowers, Geneo Grissom and Rufus Johnson to step into a significant role at some point. Flowers looked like the most promising of the group last preseason. We saw some of Grissom during the season, often as an interior rusher before he got some DE snaps, but his home position remains a little unclear to me. Sheard should be extended, but Ninkovich is fast approaching the end of the line. Unless the Pats draft a defensive end this season, Flowers should get every chance to show if he has the potential to step into a starting role.

Trey Flowers Sack

Jordan Richards – Richards was a surprise safety selection last year, chosen way before anyone thought he should be, but I thought he had some excellent flashes during spot work last season. He showed good instincts and tackling ability. Now, with Tavon Wilson gone, Richards should step into a more significant role on special teams at least. And he could be a Patrick Chung injury away from a starting role on defense. Is he ready for that kind of jump? It’s a vital role in the defense in their regular package, one that includes major run support and plenty of coverage responsibilities usually against tight ends. He could be thrust into the fire if injuries strike.