PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

posits

Pats Posits: Who Are the 2015 Patriots?

by

It’s hard to believe we’re about to close the books on another regular season but the strangest part is that I don’t really know who the 2015 Patriots are. Are they the dominant Dion Lewis-at-RB team from the first half of the season? Are they the “Sick Jamie Collins” defense they played a month with? 

Really, the defining characteristic of the 2015 Pats seems to be getting by with what they had on any given Sunday. Players were in and out all season, still they lost just three games, two of which came in overtime, while also having 14-point leads in two of the three as well.

No, the 2015 will truly be defined by how well these injury-riddled Pats can come back together and perform under the pressure of the playoffs. How healthy will Edelman, Hightower, McCourty, Chung, Vollmer (and even Chandler Jones) be in two weeks? Can they step in and play at the highest level necessary to win in the playoffs? Or will they be just enough out of sync to not be able to make the one or two critical plays often needed to win a playoff game?

So in a lot of ways the 2015 season has felt like one long preseason. There are certainly things we know – that this defense is the best they’ve had since 2007, and in my view is the best and most promising for the long term since 2003. Malcolm Butler, Logan Ryan and Malcom Brown have emerged as legitimate building blocks, while free agent Jabaal Sheard has taken the pass rush to the next level.

But on offense things are far more murky because of unrelenting injuries. Can Steven Jackson convert a critical third-and-two? Can Edelman step in and make an incredible catch on third down while taking a big hit? Or will he not quite be up to game speed and make a critical drop? What about Amendola in that situation? Can Vollmer take on the kind of dangerous pass rushers with his bum ankle? Will Hightower and Jones be shadows of themselves, or will three weeks off get them back to near-100%?

Most of Pats Nation seems to count on everyone coming back, stepping in at 100% and making all the key plays like they did in last year’s playoff run. I am cautiously optimistic, but the 2015 Pats’ fate will depend entirely on how fast the offense can “re-click” and we just don’t know for sure how close to 100% many of the vital players are.

Usually you know who your team is by this point. You know where the expectations lie for them. This year I’m not so sure, and given how the playoff field is lining up, I don’t see a Colts-esque slam dunk anywhere for this Patriots team.

Obviously the playoffs will define the 2015 Patriots and each game will come down to a small handful of critical plays the Pats will either make or not, but right now we still just don’t know the true impact of all these non-season-ending injuries that have thus far been the only consistent trait of the 2015 Pats next to Tom Brady and Malcolm Butler starting.

Pats Posits: A loss to the Jets is still a loss to the Jets (even when you’re playing your JV offense)

by

The Patriots made a noble comeback attempt against the Jets after being down 17-3, only to fall short in overtime, now we’re on to Miami to close the season off. It’s hard to feel that bad about a relatively meaningless loss, but it might’ve been easier to swallow if they hadn’t made a pretty ballsy comeback. 

The playoffs are fast approaching and the Pats still can’t make it through a game without someone getting carted off. Also – Super Bowl 50 is just around to corner so act now if you plan to bet on Super Bowl 2016 online and get in the game.

Belichick’s decision to play defense first in overtime was a strong choice, but given how the offense had been playing, it’s was the better choice if you think it will be a field possession game in overtime. 

Belichick isn’t afraid to make those kinds of calls, nor does he care what anyone thinks after the fact. That’s why you have to love him and right or wrong, he did what he thought was best, just like he did when he forced Seattle’s hand in the closing minute of Super Bowl 49 by not calling a timeout. 

Despite the Pats still being in the same position they were in before the game – needing one win to clinch the top seed in the AFC – there’s still plenty to talk about. 

Here are the Posits…

– Vollmer Injury – We have to start with then biggest “big picture” detail of this game and that’s the ankle injury to Sebastian Vollmer. There was hope Sunday night that it was just an ankle sprain, but any time a guy gets carted off you have to think the worst. He’ll have an MRI Monday and we’ll know what the deal is by Wednesday’s injury report at the latest.

Without Vollmer it only exacerbates the biggest weakness on this Patriots offense right now and that’s protection. Of course it all looks easier when guys like Amendola and Edelman are getting open right off the snap. Brady doesn’t need much time then, but now, without any real weapons outside Gronk, anytime the first read isn’t there, things get dicey with the protection.

– I’m not sure what we can expect from this line and what their ceiling really is. Outside of Solder and Stork, I’m not completely sold on any of the rest of them being long term solutions past this season. Yes, I’d love to think Mason and Jackson will take big strides, but can we really say either of them is as good as Stork was last year?

– When the Pats lose in the playoffs it’s because of two big things – pressure getting to Brady (especially up the middle) and the defense not making the last play. There were examples in this game of both and that’s a little scary.

– Steven Jackson looked good, getting just seven carries but still has a bit of a burst out of the backfield that even Blount lacked. As much as I’d love to say he’ll be the lead back in the playoffs, I think there’s a good chance he just has spot duty unless he really starts to go off. But he could definitely be the third-and-short/goalline hammer and I’m excited for that.

– Still, I’d take just about anything over the Brandon Bolden offense right now. I feel like it’s a personal front to me, the biggest Bolden-at-RB hater there is. The Pats had a 2.9 yards-per-carry average for the game. And while Bolden has been far more slippery than he’s been in the past, he’s still the worst starting running back the Pats have had since 2001. And don’t you dare say you’d rather have him over Laurence Maroney.

– The small silver lining of this all has been Keshawn Martin
, who I think has improved every week and is doing an okay Julian Edelman Z WR impression. Not sure it’s been enough to make Danny Amendola and his contract expendable, but I hope Martin sticks around.

– The Chung/McCourty Dropoff might’ve been the deciding factor in the Jets game, and it was made even worse when Jordan Richards went down and Tavon Wilson came on in overtime and was promptly targeted for a big gain. Obviously they’re a different defense in all aspects with their two veteran captains in there. That’s obviously the most significant difference with this game that makes it an outlier.

As Matt Chatham pointed out on Twitter during the game, so much of the Jets offense specifically targeted the Pats’ inexperience in the secondary, using bunch formations and motion to force communication issues for the Pats. This is a similar tactic to that which Eric Mangini used with the Browns in 2010 to challenge New England’s defense.

– Why is Hightower playing? The guy is super tough. I get it. But do we really need to risk him like this? He’s clearly not 100 percent and I pray he sits against Miami. Rest the beast!

– Got plenty of “calm downs” for tweeting that I thought the Jets were the biggest threat to the Patriots in the AFC playoffs, but I believe it. The Steelers didn’t quite live up to “the team that no one wants to play” standards against the Ravens and I know everyone is still gunshy on the Chiefs after last year, but in Foxboro they’d be a different team. Even the Broncos would be a little spooked to play in Foxboro, not to mention the Bengals. But the Jets wouldn’t and in case you haven’t noticed, pretty much every Patriots-Jets game goes down to the wire, if not overtime. 

Also remember the Patriots had Edelman, Amendola, and Easley along with everyone else when it took a dropped Brandon Marshall touchdown to eek out a win at home against the Jets in October. Round Three would be an absolute dog fight and we all should know it.

– I was actually fine with the end-of-the-first-half concession. That’s been a dangerous spot for the Pats this year and the Jets offense was coming off an impressive scoring drive. It was conservative, but giving the ball back to the Jets there might’ve put the game away. Let’s remember they picked up ONE third down conversion the entire game. Same thing goes for kicking off.

– However, they were also 3-3 on 4th down conversions, a testament to the fight that this team continues to possess even when they probably should’ve easily lost by double digits. That’s why no matter who is in or out of the lineup, and at what percentage health, the Pats will be a tough out for anyone in the playoffs.

– The Sheard Strip Sack/Collins Fumble TD was the second week in a row the defense put six on the board. Remember in 2010 when they all seemed like interceptions? Well now it’s the front seven that is producing the game-changing plays. It’s a great sign for a defense that came up just a couple plays short in this one.

– Chandler Jones is one of the most interesting case studies in Belichick history. Jone will enter the fifth and final year of his deal in 2016 and he’s central to the question of how the Pats will handle him, Collins and Hightower. Against the Jets, Jones had just one tackle and one QB hit. Yes, he’s going to the Pro Bowl and has 12.5 sacks, but none of them have come in the Pats’ three losses. I think this playoff run will define Jones and the future with the Patriots. If he is a force for three games, he will write his own ticket. If he disappears in a disappointing playoff loss? Hightower, Collins and Sheard will become the priorities.

– One thing I hated about letting Brandon Browner go was the size he brought to the cornerback position. The Jets were my prime example of the kind of games you’d want to have a guy like him, despite his flaws. Give Logan Ryan credit, he hung in there and some of those plays were just an impossible mismatch. Butler seemed to do a much better job this time around on Decker, but without McCourty, Ryan was hung out to dry.

– This will get lost in the shuffle, but Ryan Allen’s 4th Q punt to pin the Jets on their 6, which was followed by a three-and-out by the Jets and the Pats game-tying touchdown drive. Special Teams had somewhat of a bounceback game and that’s good to see in a competitive game.

Now it all comes down to finishing off the dead Dolphins in Miami for the top playoff seed. The great question of 2015 remains – can the Patriots get healthy and click fast enough to win three playoff games?

Pats Posits: One more win until homefield

by

It’s another victory Monday after the Pats dispatched the Titans 33-16, moving to 12-2 and needing just one more win to seal up the top seed in the AFC thanks to the Steelers knocking off the Broncos.

All that really matters now for the 2015 Patriots is getting healthy. We’re going to take the Jets’ best shot and probably have to do it with far less than what we’ll go into the playoffs with. 

The injury headlines were Dont’a Hightower and Danny Amendola tweaking previous injuries and Patrick Chung leaving the game with a hip injury. Hightower returned to the sideline but didn’t re-enter the game. That’s a ray of hope.

All three players are likely done for the regular season. Hightower and Chung are somewhat manageable, but not having Amendola against the Jets will make things tough.

This 2015 season has seemed like an extended preseason, with a constant state of injuries and injury management. Credit to the Patriots though, they’ve had to put second-most players on injured reserve, yet here they sit again atop the AFC.

It’s become to easy to take it for granted.

Here are the Posits…

– James White’s Emergence Continues: The biggest development of recent weeks is James White starting to look more and more comfortable making electric plays that had been missing since Dion Lewis went down. White’s best play, a 70-yard run that called back on a bad call, didn’t even make the stat sheet. He did have seven catches on eight targets for 71 yards and a touchdown. That’s reliability and he’s going to be a big factor in the playoffs.

– Turnovers on Defense! One of the best things to see against the Titans was that the defense got three turnovers, their first multi- turnover game since the Redskins and just the second time they’ve gotten three all year. This is one of the top three defenses Belichick has had but strangely they’re doing it with a pretty low turnover rate. That speaks to how good the pressure and coverage has been, but if they start getting a bit more of a nose for the ball, look out.

– Logan Ryan vs. Green-Beckham: Ryan had some struggles with Green-Beckham, which is not entirely surprising given the size disparity. But it’s something to watch once again with Decker and Marshall this weekend. Still, I love what the secondary is doing and it was nice to see Butler get a pick finally.

– Defensive Front: Hoping to take a look at how the defensive front shaped up in terms of pressure packages this week. It was great to finally see them at almost full power, especially at the linebacker spot. They are a veteran crew and I can’t wait to see what they bring in the playoffs.

– Third and Short, Keeping Chains Moving: The general consensus is that the Pats will be fine no matter who they roll out there at running back and while I generally think that is true, I also think winning playoff games is built on winning critical situations – two minute offense and two minute defense being the most obvious, but the other areas are getting stops or converting on third and shorts. Right now I don’t have a ton of confidence this offense can pick up a third-and-two when they need it most.

– Hightower and Amendola Re-Injuries, Chung (hip) injury: It was a good sign that Hightower came back out of the locker room, I’d still shut him down until the playoffs though. It was clear the moment Amendola tweaked his knee on the punt return, he suddenly just lost all power. Again, I think he’s done till the playoffs too. Then there’s Chung which scares me because he’s become such a critical part of the defense. Yes, they have some depth for his role with Wilson and Richards, but not having him in the playoffs would be a big blow. We wait for word on him.

– Nice to see Chandler Jones get back on the sack stat sheet, but I’m still very curious to see which version of him shows up in the playoffs. It will tell us so much about his future with the team and what kind of contract he might get on the open market after next season (if he makes it that far).

– Belichick 2013 Crew Hoodie: I was perplexed when Belichick showed up wearing a 2013 Blue “Hoodie” without the hood in this one. At first I thought he cut the hood off because he’s never worn a crewneck 2013 sweatshirt, but upon further inspection it was in fact a crewneck. So yeah, he just sat on that for a couple seasons without ever wearing it. Do I overthink this stuff? Yup.

– Grissom Time at RDE: Nice to see Grissom get a little time at defensive end, he was mostly an interior sub rusher early in the season. Him and Trey Flowers will be ones to watch next summer, their development will have big implications on the futures of Chandler Jones and somewhat Jabaal Sheard (as much as I hope they lock up Sheard long term).

– Keshawn Martin continues to develop, making sneaky solid plays, finishing the game with three catches for 26 yards. If Amendola is out again, Martin once again steps into a huge role against as good of a defense as we’ll see from here on out in the Jets.

– Brandon LaFell restored some of my confidence in him with four catches for 88 yards including a 31 yarder. The offense needs his 2014 reliability so much going forward,

This should be a fun game with a lot of hype this week. The Jets are a playoff team and possibly one the Patriots will have to face again. They really need this game too, as only two of the Jets, Steelers, Chiefs trio will make the playoffs.

But the Patriots might be dressing a preseason team, at least at the offensive skill positions outside of Gronk. And if Chung/McCourty/Hightower are out too the Pats could very well be headed for loss number three. 

The good news is a win in Miami in Week 17 looks doable and that would still lock up the top seed.

Pats Posits: Tuesday Edition – Reacting to the Over-reacting

by

To be honest I don’t really read or listen to a lot of the Pats analysis out there, but it’s always fun to wake up on a Monday after a loss to find out what people are apoplectic about. The loss to the Eagles was the classic example of some days you just don’t have the magic. Not to say the Pats couldn’t have won that game or that they didn’t shoot themselves in the foot, but this is the NFL. Every team has talent and regardless of records or how they looked last week, any team can beat any team on any Sunday.

Of course there are those who live in the alternate universe where the Pats get no credit for beating teams that don’t have winning records and subsequently get crucified for losing a game to one of them. It’s an easy way to give them no credit for winning more games than anyone else while simultaneously giving them all the blame when they happen to lose. Now they can declare everything that’s wrong with this Patriots team and why they won’t win the Super Bowl, etc. So yeah, that’s why I don’t need to hear what those kind of “pundits” are saying.

Aside from the obvious errors on special teams and bad throws by Brady, the problem is obvious. The receivers don’t get open as fast now, Brady has to hold the ball longer, the offensive line has to protect longer and everything has slowed down. The Eagles often flooded the field with zone defenders and that exposed the Patriots’ problems.

From WEEI.com:

Brady took an average of 2.63 seconds from snap-to-throw, his highest average of the season. Furthermore, Brady had 16 plays which took more than three seconds, something very uncharacteristic for the Patriots offense. Brady has averaged over 2.2 seconds from snap-to-throw in four straight games, which comes following the first eight games where he only had one game averaging over 2.2 seconds.

The defense was actually pretty good and will be even better when Hightower gets back. I am excited about this defense in the playoffs and there is still every reason to be excited about them.

The special teams problems were an outlier and won’t happen again.

So really, all that matters is the offense finding their groove once again and that’s something that is possible even before Gronk and Edelman return. They had flashes of it against the Eagles, they just couldn’t string it all together without a couple of game-deciding mistakes.

This season continues to feel like a weird version of 2013, with injuries piling up and constantly keeping the team in a state of flux. Last year, there wasn’t a single major injury outside of Jerod Mayo and Stevan Ridley, both of which happened early in the season. Each week the 2014 team seemed to be building on past performance and confirming their identity.

But this year they’ve been constantly adjusting to the latest injuries and after a white hot start they’ve been in triage mode every week since early October, trying to find ways to win without their top pieces. The offense is now a shadow of what it was in September. Maybe that’s an excuse, but it’s also a fact.

All that said, I still think the Patriots have the inside track on the top seed. The Broncos and Bengals play each other as well as the hot Steelers. There are losses in there for both of those teams. But the bye is so important with those Edelman and Gronkowski injuries. Even if they don’t get the one seed I think their chances in Denver or Cincinnati. The extra week of rest is critical.

It all just comes down to how quickly they can get their offense back and so much of it depends on the status of Edelman. I still hesitate to assume he’ll be back, because even if he is can he still get open immediately and make the impossible third-down catches in traffic? That’s asking a lot.

This might be the most interesting December we’ve had in New England in a long time, at least since 2008 where they were right on the playoff bubble. Needing wins at Jets and at Dolphins could really make those last two games meaningful and difficult. Let’s hope we’ve got at least 87 or 11 back for those.

Pats Posits: Wednesday Edition

by

Look at me banging out some Pats Posits every day this week! Obviously there’s a ton to talk about, so let’s hop right in!

Pats Sign Trey Williams

I’m not a big fan of in-season additions but I really felt like they had to do something at the running back position this week and on Tuesday they did, adding Trey Williams who had been cut by the Cowboys. On paper Williams seems a lot like Dion Lewis, including the ability to make defenders miss, but like Lewis he is undersized. He didn’t get a carry with the Cowboys but given how things have looked with Blount/White/Bolden I think he’ll get a shot in New England. Of course this is just an undrafted rookie so expecting him to come in and do anything at all might be a long shot. Still, he has undeniable explosion and given what we have right now, it can’t hurt to take a look at him over the last five games.

Whiny Pats Fans

Frank Schwab of YahooSports was complaining a bit on Twitter yesterday asking if Patriots fans really felt like they had it bad. Look, I hate whining about referees more than most people and really the only thing about the Broncos game that really bothered me is that it truly seems like Gronkowski is being unfairly targeted by the refs with all these OPI calls. Of course the Patriots don’t have it bad, we all know that. All we want is fairness and after Deflategate, when the NFL purposefully spread misinformation and lies to win their case in the court of public opinion, is it any surprise that Patriots fans are on high alert for anything unfair? So I’m not crying about some bad calls, I’m crying about a player being unfairly singled out and that’s all.

Malcom Brown

Taking a closer look at the Broncos game I was even more impressed with how good Malcom Brown is getting. He’s really elusive for a man his size and has an uncanny ability to slip around blocks with his quickness. He continues to make bigger and bigger plays and combined with Alan Branch, they’re forming a stout interior. Hard for me to say it, but he certainly looks like the better overall player compared to my boo Domnique Easley at this point, though their roles are entirely different.

Injuries

Not to rain on the parade, but as much as I’ve been saying “just get healthy for the playoffs,” it’s probably too much to expect the Pats can have Edelman, Gronk and maybe Hightower out until the playoffs then just have them all step in and play like it’s the 2014 playoff run. They can certainly still beat the entire stable of AFC teams, but I think we’re fooling ourselves a bit if we think the offense can just pick up where it left off two months previously. Edelman especially is a concern considering his injury and how physical he plays, with lots of cutting.

Defense

Honestly the defense blowing the Broncos game is probably the best thing that could’ve happened to them (and the team as a whole). But give me Collins and Hightower back in there (assuming everyone else stays healthy) and I feel like this is a defense that could shut down anyone. Right now I’m just praying for Butler and Ryan to make it all the way without getting dinged. They’re playing so well together, it would be a devastating blow to lose one of them. Again, hopefully the Gronk Return will break the injury curse of the last two months.

Pats Posits: Tuesday Edition

by

I continue to try and wrap my head around this season, as it’s a script we haven’t seen before. Usually a Patriots season goes one of two ways – they lose a couple games along the way but figure it all out by January for a Super Bowl run, or injuries decimate their chances and they either just miss the playoffs or get beat by a more healthy team. Usually one of these or a combination of sorts.

This year however they raced out to a 10-0 start, losing significant players nearly every week in October and November. Now, they have a one game lead for the top AFC seed, but it’s up to a cast of fill-ins to get them to the playoffs at which time they’re expected to suddenly be back at (almost) full health.

I guess we have to call it the year of non-season-ending injuries.

But as I touched upon in Monday’s Posits, Dion Lewis still truly hurts and the Pats overall lack of a run game since he went down could ultimately be their undoing. 

Simply put, they aren’t winning on first and second down with the ground game and the result is more and more third and longs. In eight games with Lewis, the Pats had 35 3rd downs that were eight yards or longer. In just three games since he went down they’ve had 18. Their yards-per-rushing-attempt on first and second down have dropped from 4.07 to 3.13.

Now the running game’s importance can be minimized to a degree, but as we saw last night, it certainly hurts when you can’t run the clock out. Again, I think they should consider a street free agent who gets out of the backfield quickly, unlike Blount who takes time to build momentum and speed.

But if Gronk/Edelman/Amendola are back for the playoffs and the offensive line settles into a rhythm, they’ll be so much better than what we’re seeing on the field now.

Defense

Still so annoyed with the defense not putting the clamps down against Brock Osweiler at the end of the game. Just when I was reaching a comfort zone with the defense they give up 17 points in the fourth quarter and then, the cherry on top, giving up a 48-yard rushing walkoff TD on a 3rd-and-1 when a stop would’ve given Brady another shot at the win.

Maybe if this was 2010 or 2011 we’d just chalk it up to the fact that there was no talent on our defense. They couldn’t get by without turnovers, but this defense’s only excuse is that Dont’a Hightower went out in the second quarter.

I know the run defense suffered without him, but they still forced four three-and-outs in the second half.

Once they started having success with the run they started having big play success. The 36-yard pass to Demaryius Thomas and the 39 yarder to Emmanuel Sanders on the Broncos final drive of regulation to take the lead were killers and set back all the good work they did against the pass all game until that point.

The Patriots had this game and let it get away despite everything, which is why they’ll be in the mix down to the end for the Super Bowl. Once again all that really mattered was which team made the final play. That’s pretty much always what it comes down to and regardless of everything else, this year will be no different.

Pats Posits: Oh My Gronk, We’re Not Going Undefeated!

by

Between this game and the one against the Giants a couple weeks ago, I’m pretty sure this Patriots regular season is going to put me into an early grave. 

I’m still trying to wrap my head around the Broncos game and it’s long been over. Obviously the Rob Gronkowski “injury” was a dark moment and I am still in shock that the early reports are that he’ll only be out a week, maybe.

In those moments as Gronk writhed in pain, all Patriots fans went through the same thought – “welp there goes our Super Bowl hopes”. In the moment that was a legitimate thing to believe, but even if Gronk was done for the year I wouldn’t totally rule the Patriots out given the state of the NFL this year. Not with Tom Brady still throwing. And not with our first legitimate defense since 2007.

I’ve never experienced a season like this one, which is refreshing in some ways. The Patriots will still in theory have all their major parts back (except Dion Lewis) for the playoffs. Can they all instantly click to win three games? That’s the question to ponder now.

No matter how many silver linings we spin, this loss still hurts. The Hightower injury – being reported as an MCL sprain – is significant. And the OPI calls on Gronkowski, that seem meant to single him out purposefully, are troubling.

Plenty else to digest, here are the belated Pats Posits…

– A favorite saying of mine is that you can’t truly appreciate a win until you’ve completely accepted that you’re probably not going to win. Super Bowl 49 was the greatest example of that, and now I’ve got the same feeling on a player basis with Gronk.

– We all accepted he was done for the year, that there was finally an injury that would really, really hurt, but now alas, Gronk will be back. Perhaps this is what we needed to break the weekly injury string. Perhaps.

– A brief bit on the penalties and then I’m done complaining about them. I’m not usually one to complain too much about calls but last night’s were just too egregious to ignore. The Chung PI was marginal at best, but I can live with it. I’ve been living with marginal PI calls forever as most of the NFL has. But the Gronk OPI is a disconcerting trend because it seems like he’s being targeted unfairly. The Pats have no choice but to keep playing and make them call it 100 times, because once you tell Gronk to avoid contact at the top of his stem he’s going to play tentative. I just pray to the Football Gods it’s not a Gronk OPI call in the playoffs that does us in because that will set me on fire.

– Rob Gronkowski was walking seemingly fine and the initial reports are that it is not serious but I still wouldn’t mind giving Chandler a game to play a lot. I know he’s had issues with drops but I think he might be the kind of player who benefits from being a central focus for a game or two. We saw it on the game-tying drive when he had a couple big catches. If we can break him out of the funk, get Gronk fully healthy, they could finally live up to their “Twin Towers” expectation.

– I have to say it was an impressive game-tying drive after seeing Gronk go down. You just had to know they were going to be shell shocked after that. Still Brady rallied them down the field and that is incredibly promising for the core of this team that will need to take them to the Super Bowl, especially the offensive line and Brady. That is the Patriots heart we’re used to seeing in the face of adversity.

– Some are probably killing the defense today, but it was pretty simple that once Hightower went down and Chris Harper fumbled the table was perfectly set for the Broncos comeback. I’d like to think Hightower was that critical to the run defense being so good in recent weeks, but it certainly looks that way.  Kevin Duffy of MassLive.com pointed out that with Hightower in the game, the Broncos had 15 rushes for 43 yards. After Hightower went down, they had 17 carries for 136 yards and three touchdowns.

– The end of course ruined what was really an exciting defensive performance until the wheels fell off. Logan Ryan was superb for most of the game as was Malcolm Butler until the end. It shouldn’t have gotten to that point, but I remain confident that with Hightower and Collins back in the lineup this is a championship calibre defense.

– The Broncos made the plays (and got the calls) but they really don’t scare me much down the road. The only focus now is staying ahead of the Bengals because the Broncos have another loss or likely two in them. The Bengals have had great injury luck this year and I still think that’s the AFC Championship game no matter what.

– If there’s something to worry about it’s the running game. Blount can’t get going on his own. White and Bolden can’t make anyone miss. Every game since Lewis went down has been ugly and I would advocate adding someone who can get through the line quickly. Not sure if that player is out there. But what’s distressing is that no one knew Lewis would be that good, and plenty of us thought Blount and White WOULD be the lead backs. So if there was a place that should’ve been a little further addressed this offseason it should’ve been running back. Or at least not cutting Jonas Gray? 

– Vollmer to LT and Cannon back to RT worked well but I thought it was Josh Kline’s worst game and some pressure up the gut hurt a few times. So now that Stork is back at center and we’re coming down the stretch I’d like to see a set line that we stick with. Just figure out the Mason-Kline-Jackson of it all at guard and then roll with it.

– If Gronk and Hightower are back sooner than later this was a good loss. Why? Because the pressure of being undefeated is off and let’s face it, this team isn’t a 16-0 team nor should we care or want them to be. Second, this was a loss that pissed off Brady and Belichick and that always locks . This is the kind of loss the 2007 Patriots could’ve used. Nothing was really exposed about these Patriots that we didn’t already know. Yeah, their run defense went down the tubes after Hightower went out, that’s troubling but not surprising. And really, given the emotion of the end of the game after Gronk, I can’t say I was shocked they laid a turd defensively after it. Those will be plays to look at closer on the rewatch, but I still feel pretty confident about the Pats’ chances of getting to the Super Bowl. It’s just going to be a matter of whether or not Brady can pick things up at an elite level with Edelman/Amendola/Gronk after potentially not playing with them for a while.