PatsPropaganda

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Walter Football: Patriots #4 in power rankings

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Here’s the latest from Walter Football, with the Colts, Steelers and Packers ranked ahead of the Pats…

4. New England Patriots (14-2) – Previously: 2.
MAY 11 UPDATE: What the hell happened during the draft? It’s almost like Bill Belichick logged into Bodog and bet his entire bank account on “Will New England address its front seven in the first five rounds of the 2011 NFL Draft? No +1,500.”

MARCH 16 UPDATE: When I was buying a house, my friend and real estate lawyer asked me if I planned on getting married anytime soon. When I told him no, he replied, “Good. Don’t get married.”

I didn’t understand why he said this until I saw Tom Brady’s pony tail. Poor Tom. I think we now know who wears the pants in that household.

As for the actual team, I’m concerned about Brady’s offensive line. Stephen Neal just retired and Matt Light is a free agent. Bill Belichick needs to make sure that he protects the pony tail at all cost.

Anyone else find it ironic that on March 16 they’re saying the Pats should protect Tom Brady at all costs, then they take the left tackle of the future at 17, and now Walter cant’ figure out what the hell happened because they should’ve addressed the defensive front seven? Whaaaat?

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I feel good enough where I could contend, even though I’m not that high profile of a guy, for a comeback player of the year [award],” he says. “I think I can have that type of season. When I’m healthy, I feel like there’s nobody better than me at ‘5’ technique [left defensive end]. I feel that good, and to return back to that form, that’s where I feel right now.

Ty Warren

https://www.patspropaganda.com/i-feel-good-enough-where-i-could-contend-even/

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I was taught, by Bill Belichick, at a very early age that scouting begins on Sunday. You need to know your football team. The only way you get to know your football team is you’ve got to be able to watch them at practice, I watch the practice tape, so that’s why I do that.

Ozzie Newsome

https://www.patspropaganda.com/i-was-taught-by-bill-belichick-at-a-very-early/

BST&N/Desberg: Patriots set at inside linebacker

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BST&N/Desberg: Patriots set at inside linebacker

Nice breakdown by Carl. I’d like to touch a little more on Dane Fletcher because I think he’s one of the most intriguing players coming into the 2011 season.

First and foremost he should challenge Gary Guyton as the teams primary coverage linebacker. Fletcher had some solid play against the Jets in the playoffs including a great tackle that held them short of a first down and forced a punt.

He was used in a variety of roles in 2010, starting first as a “spy” on Ray Rice in the Ravens game. He even saw some mop up time at outside linebacker in the 45-3 game. Who knows exactly what Fletcher’s ceiling is, but he should certainly be one player to watch whenever we get to training camp.

Oh, and he spits hot fire…

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Tom Brady and wifey at the UN Global Environment Awards on 5/10. I don’t think TFB’s ever going back to short cropped doo…

https://www.patspropaganda.com/tom-brady-and-wifey-at-the-un-global-environment/

ESPN: What was Patriots franchise defining moment?

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Tim Graham over at the ESPN AFC East blog has put together a poll asking what was the defining moment of the Patriots franchise. Here are the choices:

Bill Parcells/Drew Bledsoe arrive in 1993
Robert Kraft purchases the team in 1994
Bill Belichick is hired in 2000
Tom Brady is drafted in 2000

This is a tough call, because clearly all of these factors were absolutely necessary in building the Patriots franchise into what it is today.

If Parcells hadn’t arrived in 1993, Robert Kraft never would’ve met BB and sown the seeds of their relationship today.

If Kraft hadn’t bought the team we could still be stuck with an owner more interested in turning a profit regardless of wins. Cough Jeremy Jacobs…

Belichick and Brady were obviously the final pieces of the puzzle, but without any of these factors the Patriots would never have become the model franchise of the NFL.

My choice? I’m going with Robert Kraft buying the team. He had some growing pains early on, but his style of ownership is what set the stage for how good the Pats have been since 1996 (3 Super Bowl Titles, 5 AFC Titles, 8 AFC East Titles in the last 10 seasons). Nobody was overjoyed with the hiring of BB in 2000, but it was Kraft’s vision that established an environment conducive to winning football games.

Place your vote here.

Patriots hit their needs in NFL draft

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Most of the NFL draft grades are in, and as always the Patriots ran the gamut from A+ (Jamie Dukes/NFLN) all the way down to a C- (Adam Schein/FoxSports). Of course as anyone who reads this blog knows, I tend to side with Dukes, but allow me to explain why blind homerism isn’t just the reason why.

This is possibly the first draft in Bill Belichick’s run that’s he’s actually hit on every major need that the team had, they just might not have been in the exact order of what they needed most. But the fact is that value rarely ever matches up exactly with need so you have to take what the board gives you.

While outside linebacker was the biggest need in a lot of people’s minds the fact is that the offensive line is on the verge of a nearly complete transformation. Failure to restock a left tackle of the future, a guard to replace Stephen Neal, and eventually a center to take over for Koppen had to be the highest priority, especially when you consider Tom Brady is hitting the twilight of his career.

You are not beating anyone if your quarterback is not protected, and the Light-Mankins-Koppen-Neal-Kaczur group that won a lot of games from 2005-2010 (discounting injuries of course) should be almost completely overhauled by 2012.

Now with Nate Solder, Sebastian Vollmer, Dan Connolly, Marcus Cannon, as well as the slew of developmental guys like Ryan Wendell and Rich Ohrnberger, the Patriots look like they have some major pieces of the next O-line in place.

Another need that many were ignorant to was at the Free Safety position. Now while Mike Reiss said on our podcast that he thinks BB likes Brandon Meriweather more than the fans do, there’s no assurance that the Pats will be able to re-sign him after this season even if they want to.

While pass rush is of course a huge part of getting off the field on third down, you can’t discount the effect that a dominant ball hawking free safety could have as well.

While Ras-I Dowling will start off as a cornerback, I don’t think it’s outside the realm of possibility that he could be an eventual free safety candidate. Many draft publications thought that position might be his best fit, and we’ve seen a similar transition before with Eugene Wilson who moved from corner in college to a starting FS for the Pats in his rookie year.

Like the tight ends last year, this year’s draft class was extremely strong in running backs in the second-to-third round range, so the Patriots took advantage and snapped up two of them. Now the Patriots have one of the deepest, most diverse and formidable backfields in the NFL.

Better late than never the Pats finally added an outside linebacker prospect in the late rounds. While Markell Carter wasn’t one of the flashy names, his skill set and demeanor seem to match exactly what BB looks for. There will be a long road before we know if Carter is anything more than a special teams guy in the Pierre Woods mold, but if he’s getting time early on as a designated pass rusher his future could look very bright indeed.

While those five picks hit on the biggest needs, the other three were simply cases of too great of value to pass up, or the kind of unsung grinders that all teams need. Ryan Mallett, Lee Smith, and Malcolm Williams all could end up being significant contributors down the line, but if they’re not it won’t be a big deal. That’s the advantage of having a boatload of picks every year, you’re not beholden to your needs, you can take the best value where the talent is deepest in the draft.

Overall I’m having a hard time this year more than any other with draft grades like Schein’s C-. What needs were not hit on? The only possible one might be wide receiver, but even there they have three young players who deserve more time to improve and show what they’ve got.

Some might say defensive end as well, but there’s almost a surplus of players at that position when you count Ty Warren, Marcus Stroud, Brandon Deaderick, Ron Brace and Kade Weston among other guys who have been behind the scenes. Could they use a talent upgrade there? Probably. But it doesn’t appear they thought any of the available defensive ends in this draft were an actual upgrade.

I believe the one and only reason the pundits will criticize the Patriots 2011 draft class was that they did not address their perceived #1 need with their highest pick. Meanwhile I’m just shocked that they actually did address all their needs.