PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

The weather may have been cold in Foxborough, but the Patriots warmed things up a little with a win in Arizona

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Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Now, it may not be all sunshine and rainbows yet for the New England Patriots, but with a win against the Arizona Cardinals they move back into a wild card spot for the playoffs. 

It’s no secret, even if you didn’t watch the game, that the defense is the strength of the Patriots at present, and the game against the Cardinals was definitely an example of that. 

Arizona may have really hurt themselves with the amount of penalties they pulled, particularly the offense, but the Patriots didn’t have their card unmarked either.

Whilst Cole Strange had a better game with David Andrews playing, it was still a little shaky on the offensive line overall. But, I do want to add, Mac looked a little better in the pocket, and I think the protection was better than it has been, but it wouldn’t hurt if it were to improve more… and more. 

For a ‘leaning on the run’ offense, the ankle injury to Rhamondre Stevenson was extremely concerning, but Kevin Harris and Pierre Strong did suddenly take hold of their moments to shine, with each of the rookies putting a touchdown on the board. 

Nelson Agholor persists on making it difficult to root for him as his ball security continues to be not great. Mid second quarter Mac threw a good ball to Agholor, and he caught it, but then the next play was another good throw and he dropped it. The end of the third quarter saw Agholor fumble for a return by the Cardinals for a touchdown, fortunately it turned out to be an incomplete pass, no touchdown given, and was followed by a great diving catch by Kendrick Bourne. 

There was a Hunter Henry catch. Not just one… three! And yes, whilst that is really slim pickings, the one at the end of the second quarter can only be described as… SEXY!

Unfortunately, that was followed by a bad hand off to Kevin Harris, and the Patriots went into half time 3 points down. 

Credit to the offense, there were some explosive plays but it just still looks like a defensive guy is running the offense… 

But the night really did go to the defense, and particularly Marcus Jones playing all areas, offense, defense and special teams. 

Jahlani Tavai continued to prove some of the nay sayers wrong, with good eyes on runners for the take down, as well as a tipped ball. Matthew Judon notched up another sack (technically one and a half) for his stat sheet, although he did spend a lot of the game double teamed. But how can we be surprised!? 

Josh Uche is growing into a very dynamic player for this Patriots defense, and his stat sheet recorded 4 tackles, 1 assist and 3 sacks, whilst Daniel Ekuale racked up several tackles, as well as a sack!

And so there you have it you lovely lot, week 14 is in the bag and whilst things aren’t exactly smelling like roses for the Patriots offense, there is still hope!

PatsProp Preview – West Coast Trip Pt 1

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Adam Glanzman/Getty Images

The 6-6 Patriots leave New England for their first of a two-game trip on the West Coast, taking on the 4-8 Arizona Cardinals. Here’s your snapshot preview for Week 14!

Injuries

Patriots To Watch

Mac Jones

Questions still remain unanswered about what the future will be for Mac Jones and the Patriots, but, tomorrow he’ll be a key one to watch as we see if he can lift himself up from a disappointing loss against Buffalo and keep the hopes alive for a Wild Card playoff spot!

Rhamondre Stevenson

Rhamondre Stevenson has grown to be my favorite player on the team, he has given everything for this franchise over the last couple of months, including carrying the entire offense on his back for large portions. With Damien Harris doubtful, expect another busy game for Stevenson.

Jack Jones

With no Jalen Mills tomorrow, Jack Jones could be in for a busy night to support Jon Jones against the Arizona offense. Jones has tapered off from his hot start, maybe sometimes playing a little too aggressively, but, he’s certainly worth keeping an eye on tomorrow.

Hunter Henry

With no Jakobi Meyers tomorrow, Mac Jones will need to find another safety blanket outlet, and I want it to be Hunter Henry. The Pats’ RedZone activity has been almost non-existent for the longest time, I’m hoping that Henry can add a little change to that tomorrow.

Marcus Jones

Marcus Jones continues to be the bright ember of light, in a dull, eerie season for the Patriots. He scored his first offensive touchdown against the Bills last week, which I think says more about how unproductive that side of the ball actually is, regardless, take nothing away from Jones who has had a really solid rookie season.

Whatever side of the ball he contributes toward tomorrow, It’ll be fun to watch.

Arizona Threats

Kyler Murray

Kyler Murray has been very lackluster this year, and highly inconsistent. But, with that being said he is still a very dangerous player and is the main threat for the Cardinals against the Pats If he plays well, it could be a long night for Bill and company.

DeAndre Hopkins

Dhop has been Arizona’s best pass-catcher since he returned from suspension in Week 7, hauling in 49 receptions, with Rondale Moore out for this game, and Zach Ertz out for the season, Hopkins’ star billing shoots even higher and he will be vital for them tomorrow night.

J.J. Watt

Watt is on the back nine of his career, but still offers a critical pass-rushing threat for the Cards, he also leads the team for sacks with 6.5 on the year. With the pass protection for Mac Jones being poor recently, Watt could cause issues.

The cold hard truth as the Patriots lose to the Bills in Foxborough

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Photo credit: Tom Shaw-Mellors

Well folks, as the season progresses and winter is upon us now that December has begun, it would seem that the winds of change have not made their way over to Foxborough and this Patriots team. 

The question going into this specific game was, are the Patriots strong enough right now to be serious contenders and successful against a dynamic team. Unfortunately, we now have the answer with this 24 – 10 home loss, and the answer be, nope. 

Maybe it says a lot when your leading receiver is the one strong piece of the offence who, is in fact the running back Rhamondre Stevenson, and the third leading receiver behind Jakobi Meyers?… A defense guy. Major credit to Andy Hart of WEEI for his comments during the bye week on A Clare Perspective podcast advising to put Marcus Jones on offense, and they did, with him scoring the Patriots only touchdown of the game. 

As good as this Patriots defense is they did have issues, Jon Jones whilst he has been a strong player this season in general, did not factor well in his match up against Stefon Diggs. But Josh Uche had himself a game! Matt Judon’s Mr Red Sleeves may be the thing of many quarterback nightmares, but it was Uche’s breath that the Mighty Josh Allen will have felt on the back of his neck over and over again in this game. 

Big kick Nick actually missed a field goal, which was so surprising that I missed it the first time as I was updating my notes because it looked like it had gone over! 

Whilst the offense has a patchwork line, a quarterback surprisingly struggling in his second season, it would appear that the coaching just can’t string it together. The Patriots seem to be having egregious disjointedness when it comes to the offense, and I don’t believe, personally, that you can blame a lack of weapons. Whilst it’s a big debate that the Patriots don’t have a WR1, at this point it really doesn’t matter. With the offensive line unable to give Mac time to breathe and air the ball out to the speedy receivers they did pick up, it would appear that the experiment being made with the offensive coaching is just not working. 

However! I shall attempt to give you a bit of a positive recap to the best of my abilities!

Within the first minute of the first quarter, Patriots number 49 took the Bills punt returner DOWN! The best thing is, I had to double check the number because that folks, is Joe Cardona the long snapper! A long snapper take down is actually a rather beautiful thing.

As aforementioned, Matthew Judon and Joshua Uche combined some great pressures, and although they didn’t push Allen into too much impatience, they did out sack the Bills defence with Uche notching up 2 sacks, verses the Bills AJ Epenesa with only 1. 

Rhamondre Stevenson continued to be utilised as much as possible, but a few cracks became visible with some ball security issues from catches. However, a running Stevenson is a darn machine, wrecking tackles for the first down, and mid third quarter with some great YAC, and in this case the C stands for carry!

I have to have a quick shout out to the veteran with extra, Devin McCourty who took some Josh Allen groin to the face to end the first quarter. That really gives new meaning to that festive “if’s and buts, candy and nuts…” Oof.

The two tight ends were out there, but it was unfortunate that they were having to be used for blocking again. They did have seven targets combined, but again with the unfortunately, Mac didn’t get the ball out great and they had a combined of 4 receptions for 19 yards. Not the production we are hoping for. On the flip side as a tight end enthusiast, Hunter Henry got a catch (yay!) AND how hot did these guys look in those red throw back unis?!?

We pretty much knew going into this game it was going to be difficult. The Bills are presently a better team than the Patriots, but coming off that Vikings loss it looked like the Patriots MAY have something they could draw on to pull out a win, at worst a close loss. Right now, perhaps not. 

Well that is it for another week you lovely lot. Week 13 is in the bag and the Patriots sit at 6 – 6. The good news is Tom Shaw-Mellors will return to bring you his Pats Prop Preview for the Arizona Cardinals game!

Pats Prop Preview Week 13: The Buffalo Bills part 1

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Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images

With Tom Shaw-Mellors out on tour, you lovely lot have me yet again for your Pats Prop preview!

Injuries

Patriots Thursday schedule!

It’s another Thursday night match up for the Patriots, where they face the 8 – 3 Bills and maybe some high winds, at Gillette Stadium in those hot hot throwback red jerseys. Here’s your quick fire preview from Clazzy Clare for week 13!

Patriots to watch

Mac Jones

Mac has had good ball security of late, with no interceptions in his last three games and a 100-passer rating or higher in his last two. 

His comfort level in the pocket has increased, and it’s slightly surprising given what we are seeing what it comes to the offensive line and its inconsistency. 

Whilst Mac is a smart quarterback, the basic plays haven’t been executed successfully much so far this season, if the Patriots aren’t going to get cute they at least need to do the fundamentals well if they have any chance of beating this Bills team. 

Jonnu Smith

Whilst Damien Harris being out with injury and not suiting up may not initially make you think about the impact on Jonnu Smith, but I am of the opinion that the versatile tight end may see a resurgence in his duties being split all over the field in regards to carrying as well as catching the ball. 

Rhamondre Stevenson is without a shadow of a doubt the strength of the offense, but with the absence of Damien Harris, the Patriots should not simply shift all the plays over into Stevenson’s inbox increasing the risk of burning him out. This is where I think the versatility of Jonnu will come in handy, and whilst he had no numbers on the board in the Vikings game, it may be time to scheme things up and have Smith’s athletic ability help out against these pesky Bills, even if it is only as a fullback. 

Bills to watch

Josh Allen

A dominant and elite quarterback in the league, although yes folks, it very much pains me to type this, you all know how much I hate the Bills! There is no denying Josh Allen’s prowess. He’s a great improvisor, makes quick decisions and can move. The downside for Bills fans this week at least, he’s nursing an elbow injury. 

This may see the Bills rely heavily on the run game, but if not, one key to the weakness of the Mighty Allen may be impatience. If the Patriots can fan the flames of impatience in Allen, turnovers may be easily pushed, and we all know how you can win games if you win the turnover battle.

Matt Milano

With the star strength of the defense, Von Miller, out of the line up the Patriots can’t rest on their laurels too much with the likes of Matt Milano at linebacker for the Bills. 

Now, Milano is less of an edge guy than Miller but Milano has been sighted as a great playmaker on the Bills defense this year with two interceptions, one being returned for a touchdown. Racking up 49 solo tackles and 16 assists, Milano has great speed and is a strength the Patriots offense need to take very seriously. 

Well there you have it you lovely lot! Please stay tuned on Pats Propaganda for my game recap on Friday and do not worry, Tom shall return to do the previews as usual next week!

The Patriots winning streak falters on the road to Minnesota at Thanksgiving

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Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images

If you celebrate, I hope that you and yours all had a lovely Thanksgiving, and if you didn’t see my tweet please know I am thankful for you…

And whilst I sit and write this, I have myself a sneaky piece of leftover pie, something sweet to take the edge off the game that was the Patriots at Minnesota last night. 

I don’t know about you, but I think maybe the most frustrating thing I took away from this close loss of 26 to 33, was the parts of the team you were confident in, special teams and the defence, generally were the weaknesses in a game against a good team. 

However! As you lovely lot know by now I like to be positive, and whilst this loss stunk, I’m going to attempt to highlight those things that you might smile about instead!

I can’t gloss over the things that went wrong, the unnecessary penalties, one from Myles Bryant, Jon Jones pulling face masks, and Pierre Strong running into the kicker. Poor Strong may be sitting out the festive season in the Belichick dog house!

Some fans will be ready to highlight poor officiating too, and I gotta say I can’t disagree, but those are points the Patriots can’t control… I mean Hunter caught the ball with his hand between it and the floor and he broke the line for a touchdown, worse case scenario it was a catch… but like I said, things they can’t control so I shall move swiftly forward!

Whilst that touchdown may have been denied, we weren’t fully deprived of some Thanksgiving tight endage. Yes folks, that high pitched noise your dog reacted to, may have in fact been my squeal of celebration, as Mac Jones found Hunter Henry down the middle of the field, with several men attempting to get hold of him, unsuccessfully, as he crossed the line for his second touchdown this season. Possibly, the sexiest thing this thanksgiving… but I digress. 

Jakobi Meyers may have had only a couple of plays (official stats: 4 targets for 3 receptions for 62 yards), but the catches he made were great! Good throws from Mac and nice catches by Meyers. Unfortunately, he seemed to get a little banged up and I wouldn’t be surprised if he turns up on an injury list of sorts this coming week. 

Rhamondre Stevenson continues to be a beast, even when he doesn’t have a super successful game, it is ridiculously difficult not to look at this guy and put him on your good list for his sheer prowess, power, and growing versatility in this offence. 

Whilst the defence didn’t seem to show up as strong this game, there were still some fantastic plays. Judon was denied a sack, but I would bet a couple of bucks on Kirk Cousins having the occasional Mr Red Sleeves nightmare. Raekwon McMillan displayed some of his football smahts, aka instincts, as he charged around making some great shut downs. Josh Uche had a beautiful sack to commence the fourth quarter, a big rush and a big play. Definitely a tasty treat to begin the dish of the last quarter of the game this Thanksgiving. Jon Jones may have incurred a few penalties, but he had an interception for 55 yards, and almost notched up a second before the game was done. 

So there you have it once again you lovely lot! And with the fantabulous Tom Shaw-Mellors doing the Pats Prop on tour thing, I shall be holding down the fort and will be back next week with your Pats Prop preview of the upcoming game against the Bills! 

The 84 yard difference one Sunday in Foxborough

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Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

I gotta say you lovely lot, these game recaps are becoming rather tricky to write, even when the Patriots do win, but I aim to please, so I shall give it a go!

So, it’s safe to say that the offense is of a worry to us all, and with David Andrews out with injury now… do we really want to talk about it? 

Okay let’s skim over some of the details, whilst Hunter Henry played 84% of the snaps he was only targeted once, for one catch, and Jonnu Smith was in for 54%, with four targets and four receptions, sigh. 

And whilst Parker, Agholor, Bourne and Thornton were in the game, it was really only faithful Jakobi Meyers who made it in the Clazzy notebook, with four receptions for 52 yards.

However! The running backs were utilised a little more. Damien Harris had a nitro injection for the second half of the the first quarter, with his 22 yard zip, and a fabulous stutter step, and Hunter throwing the block! Rhamondre Stevenson steamrolled into the end of the second quarter with a 19 yard gain on the 3rd and 16, unfortunately a great run from Mac Jones was then erased by a holding call from Cajuste. That darn laundry! 

I tell you what, let’s talk defence shall we?  

The Patriots defence feels like a force to be reckoned with at this point, ranked tenth on PFF, currently they have the top sack-er in the league, in the sheer gem that is Matthew Judon. 

At this point I would love to just take you through the ramblings that are my game notes, because I think they may paint the picture quite well:

Judon for the QB nightmare! 6 yard scramble by Zach Wilson

Bentley drilled the RB.

Uche and Bentley with pressure on Wilson.

Flush. Flush. Flush. 

And that was just within the first two minutes of the Jets possession in the first quarter! 

What followed was Devin McCourty with pressure on Mims, not to mention the catch he should have made when Zach Wilson threw him the ball at the end of the second quarter!

Deatrich Wise brought his six-year-jump-‘A’ game to this game too. What with his excessive pressure on Zach Wilson, batting the ball down to start the second quarter, hunting guys down like a ferocious tiger, 2 tackles, 3 assists and one sack! 

Bentley, Dugger and Jon Jones are names that seem to be appearing on the good list most weeks now, and whilst I do hate to repeat myself, like I said, this defence is a force to be reckoned with!

There were plenty of almost too. Especially in the last four minutes of the fourth quarter. Godchaux almost had a touch down if it weren’t for Zach Wilson’s darn elbow, Wise with an almost bat-down-for-an-interception, Kyle Dugger and Jon Jones both almost had interceptions, and then the game almost went into overtime if it weren’t for the rookie Marcus Jones and his mammoth, game on the line, punt return of 84 yards for a touchdown!

It wasn’t a pretty win, but it was a win. Defences may win you games, but only time will tell as to how many!

Until next time, you lovely lot, go Pats!

PatsProp Preview – The J-E-T-S II

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Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images

After resting up from the rigors of modern NFL football, the Patriots return from their bye tomorrow sat at 5-4 on the year, and welcome the 6-3 Jets to Foxborough! Here’s your quickfire preview for Week 11!

Injuries

The Patriots look to have a new Punter for tomorrow’s game with Jake Bailey doubtful to play. An update on Christian Barmore is that after this report was released, he was placed on IR and will miss the next 4 games with the knee issue that has been plaguing him.

Patriots To Watch

Mac Jones

Expect Mac to be on the watch list every week until the end of the season. I’m hoping that with a week to reset, he’ll come back to Gillette Stadium with a refreshed feel and be able to play his best game of the season, leading to a fourteenth-straight win over the Jets.

David Andrews

The return of David Andrews is massive for the Pats offensive line, they’ve had clear issues since he suffered a concussion in Week 7’s loss to Chicago. Having their captain and stalwart center back is big for Cole Strange also, he’s been in the wilderness without Andrews, clearly showing how important he’s been to the rookies development. So glad to have him back.

Nick Folk

I can see this game calling on Folk to kick a bunch of field goals tomorrow and he’s been up to the task for so long now as a Patriot. Unless the team finds some rare form in the red area, look for big kick Nick again to help with points.

Matthew Judon

The league-leader for sacks with 11.5, Judon should be a difference maker again tomorrow, last time against Zach Wilson he recorded 0.0 sacks for only the second game this season, I think that’ll change tomorrow and he’ll cause the Jets QB to have nightmares.

Flying Jets

Zach Wilson

Last time out against the Jets, Wilson practically handed the win to the Patriots by throwing three interceptions and completely capitulating in front of his home fans. A one to watch for sure, he’ll either be the reason they don’t lose, or the reason they do.

Sauce Gardner

Sauce is turning out to be a brilliant player for New York and he’s for sure in the running to be league DROTY. The Jets’ defense is certainly one of their strengths, and Gardner will be their main threat for takeaways against Mac Jones.

Tyler Conklin

The TE had a really productive game against the Pats a few weeks back, scoring two touchdowns and showing some good productivity against a Patriots defense that is usually pretty good defending tight ends. I think Bill will have made it clear that Conklin can’t have the same game against them tomorrow.

Garrett Wilson

Wilson heads into Week 11 as the Jets’ leading receiver on the year with 41 receptions for 521 yards. Whilst his QB might end of throwing the game away, he does still tend to throw it around and make plays, and a Wilson to Wilson hookup could be on the cards a few times tomorrow. He’s one to watch.