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Can We Be Excited About 2018 Patriots Now?

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The Patriots’ preseason win over the Eagles was a different viewing experience for me as I got tied up down the cape on a beautiful and perfect day and had to listen to the first half in the car on the way home. I actually kind of enjoyed it. Obviously, Dan Roche and Matt Chatham know their stuff and are fun to listen to but it was also a bit of a throwback to the old days when catching a Patriots game didn’t always trump everything else. You’d tune into Gino and Gil as you ran your Sunday errands and the Pats *most likely* got toasted.

There was also no way to consume any kind of social media or worry about blogs, it’s was just old school football consumption and from the sounds of it, it was a bit of an old school win. Of course, I started re-watching the game as soon as I got home, eager to see how many of the impressive plays I’d heard actually looked, and it was every bit as delightful as it sounded.

Yes, I’m excited the defense was so disruptive, but let’s also remember that this was a far cry from that fearless gameplan offense we saw from the Eagles the last time these two teams met in Minnesota. The good news is that we can still feel good, and you can bet your five Super Bowl rings that Eagles fans definitely feel pretty miserable about being 0-2 in the preseason.

It feels like it will be hard for even the most negative Patriots fans to piss and moan about this one, which could possibly mean that the local narrative will become one that is excited about this Patriots team, instead of gleefully awaiting an internal soap opera to destroy the entire franchise from within.

But I’m sure they’ll do their best to keep fans angry and calling in about their trash takes.

Here are my rapid-fire notes on a preseason game that felt like it announced the 2018 Patriots’ presence.

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Patriots Clear Off PUP, Tuesday Tweets of Note

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The Patriots welcomed back the remaining members of the PUP squad meaning that they’ll open the season with no one getting a free pass behind the scenes until Week 6. Cyrus Jones, Jonathan Jones and Nate Ebner all returned to practice, donning full pads meaning their time being physically unable to perform were coming to an end.

For the Joneses, it’s a good sign that they’re back before the first preseason game. Jonathan could insert himself into the slot conversation over rookie Duke Dawson, while Cyrus faces a make or break year where the Pats could really use his punt return ability. He’s a bit of a wild card as a cornerback, especially with a loaded depth chart but maybe just maybe he could be a factor.

As for Ebner, he’s just about a roster lock for his special team prowess and is a good presence to have back on the field for Bill Belichick’s favorite phase of the game.

More on the brewing battles and what went down at Tuesday’s practice in the Tweets of Note.

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Video: Patriots Training Camp Practice #2 Report

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Great to finally see some football today at a muggy second practice! As we try to get Patshow Season #2 going I’m going to try and use my video producer skills to bring some more video content. Let me know what you guys think!

A few other things I forgot to mention in the video:

— Marcus Cannon did leave practice early, walking off under his own power. LaAdrian Waddle slipped into his reps. Hopefully Cannon is back sooner than later, though his injury history is starting to add up.

— Stephon Gilmore had an AFC Championship-sealer-esque diving pass break up over Julian Edelman. Gilmore is on the left side this year and is the a clear-cut number one cornerback.

— As much as I wanted to notice him nothing about Sony Michel really stood out to me. Again, IT’S NO PADS, DAY TWO. All the backs had their share of work, including Burkhead, Gillislee and Hill, and I can’t say any of them really stood out, though Burkhead always looks shot out of a rocket.

— As I mention, Edelman looks like Edelman, and it’s such great news.

— On and by the way, Brady is still Brady. Yikes.

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Patriots Off-Season Football Review

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The 2018 offseason was workmanlike for the Patriots, sticking the same philosophy they’ve mostly gone with over the last 18 seasons. There wasn’t a seismic free agent pickup like Randy Moss or Darrelle Revis,, nor did they roll the dice on a former star veteran in search of a title like Chad Johnson, Albert Haynesworth, Fred Taylor and others.

They watched some steady and beloved players walk to lucrative contracts and traded their way out of having to watch the same thing happen next offseason with Brandin Cooks.

The subtractions, including Nate Solder, Dion Lewis, Malcolm Butler and Danny Amendola stung on multiple levels and will leave the 2018 Patriots with significant questions about who will replace them, but there is good overall depth that should make for good competition for those spots. There is a lot of potential in this 2018 Patriots roster that has not been tapped.

The additions and draft picks were surgically targeted at places of weakness but now those new players must take advantage of the opportunity and that all starts Thursday. There are still questionable areas, but with the best coaching in the league and high standards there will certainly be some new faces that excite us.

For those of you who checked out during the offseason, or just want a clean and easy football-only review of the comings and goings, here’s a quick run-thru of the Patriots’ offseason.

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Pats Posits: Camp Starts Thursday!

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After a long spring of unparalleled toxicity in Patriots Nation, real football is finally back this Thursday! Yes, the Patriots were a play away from winning another Super Bowl, but because they couldn’t get that fourth-down stop we’ve had to listen to the Eagles’ incessant chest pounding, our defense ridiculed and a near-constant barrage of stories about behind-the-scenes drama.

The common thread now for any interviews of former Patriots players? Did you have fun while you played there? Was Bill Belichick nice enough?

We’ve come full circle.  The Patriots dynasty is only setting the bars of NFL history higher and higher at this point. Almost every meaningful record belongs to the team, Belichick and Tom Brady.

All that’s left to wonder is if this is the greatest sports dynasty in sports history?

That’s why I’m excited for 2018. It’s Brady Ride or Die time. Every new championship and award is just gravy at this point, so what do we really have to worry about? Enjoy the end and marvel at how hard this coach-quarterback tandem continues to work despite already being legendary.

Here are some Posits on this Monday morning about the 2018 Patriots and my plans for training camp and the upcoming season.

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Will Who Return Punts for Pats?

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Since 2013 Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola have combined to return 190 punts for the Patriots. Last season, when Edelman went down, Amendola shouldered nearly the entire load with 27 punt returns. Bernard Reedy (who?) was second on the team with four. Now, with Amendola in Miami and Edelman looking at a four-game suspension, the Pats need a punt returner.

Patriots Punt Returns since 2013
Punt Punt Punt Punt Punt
Player Ret
▼		 PRYds TD Lng Y/R
Julian Edelman 96 1174 1 84 12.23
Danny Amendola 94 978 0 82 10.40
Cyrus Jones 11 73 0 21 6.64
Keshawn Martin 8 92 0 21 11.50
Bernard Reedy 4 55 0 23 13.75
Patrick Chung 4 10 0 7 2.50
Chris Harper 3 17 0 10 5.67
Damaris Johnson 2 3 0 3 1.50
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/17/2018.

Cyrus Jones, coming off an ACL tear and limited all offseason, was an electric punt returner at Alabama, with four touchdowns in his last season. Before the injury, Jones would’ve been the most explosive candidate on the roster. He could be a PUP candidate.

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Third-Down Offensive Personnel Deep Dive

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It shouldn’t be a surprise the Patriots’ third-down offense suffered without Julian Edelman in 2017, they fell from 4th to 10th in the league. Now they’ll be without Danny Amendola as well.


Using the impressive Sharp Football Analysis, I took a quick deep dive into how the offensive personnel changed between 2016 and 2017. How they compensated without Edelman…what worked, what didn’t.

Here’s what I found:

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