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Patriots Should Overstock Front Seven, Not Add Costly Corner

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My takeaway from the 2017 defensive season was that a high-priced secondary isn’t worth much if the front seven stinks, so I was surprised by reports connecting Aqib Talib and Richard Sherman to the Patriots. Yes, the Pats will probably (definitely) lose Malcolm Butler, but with Eric Rowe still there, Jonathan Jones returning and the veteran trio back at safety, maybe it’s best to not make a drastic move at cornerback for a second year in a row?

I know corners like Talib and Sherman are shiny objects, but I’d far prefer my Patriots shiny defensive objects to be defensive end and linebacker types. There was just so much attrition at those spots in 2017, basically losing four veteran edge players who made some of the biggest plays of the last few seasons. The position group needs to be flooded with as much camp competition as possible, to let the next Ninkovich emerge and also find out how good guys like Dietrich Wise, Adam Butler, Derek Rivers and Eric Lee really are.

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It’s Time for a Patriots Power Running Resurgence via BetonSports.com

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The Patriots season might be over, but things are already in motion for next year’s campaign, and with limited roster turnover, the Pats’ Super Bowl Odds should be near the top of the pack for 2016. 

The question right now, as they plan for the offseason, is how do they stay fresh and avoid complacency?

After reading this interesting piece from WEEI.com, it’s worth pondering if it’s time for the Patriots’ offense to begin their next evolution. Look, Tom Brady is Tom Brady, and there’s no use suddenly trying to go to the run-and-shoot or the wishbone because he does what he does and he does it amazingly well, but as Brady will hit 39 this season, how can the Patriots protect and extend the playing career of their best all-time quarterback?

The Patriots offense has gone through many evolutions over Brady’s career. Early on he wore the “game manager” label, but slowly became more and more efficient and knowledgeable within the offense, earning the remark that his “favorite receiver was the open one”.

Deion Branch and David Givens were his early weapons and when they exited it opened the door for the free agency and trade haul of 2007 with Randy Moss, Wes Welker and Donte Stallworth. That offense would go on to set records and fall just short of a perfect season.

Then came the return of Branch in 2010, and combined with Welker, and young tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, it became the “death by a thousand cuts” offense which pushed offensive pace to a new level.

This iteration is largely what we still see today, as it maximizes Brady’s strengths – reading the defense, accurately throwing the ball short. When it’s clicking it’s unstoppable, but as we saw against the Broncos, and in other season-ending defeats to teams who can generate pass rush pressure with only four defenders, it can break down at times.

When that happens the offense can look flat and suicidal for Brady and his receivers.

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Now you might’ve noticed there’s one small thing I’ve left out of this discussion of the Patriots offense, and that is the running game. And I’m not talking about the passing down back role held by the likes of Kevin Faulk, Danny Woodhead, Shane Vereen and then the combination of Dion Lewis and James White this season. That’s a huge role in the offense and a vital one, but that’s not what we’re here to talk about. 

We, like the Patriots, have forgotten about the power running game.

Ironically, the great grandfather of the Patriots’ offensive system (The Erhardt-Perkins Offense) was originally predicated on smash mouth ball control and didn’t ask running backs to get involved in the passing game. Obviously that has been flipped on its head now. 

The kind of powerful running backs the Patriots could lean on have slowly disappeared from New England over the last 15 seasons. The first two Super Bowls were heavily reliant on Antowan Smith, the third was a ton of Corey Dillon. Even Laurence Maroney had his moments like 2007′s AFC Championship, but since Maroney’s quick rise and quicker fall, the power back role has almost been an after thought. 

Unless you want to talk about the Sammy Morris years. Which I don’t. 

LeGarrette Blount is the closest thing we’ve had to one of those old fashioned war horses and while he’s had some big games, mostly against the Colts, he often struggles to generate early momentum against tough fronts. Stevan Ridley showed some spark at times, but lacked the faith of the coaching staff to truly fill the power back role and be a consistent closer. 

At the end of this season the Patriots were left to pull Stevan Jackson off the retirement scrap heap, and while he gave them a touchdown in the AFC Championship, he was well past his prime of being an impact player.

All this leads us back to now being the time the Patriots must re-commit to the power running game. They essentially have carte blanche this offseason at the position with Blount a free agent and just unknown Tyler Gaffney sitting with Brandon Bolden on the depth chart. 

With limited pressing needs they should return to their roots with multiple impact additions, both in the draft and free agency.

The simple fact is that the Patriots at the end of the 2015 season could not run the ball even against light boxes with sub-package secondaries behind them. They were one-dimensional and forced to send Brady back to pass over and over. The result? The defense could attack him and Brady paid the price for it too many times.

The Patriots were lucky he escaped the season finale in Miami without a broken leg, much less so the AFC Championship where he was hit more than any other quarterback in a decade.

The cupboard cannot be left barren heading into training camp. The Patriots must add at least two explosive new running backs who can compete and insure each other against injury. Preferably ones with size and young, fresh legs.

The results would be fantastic. And they have the personnel to immediately help – Gronkowski, Edelman and LaFell are all excellent blockers, and guard Shaq Mason is one of the most athletic young pulling guards in the game. They have the pieces and could make teams who want to play them with their nickel or dime defense pay mightily.

Best of all it takes the pressure off of Brady and the constant punishment which he won’t be able to endure and walk away scratch-free from much longer.

The Pats always stay ahead of the curve. This time, staying ahead of the curve means going back to their original roots.

AFC Championship could swing on Phillips’s schemes

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AFC Championship could swing on Phillips’s schemes

Lots of good stuff on Pats-Broncos in here from Bedard, including some advice for Wade Phillips. Phillips’ approach in this one will be immediately apparent and the more curves he can throw at Brady/Belichick to decipher initially the more possessions they can buy their offense. If managed correctly that could take it down to the wire. But Brady/Belichick will figure it all out eventually.

New England Patriots Gameplan: AFC Divisional Round vs. Kansas City Chiefs

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The 2015 season is finally here!! At least that’s what it feels like, but even this week we’ve had to deal with the Chandler Jones situation and Gronk suddenly having problems with his knee again. When will it end?

Nothing is ever simple or easy with the Patriots, but somehow they usually are able to fend off all distractions and problems and put up a great fight no matter who the opponent is.

That will be put to the test this week against a Chiefs team that hasn’t beaten themselves nor been beaten by anyone else in three months. I know all the crap that Andy Reid gets for game management stuff, but he deserves plenty of credit and we know the respect that Belichick has for him.

What’s scary to me about the Chiefs is they have a lot of those elements needed to knock off the Pats. In many ways they remind me of the 2009-2012 Ravens, though I wouldn’t say they’re quite as fierce. That Ravens team knew how to take the Patriots to the limit, if not totally dominate them like the first half of the 2009 Wild Card game or the second half of the 2012 AFC Championship.

Still, the Chiefs have some injury issues of their own and that could really limit what they can do depending on who can go and who can’t.

For the Patriots it all comes down to one big SUCK IT UP FOR THREE GAMES. How seamlessly can guys like Edelman, Hightower and Vollmer step back in? Is Gronk really hobbled? 

As I’ve been saying for weeks now, we just don’t know who the 2015 Patriots really are. Well, we’re about to find out Saturday night and that’s both exciting and scary.

Here’s the gameplan to get back to the AFC Championship for the fifth-straight year.

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Offensive Gameplan

Welcome to the great unknown. Who doesn’t have any question marks outside of Tom Brady in this offense? I can’t think of a single player that I know what to expect from.

The who-knows running backs – Steven Jackson and James White
? The walking wounded – Julian Edelman
, Rob Gronkowski, Danny Amendola, Sebastian Vollmer, Josh Kline? The sub par season guys – Brandon LaFell, Marcus Cannon, Bryan Stork? The rooks – Shaq Mason, David Andrews, Tre Jackson?

I can’t recall ever going into the playoffs with this many question marks and that muddies the projection of what they can and will do.

So the offensive gameplan is simple really – get back to what makes the old Patriots offense work. Edelman on the quick catch routes and Gronk up the seam. Amendola underneath. LaFell on some screens and down the sideline.

That’s what makes this offense work and they just haven’t had any of the pieces to even attempt it in a couple months.

But the true unknowns, for both us and the Chiefs, are Jackson and White. I can’t imagine Jackson running roughshod all over a very good Chiefs front, but I can see him picking up some key 3rd-and-shorts.

No, I think this is a White game in the same way Shane Vereen was under the radar in 2012 until the divisional game against the Texans and then it was like “where’s this version of Vereen been?”

White was the only player to consistently make things happen when the injuries started happening to Edelman, Amendola and Gronk. And with that trio back, things should finally open up for White in a way we haven’t seen yet.

So for all the talk of Edelman et al’s returns, it might James White who does the most damage.

Defensive Gameplan

Fundamentals. Fundamentals. Fundamentals. I can’t stress it enough. This isn’t one of those games where the Pats will live or die whether or not they get pass rush pressure. Those are the games everyone is used to in big spots.

No, this game is all about DO YOUR JOB. And with the veteran defenders we have, I feel pretty good that the defense will turn in a winning effort in this one.

Kansas City’s offense is in many ways a lot like the Patriots. They have far more gimmicks, but getting the ball to the open guy and letting him make plays is the foundation of what they do. There’s just a lot more read option, QB keepers, bootlegs, misdirection kind of stuff and that will stress an undisciplined defense.

That’s why the Pats got throttled last year. They were sloppy. They bit on the misdirection. They were missing tackles. They were losing contain. If that’s the defense that shows up Saturday night, it could very well get ugly once again.

But I trust that the Patriots defense will show up and play fundamentally sound because that’s who they are and that’s what Belichick has molded this defense into more than anything else.

The key player? Dont’a Hightower. The Chiefs can simply not be allowed to establish a consistent running game and Hightower is the biggest piece of the run-stopping puzzle. 

The advantage the Pats have is that they shouldn’t be forced to stop the run from their sub-package with a light box. They should be in their “regular” 4-3 defense with Patrick Chung in box because the Chiefs don’t have the kind of weapons on the outside to force the Pats into nickel and dime unless they want to be.

I see Logan Ryan on Chris Conley (or Maclin if he plays), Malcolm Butler on Albert Wilson and McCourty playing true centerfield behind them. That leaves the eight man box to deal with Travis Kelce, who I expect to be taken out of the game by a combination of Chung/Collins/Hightower and perhaps Jordan Richards on pure passing downs, and the running game.

Alan Branch, Malcolm Brown and Akiem Hicks need to be at their best as well against the Chiefs running backs, clogging the middle and not getting too far upfield.

The final piece of the puzzle is Alex Smith’s running ability. The Patriots did a great job last year in the Super Bowl against Russell Wilson, keeping him in the pocket and fogging his reads. Wilson would tuck the ball to run but there was nowhere to go. Same thing here with Smith.

If the Patriots’ defense tackles well, and plays disciplined I see the odds firmly in their favor in this game.

Five Points of Emphasis

1. Defensive Fundamentals – I’m sorry to hit this again but it’s just so critical. If the Patriots contain Alex Smith and tackle well they will be fine. If they’re over-pursuing, missing tackles and trying to do too much, they’ll play right into the Chiefs’ hands. Boil it down and this is simply winning the physical battle. The Pats have the defensive pieces to do it and I have confidence they will.

2. Open Things Up For White – We know the Pats need Edelman, but I don’t think it’s smart to think he’s going to come in, catch 10 balls and take a bunch of big hits and be that same old Jules we know and love. No, the advantage of having Edelman back, even without the ball in his hands, is that the Chiefs will have to respect him and that alone does more than Keshawn Martin would do even if he caught a bunch of passes. The trickle down effect of all the attention Gronk and Edelman will get should be that James White often gets lost in the wash. He’s very much under the radar but this could be a breakout game for him. And I wouldn’t be opposed to some Steven Jackson screen passes either. Jackson likely doesn’t have the playbook knowledge to do it all, but they need to get him some touches that aren’t just running into the Chiefs brick wall front.

3. Special Teams Play Special – We saw it last week with the Chiefs returning the opening kickoff for a TD that they have game-changing ability on special teams. And we’re all well aware of the Patriots various snafus on special teams over the season. This could very well be where the game is won or lost and I’d expect the Pats to use plenty of veterans in key spots in the kicking game to ensure a mental breakdown doesn’t happen. Remember the Jets upset in 2010 got a huge boost from the second-year Patrick Chung’s fake punt attempt. Winning the special teams battle is vital.

4. Get the Lead – The Chiefs are not built, nor do they have the depth, to mount a major comeback if they get in a hole. No, they’re designed to get the lead and keep the lead with their ball control offense. The Pats must must must come out of the gate firing on all cylinders. A slow start could be a death sentence. Win the toss. Defer. Get off the field. Put points on the board. That’s the start we want.

5. 60 Minutes – No matter what happens the one thing I know is that the Patriots will fight the entire game. There is plenty we don’t know about this team, but this is one thing we can be sure of. Whether they’re in a huge hole quick or race out to a lead, the playoffs are about playing the entire game. Last year’s divisional game against the Ravens is the perfect example. I was shocked the Pats came out so flat and get into not one, but TWO 14-point holes. Whatever circumstances that led to that were hopefully corrected this year.  The Patriots know firsthand what the Chiefs are capable of but they don’t have the same mystique the Ravens held over them. Regardless of how things unfold, it’s going to take a full game’s effort to go back to the AFC Championship.

Prediction: Patriots 24, Chiefs 13

Patriots vs. Chiefs: The Return of IncrEdelman Playoff Ticket Giveaway!!

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Excited to announce I have a pair of tickets to give away courtesy of our friends at NRG! To get them I need to see your best #FanEnergy in a selfie and the theme… THE RETURN OF INCREDELMAN!!!!

Here are the specifics:

1. Tweet a pic of yourself/friends inspired by the Return of Julian Edelman.

2. Make sure to include/follow @PatsPropaganda, @NRGEnergy and tag #FanEnergy.

The cutoff will be Wednesday 9pm EST and a winner will be announced.

You’ve got three days. Make it Incredelman!