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Three GIFs that defined Patriots win over Vikings

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Sticking with the positive this week with three plays that really stood out to me as game-defining. Could’ve put any number of the penalties in GIF form but that would feel like a waste, even though those really defined the game.

You’ll also notice I didn’t use the Chandler Jones field goal block because that one has already been GIFfed and everyone is well aware of what a huge play that was.

First, we start with Devin McCourty’s interception, a play that might been the unofficial start of the Patriots actually playing football this season. Things didn’t look good on the first drive for either side of the ball. Then, after a nice punt from Ryan Allen, McCourty makes this great play on the ball.

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There were a few throws of Brady’s that stood out (and weren’t nullified by penalties), but this one was just a much-needed strike. With the Vikes poised to get good field position of a punt, Brady threaded the needle on third-and-14 to pick up the first down en route to taking a 10 point lead. 

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No defender has been more impressive for the Pats this season than Dont’a Hightower. Hightower has been used more in a pass rushing role at times and he’s delivered with good pressure. He’s just so strong he can over power running backs trying to block him, but also get underneath a tackle like he does here. This sack effectively sealed any chance of a comeback from happening.

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Personnel

Sub: 45 of 68 (32 nickel, 13 dime) 
Base: 22 of 68 
Heavy/short-yardage: 1 of 68 

2 WR/2 TE/1 RB – 26 of 67 
3 WR/1 TE/1 RB – 21 of 67 
1 WR/2 TE/1 FB/1 RB – 12 of 67 
2 WR/1 TE/1 FB/1 RB – 5 of 67 
3 TE/1 FB/1 RB – 2 of 67 
3 WR/1 FB/1 RB – 1 of 67 

Previous Three GIFs:

@ Miami Dolphins

2014 Preview: New England Patriots | ProFootballFocus.com

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2014 Preview: New England Patriots | ProFootballFocus.com

Accurate preview, which are becoming rarer and rarer these days. Once again Bill Belichick has put together a team with a frontline as strong as any in the NFL. IF they stay healthy it’s hard not to see them in the AFC Championship and hopefully hosting it. That could be determined on 11/2 against the Broncos.

New England Patriots 2014 Training Camp Superlatives and Awards

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As another training camp for the New England Patriots comes to a close, it’s time to take a look back and hand out some awards for those who did or didn’t stand out for the right or wrong reasons.

Undrafted Rookie Star: An undrafted rookie makes the team almost every year and this year certainly won’t be an exception due to the exceptional play of cornerback Malcolm Butler. Rarely did a practice or game pass where Butler wasn’t making plays on the ball. Butler is a near-lock to make the roster.

Biggest Surprise(s): The immediate return to health of Vince Wilfork and Rob Gronkowski has been one of the nicest surprises of camp. Usually players coming off major injuries like a torn ACL or Achilles start out on the PUP list, but both of these major injury concerns appear to be on track for the season opener. Wilfork still shows great get-off and almost appears refreshed after the season off.

The “They are what they are” award: What can you say about Tom Brady and Darrelle Revis that hasn’t been said. They are two of the best players in the NFL today and they continued to prove it this summer. It should be a thrill to watch these two this fall.

The “Brady’s Window Storyline Killer” Award: I never really subscribed to Tom Brady’s window being a major impetus for the decisions the Patriots make. Now with Jimmy Garoppolo showing real promise it should put that angle to rest. Now it can just be about building the best team possible for now and the long term, regardless of when the Brady-to-Garoppolo transition happens (which is how it kind of always was anyways).

The “You’re Not Helping Yourself” Award: Stevan Ridley put the ball on the turf against the Eagles and though it may or may not have been a fumble, he’s certainly not helping himself to put his ball security questions behind him. Mike Reiss even speculated last week that Ridley could be cut. That’s a long shot, but Ridley really needs to hold on to the ball this season if he wants another contract from New England.

The “Will Someone Please Step Up” Award: Seems like heading into the regular season the door is still wide open for the safety spot next to McCourty. It seems to make sense that some combination of Duron Harmon/Patrick Chung/Tavon Wilson will rotate depending on circumstances, but right now this looks like the weak point in the Pats starting defense.

The “Buzz Kill” Award: Last year at this time Chris Jones and Sealver Siliga were not even on the roster, yet by January they were important cogs to the Patriots defense with long-term potential. Both sustained injuries that don’t appear to be serious, but they were pencilled in to be important parts of the Pats’ DL rotation. Siliga has been back at practice while Jones remains out. Once both are back up to speed the Pats defensive line will get a major boost.

The “Look Out NFL” Award: I’m giving this one to Jamie Collins and Dominique Easley because these two players are exactly what the Pats’ defense has been missing. They embody what every defense needs these days – athletic linebackers who can cover and explosive interior defensive linemen who can cause instant chaos in the quarterbacks lap. If both live up to their potential these two guys could be huge keys to the Pats’ fortunes.

The “It’s About Time, But Still Too Late” Award: Ryan Mallett hadn’t shown me much in his previous preseasons, but against the Eagles he finally showed the potential I’ve been looking for. He’s still not a great fit for the offense New England has built, but he certainly looks like he’ll get a shot somewhere else next season. Unfortunately it didn’t come sooner to help the Pats trade him while he still had value to them. I remain skeptical that Mallett will make the team.

The Giant Question Mark Award: We didn’t seen much out of Aaron Dobson after his breakout game against the Steelers just before the bye last season. Can he live up to his draft status? Rumors are that the Pats still have high hopes for him, but can he make a Year 2 jump? It’s still a huge unknown that will have great impact on the Pats’ offensive potential. He really needed that touchdown grab that he got against the Giants and looked strong and decisive. Opponents might not know what’s about to hit them with a new and improved Dobson.

The “Don’t Get Hurt” Award: Gotta split this one up five ways between defensive ends Rob Ninkovich and Chandler Jones and linebackers Jerod Mayo, Jamie Collins and Dont’a Hightower. Depth behind all five is pretty thin, especially at defensive end and losing any one of these five will be cause for concern. It’s frighteningly similar to the defensive tackle spot last year and the unthinkable happened there. Hopefully that won’t happen for a second year in a row.

The “Boyce Brigade” Award: This goes to all the huge Josh Boyce fans out there who are assured he’ll make the team. I have no horse in the race. I’d love for him to be good, but I just haven’t seen anything out of him in the last year that gets me excited about him in any role on offense. But he certainly has his fans out there, so this one’s for you.

The Underdog Award: Roy Finch joins an illustrious group of undersized but explosive playmakers trying to carve out a role in the preseason. It’s hard not to root for Finch, but is he ready for an NFL-size pounding? A year on the practice squad might be best for him, but he could use a big performance in the last two preseason games.

The “Stop Teasing Us” Award: This one goes to Kenbrell Thompkins, who had plenty of buzz once again this offseason, yet continues to be inconsistent. Thompkins needs to put it all together and start playing with confidence. If he does that he could be a breakout star on offense. But his inconsistencies might hold him back just enough to let Dobson or Brandon LaFell pass him on the depth chart. 

The “No Idea” Award: I just have no idea what to expect out of Michael Buchanan this season. He could play significant snaps and be a rotational third defensive end, or he could be stuck in a special teams fill-in role once again. Haven’t seen a ton out of him this preseason to get me excited, but there’s really no one to challenge him. Zach Moore seems a year away to me despite a solid showing last night. Jake Bequette is a close second for this award. 

Re-Ranking the Patriots Roster with Two Weeks until Roster Cuts | NEPatriotsDraft.com – Mike Loyko

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Re-Ranking the Patriots Roster with Two Weeks until Roster Cuts | NEPatriotsDraft.com – Mike Loyko

Nice summation of where everyone is at from Mike Loyko. As much sense as it all makes right now you never know where the shocking cut and/or addition will come from. And to be sure, something shocking will happen before the season starts, it always does.

For the most part are all the injured players returning on pace to play in the season opener

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Overall I think the Pats have been pretty lucky this summer in that it doesn’t seem like any major pieces have been lost for the season.

The buzz kill injuries were Siliga and Chris Jones. It’s kind of ironic given that neither would’ve likely been on the team last year if Wilfork and Kelly hadn’t gotten hurt and now I’m bummed they’re both out.

Siliga was spotted today doing conditioning work with a cast on his left hand/arm (reports vary how big it was). I have to imagine he’ll be back before too long, just cast it up. He was having a great start to camp too and was really a guy I though could (and still should) break out this season.

Jones had an ankle injury and while initial reports were that he “dodged a bullet” and he was spotted in the locker room yesterday without a cast/limp/walking boot. However I worry (and this is pure Mike D. speculation) that it’s a high ankle sprain. Those can tend to linger. 

Hopefully both those guys are back soon.

Otherwise the guys who were injured last season have all been on remarkable recovery tracks. Gronk, Wilfork, Kelly, Smith and Mayo all should likely be ready for the opener. That’s huge news, and ironically, very important for Wilfork/Kelly to be back with Siliga/Jones out.

Vollmer has missed the last few practices, that’s a big question mark but I think we all feel pretty comfortable with Cannon filling in for him for however long. 

Lastly, Hoomanawanui has been back at practice, that’s huge to help manage Gronk early in the season. As everyone is aware, tight end depth is scary right now, though I think there will be additions there before the opener.

Regrouping after one week of Patriots training camp

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We’re one week into training camp for the New England Patriots, and just one week away from their first preseason game, so it’s time to take a look at what we’ve learned so far about this edition of the Pats.

It’s hard not to be excited, especially on the defensive side of the ball, where the Pats are as healthy as we could’ve hoped headed into camp. Vince Wilfork, Tommy Kelly and Will Smith, all coming off major injuries, appear to be on track for the start of the season.

On the back end, the secondary has been as expected with Revis and Browner leading the way. Browner’s attitude and Revis’ high level of play have already seemed to bring a new swagger to the Pats defense that has been missing for a long time.

There have been reports that the Pats have shown a lot of 3-4 looks but I am not reading too much into that. Remember 3-4 vs. 4-3 is really just semantics and the 3-4 has always been Belichick’s teaching base defense of choice.

While the Pats might run some odd fronts (aka three-man lines) it’s not the same defense we saw in the 00’s where all three will be two-gapping. This will remain a hybrid defense and whether or not Rob Ninkovich is standing up or has his hand in the dirt doesn’t make much of a difference.

Really, it’s more of a 2-5 the Pats run anyway.

What really matters most is the sub-package anyway, as the Pats spent 67 percent of their defensive snaps with five-plus defensive backs in 2013. Reports of a Ninkovich-Will Smith-Wilfork-Chandler front are intriguing, but more intriguing will be when Dominique Easley returns. He should make an instant impact and could be a secret weapon should the Pats decide to take their time, keep him on the PUP list and unleash him after Week 6.

Offensively there are still some reasons for concern. Julian Edelman has picked up where he left off in 2013, making spectacular catches and setting the tone on offense. Facing Revis in camp should only push him to be even better.

Kenbrell Thompkins has also had a good start to camp despite some inconsistency in Wednesday’s practice. Danny Amendola has also looked explosive and it seems like these three will be the go-to guys on the outside. Brandon LaFell had a slow start to camp but has picked it up in recent days. We continue to wait for Aaron Dobson to make his return.

Rob Gronkowski should be ready to go by the start of the season, but the Pats are wisely taking their time with him. How much dropoff (if any) can we expect with Gronk returning from multiple injuries? That remains to be seen. But so far it seems like Gronk is still Gronk and should be ready for real contact by mid-August.

The offensive line has been seeing a lot of rotation and with so many versatile guys, the Pats will have a lot of options and flexibility. However it will also making for some tough decisions. Bryan Stork left practice Tuesday and has missed two practices since. His absence could put a magnifying glass on the center competition between 2011 starter Dan Connolly and 2012/13 starter Ryan Wendell.

Perhaps most exciting on offense has been the performance of the running backs, especially rookie James White, who has stood out with explosiveness and pass-catching savvy. He could make a devastation combination with Shane Vereen should the Pats look to employ a two-back passing set.

So far the Pats have seemed to have good luck on the health front and it’s vital that that continues. Stork has been the only significant injury issue, though we are still in the dark as to the severity.

Overall, the defense seems on track to be the best unit we’ve seen since 2007, and probably even better than that older squad. The offense seems to have taken strides since 2013, but questions will remain until the regular season starts. They do seem to have some additional weapons this year that they lacked last year. Can Thompkins keep up his high level of offseason play during the regular season? That’s still a question mark.

Next week’s preseason game will tell us even more about where the Pats are at, but so far, they look primed to make another run at Super Bowl number four. There’s plenty to be excited about once again in Foxboro.