December 2010
Reiss & Bruschi ESPN Podcast
Must listen alert! Some really good stuff as always.
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November 2010
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ESPN: Great Deion Branch Article →
Some really insightful stuff of what went on behind the scenes of developing chemistry with TFB, his exit from New England, and his days in Seattle.
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Football Outsiders on Brady's "Perfect" Game
TFB was the number one ranked QB last week for his performance versus the Lions. Here’s FO’s breakdown:
For what it’s worth — and it’s not all that much — Brady finished the game with a perfect passer rating of 158.3, the second time in his career he’s had a “perfect game” by the NFL’s system. (The other game was predictably in 2007,...
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Patriots History Tuesday: Belichick Video-a-thon!
This week instead of posting one long video, perhaps about our domination of the Jets over the last decade, I’m posting a collection of Bill Belichick videos. Enjoy!
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Trent Dilfer Analysis Fail on Jets D vs. Brady
This morning I made the mistake of turning on ESPN Sportscenter, something I’ve sworn off for the last couple years, and saw Patriots - Jets coming down the ticker. So of course I had to wait and hear what they had to say and show. First, up pops Trent Dilfer…
Now Trent tells us (his opinion not mine here) that Tom Brady and the Patriots carve up zone coverage teams, but struggle...
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Patriots: Where Amazing Happens...
This video came pretty close to giving me chills, but as someone who knows a little bit about editing and production it left me just a little short. Let’s change those fonts up guys, and maybe a little less broadcast footage and a little more NFL Films style slo mo shots. Otherwise, “almost giving chills” isn’t a bad way to start the day.
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There will be no JESTing next Monday Night...
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“Mark Sanchez: First 5 Games - 0 Ints, 7 sacks. Last 6 games: 8 ints, 12 sacks.”
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Looking Back at the Week Two Patriots Game Plan
In their first matchup with the Jets the Patriots were in their base 3-4 defense 66% of the snaps, and in their sub-defenses just 31% of them. What this tells us is that first and foremost the Patriots were concerned with shutting down the Jets running game the first time around and the results weren’t too impressive.
Mark Sanchez was 21 of 30 for 220 yards and 3 TDs, while the Jets put up...
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Before things get too crazy with Jets - Pats...
I know I’ll be caught up in the hype this week along with everyone else. In fact, I’ll probably be leading a lot of it. But first, let’s just remember that while this game will be hyped like the Super Bowl, especially if you’re still watching Sportscenter, it’s not the Super Bowl.
If the Jets win, the Patriots will be almost assured a wild card spot and probably...
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“They are building this team specifically to beat the Jets,” Baldinger said of...”
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Here's a little appetizer for Patriots - Jets
Braylon Edwards showing why he and the Jets are the classiest.
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Patriots are gonna need a little of this...
Jets, prepare to be Gronked.
Thanks @advil.
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ProFootballFocus.com: Patriots - Lions ReFocused
Here’s what PFF had to say about how some Pats did versus the Lions…
Patriots: Three performances of note
We’ll start with Brady (+8.1), who had the perfect game (statistically, at least). The Lions got pressure on Brady on 12 of his 28 dropbacks but he responded by completing 63.6 percent of his passes, and it was much worse for Detroit when Brady was given time. He completed...
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Tanier: When Will The Bounces Stop Going The Jets'... →
I’m the last person who’s going to get on the Jets case about winning close games even against teams with a below average record. I saw the Patriots eek out close games on their way to three Super Bowls. However there’s a difference between playing sound fundamental football/ not beating yourself and just getting lucky bounces. I think this article sheds some light on which the...
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Patriots Pass Defense: Actually Good vs. Third &...
My favorite football stats site Football Outsiders has some pretty nifty breakdowns of each teams pass defense versus each different receiving option on each team they faced.
Here’s where the Pats rank on each:
vs. #1 WR: 27th overall
vs. #2 WR: 27th overall
vs. Other WR: 4th overall
vs. TE: 25th overall
vs. RB: 29th overall
Say what you will about slot corner Jonathan Wilhite but...
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Football Outsiders: Patriots 97.3% Chance of...
You can check out their methodology here, but it looks like a lock that the Pats and Jets will both be in the playoffs. The Pats also have a 48.4% chance at the number one seed in the AFC, which is of course a monstrous advantage.
In fact there’s a pretty good chance they will finish with the first and second best records in the AFC, however only one team will get a bye. The other will be...
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NFL Sound EFX: Bill Belichick Miked vs. Colts →
Quick hold over from last week, er… earlier this week I mean. Definitely worth a watch and I recommend you throw some ear phones on for this one.
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Notes on Taking Care of Business: Patriots Knock...
One thing you can say about the 2010 Patriots is that they are consistent. Consistently hard to stop on offense, and consistently easy to pass on on offense.
It wasn’t surprising that Detroit jumped out to a 14-3 lead. Nor was it surprising that the Pats came back. It’s becoming pretty apparent that if the Patriots are going to make a Super Bowl run this year the defense must...
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The Lions and Suh and Megatron, Oh My!
In the brief few days since the Patriots held on to beat the Colts you probably haven’t heard much about the Detroit Lions. If you’re a regular reader here you definitely haven’t. In fact there’s probably only one thing you heard if anything at all:
Before we get to the Lions let’s talk a little bit about “Trap” games. I guess the definition of a...
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Patriots Confused the Receivers and the...
One of the elements that made the Patriots successful in intercepting Peyton Manning three times was a good job disguising their coverages. You can see Brian “Baldy” Baldinger break it down here. Try not to get distracted by Badly’s loose pinky that just sort of flops around while he’s making his points.
While we often hear about confusing a quarterback with disguised...
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ProFootballFocus.com: Patriots - Colts ReFocused
Here are some stats from the ProFootballFocus guys…
In stark contrast to the Colts, Brady didn’t have an O-lineman avoid a positive grade, with Dan Koppen (+3.9)having the strongest day, comfortably handling the Colts’ defensive tackles all day long.
Jermaine Cunningham (+3.0)had a fine game, with positive scores in both the run game and rushing the passer. Cunningham was able to...
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New York Jets' Wayne Hunter: Best Backup in NFL or...
I’ve said many times I enjoy having Rex Ryan coach the Jets. He brings far more to a rivalry than say, Chan Gailey does. But as we start to catch on more and more to Rexy’s act it’s starting to smell more and more “snacky”.
Take for example the conflicting reports below.
First Rex’s response when asked if he’s concerned if Damien Woody won’t be...
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Reiss & Bruschi ESPN Podcast: Answering a Question...
This season’s addition to the must-listen Patriots list has been Mike Reiss and Tedy Bruschi’s podcast. Nowhere else will you hear two people who are more knowledgeable about the Patriots (unless you count BB’s weekly radio appearances on WEEI’s Big Show).
Tedy was a founding father of the “Patriot Way” and his insight and commentary is as good as it gets....
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Football Outsiders: Patriots #3 Overall DVOA
Will have the DVOA graph coming shortly but for now check out this little nugget from this weeks rankings about the Pats offense.
One thing that’s interesting about this year’s parity is that it only exists in terms of total team performance. There are extremes at the top and bottom of the ratings for offense, defense, and special teams. (Well, the bottom of the ratings for defense,...
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Tom E. Curran: Patriots have cut cord to past →
Nice read from Tom E. and he’s totally right. This team is overachieving right now. Anytime you’re 8-2 with (statistically) one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL you’re getting a combination of timely plays, great coaching, and luck.
As to how long this can continue we’ll see. But this is not a dominant Patriots team. They don’t beat themselves and they make...
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“When you do the drills in training camp, you have your linebackers blitz against...”
– BB on realizing that Arrington might be skilled at rushing
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Football Outsiders: What Happened on Brady's Last...
It was troubling to see that the Patriots offense went cold in the clutch again versus the Colts. All they needed was one more drive to ice the game, something they were able to do against the Vikings, but this time they failed on two possessions, only gaining one first down. This of course put the game in the hands of the defense.
Here’s what Football Outsiders saw when they broke down...
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A new Patriots pump up song? Not quite.
Thanks to George Brew of the What’s Brewin podcast for passing this along. I think. There are some things you can’t unsee or unhear after you’ve seen or heard them and this video is one you might not be able to get out of your head.
Let’s just ignore how grammatically incorrect “The Patriots and We” is and focus on how horrible the song is. Have you been...
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A Closer Look at Kyle Arrington the Pass Rusher
In the video below you’ll see Kyle Arrington (#27) putting his hand down and rushing Peyton Manning from the defensive end position. It’s pretty rare to see a cornerback, much less a cornerback on the small side, engaging with linemen in the trenches.
In this play Arrington begins to lineup as if he is going to be covering the slot receiver, but given that he had blitzed on previous...
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Lions Fan Lays Down the Gauntlet on the Patriots
If you’re a Patriots fan who is still basking in the afterglow of beating the Colts I present the video below from the “Lions to the Super Bowl” vlog. In this terrifying display of a gross over-confidence, our gap-toothed host predicts this game will top Pearl Harbor as THE new day of infamy. Seriously.
I really suggest you watch all four minutes, but if you can only handle a...
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Bruschi on Tap: Colts Wrap →
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ESPN: Deion Branch, Wes Welker, Danny Woodhead -... →
Couldn’t embed this one but it’s a nice look at the three diminutive Pats.
Ian Logue: Belichick Post Game Comments →
