Pats Propaganda

Going out on a a great tribute. Wes was a joy to watch, and a legendary Patriot who will one day be in the Hall. Thanks for the memories, it sucks we could never seal the deal together.

Wes Welker - NFL Wide Receiver Tribute (by Billy Spikes)

Get your votes in for the first annual PatsPropaganda & Frenz Podcast Patriots Awards

Frenz and I are going to have a little fun with the podcast tomorrow (11am EST), handing out our awards to deserving Patriots and others from another spectacular season in 2012. Some will be silly and some will be serious, but we wanted to open up the floor to our readers and listeners on some of the categories.

So we want to hear from you guys, you can answer in the comments below, or tweet or email us. Got your own award you want to give out, you can do that too. It’s all in fun and a way to celebrate a season that had a lot of great moments despite it’s disappointing end.

What’s the one Patriots game in 2012 you wish you attended in person?

What’s the one Patriots game in 2012 you’re glad you didn’t attend?

Who’s your favorite Patriot from 2012 (and why if you want to share)?

Who’s your most unfavorite Patriot from 2012 (and why)?

Best 2012 Patriots moment?

Worst 2012 Patriots moment?

We’ll read the best responses on the air and dish out the awards to those who get the most votes. We also have plenty of our own that we’ll be handing out. And the floor is always open if there’s a special one you’d like to give out.

Expect the Buttfumble to take home quite a few!

So what do you guys have to say?

NFL Films Blog » Blog Archive ‘NFL Films Presents’: Best Shots of 2012 « »

If you love the NFL you’ll love this…

“THE NFL : A Bad Lip Reading” — A Bad Lip Reading of the NFL (by BadLipReading)

Not totally Pats but this had me rolling. H/T @Advil

NFL Playoff Post-Wild Card Regroup

I’m really disappointed that I didn’t lay any bets down on the NFL Playoffs this weekend as all of the teams I predicted to win did so in fairly convincing fashion. There’s no argument that the remaining eight NFL teams are the best ones.

There’s no Cinderella this year, at least not yet, and hopefully it will make for a competitive divisional round. Here are some quick thoughts on the teams that were in action this weekend:

Houston Texans - I wasn’t overly impressed with Houston but there’s no denying they’ve got some talent. If the game against the Patriots unfolds favorable for them, i.e. an early turnover or quick score, they’ll take the Pats down to the wire. Arian Foster will once again be the key. The Bengals defense is good, but just didn’t have an answer for Foster.

Green Bay Packers - The Packers are my pick to go to the Super Bowl from the NFC, and they looked every bit the part against the overmatched Vikings. Yes they have problems on the offensive line that the 49ers could expose, but I see the Packers as peaking over the course of the next three games. They had a run at perfection last season but this time around they’ll put all their energy into winning in January. I like them in a high-scoring affair with 49ers.

Baltimore Ravens - I’m glad the Ravens are headed to Denver and not Foxboro. The Patriots really got a good draw in this year’s playoffs. The Ravens flashed much of what scares me so much about them against the Patriots. And the long touchdown toss to Anquan Bolden over Darius Butler was certainly an apt reminder of what the Ravens deep passing attack can do. I think the Ravens will travel well to Denver and give Peyton Manning and the Broncos all they can handle. Not ready to make a pick on that one yet. Right now I see the Broncos with just a slight advantage.

Seattle Seahawks - Not many Patriots fans have any love for the Seahawks but I certainly enjoy their style of football especially on defense. A great defense in football is like a great hockey goalie in the playoffs, once they get hot all bets are off. The physical style they’ll bring to Atlanta is just what they’ll need, but the Falcons weapons should provide a great test for Seattle’s secondary. Chris Clemons’ ACL injury is a significant blow, and just enough to make me think the Falcons hold serve at home.

The 2012 Patriots: Let’s finish it where we started it!

It’s tough to immediately sum up my thoughts following another 16 game campaign, so I find that the best thing to do is to just rattle of the things that have stuck with me about this 2012 version of the Patriots.

Each year the Patriots win, but each year is special.

Here in no particular order are the things that stood out most to me about the 2012 Pats:

Hernando and Gronk like two lost (injured) lovers who just cannot find the field together at the same time.
The emergence of Stevan Ridley.
The one word offense. Brady and the Blitzkreig.
Mayo ascending to another level.
Buttfumble.
Ridiculous loss to the Cardinals. That brain fart is why the AFCCG will be in Denver.
Spikes becoming a frightening force in the middle.
Julian Edelman replacing Welker? Nope.
Danny Woodhead becoming the new Kevin Faulk.
Pulling a bye out in week 17.

There was a lot to like about this Patriots team, and the late season loss to the 49ers could be a combustible ingredient that similarly talented teams the last two years have lacked.

On offense they have a real outside threat that they have also recently lacked in Brandon Lloyd. The rest of the weapons are mostly banged up, but should be able to pull it together for three more games.

On defense the Pats will hope to get starting corners Alfonzo Dennard and Aqib Talib healthy over the bye week. Rob Ninkovich is a question mark at the moment, but we’re assuming that he’s out at least until the Super Bowl.

Their defense turned in their best effort of the year against the Dolphins. Let’s hope they have more games like that against better offenses in them.

As always it will come down to finishing. If this Pats team goes down it won’t be by much, and they’ll go down fighting. That’s all you can ask for.

The Patriots dynasty was crowned for the first time in New Orleans and that’s where this year’s playoff road ends as well.

Let’s finish it where we started it!

New England Patriots with another ugly win over the Buffalo Bills

I’m still trying to wrap my head around this one. The Bills had:

481 yards of offense
7 of 11 on Third Down
5.8 yards per rush attempt

Yet it was losing the turnover battle 3-0 that did them in.

The Patriots for their part were pretty good on the area that has haunted them all year, twenty-plus passing plays, yet seemingly went to sleep in every other area.

I don’t really know where to start. The run defense? The pass rush outside a few plays? The inability to cover tight ends or anyone else in the middle of the field?

And then there’s the offense, who still just couldn’t put the game away, even when they had a chance from the four yard line.

It was all brutal. And I don’t think anyone feels confident in stopping Andrew Luck or anyone else at this point.

But it’s a tough way to go through a football season when you know at any moment your defense could just be invisible.

Had the Pats lost today, it would’ve looked exactly like every other loss this year and that is a disturbing trend that continues. The 2012 Pats have just seemed to run out of gas at the end and struggles closing games out.

Relying on turnovers this much is a dangerous way to play, but they got one against the Bills and finished.

6-3. I’ll take it.

But really, let’s hope Aqib Talib adds something. Anything.

Breaking Down Patriots' Pass Rush Concerns: Where Is New England's Pressure? | Bleacher Report - Mike Dussault »

New article up on Bleacher Report from me Mike D.!

Schematically, the Patriots shifted their defense to a lighter 4-3 front featuring Vince Wilfork and Kyle Love, two traditional nose tackle-types in the old 3-4, in the middle. The advantage is that the Patriots now have at least five athletic linebacker-types on the field at all times, and, in theory, should be able to rush the passer on any down. The key to this switch has been Rob Ninkovich, who, despite being smaller than a traditional Patriots defensive end like Ty Warren, has been able to hold up in the run game. Ninkovich has been timely with his big plays, but the Pats still need a more consistent pass rush from him.