PatsPropaganda

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shea mcclellin

Pats’ Personnel Dance Continues

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The Patriots’ roster is never really set. We spend all offseason planning which free agents and draftees would make an impact, then football starts, guys start getting hurt and underperforming and all those best laid plans are out the window. This leaves the Patriots to scramble,

It seems like almost every year the Patriots are picking up some castoff in the middle of the season who ends up becoming a contributor despite missing all of training camp and being a part of no one’s big plans for the season.

The roster juggling has continued this week for the Pats, with Shea McClelin suffering a setback, Ricky Jean Francois joining the team and Martellus Bennett suddenly becoming available after he was cut last night by the Packers.

Let’s take a quick look at those three and how they could impact the rest of the Patriots season.

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Pats Posits: Let the Real Football Begin

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With Daylight Savings falling on the exact halfway point of the Patriots season, which also just happens to be their bye week, we’ve suddenly turned the page to real football. Weather becomes a factor. Each game is more important. And the cream of the NFL crop should be rising to the top.

I don’t know what it says about me or the NFL but I didn’t really care to tune in Sunday and see any non-Patriots teams play. It’s amazing what a year without any really dominant teams can do to viewing enthusiasm. There’s been so many major injuries, watering down the product on the field and taking away a lot of the excitement.

All I know is I’m ready for the Patriots to get back to work and as it seems right now, their chances to get to the Super Bowl are as good as ever.

The bye week was a good time to reflect a bit on the 2017 journey so far and reset our focus on the next three months of football, which will end on February 4th in Minnesota.

Here are my Posits on what it will take for the Patriots to get there.

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McClellan to IR, Bolden re-signed

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Some interesting roster developments today as Shea McClellin was moved to IR and Brandon Bolden was re-signed to the roster. On the practice squad, an offensive lineman that I liked a little too much in 2016 along with a few other new faces were seen. Roster building continues.

On Bolden it’s good to get him back. I’ve never been his biggest fan but it was more directed toward him as a running back. As a special teamer I think he’s the kind of smart, tough player you win football games with. Add in that he’s a well-respected leader off the field and it feels even better to bring him back for a campaign without Edelman or Ninkovich. They don’t need him at running back now, so welcome back BBHulksmash.

As for McClellin, I held out slim hope that he would start making consistent plays on defense but now it appears we’ll have to wait until next year and a mystery injury recovery later for that. The hit on the Pats linebacker/edge depth continue, but the good news is Dietrich Ward was not listed on the injury report, so I’d expect him to play A LOT.

Nate Solder was another notable player absent from the injury report after being in and out all summer. Solder is entering the last year of his deal and the Pats are handling more delicately than Brady. If Tony Garcia can somehow return from a mystery non-football illness, maybe the team can see if they might have a potential replacement at left tackle. Maybe they’re making Solder prove he’s still durable for giving him another contract.

These Thursday Season Kickoff games come up on you quick and the low end roster moves are a blur. It will be an exciting week. New Patshow Wednesday afternoon! Game Thursday. Here. We. Go.

What Losing Derek Rivers Means

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If there’s one thing you hate to see in August it’s season-ending injuries.

Unfortunately Derek Rivers’ situation took a turn for the worse on Friday.

 


So yeah, I was already a little concerned about the defensive front seven as you might’ve read here or here and if Rivers is gone for all of 2017 it certainly doesn’t help matters.

In recent days I was excited to hear about Rivers’ emergence at camp. He was far better the second time I took a glance at his Jacksonville game. I felt like he could be a key contributor on third down and really help fill the vacated roles of Chris Long and Jabaal Sheard.

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Patriots Tweets of Note: The Final Training Camp Practice Open to Fans

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The Patriots closed out the public portions of their training camp practices on Monday, with developments on the injury front.

Now the Pats will head to West Virginia to practice with the Texans, whom they’ll play in Houston on Sunday. It’s like one big former Patriot reunion camping trip in the mountains!

It should be a fun week. I’m excited to see new Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel. He should speak to the media at some point. Vrabel never disappoints with a great quote or two.

Here’s what those who were there saw at Monday’s practice.

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Should Pats Ditch Shea McClellin?

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Shea McClellin signed a three-year, $9 million contract last offseason, the biggest contract the Patriots awarded to an external free agent in 2016. He ended the season having played just 37 percent of the defensive snaps and 49 percent of the special teams snaps, logging 16 solo tackles, two fumble recoveries and one sack.

That’s not great production for that much money and in 2017 McClellin is currently slotted to be the 10th highest-paid Patriot. The Pats could save $1.6 million in cap space if they were to cut McClellin. Should they when there’s already a lot of uncertainty with some key front seven players?

I have to admit, I was not a fan of McClellin’s early in the season. While we thought he’d play a sub linebacker role, he started out as more of an edge hybrid where he was ineffective. His athleticism was clear, but he lacked much “pop” to his game and just didn’t really do anything to stand out.

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A Closer Look at Patriots Defensive Personnel and Roles

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Each year the Patriots defensive schemes slowly evolve over the course of the year and each year is unique. I always pray that people can get past the simplistic 3-4 vs. 4-3 debate which is archaic and meaningless now.

The Patriots trend of heavily using sub defense continued this season, as did their evolution to incorporating more Cover-2 Zone as the season progressed. The line between defensive ends and outside linebackers continues to blur, while the importance of having three good safeties and three good corners has become more imperative.

Here’s a look at some of the formations the Patriots utilized in the Super Bowl and what they might be able to tell us about their offseason plan of attack.

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