An Independent Patriots Blog
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGEmM1U-bd8
What’s this, another Danny Woodhead video highlight film? This dude’s got a lot of fans out there… fans who know how to rip video and edit…
https://www.patspropaganda.com/whats-this-another-danny-woodhead-video/
NFL Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith and Commissioner Roger Goodell met today in New York to discuss a range of issues related to a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. As part of a process to intensify negotiations, they agreed to hold a formal bargaining session with both negotiating teams on Saturday in the Dallas area. They also agreed to a series of meetings over the next few weeks, both formal bargaining sessions and smaller group meetings, in an effort to reach a new agreement by early March.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/nfl-players-association-executive-director/
Patriots coach Bill Belichick was a busy guy in the AFC locker room after the game, shaking hands with players, and saying goodbye to players for who knows how long, given the uncertainty of the labor situation.
It was interesting to watch him head over to Logan Mankins, and have a chat with his pending unrestricted agent offensive lineman.
Belichick stood there for a while, and did most of the talking. Perhaps he was talking about what the Pats had in mind for Mankins and a contract. Maybe he was telling his left guard the team wanted to see what happened with the CBA before making any contract offers. Just a guess.
I approached Mankins following the chat, to see if he would fill me in on some of the details. All he would say was that it was “a nice talk,” and he and Belichick ”always have nice talks.”
https://www.patspropaganda.com/patriots-coach-bill-belichick-was-a-busy-guy-in/
Reiss: Patriots should think outside the system
Reiss finally has the numbers up for how much the Patriots were in the 3-4 and sub packages and the numbers aren’t too surprising (Sub Package: 57%, 3-4: 40%, Goaline: 3%).
This is all well charted territory in these parts. For the second year in a row the ultimate question is will the Pats be less rigid with their 3-down player rules when drafting in the 1st/2nd round. Last year he had visions of Jerry Hughes (who ended up not doing much for the Colts) and this year there are similar comparisons with Von Miller (who will probably be long gone by 17).
What can be maddening is that this seems like a no brainer. The DPR position in sub packages was a rotating door with Jermaine Cunningham and Shawn Crable before Eric Moore was picked up in early December and made the biggest impact of them all. Like a third corner the DPR should be considered effectively a starter and it seems like a slam dunk for the Pats to use a high pick on someone who might not have the physical size that BB prefers, but someone in the 6’ 2" range that can fly off the edge.
One player that I like right now in this area is Jeremy Beal from Oklahoma, who’s just a shade shorter than Cunningham, but still looked solid against the run in the Senior Bowl. He might not be 6’ 4" but he explodes off the line like no current Patriots do.
Beal could still project as an eventual OLB in the 3-4, as you can see in the video below he played in space at OU.
Not quite sure how I missed this article from a few weeks ago but it is a definite must-read. The author put together a formula to determine the average draft slot of offensive players for each Super Bowl winner and 2010 playoff teams.
The results? The three Super Bowl winning Patriots teams had three of the bottom four rankings. This year’s 2010 Patriots had by far the lowest score of the twelve playoff teams. So in a nut shell, the average Patriots offensive players are drafted far lower than any other good team in the NFL. And before you point this out as the reason they haven’t won a Super Bowl in the last six seasons let’s remember that this offense was light years better than everyone else in the regular season. So remember to temper your criticism through that.
As the Patriots add more high round picks in 2011 they should only get more talented, and hopefully even harder to stop.
Here’s how they sum the 2010 Pats up…
The Patriots led the N.F.L. in points scored. They threw the most touchdowns passes. They committed fewer turnovers than any other team since the adoption of the 16-game schedule. They ranked second in rushing touchdowns and in net yards per pass attempt. And yet, as we’ve described, they are almost entirely powered by late-round and undrafted players. So how does Belichick turn an offense that appears marginal on paper into a dominant unit?
Tom Brady is the obvious reason, but New England’s offense has been less explosive with more talented teams during the Brady era. Even though Brady’s probably playing the best football of his career right now, the offense’s success is about more than the quarterback. Conventional wisdom would suggest that Belichick is both a master of the draft, finding gems with late-round picks, and a fantastic coach in the truest sense of the word, able to turn young men into elite players with his tireless attention to detail.
I’d argue it goes a step further than that. The Patriots, for the first time in the past few seasons, have regained a level of organizational clarity that few teams can match. When Scott Pioli and Belichick built the championship Patriots teams at the beginning of the decade, New England consistently added “their guys,” players who fit the Patriot profile. With the drafting of Hernandez and Gronkowski, and the re-acquisition of Branch, to go along with Welker and Brady, the Patriots are back to finding players who, first and foremost, fit their system. Green-Ellis, Woodhead and Branch wouldn’t succeed on a lot of teams, but Belichick knows exactly what he wants out of every roster spot and only looks for players who possess those traits. And that’s a big secret of his success.
I found this quote a while back on the great site SmartFootball.com. Saban was Belichick’s coordinator when he was in Cleveland so surely this philosophy is largely influenced by BB. First here’s Chris from SmartFootball’s background on Saban:
Saban has been coaching defense – and coaching it quite well – for decades. But there is no question that the defining period of his coaching career was 1991-1994, when he was Bill Belichick’s defensive coordinator with the Cleveland Browns. Just knowing that tells you a great deal about Saban’s defense: he (primarily) uses the 3-4; he’s very aggressive, especially on passing downs; he wants to stop the run on first and second down; he’s not afraid to mix up schemes, coverages, blitzes, and looks of all kinds; and, most importantly, he is intense and attentive to detail, which is the hallmark of any great defensive coach.
Now here is Saban’s defensive philosophy in his own words:
[Our] philosophy on first and second down is to stop the run and play good zone pass defense. We will occasionally play man-to-man and blitz in this situation. On third down, we will primarily play man-to-man and mix-in some zone and blitzes. We will rush four or more players versus the pass about ninety-percent of the time.
“In all situations, we will defend the inside or middle of the field first – defend inside to outside. Against the run, we will not allow the ball to be run inside. We want to force the ball outside. Against the pass, we will not allow the ball to be thrown deep down the middle or inside. We want to force the ball to be thrown short and/or outside.
“… Finally, our job is to take the ball away from the opponents’ offense and score or set up good field position for our offense. We must knock the ball loose, force mistakes, and cause turnovers.Turnovers and making big plays win games. We will be alert and aggressive and take advantage of every opportunity to come up with the ball … . The trademark of our defense will be effort, toughness, and no mental mistakes regarding score or situation in any game.”
