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Patriots Linebackers Offer Versatility For Hybrid Looks In 2013 :Pats Pub

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Patriots Linebackers Offer Versatility For Hybrid Looks In 2013 :Pats Pub

Good stuff from Steve, and there’s definitely a lot to like from this group. The glaring question is can they improve their coverage? Spikes catches a lot of flack for his coverage skills but I think Mayo deserves some as well. Mayo has the speed and experience and football smarts, there’s just something missing in coverage where he always seems to be an inch off. If he can close that gap he could be one of the best linebackers in the game.

Until the Patriots fix their linebacker coverage problems they’ll continue to get burned by tight ends and receivers in the slot.

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Here it is, our second new tee for the new season. Just $15 at The Prop Shop, along with our red Do Your Jobs and Blue Ignore the Noises.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/here-it-is-our-second-new-tee-for-the-new-season/

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The Houston Texans announced Tuesday that there will be “themes” for every home game this year, ranging from “White Out” to “Hispanic Heritage Day.” The December 1 matchup against the New England Patriots is simply called “Homecoming.”

Houston Texans peg Patriots for ‘Homecoming’ game – NFL.com

I actually kind of like the idea of doing themes for games, and I really hope the Texans bust out the letterman jackets again for it.

This should be one of those defining games of the season just like it was last year when the two teams met in early December. That was when the Texans got steamrolled and fell from the top seed in the AFC, ultimately resulting in the divisional game being played in New England, and getting slightly-less steamrolled again.

Should be a good challenge for the Pats now having to go to Houston, but by that point we’ll know far more about both teams than we do now.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/the-houston-texans-announced-tuesday-that-there/

Some Pats nuggets from Football Outsiders’ 2013 Almanac

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One of my favorite days of the offseason is when Football Outsiders drop their almanac. There is not a better advanced statistical preview out there, and it always sheds a final bit of light on the previous season.

Here are some nuggets I took away that I hadn’t known beforehand…

– First, I love it when stats back up what I’ve been writing about all offseason. I touched on first down being a priority to fix for the defense, and I think they addressed it with the additions of Tommy Kelly and Adrian Wilson. FBO’s metrics back up my argument. Here are the DVOAs on each down for the defense last season (the lower the better, especially into the negative numbers):

  • 1st Down: 17.7% (31st in NFL)
  • 2nd Down: -19.7% (3rd in NFL)
  • 3rd Down: 1.7% (19th in NFL)

– Is Belichick losing his aggressive streak? He was in the top 6 for aggressiveness index from 2004-2010, but was 11th in 2011 and 23rd last year. This is a measure for going for it on 4th down.

– Pats went from 74% in 2-TE sets in 2011 to just 49% last year.

– Pats led NFL with 59 defensive penalties. Yikes! Didn’t realize that one.

– Patriots rushed 4 or 5 guys 87.9% of the time. Just 4% of their blitzes were by a DB (31st in NFL). Only rushed 6+ 5.3% (23rd in NFL).

Highly recommend you pick up the almanac at FootballOutsiders.com if you’re into this kind of stuff.

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We’re just 10 days from the first training camp practice, and then off we go! We’ve been spinning our wheels since the draft but man, is it bad now.  Always darkest before the sun rises, right?

https://www.patspropaganda.com/were-just-10-days-from-the-first-training-camp/

The Best of PatsPropaganda This Week

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It’s the second-to-last weekend before training camp starts, and like Patriots fans everywhere, I can’t wait to put this offseason behind us. No need to recap but let’s just say the positive news (Brady extension, signings/draft picks) have been far outweighed by the negative news or new that was spun negatively (Welker departure, Gronk surgeries, Hernandez, Dennard, and all the rest).

Here’s some of the best stuff from the week, and it’s limited because most of the pundits are off on vacation before the NFL season kicks into high gear.

On the Patriots receiver re-build and defensive continuity

The Shutdown Corner AFC East Draft Review Podcast with Greg Cosell | Shutdown Corner – Yahoo! Sports

Key Patriots Entering Contract Years – Frenz

Patriots WRs are a unit to watch in training camp – Kyed

Make your own Pats 53-man roster with PatsPicker!

Finally don’t forget to stop by The Prop Shop to pick up one of our tees. We’ll have another addition sometime in the next 10 days that we’re really excited about!