tyler gaffney

5 Possible Shocking Patriots Cuts

August 31, 2016 by Mike Dussault

Patriots shocking cut Labor Day weekend can be one of the craziest times of the football year for Patriots fans. There’s always at least one bombshell that Bill Belichick drops on us, cutting or trading a player we all thought would play a significant part in a season that starts in mere days.

It puts many of us in a tailspin. What does it mean? Are they not “all in” this year? Was that guy a bad dude? Are they cheap? Do they not want to win the Super Bowl this year. What. Is. Happening.

Now before you let any of these drive you insane, remember two things. 1) None of them will probably happen, but… B) That’s what we would’ve thought about Lawyer Milloy, Richard Seymour, Logan Mankins, Brandon Meriweather and even Jonas Gray to name a few. And the tailspin described above is more or less what happened with each of those releases.

The formula is pretty simple really. Either guys aren’t as good as we thought they were or, they’re entering the final year of a deal and on the backside of their career. That’s a prime time to move them and get some value in return. It might be one year too early, but that’s how BB rolls. Better than one year too late.

We already got one kind of surprising (but not for me) trades this offseason that fit this mold with Chandler Jones getting moved. Maybe BB already hit his quota with that one.

Here’s my five (realistic) potential shockers.

6.5 Patriots Things to Watch vs. Panthers

August 26, 2016 by Mike Dussault

Yes, most football writers only do five things to watch for each game, but for this preseason contest I’m taking my blogging game to the next level. That’s right, you not only get an extra thing to watch, you get a half of one too!

The third game of the preseason is always the highwater mark of the summer before the real bullets start flying. We should see Jimmy Garoppolo into the third quarter, along with the starting defense. Though there won’t be any gameplanning (thanks coach), it’s still a chance to see (most of) our best versus (most of) someone else’s best, so it’s an intriguing game.

Just one reminder, even for this kinda-important third preseason game, all that really matters tonight is that no one gets a season-ending injury. I’ll take Garoppolo looking terrible and the defense getting lit up over anyone (on either team) going down with a major boo boo. That’s really the only thing that can stand between the Patriots and another deep playoff run — a key injury.

So let’s get through this one, stay healthy, wrap things up with a meaningless game next Thursday against the Giants and get the train rolling for the regular season.

Here are the 6.5 things I’ll be watching closely.

5 Questions Looming Over Patriots

August 25, 2016 by Mike Dussault

One week from today the Patriots will play a mostly meaningless last preseason game, relying primarily on the 23 players who will either be on the practice squad or the street shortly after.

But there are still plenty of questions looming. Position battles to be won. Final roster spots to be claimed. Make no mistake, the 2016 Patriots are still far from set.

Yes, tomorrow will be a fascinating test (despite the lack of gameplanning as BB pointed out this week) and the competition is still tight at a number of spots.

Here are five areas that will have to be figured out in the next eight days.

Pats Posits: Jimmy Lights It Up, Brady Gets Cut

August 18, 2016 by Mike Dussault

Okay, Brady got cut with scissors, but if you’re reading this blog you are probably well aware of that already. The Patriots offense came to life against the Bears, with Jimmy Garoppolo turning in an impressive performance (16/21 181 yards, 1 TD), behind an offensive line that didn’t allow a sack (though one was negated by a penalty).

The Patriots defense on the other hand showed some holes early, negating two third-down stops with penalties on Patrick Chung and Justin Coleman. Still, as they often do, the Pats plugged up the early holes (Hoyer in for Cutler sure helped) and the Pats got a meaningless 23-22 win.

Here are the Posits as we hit the mid-way point of the preseason!

5 Patriots To Watch vs. Bears

August 18, 2016 by Mike Dussault

It’s preseason week 2, and yet again all I truly care about this week is staying healthy. Aside from that it should be an interesting game, as a number of significant players are dealing with seemingly minor injuries that should hold them out of action. That means the trickle down effect should give quite a few under-the-radar types a chance to shine in more prominent roles.

Here are the five guys who I’ll be watching most closely.

5 Patriots Who Could Break Out Tonight

August 11, 2016 by Mike Dussault

After six long months (and change), the New England Patriots football team finally takes the field once again tonight to start their journey on the 2016 campaign. Ah, it felt good to write that. And I can’t lie, the loss in last seeason’s AFC Championship to Denver is still really chapping my ass. Maybe that’s because it’s the second time in three years that’s happened (along with a Super Bowl win of course), or more likely it’s because I still can’t believe the Patriots lost to that anemic offense, that they missed a gaddam extra point that cost them at least overtime and that Peyton beat Brady the last time they’d play.

Whatever. The new season is here and it’s time to really turn the page. The Patriots have certainly evolved this offseason, though half of that battle was just getting some of their important pieces back fully healthy. Still, there are plenty of new veterans, young players looking to make their mark and rookies who are about to get their feet wet for the first time.

While we can’t read too much into any preseason game, there’s always something special seeing our favorite team take the field and bang heads with an opponent.

With that in mind, here are five Patriots I’ll be most curious to see.

Which Patriots Must Emerge in 2016?

May 12, 2016 by Mike Dussault

Now that the Patriots’ 2016 roster is mostly set, at least at the top pending any shocker trades, the same few names keep popping up to me as those who must emerge in 2016. Whether it’s a current hole that must be filled or a long-term role that’s lacking stability, it’s essential that each season new faces rise to the occasion and cement their place as legitimate contributors.

Here’s my list:

Trey Flowers

Patriots Must Emerge The team has a solid three-man rotation at defensive end, led by Rob Ninkovich, Jabaal Sheard and Chris Long, but two of those three are over 30 and all of them will be free agents at the end of the season. Flowers is the most promising of the young trio of backups that also includes Geneo Grissom and Rufus Johnson.

Really, I’d take any one of those three youngsters becoming a significant contributor this year, but finding snaps for more than one in actual game action will be difficult. Flowers was labelled a steal in last year’s draft and we got just a small taste of what he was capable of in limited preseason action. He played just four defensive snaps before being placed on IR in early December.

Meanwhile, Grissom had 131 snaps on defense, recording a sack and three tackles. Grissom was used primarily as an interior rusher early in the season before getting some mop up time at defensive end toward the end of the season. I remain unclear on what his true position is, but his athleticism is certainly not something we should ignore. I’m just not sure he’s going to be a blood-and-guts run-stopping defensive end, and that’s what the future need will be.

Flowers is my favorite of the bunch, the one who seems to fit the defensive end mold of Sheard and Ninkovich the closest, and most important, he’s really tough against the run. An emerging young defensive end who could be paired with a re-signed Jabaal Sheard in 2017 as starters would secure one of the most important positions on the field for the defense. Work in Grissom as a sub rusher and the Pats will have an excellent long-term outlook.

LaAdrian Waddle

I’m starting to feel like I might be beating the Waddle drum a little too loudly the last week since totally discounting him as a factor at tackle in my draft prep. Now he’s my white knight after the Patriots ignored the tackle position in the draft. I won’t say Waddle will emerge as the player I want him to be, but the potential is there.

At one point, he was one of the most athletic and promising right tackles in the game after coming out of Texas Tech and putting together two solid seasons in Detroit before tearing his ACL. If Waddle can recapture the form of those first two seasons he could steal the swing tackle spot from Marcus Cannon this season, and possibly be pencilled in as the starter at right tackle heading toward the 2017 season.

Again, these might be lofty expectations, but I feel like the entire league is headed toward having more athleticism at the right tackle spot, which has traditionally been filled by maybe the worst athlete on the field. We saw Von Miller blazing off the right edge far too much to still believe in the old dynamic of pass rushers attacking your left side and only your left side.

Waddle has plenty working for him if he’s fully healthy, including Cannon’s salary.

Chris Hogan

We saw how good the Patriots offense could be in 2014 when Brandon LaFell gave them a legitimate outside receiver who could pull some pressure away from the Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola and Rob Gronkowski inside. Last year, LaFell never regained that form and the Patriots passing offense suffered for it, putting extreme pressure on their key trio of threats and getting all of them injured at various points.

Hogan fits the mold LaFell did coming in and is probably even a better overall athlete that LaFell is. Whether or not his blocking is up to LaFell’s level will remain to be seen, but if Hogan’s a dud, the entire weight of this need will fall to rookie Malcolm Mitchell.

Tom Brady needing to rely on a rookie right out of the gate? Scary. But if Hogan was “always open” in Miami and Buffalo, you have to like his chances of him earning Brady’s trust and blossoming.

Tyler Gaffney

At this point I don’t really know what to expect out of Gaffney, but on paper he has everything the Pats need to round out their running back group. Dion Lewis is coming off an ACL tear. They don’t trust James White to carry the ball. LeGarrette Blount is coming off a hip injury and better served with a complimentary backfield friend. Brandon Bolden is a special teamer who can fill in, but will never be an impact running back. We’ve seen Donald Brown‘s ceiling and it’s not very high.

So yes, everyone else has their issues and Gaffney is the only real unknown who could possibly be seen as an early down back. The Patriots not only made a point to poach him from the Panthers, but by cutting then re-signing him to adjust his contract. If they saw nothing in him they would’ve just cut bait by this point. Just don’t let the highlights below get you too excited.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KclqlIkdIc